Sunday, January 27, 2013

Historical Sew Fortnightly Challenge #2: The UFO.

Alrighty, here is my official post about the UFO: a dotted apron. It was inspired by some 18th century art prints like this:

The Challenge: I had gotten to the point where I had one edge of ruffle on and the waist gathered, but it has been sitting for half a year and I keep turning my nose up at it. So I think that definitely qualifies it for a UFO!

Fabric: Prooobably not natural. I think it's some sort of poly net with white dots kind of painted on it.

Pattern: None, just kind of eyeballed it from the pictures and prints.
 

Year: I think lacy, frilly aprons were fairly prevalent through the 18th century amidst upper classes, but the dot print and the ruffle might lean it more towards the last quarter?

Notions: Off-white linen thread, ivory silk ribbon.

How historically accurate is it? It's definitely no reproduction, that's for sure. I guess I was wanting to make something that just resembled extant transparent aprons in life and print, sort of suggesting rather than duplicating to a T.

Hours to complete: Steadily working, maybe 10? The rolled hems gave me fits!

First worn: Yesterday for a try-on!

Total cost: I think around $15 for the old curtain and the ribbon.

The apron laid out...



The apron on me. It's HUGE. I think it's too big still, so feedback would be appreciated. It's kind of fun though and makes me feel very girly! Pardon the iPad, with nobody in the house to take pictures, I have to make do with a large mirror.


7 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. If you were going for a literal translation of the apron in the print you posted, then I could see shortening it a bit and gathering it more tightly. But otherwise, it really looks fantastic just as it is.

    (Sorry for deleting and re-posting. The original was accidentally sent too soon.)

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  3. It's not that much like the one on the Bird of Paradise, but honestly? It doesn't seem too big. A lot of the aprons in the Galerie des Modes 1778-1780 are that size. I'm sure there's a name for that style, but if you were to take off the ruffle only on the sides it would be called "à la gouvernante".

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  4. Thanks ladies! I wasn't so much crazy about the rounded shape of the one in the print...but I liked the dotted-ness of the sheer fabric and the ruffle before I even found my apron fabric, so I guess that was more what inspired it than the shape. It's growing on me the more I look at it, so maybe it'll stay in this incarnation a while, but I would be interested in what it would look like without the ruffles some day too!

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  5. It´s beautiful, and the dot fabric is lovely.

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  6. I think the size is fine--it's not a literal repro of the one in the print, but plenty of aprons I've seen in other prints are that size (or larger). I think it's quite fetching!

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