A sewing friend gifted me a pair of sheer voile curtains. She’d intended sew a robe chemise but there wasn’t enough fabric, so she reckoned she’d see what I could make with them instead. One became a ruffled 1780s apron and the other became a white muslin summer mantelet!
One of my favorite 18th Century costume references is a portrait by Sir Nathanial Dance-Tolland. I love the puffy blue stomacher bows. I love the enormous pearls worn high on her neck. I love her pet squirrel. But mostly I love the lace mantelet that she is wearing over the top of all of it. While less heavily textured, this embroidered silk gauze from FabricGuru has such a similar scale and vibe to the fabric in the portrait that I reckoned it was MEANT. I would make the blonde silk gauze mantelet from the portrait!
This 18th Century blue silk mantelet, sewn for my American Girl Felicity doll, is a special piece of clothing – it is made of memories.
Winters in the Pacific Northwest are very wet. I needed a cloak to keep me warm. Here’s a tutorial for your own 18th Century Cardinal Cloak!
For the new year, I freshened up a 1790s round gown and sewed lots of new accessories to make a 1790s New Year Ensemble!
Northern America is colder and wetter than Northern Chile in January. I needed Pacific Northwestern 1790s style!
Here is Vogue 7923 again, this time as a black domino cloak with a scarlet satin lining for an American Girl Doll!
Once I had sewn my American Girl Doll a winter cape and a pair of high-fashion muffs, naturally I now needed a pair of silk mitts to match.
Clearing out your stash must definitely mean a new green winter cape and winter muffs for your American Girl doll, right?
Sewing a silk cape for an American Girl Doll -the cloak in Vogue 7923 was very Jane Bennet goes to the Ball. Sort of. Close Enough.
