The accessories of the widowed Mrs Ráth

 Now, our widow already had the proper underwear (like chemise, drawers, corset, corsetcover and petticoats) before the start of this project (in other words, I used the pieces I already had), but she still needed some smaller stuff to make the ensemble whole. 

There was a belt, which I made from Ora Lin's free pattern. (BTW, she also has a video on YouTube about how to make it, though, instead of handstitching, I made the belt mostly with a sewing machine.) A few years ago, I also made her waspie corset, but with my short waist, I always felt my body way too disproportionate in it, and I thought a belt that is only dips downward ould suit me better (which it did).

An antique french silk umbrella, I bought for my birthday on Vinted.

A hat, for which the base, an original Girardi hat came from Vinted, I steamed it over, to make it just a little but flatter, and decorated it with feathers and silk-flowers. 

I also bought the lace glove from Vinted. 

Finally, there was that little bolero/cape she wore. I made that from a pattern I bought from Etsy.

I bought the embossed black printed gray fabric from Vinted. I fell in love with the fabric, and I was wondering what to make of it, and this cape looked really cool... but I only used a small bit of the fabric.

The dark gray, almost black pure wool came from I Love Textil. This was one of those lucky days, when I was wondering in, asking the guy there, if he has something that would complement the printed fabric, and he pulled the perfect roll of the shelf. 

So, this is the whole ensemble. 

Oh, I need to tell you about the earrings. I knew I should have bought some simple black pearl earrings, but I was ill, I was busy, I was... whatever, I forgot. When I was dressing up for the event, I was pottering around my boxes, looking for something suitable. I could not very well wore the spider earrings I usually wear with my late Victorian/Edwardian stuff (which was al the rage of the fashion at that time) as a sad widow, now could I? So, as I was pottering around my stuff, when I found these very dark gray, almostblack pieces. When I saw it, I remembered, I got it from one of my teammates, but I could not (and still do not) remember from whom. I kept it for years, but now the earrings found their purpouse.

The shirtwaist of the vidowed Mrs Ráth (Nina blouse)

I've already told you about the caracter, whose wardrobe I had to build, and I also showed her skirt. 

The next item on the list was a shirtwaist. 

Ever since Leimomi of Scroop patterns came out with the Nina Blouse pattern, I knew I wanted to make it. Also, ever since I saw Eva Green in Penny Dreadful, in head-to-to late Victorian/Edwardian black finery, it fascinated me, even though I was not about dress myself in black.

But then, it all changed, I decided to make a set of clothes to Mrs Ráth, and from the first moment I was sure that the blouse of the set will be made from the Nina Blouse pattern. I already worked with Scroop patterns (made about 4 English gowns from her Aidah pattern for starters), and I knew I could count on the pattern. 

This time I did not left the fabric to chance (getting the right fabric from I Love Textil -as much as I love that chain- does require a huge amount of good luck - or a gigantic stash, and storage space, not to mention money), so I ordered the shirt weight linen from Bubulákovo, went over to the haberdashery wholesaler, and got more of the cotton lace - this time I did find a very special one, that was much finer than the others. 

I started with the yoke of the front, and added the lace inserts in a V shape. 

It was not in the pattern, but I added lae inserts to the sleeves. made the cuffs a bit wider, but -to not as an insert, I simply sewn on a few lines of the lace. 

Since I always planned to use the shirtwaist tucked into the skirt, I did not make the peplum, or even the gathering at the waistline. 

Pattern: Nina Blouse, Scroop patterns

Fabric: Bublákovo

Photo: Bodeszphoto

Ps: Tomorrow I will show you the whole ensemble, with all the accessories.

Weekend program: Historic dance workshop on Saturday

This is more for the locals, but we will have a historic dance workshop on Saturday.

The weather promises to be incredibly hot, but the place is airconditioned.

Come, lets dance historic English Country dances, you know, the types 

that you see in Jane Austen films :-)

HERE is the FB event, If you are in Budapest, but only speak English, don't worry, a lot of us speaks English, we will help you out.

Come and dance with us.

Weekly SO

I absolutely hate the fact that it is so diffcult to find silver artificial hairpieces. 

Because of reenactment, I often need to put some historical hairstyle on my head. Now I do not have much hair (anymore), and I need to use extra pieces. Though that is absolutely historically accurate, historical women often supplemented their on hair.

However, on all the places (Temu, AliExpres, Ebay, Etsy and whatnot), from where we can readily buy them, anytime I find a piece that would be okay, almost always is not available in gray/silver color. 

Now, those women, who have silver hair are often not the youngest one, they are often over thyroid issues, menopausa, and a lot of other things that make their hair thin, but they are still women, quite often they like to look good just as much, thus they need extra hairpieces just as much - if not even more, than their younger counterparts.

Just sayin'.

Dancepants

 Loosing weight, even if it is intentional and you are working hard for it,  is not only sunshine and happyness... Like, as happy I am about being able to wear smaller clothes, and dress according to what I like (instead of what I am fitting into), things also have shadowy sides. 

Like having to remake most of my historical clothes--- though I do not mind that so much, because now I can make stuff better, more thought trough than back, when I did not had the knowledge and/or the time for that.

On the other hand, having everything hanging on me, not only the clothes, but my thighs, my arms, my skin is much worst and I decided to do something about that. I started going to a dance-cardio class, but I needed clothes for that too. Yes, sports bras, and thank tops are fine, I was not about start sewing those, but I also needed pants/trousers. 

I wanted wide legged, bubble/barrel shaped pants. So I decided to sew them. 

I looked through some patterns on Etsy, I decided on one, made a useable mock up from a really old piece of leftover futter (I bought that fabric when my nephew was born 34 years ago, I made the some onesies to the newborn boy, who is an adult since), and then thought hard about what I want to change.

To emphasize the barrel shape, I took off some of the width at the waist, and added a couple of cm-s to the leg, also took off a few cm at the bottom. Furthermore, I changed the shape of the front pocket. 

The first one I made from some white cotton futter (compared to the other one, this piece of fabric was relatively new, only a few years old). 

Unfortunately, my double needle industrial machine is not working, and the household one, that can be fitted with a twin needle could not take the 3-4layer of futter fabric, so I used a single needle for the double overstitch. It did not needed to be strechy, so it was fine. 

Then I as I was digging though my knit-fabric (futter) stash, I came across one, that once again was very old. It was bought in I Love Textil, though I cannot remember exactly when. Definetly, before Chris was small kid, but might be even earlier. I loved that fabric, no wonder I hung on to it for so many years. Even though it was for trainers, or hoodies, or something the like, it was not as elastic, and it had a gorgeous faded denim blue color. I remember, I did sew a pair of training trousers back then from it.

I thought it is high time I use it now. 

I did apply the same changes I used on the white one, and als used the single needle for the decorative stitching. This time I added the back pockets too.

Since I can categorize both pants as a succes, I will make other ones, probably trying other patterns as well. 

Pattern: Kaashi Patterns

Fabric: I Love Textil

Phhotos: Bodeszphoto

Weekly patternmuster

 Its pride month, and I am showing you a "pride" sweater.

Pride sweater.

Now, I have two thoughts, what maybe should go into my weekly opinion post, but what the heck. 

So, while I wholeheartedly support the LMBTQ community, and their members, I really dislike the fact that rainbow colors are nowadays only assosiated with being gay.

Rainbow colors are not only a beautiful sequence of colors, but also have many meaning, including hope, tranformation and harmony, and we all can wish for all that and many more, without being part of the community. 

I always loved rainbow colors, dyed many wool and yarn to that color, knitted a few pieces with those color myself, and have plans for more. 

The skirt of the widowed Mrs. Ráth

Mrs Ráth (born Gizella Melcsicky) was the wife of György Ráth, the first director of the Museum of Applied Arts in Hungary. She lived at the turn of the 19th/20 century. 

As a reenactor I already played her caracter, when we did out "Spirits in the house" game in the willa, that is a museum today and houses part of her husband's collecton. Then I portrayed her in a bustle dress, citing that it was the fashion of her youth, and she "haunts" the in that because that was her favorite style.

This year we planned to reenact and actual event that happened, when, not long after her husband died, the emperor of the austrian empire and king of Hungary, Franz Joseph Habsburg visited the villa in 1906.

My first reaction was that I don't have, and not planning to make black mourning clothes, we have to figure out how to make work the late Victorian/Edwardian clothes I already have.

However, I already had a bee in my bonnet (or as we say in Hungarian, a bug in my ears). I stated a few times here too, that I do not like black clothes, and I am not wearing them, if I can avoid it. But then the black francaise gown I made a few years ago was a huge success, and I also grew to love the black witch clothes I wore in out little play last Xmas. Besides I felt it is a challenge, and when do I say no to a challenge? 

My first attempt was making the black and white striped set (here/shirt, here/skirt and here/jacket), but that ended up way too steampunk-ish... 

And, of course, the wheels in my head kelt turning at an alarming pace. The case was not helped by the fact that in the fabric store (I Love Textil, what else), I bumped into a roll of gorgeous, somewhat shiny black linen/viscose fabric.

I walked over to the haberdashery wholesaler -kind of- close to us, and got a few rolls of cotton lace, and set out trying the machine sewn lace insertion technique I found on youtube. I wanted a bit more than just vertical inserts at the seamlines, so I added 3 lines in V shape at the front of the skirt.

This time I used my "bigger" late victorian/edwardian skirt pattern, designed by Angela Clayton. I used it before (here, and here), and while I love it, especially, the big, almost semi-circle back, the problems I had with it the first time, still exist... Namely it is waay too long, and it has a train, and no sign where to cut off, if I want to use it without a train. It caused me a problem, as in trying to find the correct length, I incidentally cut it a bit too short, and had to add a piece to the back (but then, piecing is period).

I was considering adding pockets to the skirt, but because of the lace inserts, it would have been more complicated than I was about to do. But, though you cannot see it on the pictures, I added a small watch pocket, just below the waist, and I also inserted a small loop under the waistband. Since I do not have a chatelaine, I use that little loop to clip my watch too, while I put a kerchief and/or my regular digital wrist-watch in the small pocket. 

Stay tuned: next, I am going to show you the shirtwaist.

Fabric: I Love Textil

Pattern: McCalls 8231

Photo: Bodeszphoto