Making Edwardian Costumes for Women Paperback – February 22, 2016

Carefully researched and has clear instructions. Can't wait to get creating.

This book contains an immense amount of construction information specific to the Edwardian era, including beading for evening gowns and lace insertion for blouses. There is even a tutorialfor a velvet toque hat. While the patterns are somewhat simplified for modern costume makers, the real value of the book lies in the clarity of its step by step construction information and the range of garments and accessories examined. Beautifully researched and written.

I am so glad I bought this book. I haven’t been much of a fan of this period of clothing but I needed it as a reference for a costume project, and it’s been a wonderful resource. I’m tempted to make every design in it, though that’s probably unlikely, but at the very least it’s helped me with what I needed it for and gave me more appreciation for the era.

Wonderful book — full of details and interesting information, the author is a fashion historian and had access to museum pieces. Am studying historical clothing construction and design, this is a wonderful reference.

This is possibly the best of this book series in terms of layout, info and period accuracy. The garments are based off of museum originals, and what's good is very good.The good: a bit of good info on period clothing as an intro. The patterns are based on original garments. The lace insertion blouse is really great, it looks period and there is some good instruction on how do it. The two outfits of blouse and skirt are also very good, the striped one is very close to the original and even includes the crazy little bobbles. I love books with pattern diagrams, and the layout was nice with decent photos. Petticoat pattern looks very good as a solid, flounced option.The bad: No mention of corsets or pads anywhere, which is an issue. Although one could argue that if you're advanced enough to use the book it is implied, but as there is introductory period info given, corsets should also have been included. Garments are seemingly displayed on a modern dressform with natural waist, big square shoulders and pointy bust. Made the lovely garments look like musical theater costumes, whereas on a period torso/corseted shape it would read very differently. The drawers are good but a generic shape that went for 50 years, rather than the very full/flared Edwardian ones. The pattern diagrams are badly labeled and very confusing, no "TOP" or "BOTTOM" or markings like A or 1 to match up. There are balance marks, but they're mostly useless as there are only a few and no markings on how the outer layers are supposed to match up to the linings. The skirt has no pleats marked or any instructions for pleats, despite clearly showing a fan of inverted double box pleats at the back. A random line at the skirt back.. maybe for pleats? It is not mentioned anywhere and not labeled. The assembly directions are pin together and sew. Eh? The markings on the evening gown are incomprehensible.The photo of the sleeve being made was a problem for me, all the seams were serged and very modern, and it was hard to make out what was going on. The center back pleats were stitched down with one line of topstitching, but it stated that was not done for the reproduction. Why not? And the pockets. There are about 10 paragraphs on the pockets rather than for the garment assembly. The period accurate pocket that goes in the center back placket is tricky if you've never done it, but there are no photos in the instructions.The gray area: It seems skimpy on patterns, definitely wanted more for the price and a title that implies more. Good material, but felt like a lot was either omitted or left out, especially in the instructions. Would honestly have preferred no instructions and better markings on the pattern pieces. Really liked that there were some illustrations of the original garments, but would have preferred photos. Unsure as to whether this was due to museum policy regarding no photos of their pieces?So, mixed feelings. Would very much like to see another edition of this book with changes, or maybe a Vol 2 that presents more material in a better format.

this book is in the style of Jean Hunnisetts "Period Costume for Stage & Screen". The author based her clothing projects in the book on items from the Brighton & Hull Museum & Worthington Museum. The projects include open drawers, a chemise, a flounced petticoat, a lacy blouse, a walking dress, a day dress, a short cape, 3 accessories & a 1912 evening gown. This last item hits a pet peeve of mine. Edward died in 1910, so 1912 is NOT EDWARDIAN! The dress might be pretty, but it doesn't belong in a book titled "Edwardian Costume". I didn't find any instructions for corsetry to achieve the correct shaping for the gowns. I took off a star for that, since these gowns really need a corset under them, especially for the early1900's S-Bend silhouette. The instructions are lavishly illustrated & show techniques such as beadwork & lace insertion. It's not a beginners book. I don't think it's worth the $30-plus price tag. There just isn't enough in it. I paid about $25 for it & thought that was ok for what was in the book. Jean Hunnisett & Janet Arnold are still better books for the price.

Un indispensable para hacerte un vestuario de la épocaDesde la ropa interior hasta los complementos

xoxo xoxo

Mich hat dieses Buch begeistert. Es gibt gut umsetzbare Schnittmuster und Schritt-für-Schritt-Anleitungen durch den gesamten Herstellungsprozess von allen Teilen einer Garderobe von der Unterwäsche über Bluse und Kleider bis hin zur Handtasche. Die übersichtliche Anzahl an Projekten lässt sich ohne großen Aufwand durch andere Farben, Materialien usw. endlos abwandeln und es gibt reichhaltige Hintergrundinfos. Ein großes Kompliment für so ein rundes Gesamtwerk.

très utile pour élaborer les costumes historiques.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in historical fashion.The book is well researched and scholarly. She uses museum pieces and research to good effect.The photos and comments on original garments are the next best to seeing and handling them yourself.There are excellent sections on tools and techniques. The differences between making replicas and costumes in Edwardian style are well discussedEach of the eleven projects is well discussed I really liked the clear instructions and photos both of original and copy garment in construction. The copy garments have a look of authenticity but the author discusses any differences in construction from the original .....the book is fantastic for making either Janet Arnold type replicas or stage costumes with a Edwardian look. The book also stands as an excellent resource on Edwardian costume and sewing techniques if you are not Intending to sew garments. Patterns are on a grid for scaling up. Garments and accessories are well chosen.I also own "making victorian costumes" and "making Georgian and recency costume" in the same series.This is by far superior to the other titles. I do hope the author writes another book........We need more titles like this.