Your Wardrobe Unlock'd

"The ideal at present is the greatest possible flatness and straightness: a woman is a pencil covered with raiment" ~ October 23, 1875, Harper's Bazar.  

We shall be wandering into that very peculiar era of fashion in the Victorian Era, known as the Natural Form  with its Cuirass Bodice.

Since fashion is always intertwined with economics and war, I will take a summarized look at the socio-economic climate that occurred during this era.

In our reader survey last August, a very harried mother of a toddler asked "Help! How do I sew with a toddler trying to re-thread my machine, rummage through my sewing box and take all the books off the bookshelf?!?" 

If you've never tried to sew while having a child around, you can have no idea how frustrating/challenging it can be for the adult and very dangerous for the child. Many new parents feel like they will never be able to sew again once they have children because of the hot iron and powered sewing machine that are like magnets to children.  Many members wrote in to share what has worked for them, and I'll share some tips of my own.

Overcoming the structural challenges of this project was a breeze for our master milliner Lynn McMasters, but choosing how to finish off the covering to match Johnny Depp's Mad Hatter in the new Alice in Wonderland movie was much more difficult.

Here she shares the details on covering and finishing this fantasy topper, including how she printed her own fabric and made her own supersized hatpins. The result demonstrates how to bend and shape basic, accurate period costume ideas into enviable theatrical, fantasy, gothic or steampunk works of art!

Last month I analyzed the skirt of a lingerie dress. This month I'll be looking at the associated blouse. In the Belle Époque literature the garment we're discussing goes by many names: waist, shirt-waist, lingerie waist, and lingerie blouse. I've chosen the term "lingerie blouse" because "blouse" is the only one of those terms that's still in use now for a vaguely similar garment.

This month we have two questions: One on ruffles and the effect of grain and the other on working with large, light colored projects.

We also ask for your feedback about our newly re-organised site - are you finding YWU easier to use now?