HSF 9: Black and White

Sorry I’ve been rubbish at updating again. No excuses and it’s not as if I haven’t had entries for the last 2 challenges, I just haven’t got round to blogging them 😦

Even this is just a short placeholder type entry as the deadline is today and I haven’t really finished, but I wanted to post my progress so far and try to get back onto some kind of track!

For the black and white challenge I found some lovely thick warm wool, fuzzy one side, which I thought would make a perfect bathing cloak to wrap round me after a dip in the sea in the historical swimming attire I plan to make and test soon. I used the method in the lovely and useful book I recently acquired, Frances Grimble’s Fashions of the Gilded Age Volume 2 which has lots of lovely patterns and info. Or at least I used a sort of mish mash of two patterns, one measured and one based on a sloper, except I haven’t done one yet so I just used a t-shirt which fits snugly and tried it out on an old fleece blanket. It worked very nicely so I went with it.

My cloak cutting plan (upside down I suppose)

This pic shows the fabric laid out with my cutting plan laid out. I’m not being perfectionist in my method today…

Of course Pebble ‘helped’.

Pebble ‘helping’.

Cats are so kind and generous in ‘helping’ with sewing projects. Here she is kindly sitting right where I need to cut out so I don’t try to do too much at once without taking a cat break. It is important to take frequent breaks to avoid getting tired and making silly mistakes.

Pebble likes to play with string.

Here she has allowed me to cut out the neck hole, but I clearly need to play with her before being allowed to sew up the shoulder seams. She wouldn’t want me to get them inside out. And that bit of frayed off weft is ideal as a cat toy.

Eventually I was allowed to get to the sewing, but I did have to resort to a shiny ball – as soon as I put the string down she leapt back onto the cloth! But shiny balls are her one weakness, which I was able to exploit to distract her, she just has to chase a shiny ball (scrunched up foil wrapping from a chocolate mint) by which method I proved to her that my mind was alert enough to be trusted with the sewing machine and I could proceed to the next level.

However, I am unable to complete the project today because I will need some black bias binding and I only have lilac, so I have to go to the sewing shop, what a hardship 🙂

The cloak laid out with buttons.

I am rather pleased with it, it sits happily and is very voluminous and warm, and quite smart. I almost feel unsure about getting wet from swimming as I might want to just wear it as a winter coat! I will need to add hand slits though, as well as binding the edges and actually sewing those button on and doing the buttonholes. I shall make another post when it is all finished.

But my partial progress report is:

The Challenge: #9 – Black & White

Fabric: 2m of lovely thick wool.

Pattern: method from Frances Grimble’s Fashions of the Gilded Age Vol 2

Year: 1877-82 for the method I used, but bathing cloaks are in use before and after that.

Notions: a bit of thread, some buttons, and I will need bias binding.

How historically accurate is it?  Not sure, it is pure wool and late enough for a sewing machine to be OK, but the buttons I have are plastic (I may change them later) 80%?

Hours to complete: I always forget to measure this. I made the neck hole pattern and toile yesterday afternoon in an hour or so and spent longer dithering about whether to use all the fabric or make it shorter than actually cutting and sewing it today. I went with the whole lot, why skimp, even if it is a bit heavy? I can always cut it down if it bugs me. But it is not finished yet of course

First worn: Not yet.

Total cost: £20.00 for the fabric, buttons from stash, plus whatever the bias binding costs, not much.