Historical sewing techniques

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, … Continue reading 6 Ways How To Sew A Placket – Historical Sewing →

A list of tricks and things to keep in mind to start filling the gap between fancy dress and historical clothing.

Before making my first Victorian skirt, I'd given no thought to how all those yards of fabric were attached to a small waistband. If someone had asked me, I would have guessed that the fabric was gathered and sewn onto the waistband in the usual way. I would have been very wrong. The skirt from Simplicity 1818 is 170 inches wide--the width doesn't vary with the size of the pattern, only the size of the waistband changes. The waistband I'm using for this skirt has a total length of 29.5…

This is a list of primary sources for historical costumers – like antique books & newspapers – that I’ve found over the past few decades and that I find most helpful when researching a new topic – with a focus on the Edwardian era. And there are also links to free antique sewing patterns for … Continue reading Free Patterns & Primary Sources For Historical Costumers →

Learn how to invisibly join lace trim by hand for your next historical costuming or heirloom sewing project project.

Do you want to make your own historical costumes on a budget? These are my 8 tips on how to get started in historical costuming!

Sewing cartridge pleats to waistband. Suggests using Tiger Tape to get even pleats.

Egyptian linen from 5000 BCE, image from the Bolton Museum. Note the scale bar - this is very fine linen! When reconstructing Aegean Bronze Age clothes, I rely heavily on the kind of techniques that were used in Egypt around the same time. The reason for that is simple: we have evidence from Egypt. We know nothing about the techniques used in the Aegean, because no textiles survive in that region. We do know a bit about ancient Egyptian sewing and textile manufacture techniques, because we…

Dada a extensão deste artigo, achei por bem publicar as versões inglesa e portuguesa em separado. Para a versão portuguesa, cliquem aqui. This is the second part of Rob Chave’s step-by-s…

Learn how to make a drawstring closure on your Edwardian petticoat. The Edwardian drawstring closure is fast and easy to sew. And what’s best: you don’t have to sew a placket! 😀 Related: 6 Ways How To Sew A Placket – Historical Sewing This Edwardian petticoat drawstring closure is based on an antique Edwardian petticoat. … Continue reading How To Sew An Edwardian Petticoat Drawstring Closure →