Illustration: “Female prisoners’ own clothes store at Tothill Fields Prison” 1862

This came up on FB. Please see The Museum of London’s description: http://collections.museumoflondon.org.uk/online/object/801173.html

Book illustration showing the female prisoners’ own clothes store at Tothill Fields Prison, from page 363 of ‘The criminal prisons of London and scenes of prison life’ by Henry Mayhew and John Binny. “At Tothill Fields prison the warders in charge of the prisoners’ own clothing are wont to indicate the female characters incarcerated there by the style of bonnet intrusted to their care.” So, for example “This silk and blond … trimmed with ruches and with roses, and geraniums inside, is in for pickpocketing, and this purple velvet one, with feathers at the side, has got twelve months for shoplifting”. The warders point out “a grand Leghorn, with a fall of bugles” which belongs to an actress “who has four calendar months for stabbing her husband”. All the clothes were fumigated before storage, causing the colour to fade, but the warders reported they were as careful as possible “for it would be hard, indeed, if we spoilt their clothes when they came here, as very few that we see in this place have more than they stand up in.”

Of similar interest:

Published in: on December 21, 2015 at 2:49 pm  Leave a Comment  

Miser Type Purses

While getting ready for the local, Genesee Valley Sew Along making pin balls, the topic of Miser’s Purses came up.  Thinking this might be a nice Sew Along project, I started poking around.

Lady’s magazines and needle-work books from the first half of the 19th century were filled with illustrations and directions for miser’s purses, aka crochet purses, stocking purses, ring purses, long purses (or, so I thought.) I was saving directions/image combinations and pinning away, when I came across this goodie: A Thesis on Miser’s Purses: THE UBIQUITOUS MISER’S PURSE**, by Laura L. Camerlengo 2010. Squeee! (**Link updated to go to the abstract rather than the pdf that stopped working. Click on the second file, the PDF.)

Read, read, read folks!

I couldn’t possibly touch what Laura did in information collecting for a simple Sew Along option. Here is a dabbling of the image & directions I put together before finding the thesis.

Of course, the question is…. Do we want to do this as a sew along??? (I’ll confess, I am awful at following crochet directions.)

2016a

2016b

2016d

2016c

This last one, is technically not a “miser’s purse” per the perimeters in the above thesis. It is a very interesting purse though. (I may have to try to make it.)

2016e

An example at the MFA.

Additional Directions:

Additional Reads:

 

Published in: on December 14, 2015 at 4:30 pm  Comments (5)  

Blog Anniversary

anniversary-2x

WordPress just told me this is my 7 year anniversary for blogging with WordPress. How nifty is that?

I feel like I should do something special…. hmmmm…..

Shall we do a give away???

Tell me what your favorite article has been over the past 7 years in the comments section below.

I will pick a winner at random and send them a surprise gift.

(I should add a deadline. Let’s say Sunday night, the 13th.)

Published in: on December 10, 2015 at 6:00 am  Comments (12)  

Coming in 2016

Can you believe it is going to be 2016?

This coming year is bringing some great things.
~ I’ll be kicking off the year with two Sew Alongs, one public making a work bag and on private local one making pin balls.
~PPandP book cover I will also finally be releasing Paisley, Plaid & Purled: Shawls of the Mid-Nineteenth Century as an e-book. It will be exclusively available in my Etsy store.
~ I am enjoying making doll scale pieces. Expect an assortment of doll millinery.
~ In the millinery world, I am currently feeling a focus on ‘off the rack’ selections that will include highly authentic pieces and artistic pieces.
~ I will continue my big winter hood research and writing project. I hope to have some previews early this year with a better idea of when it will be available mid year.
~ I have an uber-secret project that will take a great deal of time.
~ And, given what birthday year this is, I’ll likely have some wacky mid-life crisis project or such. That could be particularly fun.

The essential projects list, in a completely random order:

  • The uber-secret project.
  • A new coat – I need a new coat. This need spans the modern world and the historic world. So, I have yet to determine what kind of coat this will be. I also have yet to determine if it will be made out of the black wool or the white wool/silk.
  • There will be lots of fun with the dolls. Some, okay a good portion of it, will be just plain fun, therefore, it will be found in the new blog “Don’t Pain the Cat.” The girls have their own trunk with fabric stash.
  • I need a couple piece of head-wear for me including a new corded sunbonnet and at least a 20’s cap.
  • I’ll be making kitten warmers for the rescue. They’ll be little warming beds and little warming pillows for the little ones found out in the cold.
  • Having two early 20s dresses, some 20s accessories are in store. Maybe a pair of long stays even though my short stays are so ridiculously comfortable. It will be nice to lessen the, um, extent of my mid-section. I definitely need a different shift/chemise and bodiced petticoat that won’t show at my neckline. That was a major pain to deal with.
  • Since this 20s fascination is in place, I may try a latter 20s dress just for the fun of it as well.
  • I need to recover at least one of the parasols this year.
  • It is possible I may finish either my embroidered shawl or my sewn rug (each started many, many years ago.)
Published in: on December 9, 2015 at 6:00 am  Leave a Comment  

Protected: Genesee Valley Historic Sew Along – Password Required – Making a Pin Ball

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Published in: on December 2, 2015 at 6:00 am  Enter your password to view comments.  
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Sew Along – Work Bag – Introduction and Shopping List

wpid-img_63451399129667.jpegWelcome to my very first Sew Along.

The Work Bag Sew Along will begin on January 3rd with the first of the weekly posts guiding us through the steps of making a work bag. Of course, you will need to have all your materials ready. So, here are your shopping lists.

Shopping list for Cotton bag:

  • Fat quarter or 1/4 yard of a lively period cotton print.
  • Fat quarter or 1/4 yard of lining (polished cotton, good muslin or second print.)
  • 2 sheets of pasteboard (8.5″ x 11″)
  • 2-5 yards of 1/2″ to 1″ silk ribbon or 12″ square of silk cut into bias strips and pieced (pleated trim around the flap and handles.)
  • 6″ square of tight weave tropical to light weight wool

Shopping list for Silk bag:

  • Fat quarter or 1/4 yard of a tight weave silk taffeta.
  • Fat quarter or 1/4 yard of lining (polished cotton, good muslin or period print.)
  • 1 sheet of pasteboard (8.5″ x 11″)
  • 6″ square of cotton or wool batting
  • 1 yard of 1/4″ to 1/2″ silk ribbon or cording
  • Optional: Embroidery floss or paint if you choose to decorate your center.

Upcoming posts:

  • Cutting your materials
  • Covering your pasteboard
  • Gauging your bag
  • Lining your bag
  • Finishing your bag

Q&A:

What does the sew along cost? Only what you spend on your materials. There is no additional cost.

Can I use materials from my stash? Of course you can.

What kind of cotton fabric should I use and where can I buy it? The original bag we are working from was a large scale, scenic print with architectural and floral components. in vivid colors. I’ve started a Pinboard with fabrics I think will work well.

Is there a Facebook Group? Yes, there is. ________

Published in: on December 2, 2015 at 6:00 am  Comments (9)  
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FanU Gets Festive – Gift Card Holder

Make a new template, a sample with Christmas fabrics and take photos.

One of the thing I love about the techniques I shared in Fanciful Utility is that they can be used for so many projects. This time of year, FanU is great for fun, festive projects. For the next few weeks, I am going to share some of the ways FanU gets Festive.

IMG_7794A basic, single pocket work pocket makes an excellent gift card holder. These are also a great way to gift a museum or site membership.

Make a simple pocket up with holiday fabrics or your giftee’s favorite colors to be reused throughout the year.

Here is a simple set of directions for making your own:

Gift Card Holder Template

Need a copy of Fanciful Utility ? for yourself or to give as a gift? Visit www.thesewingacademy.com to order today.

Don’t miss previous FanU Gets Festive projects:

Published in: on December 1, 2015 at 4:00 am  Leave a Comment  
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Password Confusion

There is a little confusion over the post that went live today that requires a password.

That post is for the local, private Sew Along group.

The public Sew Along, making the Work Bag, will have separate posts without a password.There will be an introductory post for that Sew Along next week.

I was trying to find a way to keep the closed group only visible for those in the group. This was the best I could find with the revamping WordPress is doing.

I am sorry for the confusion.

Published in: on November 20, 2015 at 1:02 pm  Leave a Comment  

Protected: Genesee Valley Historic Sew Along – Password Required – Making a Pin Ball

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Published in: on November 20, 2015 at 6:00 am  Enter your password to view comments.  
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Announcement: Paisley, Plaid & Purled Going Digital!!!

PPandP book cover

I have decided to release Paisley, Plaid, & Purled: Mid-Nineteenth Century Shawls as a digital publication.

I will be locking myself away during my Thanksgiving recess (and possibly Christmas recess) to reformat for the digital release.

Paisley, Plaid, & Purled will be exclusively available through my Etsy store come the new year.

Published in: on November 18, 2015 at 6:00 am  Leave a Comment  
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