August Mending

 More little sewing tasks built up this month: I got to repair several spots on my 1850s corset, mend a torn seam on my sunbonnet (?!) and fix the petticoat tie that tore off at our last Homespun Happy Hour of the summer.

July Mending

Too busy to post most of the month, but I did get some mending done this month. My 1850s underthings needed several small repairs (loose seams, a button replaced), and I also got to darn my red stockings in three places.

This break appeared as soon as I finished darning the first two. :(

May Mending

Mostly modern tasks this month (jeans and the like), though I did fix a split seam in my 1850s drawers and replace a bone button which had broken on my tucked petticoat. After last weekend's reenactment, I found a number of tears in my shifts and stockings, which have now replenished the mending pile.  

April Mending

Guess who got to re-stitch her chemise gusset seams again this month? I didn't do much other mending, focusing instead on new projects (more to be posted shortly). Also, I covered most of my immediate repair needs in February/March, and now just have the larger remaking/remodeling projects in my to-do basket. 

March Mending

March was an even busier month for mending. I started with a full inventory of my reenacting closet, removing everything from the hangers and drawers, and sorting through it.

How it started.

Garments that were whole and ready to wear went back up in the closet immediately. This was mostly my cloaks, mantles, and shawls. Items that needed only minor repair went onto the mending basket; this included the bulk of my 1850s clothing, which is fair since it sees the most wear. My third category, items that likely need some major re-fitting or alteration, went back up in the closet, in a segregated area (and marked with yarn tied to the hangers as a reminder.) Things I can't or won't wear again went into one of two boxes: if I like the material and think there's enough of it to recycle, it'll be picked apart and remade. The other box is items to sell at the upcoming reenactor swap meet.

I managed to get through my main garments, underthings, and shoes, though I still have to sort through my bonnets, stockings, and accessories, which live in the smaller totes.

How it continued.

My first round of mending included my corded and quilted petticoats (replacing seams below the plackets), fastening down escaped pleats on my 1870s print skirt and my 1860s sage wool skirt (and some darning on the latter), restraining an escaped bone on my 1820s long stays, and many small repairs to my blue wrapper (sleeve seam, neck binding, and a small section of gauging on the skirt).

My knitting apron, following an adverse tea incident, got the silk ribbons removed so that it could the hand-washed. The ribbons also received a badly-needed pressing before being sewn back on. I was worried about how to iron the apron itself, with its extensive gathers and decorative ruching, but after air-drying it, it actually looks as good as new.

Before (R) and after (L) ironing the ribbons.

I then started to pick apart some of the garments that will need more extensive remodelling, starting with the canary-yellow sheer. Most of these are still in the to-do basket.

Later in the month, I re-seamed the legs on a pair of drawers, and also patched 4 modern pairs of jeans (which all conveniently decided to wear through at the same time).

February Mending

A fairly busy mending month (especially as a proportion of overall sewing). After Steilacoom's open day at the beginning of the month, I fixed some escaped bones from my 1850s corset, the tie my plaid petticoat and a section of gathering which had disengaged from my pink apron. I was at Nisqually the last weekend, where I discovered several problems with my brown print (a few inches of detached skirt gauging, a section of loose neck binding, escaped cording on the left armscye, and a loose seam on the interior waistband lining), all of which have now been fixed. In between, I patched a pair of modern jeans, fixed a loose seam on a brace, reattached the elastic to some pjs, and secured two sets of escaping underwires. 

How it started.

My workbasket is still piled high with both mending and in-progress projects, but I did manage to clear all the garments from my travel workbag, and am most of the way back to having a functional 1850s outfit.

July Mending

 Mostly Faire gear this month: I've fixed holes in my linen hose every weekend, and probably should just made new pairs for next summer. Also somehow managed to pull out both gusset seams on last year's smock and got to repair those felled seams. Awkward.

Bad enough felling the crossing seams once...

June Mending

 Busy month for repair work. I fixed the seams in both pairs of linen hose; put new ties on my plaid petticoat, Victorian nightcap, and plain coif; replaced the waistband on my white linen apron and reattached that of the green; put darts in my green kirtle to fix the neckline gap; and finally finished the buttonholes on my new(er) drawers.

Nearly emptied the workbasket. For now.

April Mending

One of three sock darns, and evidence my corset is finally re-bound.

 Some sewing that I did get done this month: I darned my pale blue stockings in three places (and fairly neatly, if I don't say so myself), and finally put the binding back on my mid-century corset. I'd forgotten how comfortable it is to not have half the bones escape every time I put it on, though I fear the last several months of misuse have ingrained permanent wrinkles in the coutil. I ended up removing all the bones to give it a good press (after accidentally discovering that some of the bones' tip-coating reacts at high temperature), which got most of the wrinkles out at least, though a few tenacious ones are hanging on. 

December Mending

This has been the month of finishing projects, but it started it with a fair amount of mending for my 1850s Christmas events. I tore out the sleeves of my blue plaid (again!) at candlelight, so this time I took them off entirely, reattached the piping by hand, and then reset the sleeves (skipping the epaulets for want of time, on the assumption that I could re-cut them the next time I repair the sleeves). In an unexpected turn, the dress made it through both events with the sleeves intact. So now it just doesn't have sleeve caps. I also re-gauged half the skirt on that dress back in November (which also didn't get a write-up), and removed the watch-pocket at that time, since it had been hanging oddly.

My linen chemise got a new shoulder seam after I tore it out at the first event. 

October Mending

 Happy Halloween! This month has been mostly all finishing summer WIPs and emergency repairs on my CLT outfit, but I did manage to work in some other much-needed wardrobe maintenance.

Nicely darned, if I don't say so myself.

The one I'm most pleased with is the small hole I darned near the cuff of my red stockings. The garment with the most extensive mending is my early 19th century linen chemise (which keeps getting drafted for 1850s use): several of the felled seams frayed out in small areas, requiring re-stitching, and either whip-stitching to secure the narrow raw edges or else binding with linen tape.

Arm gusset with newly-repaired and bound seam.

September Mending

This month's mending was mostly about trying to get my 1850s corset repaired for Candlelight.Which, given that the problem was all the "stay tape" boning channels fraying out (but not the linen tape ones), meant ripping out those channels and replacing them with linen.

New boning channels. Joy!

August Mending

I didn't get much planned mending done this month (too much rushing to finish projects for different events in different eras), but I did end up doing a lot of hand-sewn repair work on my kirtle and both pairs of linen stockings. Again. At least it was in different areas of the stockings each time.

May Mending

This month's non-project sewing mostly involved altering bridesmaids' gowns, but I did finally put the last few stitches into my corded petticoat remake. Which was a good idea, since it's getting way too warm for the quilted one.

Also switched the buttons to ties on the new waistbands.

I started this petticoat with the intention to set it in stroked gathers (replacing the earlier gauging), but as it turns out I still hate sewing stroked gathers, so they became regular gathers after the first 4 inches. Gauging is easy, but something about lining up the waistband crease with the stroked gathers, and stitching into a poorly-defined sewing line just sets my teeth on edge. I cut a new waistband, and replaced the button and button holes with cotton tape ties.  I really like how they've functioned on my quilted petticoat and plaid petticoat, so I'm hopeful that these ties will also solve some minor annoyances I've had with buttons on undergarments before (wearing out the button-holes, compensating for size fluctuations, breaking buttons in the laundry). Admittedly, most of those incidents involved drawers.

March Mending

I didn't have a lot of time to mend this month, what with all the new construction to complete. I did manage to patch the corded corset I'm planning to donate (and apply metal grommets over the hand-worked eyelets which had given way in the first place). And then the hem tape came off my brown calico, necessitating a quick repair.

Hem Tape and Grommets.

February Mending

I think the stocking was a end that didn't get woven in.
The apron has a different two inches break loose each month.

 

 

Lots of little projects this month, mostly in my 1850s kit. I finally reattached the hook-and-eye tape that's been coming off my brown calico since sometime last year. I also worked on the gathering for my corded petticoat, repaired another 2" of gathering that came off my pink apron, and closed a small ladder that opened in my light blue wool stockings.

 

All mended. For now.

January Mending

This is probably not of interest to anyone else, but I have a resolution to keep re: maintaining my living history clothes, and posting is an easy way to cajole myself into actually doing a little repair work each month. 

For January, that was mostly my 1850s petticoats: my plaid petticoat got some simple tapes ties as a fastener to replace the hooks that came off (and provide some more flexibility in fitting). The quilted petticoat needed three small repairs where the stitching came loose at the waist, hem, and placket. I also have worked on re-setting my corded petticoat onto a new waistband, though the stroked gathers are taking a while, so it's not done yet. With the current weather, I should be fine so long as it's done before April.

About 2.5" of the striped fabric came off the waistband.

December Mending

Lots of little mending projects, mostly for Fort Steilacoom. Reattached a bow that came off my sewing apron. Fixed the plaid dress sleeve again. Reattached a loose lining on my fur cuffs and finally added the hooks and eyes, so I can stop pinning them in place.

Very warm even when pinned, but the hooks are much easier to fasten with one hand.

October Mending

This month saw a fair amount of activity. Getting ready for Ft. Nisqually's candlelight tours, I ended up re-fitting my blue wool extensively. It was too tight through the bodice and upper sleeves, so I:

1. Took the skirt off the bodice.
2. Removed most of the waist piping.
3. Removed the sleeves and jockeys.
   
4. Opened the side seams of the bodice.
5. Spent way too long agonizing about the fit.
   
6. Pieced in new material at the bodice sides.
   
7. Pieced the waist piping and reattached it.
8. Added a watch pocket during step 7.
   
9. Removed the skirt from the scrap waistband.
10. Ran new gathering threads where they had broken on the skirt.
11. Gauged the skirt directly to the bodice this time.
12. Adjusted the seams on the sleeves.
13. Opened the seams on the jockeys.
14. Re-attached the sleeves, jockeys, and piping to the armhole.
15. Basted along the center front to try and keep the lining from peeking out.
    

After all this, naturally, the sleeves decided to work their way loose. Again. It took two nights this time, which is an improvement over the usual rate of tearing out part of both sleeves every time I wear this dress.

I also managed to fix a section of stroked gathering which had worked out on my diagonal-tuck petticoat.