Tag Archives: Spencer

About that Spencer…

13 Wednesday Nov 2013

Posted by in Clothing

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It's better on a human than on a hanger.

It’s better on a human than on a hanger.

Take my Spencer, please.

I’m close to being finished– all that remains are closures, but the sewing is done. It fits, though I haven’t yet tried it on over stays.  It looks less wretched in the mirror than it does on a hanger, I will give it that.

The wool is a yard and a quarter worsted remnant, and while it has a nice hand, it was sometimes annoying to press. It may have been the fault of the silk, though; I used a very light weight silk–even lighter than Booth’s “persians”– and that was probably a mistake.

DSC_0405

Last-minute peplum and button additions.

The Swedish Spencer closes with clasps, and while hooks and eyes are pretty common for center-closing garments (men’s and women’s) “clasps” was new to me. The double-breasted riding habit coat in Janet Arnold (from the Salisbury Museum, no photos online) closes with covered buttons. That seems reasonable for this worsted trial garment. I’m beginning to wonder if the Swedish Spencer is really finished, or if the clasps might be a later addition. Time to write a letter, I think…

Bust darts from Hell

05 Tuesday Nov 2013

Posted by in Clothing, History, Making Things, Research

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Spencer ca. 1800. MMS 1991.239.2

It all started out so well, in the muslin, but in the wool, not so much. I cut up a remnant, proving that a yard and a quarter of 60” fabric is enough for a Spencer, even for my arm length (but not less, thanks to that arm length and a respect for the grain).

The pattern I’m using has bust darts, which I haven’t sewn in years. They took some tweaking with the steam iron.

In 18th century clothing, one doesn’t see bust darts; there are some above the bust, shaping gowns at the robings, but for the most part they aren’t needed. Think cones, thanks to the stays. And later in the 18th century, a lot of work is done by gathers and drawstrings, as in the white and black  ca. 1800 French spencer at the Met.

Spencer ca. 1818-1819. MMA 1982.132.3

Spencer ca. 1818-1819. MMA 1982.132.3

But if you’ve got an endowment of the non-fiscal kind, and you want your military-inspired garment to fit smoothly over your endowment, what do you do?

In this example, you hide the bust dart under braid and buttons. Check out that diagonal seam—and that the fabric appears to have been cut on the bias.
Brilliant, right? Gain ease by using the stretchy quality of the bias and hide the shaping under decorative elements.

Here’s an extreme detail.

Spencer, 1813. MMA C.I.39.13.48

Spencer, 1813. MMA C.I.39.13.48

In the garment below, of wool, three bust darts of the same length help shape the front. And again, decorative braid hides the shaping. 

It’s only cataloged as “wool,” with no weave given. There is a detail image of the darts and braid as well; I think that might be serge, and not superfine broadcloth. Still, three bust darts help achieve a smooth fit.

The Swedish Spencer at the museum in Lund has but one grainy photo: it’s hard to imagine that it doesn’t have bust darts, but the photo leaves much to the imagination.

Green Indeed

22 Tuesday Oct 2013

Posted by in Clothing, Events, Making Things

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Regency Green: Kochan & Philips + Robert Land = Matchy-matchy.

As expected, Mr Najekci dispatched the K&C wool before the Hook, so last Thursday evening when I arrived home after Gallery Night, there was a box of delicious waiting for me. And, also as expected though mostly hoped for, the wool and shoes were super simpatico. This will be a fun project when I get myself sorted to it.

I have not yet had the time to put all the projects into a spreadsheet, but I think it would help keep things organized and on schedule. For example, I have:

  • to work out the details and rationale of the sacque, vis-a-vis date and style
  • to finalize the Spencer pattern
  • to pattern and fit a frock coat, waistcoat and breeches for Mr S ca. 1775
  • to ask about the regimental for Mr S, which will be wanted eventually
  • to face making a tent by next summer
  • a plan for kettle bags, since I’d like us to pack lighter & more authentically
  • to fix my stays situation
  • an inordinate desire for a splashy bonnet to go with that Spencer
  • two shirts to make up for Mr S and the Young Mr
  • a red short cloak, for easier movement

Once I have a schedule and a plan, making things by deadline is somewhat easier. It’s “bridge” season now, between cooling and heating, summer and winter fashion collections, and that’s as good a time as any to work out plans for the winter. There’s nothing the guys must have for an event that they haven’t got already–for Fort Lee, they can wear their short wool jackets under their 10th MA hunting frocks and be perfectly authentic and warm. (The brown and green coat is 1777, and the Fall of Fort Lee is 1776. The blue and white short-tailed regimentals are 1781. No coat for you!)

So it’s worth taking the time to regroup, even as I rush headlong into projects…and considering I have jury duty (no scissors!) this week, maybe I should add hand-knit stockings to that list.

A Swedish Spencer

11 Friday Oct 2013

Posted by in Clothing, Historical Sew Fortnightly, Making Things

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The Swedish Spencer

The Swedish Spencer

Because I lack good sense, I have fixated upon this Spencer from a museum in Lund. I have inflicted it upon people who have no particular interest in women’s wear, and extracted opinions on the fabric. Shameless, really. But I love the simplicity of this garment, and have therefore closed my eyes, written a check for some Kochan & Phillips bottle green broadcloth so that I can pet the wool to cheer myself up while patterning this beast.

To be fair, I have a Spencer half-patterned, and need “only” to work on the sleeves and collar. I have a sense, from examining a friend’s frock coat, of how to construct this stand-and-fall collar. Pad stitching, here I come. I enjoy the challenge of sleeves and hope this will not break me of that. So far, I have not been able to find a photo of the back of this lovely garment, so I’ll have to extrapolate from other examples.

I’d thought about making this for the Historical Sew Fortnightly # 21: Colour Challenge Green, but it took me too long to commit to the K&P wool, and at that price, you can bet I’ll make a careful muslin. While I’m not certain when or where I will wear this, I already know that I will wear it with my black petticoat and green boots, and will have to make a shirt to go under the petticoat, which will be its own challenge.  

Puffy sleeves aren’t my thing, and they won’t fit under these trim Spencer sleeves, but there is at least one extant example of a long-sleeved shirt-like garment. I expect I will feel about chemisettes much the way I feel about caps…but in the end, it will be worth all the tiny hems and the muslins. After all, the Spencer has a huge bonus: it closes with clasps so there are no buttonholes!