Sewing: How I got into historical clothing- Part two
The shawls, the arm warmers, the shrugs and the caplets of the Outlander show were all calling to me to try my hand at them. I loved the silhouette of the 18th century, so feminine and curvy. Up until watching the show though, I had only seen dresses and clothing made of precious materials in bright or light colors. But in the show, everything was made for lower class, hard working people and in Scotland. The fabrics were hefty, thick wool plaids or solids in gorgeous neutrals, greens and blues. The fall and winter gear were luscious textured knits also in those same colors. I knew I wanted to figure out how to make some of the items and see if I could incorporate them into my daily wardrobe inconspicuously.
I have always loved having my own style. It has never been generic and I have been curating it even further over the past several years. I have found my color palette that works with my skin tone and hair. Most everything in my closet could be paired with everything else and it makes getting ready super easy and pleasurable.
In the beginning of the pandemic, I wanted a new knitting project and took a look at my yarn stash. I had this fantastic royal blue alpaca as well as a charcoal from the same brand. I decided to try making the shawl worn by the main character in Outlander and found the technique to create my own pattern for it.
Above is the original image from the show. And this is what I created for myself:
I had no idea if I would ever wear it but one of the things I love about knitting is that material is rarely wasted. I could make something and if I don't love it or don't wear it as often as I would like, I just rip it out and re-use the yarn for another project later on. This can cycle over and over before the yarn gets too fragile depending on the material it's made out of. So, I figured that I could always rip it out if I didn't end up wearing it.
But, it became a staple in my wardrobe both in the house and out running errands. I loved how easy it was to throw on over whatever I was wearing and since it tied in the back, it wasn't ever in the way like I remembered shawls to be growing up. It was purely functional and yet made me feel beautiful and put together at the same time.
I decided to make one out of some old acrylic yarn I had used for a jacket and ripped out a year prior. I wanted a shawl I could easily get dirty and throw in the wash as well.
This one, I just did a simple design and it went fairly quickly. And I loved making it. It was simple enough that I could use it as a form of meditation or easily listen to an audiobook while working on it.
I decided to ask my followers on IG if anyone would be interested in purchasing commissioned shawls if I offered them and I ended up knitting shawls nonstop into the summer of 2021. You can view some of the various shawls I made on my website if interested in commissioning your own. :)
But what about sewing? When did I start getting into historical sewing including making 18th century garments completely by hand? I'll get into all of that in the final part of this series. Stay tuned!