Category Archives: Sewing & Crochet

4 Tips When You Don’t Have Enough Fabric For Your Sewing Project

Corded Petticoat
Different fabric on the hem of my historical peasant skirt

If you don’t have enough fabric for a sewing project you have in mind, you can still make it work: Below are my 4 favorite tried-and-true methods when you don’t have enough fabric for your sewing project. Continue reading 4 Tips When You Don’t Have Enough Fabric For Your Sewing Project

6 Ways How To Sew A Placket – Historical Sewing

6 Ways How To Sew A Placket - Historical Sewing

If you sew a lot, especially if you sew historical costumes, you’ll have to sew a placket sooner or later. Most plackets aren’t difficult to make but there are some things to keep in mind.

Learn what placket to use for what purpose and to sew six types of historical plackets: hemmed placket, bound placket, extension placket, continuous bound placket, faced placket and a placket in a flat felled seams. Continue reading 6 Ways How To Sew A Placket – Historical Sewing

Handwoven Corset Top

DIY Handwoven Corset Top

Because my modern 18th century recycled denim stays turned out so comfy I made another DIY corset top! 😀 This time I used handwoven fabric in blue and white for my corset top. The corset top laces up the back and is closed with hooks and eyes at the center front. It’s constructed using lapped seams and the old German stitch (also known as baseball stitch), and it’s unboned except for the two necessary bones at the back. Continue reading Handwoven Corset Top

How To Sew A Historical Peasant Bodice

Sew a simple unboned historical peasant bodice with front lacing for historical reenactment or as modern cottagecore lace-up corset top!

Historical Working Woman Peasant Bodice Corset Top

In the past, peasants and other working women often wore simple unboned bodices or lightly boned stays. My historical working woman stays are based on antique rural stays. This historical peasant bodice features a low neckline, shoulder straps, spiral lacing at the center front and princess seams at the back. You can make it completely unboned or just lightly boned. Continue reading How To Sew A Historical Peasant Bodice

How To Sew An Edwardian Hip Pad

How To Sew An Edwardian Hip Pad Tutorial

My Edwardian hip pad is inspired by antique Edwardian hip pads, like the Scott Ventilated Hip Pad & Bustle. But for a better fit under Edwardian straight-front corsets, I actually used the bottom part of an antique corset to draw the pattern! So my Edwardian hip pad pattern might look different than the typical crescent-shaped Edwardian hip pad patterns that are sold today. But antique Edwardian bustle pads came in various forms like this or this antique hip pad. And I find that this shaped hip pad fits better under Edwardian straight-front (aka S-bend) corsets: It fills out the bum, creates the fashionable wide hips of the Edwardian era without destroying the fashionable straight-front of Edwardian corsets. Continue reading How To Sew An Edwardian Hip Pad

34 Types of Seams – Historical Sewing

Learn how to make 34 historical types of seams. For historical costumes and modern clothing!

34 Types of Seams Historical Sewing

The Victorians had a seam for every purpose! The following 34 historical types of seams have already been used since the Victorian era. While some types of seams are even older and have been used since the Middle Ages. You can use the following 34 historical seam finishes for your Victorian and Edwardian clothing. But of course you can also use them for your modern clothing! Continue reading 34 Types of Seams – Historical Sewing