The Tailor's Apprentice: January 2014

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Making my own Regency dance slippers and boots

I am running a demonstration class on how to create your own Regency dance slippers at this year's (2014) Jane Austen Festival Australia. Dance shoes of the period. as can be seen below, were often soft silk slippers, tied on simply with ribbons. They would have shoe roses attached with pins and the soles would be silk to enable good movement on the dance floor. There are contemporary accounts of slippers soles being ripped to shreds over the duration of a ball!

I was originally inspired by a blog post from the Oregon Regency Society, Miss Charlotte's Shoe Tutorial. Miss Charlotte's method is easy, the shoes are machine,stitched, and for those of us who like our shoes to match or compliment our gown, we can be well satisfied.

I then read Every Lady Her Own Shoemaker, by A Lady, a reprint I found in a second hand book shop. A very lucky find indeed! Its a small booklet originally published in 1855. Its a great instructional manual if you would like to try your hand at being a cobbler and gives you an understanding of period shoe making. The ladies shoes in this book are made of light material and require no heavy equipment to make. There is page after page of instructions and pull out pages of patterns so you can cut your shoes out with a minimum of trouble. It also has designs for ladies gaiters. The book strongly suggests that you should use rubbers (1851 Goodyear's patent) to protect your shoes in damp weather and to use a sewing machine to speed the work along.

So being equipped in different methods, contemporary and mid 19th century I set off to create. So far I have made a test shoe toile in calico to get the fit right and I tried my hand at a nankin boot.

My first slippers were inspired by these lovely silk Blue Slippers 1790-99

My apprentice Phoebe followed my instructions and reproduced a very fair copy of an early period slipper.

While she did that, I mocked up a Nankin half boot, using the same pattern idea, but elongating the top. I was inspired by these 1812-1820 ladies boots. Image @Victoria & Albert Museum.

I shall create patterns for this tutorial at the Jane Austen Festival Australia, I'm looking forward to sharing what I have learnt!

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I'm The Tailor's Apprentice, maker of The Miss Page 1940s reproduction patterns, gowns developed from pattern pieces found amongst the remnants of Miss Violet Florence Page’s life and work. Affordable, elegant, and unique garments from the 1940s war years.

All my patterns are available on Etsy and my website where you'll find out more about me as well. This year I am publishing an 1820s gown wardrobe pattern and an Australian Army Nurses Services WWI uniform pattern.

If you'd liked to be included on my mailing list for events, pattern release dates and interesting snippets about vintage and historic sewing, please subscribe to my Newsletter on The Tailor's Apprentice website.

Reproducing a 50s shirtwaist dress for a client

Last year I was asked by a new client to help her preserve her vintage gowns by reproducing them for her so she can wear the new one, rather than the vintage dress. I thought this would be an interesting project and I was right. We started with the 50s shirt waist dress on the left.

The bodice is a simple blouse style, the skirt however is a different kettle of fish, its pleated in sets of three and the front zip is hidden in a nest of pleats.

I took a copy pattern from the bodice and fitted it to the client, we lengthened the waist as the original was too short for her. I then started on the skirt. The fabric I was using was modern width and I had to calculate the width of the skirt and the pleats required to fit the waist of the bodice. Now that was fun ... not really, but an interesting exercise at least. I managed to finish the dress for a Christmas party.

Here's the new fabric, roses and scissors, really unusual! Far more busy and way less geometric than the original dress. A fabric will always change the outcome of a pattern, the fabric drape, colours patterns, all influence the style.

The fabric chosen for the reproduction

Here's the result. I'm pleased with it and the client loves it, she wants 12 more in different fabrics, LOL! I'd prefer to move onto the next gown in her collection!

Gown on the client

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12th Night Feast - making medievial fruit mince pies

The feasting table

We celebrated 12th Night with a food feast for 22 friends. It was a marvellous evening, we ate, we laughed, our two Kings of Misrule, who found the token in the deserts, kept us entertained and made us entertain them with games and caroling. We played 'Snip Snap Dragon', 'Pass the Lemon' (my stomach muscles are still sore from laughing!), we sang carols, played rhyming and category games and had a fabulous time.

The food was a mix of contemporary and historic recipes, the oldest being a fruit mince pie recipe from 1498. I found the recipe on the interwebs and didn't book mark it and can no longer find it, so I am writing it here while its still in my memory because they were delicious!

Fruit mince pies with pork mince

Fruit mince pies from 1498
The filling makes approx 30 small pies

Enough short crust pastry to make 30 small pies, home made or shop bought
Pie filling
500 gms of pork mince
1 cup of fortified wine (I used port)
6 strands of saffron in a cup of warm water
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon ground mace (I used nutmeg)
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 apple, peeled and grated
Rind of one orange
2 tablespoons vinegar or verjuice
60 gms of breadcrumbs
1 cup of chopped prunes
1 cup of chopped dates
1 cup of chopped raisins
1 egg

Mix all the pie filling ingredients in a bowl, cover and place in fridge, allow all the flavours to mature over 24 hours.

Make 30 small pie cases, I didn't use a pie top, but you could. Then, place your mince mixture into your pastry cases, bake for 15 minutes or until your pastry is brown and the mixture cooked. I taste tested it to be sure :)

N.B. because of the meat, don't keep the mixture longer than 3 days in the fridge before baking.

Explaining Kings of Misrule

Our 12th Night Feast menu:

Wassail!

12th Night Renaissance Feast

First remove

Pea pottage with mint and sour cream
Or
Roasted Pumpkin pottage
Limited availability
Fruit mince pies
Dried fruits and spices from the Holy Land, mixed with pork and macerated in port
Pork wrapped in pastry
Pork, parsley, onion, spices from the Holy Land
Dipping sauce
Yogurt, orange peel and mint

Second remove

Pastistiou
A delicacy from Greece with the new food sensation, pasta
Beef, spices from the Holy Land, tomatoes from the Americas, eggs, milk, wheat pasta

Third remove

Turkey
Stuffed with pork, turkey & cranberries from the Americas, spices from the Holy Land
Roasted potatoes
A new vegetable from the Americas
Parsnip, porcini and potatoes cooked in cream
French beans with pancetta

Fourth remove
King Cake
Natale Torte

To give us our Kings of Misrule for this 12th Night festivities, a bean has been placed in both cakes. If you get the bean, you will be crowned King of Misrule and J-L shall give you a list of entertainments to keep the company amused.

Most dishes are based on Renaissance recipes
Wassail!

Passing the lemon!

Its lovely to see adults playing!

The laughter was so loud the neighbours remarked on it next day :)

Our dog Astro, King of Misrule all year round!

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