Patterns

I finally splurged (or rather, my husband splurged for me) on some J.P. Ryan patterns.  Breeches and frock coat for the man, and the Anglaise for me. I guess not having a project = shopping.

It's a little frustrating that they come single-size; who on earth actually matches up to the size chart?  I guess I am spoiled by the flexibility of multi-size patterns and the ability to blend between sizes.  Still, the reviews are good, and my two attempts at 18th c coats for him have been crap less than ideal, so hopefully a pattern will take some of the guesswork out.  Ditto for the Anglaise; I know I could enlarge one from PoF, but It's more complex than anything I've enlarged.

I have some navy blue wool for the HB's suit, a yard sale find.  I also need buttons (or button forms), shirt and vest fabric, maybe some trim, and some new stockings.  Oh, and an inexpensive tricorn might be nice, too.  The timeline for this is our 18th c picnic in May/June.  

Aprons

Even though I'm still stuck on costumey stuff, I decided to make today a sewing day, since I had the opportunity.

So, aprons!



This is for work, since I usually like to wear an apron when I'm at Treadle.  It's a Kokka cotton/linen print with sewing notions.  The pocket and ties are another cotton/linen Kokka with thread spools.  The apron is a rectangle with two inverted box pleats at the waist for shape.  The rounded pocket also has an inverted box pleat and a little yo-yo done in a Lotta Jansdotter print (dang, I feel pretty designer-y today).



And one for the kitchen.  Lemons and pindots on green.



I love the cross-back for practical wear; I can't stand a strap around my neck and this way the straps don't slip off my shoulders.  In the past, I've used buttons and snaps with this kind of setup.  I liked the snaps best but they also required the most frequent repairing.  The ties are meant to cross around the body to the front to be tied.