Tips for Faking Regency Costume Details #2

Posted on September 28, 2015 by Suzan Lauder

Clocked is a strange word. When I was young, when someone said “I clocked him,” I’m pretty sure it meant they hit him hard. I think it meant in the head, but I’m not sure. It’s not a word that I use in everyday conversation.

In Regency fashion, there are clocked stockings. This does not refer to anything resembling a clock as far as I can tell. It means stockings with a design on them.

Faking Regency Designs on Gloves and Stockings

Embroidered kid gloves, 1800-1830, National Trust Museums

Embroidered kid gloves, 1800-1830, National Trust Collections.

1775-1829 stockings, Victoria and Albert Museum

Embroidery or painting on stockings and gloves was an embellishment that was enjoyed by at least a few Regency ladies (and men), judging by the museum examples. Interestingly, an etiquette book of the time, Mirror of the Graces, frowns on clocked stockings. It looks like fashion won in consideration of a stuffy old guidebook!

Some of my stockings and gloves got a fake Regency treatment this weekend: I used fabric paint to apply designs. A stencil purchased for half price at Michaels was used in three different ways, by masking some of the areas with packing tape each time. Once I’d done all I could with the stencil, I decided to try a bit of freehand with the four colours of paints I had.

The floral designs on the white tights and the short and long white gloves were made with the stencil. The pink long gloves and the knee-high stockings are my attempt at freehand, loosely referring to photos of existing museum pieces (see below). Not bad for a non-crafty redheaded romance author!

Cotton fabric embroidered gloves, circa 1790-1810, bias cut for stretch, gold and sequinned scrollwork, pale pink, floss silk detailing.

Stockings, early 19th century, Cooper Hewitt collection.

Stockings, 1810, English, Kyoto Museum

I didn’t bother with the coloured tights as for now, the colours don’t suit my gowns.

The pens tended to bleed in the fabric, and the bottled paints were a bit puffy. After the first items, I used the pens for light lines and not fill, and used a Q-tip to apply the paint so it was smoother. If I was doing this again, I’d consider getting additional colours, but these were all I found on sale the day I bought them at Michaels.

How to Make Easy Back Gathers on Regency Gowns

One of my favourite tricks for faking Regency is to use drapery tape to make the back gathers for a gown. The tape must be the kind that makes all uniform gathers, and not pinch pleats. I had some 1″ wide tape I got in two meter-long pieces at a thrift store for $1 a long time ago. I used it to make the last-minute “emergency” gown for the JASNA outing I had a few weeks ago. Belt backing tape can be seen for the non-gathered part.

There are two ways to use the drapery tape to make your Regency gathers in the back of the gown.

The simplest is to machine sew the tape onto the gown. Take care not to sew on the strings. Gather using the strings, tie the strings, cut shorter, and leave in place.
The second method allows re-use of the drapery tape and less bulk in the back of the gown. Hand-baste the drapery tape on, but do not lock the end of your basting thread, rather, leave an inch or so free. Once you’ve sewn your skirt to the bodice, the gathers are fixed, and all you need do is tug on the knot on your basting threads to pull them free and remove the drapery tape to use on another skirt.

You want to have at least three times the width of fabric as your final gathered amount, and 4-5 times looks pretty.

Depending on your fabric, you may want to leave a seam allowance above the drapery tape. Because my fabric (above) had a border, I ran the tape at the top edge, then hand-stitched it to the bodice.

If you’re interested in standard methods for gathering fabric, this video from Teach Yourself to Sew shows three different methods.

To Zipper or not to Zipper–or To Fake!

When you get a vintage or other type of newer-than-Regency gown and wear it for a Regency gown, to be authentic, you should remove the zipper. Regency alternatives were ties, hooks and eyes, or buttons, or they were pinned closed by a lady’s maid.

In most cases, a replacement closure for the zipper is not necessary on the skirt, as the ribbon or belt holds the top edges together. The skirt is loose due to the gathers, and should overlap. The concern would be to ensure the bodice fit is snug.

There may be gaps between the replacement closures. In the Regency, so many undergarments were worn, the gap was of little consequence; however, some modern women balk at the idea.

Most often, Regency gowns used ties to close at the back, and this is an easy-to-install and inexpensive closure. Discount and craft stores have narrow ribbons in limited colours for under $2 a roll, and attractive cords are under $1 a meter.

In the absence of a lady’s maid, to fake Regency with modern modesty, retain your zipper and add ribbon or light cording ties over it at a couple of locations. At right, two are tied and the lower one is not, so you can see where they’re attached. Care must be taken not to catch the ties when using the zipper.

At 12″, mine were too long; 6″-8″ would suffice.

To close the front of the “emergency” gown, I used hooks and eyes. This is not truly faking as they were common on Regency gowns. When hooks and eyes were used, seamstresses weren’t stingy, and used a lot of them.

Packages of individual hooks and eyes are inexpensive, and come in black, white, or steel in most stores, and some stores offer additional colours at a premium. They are fussy to sew on individually but are excellent in some cases, such as holding a short width or edges together.

For ease of installation when multiple hooks and eyes are needed, cotton tape with hooks spaced about every inch, and matching tape with eyes, is sold by the meter. I was lucky to get the tape with hooks on sale, but the tape with eyes was regular price.

An alternative to the tape with eyes (at half the price per meter) is a product intended for long rows of buttons, which looks like woven cording with loops every half inch or so. The loops appeared to align with the hooks, and for short lengths, they’re okay, but they’re just enough out of sync that, for longer lengths, I need to skip an extra one every so often.

As you can see, I used both types: tape on the crossover v-neck and individual hooks on the belt edge of the skirt. The installation was fair to both right and left handed openings!

As much as we like buttons these days, they were less common on Regency women’s wear. Jane Austen remarked in a letter to her sister Cassandra that buttons were quite dear. Men’s clothing most often had self-covered buttons, but ladies’ used metal, shell, ivory, stones, gems, and similar materials.

Mother-of-pearl buttons are okay if you can find them, as are buttons made with fine cording such as Dorset buttons. Don’t use plastic buttons unless they are an excellent fake.

Pearl and metal buttons, 1780 to 1820, Luckcock Collection, Birmingham Museum of Art

Dorset buttons

You could put fake buttons and loops on the gown just as you did for the ribbon ties, and keep your zipper.

Next post: I left all the hand-sewing for items like Mr. Suze’s coat to the last minute, and not much new is happening at the moment! I’ll try to take a photo or two of my ball gown as I complete it this week, but since I’ll be traveling prior to the JASNA AGM in Louisville, Kentucky on October 9-11, 2015, it will be a meager post!

The best word EVER: GIVE-AWAYS!

On October 8-11, while I’m in Louisville, there will be a draw for daily prizes from my stash of reticules, Regency accessories, and other goodies. The Regency items are one-of-a-kind. Though they’re hand made by someone who’s not crafty (so less than perfect), I’ve signed each one and added my signature pagoda parasol.

There are two ways to enter:

1) Comment on any Thrift Shop Regency Costume Experiment post on road trips with the redhead, with your email address (username at host dot com), or

2) approach me at the JASNA AGM and ask for a Parasol in a Ballroom. I’ll collect your name and email address.

**The first person who enters either way whose initials are M.C. is an automatic winner of a velvet reticule with your initials embroidered on it!

I’ll attempt to deliver winning prizes from the AGM while I’m there, and blog comment prizes will be mailed. Good luck!

Mr. Darcy in the making: The Thrifty Regency Gentleman’s Costume

Posted on September 8, 2015 by Suzan Lauder

Beau Monde, 1807, Morning Dress

Mr. Suze used to bug me to let him read my Regency writing. I told him he’d have to read Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice first, so he’d understand it better. I didn’t expect him to actually read my favourite novel, but he did! What choice did I have but to share Alias Thomas Bennet with him? I was preparing to submit it to Meryton Press at the time, and he was a good final cold reader.

He became a big fan of my writing, and joined me to watch the A&E/BBC 1995 production of Pride and Prejudice. A good sport, he went along with me on half a dozen meet-ups of my online friends from A Happy Assembly while we were on vacation in Washington, Oregon, and California over several road trips.

When I told him I wanted to go to Louisville, KY for the JASNA AGM, he said I could go on my own; he’d had enough of Jane Austen events. Over time, he softened to say he’d join me and enjoy the city on his own while I was at the conference, and later, he agreed to dress in a Regency costume for the Saturday festivities. In May, my vintage and thrift shop trips to finalize my own costume included searches for his items. I quickly got the lay of the land.

For this post, I’ll speak to two items: the tailcoat and waistcoat. The rest of the costume will be seen in future posts.

I saw only three tailcoats in vintage and thrift stores, at $65 and $35, but two were too large and one, too small. There were no suitable vests for a waistcoat, even if I looked at size extra-large in Ladies’ wear. Mr. Suze is not a large man, and I thought if I did a good job, he’d be okay with this.

Please note these are sewing projects. The same result will not be easy to achieve with no-sew iron-on tape, and the fabric is too heavy for that product in any case.

Upcycling a garment into a Regency tailcoat

Coat, 1810, dark brown herringbone.

Le Beau Monde, 1807

Regency tailcoat 1815, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Post-Regency example for fun! 1825-1830 dress coat

Regency tailcoats were by no means all the same. They came in many colours, and some had interesting textures, as shown in these thumbnails, which can be enlarged if you click on them.

Louis-Léopold Boilly – The Arrival of a Stage-coach in the Courtyard of the Messageries (Detail), 1803.

Both single and double-breasted designs were stylish, but double-breasted appears more frequently in the examples I could find, and I’ve been told they outnumbered single-breasted by about 2:1. Lapels tended to be wider, and the opening quite high in comparison to modern menswear.

Many modern tuxedo tailcoats require slight modifications to straighten the bottom front to match the style of the early 19th Century. The Regency tailcoat has no back waist seams: each panel is one piece of fabric, whereas post-Regency, the seam at the waistline came into play, and continues in modern tailcoats.

Because I couldn’t easily find a used tailcoat in thrift shops, I looked to the Internet, where previous rental tuxedo coats are readily available at under $100. Problems that rule out some modern tuxedo tailcoats include trim such as velvet or satin that do not look Regency. Shawl collars or narrow lapels are common. Most are black, white, or grey. Black would do for a court suit or a formal ball, but the other two would not work, unless I decided to buy a white one and dye it the popular dark blue of the Regency.

Modern morning coat, dark green wool, herringbone.

Back view of Regency tail coat to show the single panels of fabric, with no waist seams.

A wool morning coat in dark green, with a fine herringbone pattern and slightly wider lapels, caught my eye and got approval from Mr. Suze. Of course, he doesn’t know that Jane Austen fans love the idea of a green coat ever since Andrew Davies had Colin Firth choose it to ride into Lambton the day Elizabeth got her fateful letter from Jane!

This coat appeared to have no back waist seam in the photos online, but when it arrived, it did. Also, the collar was not self-lined, so it would have to stay down. Oh, well, we knew we were not going to be perfect by any stretch of the imagination, and it fit well, so that was a huge relief. It was advertised on eBay at £25, or $80 with shipping.

Green tailcoat after first cut of shape of front opening and tails.

George “Beau” Brummell, watercolor by Richard Dighton, 1805.

Mr. Suze is a bit particular about his clothing. His father was a menswear tailor at the Canadian institution of high-class shopping: Eaton’s. My husband is accustomed to a well-fitted, flattering suit in quality fabric, and that was my goal for the Regency tailcoat. We looked at numerous examples from museum pieces and fashion pages like Ackermann’s, and decided on a full curve at the waist, as opposed to a straighter line. A painting of Beau Brummel served as reference. The line was pinned while “my Beau” wore the coat, and the future wearer did a mirror check to approve it. To further achieve a Regency look, the lapels were pressed higher, and extra buttons are needed to suit this modification. The front of the cut coat is shown above, on the left.

I re-applied the matching fabric facings to the underside of the new shape of the tails. To sew the new contour front edges together, I thought about pinning them under and top-stitching, but I opted to sew a normal seam with the fabric pinned right sides together. That meant I had to turn half the jacket inside out.

Green tailcoat, back, final except buttons.

I tied the upper portion together with elastic bands as shown and laid it inside along the length of the tail, where I’d opened the bottom hem. The tail was pinned right sides together over it all, and sewn with a 1/2″ seam. It was turned it right side out again by pulling it through the open bottom of the tail.

I did a test run with the narrower side before I was brave enough to photograph it for this blog!

I used scraps of fabric to fake Regency by putting flaps that look like pockets at the sides of the jacket. Regency coats sometimes had a cuff, so if your modification allows more fabric, that’s another way to make it more authentic in appearance. Mine did not.

The Regency coat design didn’t always close, but boasted decorative buttons, and men wore them buttoned or unbuttoned, though I’d assume formal circumstances would demand a tightly-buttoned look. The buttons are plastic, and I have yet to purchase proper buttons for the tailcoat. As mentioned earlier, Regency menswear often had fabric-covered buttons in the same colour, though not always the same fabric as the garment. Regency coat fronts have buttons closer together, so my mockup has 4 buttons where the original suit had one.

My intention was self-covered buttons with a brass ring trim from Dressew, and I had enough extra fabric left for them. But I didn’t have enough buttons of the right size, and none of the stores in my city have the snap-on brass trim. I won’t be able to get to Dressew (in Vancouver, BC) prior to the JASNA conference, so I can’t use these buttons at this time.

Suit, 1815-1820, The Victoria & Albert Museum.

The alternatives are thread buttons, which are a lot of work I don’t have time for, and metallic buttons. Brass buttons were a must on blue coats in the Regency, and seen on other colours sometimes, too. The estimated cost for this tailcoat is $20 on sale. Some attractive steel buttons with an insignia will cost about $7 at Fabricland, so next shopping trip, I’ll purchase them.

Making a modern vest into a Regency waistcoat

The modification of a vest into a nice facsimile of a Regency waistcoat was an easy sewing project, once I found the suitable vest. Strange, since I was lamenting that I’d have to make this item from scratch!

Waistcoat, 1810-20, National Trust Collections

Waistcoat, early 19th century, British, wool and silk. 21″ by 33″, Metropolitan Museum of Art.

It’s not that Regency waistcoats are so limited in design that it’s impossible to find them: this clothing item was the pizazz in the man’s outfit. Almost limitless possibilities existed for colour and pattern, as seen in the set of thumbnails. Click to see larger images.

The most common fabric was silk, but cotton and linen were worn as well. Some boasted gorgeous detailed embroidery. Similar to the tailcoat, the waistcoat could be single- or double-breasted.

Waistcoat French or English, 1790–1810, Brooklyn Museum of Fine Arts. Note the detailed embroidery.

Waistcoat, 1805-1810, Mccord Museum, Montreal. Note the embroidery.

The trouble with modern vests is their simplicity. Plain, pin-striped, or herringbone wool or wool-like synthetics are as good as it gets for suit vests, which are difficult to find. Most thrift shop vests are casual, with zippers and fleece and plaid and quilting and such.

Regency vests usually had stand-up collars and lapels, too, which modern vests lack. The balance is that Regency vests were straight across at the bottom, so I knew I had a fabric source for the collar and/or lapels: that double V-shape on a dressy modern vest.

William Blake, by Thomas Phillips, oil on canvas, 1807.

The internet, and used tuxedo rentals, offered more options in terms of colour and pattern, and the satin vests mimic the look of silk. Mr. Suze and I agreed on a paisley pattern for a fullback vest. It cost $11.99, and included a matching bow tie; the total was $25 by the time we paid for shipping.

He selected ivory since it best suited the green coat, compared to the bright colour palette otherwise available. The other colours would be great with a black or blue tailcoat. We had also noted that many of the waistcoats in paintings were white or ivory.

The vest was a bit on the big side, and I realized I could use that to my advantage, as I pinned it up at the shoulders to get extra fabric to make a short stand-up collar, plus raise the V of the neckline higher, to make it more Regency in appearance. The photos show it pinned up before the cut (left) and after the collar is made, but not attached, and the bottom is trimmed (right). Two extra buttons are on the bottom in the photo on the right, to show how it would look if more were added.

Waistcoat, National Trust Inventory, 1790 – 1810, Cotton and silk, Chastleton House, Oxfordshire.

Regency waistcoats sometimes had distinct lapels, but more often, the front panel rose to the collar above the button line, and that upper portion was propped open by the cravat. Unfortunately, when I removed the two Vs from the vest’s bottom front to straighten the line for a Regency look, I couldn’t put it on like the latter design, as it was lined in herringbone, the same as the back panel of the vest. The option was a small lapel.

If you have additional fabric, a detail that appears on some, but not all Regency waistcoats is a small pocket on each side, which can be faked with a piece of finished size of about 1-1/2″ by 5″. I tried to make them with what I had left, but they were too small.

This vest had matching satin-covered buttons, perfect for Regency. One was cut off with the bottom V, and there was one spare. Because Regency had lots of buttons, I’ll add more in between the current buttons if I have time after my other projects are complete for Louisville.

The two pieces put together look nice! There’s about 2″-3″ of waistcoat showing below the bottom of the waistline of the tailcoat, a fashionable length. The small lapel on the waistcoat fits neatly into the higher opening at the collar of the tailcoat. We’ll see the shirt ruffles and cravat fill that space in a future post!

TSRCE for Gentlemen: Green herringbone tailcoat and ivory paisley waistcoat.

Next post: Who knows? My time has become filled with editing for myself and a fellow author, fitness programs that stopped for August, as well as new activities.

I’m scrambling to complete the most important Regency costume projects now, as time is running out. The balance of Mr. Suze’s costume will come some time this month, and I have lots of little projects I want to finish for Louisville. If I can manage to write something to accompany photos, that will be the topic for upcoming posts!

The trials of Regency correctness in fiction writing: My guest post on Austen in August

Posted on August 24, 2015 by Suzan Lauder

Words coined during Queen Victoria’s era, critical plot points that require our hero to travel to London from Derbyshire and back twice in the same week, a twist that depends on English Parliament sitting in the fall in the wrong year–these elements creep into our Regency fiction writing every so often, and the poor author must re-think the scene. All three have affected my latest novel! On top of it, there’s technology and medicine, titles and inheritance law, etiquette and fashion… all must be in order in an Austen-inspired Regency romance, or beware!

When literary historian and blogger Roof Beam Reader was looking for guest blogs for his annual Austen in August series, I suggested a tongue-in-cheek summary of the challenges with keeping true to the era, and the energetic viewpoints of Austen enthusiasts regarding historical accuracy in Jane Austen Fan Fiction on some story boards. It was a new topic to him, and he was keen, as no one had taken this direction on his blog yet.

Regency lady writing: did she have issues with anachronisms? –From Ackermann’s Repository for Art, 1813.

Click here to read my post on Regency correctness on Roof Beam Reader’s blog! #AusteninAugustRBR

If you’ve already signed up for the Austen in August reading challenge, you can enter the giveaway, too! I’ve donated a signed copy of my Regency romance with a mystery twist Alias Thomas Bennet, a choice of reticule from a set including the two I upcycled for the “Pretty Little Purses” post for the Thrift Shop Regency Costume Experiment, and a special “grown-up lady” lace cap to be made to order.

A pretty wrap to keep out the chill: Regency shawls.

Posted on August 3, 2015 by Suzan Lauder

Shawl, muslin cotton, white embroidery. Made in India, 1806- 1814.

Whitework Shawl, 1810-1820

The first Regency shawls I saw were summer-weight, wispy things, mostly white-on-white and all lacy-looking. Thus, I purchased a sheer Indian shawl, as it was as close as I could get. Made of fine net in a seafoam colour with silver embroidery, it was a compromise, but I knew silver embroidery was popular on clothing in the Regency period. (Click on thumbnails for larger images.)

Shawl, cashmere and silk, 1800–1820, Metropolitan Museum of Art

At some point, I saw other shawls, and realized these delicate ones were the minority. The majority were the Kashmiri shawls, with their ubiquitous wide paisley panel at the ends and a border along the sides. Paisley, paisley, paisley. Most were cashmere, some with silk for a magnificent sheen. Wool, silk, or blends were also seen.

Shawl, Spitalfields. Silk, England 1810 -1815. The workers of the silk weaving district in London were French Huguenot silk workers who had fled to England to escape a religious purge.

Shawl, wool and silk, Scotland, 1815.

Shawl. Silk and wool. England, circa 1815.

1812, Costume Parisien.

1811, Costume Parisien

The love affair with Kashmiri textiles went to gowns, too. You can see how they were matched.

1810, Costume Parisien.

1810, LACMA collections.

Felicite de Durfort von Merry-Joseph Blondel, 1808

What’s with the paisley? The bent teardrop was a popular “Tree of Life” design in Persia. When Scotland became a leader in the production of textiles, the town of Paisley became the place where cashmere shawls were made. In England, the design became named after the town.

I was ecstatic when I found two paisley Pashmina shawls at Value Village for $7.99. This turned into a facepalm moment in my shopping history. I chose the one I liked best, that would go best with my outfits, and set aside the other. The next day, I realized these shawls were uncommon, and I could have given the second to a friend, or even sold it to someone assembling a Regency costume. But when I went back, the second one was gone.

While paisley was popular, Regency shawls used other designs, in all the colours of the rainbow!

1801, Costume Parisien

Shawl, silk and cotton, English, 1800-50, Metropolitan Museum of Art

1802, Journal des Dames et des Modes

Spitalfields rectangular silk shawl with Chinoiserie borders, c.1810

La Belle Assemblée, February 1811.

Silk shawl by Spitalfields, London, 1810-1815.

The fiber Kashmir, or cashmere, is made from the down hairs of Nepalese capra hircus goats, also called Cashmere goats or Pashmina goats. The Pashmina shawl is the modern equivalent of the Kashmiri shawl, and they’re ubiquitous once again, but in different designs. Pashmina is a high-level cashmere, made from the thinnest threads.

However, most modern shawls labelled “Pashmina” have no Pashmina hair in them, but unlike the word “cashmere,” there is no regulation of the term. The best knock-offs are made from cashmere and silk and cost around $100; the cheapest are $20 for viscose and/or wool. The latter textiles may keep you warm, but don’t have the light weight of the fibers they’re mimicking. Real cashmere will pill with wear, and doesn’t have sheen or create static electricity.

I bought a real Pashmina in Turkey in 2001, and since have acquired two knock-offs. Below are my shawls. They’re folded in half both so you can see their true size in comparison with one another, except the Value Village shawl is scrunched a bit to flip it over so you can the pattern on each side.The parasol ratings show the real Pashmina (pale green) with a closed umbrella, meaning it’s okay, but not the best choice. There are almost no shawls in my Regency image collection that are plain with no pattern. Its large size and light weight in comparison to its warmth is great, though. It’s my airplane blanket!

The red and brown “Pashmina” is as soft and has a nice silk-like glow, but its perpetually smooth texture and $19.99 price make me believe it’s viscose. The pattern and the stripe near the ends make this shawl reasonable in a Regency costume.

The brown striped “Pashmina” with animal spots was a gift. It’s small for a shawl: I use it as a large scarf. The fabric is coarse and probably contains a fair bit of sheep’s or regular goat’s wool. Though this scarf goes well with many of my winter clothes, the pattern eliminates it from my Regency wardrobe, so no parasol.

The previously mentioned seafoam net with silver is like an evening gown wrap, and that will be its best use at any Regency event I’ll attend.

Shawl c.1820

The Value Village shawl is two-sided, with the centre area having bold stripes on one side and a dark grey main field opposite. When I took the photograph, I had not recalled any Regency shawls with a bold stripe in the main field, and thought I’d use what is likely intended as the back as the outside of the shawl. When I gathered photos for this post, I found an historical example similar to the side of the thrift store shawl that got a closed parasol! The sun came out, so we need to open that little parasol perched on the stripes!

Shawl, British, silk c.1822, Metropolitan Museum of Art

An interesting historical shawl is one that has no paisley and uses a different traditional design altogether: tartan. It’s a pity the only piece of Lauder tartan I own is a small scarf! I’d love to find a way to work it into one of the costumes without cutting it up or modifying it. It would be lame as a turban. These days, over the shoulder and tucked into the belt is reasonable, but I’ve yet to see a Regency outfit with tartan in this way. Do any of you know?

More shawls: Though mostly post-Regency, Mimi Matthews’ blog has a selection of beautiful 19th century artwork with shawls.

~~~

I’d planned to do a cushion reticule post today, but I haven’t made the last reticule for the set, and I had company this weekend from two different cities! Neither stayed with us, but my house needed to be tidied, and after that, our time was full with brunch, and The Bug Zoo, and skinny, former opium den streets, and other such tourist attractions!

I decided to do this shawl blog post first, as it was quick and easy. I know you don’t mind!

Next post: A twist added another design to my reticule arsenal, and three different designs will be shown, plus I hope to have the pdf’s ready for the patterns and instructions. After that, I still have at least three other designs I want to try making, but I may take a reticule break and show some of the “Faking Regency” tips.

Fun with Reticules: Introduction

Posted on July 27, 2015 by Suzan Lauder

Are you playful? The tiny purses of the Regency are! They’re a flexible accessory, with plenty of room to play when selecting or making one. A cute little drawstring bag similar to Regency museum pieces isn’t hard to find, but if none can be procured to suit your taste, they’re not complicated to make for under $10.

In perusing the various fabrics and designs of museum photos of purses from the first 20 or so years of the 19th century, I realized the brocades, embroidery, and silks of modern throw pillows had amounts and type of fabric to suit re-purposing/upcycling into reticules. Decorative cushion covers run from $1.99 to $7.99 at thrift stores. The most common size is 17” square.

Cushion covers come with two layers, sometimes in pairs, often feature attractive trim and, depending on the shape desired, they’re partly sewn. From there, I came up with designs to maximize the fabric, and discovered that up to four reticules could come from one 17” square or larger cushion cover! I have several designs to share, and they could inspire you to use your cover for your own unique reticule.

Now, I know you don’t need so many reticules! You can make just one, or you can give the extras as gifts. Even friends who don’t dress up for Regency events will like them as an evening purse, to store lingerie or jewelry, or to fill with lavender for a closet or drawer scent.

It’s important to consider your final design when you purchase the cushion cover. Many have directional fabric; are made in multiple panels, with different motifs in each; or have modern themes that don’t suit a reticule. The buyer must pick and choose.

I chose three:

• For $1.99 at WiN (Women in Need Vintage and Thrift Store), I got a 17” silk dupione cushion cover with a beaded fringe—plastic, but I think it looks enough like glass beads.
• A 16” square gold damask polyester cushion was $2.99 at Value Village, and it looks rich enough to be silk. There’s no edge trim.
• The most expensive cushion was $3.99 at Value Village, a 17” red brocade with pink and yellow roses in the centre field and in a square around it, with multi-coloured bands on each side. It also has a pink corded edge sewn in without the benefit of an attached tab.

Lining the reticule is optional, but may be preferable if it’s a light fabric. I lucked into finding a cream satin pillow sham that has potential to line up to six reticules.

I’ve designed five pages of patterns, to come up with eight different reticules, and potential to modify them with scallops makes even more possibilities! In addition to instructions for each design, I also have instructions for adding lining, cording, trim, and tassels.

The Designs (click on thumbnails for larger views of the museum Regency examples)

1810–20 French, cotton, glass 6 38 in. Metropolitan Museum of Art

Square or rectangular reticules can be made from any cushion cover with dimensions starting at 14” for two side-by-side, and the maximum length that works without wasting fabric is 24”. There is no pattern sheet for these, but there will be instructions.

Reticule, Dutch, 1805. Silk, multicolored embroidered silk flowers, slide ring. Rijksmuseum

Reticule Designs 1 through 4 are on two pages, with instructions. They are nice for cushion covers that have a running trim along the edges, be it fringe (including tassel fringe or ball fringe) hanging bead work, piping, or braid, though all designs work with any kind of cover. Reticule 3 is especially good for piping or braid.

Woven Reticule Purse Shield Shape 1795

Designs 2 and 4 are smaller, and would benefit from a lining, so the top would not have to overlap to make the sleeve for the drawstring—we’ll see an example. The Envelope Reticule (#2) is my own original design. It’s Regency-appropriate and unique.

Reticule, American or English, Early 19th century, 10-5/8″x7-7/8″, silk, satin, metal, embroidery. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Reticule, American or English; Early 19th century, 10-5/8″x7-7/8″, silk, satin, metal, embroidery. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. (Side two.)

The patterns can be modified, for example, scalloped edges can be added to designs 1 and 3, tassels sewn into the seams at the points. The folded end finish directions of Reticules 2 and 4 will make these scalloped reticules close in looks to the museum examples.

1800-1825 French Reticule, LACMA Collections

The American Girl’s Book, Or, Occupation for Play Hours – Eliza Leslie, Harriet Elizabeth Fourdrinier

One of the most common styles of reticules seen in the Regency is a three-sided version of the above, and instructions are included with the pattern for #3 and #4. A large cushion cover with a plain back is best for this design.

Reticule, 10-1/4″ long, French. Early 19th c. Silk, metal, glass. Metropolitan Museum of Art

Design #6 is ideal for a cushion cover with a regular banded design making square interior frames on the sides, and preferably also a corded or piped edge. It can be made with either same both sides or one-side finished cushion covers. The finished reticule looks similar to the one on the left. Depending on size, a nice central field design on the cushion could make another reticule.

Reticule, silk and metal, 1800–1810, probably German. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Like Petal Reticule #2.

Petal Reticule #1 (No historical information on this example.)

There are two patterns for Petal Top Reticules, which work well with cushion covers with a corded or piped edge and some motif of interest near the corners. Both of these work better if the back panel is a plain/lining material rather than matching the front side.

Six-petaled reticule. (No historical information.)

The inspiration museum designs show one where two matched cushion covers would be needed to make 6 petals for Petal Reticule #1.

Reticule, 1818. Glass, silk. Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection.

A long Petal Reticule or three-sided Reticule #1, with sharp scallops cut in the sides can look like a Pineapple Reticule (right), which were very popular.

Construction:

No-sew tape can be used to make the reticules, but some seams should be reinforced with hand stitching and bias tape, and no-sew tape is hard to use on curves. The beginner sewer will find it takes less time and may be easier to sew the short, straight seams.

A mock-up is shown for the most straightforward design: the square reticule. The option of tassels or fringe is shown, as well as a geometric design on the side, made with cording. You can see what beads would look like on the drawstrings.

The dahlia and marigolds are from my garden, in one of Grandma Lauder’s pinwheel crystal vases. I was dead-heading and awkwardly lopped off a few fresh flowers, so I kept them!

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There are far more reticule designs in museums, many more complicated than these simple ones, made by up-cycling an item that’s no longer stylish for its original intent!

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NEXT POST: Some examples of assembly of these reticules, and the patterns.

Book Club Questions for “Alias Thomas Bennet”

Posted on July 19, 2015 by Suzan Lauder

Who would expect heavy rains to be so welcome? After the recent extended drought in Los Angeles and Orange County, California, my home-away-from home again this weekend, it makes sense. My Chat Chit friends’ gardens will green up! Of course, I attribute it to the engineer friend who passed away this week: he’s up there above us, and repaired the systems!

The last time I was here, I was part of a “Meet the Author” event with “The Real Orange County Book Club.” I enjoyed meeting another of their members yesterday. Her enthusiasm about my book and writing inspired me to share the Book Club Questions I wrote for their use when my novel, Alias Thomas Bennet, was their monthly read for September 2014.

Alias Thomas Bennet by Suzan Lauder
Book Club Questions

1. Alias Thomas Bennet is inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and follows its general plot line, which in Fan Fiction is referred to as “canon.” Discuss the differences between “canon” and Alias Thomas Bennet. Do you agree with how the changes have been made? What could be done differently?

2. Outside of this book, Fan Fiction encompasses almost every area of storytelling in our culture: from The X Files to Mulan, Little Women to Wolverine, the online community of re-writes is immense. Discuss your familiarity and reactions to the idea of Fan Fiction. What other examples of Fan Fiction are you aware of? (Hint: famous trilogy based on Twilight!)

3. Maria Lucas is a minor character in the original Pride and Prejudice. What do you think of her role in Alias Thomas Bennet? Discuss her motivation and the societal aspects that compelled her.

4. A mature scene told from Darcy’s point of view has been controversial with readers. How would this differ if it was presented by an omniscient narrator as in most mature novels? Do you think it would be different if it was not a fantasy, but a sex scene? What is your reaction to the concept that Darcy ultimately decided to propose because of his desire? Do you think there might be some element of that in Pride and Prejudice?

5. The story begins with a series of flashbacks. Talk about your reaction to the exposure of information in the flashbacks, your understanding of them, and your suspicions as they evolved with the information in each vignette. Discuss how close your conjecture was to the exposé in chapter 8 and 9.

6. Wickham is a particularly evil villain in this adaptation. Some might criticise this as a ploy to victimize the heroine in order to add importance to the role of the hero. What is your view? What do you think about the outcome for him in this book? What do you think about Elizabeth’s reactions?

7. What is your impression of Fanny and Thomas Bennet/Lord Shelton? Do you think they are over-played, and the story should be more about Elizabeth and Darcy, as in Pride and Prejudice? Why?

8. In canon, Fanny Bennet is flighty and distractible. In Alias Thomas Bennet, it’s implied she suffers from PTSD. What do you think of this possibility? Why or why not is it a plausible explanation for her canon personality?

9. Discuss what life would have been like on a sailing ship for a month with small children, eating only hard tack (cracker-like bread) and gruel.

10. Some readers love the gown descriptions, and some hate them. What do you think?

11. Discuss what it might have felt like for Elizabeth and Jane to suddenly become the focus of society, when before, they were unknown. What do you think of this class structure issue? How does it compare with how people are judged today? What are the similarities and differences?

12. What did you like best about this novel? What would you change?

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Please share any special thoughts that came up as you read this list, as I love feedback, and other readers would love to hear about it as well!

road trips with the redhead

a blog by Suzan Lauder

Tag Archives: Regency

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Book Club Questions for “Alias Thomas Bennet”

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