A Winter Fur Muff

So I finally got around to making something from my list of costumes. I knocked one of the accessories off the list.

I have to make two new 18th century costumes before the end of February. One day I'll get to talk about the dresses but for now the only thing I have made is an 18th century Fur Muff. Seen in a a lot of paintings and fashion plates  and even seen in movies. Fur muffs were in fashion during the 18th century.


It will be winter so why not throw in some winter accessories. I knew I could make the muff now and not have to worry about my body changing in the coming months. Anyway after doing some research and reading other costume bloggers such as American Duchess and The Fashionable Past tutorial, I decided to give it a go.

I had no idea how I wanted the muff to look all I knew I want it to be fur and I wanted it to be fox. I kept going in between wanting to use faux fur or find a vintage fur and work with that. After two months of searching for a vintage fur I decided to just go with a faux.  My two inspirations for my muff were one of my favorite paintings and one of my favorite movie costumes.

Madame Molé-Reymond by Élisabeth-Louise Vigée-Le Brun. 

A portrait of a well known actress by a female painter. The painting is on display at the Louvre. 

The muff that goes with the Fox Costume from The Duchess

After settling on what size I wanted the muff to be I was ready to start. Gathered my supplies and was ready to work.
I had picked out a red satin for my muff. In my mind at the time I just needed red.

The way I was going to do this was to make the muff base then make a fur cover. So I started to make my red muff base.

Cutting a the fabric in a 21x26 rectangle. I then folded the fabric right sides together lengthwise(hotdog) and just straight stitched along the edge. After that I turned the fabric right side out.

The next step was to take one end and pull it trough the casing until both edges met

I was ready to start stuffing. I was using some stash poly fil I already had here at home. I was the soft cluster type. After a couple of minutes stuffing and hand stitching the opening closed, I had my first muff.

Well I wasn't pleased with the muff. It wasn't bad for my first try but it wasn't as big as I wanted and it was to soft. After giving it some thought I didn't like the idea of doing a base then making a cover. I decided to take tip from one of the bloggers and make the fur on the outside and the inside lining the satin. I also needed to get  more poly fil and one with a  firmer feel. I had time since I was still waiting on my fur to arrive. 

While I was waiting on the UPS man to arrive I went on and tried out the new way I had seen. I grabbed some stash fur and a bit of scrap fabric for the lining. I added a few inches to the length of the rectangle, I needed just a bit more muff. I followed all the steps I had before except I split the rectangle in half into two 21x16 pieces, the fur one the satin the other. I then attached those to pieces, folded my rectangle lengthwise, continuing the steps I did for the red muff.  I didn't stuff this test muff, all I need to know was if I could do it. And to work out any bugs before I cut into my actual fabrics. I'll stuff it later on.

Well my fur finally came on Tuesday. I let it air out over night and got to work on Wednesday

Along with the changes I made to the muff I decided to change the lining color as well. I went from red to black, I went neutral, I also like the way the black looked with the golden fur. I will make a muff with red lining next time.

 I even added a small little pocket for my cellphone, chapstick and maybe some cash. It's a crappy little pocket but it will do since it won't be seen.

Following the new steps I pieced my fur and lining together and continued on making my muff using the steps I used to make the red muff base.

I stuffed the muff but before I closed the end up I added a gold cord to that end, so I can carry the muff on my wrist making my hands free. My pocket opening is also towards that end so when I do carry it that way none of my things will fall out.

NOW for a few pictures to compare the muffs

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Skulls and Roses

Whipped up a quick skirt from a beautiful fabric I had. I had got my hands on this coll skulls and roses fabric. As soon as I saw this fabric I knew I need to make something to wear. I wanted to make something quick since I was in between projects so I went with the skirt since it would only take a few hours and I already had a spare zipper. NO extra supplies need. Besides I love a skirt, so I make tons of them.

The fabric before cutting

Skirt before  I finished the hem.

Before I had started on the hem I tried the skirt on and discover that the skirt was to big in the waist. I had lost inches with my weight lost. I had made the skirt using my pattern I used for previous skirts. It's like riding a bike I just went for it. Well after the try on I had about 3 inches of room. I had to rip the waist band off and remove the zipper to take the skirt in. After getting that done I completed the skirt.

The skirt is still a bit big and I'm going to have to take it in a bit more. 

Bonus look at one of my current project. 

Lillian  is rocking the London Plaid cape now getting revamped with a vintage fox fur collar I got my hands on. It's just sitting on there cause I have to re-cut the collar for it the fit properly. But first I still have to get a few little things done.

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Current project and my little fabric stash

Right now I'm just taking a break before I movie on to the next costume project. Working on a skirts, fixing something here and there... Just  little things to keep me busy.

I had got this cool Skulls and Roses fabric and whipped up a quick skirt.

I have done everything but the hem I have to re thread my serger and I'm not in the mood to do that right now so I'll finish the skirt tomorrow.

I also have a few thing like patching up a pair of jeans, replacing a zipper in a pair of pants, and changing out old elastic in a top. I have a to get these things out the way before I start work on my new skirt foundations for another 18th century costume and my red ball gown.

A LOOK INTO MY LITTLE FABRIC STASH

I have been stashing fabric like a squirrel collecting nuts. I'm getting fabric for a few dresses and skirts for next summer. I have a few events I'm hoping to get the chance to attend next year and I'm planning my wardrobe.

 When I saw this fabric I had to get it. I have loved Archie comics since I was a little girl. Betty and Veronica are two of my favorite comic ladies in the world.

 Getting this fabric involved a trip to a different state. Vintage Marvel comic covers. The colors in this fabric is the best, it's going to be a fun dress.

 1950s Elvis portrait fabric. I have loved Elvis since I was little girl. Saw the fabric and it was on sale, I had to get. I have to make a dress and plan a trip to Graceland.

 This was the first fabric I bought to put into my stash. I love the colors. It's going to be a nice summer dress.

This fabric is for my next 18th century costume. I have really decided  what type of dress it's going to be but I already have the petticoat made.

Keeping with my 18th century love. I saw this fabric and just had to get it. not sure what I'm going to do with it yet but I do love.

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Finally! The complete Sansa Stark dress

Well after two months of work and even learning new things I have finally finished the Sansa Stark costume. From a week long fabric search to the last few days of hand sewing it has been a great experience for me. Here she is the Sansa Stark purple dress.

In early May I got a message from a girl on Tumblr asking me if I could make her a Sansa Stark dress. After seeing which dress she wanted I decided to tell her yes even though I never made a costume like this or make one for another person. I had to figure out the best way for me to make the dress either drafting a pattern or working  with a store bought pattern. I decided to work with a store bought pattern with some modifications which cut the work in half. Before I  could get started I had to go to Atlanta to visit family so I had time to search for the fabric. 

The dress Sansa Stark wore in season 3 and 4 of Game of Thrones

After getting back from Atlanta I had fabric swatches waiting for me to test dye because I couldn't find fabric that was the color I needed. after testing and liking how well the fabric took the dye I ordered all the yards I needed. I decided to  make two dresses, an solid under dress and the printed over dress. Both fabric started off ivory and had to be dyed. In order to dye such large quantities of fabric I had to go buy a huge  plastic tub to dye the fabric in. I spent two days dyeing 14 yards of fabric. Once I had dyed and washed the fabric I worked on modifying the pattern. Not going to go into details about that because I'm  not trying to write a book here. Just going to say that I had  taken the pattern that had the bodice and skirt separate piece, and joined them together for the outer dress. I kept  the pieces separate for the under dress but did some changes to the skirt pattern. I also moved the zipper from the side to the back of the under dress.  After I finished  all the pattern work I was ready to cut out the fabric.

I started working on the under dress first. Cutting out the fabric and finishing all the edges, I was nervous about working on the bodice. I was worried about getting the fit right and making sure I got the pleats right. I spent weeks working on getting the bodice just right, even changing up the design a few times. I finally found a way that worked and stuck with it. After I completed the  bodice I sewed the skirt panels together and attached the skirt to the bodice. Once I completed the under dress(zipper, facing, and hem) I started on the outer dress.

The outer dress took less time because I had made single dress pattern pieces. The sleeves were even easy to insert, not one problem. After putting in the neck facing and hemming the outer dress I only had one thing to do. All I needed to do was sew on the  hook & eyes for the outer dress closure.

The moment I snipped the last thread after sewing on the last hook I felt a wave of ease and relief come over me. I was so happy to finish this dress. It was so much fun to make as well as improving some of my skills.

I'm still looking for a box big enough for the dress so I can ship it off. All of the boxes I have are too small and I have one that's too big. I hopefully I find a box in the next two days.

tried to get a picture of the sleeves but it was hard with just me.

Side by side comparison of both dresses. My dress photographs really bright but in person it's more muted.

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4th of July Denim and Dots

I love having an outfit for any holiday, so of course I needed to have an outfit for the Fourth of July. Last year I had a great  theme skirt but this year I want something simple.  I had decided to make a pair of 1940s jeans and a top. But I had a problem, I didn't know if I would have time to make anything at all. I have been working on the Sansa Stark costume everyday in June. So just in case I had time I ordered my fabric and it came around June 22nd.

Long story short July 1st came around and I hadn't even touched my fabric. I knew if I wanted to have something to wear I better get to work.
 July 1st I was able to get the jeans made
July 2nd I got a top made
July 3rd I finished hems, top stitching and whipped up a matching headband.

Surprisingly I had an outfit to wear on July 4th.

There are some fit issues with the jeans. They are a little too big in the waist but that's a good thing. I'm losing weight so I'm going to have to take in the waist and re draft my pants pattern. I won't be making another pair pants until this winter so I can put pattern work off til then. I left off pockets(as much I wanted them) cause of time and lack of fabric.

fabric before cutting

pants pattern ready for cutting



I barely had enough fabric for my jeans but I was able to get them. Earlier in June I wanted to make a playsuit and polka dot top. So when I ordered the fabric I ordered for playsuit. Anyway, after a while I went with jeans. After cutting out the jeans had this adorable  bib shaped scrap. When I had the jeans mad I pinned the the bib to the jeans to see if I could have dungarees. I'll be adding the bib and straps later on, making them detachable. I love a two for one outfit.

My red buttons I choose for my closure. I picked them cause they looked vintage. My jeans also have an invisible zipper closure. I would never trust my hips to just buttons, that could end up bad.

I forgot to take pictures while making the top. I was just trying to get it made.

The shirt is based off a 1940s pattern with some alterations. I left the sleeves off cause it hot and I’m already wearing jeans so I had to get rid of something. It's a simple pull over your head top, only took a few hour to make. I picked the polka dots print cause the color red, white, and blue was great for the fourth but it didn't scream THE FOURTH. I can wear the top any other day without looking like Besty Ross.

I had a few scraps of the top fabric left after making the top. So I whipped up a cute little headband to wear. I love a match hair accessories.

It was the perfect outfit for running to the store, cooking, and barbecuing. I was comfortable, cool, and cute.

plus sneak peeks of the Sansa Stark dress in corners and background

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