#regency sewing

[neylo]

“Are they gone now?”

Some men don’t find social gatherings as pleasant as the others.

The professional photographer from Austerlitz released the pictures and this is my favourite one.

I also have to attach the other pictures showing the current state of my historical handsewing.

The entire thing was made according to period accurate construction methods and completely handsewn.

The photos were taken by Jarosław Popczyk and edited by @thistlesandstories.

[vixycostuming]

For my Regency project, I started with the Reticule. I bought the pattern from a seller on Etsy. I also bought both the outer and inner fabric from etsy. The tassels were from Etsy. The embroidery floss I bought from Amazon, along with the ribbon.

It took me a good month to do both sides of the Reticule.

The coast breakdown is-

Pattern- £9.30 (A physical pattern was sent in the post) Inner lining- £5.70 Outer fabric- £8.98 Thread- £7.99 Tassels- £7.99 Embroidery floss pack 1- £5.95 Embroidery Floss pack 2. £3.99 Ribbon-£3.69

I spent £53.29 all together for this reticule, not counting hours put in.

[messed-up-polkadots]

I have this regency era dress I made last year for a regency ball that I want to revamp for this year! Trying to decide exactly what I want to do is so fun to think about theres so many options. I want to do shorter puffier sleeves for sure, and then maybe some kind of overcoat? I'd love to add some more lace and ruffles as well! I'd love to track the process on here as well.

[whennnow]

The Good, The Bad, The Short Stays

February 13, 2019

[Image ID: a flat photo of Regency-esque short stays made of unbleached muslin]

I started my Regency fashion journey back in the summer of 2017 and I… have not made it very far. All I have right now are a chemise that I can’t get over my shoulders (whoops!) and a set of nice looking short stays with some dark secrets. I’m disappointed with my progress - it’s hard not to be - but I’m trying my best to look at this as a learning experience. So, without further ado, let’s dig into my stays!

These are the designs and pattern pieces I started with. I drafted the pattern myself, which was a first for me, and the pattern turned out surprisingly well! The finished product even fits well!

[Image ID: three mostly rectangular sewing pattern pieces labeled, from right to left, "front", "side", and "back"]

In the original designs, I had planned to have boning on either side of the center front lacing. I was forced to scrap that, as my chest just isn’t that wide. I also changed the number of gussets in each cup to four, instead of three, and made each gusset the same shape. They seem to work fine, but I’d be curious to see if shaping them would make much of a difference.

The gussets did not turn out well at all. I had never sewn gussets before, and didn’t bother doing any research before I jumped into them. I admit I still haven’t read up on gussets, but I suspect that part of the problem was that I had mis-measured the gussets and made the seam allowances too small, so when I folded in the seam allowances for the front panels and sewed them down, the gussets didn’t catch in some places. To remedy this, I hand sewed them using what could, on a technicality, be called a whip stitch, I think. The quality of my stitching isn’t very consistent, but it is very nice to run my fingers along in some places, and it serves to reinforce the seams there, which is probably a good thing.

The eyelets were also a first for me, and most of them turned out very nicely! There are 14 eyelets total, all hand-bound, with metal jump rings inside them for reinforcement. You can definitely tell which eyelets were my first if you look closely, but I’m very happy with how they turned out!

The body of the stays is just two layers of unbleached muslin. Something sturdier would have been better. The edges are bound in off-white bias tape, which seems to have worked well enough. The boning is heavy-duty zip ties, a carry-over from my cosplay days. The boning at both sides of the center front, where a busk should be, is actually just a wooden dowel. Doubling up the zip ties wasn’t giving me the support I needed for the bust (lift and separate!), so I had to find an alternative. Obviously, neither zip ties nor wooden dowels (or the jump rings in the eyelets) are ideal or washable, but they do, technically, get the job done.

Each cup has a drawstring at the top for adjustability. The shoulder straps tie to the front, also for adjustability. I ordered the cord I used for those and the front lacing from Wm Booth Draper. I had never heard of them before, but they seemed to be well-established and had lots of good reviews on their Facebook page, so I took the chance and was not let down!

To finish off, since this has gotten to be a lot longer than I meant it to, I’m not completely happy about how these turned out, but they fit and have been a very good learning opportunity for me, so I am content. I do plan on remaking them in the future, but that might be very far into the future, at this rate.

Stay warm, stay safe, stay dry.

[alexsrandomramblings]

Think I might dig up some decent scrap to put that Regency bumroll together. Looks like a pretty quick simple project, not a lot of material needed. Should only take an evening.

[dapurinthos]

button time!

fitting is 👌. i need to cut out and attach the waistband, cover at least a dozen buttons, and finish up the leg bottoms and then i can roll around in my breeches and linen shirt, being dissolute.

[neylo]

I attended the Austerlitz reenactment we for the first time in my life. @thistlesandstories is delightful.

As you see, my favourite tings are social gatherings and having pictures of me taken.

And I stole a hat.

We also had a surprise private tambour performance. I loved it.

Special thanks to @cadmusfly for coming all the way from Australia and I hope you aren’t too traumatised.

[neylo]

Regency fashion enthusiasts, here you go!

View our current and past auctions. Established in 2003, Kerry Taylor is the world’s leading auction house specialising in vintage fashion,

If you love Regency era, check this link - you will find an exquisite collection of period originals from the early 1800s from one of the World's most notable collections.

Auction: Empire of Fashion: The Barreto Lancaster Collection of Napoleonic & Regency Dress, 11th Feb, 2025

This is arguably the finest private collection of Napoleonic and Regency period dress in the world. It stands out not only for the range of clothes (1790s to 1820s) but also for the individual beauty of the garments and the remarkably good overall condition.  Cristina Barreto and Martin Lancaster have painstakingly put together this collection over the last two decades, their interest sparked by the discovery of fashion plates from ‘Costume Parisien’ and later the same day finding garments of the same period in a flea market.  

‘Our collection started because we wanted to fully understand the clothes that people wore in the Napoleonic and Regency period. Each dress tells a story about the owner, the activity and the time of day it was used. The collection grew larger as we tried to incorporate items that represented the development of cut and methods of construction during the period from 1795 to 1820’,

This is the first auction dedicated to the clothing of this era, ranging from adapted transitional post French revolutionary dress of the 1790s to the French first empire (1805-1815) and the period in England when Prince George ruled as Regent (1811-1820). The majority of these exceptional garments have been exhibited across Europe and the USA in the past, 

Cristina Barreto and Martin Lancaster, whilst sad to see their collection dispersed, state: ‘Our passion for the clothing and fashions of this fascinating period of history is undiminished, but we hope that the new caretakers of these historic artefacts, be they people with a passion, collectors or institutions, will take care of them and love them as much as we did’.