v i t r i o l

Thank you! Engineering is definitely the right word - I pull a LOT of reference and inspiration from 18th century techniques so there’s not a single zipper or elastic in the whole thing 😅 Historical clothing makers had to get VERY creative with construction, I’m finding

Thank you! It was a LOT of work 😅

Omg I shoulda snuck a black and white zigzag lining in somewhere 🤣

🥹🥹🙏🏻🙏🏻 I basically hand-sew almost everything except the long seams and even those I usually flat fell by hand to enclose them 🤪 and obviously the obligatory “I spend more time pressing than sewing” lmao.

It takes longer but I just like the way it looks sooo much better

Well, this is timely! New evidence presented ahead of the 50th anniversary of the disaster prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank in heavy seas because the captain drove it under the water instead of on top. "I guess he was trying something new," say researchers.

Thank you!!! I think it’s the nicest thing I’ve ever made 🥹

A close-up photo of a dark red silk bow over a dark red cotton sateen pleated skirt

A close-up photo of some crispy pleats in a burgundy silk petticoat

A close-up photo of a red silk dupioni bodice with some nice neat boning channels curving gently over a princess seam

A closeup photo of a hand-dyed dark burgundy silk velvet sleeve cuff with boning channels sewn in to support the grosgrain ribbon lacing, laid on top of a dark red reclaimed saree silk sleeve with a hand-dyed brocade tablecloth lining

I only started really sewing garments seriously in November 2022, and the improvement in my technical skills and level of finish I’m able to achieve after just 3 years is really noticeable to me. Feels great to be able to see progress like that in a craft :) /fin

I’m also pleased with how much secondhand and repurposed fabric I was able to incorporate, since one of the main reasons I started teaching myself to sew was to reduce my personal environmental impact and avoid fast fashion.

A photo of 6 hand-sewn garment pieces on hangers in front of a dark teal curtain. From left to right, they are: a silk chemise, a silk petticoat, a cotton sateen overskirt, a silk dupioni bodice and cotton pocket, and silk velvet and silk detachable sleeves with a cotton blend tablecloth lining. They’re all in coordinating shades of dark burgundy. It’s a pretty impressive amount of sewing, especially to finish in under 2 months.

A photo of a heavily tattooed redhaired woman wearing the whole ensemble, posing in her living room.

A mirrr selfie of the same heavily tattooed redhaired woman wearing the whole getup plus chainmaille collar, with her friend who has a silver mohawk and is wearing a dark red shimmery dress with scale mail epaulets

The same redhaired woman in a wedding photobooth, standing beside a VERY handsome bald man wearing a nice semiformal linen shirt and floral tie with brown slacks in a fur-covered thronelike chair.

I started working on this outfit less than 2 months ago about halfway through September, and I’m incredibly proud of what I was able to accomplish in that short amount of time while also working and traveling 😵‍💫 I love how modular this look is, and can’t wait to reuse these pieces for other outfits.

An in-progress photo of an 18th-century style detachable pocket being assembled. The pink silk lining looks suspiciously… testicular

A photo of the finished pocket. It is made out of bedsheet scraps in a historical India cotton block print style with a dark red bias binding, all hand-sewn.

A close-up of the pocket, showing off the neat hand-stitching on the bias binding and the top channel through which the waist tie is threaded.

Finally, I had to throw in an 18th-century style pocket just for fun. This thing held all of our phones, an emergency Red Bull, makeup for touch-ups, AND a pack of tissues that came in handy for the wedding ceremony. God I love these pockets. THIS IS WHAT THEY TOOK FROM US.

A closeup photo of a dark red skirt with tapes and loops tied up to form the bustle.

A close-up photo of a hand holding up a small section of hemline to show off the small, mostly-neat hand sewn felling stitches

I heavily referenced Janet Arnold’s brilliant “Patterns of Fashion 5” for placement and length of these tapes and loops. Then I hand-felled over 20 linear feet of hemlines in one evening because I’m a masochist, I guess 😵‍💫

A dress form wearing a dark red skirt with red velvet trim over a dark red silk petticoat. The skirt is open in the front and drapes to the back in a pleasing way.

A dress form wearing a dark red chemise and skirt, viewed from the back. The skirt is worn down with a small train.

A dress form wearing a dark red chemise and skirt, viewed from the back. The skirt has a large red silk bow and is worn bustled up “à la retroussée”

A photo of the inside of the skirt, showing the internal tapes and loops that form the structure of the bustle when tied.

The last major piece I made was an overskirt with velvet ribbon trim and a silk waist tie. I stitched bar closures into the bodice to attach the skirt so everything stays put, and added a series of internal loops and tapes so it can be bustled up “à la retroussée” or worn down with a small train.

A large plastic tub sitting on a brick patio, filled with an ominous dark red liquid and some floating bits of fabric. One person’s hand is visible stirring the liquid with a length of PVC pipe, and another person (or at least their legs) is seen standing in the background holding a pink sweatshirt dipped partially into the dye vat.

A group of friends in the dappled late afternoon sunlight on a brick patio. They’re all in different stages of dyeing fabric together. One sits on the ground wearing gloves and adding some clothing to a large vat of dark green dye, another is standing while wringing out an ombré dyed sweatshirt, a third is sitting at a table sketching ideas, and the fourth friend is just cheesing into the camera snapping this picture when she should have been stirring her dye pot.

A piece of lustrous dark red cotton bedsheet fabric in a satin weave, dyed a beautiful dark burgundy color.

Both sides of a brocade bedsheet dyed to an interesting dark burgundy and shimmery light mauve. On one side, the brocade pattern is light on a dark background. On the reverse side, it came out dark on a light background.

In addition to the gorgeous silk, I ended up dyeing some silk velvet, some old bedsheets and a tablecloth I also had in my stash. The tablecloth was partially a polyester blend which I normally dislike, but it did really interesting things with the brocade pattern that I loved

A cluttered workroom photo of a green dress form wearing a burgundy silk chemise. A red silk devil hat is perched on top of the dress form.

A photo of just an arm, held outstretched wearing a Barbie-pink linen mockup of a truly gigantic bell sleeve

The same Barbie-pink bell sleeve mockup, laid out flat on a cream brocade tablecloth.

A photo of a dark green dress form wearing a burgundy silk chemise and a red dupioni silk bodice laced with red velvet ribbon. The same red silk devil hat is perched atop the dress form.

Most of my patterns, like this chemise, were basic rectangular shapes based on historical garments, but the detachable bell sleeves took a bit more fussing and several mockups. The bodice was heavily based on Butterick B4669C, which I’ve made several times, but I added boning and made it reversible.

A very rough digital sketch of an outfit design, depicting an all-red outfit with a big skirt and bell sleeves. Notes scribbled around the outside read: “super thin chemise with puff sleeves,” “laced bodice, reversible??” “Separate bell sleeve,” “silk front panel,” “overskirt,” and “gores for more volume”

A photo of a pile of shimmer silk fabrics in shades of burgundy and olive green.

The direction we got from the bride was basically “wear one of the wedding colors and have fun,” so we decided on dark red with a ~power sleeve~.

I sketched a concept, pulled some gorgeous vintage saree silk remnants from my stash (ty @horriblesupper.bsky.social 🙏🏻), and started drafting.

A heavily tattooed woman with long red hair styled in a semi-formal, half-up half-down kinda situation poses with her hands together as if in prayer. She is wearing what can only be described as a whole entire getup, a real wear-it-to-the-grocery-store kinda outfit. The entire ensemble is in various shades of dark blood red and burgundy, and features a fitted red silk dupioni bodice that laces up the front, a burgundy silk chemise and petticoat, and absolutely massive red silk 12th-century style bell sleeves with a pink and red brocade lining. The sleeves are removable, and tie onto the arm with a burgundy silk velvet cuff laced with ribbons. She’s also wearing a large chainmaille collar with silver chain epaulettes that drape over her shoulders. She looks very smug about this outfit.

Now that I’ve worn it to the Event (my friend’s SWORD-THEMED wedding in which I was a member of the Bridal Guard), it’s time for a (long 😅) thread dissecting this whole getup that I made entirely from scratch, including dyeing and pattern drafting 🪡 🧵 :

"oooo i'd draw that but i can't draw"

brother get this through your head

NOBODY can draw

we are literally

ALL

BULLSHITTING

I grew up in Hanover & Powhatan and this IS bonkers lol

Holy shit

A close-up photo of a section of dark burgundy fabric in the process of being painstakingly pleated to high heaven. The pleats are held in place with an absolute buttload of little plastic clips. It looks like it was very tedious to do.

🎶 pleat, pleat, pleat 🎶**

**to the tune of Sabrina Carpenter’s “Please, Please, Please”

Thank you!!

This is what maybe 6 months of near-daily sewing looks like for me. Glad it’s a thimble and not my poor fingies

A woman’s hand wearing two leather thimbles held in a patch of morning sunlight. One of the thimbles is brand new and unmarred, while the other one is battered and needle-scarred with a dark patina on it from heavy use.

to be loved is to be changed

A little black dog staring sadly out a window. She looks like some kind of Labrador except that her legs are so, so small. She is dressed in a silly devil costume for Halloween, which somehow makes her look even MORE ridiculous than usual - no small feat.

when will my husband return from the war against heaven

the wokes down at the NTSB don’t want you to have any more Edmund Fitzgeralds

we as a society need more tales of doomed mariners, and yet shipping is safer than ever

Same (no degree but Extremely Interested in Plants)

She is tho

Fuck the news I'm gonna look at boats and listen to fiddle music all day

ITS

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN