Hello lovelies,

During my time of quarantine I decided to finish a few of my projects as it was hard to get materials for new projects.
One of these UFOs (unfinished Projects) was a linen chemise I started a couple of years ago. Curiously the side panels go all the way up and over the shoulder and the sleeve is fixed to it.
I was almost done, only the seams needed to be done and I wanted to shorten the sleeves. The sleeves would have been fine for medieval dresses but I wanted to white work embroidery it and use it for 18th century gowns.



At the neckline I added two holes and then made a draw string. It worked much better than what I had planned a few years earlier.


The bottom seam was made with a mantua maker seam. I embroidered the seams only in the front and it worked out really well. At first I only made the small triangles with a four sided stitch but then I added the small loops and an outline in a trailing stitch and it looks so much better with it.




The was very nice to do and once I had mastered it, I changed directions of the stitches, going from left to right instead of right to left. I had to take notes because I got so confues but after a while my brain managed both ways. That was amazing.




 This border is the trailing stitch. It is made by going over one or more threads of thicker yarn. This actually blew my mind because not only was ist super easy, it also made the embroidery presentable.


 The loops are definitely not all the same size. But I am a beginner at white work embroidery and not a machine, so the loops will all look different. At least that's what I told my brain.

Btw, I got these japanese fabric markers and they are the best; bright pink and wash off so easily.



And here is the finished chemise. I did not do a picture of how it looked earlier because it was a real mess.


For the first parts I had no idea what I was doing because I am still a newbie at white-work embroidery. I tried to find classes near me but the only class that was offered was in another country, which would be a 6h drive with the train. I know that probably doesn't sound like much for my American readers, but my fellow Europeans know, that this would be too much for a day trip. I literally would have to cross the borders into Germany and then drive to a small village by train. And everybody knows that the Deutsche Bahn is not the best, no offence.
I am using the book whitework by Lizzy Lansberry and it is a step-by-step kind on how to embroider. This book is my recommenation if you are interested in this kind of embroidery.


And now with my chemise and the short stays ready, I finally started my own regency dress in white with small embroidered flowers. It was on my to-do list for such a long time.

All the best,

Auris Lothol

Hello lovelies,

can you imagine that I finished my first project in 2020? Because I can not. Although I wanted to finish it in my Christmas holidays in 2019 (and didn't) but never mind that.
As you can maybe tell I am super excited because last year I always had the feeling I could do more.

Over the course of the year I started out with my first version and the pattern from Nehelenia Patterns, called Partially Boned Transition Stay (PP08) or Halbversteifte Übergangsschnürburst from Past Patterns (see here)
But that pattern didn't work out well. I hated the fact that I had to draw the circle for me own boobs and gave up when I made the boob part. Even though I sewed everything by hand I had to toss it in the bin. Oh, that hurt.

Backside, the tabs were not yet cut in

Afterwards I wanted to buy a new pattern but forgot about it.
My friend then gave me her regency stays pattern, Laughing Moon #115 as she had no use for it anymore and I started with another stays. But spoiler warning, I also finished it!


 I didn't want to do a long version so I shortened it at the waist line when I transferred the pattern onto paper. I don't like to work with the flimsy paper onto which the pattern was printed because I am super clumsy and would have ripped it.


This is how my pattern looked like. There were three pieces and bust gores and a shoulder strap. The material is unbleached heavy linen. The outer material is thin 100% white cotton.

 I inserted the bust gores at the front. As you can see, I didn't want to take any chances and just made everything with the sewing machine. If I had to toss it, it wouldn't be that bad anymore.

The back side with the linen and cotton fabric, almost done.
The construction of the stays was really easy plus the instruction from Laughing moon was really easy to follow. I was quite surprised.



Front-Side-Back: The stays looked like they are too small for me as there was a huge back gap but when I tried it on, it fit. I guess I have more squish than my doll.

The bone channels and eyelets are done. Half of the eyelets look good, the other not so much.

I added the strap, The linen strap is added only to the linen fabric and the same with the cotton.

The front part with all of the bust gussets. The next part was assembling all of the pieces.



Front-Side-Back part 2. I tried it on again and laced it tight. It was then I realized that it was too long and it squished my waist weirdly. I cut off another 5cm/2" (!) and then it was perfect.

 I bound the stays and then added spiral and plastic boning.



 And another Front-Side-Back. As you can tell, it is already very short and the bottom is bound. I already added the top binding but did not finish it yet.

The rest only included doing the rest of the binding and the holes for the strap. And that was it.
All in all it was a super easy project. My only problem in the end was that I lost some weight and suddenly the bust gores were a bit too big. Just my luck :(
Ignore my chemise, I didn't do one for regency yet and used my early Victorian one, as it was the most similar looking.
And definitely not ironed. I hate ironing.




All the best,

Auris lothol

Hello lovelies,


last year I made a set of small panniers; these were used in the 18th century as undergarments to widen the skirts on the sides until the 1780s. Only the English kept the pannier as their official court fashion until 1820.

The pattern I used came from the book "Guide to 18th century dress making" by American duchess. It was very easy to follow and had a lot of pictures and step by step written instructions. All in all I can really recommend her book if you are interested in the fashion of the 18th century. Her new book will come out in Summer and it's all about hair and make-up, I can't wait! Follow the Amazon link to get to the book (no affiliation).

The fabric I used was a medium-weight cotton with stripes, I found it in my left-over fabric stash and just had enough for this project. Hooray, lucky me.

The ribbon is the typical cotton herringbone patterned one, 2,5cm wide. I think it's 100% cotton.
As for the boning I used two layers of reed boning, also about 2cm wide. I found that one layer was not as stable and used two.
 I cut the length I needed with my steel cutter and then smoothed and rounded the tip.

I used a medium file from the home improvement store to make the edges round after cutting them. If not then the pointy edges would pierce through the fabric. And the file did the job without too much splinters, which was great because I expected the reed to break or fall into splinters.

This is how my pattern looked like. I used wrapping paper to make a paper pattern for this.
Doesn't look hard at all, know does it?

 My stitches are not very straight but they did their job. This is how it looks from the outside and the picture below is from the inside with the tape.




Actually there is nothing more to say to this project, it went smoothly and everything worked out perfectly.
Here are some more pictures of the finished pannier:





All the best,

Auris Lothol