DFWCG
Winter 2017
Magazine DFWCG.ORG
A Note from the Editor The fall has been a crazy season. We had so many plans, so many events that we intended to go to, but the weather kept most of us at home, and rained out those that did venture out. While it’s usually one of our busiest seasons, this year we ended up canceling more events than we attended! That doesn’t mean that we were idle. We had several events in the early fall, and the weather actually cooperated to give us beautiful weather for the Georgian Picnic this year. We also had several newcomers join us for some of our fall events, and we hope to see them at some of our future events, too! We have some great tutorials for you In this issue, and we hope to keep bringing you great new content in our next issue. We’re always looking for contributors, so if you have a pattern review, tutorial, costume article, or you want to share your experience at a costume event (even a non-DFWCG event), please write to dfwcgmagazine@gmail.com! We would love to include your article in our next issue!
Winter 2017
Photo by: Dallas Arboretum; Dallas Arboretum in Snow Currently Seeking: Tutorials – Pattern Reviews – Event Reports – Costume Articles Visit us at: DFWCG.ORG
11 Quick and Easy French Knots French knots are a great decorative stitch to use with your historical embroidery. This simple technique will produce perfect French knots every time!
05 Trends for 2017 See what costume trends we encountered in 2016, and see what our members predict we’ll see in the coming year!
07 Halloween Regency Ball with the NTTDS The North Texas Traditional Dance Society held a costumed Regency ball for the Halloween event!
15 Wings Over Dallas The Commemorative Air Force marked the 75th anniversary of the attack at Pearl Harbor with a spectacular reenactment and air show. Read all about the show, and the 1940s fashions!
31 Calendar of Events See what costume events we have planned in our Calendar of Events.
21 Burda 7880 Review Read about the good, the bad, and the ugly in this review of Burda’s Victorian bustle era pattern.
29 Fall Business 25 The 8th Annual Georgian Picnic The Georgian Picnic has become one of our biggest and most anticipated events. Check out this year’s highlights
Meeting Minutes Miss the fall business meeting? Read about the events we planned and the business we discussed.
2016 Trends
Every year brings new costuming trends and popular eras. We saw these trends pop up all across the costuming community in 2016.
1890s Winter Wear Many costumers, both in the states and abroad, really jumped into 1890s winter wear this year! The trend was definitely for elaborate jackets, with heavy embroidery, intricate cording, and lots of amazing hand stitching.
1830s Ballgowns Costumers across the world embraced the gigantic sleeves and towering hairstyles of the 1830s, especially toward the end of the year! There were several new 1830 era events to help inspire this trend, and it was so fun to see the amazing creations people came up with!
1860s Winter Outerwear A slew of winter season 1860s events assured the creation of a variety of Victorian outerwear. From paletots to fur-trimmed cloaks, winter wear was large and in charge in 2016!
2017 Trends
As we move into a new year, we’re bound to see a new round of interesting trends. Let’s see what our members think will steal the show in 2017!
1660s Fashion With shows like Versailles gaining popularity, and the highly anticipated film Tulip Fever slated to come out, the 1660s main reach a popularity they haven’t seen before in costuming circles. There are also rumors of a 1660s costuming group working hard on their gala costumes for next year’s Costume College, which is sure to inspire many other costumers!
1940s Fashion Outlander is quickly becoming the new Downton Abbey, and they have some fabulous 1940s fashions in the flashbacks. We’ll also be marking the 75th anniversary of the US’s entrance in to WWII, which is bound to bring up plenty of events to wear vintage fashion to.
1830s and 1840s Fashion We’ve already seen the popularity of 1830s fashion beginning to pick up during the winter season, and the next TV series about the life of Queen Victoria is sure to spark even more interest in the styles from these decades!
A Halloween Dance With the North Texas Traditional Dance Society
I’ve been to a few events held by the North Texas Traditional Dance Society. They have dances almost every weekend, usually contra dances, and once a month they have English Country Dancing, which is the event I usually try to make it to. It’s one of the few organizations in DFW that hosts any sort of historical dancing, so if I want to get my groove on, this is usually where I end up going. This year, it worked out that their monthly English Country Dance fell on Halloween weekend! They decided to celebrate by having a Pride and Prejudice and Zombies themed dance, with costumes highly encouraged. Never one to miss out on an opportunity to dress in something fancy and do some dancing, I pulled a Regency dress out of the closet, dug out my dancing shoes, and drove over to Dallas. 7
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The dancing started at 7:30, and we arrived just after 8 to a room full of Regency ladies and gentlemen, zombies, and skeletons. Several people were decked out in vintage clothes, and many elected to simply enjoy the dancing and not come in costume. The dancing was lively, and the organizers had tried to keep with the Halloween theme by picking dances with names like “The Black Cat�. Halfway through the evening, we had a grand march, which gave the band a chance to scope out all the costumes in the crowd. Afterward, they handed out prizes for best couple, best lady, and best
gentleman, each winner taking home a large orange as their prize. The break gave people a chance to check out all the great costumes that people had put together. There were several excellent zombies, and a zombie slayer in an evening gown who protected the rest of us from the undead horde. The dance continued until 11, much longer than anticipated, and once things began to wind down, we made our goodbyes and went on our way home. It was a fantastically fun evening, and I’m so glad they chose to make their monthly dance a costumed one! 10
QUICK & EASY FRENCH KNOTS
Step 1: Pinch the floss a few inches from where it exits the fabric and pull it taught.
Step 2: Wrap the floss around the needle twice, keeping the tension.
Step 3: Insert the needle into the fabric just beside where the floss exits the fabric, but not in the same hole. Do not pull the needle all the way through yet.
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Step 4: Pull the floss down the needle, so it bundles up next to the fabric. Keep tension the entire time. Looser tension will create a looser, looped knot.
Step 5: Pull the needle the rest of the way through the fabric.
Step 6: Repeat as often as you like! These quick and easy French knots make excellent additions to any embroidery project, and make great fill patterns.
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French knots are not only a staple in European embroidery, but also feature in Asian embroidery. A similar knot stitch, known as the Pekin Knot, Chinese Knot, or the Forbidden Knot, is made in nearly the same way, but is made with only a single loop around the needle, with slightly less tension to keep the knot looking fuller. These simpler knots are almost never used in isolation in Asian embroidery, but are instead tightly packed together in neat rows to form fill patterns.
The oldest examples of knot embroidery come from China, from a pair of shoes from the Warring States period, making knot embroidery at least 2,200 years old. Embroidered Chinese textiles eventually made their way to the West in the late 17th century, where the popularity of knotted stitches exploded. You can use this simple little knot to embellish all sorts of items, from corsets and gowns, to purses and shoes. 14
Wings OVER
DALLAS
2016 marks 75 years since the attack on Pearl Harbor, the event that catapulted the previously neutral United States into World War II. To commemorate this event, Dallas’s own Commemorative Air Force, a group dedicated to restoring and preserving vintage fighting aircraft, hosted a WWII airshow and battle reenactment. The CAF’s collection of vintage planes for that day, known as the Ghost Squadron, included a dozen original Japanese Zeros, several P-51 Mustangs, multiple bombers, and FIFI, the only remaining B-29 Superfortress that is still capable of flying. The day began with a few flight demonstrations, and some interviews with WWII veterans who had been at Pearl Harbor. When we arrived, all the planes
were still on the ground, giving us the opportunity to see them up close. Several were open for tours, and for a donation to the CAF, you could get up into the cockpit and sit at the controls while a guide told you about the plane’s history. For a (rather hefty) fee, you could even go up in some of the planes, choosing to go either in the cabin or the cockpit, depending on what your wallet allowed. But it wasn’t just about the planes. Beside the airfield was a tent encampment, just as one would see at any other sort of reenactment. There were period vehicles, such as jeeps and tanks, firearms, a mess hall, and many other fixtures of a military camp. It was fun to take a peek inside the officer tents and see their
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portable writing desks and neatly made up cots with their helmet or canteen left on top. It really made the past feel very tangible and accessible. Inside one of the large hangars, the CAF had set up a sort of mini-museum, which included not only aircraft, but displays of everything a soldier would need on the battlefield, including a fully stocked foot locker, every sort of helmet imaginable, firearms of every kind, uniforms, parachutes, and every other imaginable thing that a soldier may have needed. The men working at the tables were eager to tell visitors about every item and answer any question they had, and their enthusiasm was infectious as I found myself getting excited over all the items on the tables. They made the experience so enjoyable and
informative, and they didn’t mind people picking up and examining the items, which gave the entire show a great hands-on aspect that I really enjoyed. I especially enjoyed the table dedicated to the WASPs – The Women Airforce Service Pilots. These women had become non-combat pilots during the war, and had been some of the first women to fly military aircraft. The women working the booth were very excited to tell the stories of these women, and their display included an original dress uniform and photos of the women who had served at the time. It was such an interesting, forgotten piece of WWII history, and I loved hearing about these courageous women.
Finally, it came time for the main event of the day – the reenactment of the Pearl Harbor attack. We had planted ourselves at the fence line so we had an unobstructed view, as close to the center of the action as we could get. At 3 o’clock, the air raid sirens began going off, and the first Japanese Zeros took off and took formation over the airfield. Explosions on the runway simulated the bombing runs of the Japanese pilots. Soon, the Mustangs were in pursuit, chasing the Zeros across the sky as they continued their bombing runs. Soon, ground personnel in military vehicles arrived on the scene, attacking the Zeros with artillery from the ground. The battle was narrated expertly from the control booth, giving us moment-by-moment insight into what was happening.
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The entire show was extremely well done and very moving. The sound effects, pyrotechnics, and the expert flying by the pilots of the vintage planes really brought the entire incident to life. Hearing the stories of some of the original men stationed at Pearl Harbor beforehand really brought the human element to the story, and I couldn’t help but think about them as I watched the reenactment of the air battle. The rest of the day was quiet and relaxed, with a few flying demonstrations, including a paratrooper drop, vintage music from an Andrews Sisters style band, and exploring the encampment and talking to the reeanctors about their vehicles and weaponry. For the military buff, this was a must. For the vintage fashion enthusiast, it was a great place to meet and mingle with others. For those interested in aircraft, this was an amazing opportunity to get up close and personal with some fantastic vintage planes. I hope this wasn’t a one-time event. I could see this growing to become a popular annual airshow, especially since they had such as strong event this year. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we’ll see another Wings Over Dallas next year, and I will be there with bells on.
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Making Burda 7880 A Pattern Review
Let me start by saying that this will not be a review of the entire pattern. I only used the bodice, as I was in a time crunch before an event and didn’t want to mess with drafting something from scratch. The bodice pattern looked almost exactly like the fashion plate I was copying, so it gets some bonus points for having a historically accurate look to it. And this pattern does produce beautiful results. The pieces fit together well and the end result is not only pretty, but is extremely similar to those produced by other, more expensive, period pattern companies, but at a fraction of the price. For all of that, it’s a great pattern to have. But, this pattern will not hold your hand. Burda is a German company, and as such, they do not give the step-by-step instructions that American pattern companies often do. Reading through the instructions, it was clear that they were assuming a certain amount of sewing knowledge on the part of the user, so directions were minimal. There was a lot of “sew A to B” without expanding any further. Absolutely nowhere – neither in the instructions nor in the cutting layout diagram – does it mention anything about cutting out
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lining. It’s not even written on the pattern pieces themselves. It simply assumes that you would do this naturally. The only brief mention was a somewhat confusing “sew inside jacket as outside”, which turned out to mean that they wanted you to sew the lining together in the same way as the fashion fabric. The “double the jacket” instruction was also puzzling, but it simply meant to turn the lining to the inside. The list of notions was also somewhat frustrating, as it only featured illustrations of what you needed, along with a number, but no descriptions. This was especially problematic with the buttons, as it simply had a picture of a button with the notation “x24”, but it didn’t tell you what size of button to use. I ended up buying 3/4” coverable buttons, and using 19 of the 24 I purchased, so they clearly wanted something a bit smaller, like a 1/2” or smaller. This isn’t a big deal, but for someone that likes to be precise, it would likely be frustrating. My final complaint is that there is no size chart anywhere in the instruction booklet or on the pattern envelope. As it’s a European pattern and goes by European sizes, I was worried about cutting out the wrong size. They do list US equivalent sizes, but they are vastly different from the sizes on Simplicity or other Big 3 patterns. For example, I’m usually a size 18 in US patterns, but I was a 22 in Burda! It says that there is a size chart on the pattern tissue, but that doesn’t help someone who is in the store and is trying to determine what size to buy. Luckily, for this pattern, all the sizes are included in one envelope, but this seems to be their
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standard way of doing things, which could be problematic on other patterns. I never did find the size chart on the pattern paper (it must have been on a page I didn’t unfold because it didn’t include any bodice pieces), so I had to go onto Burda’s website and find the PDF of their size chart to know which one to use. With the list of complaints, it may sound like this was a horrible, indecipherable pattern, but it really wasn’t. The bodice itself wasn’t difficult to put together, and the few possibly tricky parts, like the placement of the collar, were given a little more instruction so you wouldn’t have problems. I certainly wouldn’t recommend this pattern for a beginner, though, unless they had a more experienced sewist with them to lend a hand when needed.
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The Georgian Picnic The Georgian Picnic is one of our fabourite annual events. Every year in November, we brave the chilly weather to gather in our favourite 18th Century clothing and enjoy an afternoon in the park together. This year’s group was considerably smaller than those in year’s past. The weekend of the 19th turned out to be a popular one for events, and many of our regular attendees had last minute conflicts that kept them from joining us. The afternoon started out with a small group of us on the lawn, spreading out our blankets and enjoying a picnic feast. Several of us had brought magnificent dishes to share, including a warm and hearty soup (perfect in the chilly weather), fruits, breads, and some absolutely delicious Queen Cakes, which we all devoured with gusto.
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As the afternoon continued, we were joined by more and more people, some of them joining us for the first time. We enjoyed chatting under the warming sun and getting to know each other. Then it was time for the games! Jen brought out her fabulous set of 9-pins, which we all took turns trying to defeat. There was an invisible hill right in front of the pins, which we all swore was there and was thwarting our attempts to knock over the pins. Later in the afternoon there were several card games started, and Liz took her turn trying to master the dandalore, better known today as the yo-yo. Once the sun began to lower, we decided to take a turn around the park. We had the main green
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space entirely to ourselves, so we took advantage and spent a good while taking pictures of each other’s outfits and enjoying the park together. There was a wide array of costuming that day. Our earliest ensemble was from the 1760s, while our latest was from the 1820s. We were a colorful group, too, with many of us in bright solids! One of the highlights was Christy’s quilted patchwork jacket, based on an original museum piece, which she took almost a year to complete! We parted ways as we had come, trickling out one at a time. The entire day had been very relaxed and enjoyable, and it was exciting to see new faces, which we hope will join us for future events!
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Fall
Meeting Business
DFWCG Business Meeting Minutes – 12/11/16
In attendance: Megan Martin, Beth Klimek, Jen Thompson, Tereasa Cotter, Starr Capps, Sandi Dreer, Coleen Swafford, Tommie Ealy, Josie Smith
New Business
Costumer’s Lost Weekend is likely going to be a weekend getaway type event this year, and not a workshop/class/retreat weekend. It was agreed to keep CLW in June since many people had conflicts with a May date. The 4th weekend in June seemed to be the best option for everyone. No final decisions were made on a place to hold CLW, but Fredricksburg, New Braunfels, and the Hill Country were all discussed.
Our DBA has been renewed for another 10 years.
Upcoming Events
An automatic membership renewal option has been added to the website, and several members are already using it.
November 19th – Georgian Picnic – 1PM. It will be in the same place in River Legacy Park as last year, since this location worked well for us and was pretty easy for everyone to find.
7:10pm – Call to order Treasurer’s Report The bank account has been officially closed and all of the Guild funds are now solely in our Paypal account. Our total funds are $1301.01
Membership numbers are down drastically from the previous year, with more than half our previous membership not renewing, including some long-time members. Money crunches and simply forgetting were both suspected. The new CLW format was also discussed as a reason, since it doesn’t reach out to the public as much as it once did. Reminder emails have seen very little return. It was suggested that an eye-catching graphic on our Facebook would help people
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remember to renew. members may also help drive membership numbers back up.More ticketed events with discounts for paid members may also help drive membership numbers back up.
December 10th – Dressing for the Holidays. We were contacted by the Fort Worth Central Library to do a Victorian dressing demonstration for their Dickens holiday festival. Some members are planning to see the Star Wars: Rogue One premier on December 16th. This would be an informal, costumed event and not an official Guild event.
January 14th – Monet at the Kimbell – 10AM The early works of the artist will be on display. Since Monet is extremely popular and the Kimbell is always packed on the weekends, we’ll be meeting as soon as the museum opens so we can try to beat the crowds. February 25th – Private Tour of the Civil War Museum – Tereasa has a contact at the museum who has offered to give us a tour of the Victorian dress collection, including access to the dresses in storage. Lunch afterward at somewhere nearby. March 26th – Jazz Age Sunday Social – There isn’t any information online yet about the event, so we’ll have to wait until the date is closer to make more concrete plans. April 8th – Scarborough Faire – We decided on two meetup times, since the festival is so large and people may want to arrive at different times. The first group will meet at the gate at 9:30 to watch opening ceremonies, and then at 1PM any latecomers will meet up with the morning group at King’s Pub. May 20th – Edwardian Outing at Thistle Hill – a tour of Thistle Hill followed by dinner at a nearby restaurant. Details still need to be finalized. September 16th – Cassanova at the Kimbell – A collection of 18th century artwork, so we would be doing 18th century costume to enjoy the exhibit. 9:07pm – Meeting adjourned.
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Calendar of Events
Monet at the Kimbell Kimbell Museum, Fort Worth, TX
Feb 4
Dressing for the Rococo Civil War Museum, Lake Worth, TX
Feb 25
Feb 23
April 8
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Valen-Teens Tea Montgomery Street Antique Mall, Fort Worth, TX
Jan 14
Scarborough Faire Waxahachie, TX
Civil War Museum Tour Civil War Museum, Lake Worth, TX
Edwardian Day Out Thistle Hill, Fort Worth, TX
May 20
We would like to thank all of our readers for their support We look forward to bringing you our Spring Issue in April
Contributors
Events
A Note from the Editor
Events are added to our calendar as we Megan Martin learn of them, and so the list in DFWCG Jen Thompson magazine may not reflect the entire list Liz Kearns of upcoming events for the DFW area. If I am so excited about this issue of the magazine. Since your illustrious you are hosting or know of an event that you wouldhave like to see listed in our editor was overseas during the summer, we didn’t a summer calendar, please issue of the magazine this year. ThisUpcoming means thatEvents for the fall, you’re email dfwcgmagazine@gmail.com. getting a special double issue! This volume of the magazine will cover For the most up to date information on everything from our April events up until now, and we have some Guild events, and other costume events fantastic tutorials and costume articles to share withvisit you. in DFW, please our website at DFWCG.org. We’re gearing up for one of our busiest seasons, as the weather cools and the events start to power up again. We have a great collection of Costume Showcase Contributing to DFWCG Magazine tutorials that will help you build up your fall costume wardrobe for all those fabulous that are right We around the corner. Our Costume Showcaseevents is designed are always seeking contributors to to celebrate excellence costuming our magazine! If you10have a sewing or th I’m also excited in because August marked Guild’s official Birthday. displayed by the members of our costuming tutorial, an event report, a We have a special look back at the Guild through the years, which Guild. If you are a member of the costuming research article, costume was a fun way to see how the Guild has changed since its DFW Costumers Guild and would like movie review,and or grown any other costume to have beginnings. your costume considered for related content that you would like to our Costume Showcase, please email see included in an upcoming issue of dfwcgmagazine@gmail.com with a the magazine, please email us! clear full-length color photograph of Submissions can be sent as Microsoft your costume and a short description Word documents or PDF files, and will of the inspiration, materials, and be formatted to best fit into the construction process. If you costume magazine. For tutorials, please include is chosen for the Showcase, we will a clear color photo of each step that contact you for a more in-depth you have written in your article. interview.
DFWCG Dec. ?
Magazine DFWCG.ORG
Dallas-Fort Lantern Light Worth Costumers Event Title Dec. ? Guild Magazine
Plano Heritage Farmstead – Plano,TX
Event Location