This summer, I finally finished my 18th c. banyan. I love it so much that I often swan around the house in it in the evenings. And now that winter here in everything but name, I’ve finally photographed it, too.
The fabric is cotton from Anuprerna on the outside, and Indian block print cotton on the inside. Outside and inside are relative, since it’s reversible.
Ever since I finished my rust-colored cloak, I’ve wanted to make a second, shorter one. It wasn’t till this fall that the fabric inspiration struck. When it did, I used the pattern from the book Costume Close-up, minus about ten inches of length, to make a second cloak over the course of two days.
I used a clearance wool blend I found online for $7/yard. The lining is my old favorite, shot cotton. I pieced the lining (mainly because I cut the lining for the hood too short). I prick stitched the lining in so that that the two layers of the cloak would move as one, something I didn’t do on the last cloak. I omitted the hand slits. With the shorter length, they didn’t seem necessary.
So in two paragraphs, I just told you everything you need to know about the cloak. So we’re going to talk about something else while I show you the pictures.
I made a pair of short stays from the Sensibility pattern, but I was really interested in making a pair of wrap stays. They seem so utilitarian. I’m always looking for historical clothing that is easy to put on without a lady’s maid, and the wrap stays promised to fall in that category.
I’m back from the Jane Austen retreat. Every part of my body hurts, I’m exhausted, but I had such a good time. I wanted to share a little about the weekend while it was fresh on my mind.
I have a costumed retreat coming up this summer, so I’ve been slowly working to put together outfits with the goal of having 4 complete costumes, a banyan, and some mix and match accessories by the time the retreat rolls around in August.
I had a Jane Austen-themed tea to attend this past weekend. I made a new costume, in hopes of rewearing it (maybe with different accessories) at the retreat.
Instead of knowing what I wanted the final costume to look like, I had an aesthetic inspiration painting, by Henri Francois Mulard, ca. 1810.
