HSF Challenge #23 Gratitude

Per the guidelines of the historical sew forthrightly  challenge #23 http://thedreamstress.com/2013/08/the-hsf-challenge-23-gratitude/ today's post is about gratitude.

Us costumers tend to be friendly bunch, sharing wisdom and and lending a helping hand in projects. I am greatful to so many people in this wonderful hobby, those who have given advice, lent a hand or a pattern and those who have done research and put it out there in the form of blog posts or tutorials, so that all I have to do when I decide that I want to make a certain garment is to google it and see how someone else did it before me. But in this blog post I would like to thank 2 of my friends who recently helped me pull together something on very short notice.

2 months ago as I was gearing up to go to the fair of New Boston, my husband who has always steadfastly refused to have anything to do with my silly costuming obsession suddenly decided he wanted to go with me. Not only did he want to come with me, but he volunteered to come in costume! First I was stumped, then excited, then panic set in! See my lovely husband chose to break his vow never to don historical costume less than a week before the fair at New Boston. I had never made any mens clothes, and had very little idea of how to even go about it... I had no proper fabric or patterns and very litte time on hand, and on top of that I needed to make a new dress for princess Charlotte, because she had outgrown her old one... This is where my awesome costuming friends came through. After posting on Facebook that I needed to make mens clothes ASAP and didn't quite know how to go about it, I got a flurry of advice what patterns to use and what fabrics would be best for the occasion. But it went further than mere advice, first my friend Julie graciously offered to lend us a pair of her husbands pants so I wouldn't have to make any, which helped out so much because I was sewing till the last minute just making a shirt and waistcoat and would have been hopelessly overwhelmed having to make trousers as well! She sent them by mail, they arrived just in time and fit perfectly. I later bartered  her the pants for a vintage tiara and some jewelry so now hubby has pants and I won't have too make any unless I can convince him to come to a ball sometine at which time he will need something a little more fancy.

Secondly my friend Erin let me borrow her patterns for the shirt and waistcoat. There was no way I was going to be able to buy period correct patterns online and have the time to actually finish anything considering shipping can take up to a week. But I really didn't want to have to resort to some sort of horrible simplicity costume pattern for hubby's clothes, if I was gonna do this it was going to be the proper way! I have a reputation to uphold! Anyway Erin who also lives in Pittsburgh offered to lend me some patterns she had gotten for her husband. So I just drove over to her house and picked them up. Which had the added benefit of getting to hang out with Erin! Thankfully I managed to get some decent lightweight linen for a shirt and some linen and a nice paisley patterned cotton for a waistcoat on sale at Joann's. which made things slouch easier than having to order online and wait again for shipping.

Bryan refused to wear a frock coat, but I don't have time to make one anyway so it worked out well! besides it was hotter than hell at new Boston, so I think him just wearing his shirtsleeves was just fine, not proper perhaps, but perfectly acceptable considering the circumstances!

So here he is !

 My dapper regency gent. I think he cuts a dashing figure in his new suit of clothes, he certainly got a lot of compliments, and I think we make a pretty adorable little regency family what with Lottie in her pretty new frock and all. 

Hopefully I can convince him to wear a frock coat one day, I sure I will have to rely on all sorts of advice and help from my wonderful costuming friends when making one! But for now I'm happy to have gotten him this far. It's one step at a time....