2017 recap in March, so basically par for the course on this blog.

I started off slow by working on a Wheel of Time costume for Jordan Con, of the character Sevanna:

From January through July I worked on all the parts for my Eliza Schuyler gown, which included:

A completely handsewn chemise

A rather capacious split bumroll

A patchwork pocket

Blinged out shoes

Sheer fichu. I thought I could get this done in a 10 hour plane flight from London. Hah, that got me through the hand-rolled hem on about 2/3 of the big piece without even touching the ruffle.

Tiny hems and whipped gathers!

Which all went under the petticoat and italian gown:

Work!

There were interludes in that dress effort to do hats:

I actually wore this to an outdoor wedding where big hats were specifically requested!

This one has never been worn. One day your time will come with an 1890s day dress…

And a chemise:

And a 1960s Mad Men inspired dress, which is the first pattern I’ve truly drafted from scratch:

And a new stomacher and petticoat for my francaise:

A suffragette sash:

I ended the year with Ada Lovelace.

Which included a corded petticoat I never posted about:

(As well as a boring plain petticoat which is literally 2 widths of cotton gathered into a waistband so you don’t need photos, and a wee bumroll)

I also made a double breasted peacoat for my tailoring class which was super fun and a whole new method of construction. I finally got the buttons on, but for some reason they look crooked and uneven when the coat is on (even though they aren’t when the coat is unbuttoned on a table) so no pictures until I fix that.

In my head I thought I had only made two outfits (Eliza Schuyler and Ada Lovelace) and was judging myself, but in putting this post all together I see there is actually a lot more! Accessories and hats and undergarments really improve the look of an outfit and do take time.

I kept up with the Historical Sew Monthly from January to June, before Costume College totally derailed that.

For this upcoming year, my sewing plans are a bit awry because I’m currently 20 weeks pregnant!

This means that while Jordan Con is on and I’m working on a cosplay that will be fun with the belly, Costume College is right out since I’ll have a 2 week old infant. (Of course this was after I bought the wool and silk for a Mary Tudor gala gown. Oh well, neither CoCo or my fabric stash is going anywhere).

So that means I don’t want to sew anything this year involving a waistline, because who knows what size I’ll be by the end of this process. Which means this will definitely be the year of accessories and mending. (More like half year. I’m assuming once the small human being appears my sewing pace will drop dramatically…)