I made an 1890s hat
I tried to make a hat in the ridiculous 1890s style. I made a simple sailor hat that I then covered with silk, bows, flowers and a feather.
An Edwardian corset cover out of silk curtains
I made an Edwardian corset cover out of leftover curtain silk after finishing my Victorian silk petticoat. So much ruffle!
I made a Victorian silk petticoat out of old curtains!
I turned a pair of thrifted silk curtains into a Victorian silk petticoat. I also dyed my cotton lace to match using common food items.
Two Victorian dresses in close-up
I got to study two Victorian dresses from the 1890s at the Espoo City Museum and I took my camera with me.
Stripy Finnish folk fabrics – Kansanpukuraitoja
My mother says that even her grandmother used to weave fabrics for simple garments when she was younger. Handweaving used to be a skill that most women knew and valued. I haven’t ever woven fabric for garments, just pirtanauha-bands, and one table runner a long time ago. But the more I have studied Finnish folk costumes and textiles, the more I have come to love the simple stripy patterns that still have lots of variability in them. In fact, there is one thing that the canonized National costumes lack and that is the creativity in fabrics. In the 18th and 19th century, weavers could decide what patterns and colours pleased…
