Category Archives: Tutorials

How to make a knotted Tassel

Take piece of cardboard or anything else suitable for the length of your tassel. Wrap thread around the cardboard several times. Cut one side, make a knot with an extra thread at the center.

 

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Divide into four braids, knot like shown on the diagram.

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Prepare a cord and knot the loose ends. Insert the cord before you tighten the tassel knot. Take a thread and wrap several times around the tassel. Secure end of that thread with a knot and some stitches with a needle. Trim tassel evenly.

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Finished!

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Skirt fastening with hooks and eyes for sheer fabrics

To prevent showing casting stitches on the outside of the fabric French seams or flat felled seams are used to join sheer fabrics. I´ll show you a fastening for a skirt with a placket to be closed with hooks and eyes. Of course it can be used with heavier fabrics too.


Fold the placket lengthwise right sides together. Sew along the bottom edge and along the long edge. Trim seam allowance, turn inside out and press. The width now should be the desired width of the placket e.g. 1 5/8” (4cm) + 5/8” (1,5cm). On the pic you see an overlock casted placket for comparison.

 

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Mark seam allowance (5/8” (1,5cm)) at the right side of the placket and line up with the skirt edge, right sides together. Sew together close to the edge; stop about 5/8” (1,5cm) away from the bottom edge of the placket. Unfold the placket, mark position of eyes and sew them to the placket by hand so that they ride out just a little bit the sewing line.

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Sew the facing to the other edge of the skirt. Line up with the edge, right sides together, fold up seam allowance of the bottom edge of the facing and sew.
Close skirt seam, line up edges exactly and pin together, fold away placket and facing, sew. The seam ends a little bit above the facing seam, take care not to catch the placket of facing while sewing.

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Press open seam allowance; clip on the placket side towards seam end. Trim seam allowance on the side of the facing to ¼” (0,5) cm. Fold seam allowance of the placket side over the trimmed seam allowance of the facing side to get a flat felled seam, sew.
Fold skirt at the placket aside and mark position of eyes. Sew along the seam line. Skip eyes, lock seam before and after. If you want a continuous seam use your hand wheel for not breaking the needle. Press edge carefully.

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Fold in raw edge of facing. Sew facing, bottom edge and Seam allowance of placket through all layers with small pointed stitches.
Mark position of hooks and sew only to the facing. If wanted sew along the facing edge with pointed stitches for more stability.
Sew waistband as usual.

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Tutorial: How to sew bloomers Part1

Klick here for a free sewing pattern

 

Days are becoming shorter, and the high summer temperatures of this year passed. Yes, it became October. Nevertheless, a little ride with my old bicycle was planned. The costume is nearly complete with a skirt, blouse, jacket, gaiters and hat, just fitting bloomers are missing.
Here comes a little tutorial for bloomers, loosely based on an original from the Metropolitan Museum: http://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/ci/web-large/CI55.41.5b_F.jpg
The bloomers have a closed crotch seam, they will be closed with buttons at the waistband. The knee straps are closed with buttons too.


Prepare button stays: Fold straps for the button stay lengthwise, right sides together. Sew along one of the short edges. Trim seam allowance, turn inside out, and press. Open the strap again and pin it to the back trouser, just with one layer, and sew. Clip seam allowance of back trousers at the end of the seam.
Fold inside the loose SM, fold the button stay over the seam, and pin it to the trouser so that the edge will overlap the seam a little bit. Sew from the right side exactly along the seam.

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Prepare straps for buttonhole facing: fold up seam allowance of the lower edge and sew to front trouser.
Close side seams respecting marks. Fold in the seam allowance of the buttonhole facing, fold over the edge and stitch down.
Perform the side seam as a flat felled seam. Trim back the seam allowance of the front trouser, fold over the seam allowance of the back trouser and stitch down. Line up button stays and buttonhole facing and stitch together at the end of the fly.
Sew the inner seams of the bloomers. Sew seam either as a flat felled seam or as a French seam.

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My Romantic Era Bonnet

I finished my Romantic Era dress already two years ago, but there was still something missing: a bonnet.

For the construction of the pattern take a wig head and build the form of the bonnet with paper. Then trim the paper where needed or ad paper with adhesive tape. If the bonnet has the desired shape, copy the pattern and adjust asymmetries. Build the bonnet once again from paper or board and do last adjustments if needed.

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Now cut the pieces from buckram. I  use round reed instead of wire to strengthen the seams because I think it keeps the shape better.
Sew the reed with a zigzag stitch at the edges, the brim is reinforced with additional bars of reed.
Now join all pieces by hand.


Cover the bonnet with flannel fabric, so later you won´t see the raw buckram through your top cloth.
Cover the hat with your desired top cloth e.g. Silk taffeta, and decorate as desired.

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Do you think constructing the pattern by yourself is quite complicated? Visit my Etsy-Shop, there you will find the pattern with detailed and illustrated sewing instructions. A pelerine collar which was popular during the Romantic era is included.

PDF Pattern #0615 Romantic Era Bonnet and Pelerine

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Patch pocket for a bustle dress

In this tutorial, I want to show you, how to sew a patch pocket for a Victorian bustle dress. You can see these pockets on several extant dresses, house dresses, as well as walking dresses, and of course on fashion plates. But what were these pockets for? Years ago, when I started my sewing pattern business I thought to hold a parasol. But that seems to be wrong. They maybe were meant to hold a handkerchief, a fan or just for decoration, as there are now visible signs of wear inside and outside the pockets on extant dresses. Visit this great article for more details. https://brokecostumer.blogspot.com/2016/02/that-mysterious-pocket.html?fbclid=IwAR1jeTo3wuViCpFIlyFCTMpjn-ph8oKwpQ2yoI_BS6Pv1xu1iKfA3_HBPdA

Draft the pattern on a piece of paper, ad seam allowance just at the sides.

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Cut from upper fabric and lining. The two layers will be treated as one. Lower the tension of your upper thread and sew with a long running stitch along the horizontal lines and along the top and bottom edges. Shirr fabric, at the bottom from 20cm to 12cm, at the top from 32cm to 24cm, and along the horizontal stitching too.
I decided to add a lace trim before shirring the fabric.


Cut a strip of fabric on the straight grain, fold like you would fold a bias tape, and cut to parts with a length of 15cm, 19cm, 23cm and 27cm. I added more trimmings first.
Open your folded strips of fabric and pin them in place. Sew along the fold line. Fold your strip again and sew the open edge with invisible stitches to the pocket. At the top and bottom fold the strip over the edge and sew to the back side.

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If desired trim with lace all around the edges.

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Sew pocket to your overskirt. The first edge you can do with your sewing machine, the bottom, and the second side sew by hand.