From: Gretchen Miller Date: Thu, 18 Nov 1993 17:51:55 -0500 (EST) Subject: H-costume digest, Volume 3, Nov 18, 1993 The Historic Costume List Digest, Issue 3, November 17, 1993 Send items for the list to h-costume@andrew.cmu.edu (or reply to this message). Send subscription/deletion requests and inquiries to h-costume-request@andrew.cmu.edu Enjoy! ---------------------------------------------- Topics: Lots and Lots of Biographies FAQs, including historical costuming FAQs More Folkwear peeves Subscriptions info for related lists Various Requests ---------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 17 Nov 93 16:00:00 PST From: "Teena Tuttle" Subject: Vintage Clothing I tried to subscribe to the vintage clothing list as previously posted (vintage-request@presto.ig.com.) and was unable to do so. I am pretty new at this e-mail stuff, and maybe I did something wrong? I would also be interested in subscribing to a quilting mailing if I knew how. As for my history of historical clothing: I learned to sew on a treadle. I currently own a Free brand treadle, complete with accessories for sewing insertion, pintucking, ruffling, braiding, etc. Unfortunately, although I have an instruction manual, I am mechanically inept and cannot make these attachments work. I have sewn historical clothing for my daughter as I always liked to dress her up but now that she is grown and married, I will just have to lose weight and make gowns for myself. I am currently interested in millinery and have made myself a beaded cocktail hat of rose silk, vintage black veiling and vintage black lace appliques, a sort of Doris Day kind of hat. Does anyone know of a source for millinery wire? Thanks. Jackie @ttuttle ------------------------------------------ Subject: FAQs, including historical costuming FAQ Date: Wed, 17 Nov 93 18:49:00 -0500 From: Anne Louise Gockel I assume that most of you are familiar with the textile-related FAQs from the various newsgroups. In case you're not here's the standard info! -alg ---- There are four FAQs related to the textiles groups. Each FAQ is a list of Frequently Asked Questions and answers. The textile FAQs include: 1) General textile and sewing question and answers, including: Where can I discuss xyzzy (weaving, spinning, flower arrangements, dyeing etc)? Where can I get material for outdoor gear or windsocks? What's the best brand of sewing machine or serger? What are the addresses of various places? What are the best periodicals and sources for Heirloom Sewing (also known as French Hand Sewing) projects? Where can I get natural fabrics by mail order? Would anyone like to exchange quilt blocks? Is there a quilting maillist? I've just been given my Great Grandmother's sewing machine. Can anyone help me fix it or restore it? Where can I get an up to date copy of this FAQ? This FAQ has a subject line of: Subject: Textiles FAQ and is currently available in the archives under: Archive-name: crafts/textiles/faq Last-modified: 29 Sept 1993 2) Questions and answers related to Historical Costuming. This FAQ has a subject line of: Subject: Historical Costuming FAQ and is currently available in the archives under: Archive-name: crafts/historical-costuming Last-modified: 22 Jun 1993 3) A list of books about sewing and pattern making. This FAQ is posted in two parts. This FAQ has subject lines of: Subject: Textile Related Books FAQ: Part 1 of 2 Subject: Textile Related Books FAQ: Part 2 of 2 and is currently available in the archives under: Archive-name: crafts/textiles/books/part1 Last-modified: 22 Jun 1993 Archive-name: crafts/textiles/books/part2 Last-modified: 22 Jun 1993 4) An index to quilting FAQs and compiled postings available from individuals by email request. This Index a subject line of: Subject: Index of Quilting FAQs and Compiled Postings and is current available in the archives under: Archive-name: crafts/quilting-faq-index Last-modified: 2 Sep 1993 HOW TO GET FAQ LISTS (THREE AND A HALF METHODS) When looking for an FAQ list, first do the obvious and check the relevant newsgroup for articles with "FAQ" in the subject line. If you don't know how to check articles marked as read, your sysadmin can tell you. Next, try the group news.answers. FAQ lists for many groups are cross- posted there. Subject lines usually contain the names of the base newsgroups. For instance, all the misc.consumers FAQ lists will have "misc.consumers" in their subject lines. Again, your sysadmin can tell you the commands to use in searching. The articles in news.answers are posted in such a way that each version should stay around at each site until the new version is posted. But some sites are configured so that this does not occur. If FAQ lists that you're looking for have expired in news.answers at your site, you can get copies of them by FTP or email. Jonathan Kamens of MIT's Project Athena has kindly set up an archive of periodic postings. By way of example, I give specific instructions below for getting the textile related FAQs plus some general material on getting the most out of Usenet. (For general instructions on the server, send email containing the commands "help" and "send index" (no quotes, separate lines) to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu For a list of all periodic postings that are archives in news.answers, email the command "send usenet/news.answers/index" to the server.) via anonymous FTP ================= Periodic postings including FAQs are archived at "rtfm.mit.edu" (currently available at 18.70.0.209), in the directory "/pub/usenet". Multi-part FAQs, such as the FAQ for textile books, are stored in separate directories such that subdirectory is a archive name, and the files in the subdirectories are the periodic postings. FAQs that are a single posting, such as the sewing and historical costuming FAQs, are in a file that is the archive-name /pub/usenet/news.answers/crafts/textiles/faq /pub/usenet/news.answers/crafts/historical-costuming /pub/usenet/news.answers/crafts/textiles/books/part1 /pub/usenet/news.answers/crafts/textiles/books/part2 /pub/usenet/news.answers/crafts/quilting-faq-index via email server ================ The address of the server is mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu. To retrieve files, send email to the server with a blank subject and one or more of these lines in the body: send usenet/news.answers/crafts/textiles/faq send usenet/news.answers/crafts/historical-costuming send usenet/news.answers/crafts/textiles/books/part1 send usenet/news.answers/crafts/textiles/books/part2 send usenet/news.answers/crafts/quilting-faq-index when other methods fail ======================= I currently maintain the textiles FAQs and I can send you a copy of the current FAQ (which may be slightly updated from the archived copies). Try the following addresses: Internet: alg@cs.cornell.edu Preferred Address UUCP: cornell!alg Alternative: alg2@cornell.edu (thanks to "brown@NCoast.ORG (Stan Brown)" for writing this intro!) -Anne Louise Gockel Cornell Computer Science Internet: alg@cs.cornell.edu UUCP: cornell!alg ------------------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1993 17:38:44 -0600 (CST) From: Deb Subject: Bon jour, all! My bio A bio, hmm? I've been sewing since the obliatory A-line skirt in 6th grade. Did a few suits back when I wore those to work (blue jeans are de rigueur now), and a cloak for evening wear. Another satin lined cloak for a man, with the shoulder cape layer (what the heck are those called??), plus a hooded Kinsale cloak for myself that I wear to work in the spring and fall. It gets lots of compliments! Lately I've been doing more "fun clothes" than modern ones ... because modern blue jeans, etc. all have to fit in a certain way ... and I never look like the skinny waif models when I put them on. I do Revolutionary War re-enactment in a several-state area (Illinois,Michigan,Wisconsin,Indiana,Ohio and Iowa just joined) and enjoy showing off my work at the fashion show there. I've done lots of plain clothes (female and some male), plus corsets, a pelisse, a fancy caraco* and a wool period suit*, both with lots of ruching. I've got fabric already and schemes for a sack back short gown & skirt (a pet-en-laire* (sp?)) but that'll be another year in the execution. At the moment there are 3 corsets awaiting the hand lacing-holes and edge trim. (We have to use hand sewing anywhere that it will show.) Outside of that time period, and just for the heck of it, I've done a Houppeland gown** (think Richard II time period) with (fake) fur-trimmed sleeves reaching the floor, and a (fake) leather elf costume with laced up to There slits on the leg seams. I've got more fabric waiting to become a Civil War gown (~1860's with pagoda sleeves***) though I've no idea where I'll wear that. I used to wear these things to Science Fiction conventions, but I'm going to fewer of those lately. <===========================================================================> Deb Baddorf Fermilab, MS220 Arthurian,Inkling,&Regency Baddorf@warner.fnal.gov PO Box 500 buff Baddorf@fnal.bitnet Batavia, IL 60510 Costumer, RevWar re-enactor MAC Q605 w/ IIe emulator *from "Patterns of Fashion c. 1600-1870" by Janet Arnold. Drama Book, London, 1964 ** something like "Fashion through the Ages" showing Richard II through 1920 flappers. More details if requested. It's in the library. *** pattern from Amazon Dry Goods, though I forget the makers name just now - it's at home, of course ------------------------------------------ From: close@lunch.asd.sgi.com (Diane Barlow Close) Subject: Re: Questions -- general Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1993 16:52:08 -0800 (PST) > I've looked and can't find the alt.history.living anywhere. Is this a new > group? on internet or listserv somewhere? Some sites don't carry the alt groups as they tend to be too "controversial" (ie. alt.sex.bizarre and stuff like that). Many systems carry only the mainline non-alt groups like rec.*, comp.*, soc.*, etc. > I'm acquainted with the Folkwear patterns but where would you find out about > the museum replica-type patterns. I get several museum catalogs but haven't The Taunton Press will send you a colour catalog for $3 or a black and white version for nothing. Their address is: Folkwear The Taunton Press 63 South Main Street P.O. Box 5506 Newtown, CT 06470-5506 The "museum" line is a new line they are offering since they lost the copyright battle to carry all of the older Folkwear patterns and must now be content with what they currently offer. This is an attempt to flesh out and upgrade their current collection. > Last but not least, I got the introductory mail but unfortunately for me, it Ya, it got hosed. Gretchen is planning on sending a copy *to the whole mailing list* sometime in the next couple weeks, after the rush of new subscribers dies down. (We are up past 100 already!!) I'll send you a copy via e-mail separately (and to anyone else that doesn't want to wait until next week or so; this'll help take some of the load off of Gretchen, I hope). -- Diane Barlow Close close@lunch.asd.sgi.com I'm at lunch today. :-) ------------------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Nov 93 17:10:10 PST From: Art Kaufmann Subject: Bio Hello out there in network land! I'm not really the costumer of the family, just the one with net access. My biggest connection with costuming is wearing them! My wife and I belong to a living history performing group (weddings, bar-mitzvahs, international tours, the usual); although geared towards the Elizabethan (most of use are RenFaire(tm) performers), we'll try anything once. I do some work on our costumes (besides marking hems): I did the decoration on my two doublets (beads on one, ribbon chevrons on the other), made some venetians and have made a couple of hats. Someday soon I'd like to try some gloves. Like most of you (I think), we spend a lot of time drooling over the Amazon Drygoods catalog, saying "Lets make this one..." "If only I had a place to wear.." I've seen some discussion about the Folkwear pattern instructions, what are your experiences with the Medieval Miscelanea? We've had some real trouble trying to understand their directions, complicated by bad production on the pattern (mis-marked pieces). Regards, Art ------------------------------------------ From: close@lunch.asd.sgi.com (Diane Barlow Close) Subject: Re: Vintage Clothing Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1993 16:43:37 -0800 (PST) > I tried to subscribe to the vintage clothing list as previously posted > (vintage-request@presto.ig.com.) and was unable to do so. I am pretty new Try writing to the list's owner, Charleen Bunjiovianna, directly. Her address is: charleen@wiretap.Spies.COM > interested in subscribing to a quilting mailing if I knew how. The only quilting list available by e-mail is a listserv-based one that focuses on chatty, fuzzy topics ala old fashioned quilting bees. It's called QuiltNet. There is also a newsgroup called rec.crafts.quilting that discusses quilting in a more technical manner. If you want information on QuiltNet, then send e-mail to Becky Bruner (ISRLB@EMUVM1.CC.EMORY.EDU). If you want to subscribe to QuiltNet, then: send a message to: LISTSERV@EMUVM1 (bitnet) or: LISTSERV@EMUVM1.CC.EMORY.EDU (internet) in the body of the message: SUBSCRIBE QUILTNET your full name the default status will send you a copy of your postings, so it's not necessary to set a mail status. > Does anyone know of a source for millinery wire? It's in Amazon Dry Good's catalog (whose address was posted earlier and is part of the general textile FAQ's). (Sorry I don't have it handy but I'm sure you can find it easily enough.) -- Diane Barlow Close close@lunch.asd.sgi.com I'm at lunch today. :-) ------------------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Nov 93 17:29:59 PST From: Linda.McAllister@Eng.Sun.COM (Linda McAllister) Subject: Re: My pet peeve: Folkwear patterns > From grm+@andrew.cmu.edu Wed Nov 17 15:09:57 1993 > Date: Wed, 17 Nov 93 14:08:57 PST > From: Linda.McAllister@Eng (Linda McAllister) > To: h-costume@andrew.cmu.edu > Subject: Re: My pet peeve: Folkwear patterns > Content-Length: 1029 > > Folkwear's always been quirky, and not for a novice. I've been using their > patterns off and on since the late 70's, and there has been some improvement > in instructions over time (or I've gotten used to them). What bothers me the > most about them is that they're neither completely accurate historically (or > ethnically somethimes), nor do they follow current Big 4 conventions. > Occasionally they'll have something that sounds bizarre but works - the sleeve > insertion sounded bizarre, but worked. Haven't tried any of the Met patterns > yet - I have the Russian uniform, but I'm still trying to figure out fitting > mods. > > Sorry - I'm in mondo interrupt mode (or is that interrupted mode) right now and can't seem to manage more than a sentence an hour. The pattern I referred to above is Folkwear's Hungarian szur, which is my current winter coat. The sleeve is your basic rectangle; the instructions call for sewing the sleeve seam to within ~6" of the sleeve top, then using the unsewn part as the sleeve cap. Essentially eliminates the gusset. When did the shaped sleeve cap get popular? ------------------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1993 20:26:59 +0500 (EST) From: Brynda Watkins Subject: bio Well, I'm one of those SCA people, who got warned by group name on the list intro. I do like to talk about costuming, as I am the arts and sciences officer for my local group (North Carolina, Chapel Hill), and often have garb workshops in my home... :) I make t-tunics, heavy cloaks, I made a dress earlier that still needs much work, but is doing quite well. My best friend does more of the sewing around our house (we are housemates as well), but that doesn't mean I'm not interested, it means I have no time! I am a senior in college, and I am also applying to grad school, so who knows when I will have time to sew next. Bryn Be good to dragons, for you are crunchy and go well with ketchup. Raven Canton of Kappellenburg, Windmaster's Hill Atlantia ------------------------------------------ From: waltz@mprgate.mpr.ca Subject: Bio Date: Wed, 17 Nov 93 18:35:34 pst Hello, all! Well, unlike most of you who have posted bios so far, I haven't been sewing for very long. My mother was a seamstress and she always sewed my clothes when I was young. She frequently tried to teach me how to sew, but my attitude was that I wasn't going to make my own clothes, I was going to buy them all, so why bother learning. (Foolish child! I've smartened up since. :)) Well, about 5 or 6 years ago, I discovered the SCA. I very quickly came to the conclusion that I needed a sewing machine and I needed to learn how to sew. For the first time ever, my mother was delighted to lend me money. I wanted it for a sewing machine. During the time I've been involved with the SCA I've learned a great many things from a lot of the very talented people involved, and my interest in historical costume has grown along with my skill level. To date I've worked on Tudor, Elizabethan, Italian Renaissance and Cavalier styles. I'm also very interested in time periods outside of the SCA period, and I would love to do some Victorian clothing at some point in time. I don't think it's something I'm likely to do in the very near future though, as I don't have any place to wear it. Janet Arnold was here on the west coast a short while ago and gave a lecture on foundation garments on one evening and Elizabeth's wardrobe the next. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it on the second night, but the first lecture was absolutely fascinating. I hear I missed some really wonderful things during that second lecture. :( This list looks like it's going to be very interesting. I'm looking forward to participating. Regards, Marina Waltz Vancouver, BC ------------------------------------------ From: JLIEDL@nickel.laurentian.ca Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1993 21:49:02 -0500 (EST) Subject: Bio et cetera Greetings to everyone in this most active of groups (I look forward to learning the options for this list so that when I go out of town for a few days I can digest or nomail and avoid overflowing my email privileges!) I've been doing historical costuming for years. As a child, I served as a figure for historical costume (French-American "voyageur" culture at Fort Ouieatnon in W. Lafayette, IN). When I reached university, I too fell into the clutches of the SCA. I have since sewn historical costume for a variety of men and women for periods ranging from 600-1650 (and occasional, technical forays into Victorian dress and fashion). Professionally I am a professor of early modern European history. My professional and hobby interests have overlapped many times-- ask me about my Renaissance costume lectures I used to deliver in full dress to bemused university students (in my younger, grad-school days). I am keenly interested in authenticity of technique and accessory, but also enjoy the fun of dress-up! Most recently I completed an English Civil War-period outfit for myself (a self-consciously simple and "merchant-class" black linen bodice and skirt) and a uniform coat for my husband who does ECW battle recreations. My first love in historical costuming remains the period 1350-1600, however, and I have an extensive library on that era. My husband has expressed an interest in American Civil War recreation-- I might be seeking the list's expertise there in the near future! I've sewn hundreds of variations on the Folkwear "Missouri Riverboatman's Shirt" which works an awful lot like late medieval/early Renaissance shirts (see the bible of geometric cutting in historical costume: _Cut My Cote_). I can gusset in my sleep by now! Janice Liedl Laurentian University, Canada JLIEDL@NICKEL.LAURENTIAN.CA ------------------------------------------ From: sclark@epas.utoronto.ca (Susan Clark) Subject: Jumping on the bio bandwagon To: h-costume+ Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1993 22:11:44 -0500 (EST) Hello all-- This seems to be a trend, so here goes. I've been doing a variety of crafts (embroidery, etc.) since I was very young. I got into costuming when a student group I was part of as an undergrad needed "medieval" costumes. I promptly went and looked some up at the library, and made them. Learned a lot in t process about how not to make medieval costumes. When I came up to Toronto to do my MA in history,, I joined the SCA, and since then, I've tried just about everything in the book. My specialties are the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries (I've don a great deal of research on the former). In fact, my wedding dress was made on the pattern in Janet Arnold's _Patterns of Fashion_ of the dress worn b by Eleanor of Toledo. (I am currently making a friend a male outfit from Arnold, too). I a also into 17th centu(ECW) re-enactment, and have made three New Model Army Coats, and a doublet or two. (I sew 3/4 of the time for men--my husband, and people who comission me). I have also done some War of 1812-era costuming. Current project: Research into Kievan Rus' costume. Not many sources out there in English. My SCA group hopes to do a Kievan theme event next year. And if anyone knows good sources for Byzantine costume circa 1100--give me a shout! Cheers Susan Carroll-Clark sclark@epas.utoronto.ca ------------------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Nov 93 19:25:56 PST From: aterry@Teknowledge.COM (Allan Terry) Subject: Bio I didn't know we were supposed to give bios--apologies for jumping into the discussion without introducing myself. I've been involved with vintage clothes and historic costumes since 1972 for a variety of reasons. My parents are antique collectors who took me to lots of auctions when I was a child. I got a degree in history, which I loved, but few jobs were available. I wanted to own, and make, beautiful things. So I started collecting vintage clothes, from the 1810s through the 1920s. I'd collect earlier periods but they're hard to find in the U.S. Decades after the 1920s are too modern for my taste, though I do have some 1930s hats. I originally learned sewing in college clothing design classes, but preferred older styles and techniques. Especially since I like time-consuming handwork and the modern clothes I made usually went out of style before I felt I had got full value out of them. I've also done historic and folk dance since 1974. Currently I do Renaissance, baroque, early 19th-century, Victorian, ragtime, and 20s dance. I mostly wear vintage clothes and costumes to dance events--I don't belong to any reenactment group. This means I seldom wear vintage clothes from before the 1890s--they wouldn't stand the strain. I've earned my living as a writer since 1983, and up until the last few years was also an editor. I've worked for book publishers, magazine publishers, and as a technical writer in Silicon Valley. I've written many articles on vintage/historic clothes for magazines like Threads, Sew News, and Antique Trader Weekly. I've spent the last two years writing, and seeing through publication, a book on reproducing historic styles and buying, mending, and altering vintage clothes. It's called After a Fashion: How to Reproduce, Restore, and Wear Vintage Styles. It is illustrated by Deborah Kuhn, one of the Folkwear cover artists. I can give details to anyone who is interested, or to the whole list if this is not considered a violation of net ethics. You can reach me by sending e-mail to aterry@teknowledge.com. Fran Grimble ------------------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Nov 93 23:09:10 -0500 From: Zach Kessin To: h-costume Subject: Yet another Bio... I was tought to sew in the 4th grade (or was it before that) but only to the put on a button level. When I got here to Brandeis I was introduced to the SCA threw the campus Buro (Fenmeir). A few friends helped me make my first bit of garb (a very bad t-tunic) the night before mayday last year. Since then I have started trying to expand my collection of garb. And have acquired a sewing machine. What I would like would be recomandations and ideas for patterns and fabric choice for garb. My persona is from about 1200ce England/Wales/Cornwall. Thanks for any help. I probably should call the head of the neadleworkers. (I'm in Carolingia) --- Zachary Kessin zkessin@cs.brandeis.edu For a good Prime, call: 29819592777931214269172453467810429868925511217482600306406141434158089 ------------------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Nov 93 21:21:20 PST From: tjshadb@ecto.ca.sandia.gov (Troy J. Shadbolt) Subject: a Bio Hello there; now that i've dumped all of my flyers at you, I thinks it's about time to introduce myself. My name is Troy Shadbolt, and I'm a costumer. :-) I was alsways the oddball,while the other kids were playing football; I was learning the fine art of tailoring Victorian cloths. I have been a member of the Greater Bay Area Costumer's Guild since it was a year old, and have watched it grow the monster it is now. My specialy tends toward the more 'artistic' non-standard costuming, but I still love to get my Regency duds on for a dance. I think I'll apologize now for the habit which I'm setting up- ads, ads, ads. Vitals: age: 22 sex: male (am I the odd one?) education: BFA Music, BS/MS Computational Chemistry with minor in textiles. As always, I am: ******************** Troy J. Shadbolt tjshadb@ecto.ca.sandia.gov ******************** It's a quickie. ------------------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Nov 93 21:30:14 PST From: tjshadb@ecto.ca.sandia.gov (Troy J. Shadbolt) Subject: Folwear Patterns gee, a mesage from me; bet your suprised :-) anyway, about Folwear; you have to take into account that everything about them is 'new' since the original Folwear folded in 1985. Tauton Press bought the rights, and has made it into a pure $$$ product. Old Folwear patterns tended to be poorly written; well the new ones are worse. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Collection (number series 5XX) is so bad that most people give up and do it their own way (like me). I've worked with the 501 pattern (Algerian Suit) the new Scottish Kilts (152) and many, others and have found them all to lack clear direction. They aren't for the novice! Do you know I just noticed I've spelled Folkwear wrong everywhere? Anyway; the best place to buy historical patterns is _Raiments_; Janet has every known pattern in the world. send e-mail if ya want CC12 or GBACG info! ************* Troy J. Shadbolt tjshadb@ecto.ca.sandia.gov ************* ------------------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1993 23:33:42 -0500 (CDT) From: At first I was afraid Subject: another bio To: h-costume@andrew.cmu.edu This will be a short one. . . . My name is Tony Hermosillo. I'm an undergraduate English major at a school without a theatre major--which may actually have been a good thing for me because then I'd have an even more unmarketable degree. So when I was fourteen I ended up helping out with the costumes for a high-school production of _Carnival_ and never quite got out of the sewing room completely, even though I got dragged back onstage more times than I care to remember after that. Though I've costumed fifteen shows since I came to college, I found that the ones I enjoyed most were _Into the Woods_, _Musical Comedy Murders_ and _Evita_--the ones that allowed me to have fun with wierdo materials. I've also had a stint as the costume designer for an Equity house in Wisconsin, but the demands of the professional theatre got to be a little much for me. Aside from the strictly theatrical, I've also made more than one formal dress--my sister finds me very convenient to keep in good graces--and made various silly custom shirts, usually with foofy sleeves, and many, many period shirts, usually from those annoying Folkwear patterns. Anyway, I can be reached at HERMOSIA@carleton.edu. -------------------------End of Volume 3-----------------