Driveby Posting
Ugh, it's been so long! I'm definitely around, but just not taking the time to post. Bad me.
I'm taking a break from working on tayloropolis's mitts. This is such a fun project! It's going pretty smoothly so far, too - I really hope I don't hit a big snag. :) My goal is to mail them on Friday so they'll definitely arrive by the 29th.
I used the pattern from Costume Close-Up, mostly because it needed less scaling up. :p I scanned it with my scanner/printer (I keep forgetting I have it!) and just printed it at twice the size. Then I tweaked it to fit me, a wee bit looser than I'd like, and based on measurements altered the flat pattern for Taylor. Hopefully the looseness has remained, because hers are lined with cotton flannel instead of being one thin layer.
Oh, materials: The outer is a deep blue sueded/brushed silk twill; I bought a half yard from FFC years ago when I was got various colors of yellow ditto, for my 1860s winter hood, just because I liked the color. I'm lining it with a medium gray/brown heathered cotton flannel that is SO soft. Cotton flannel isn't period as far as I know, but these need to be warm, and we didn't want to take chances on wool irritating Taylor's skin. I'm lining the points with some lightweight unbleached leather I have.
I'm going to do a little bit of embroidery, with cream-colored silk thread. I'm thinking the three lines on the back of the hand, as well as going over the thumb seam, and the points.
Construction: I cut out the flannel first and put the thumbs in, then sewed up the side seams. The short thumb seam and side seams were on the machine. Then I measured the finished article, tweaked the pattern slightly, and cut out the silk and leather. I closely whipped the edges of the flannel and leather points to each other, but haven't yet sewn down the straight edge. I'll see how it looks when I get to that point (ha ha) - the CCU pair does have visible stitching on the outside.
I experimented with scrap fabric on the embroidery I wanted to do. I was about to do the lines on the back, when I realized that it would be a lot smarter to put the thumbs in first. So I'm almost done with the second one. Yay!
Now on my fourth one, I think I've figured it out: Sew up the short straight thumb seam. (I did this by hand on the silk.) Press under the seam allowance on the thumb itself, then lay over the thumb hole and pin down. I found it helpful to actually sew down the point first, because it's such a tricky thing - impossible to pin properly. Pinning itself is just a guide; it's really just how the fabric will lie.
Okay, back to work! My entertainment during this project has been Jeeves & Wooster. It was Remington Steele for most of my recent 18th century stuff - more on that later!
I'm taking a break from working on tayloropolis's mitts. This is such a fun project! It's going pretty smoothly so far, too - I really hope I don't hit a big snag. :) My goal is to mail them on Friday so they'll definitely arrive by the 29th.
I used the pattern from Costume Close-Up, mostly because it needed less scaling up. :p I scanned it with my scanner/printer (I keep forgetting I have it!) and just printed it at twice the size. Then I tweaked it to fit me, a wee bit looser than I'd like, and based on measurements altered the flat pattern for Taylor. Hopefully the looseness has remained, because hers are lined with cotton flannel instead of being one thin layer.
Oh, materials: The outer is a deep blue sueded/brushed silk twill; I bought a half yard from FFC years ago when I was got various colors of yellow ditto, for my 1860s winter hood, just because I liked the color. I'm lining it with a medium gray/brown heathered cotton flannel that is SO soft. Cotton flannel isn't period as far as I know, but these need to be warm, and we didn't want to take chances on wool irritating Taylor's skin. I'm lining the points with some lightweight unbleached leather I have.
I'm going to do a little bit of embroidery, with cream-colored silk thread. I'm thinking the three lines on the back of the hand, as well as going over the thumb seam, and the points.
Construction: I cut out the flannel first and put the thumbs in, then sewed up the side seams. The short thumb seam and side seams were on the machine. Then I measured the finished article, tweaked the pattern slightly, and cut out the silk and leather. I closely whipped the edges of the flannel and leather points to each other, but haven't yet sewn down the straight edge. I'll see how it looks when I get to that point (ha ha) - the CCU pair does have visible stitching on the outside.
I experimented with scrap fabric on the embroidery I wanted to do. I was about to do the lines on the back, when I realized that it would be a lot smarter to put the thumbs in first. So I'm almost done with the second one. Yay!
Now on my fourth one, I think I've figured it out: Sew up the short straight thumb seam. (I did this by hand on the silk.) Press under the seam allowance on the thumb itself, then lay over the thumb hole and pin down. I found it helpful to actually sew down the point first, because it's such a tricky thing - impossible to pin properly. Pinning itself is just a guide; it's really just how the fabric will lie.
Okay, back to work! My entertainment during this project has been Jeeves & Wooster. It was Remington Steele for most of my recent 18th century stuff - more on that later!