Getting Back Into It

As I prepare to get back into the world of sewing, I find myself a little intimidated. I haven't actively studied historical fashion for at least four years-- probably more like five.  That doesn't mean I have been completely out of the scene-- see my Pinterest board-- but I haven't actively studied and researched it for a long time. (The other day, I couldn't remember the term "Spencer jacket.")

I'd love to get some good recommendations for blogs and forums that would be good sources of inspiration and instruction for studying costuming. Any suggestions?

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I feel like I need to start small as I get back into sewing. So I am not planning on doing any major projects that require yards and yards of fabric.  I want to start back with doll clothes since the risk factor of ruining something is much lower there, and it also provides me with the opportunity to sell online.  Some ideas I had are as follows:

  • Modern-day girl wear (less fun and interesting, but more marketable, and I have lots of patterns that would work)
  • A "Caroline" line (American Girl introduced a lovely Regency-era (1812) character in 2012, only to archive her in 2015. Excuse me a moment while I rant internally about American Girl's decline in marketing its historical characters since I was a kid.                         Okay. Anyway, Caroline was archived in December of 2015, which means her clothes are no longer available for the girls who want to expand their Caroline wardrobe collection. That, on top of my undying love for Regency era fashion, has me thinking this would be a pretty good place to start.) 
  • A Georgian/Revolutionary era line (simply because I really really want to make some clothes for myself from that era, but am unable to at the moment, so might as well make it in doll size)
  • A "Doctor Who" line (because why not dress one's doll for the chance of spontaneous space travel with everyone's favorite time-travelling alien? Besides, there are some wonderful and iconic Doctor Who outfits that would be fun to recreate in doll size.) 
Thoughts? Ideas? For those of my followers who are AG collectors or who have daughters who collect AG, what kinds of doll clothes would you like to see in my shop? 

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I really hope I can make something for myself again soon, though I am not sure what occasions I'd have to wear anything historical. I've been planning for years to make another Regency era corset for myself (the first one I made was a tester one, made from super cheap material.)  It's also a little more manageable because it doesn't involved yards and yards of fabric. (My apartment is small and my work table/kitchen table is also very small.) 

On another note, I won some tickets for the Yankee Peddler Festival in Ohio. From what I can tell, it's a sort of living history event of Revolutionary-era pioneer living. There will be vendors selling hand-crafted and era-specific items. I'm kind of hoping there might be some fabric and notions there that I could incorporate into a future project.  

Anyway, I'd love to hear about your recent sewing projects. Feel free to leave a comment~ I love hearing from you. :) 

Best,
Melanie 

Comments

OldFashionGirl said…
I don't know if you are a part of it, but I recommend joining The Historical Sew Fortnightly on facebook. The Dreamstress runs it (you may have run across her blog before) and it is a great community of people. They will send you a little form/message to fill out before they let you join the group, and then you can have access to it. I rarely participate, others participate in the monthly challenges more, but whether you join in a little, or a lot, it encourages you to sew more, and see what others are making. The members there are also a great source (almost limitless) of information. https://www.facebook.com/groups/HistoricalSewFortnightly/
I hope that helps a bit. Take care!
Melanie said…
Thanks so much for the recommendation! I hadn't heard of it before. It sounds really fun and helpful! I just now requested to join it :)

I've also been blog-hopping and discovering some wonderful costume blogs. So much inspiration :D :D
TomWildRose said…
You're wise to start small and work your way back into the groove of sewing. Best wishes!

For inspiration, there's always Sense and Sensibility's Show and Tell forum (which you probably knew of already, but I thought I'd mention it anyhow).
http://sensibility.com/blog/category/show-and-tell/

Jenny LaFleur is no longer active on her blog, but her website has some fun costume diaries to read through, with lots of pictures.
http://jennylafleur.com/

You might also check out The Costumer's Guide, as Maggie covers several movie costumes as well as historical ones.
http://costumersguide.com/maggie_costumes/index.html

Happy Sewing!
~"Tom Wild Rose"~
Melanie said…
Hi Tom Wild Rose,

Thank you so much for the links! The Costumer's Guide looks amazing-- I can't wait to take some time and look through all her costumes.

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