If you follow me on instagram, you know that I’m sewing an Edwardian shirtwaist costume at the moment. It consists of a refashioned men’s shirt-turned-Edwardian blouse, a black wool skirt, and a black leather belt and chatelaine bag. And because Edwardian wool skirts were usually worn over colored real or faux silk petticoats I made this pink faux silk petticoat for it. Continue reading Edwardian Pink Faux Silk Petticoat
Make delicious wild yeast bread with hops yeast water starter from scratch!
The Victorians usually made their own yeast at home from scratch, even if commercial yeast was already available back then. But they preferred bread with homemade yeast because it was more flavorful and healthier.
In the Victorian era, homemade yeast from scratch usually contained hops. Just like beer, hops yeast bread tastes bitter because of the hops. This bitter taste is unusual in bread but not in an unpleasant way. And besides the bitter taste, hops yeast bread is also very moist compared to other wild yeast breads. Continue reading Hops Yeast Starter – Victorian Wild Yeast Bread
An Edwardian summer corset was on my sewing list for a long time! My Edwardian summer corset is a single-layer batiste corset with blue binding and external boning channels. Continue reading Edwardian Batiste Summer Corset
A vintage sewing hack how to sew perfect scallops quick and easy by hand! Embellish your dresses and blouses with a perfect scalloped hem.
Scalloped edges were very popular in the Victorian and Edwardian era: dresses, blouses, petticoats, chemises and nightgowns – all were trimmed with hand-stitched scallops. Continue reading How To Sew Scallops By Hand – Quick & Easy Hand Shell Edge
This refashioned Edwardian blouse is totally wearable today: With Edwardian underwear it’s an Edwardian shirtwaist but without it’s just a cotton summer blouse!
This is my third men’s shirt refashion but this time I didn’t turn it into a top or blouse. I made an Edwardian shirtwaist instead! In the Edwardian era, blouses were usually called shirtwaists. The shirtwaist costume – cotton blouse plus wool skirt – was a favorite costume of the Edwardian summer girl and the Edwardian business woman. Shirtwaist were worn for work, for sports, in summer and winter! Continue reading Men’s Shirt To Edwardian Blouse Refashion
I’m sewing an Edwardian lingerie dress with lightweight cotton fabric and lace inserts. And because the dress is very sheer, I made this lingerie set to go under. I used artificial silk made from natural fibers which is historically accurate because artificial silk underwear was already made in the Edwardian era. Artificial silk lingerie was used to replace expensive silk lingerie. Continue reading Edwardian Green Artificial Silk Lingerie – Petticoat & Camisole
‘This is a comfortable kind of gown, requiring little time to make, […] serviceable […] with sleeves’. (Clothing For Women: Selection, Design, Construction, 1916)
I always wanted to have an Edwardian chemise with crochet lace yoke. But to save time I didn’t crochet this yoke from scratch. Instead I used leftover pieces of a crochet tablecloth-to-skirt refashion to make this yoke! Continue reading Edwardian Chemise With Crochet Lace Yoke
‘For those who are convinced of the harmfulness of the corset, a variety of articles called corset-waists are made.’ (Beauty: Its Attainment And Preservation, 1896)
In the late Victorian and Edwardian era, some women preferred to wear a health corset. Health corsets had a button closure at the center front instead of the typical steel corset busk, had shoulder straps and were made of white or blue jean (a strong, durable twill-weave cotton fabric similar to denim fabric). They also were either unboned and stiffened with cord, or just lightly boned – and some even had elastic insets at the front and sides! Continue reading Edwardian Health Corset – “Good Sense” Corset Waist
‘Give your corset air and sunshine if you want it sweet and odorless. You should not expect the best results from your corset without a second one to wear alternately. Any corset needs a rest; two corsets worn alternately will give more satisfaction and service than the same two corsets, each worn continuously until they are worn out, just as two or three pairs of shoes last longer when worn alternately. Continue reading How To Clean A Corset
Learn 6 different vintage ways to insert lace and improve your heirloom sewing skills! So if you’re wondering how to add lace trim like in earlier times, read on.
Today, lace is usually inserted with zigzag stitches by machine. But in past, lace was either inserted by hand or with a straight-stitch sewing machine. In this tutorial I’ll show you 6 ways how to insert lace by hand or with straight stitches by machine. Let me know in the comments what’s your favorite way to insert lace! 😀 Continue reading 6 Ways How To Insert Lace – Heirloom Sewing Tutorial