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Menswear

Embroidery Inspiration – Waistcoats and Doublets

This week’s embroidery inspiration is a popular one – waistcoats and doublets. Embroidered menswear seems to be a holy grail for many costumers, and it’s easy to see why. They are the height of men’s fashion, and one of the most complex and time consuming articles to reproduce. Here is a brief timeline of embroidered
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18th c. Court Suits (and more) at the Paris Flea Market

I spent 10 glorious days in Paris this September, exploring, working on embroidery designs, and visiting museums for inspiration. One of the places I was most excited to explore was the Paris flea market. I knew from a previous visit that I might not find many treasures, but I would certainly find inspiration. Saturday night
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Musings on Regency Waistcoats

Do you have one of those friends who will come over and ask the exact question you’ve been trying not to think about because it will slow down your project? Well, I do, and his name is Christopher. It’s always that question I know I should do something about, but it’s difficult or tricky or
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18th c. Embroidered Waistcoats

Without question, what most people ask me for are 18th c. embroidered waistcoats. It makes sense, since that was the first truly ambitious embroidery project I tackled, and to this day, it’s still my favorite. Last year I made a second version of the same waistcoat, this time in much more muted grey tones on white linen, to match
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Costumes for Sale

I am such a sporadic blogger that I don’t know if anyone is even still reading along.  However, I am selling off some of the sample pieces I’ve featured here, and I wanted to spread the word to anyone still following.  Time to clean out the closets and make room for new projects! NOTE: Most
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Two steps forward, and one back

Two steps forward, and one back

I locked myself out of the sewing studio for a few days, which meant no sewing at all aside from some hand-sewing I had in the house.  I finally had more keys made and a long weekend home alone, so I designated it an all-sewing weekend, and invited over a couple of friends. My plan
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Mr. Darcy Comes to Visit

This is my 2011 Double Period Project for Your Wardrobe Unlock’d.  I don’t have pictures of the process, as I was generally working in a hurry and kept forgetting to take pictures along the way.  I do have some notes, and will try to give as much background as I can. Menswear is still pretty
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Court suit – putting it all together

Court suit – putting it all together

Sorry, this is a long post without any pretty pictures.  I was hurrying along to finish the coat, and didn’t have much time to take pictures of the progress. I finally had the nerve to pull out all the pieces of the court suit coat and figure out where I had gone wrong.  When I
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18th century frolicking

Last week was a flurry of sewing. We had an 18th century event that was fast approaching, and a client’s project that just would not go together right kept pushing off my personal sewing time. In the end, I did manage to get everyone clothed, even if it meant a severe lack of sleep for
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DPP – Coat Progress and Decisions

Parts of the coat are coming along nicely: The fronts and back vents are embroidered, pocket flaps spangled and assembled, sleeves cut and sewn, cuffs embroidered, lining cut and sewn. Most of the major pieces are there. That said, it’s really not ready for assembly. The DPP deadline is looming, and even with as close
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