Getting the 19th Century Underway

Here's me last week.

If you've ever played a fairly ridiculous RPG called "TORG", which you probably haven't because it was silly even by the standards of the wildly-proliferating RPG scene of the time, you will know that every time you got something accomplished you would inevitably get a "Setback" or "Major Setback" card played on you to fuck your shit right up.  This made it a very annoying system to play...and yet, remarkably true-to-life.  At least, it seems as if any time I have a big ol' project to undertake and think I may actually have it under control, the Invisible Hand of Narrative slaps some kind of additional hurdle, setback, or resource issue on me.  In this case, I came down last week with some kind of nameless lurgy that exhibited chiefly as a constant low-grade fever, headache, and inability to concentrate.  Doubly frustrating, because if I'd just had a cold or something, I could at least have lain on the couch and worked out my project plans & so forth.  But I couldn't brain enough to do that, or even post to this blog.  Grumble.

Anyways, I'm feeling somewhat more myself this morning (and I was having anxiety dreams last night about the project), so it's time to buckle down in.  Let me lay foundation that I have formed based on last post's sketches--

Also, this is just bitchin'.

For myself, I have procured Laughing Moon pattern #100 from which to make a bust-darted corset, chemise, and drawers; and pattern #117 to make the gown (I intend to make View A, possibly with pleated sleeves).  I am starting to think pretty seriously, though, that pattern #115, the Regency/Romantic era corset, is more correct for the gown I want to make.  Because, hey, let's slow down the production schedule even more! But the time I'm circling in on is the very end of the 1830s, and the designs are different enough that I can see it making a difference.  (Particularly, there's the shoulder pieces in the pre-1840-something corsets; and there is a solid front busk; and the patterns of support appear to be running in very different directions.)  

I am internally weeping at the fact that, whichever pattern I end up choosing, I still have to make up a muslin of the corset before even starting to make the corset itself.  And I have to do all of that before starting the dress itself, because the dress must of course be fit to the corset.  And I'll need to make a muslin of at least the dress bodice, too.  wah.

In addition to a ton more muslin wah I need to procure poplin or similar cottons for my chemise, and possibly as fashion fabric for the corset.  (I think I have enough heavy cotton twill to serve as the functional corset layer, though I have to measure it out.)  And something to serve as the bodice lining for the dress.  But!  I do have my fashion fabric for the dress!  It is a beautiful heavy gold silk shot with blue with an almost corduroy-ish texture, though as you see from the swatch photos here, I shall have to be extremely cognizant of piecing it together since the color changes pretty dramatically depending on what angle you view it from.

The "normal" view, gold

rotate 90 degrees, and lo! blue!

Fortunately, neither muslin nor decent cotton shirting should be hard to find.  Maybe not JoAnn's, no, but a quick troll through the garment district should do me.  I just have to make time for it, argh.  (I do also have to think about any notions for the dress.  One of the things that attracted me to the 1830s was that the fabric is the chief interest of the garment; there was very little, comparatively, in the way of frills and furbelows; but some ribbon or lace around the sleeves may be in order.)

So, that's me.  Deep breath.

For my lovin' man, I have coming in the post the Kanniks' Korner pattern for men's high-waisted, front-fall trousers, which seems to be well regarded in the military re-enactor community; and Past Patterns' British Foot Soldier's Jacket, which is for any time in the Napoleonic wars.  Diligent research indicates that the 95th Rifles' coatee isn't really different in form factor from the regular infantry, just in color and decoration, so I'm really hoping it will do.  The shirt I can make on my own (or in the worst-case scenario, he can wear the low-collar, plain-cuffed shirt I made for his Elizabethan wear; the details haven't changed that much in 200 years, to be honest).  And, we just need to procure a black silk(-ish) handkerchief for the stock, and a red silk(-ish) piece to use as a sash.  Should I be over-burdened with extra time, HAR HAR HAR, I did find a book in the FIT library with detailed instructions on how to make a shako.  We shall see.

Fabric-wise, the main matter is procuring dark green wool broadcloth...which will not be cheap, oh no...plus an appropriate lining fabric for coat & trousers, and black trim for decoration.  Happily, I already have a ton of black velvet to spare for the coat collar and cuffs.  (I'm waiting for the patterns to arrive to be sure, but I may be able to get away with just using plain white linen for the lining.)  Oh!  And dome-shaped pewter buttons.  Though that should be simple enough.

I started writing this post in the hopes of clarifying my thoughts and identifying next steps.  Instead, it's just making me feel tired and consumptive again. -_-;;;;

OK.  The immediate next step is: decide whether to roll with the later corset pattern, or cause the earlier one to be delivered to me.  Until I make that decision, everything on my outfit is in a wait state.   And everything for his outfit is on hold construction-wise; so what I can do right now is ask for swatches from the places making repro 19th century wools, to see if I think any of them will be suitable.

I don't think I have the vim to pop down to the garment district today.  But, I had better get this slotted in before everyone's closed for Rosh Hashanah Yom Kippur blame the antihistamines.