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2010 DPP

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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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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DPP – Waistcoat

The waistcoat for the DPP is finished. Here’s a recap of some of the steps along the way. First the pattern was drafted, mocked up, and fitted. Once the pattern was right, I started arranging the embroidery files to fit the pattern exactly. I ended up using a sprig and rosebud as a border, with
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Inspiration Board

Inspiration

This is up on the inspiration board right now. It’s just enough to keep me excited and itching to get back to working on the DPP.

Embroidery, take 2

A while back I posted a picture of a sample button for this suit. I’d selected an embroidery file I liked, and have been working with it on and off to create designs I wanted to use on this project. I haven’t really been happy with any of the combinations I’ve worked up. I was
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Fabric Selection

Fabric selections for the DPP were fairly easy, since I planned to use as many fabrics as possible from my stash. I had plenty of lightweight linen for shirt-making, and a few yards of a cotton French lace for ruffles at the front and wrists. For the waistcoat, I plan to use the most wonderful
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18th century suit button

18th Century Suit Buttons for Your Wardrobe Unlock’d Competition

Here is a close-up of 18th century suit buttons from the inspiration suit: This button is made of embroidered fabric wrapped around a flat disk.  All the embroidery on this suit appears to be chain stitch, with the exception of the little circles, which are similar to small sewn eyelets.  The button is bordered by
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Navy blue satin court suit

18th Century Men’s Suit – Inspiration

The Kyoto Costume Institute publishes the most beautiful books, with detailed pictures.  Utterly dreamy.  My favorite suit is pictured in a couple of their books: the expensive Revolution in Fashion: 1715-1815, and the more reasonably priced 25th Anniversary Fashion. This is a stunning example of 18th century clothing. I love the richness of the silk,
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2010 Double Period Project

2010 Double Period Project

Your Wardrobe Unlock’d is hosting the “Double Period Project” this year.  The basics are 1) there are two periods to use as inspiration, 2) you can make as much or as little as you like from either period, and 3) it can be as historically accurate (or not) as you like.  Prizes for different categories,
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