2021 Sewing Plans

Goth fashion has always taken cues from the past, and I've discovered my own gothic aesthetic that pulls from my Blackness and American Southerness as I've processed what the past means to me.

I talk about this some in my earlier post BLACK & GOTH, but to sum it up I'll quote:

"The aesthetic that I see developing understands a new expression of mystery, of darkness as nearly unknowable knowledge, this illusive ~Blackness~... It's a textural and contextual aesthetic that resists white as default; that creates over, around, through cultural theft; that recognizes both the physical death and the soul murder we live with, subverting it and wearing the melancholy it produces as a badge of pride..."

For me, a goth style that emerges from illusive Blackness looks like a style that draws on the rural past instead of urban trends. I explore this through historybounding (the wearing of varying amounts of historical clothing in everyday life). I found out about historybounding through the historical costuming community because I was searching for tutorials on hand-sewing garments, since I didn't have a sewing machine at the time, and this is pretty much the only sewing community that still hand sews the majority of their creations, other some quilters. 

I stumbled on the now-famous Modern Edwardian Walking Skirt video by Bernadette Banner, sewists like Mrs. Rat, Sarah W. of A Most Peculiar Seamstress, and Mariah Pattie, and even found professional historical reenactors like Cheyney McKnight (Not Your Momma's History), who has a great video series on appropriate headwear for Black historical reenactors in 18th and 19th century America.

The term "historybounding" encompassed my younger self's wide array of ashion interests: medieval and Renaissance Goth fashions; Japanese street fashions like Lolita, Mori Kei, and Natural Kei; movie costumes from historical and fantasy dramas; even Cottagecore. Through the sewists and historical reenactors I've referenced, I discovered that I wanted to make my own clothes and incorporate aspects of past fashions as an expression of my Southern Gothic Womanist aesthetic. 

As 2020 continued, I identified  the silhouettes I wanted to reproduce and narrowed down my plans for the next year. I am sure that I won't be able to complete this entire wardrobe ina single year, but I am now much more clear about the direction my sewing life is going to take in the next few years:

Skirts

• Gathering or cartridge pleating to add volume
• A-line and Rectangle
• Tea to floor length
• Slits for 18th C. style pockets

Pants

• High-waisted
• Pegged

Blouses

• High neck, band collar, button front 
• Knit turtlenecks 
• Knit wide scoopneck

Outerwear

• 18th C. Short gowns/Caraco Jackets (blazer-like)
• Wiksten Haori or the AllWell Cardigan

Loungewear and Supports

• 18th C. Adrienne
• 18th C. Pettioat
• 18th C. Shift/Chemise
• Bumpad
• Late 18th C. Stays

Special Occasion

• Regency Dress
• Some type of dress inspired by the Artistic Dress/Art Nouveau

Historybounding Capsule

So, friends, these are the items I want to make this year, roughly in order of when I want to make them:

January

     1) Bedgown/Adrienne - pattern TBD
     2) Shift - self-drafted

February

     3) All Well Cardigan
     4) Seamwork Kenzie Skirt: altered to work like an 18th
     C. petticoat, with separate front and back waistband, and
     slits for the pockets, and adding several inches to the length

March

     5) Seamwork Willis Shirt
     6) Long-Sleeve Band Collar Shirt - pattern TBD: will
     probably have bishop sleeves or gigot sleeves as well

April

     7) Seamwork Nolan Pants
     8) Thimble and Plume Wulsthaube to go under my current headwraps

May

     9) Bum Pad - self-drafted
     10) 1780s or 1790s stays - pattern TBD

June

     11) Pockets - self-drafted

You may have noticed that I only have projects scheduled until June for my Historybounding Capsule, and that is because I have a few other projects lined up for 2021 as well. I wanted to leave room for 

Special Occasion Outfits

The whole reason I started sewing was to have clothing options that fit me for any occasion (when I thought I was getting married, I even hoped to sew my own wedding dress). There are plenty of other special occasions and I really want to have clothes that I've made to my own taste to fit my own body.

If I'm not able to make the outfit by my deadline, I'm skipping over it for another time, so I won't be piling a bunch of sewing on my to-do list for the end of the year.

Occasion     Deadline for Make

Easter/Pentecost   April 1

It's been along time since I dressed up for Easter (since childhood, to be honest), but as I've entered a more liturgical church culture, marking the Holy Days has become more important to me and one way I want to do that is by making an outfit that commemorates what is being celebrated, in this case, Easter. I will probably make this outfit from Ankara fabric, and wear it again on Pentecost Sunday, when my congregation invites everyone to wear clothing representative of their various cultures to celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit to all people in all people groups. Y'all can tell I'm being really hopeful, lol. Even though I'll probably still be attending church online, I want to join in the spirit of the service at home. I also may end up doing the Wulsthaube early, because I ~might~ want it for underneath a matching headwrap.

Summer/Pride    May 1

As a celibate bisexual woman, usually I attend Revoice, though this year was online due to COVID. Even if we're not able to meet in-person, though, I still want to have a special outfit to wear at home, or for any smaller meetups. I'm thinking of some kind of sundress or high-waisted shorts set in my light blue Ankara fabric.

 

Birthday       November 1

I've always wanted to make an outfit especially for my birthday. The main choices are if I'll be having something small and outside and socially-distanced or if I'll be having the skate party I wanted back in 2020. If we can be out in public without killing each other, I'm probably going to make the George and Ginger Zappa Pants for a disco-themed skate party, BUT I am also considering altering an All Well Box Dress with extra tiers and lantern sleeves to look like this Shein dress (video by SweetHime).

Christmas     December 1

I want a dress for holiday parties! And even if 2021 goes the way of 2020, I've realized that dressing seasonally adds to the experience of the season even (maybe especially) if I am not able to do the other activities that I would usually engage in.
I will probably make the By Hand London Hannah Wrap Dress, in a green vintage cotton.

Quilts

More Wedding Quilts

I referenced the fact that both of my previous roommates and pretty close friends got married last year (right around this time actually). Having finished the quilt for one roomie it is time to start the other, and it will not take as long to make.

I was really inspired by this kissing diamonds patterned quilt in cream and blue Nani Iro fabric by Florence from the Flossie Teacakes blog. I am going to cheat a bit and make the diamonds with half-rectangle triangles but in plain navy and cream colored fabric.

My younger sister also got married and I have a quilt to make for her as well. Depending on how the Kissing Diamonds quilt goes, I may attempt a more complex quilt block, the Storm at Sea pattern, in purples, blue-greens, blacks, and grays. But if I'm short on time or don't feel like doing a complex project, I will make another kissing diamonds quilt.

The Kwanzaa Mini Quilt

My last quilting project is to finish the Kwanzaa quilt that I want to use for a table mat or the Mkeka. My project has differed wildly from the original design, but I like that it fits my improv quilting aesthetics. I didn't like that the red of that I ordered clashed with the red of the Ankara fabric backing, so I eliminated it from the design. I may have to order more of the green, black, and ivory fabric to make u for it, but that is a November 2021 problem.

Birthday/Christmas Gifts

And I haven't even factored in birthday and Christmas gifts. I will probably go back to the Seamwork Gift Guide that I used for Christmas 2020, since I already have several patterns printed, taped and I'm familiar with the construction. So, I've barely even gotten started yet, and my sewing year is already full!