Prairie Institute of Costume History

Ok I kinda had an epic amount of fun at Victorian Sewing Circle this afternoon! The quality of treats was definitely reduced without Douglas Hyndford though!

Sewing circle next Sunday already?!? What are you working on right now?

Oh my goodness, where has the fall gone? We’re barreling towards Hallowe’en! Here are the new Victorian Sewing Circle dates for the fall and winter:

October 22
November 19
December 17
January 21
February 18
March 24

The next one is the week before Hallowe’en! I know I for one will be working on my costume!

Was about to make this post, but the Marr Residence people beat me to it! We will be there and be busy. It’s time for wrapping up (and showing off?) summer projects and starting new ones for fall. Exciting! What are you working on right now?

Open House and Vintage Sewing
September 24, 2023. 1 to 4 pm

Our interpreters will be on site and members of the Victorian Sewing Circle will
share information about historical costuming.

How has it been a month already?!? Victorian Sewing Circle again this afternoon. Not sure we can top last month’s epic fun but we will try!

At the Marr Residence, 1-4 pm.

What are you working on today?

It’s Victorian Sewing Curcle Time!!!!

Victorian Sewing Circle is coming up this weekend! Feels like it’s been FOREVER. What are you more excited about, what you’re working on or what you’re going to wear?

A great reason to take out your historic costume!

Vintage Games and Open House
July 16, 2023.
1 - 4pm

Our interpreters will be setting up vintage games in the house and outside,
weather permitting. Come and try your hand at crokinole, checkers,
hopscotch, stilts, marbles and more!

Project prepping for Victorian Sewing Circle tomorrow! What are you going to bring?

What a fabulous day for Victorian Sewing Circle at the Marr Residence! We learned about welt pockets, did some fitting, and sewed some buttons and lace, and flowers on a hat! Not to mention Douglas Hyndford spoiled us with some delicious treats!!!

Our June date is in just two weeks (June 11) and I can’t wait!

The Victorian Sewing Circle is set to continue through the summer for the first time ever! We’ll be at the Marr Residence May 28, June 11, July 30 and August 27! 1-4 pm each time. Drop by, bring a costuming project, or just come to chat!

Excited to carry the Victorian Sewing Circle through the summer!

The Marr Residence will be open 1 – 4 p.m. May 28, June 18, July 30, and August 27.

Interpreters will tour you through the house and you can watch our Victorian Sewing Circle members working on their projects.

A. Dianne Wilson dropped off this original Victorian wire dress form at Victorian Sewing Circle today! Such a fascinating piece of history.

I can’t believe it’s Victorian Sewing Circle time again! Sunday, February 19 from 1-4 pm!

Sue and Della are the heart and soul of the Marr, and we’re so very grateful for all the work they do—including making our Victorian Sewing Circle possible!

Heritage Festival of Saskatoon 2023.

What a great time at the Victorian Sewing Circle this afternoon! Thanks to everyone who came, and it was great to see everyone‘s progress!

Setting up for the Victorian Sewing Circle!

Getting excited for the Victorian Sewing Circle on Sunday! What would you like to work on?

A whole BUNCH of detail shots of an original bustle dress in purple silk, given to me by my sister-in-law’s family. I really want to get a proper mannequin photo shoot for it one of these days.

I recently used these instructions from The Art of Dressmaking by Madame Marie Boudet (1903) for drafting a petticoat (basically a five-gore skirt) directly on the fabric. It’s designed for 32” fabric as far as I can tell. I love that it only uses two lengths of fabric. In hindsight with my 60” fabric maybe I could’ve only used one length, as I had to make some changes to keep the proportions similar which resulted in a lot more gathering at the waist than I maybe wanted for this period. Also she uses metric, and I’m always happy to see that. The details of the instructions are a bit more cryptic, and there’s a fair bit of on the fly calculation that I might rather have worked out ahead of time (what’s 1/3 of 1/2 of my waist measurement?) but on the whole I enjoyed it.

The winter 2023 dates are confirmed for the Victorian Sewing Circle! Here are the dates: Jan 22
Feb 19
Mar 19
April 23

On these days we’ll meet at the Marr Residence from 1:00 to 4:00 pm!

Masking recommended

An original gift—an antique set of corset cover, drawers, and white shoes. the romantic in me wants to interpret them as a bridal set, but who knows?

Tanit-Isis has shared 14 photos with you!