An Upgrade for Felicity

I’m not sure if I’ve ever mentioned this before, but my dress form’s name is Felicity. I named her that to remind me to be patient because in the American Girl books I read growing up Felicity’s mother was constantly telling her “Patience, Felicity.” As I am not a very patient person, my mother ended up telling me “Patience, Felicity” a lot growing up. Since sewing requires a lot of patience the name seemed like a good fit.

Felicity had gone through several iterations in the time I’ve had her. She started out as an adjustable dress form, and technically still is underneath.

I liked Felicity but even adjustable dress forms only adjust so much and I wanted something that was more exact to my measurements so I ended up making a duct tape dress form that I put overtop of Felicity and stuffed. If you’re not familiar with this method it’s where you put on a large shirt or dress and then wrap yourself with duct tape and cut the shirt off of you in order to make an exact mold of your body.

Here is Felicity in duct tape form in my car coming home from school.

While this made her the same size as me, I quickly learned that it was a pain to pin things to because my pins would be ruined by the duct tape. They got all sticky which wasn’t ideal.

So now I found a padding system for dress forms that I am excited about! The kit comes with a bunch of foam pieces that you use the pad out your dress form under a dress form cover to make whatever body shape you want.

Working on inserting the padding. You can see the remains of the duct tape version on the floor behind it.

All padded and ready to go!

Testing the measurements with one of my shirts.

I’m really happy with it so far because it looks nicer than the duct tape and I can pin into the dress form anywhere without having to worry about hitting a gap from the adjustments or getting pins sticky!

Felicity is new, improved, and ready to go! I guess I’d better sew something new then!

Love always,

Victoria

Finding My Historical Doppelganger

One day when I was on Instagram I saw someone share a photo of a painting on their story and was shocked to that the woman’s face looked like mine!

At first I thought maybe I was wrong so I took a quick selfie and decided to do a side-by-side comparison.

I think the match is fairly close so I was pretty excited! I’ve heard of people finding historical paintings that they look like so I was happy to find one that looks like me! I quickly messaged the person who posted the photo and found out that it is a painting of Caroline von Holnstein in the Gallery of Beauties paintings collection.

It was an unexpected find and quickly launched me excitedly into planning a new project. I am going to recreate the painting as best as I can! The painting is from the 1830s, which is an era that I said I would never do because it is known for having ridiculous sleeves, patterns, hair, and being all around just kind of ugly. You’ll see more about the era as I research and begin making the dress. It just goes to show never say never because I’m not going to pass off the chance to recreate a portrait that looks like my face, even if it is in the 1830s craziness! Wish me luck!

Love always,

Victoria

A Winter Photo Shoot

While I was home for the holidays I decided it would be a great time to get some winter photos of some of my gowns out in the snow! My family had just moved to a really great property which had some amazing photo locations and at the time our neighbor also had horses so I had the opportunity to get some pictures with them too. It was fun, even if it was a little cold, and my mom did a great job taking pictures and running in and outside so I could warm up and look at the photos to see what we still needed.

Get ready for a bunch of photos!

I got some great ones with the horses which were beautiful and I loved petting their fuzzy noses so that was an added bonus.

Next up was some photos by the wood pile. I absolutely love how these turned out. I also loved it because it’s one of my simpler outfits so it more represents what a general person would wear and do.

Next was my regency ball gown since I really wanted some nice photos of it before it completely falls apart (it is not the strongest thing I’ve ever made). I looked ready for a winter’s ball!

Last was some old pieces I’ve had for ages but I paired them in a way I never have before so it felt like a whole new outfit. That is one of the best parts about now owning so many historical pieces, I now have the ability to make new outfits by pairing things in new ways. This outfit made me think of the show Outlander (a show and books that are really great if you’re looking for a good read!).

Lastly, a few fun pictures of me playing in the snow for you! A snow ball fight:

And catching snowflakes!

I hope you had some nice snowy days this winter!

Love always,

Victoria

Two Quick Non-Historical Ensembles

While most of my work is historical, every now and then I get the chance to make something fun, silly, and usually pretty nerdy! These two quick projects were made up of things I found and put together, so no sewing was actually involved, just pulling items!

First was my Halloween costume, Fleur Delacour from Harry Potter! (If you don’t know Harry Potter she is a student from another wizarding school). My look was kind of a vintage inspired version and I love it so so much! I bought the shirt and skirt online, already had the shoes, and the amazing Chrinstine gave me the hat! (Check her out @sewstine on instagram and she is now on youtube!) I got to wear the outfit to a Harry Potter Halloween swing dancing party which made it even more magical.

The second costume is a generic jedi costume. So I’ve seen most (I think) of the Star Wars movies but I’ll admit I’m not as into them. They’re fun, I just don’t know all the detail but a friend and I were hired to do a light saber duel for an event since we’ve both done stage combat and sword fighting before so I got to choreograph a light saber duel and had to get a costume together. It was so much fun and a really easy outfit to put together!

The outfit is a pair of boots I own, some black leggings, a tan button up with two random pieces of tan fabric draped over my shoulders and held in place by a belt on my waist and another belt across my chest. Lastly I cut some socks to work as arm warmers as an accessory and borrowed a light saber a friend of mine had.

Together the two outfit were good nerdy fun and they prove you don’t have to know how to sew to still make some really great costumes! Both were low budget projects (the jedi was actually free!). Go out and make costumes if you want to because you totally can!

Love always,

Victoria

Making a Regency Ball Gown

Wow I have not posted on here in a long time! I have been in a busy part of my life for the past months (and am still in it) so I have a lot to catch up on here on my blog! Stay tuned as things happened! If you follow my instagram @historyonabudget then you’ll be mostly up to date with my historical costuming adventures but on here I will take the time to go more into depth about everything I’ve been doing! So I promise posts will come again and the blog is not dead, it’s just been a little slow lately.

So back in October I had my first reenactment coming up and there was a ball for the reenactors during the event so I realized I needed to hurry up and make a new gown. Now I have not made a lot of regency items so I know there is a lot of flaws in my work but I am learning as I go.

This was one of my first attempts at draping a garment so it is faaaarrrr from perfect but overall I think it went well considering I had no idea what I was doing.

The fabric is some leftover table cloth material I had from my RAD Dress. Since the fabric is white and really thin it was perfect for a regency ball dress because white practically see through dresses were very popular at that time, especially for balls. I ended up doing a lot of the sewing on my room floor which maybe isn’t ideal, but it worked out just fine. You do what you have to do in college.

I’m really happy with how the back of it worked out, I think it lays really beautifully.

I added a red ribbon to the waist and my grandmother’s Latvian vest! The vest is not historically accurate for the regency era, it is a traditional Latvian vest that my grandmother had and my aunt used for Latvian folk dancing as a child. The vest is a little too small on me but it really reminded me of the regency era because of the gold almost military like details and the shortness of it (though that is probably just from it being too small on me). I figured even if it isn’t historically accurate it gives the vest new life and connects me to my family so I thought it was a perfect finishing touch to the outfit! (It also conveniently covers some not so great seams!)

With that the dress was ready to wear for my first ever ball! I don’t have any photos from the event but I did take some later on in the snow that show the finished product!

Stay tuned for A LOT more catch up posts to come!

Love always,

Victoria

A Historical Weekend

I’m a member of the Indiana Historical Costuming Society and we recently had a weekend retreat. This was one of my first major costuming events and it was so much fun. I found the Indiana Historical Costuming Society on Facebook and was able to join. I highly recommend finding a group to join in your area because costuming with friends is so much fun. The group of us met for a weekend of hanging out in our historical clothing and getting to know each other better.

We stayed in a lovely historical house which just added to the atmosphere.

We also got to eat together. We’d all brought food and were able to eat wonderfully all weekend. As a college student, I especially appreciated all the good food.

For the first day I went for a very pastoral look which was fun to wear around. It was my casual 18th century wear. We got the chance to take so many great photos over the weekend and had fun seeing the local sights.

I especially liked taking photos in a public garden that was there because it went with the pastoral look I was going for.

And we all always had time for some silly photos too!

The weekend was great because it was a chance to learn from others and connect with others who enjoy doing the same things I do.

Later we all got dressed up and went to dinner in our formal wear.

After dinner we changed again (there was a lot of changing because it was a good opportunity for me to wear as many of gowns as possible!) and went for a ghost tour which was pretty fun. I did find one picture of myself from it that I couldn’t resist turning into a meme because I felt like I could just read my thoughts in it.

The last day we were there was really hot so I got lazy and didn’t do my hair which is not historically accurate at all but I was going for the romantic heroine look.

There was even some hedges for me to dramatically run through.

We finished off the trip with some lemonade and a walk through the local museum.

All of us dramatically looking out from the stairs.

It was a great weekend and I’m so happy that I got to go. It was great to really get to know others who have some of the same passions that I do.

Go out and find others with your same passion, it makes everything ten times more fun.

Love always,

Victoria

My First Completely Hand-Sewn Garment!

I had a historical retreat approaching (post about it to come soon!) so I wanted to make myself a banyan so I could be comfortable and stylish for when everyone was lounging around. A banyan is basically an 18th-century bath robe or dressing gown. There are several different designs but they were often only made out of one or two pattern pieces making them a very simple garment to make. They are often shown being worn by men but they were worn by women too. They were the 18th century go to comfy clothes.

My original plan was to machine sewn my banyan because the simple design meant I could probably make it in less than an afternoon, however, the simplicity also made me think maybe I could hand sew it. To decide I put a poll on my instagram and the people said to hand sew it. I immediately was wondering what I had gotten myself into, but I was committed now.

I wanted to make this project quickly and cheaply because I didn’t really have the time or money to buy new materials before the weekend retreat so I started digging through my fabric bin to see what fabric pieces I had that were even large enough for this project. I ended up using the leftover fabric from my old Frankendress project and I was ready to go. This is a poly-taffeta which is not historically accurate at all because it is plastic, but it looks like normal taffeta which can be right to use, it looks pretty, and it was free since I already had it so it was a winner.

I drew on this photo so you could actually see were I marked the fabric with my fabric pencil.

The pattern I was going for I had seen a photo of on the internet so I mostly just winging it, but it seemed pretty simple. This banyan was made in one piece so I folded the fabric so that there was a fold at both the center back and the top then I laid on top of the fabric with my back on the center back fold. I then literally traced the shape of the pattern around my body. It was a simple shape, basically a triangle with arms.

I then cut it out and it was starting to look like a banyan.

I then began the long process of hand sewing which make this project take about 10 times longer than it would have taken me to zip it through a machine. My hand sewing skills are no where close to 18th century standards since I usually machine sew but it got the job done. I used a back stitch for strength, which was honestly pretty silly since banyans really don’t need strength since they are bathrobes. I also did french seams which encases the raw edge of the fabric inside itself so there is no raw edges. I’m glad I did the french seams, but it also doubled my hand sewing time.

The banyan was then almost done! I just hand to hem it so it wasn’t dragging on the floor. I also noticed at this point that the fabric was starting to make pretty lapel type things on the front so I decided to go with it and tack those down because I liked the look of them.

Tacking down the lapels.

I then did a lot of ironing because my fabric was very wrinkly and my hand sewn seams needed to be pressed. There is a deceivingly large amount of fabric in a banyan so this took quite a while.

Lastly I added a ribbon tie to the front so I could close it and the banyan was done! I’m really happy with how it turned out and really proud of myself for hand sewing an entire garment for the first time! It took me about an entire day of hand sewing to make. The result is beautiful and I love how it swoops behind me when I walk. I will for sure be wearing this for historical things but also just for lounging around my dorm because I love it so much.

I encourage you to take on a challenge. I am glad I kept to my challenge of completely hand sewing this. I was hard, but it allowed me to grow and now I can look back at it as a big accomplishment.

Love always,

Victoria

A Historical Picnic!

I recently got to go to my first historical event as part of the Indiana Costuming Society. We had a lovely picnic and went for a stroll. The amazing pictures were done by Lisa Renee Wilson photography!

There was so much food for us to enjoy, and everyone looked so lovely!

After eating we went for a stroll around the grounds which was a fun chance to really show off our lovely gowns. We had quite a few people stop us and take our pictures along the way too.

My lovely roommate Emma borrowed one of my gowns and came with me to this event which made it extra fun! It also was nice to have someone I knew since I had never been to one of these events before. Everyone there ended up being so nice though and I had such a good time making some new friends.

Then entire group looking very dignified.

And also a little less dignified!

We also got a traditional shoe shot to show off our lovely shoes!

It was a lovely day and I can’t wait to go to more events in the future!

Meeting new people and joining a group is terrifying at first, but it feels so good to have a group of friends who enjoy making historical clothing just as much as I do. I encourage you to jump in and join a group near you. You’ll end up with people you can have fun with and who can help mentor you in your work.

Love always,

Victoria

Pretty Pictures for the Underthings Too

This thing about historical costuming is you often spend a lot of time and effort into making beautiful pieces that no one ever sees. The undergarments for historical garments are incredibly important for achieving the correct silhouette of an era and historically, they were often quite pretty. Because of this, I wanted to be sure and get some good photos of them too. Warning, by 18th and 19th century standard these pictures are horribly scandalous! You’ll see my stockings, gasp!

First up we have the 18th century undergarments.

I couldn’t resist a little mirror primping photo!

This is my absolute favorite corset I’ve ever made. It’s so comfortable and I think it’s also really beautiful.

My embroidered pocket is one of the pieces that I am most proud of but is never seen. I hand embroidered this pocket myself and absolutely love it, but since pockets are worn under the skirts, I’m normally the only one to ever appreciate it.

My beautiful stockings are also and item that aren’t often seen but that really complete the outfit. These ones are made by American Duchess.

Now onto the underthings for Frankendress, my not historically accurate 1865 ballgown.

I actually use the same shift for most eras since even though there were differences, they were minor enough for me to get away with it and the shift is never seen. A new era also meant a new hair do! Once again I have some amazing stockings that go with this outfit.

My corset is not historically accurate. It is actually a modern, commercially made corset that was gifted to me. It ended up being too large so I ripped it apart and used the materials to remake the same corset in my size. While it isn’t accurate, it was once again cost effective and also gives me the same general shape I need for most of the Victorian Era.

It’s enormous!

Lastly we have the hoop and petticoat, which are just wonderful giant! You can actually fit about 4 people underneath this skirt (yes, we’ve tested that theory, it was very funny). The petticoat is so ruffly and beautiful that I often wish I could wear it and the corset out in the open like this, however, that would be much too scandalous!

Every now and then it’s nice to give the undergarments some love since each piece is so important to making a truly beautiful historical garment. Looking like you stepped out of a painting is largely to do with silhouette and that is all achieved through good underthings so give your underthings some love today!

Love always,

Victoria

The Sac Back Gown’s Photos

My last dress for the Wellington Inn photos was my Sac Back Gown that I made out of Colonial Williamsburg fabric. I’ve had this gown for a while now but really hadn’t gotten any great photos of it yet so now was the time. My wonderful mother was the photographer for this gown.

I loved this little piano in the parlor so I had to get a photo by it.

We also had to be sure to get a photo of the lovely pleats that give the Sac Back Gown its name.

This is probably my favorite picture we got of this dress. I feel like it looks so elegant.

And we also of course had to get a nice detail shot of the lace and ruffles. It took such a long time to gather all the material for the ruffles when I made this dress.

Lastly, a few outdoor photos for fun and to show of the gorgeous house! I am so lucky to have been able to get photo in such a beautiful location. Often historic places can be found in our own backyards if you do a little looking.

Love always,

Victoria