"For pity's sake Bertha, it's going to be _under_ your clothes, and even when someone has reason to see your undergarments, darling, they should _not_ be preoccupied with inspecting the blessed _whip stitching!"_ - The obligatory sensible aunt character
exactly.. i can drop what i'm doing and watch her hands stitching at any time.. no shame.. i have nothing more important to do, i must sit here and watch her hand stitch, i MUST!
You ever wonder if people 100 years from now will sit around trying to recreate our underpants? I hope there's a lady with a nice voice poring over a book of photos of Hanes undies.
2119: Sooo, ya bi*ches see dat dis Victoria's Secret bra is polyester n cotton rite? Dis was before graphene infused nano silk was available to the public in the 2050s. Of course, now we just wear holograms.
Salty is not just modern slang. It was also used as slang in the 1860's meaning racy, sexy. It was used to mean irritated or angry by 1920 often in the phrase "jump salty". If it was found in writing in 1860 it was probably in use in speech a long time before that. The slang meaning hasn't really changed. I often heard the word used in this way when I was a child. It has recently come into use again. It is not new slang. It is just new to you.
I have sewn all of my life. I made my own clothes back in the 70's during the polyester era when I wanted and needed cotton clothing for work. I made my daughters clothing up until I went back to work when she was 9. Then when we bought a house I made curtains, duvet covers, pillows etc. I have in the last 15 years been making quilts. I am no stranger to sewing. I just finished watching this video and I am amazed at what saw. Your sewing is absolutely beautiful . The tiny stitches. the pattern drafting. the material you used all are beyond anything I could imagine. Your work is far beyond my realm of expertise. Congratulations on a task superbly accomplished.
@@lindareed9776 you're already ahead though, cos BB is a firm believer in being able to make and repair your own clothes. I can repair clothes, but i can't make them. I've just bought a sewing machine, so hopefully soon that will change.
6:15am... Sun is shining... Cats fell asleep waiting for me... Can hardly keep my eyes open... Watching this person drawing and sewing, underwear... I've finally lost all common sense.
The thought of hand-sewing makes me break out in hives. So why, pray tell, do I find these videos mesmerizing? The enthusiasm? The verging-on-obsessive attention to details? The marvelous diction? All of the above.
@@lafemmeanglaise Ah, no, I've always had an antiquarian tendency. However, I am more persnickety in grammar than in sewing. I love fine clothes but have neither the patience nor the talent to produce them myself.
@@mayflowermatriarch5284 There’s something beautiful in watching a master at work if you have even an ounce of appreciation for the results. For that reason, I’m in awe of musicians and am not one myself in any significant degree. It also annoys me no end when people who have a month of ballet lessons try to claim equal mastery of techniques that I had 7 years worth of training in (and wouldn’t have claimed anything approaching mastery for another 7 years more).
I am a grandma (57 yrs. old) so when I tell you, you are wonderful in so many ways you know I mean it. There is something that is so special about you. I appreciate your desire for authenticity and accurate detail. You are a joy to watch!! Thank you! God Bless.
I am 59 years old and not a grandma (I do not think I will ever be) Lucky K . Scheuerman! I agree with grandma K. I love to watch what you do and love your ideas. I am agnostic! lol (hugging K anyway)
@2012endofanerror I came back to Bernadette's site because my daughter's friend told me I left a message here & I wanted to re-read it & I found your comment. Sorry I missed it. No plagiarism here we just are in complete agreement! Take care.
I hit the big 6-0 this year and I love this gal! Her sense of humor and ability to take her work seriously but herself not too seriously, AND offer me a cookie on the way out is priceless.
Omg yes this now has to be a full conspiracyyyy. She's making these videos to act as proof that she didnt just "pop out of nowhere" so that the government won't get sus. They're to show how she learned what she knows, but really, she's Bertha banner and has possible ghost written other famous sewing guides just so that she can prove that her techniques are authentic because otherwise we would only be learning second rate techniques from second rate tailors and seamstresses who just wanted fame.
You know, I'd never considered it until you pointed it out just now, but those dresses really weren't washed every wear. No wonder "spilling" something on someone is seen as so savage an insult in period dramas and such.
"These Happy Golden Years" by Laura Ingalls Wilder--quote from the preparations for her August 1885 wedding to Almanzo: "All the white sewing was quickly done on the machine. Laura brought out the dozens of yards of white thread lace that she had knitted and crocheted, and like magic the machine’s flashing needle stitched the lace edgings to the open ends of the pillow cases, the throats and wrists of the high-necked, long-sleeved nightgowns, the necks and armholes of the chemises, and the leg-bands of the drawers." Sounds like permission to machine sew undergarments in period!
I suppose it could be a replacement for the fact that Bernadette doesn't make her own fabric like Laura, so goes with the next best thing? Also, if her descriptions of the agony it was for her to sew weren't just childhood exaggerations, Laura hated hand-sewing- that was Mary's thing, even after she went blind.
@@rosequartz4102 once you get the pattern down it (tatting) does go faster, and "in the day" you were working on your "hope chest" items well in advance anyway.
"I'm so hyped to get started" I've never heard of someone getting so excited on making antique undergarments that is historically accurate. I think this might be the best channel I've found this year.
My nan (who is now 89) always made her twins all of their clothes. Back in the day that was very much the norm. She also made and used her own cloth diapers and had no washing machine (obviously). I have no idea how mother's did all they did back then (and had so many more children than we do now!) but I do know that everything was cared for, handed down and adapted to the new wearer. Nothing went to waste, all clothes were fixed (even under garments!). I completely admire women/mother's of the past. They had so much to do!
@@benlucas3625 Hand made things were relatively speaking cheaper back then. You had your choice of dozens of tailors, dressmakers, etc. in even a small town. Buying something bespoke now can be a major expense. There is also the aspect of style. Modern styles change every year, whereas historical styles lasted for lengthy periods, so there's less reason today to desire clothing that lasts.
I inherited boxes of my great-grandmothers undergarments, they are incredible, they almost make me weep when I look at the amount of work that went into all the tiny stitches and embellishments the care they put into it is inspiring.
This is why I wondered if there was any older woman in her building or life that could have help interpret the parts she got stuck on? Stories from elders can add amazing fulness to our life!
I'm a 72 year old survivor of ten years of 4-H (starting in 1958) and years of upholstery for an antique Shoppe and making bridal gowns. I realize my teachers and mentors all instructed us using Victorian ways and means!!!
@@mariahzeh9405 4-h is much more than just animals. There's needlework groups and history groups and archery groups. Many many many different types of 4-H clubs out there. 👍🏻 Go to a local 4-H Fair sometime and you will see there are tons of groups at the fairgrounds and almost all of them are 4-H groups lol
Whenever I see someone on RUclips who’s just watched a sewing tutorial, ask,....”can I sew this by hand? I don’t have a sewing machine.” I wish I could show them this. Yes people, you can make things sewn by hand. I think your project came out beautiful.
I made a denim backpack completely by hand and yes, sometimes I just wanted to burn my house down with the backpack in it but sometimes you just have to take a break and keep going later.
The problem people have when it comes to doing something by hand for lack of the machine is that it takes a lot of time and effort. Modern times are so fast. Everything has to get done in spiffy without much effort and still look like quality work. Way back when it took time and effort to make something, from garments to furniture, it was done with the thought in mind that it should last for a long time too. These days everything is treated like disposable stuff, easily replaced and without much cost.
sewing the pieces together by hand isn't the hard part, its the edges falling apart and having to hem them around every side *sobs*. (Sergers are godsent and magic). My grandmother used to have me hem all by hand as a 9 year old before we started embroidering by hand next. I hated it but now i have an appreciation for technology and for the delicacy of handwork.
I get this is probably a joke, but she used silk ribbon for trim and also said to NEVER let water touch silk. ...Come to think of it, why put silk ribbon in the "washable" layer?
I was trying to desperately find out what was going on because she sounded like when I was a kid and we played kings and queen and stuff and we would use bad accents and vocabulary.
Wait, isn't "whilst" used nowdays? (English is only my secondary language so I actually use the words I understood and some words like this, so I thought it is normal and used by everyone.)
@@emilycheshire (beware, English is only my second language as well) I think nowadays "while" is used more commonly. I've lived in England for some time and I don't think I ever (consciously) heard someone use "whilst" in everyday vocabulary
@@Deniera Oooh, that is interesting. Thank you for the info! I actually thought theese words didn't die. I write stuff but somehow the older words seem more welcoming.
My English teacher leaves an « archaic » note on my papers when I use whilst. However, I shall never stop using whilst as to me, making a clear difference between the meaning of while and whilst makes more sense. Therefore, in my head, while is A while, a moment whereas whilst is DURING said moment. Is it a weird assumption??
@@happyjellycatsquid well, it doesn't really matter whether that is the case. You prefer one over the other, so you should be able to use the vocabulary you like. Free variation is a beautiful thing, we need linguistic diversity, and these little preferences enrich language use in my opinion. Go ahead friend, give whilst the place it deserves in your own personal mental library of words.
I think your cheaper lace is pretty accurate actually. It was the cheaper machine lace of the industrial revolution that allowed so many women from different circles of society to have "frilly" underthings. Previously, far from being simply a matter of preference, it was more a matter of what you could afford. The more humble garments, devoid of any decoration , would have belonged to the poorest working classes. The more frills, the more handmade lace, and therefore, the more costly the garment. The industrial revolution was the great equalizer of much of society. Many women from varied classes were dressing the same way, whether they were wealthy or not, because so much fabric and trim was available at moderate prices. The massive socio economic upheaval/change of the time was reflected so succinctly in this relatively small way.
It depends which rich people you mean: you refer to the new rich not the old rich. the last one only wore lace on Sundays. modest but well made for instance handmade woven linen without knots held a lifetime. you could say that it is the difference between style and fashion. Also lacemakers were found in the underclass and could make it for themselves and it depends on their attitude and work environment when they could wear it. Industrialisation can't change that.
@@Kunstpost as a craftsman I've noticed people who specialise in fashion items often never wear what they make 😂 I make a shit ton of handmade jewelry and never wear them unless I need to
I’m just trippin because my grandma was born in 1898 (she was 45 when she had my mom) so she could have been dressing in Edwardian fashion in her teens. Grandma- wearing britches?! And layers upon layers?? Wow
My grandmother was born in 1899, and her mother had been a seamstress for wealthy women before she came to Michigan as a bride. The garments she made for her daughter's were stunning.
My grandma was born about the same time (1902 I think). I'm not sure what she would have worn as a young girl, but I think that her life as a homesteader and farmer wouldn't have run to a lot of lace. She lived to be 100.
One of mine was born 1896, my grandpa was born about ten years earlier, I think lol . Crazy to think o 10:25 f all these women went through… like dreaded wash days. 😊
Somehow, I can picture Bertha Banner. She would be a severe and aged woman who, though long disillusioned with the art of teaching young women how to sew in the proper manner, would rediscover her love of sewing thanks to a youthful seamstress in training: Bernadette. Impressed by her great passion for learning, Bertha Banner would be proud of her young protegé and would teach her with much glee any litle detail she had yet to learn!! We are all proud of you for the exquisite work you did on this piece!! You are researching, planing, teaching yourself how to make entire garments, even the most accomplished Victorian seamstress would be impressed!!!
Yes, the amazingly talented time travelling sewing witch that pulls open the curtains, tells us to get out of bed, and teaches us about the amazing world of 19th century clothing.
Your uncontainable excitement while talking about your machine being repaired & everything along with it is just so absolutely, wonderfully pure & wholesome; I had to pause the video & my own sewing to tell ya that. Also, thank you sooo much for making your videos, it's like having a friend to sew with and I really appreciate the information I learn from watching (:
This is my second full time watching this, although some parts have been seen a bit more. I want to thank Bernadette for how she handles background music. About a third of us humans have something called Auditory Processing Disorder which makes it difficult to pull voice out of noise. Many videos have the background music up too high and watching is a struggle, sometimes rerunning parts to catch what was said and sometimes deciding, "Oh bother!", and moving on to a different video. Bernadette, though, does it perfectly, dropping the music down each time the voice over comes in. Just thought you'd like to know that she's perfect in another way that may not have occurred to you;) If you want to know more about Auditory Processing Disorder, Wikipedia has a good overview.
@@angrytrees7519, maybe get him to read the wikipedia article so he maybe realizes it's a thing and stops being such a dick? That's just hostile behavior.
cookie tips: 1. get a cookie jar with a rough textured inside and burn a small amount of sage in it. sage smoke is very heavy inhibits mold spore growth. 2. store some bread with your cookies! this keeps them soft! 3. make more than humanly possible to eat at once. so you have cookies to put in the jar!
A very quick google search of “does sage inhibit mold growth?” comes up with absolutely 0 results in favor of your statement. Please list reliable sources.
@@JacquelineUnderwood www.greenmedinfo.com/article/medicinal-smoke-can-completely-eliminate-diverse-plant-and-human-pathogenic-ba "We have demonstrated that using medicinal smoke it is possible to completely eliminate diverse plant and human pathogenic bacteria of the air within confined space." www.ellejamesinteriors.com/elle-james-what-is-smudging-why "In high enough concentrations, burning sage will eliminate negative ions and can clear the air of mold spores, pollen, pet dander, odors, cigarette smoke, bacteria, viruses, dust and other hazardous airborne particles." naturalmentor.com/surprising-reasons-you-should-smudge-your-home/ " the medicinal smoke is believed to release negative ions, which bind to positively ionized particles like bacteria, viruses, mold spores, pet dander and other allergens, dust, and other hazardous particulates." actually finding sources wasn't too hard
You sucked me in by offering some insight into the likely historical truths of corsets, and then I got trapped into watching 47 minutes of sewing. Well done. Seriously though, there's something about your videos that are just completely intriguing.
Zack Lujan same here, honestly when i was recommended to watch the masque of red death(is it right? im not sure) i was immediately drawn in...it's weird as im not fond of sewing and yet im interested in the process. it also gave me quite a lot of inspiration to draw:)
A pair of combinations, Bernadette Banner made, With historical sewing, her skill was displayed. The fabric was chosen with care and precision, The colors were chosen with a great decision. The pattern was intricate, with a hint of surprise, The waistband proved to be quite the price The lace were chosen with a great eye, and sewed into the fabric with a skillful try. The seams were sewn with a great finesse, The combination proved to be a great success. From the Metz to Bernadette with a great care, The combination was made with a great lace flair. These combination is a work of great art, Shared with her viewers with a huge heart.
I loved the chatting on the floor! :D It made me smile. I 100% agree that revisiting one's documentation after making the thing makes a huge difference in your understanding of the thing. I always catch myself afterward having done some element not entirely correctly 😱
Thank you so much for the delightful sharing of your project! Am 67 and sewing since my childhood, though it was out of necessity. My grandmother was born in 1867, lived with us for at least 10 years. She demanded that my sister and I learn to sew without a sewing machine because it was as important as walking. Want you to know that your techniques are marvelous and your voice is very precious. Can hardly wait to view your entire composition of this project!
Wow Danice, you will be the epitome of a walking reference for so many little bibs and bobs. Do your children sew? What a wonderful legacy to hand down.
The curved waistband is something I think we have lost in modern clothing. As a very curvy, plus sized women, I have found that straight waistbands don't lay nicely, but curved ones fit better and allow the top to sit nicely and gives way for the garment to sit nicely on the hips. Jeans truly benefit from curved waists. The leg movemen has be so interested and I'm curious how jeans and pants would work with that. I will be playing it myself for sure!
@@bernadettebanner Just finished watching it. Absolutely brilliant video! The production value and quality is amazing considering you did this all by yourself! 😱Your combinations turned out beautifully and I am in awe of your neat little hand-stitching - it doesn't matter if it's not invisible or perfect by Victorian standards - it gives it a personal touch and like you said, it's all an experiment from which can learn and discover more from! You should feel so proud of what you have accomplished. Thank you for putting so much hard work and dedication in this video 💕Take care not to overwork yourself making the corset, the rest of Lady Sherlock AND video content. Slow (well, moderate) and steady wins the race 👍
Same here; I have found her videos extremely calming and, yes, they are helping me to get through this time of worldwide madness. (Even though I have never made a single piece of period clothing. :))
I know this project is part of a historical lady Sherlock costume, but when I hear Sherlock, I immediately think of the Benedict Cumberbatch portrayal of the character. This resulted in me bursting out in bouts of giggles throughout this video, because the thought of that version of the character having frilly undies is pretty freaking hilarious.
I don't know if you've seen the BBC series with Jeremy Brett as Holmes (for me, the far superior Holmes) but Jeremy in frilly ninnies is even more hilarious!
@@jennymulhall816 For me, Jeremy Brett will never be surpassed as Sherlock Holmes. Conan Doyle must have had Mr. Brett as inspiration for our favorite detective.
I love this channel with all my heart. Seeing someone talented and creative nerd out hardcore over something they are passionate about is the best part of this whole website.
I can't even sew, though I do love historical things. But i totally agree with this! I love her enthusiasm, and how incredibly smart she is. I love how she approaches it like a puzzle. I love your description "nerd out hardcore" lol!
Whoever did the captions, thank you for the effort, as a hard of hearing person I appreciate it, and secondly, I love the commentary in brackets 😅 Bernadette does have gorgeous handwriting, and I also am scared to imagine how long the hand stitching took 😛
As far as I know Bernadette commissions the captions, to ensure they are up quickly after the video goes up. Though there has to be something g said about community captions. Some videos I've seen have like, 5-10 different languages of subtitles, amazing.
As I am a dude who's only interest in the Victorian era is mostly Hats and most machines I find it weird that I keep getting recommended your channel even weirder is I actually watch it
A crafty person admires other crafty people....you may learn or appreciate something new and take it back into your craft...like I do for my antique dolls 😎👍🏻
When I was a girl, so long ago now my grandmother taught me to make little button loops with very fine thread that were tied together using the same knot that attaches boats to a deck.
Every time I look at extant items I think to my self "my goodness that must have taken quite a bit of time." And then I watch your videos and think, "why yes, yes it did take a long time!" :-)
I saw in a move once a woman using a glass cylinder full of water as a magnifier. Looking through one side while sewing on the other. It struck me as pure genius.
I don't know if its the same one that @DEploribus Unum was thinking of, but The Man in the Iron Mask has one of the female leads sewing, or embroidering (I dont remember which as its been a while since I've watched it), with a water filled glass between and a close candle for better light. At least I think it was that one, I haven't movied in a long time, it was one of those musketeer movies for sure. 🤦🏽♀️ I have now rambled myself a long way from the certainty I started with.
Dawn Harper that's exactly what I was thinking, but also in her costume college vlog, she wears her undergarments out for the first night😂😂 bless her sweet historic soul regardless
I've been recently learning how to sew, and honestly I get ahead of myself a lot, or frustrated, or overwhelmed. I'm not very good at it yet. But whenever I'm feeling absolutely lost I take a few minutes to sit and watch some of these videos and it completely refocuses me and recentres me. Bernadette, you're my patron saint of sewing & patience & attention to detail, and finding the joy in it all. Of getting excited, and persevering etcetc. Well anyway I just really needed to send some love, your videos bring me a lot of joy. Thank you thank you thank you!
As an eco-conscious (and budget conscious) historical sewist - have you considered using used linen and cotton bed sheets as the fabric for your undergarments, or at least your mock-ups? taking them directly to a laundry service who can wash in very hot water and a very hot dryer for plague control? (because no lie, that is what the bulk of donated masks for heathcare workers were made from when the stores ran out of cotton fabric during the stay at home orders) I can't tell you how many dresses and slips my dear Grandma (who was born in 1893) and my mom made me of sheets and flour sacks when I was little.
I've always kept my sheets for sewing projects. They are large pieces of cotton fabric! Thrift stores are great sources. I've also been gifted sheets from friends who are still into "shopping" for something to do, I think. I love these videos!!! Started more handsewing. It's a lovely meditative activity.
I currently have a lovely floral print peice of 300 thread count cotton that I intend to turn into a pair of curtain panels. The accompanying pillow cases will be turned into valances. Pray for me. I have Never sewn anything in my life!
I've done this. Gonna be honest with you, it sucks. Great for mock ups but not for much else. It sucks to hand sew through. It's cheap poly fabric loosly woven together. Not great for historical accuracy or long lasting clothes.
@@starsun6363 that's why I specified cotton and linen bedsheets. I find Egyptian cotton sheets with a higher thread count than any retail fabric available at thrift stores for less than $5 USD for a king size sheet SET. That's less than 50 cents a yard, even when I Include the cost of the anti-allergy laundry additive to the wash.
Dear Bernadette, I want you to know how much I like your wonderful way of speaking, and teaching. I too love the Victorian day, I love chivalry and politeness and good manners. I think what you do and love is that period of life that was so beautiful. I love sewing but I am 83, that doesn't mean I will not continue to try. I love making everything by hand. I think it is wonderful. You give those who think the same way as you do, a spark, to say ,yes, I want it back, I am going to jump right in and make it happen again. I enjoy you gracious friend, and all you do. Don't ever stop, it is a lovely way of life. We miss it so much. Thank you Bernadette.
so i’m a freshman in highschool, and i’ve always been asked what i wanted to work in, and i a l w a y s respond with “english literature or history.” THIS IS WHY! this is my favorite type of history, it’s always entertained me. *my dream.*
All that beautiful hand work and it would be all covered up by the outerwear!! Such a fascinating process. I could watch you and your friends stitch all day.
Listening to your voiceover, at the front of my mind, as ever, was the insistent thought: "Good grief, this lady is as adorable as an entire basketful of kittens..." That said, the combinations are utterly gorgeous (why don't we wear amazing clothes like this anymore??) and watching the process of putting in insertion lace was very interesting. Can't wait to run through the other Sherlock videos!
@@DAYBROK3 Yeah, fair enough. But that said, clothes made this way generally would last a hell of a lot longer than cheap mass-produced garments. I guess it's a balance of where you want to spend your time - on good long lasting products or on something you need to replace every five minutes :/
Agreed, Kathleen. I would suspect that there are actually a growing number of folks these days who are willing to put a bit more effort into sewing (by hand or machine) their own clothing if for no other reason than to avoid spending their hard-earned money on cheaply-made clothing (often at exorbitant prices, not quite fitting, and certainly not LASTING!)
Bernadette : You're probably really bored of watching me stitch this together Me: Literally rewinding to see how she's stitching certain parts of the lace on Also I love how she's calling it "the youtube" I might have to start calling it that too x)
"Doing it without any modern persons interpretation of how it should be done. This will just be my own interpretation..." Evidence that you're not a modern person, lol. You came from that era :)
This is lovely. You have reminded me of a funny thing that happened in my 19th century costuming journey. I tried to make a pair of drawers. Unfortunately, my skills are at best, low-level journeyman and my measuring was off. I ended up with a severe cases of cutting into parts that Victorians never spoke about. What to do? So much effort and I can't wear them. So I took the waistband off. The original plan was to insert a yoke and try again, but there were so many fitting issues that I abandoned the idea. Instead, I took the corset cover that also hadn't worked out well, cut them up the front and added a button placket. Result? COMBINATIONS! This leaves me wondering if something like that might have led to the invention of the things.
I greatly appreciate your determination to never sacrifice precision. True art (fashion is art) deserves that level of quality, and indeed cannot be achieved with shotcuts, haste, and refusal to backtrack on mistakes. It's your dedication to the craft you love that convinced me to subscribe to you. I, as a fellow artist, respect and relate to your need to do it right.
I cannot overstate how amazing it is that you have enough skills and abilities to do proper research using limited resource material and similar patterns and figure out how to create such a lovely and fitted historical undergarment, doubly so since it is made entirely with hand sewing. What an incredible finished project! I now feel that I must consume a cookie and a cup of tea in your honor.
Those look so comfortable holy shit I would live in those even after quarantine. Just wear a pale blue long sleeve tee with those on top and that is my aesthetic
ik. get some thicker fabric and back the lace with more fabric (bc I don’t want people seeing my bare skin in certain areas), maybe adding in some chest padding for my bigger busted ladies, and this is a completed outfit
I don't know that any other RUclips channel could keep me captivated without skipping for 47 minutes... I just love all this beautiful historical sewing!!
This is like heaven to me. I don't usually coment on videos but i feel like i should do this everytime you post something. Bernadette your channel is unique, incredibly delightfull, informative and relatable for all of us who are adventuring in historical reproduction. This combinations are really well done and they captures with sucess the feeling, shapes and proportions of an original piece. Congratullations for another great sucessfull reproduction and thank you for inspiring us all with this. PS: I LOVE THAT THIS VIDEO IS ALMOST 1 HR LONG and hope the corset one have a similar long format, hahaha!
I can never get enough of your stitching. It make my world seem more orderly. This is my 3-4 time watching this video. I’m getting ready to start my combinations. Everything is ordered & on the way. I my have to watch this another 3-4 times.
I do steampunk costumes for a convention in Cincinnati OH, and normally I just wear modern undergarments with them. But now I really want to make something like this for my costumes. I love steampunk cause most of the time it's set in the Victorian era so I can kinda play fast and loose with fashion from that time period but this series is really making me want to create a more period true outfit. Maybe next year cause the convention is only a month and a half away and I've already decided on this year's costume based on our theme of Steamtastic Beasts. *snags two cookies on the way out*
Kathleen Burns Kathleen, I live just a bit up from the King’s Island exit. We must get together for sharing notes and cabbage (excess materials), when you’re in town! Where do they have the convention?
@@PowerToolsnPearls Here is a link for the convention. steampunksymposium.com you should totally come its a lot of fun, Friday they usually have a big swap pile where people can trade things at. I heard tale that lots of interesting bobs and cabbage could be found there. And that would be cool, I know where that Kings Island is at. Maybe we could meet up at Symposium? Its the last weekend of March.
I always run into the same issue when I want to hand sew ANYTHING but the one time I got up to do some hand sewing I didn’t stop until 9 hours later and when I finally stopped the entire thing felt like the more pleasant version of a fever dream
As a bona fide ADHD Human ®️ i will tell you that (once you get the hang of it) it is a perfect repetitive task to keep your hands busy when you have to sit still and watch/listen to something :)
The determination to hand sew so so much of an undergarment is proof of indomitable passion. I envy and respect you and your talent!! In my own craft, I look at every stitch and wonder if and how I can adapt it to a sewing machine because I am absolutely hopeless with a hand needle. My own ineptitude aside, I appreciate every second of this video and the hours that went into making it because this is a masterpiece.
This video is actually a HUGE help. I’ve just started researching specifics of Jacobean fashion and for the shift I was considering doing insertion lace down the side seams to mimic the gap they left in that seam, connecting the two hems with free-standing needlework. (As I’m making a Jacobean wizard inspired by the wizard portraits in the Harry Potter films, mimicking some techniques is ok for me.) For the under-robe I’ve also found a portrait of a skirt made of thin, long panels of a fine, semi-sheer fabric where each panel has dense free-standing needlework or even inserted lace between the next panel. So seeing how you’ve done this is a huge help and has me feeling less intimidated!
Interesting that in Spanish slips (without a pantlet aspect) are still sometimes called combinations. I never understood what was being combined but now I see it is just a legacy term that outlived the reversal of this undergarment back to a shift only shape.
My goodness, I do love hand stitching and I need glasses to produce those tiny stitches. Thank you for including the resource links to Agnes Walker and Bertha Banner, not to mention working bifurcated garments into a sentence. Word of the day ladies: bifurcated, word of the day! Take care!
Fun Fact, the shop's name "Hecht" is a dutch word, meaning: to sew up ; to append ; to adhere ; to attach ; to fix ; to fasten ; to glue ; to suture ; to affix ; to paste on ; to glue together ; to paste in ; to paste together ; to stitch ; to sew together ; to stick So you can see how befitting it is
Rewatching this in my series of rewatching all Bernadette's "Underthings-videos", prompted by the new Pirate Shirt :) Can I just say that her enthusiasm for this project is so very wholesome and contagious and apparently EXACTLY what I needed in our current plague times.
I wandered into here from a post on Reddit r/Artisanvideos. I'm a maturing chap (not old, but my teenage years are well behind me now!) with no previous interest in dress making, but at the end of the video I realised I had sat through and watched all of it and thoroughly enjoyed it. You are engaging and articulate with a lovely turn of phrase and humour. Your enthusiasm, excitement and knowledge of your topic held my interest, and I love the research element you do to achieve the historical detail you strive for, and you and your presentation are utterly charming. Whilst i may not exactly be your target audience, or know anything about Victorian dressmaking, I do take joy in watching someone skilled do their thing and do it well, whatever that is. Thank you for a thoroughly delightful, entertaining, informative and surprising 45 minutes.
Imagine if people went though this much work with every historically inspired garment. Costume design for plays would be so fun. I’d love to live in that world
It also illustrates why mending was such a big part of life. Whether you purchased this or made it yourself you would not want all that work to go to waste because of a simple tear. It really upsets me how a lot of modern fashion seems to be "single" use and mending is simply dying out. :(
Having worked in a theater costume shop that made costumes primarily from the late 1800s... that sounds like a nightmare! Everything was scrupulously held to the 15 foot rule - if you can't tell from 15 feet away, it doesn't matter. Otherwise a single play would take years to costume!
I began sculpting about five years ago when my health had me housebound. I never thought I would have the level of success I do now, fully satisfied for the first time in my life with the dedication to the art as never before. I feel your joy from creating Each time I started to make something I had never tried before, I poured over videos, books, examples, everything short of going to a fair where like artists would be selling. Always experimenting then practicing to my satisfaction. Recently I traded a 1 3/4" polymer clay and resin cherry pie for a real pie made from homegrown cherries. It was as wonderful as the reaction to my pie. I crimped crust, dusting it with colored chalks to show that it was baked. The pie wasn't stuffed with scrap clay or foil, it was ALL cherries! I made sure to make decorative openings to see inside and I made the pie pan to specs from a 1902 Sears catalog. I even cut out a piece of the pie, laid it on one of my 1" plates and made a working knife along with a non working fork to set the feeling in the kitchen for my friends dollhouse. I had always loved miniatures and ended up making an entire gardens worth of veggies and fruits for her Victorian Dollhouse. I even made "Heritage" creations. As this grew from making jewlery I decided everything had to be classic but a bit over the top. Beauty came first. I made her special things for the house then built a "produce stand for all the fruits and veggie's. I even made a stand for her granddaughters to play with their barbies so the jewelry the girls made could be "sold" beside grandma's stand. If you can't tell, I am in love with this aspect of the medium I was told back in highschool that I would never master. Shortly afterwards I made a replica "washing machine" from the Sears book and now there are cast iron pans and cauldrons gallor. I live in a small house so I am cramped for space but this hobby fits just right.
"For pity's sake Bertha, it's going to be _under_ your clothes, and even when someone has reason to see your undergarments, darling, they should _not_ be preoccupied with inspecting the blessed _whip stitching!"_
- The obligatory sensible aunt character
That is brilliant 😂
This had me DYING
I love this 😂
if me and bernadette where related
we would be sewing and she would be scolding me for doing horrible stitching XD
Why can i actually see this happening? 😂
"You are probably bored-"
You underestimate how entertained I am by repetitive tasks.
Bedroom Bunny I found this simply fascinating, not repetitive at all.
Absolutely this! And at the risk of sounding a smidge creepy... she has lovely hands.
"You underestimate my power"
exactly.. i can drop what i'm doing and watch her hands stitching at any time.. no shame.. i have nothing more important to do, i must sit here and watch her hand stitch, i MUST!
Watching this series always makes me want to go and hand-fell a frilly, exciting garment of my own.
Real life obligations: nah I don’t have time sorry
Bernadette making antique underwear for 47 minutes: yes absolutely *makes popcorn*
Same!
Same although I did try to do my taks to properly enjoy this video
This is me right now 🤣
Same .. lots of things go do. Under things making video
I so agree with you, she makes things look interesting, and she is educational at the same time, not many people can educate in an interesting way.
Bernadette: "These videos Are. Not. Tutorials."
Quarantine me, halfway through whip-stitching the lace: "Huh. Wonder who that's for."
And how did it come out? Are you pleased with your project?
Same tho
420
Norme sulla privacy
I felt that lmao
Call me a harlot if it pleases you, but I would absolutely wear that combinations out as a complete outfit.
Same
I would to it’s adorable
AGREED. Late Victorian harlot is a LOOK.
Lol I wonder what the 1800s people would think lol
and we wonder why the world has gone to hell in a hand basket.
You ever wonder if people 100 years from now will sit around trying to recreate our underpants? I hope there's a lady with a nice voice poring over a book of photos of Hanes undies.
she will probably talk like this: 'y'all need to excuse my stupid ass for f*****ing up.' Bc that be our era
What a hilarious thought!
2119: Sooo, ya bi*ches see dat dis Victoria's Secret bra is polyester n cotton rite? Dis was before graphene infused nano silk was available to the public in the 2050s. Of course, now we just wear holograms.
@@sphong0610 🤣
Hahahhhha
My new aesthetic:
Bernadette using modern slang in her own articulate way (“I was no small part SaLtY”)
Also when she said that this period of clothing was "her jam" :P
Salty is not just modern slang. It was also used as slang in the 1860's meaning racy, sexy. It was used to mean irritated or angry by 1920 often in the phrase "jump salty". If it was found in writing in 1860 it was probably in use in speech a long time before that. The slang meaning hasn't really changed. I often heard the word used in this way when I was a child. It has recently come into use again. It is not new slang. It is just new to you.
My new aesthetic:
Bernadette
Just
Bernadette
This is the proper way, but ain’t nobody got time for that. 😂 Stuck with me from a previous video
@@clydeogborn8141 I do not even want to know how you know that lol. The etymology of slang is interesting, though.
I have sewn all of my life. I made my own clothes back in the 70's during the polyester era when I wanted and needed cotton clothing for work. I made my daughters clothing up until I went back to work when she was 9. Then when we bought a house I made curtains, duvet covers, pillows etc. I have in the last 15 years been making quilts. I am no stranger to sewing. I just finished watching this video and I am amazed at what saw. Your sewing is absolutely beautiful . The tiny stitches. the pattern drafting. the material you used all are beyond anything I could imagine. Your work is far beyond my realm of expertise. Congratulations on a task superbly accomplished.
I couldn't agree with you more. Bernadette is a perfectionist .a beautiful young working woman.
@@lindareed9776 you're already ahead though, cos BB is a firm believer in being able to make and repair your own clothes. I can repair clothes, but i can't make them. I've just bought a sewing machine, so hopefully soon that will change.
Me, lying in bed, never having made a piece of clothing in my life: “ye babe defo go for the button loop the lace is too delicate”
Love that 😋
Olivia Litton “yeah babe definitely go for the button loop the lace is too delicate” sorry haha I’m so bad with my typing slang
Oh my god. Someone heard me yelling in the past.... I said the same thing. Hahaha!
Hawken Parker I just love that name ‘Hawken’ where is it from?
@@kateglazier3726 Hawken is an old black powdered rifle
Imagine having your underwear displayed in a museum.
imagine being a vampire, going to a museum and seeing your underwear. like how embrassing would that be😂
@@asheshurricane391 In this scenario I'm the most excited about the museum that opens at nighttime.
@@CanalTremocos yeah i totally agree
@@CanalTremocos vampires are kinky, their sunscreen is SPF Latex
@@TheSchnieder6 please never say that again
*It's 3am and I need to sleep, instead I'm here watching this pretty talented lady make historically accurate undergarment.. nice*
Why am I doing the same thing 😂
6:15am... Sun is shining... Cats fell asleep waiting for me... Can hardly keep my eyes open... Watching this person drawing and sewing, underwear... I've finally lost all common sense.
and now you can stay up to 3 am every night.
Iqra Aaliya I relate to that. I watch her videos late night all the time
Just turned 3am and here I am lol
The thought of hand-sewing makes me break out in hives. So why, pray tell, do I find these videos mesmerizing? The enthusiasm? The verging-on-obsessive attention to details? The marvelous diction? All of the above.
"So why, pray tell,..." I think she's rubbing off on you. :D
@@lafemmeanglaise Ah, no, I've always had an antiquarian tendency. However, I am more persnickety in grammar than in sewing. I love fine clothes but have neither the patience nor the talent to produce them myself.
Annag Chandler the same here. :)
@@mayflowermatriarch5284 There’s something beautiful in watching a master at work if you have even an ounce of appreciation for the results. For that reason, I’m in awe of musicians and am not one myself in any significant degree.
It also annoys me no end when people who have a month of ballet lessons try to claim equal mastery of techniques that I had 7 years worth of training in (and wouldn’t have claimed anything approaching mastery for another 7 years more).
I honestly agree
I am a grandma (57 yrs. old) so when I tell you, you are wonderful in so many ways you know I mean it. There is something that is so special about you. I appreciate your desire for authenticity and accurate detail. You are a joy to watch!! Thank you! God Bless.
I am 59 years old and not a grandma (I do not think I will ever be) Lucky K . Scheuerman! I agree with grandma K. I love to watch what you do and love your ideas. I am agnostic! lol (hugging K anyway)
@2012endofanerror I came back to Bernadette's site because my daughter's friend told me I left a message here & I wanted to re-read it & I found your comment. Sorry I missed it. No plagiarism here we just are in complete agreement! Take care.
@@sylvievicenza179 I am sorry I missed your cute comment from 1 month back. Take care.
I hit the big 6-0 this year and I love this gal! Her sense of humor and ability to take her work seriously but herself not too seriously, AND offer me a cookie on the way out is priceless.
This comment chain warms my heart for some reason. I am also astounded by her talent!
“My good friend Bertha banner” everyone knows it’s just you, an immortal.
Ryn’s randomness gcgdfveygd exactly
Shhhhh. Don't out immortals, they will do so when they are ready.
Omg yes this now has to be a full conspiracyyyy. She's making these videos to act as proof that she didnt just "pop out of nowhere" so that the government won't get sus. They're to show how she learned what she knows, but really, she's Bertha banner and has possible ghost written other famous sewing guides just so that she can prove that her techniques are authentic because otherwise we would only be learning second rate techniques from second rate tailors and seamstresses who just wanted fame.
Watch. The day will come when she's filming on the street and has to whip out a sword to defend herself, shouting, "There can be only One!"
y e s
You know, I'd never considered it until you pointed it out just now, but those dresses really weren't washed every wear. No wonder "spilling" something on someone is seen as so savage an insult in period dramas and such.
No doubt they wore aprons over house dresses during daily activities, to keep even those presentable ;-)
@@patmaurer8541 depends on how posh you were
Plus soaps weren't as developed as they are now and bleach ruins any fabric pretty quickly if it's overused or added in too much quantity.
"These Happy Golden Years" by Laura Ingalls Wilder--quote from the preparations for her August 1885 wedding to Almanzo: "All the white sewing was quickly done on the machine. Laura brought out the dozens of yards of white thread lace that she had knitted and crocheted, and like magic the machine’s flashing needle stitched the lace edgings to the open ends of the pillow cases, the throats and wrists of the high-necked, long-sleeved nightgowns, the necks and armholes of the chemises, and the leg-bands of the drawers." Sounds like permission to machine sew undergarments in period!
I suppose it could be a replacement for the fact that Bernadette doesn't make her own fabric like Laura, so goes with the next best thing? Also, if her descriptions of the agony it was for her to sew weren't just childhood exaggerations, Laura hated hand-sewing- that was Mary's thing, even after she went blind.
Imagine the time it took to tatt all that lace!! Yards and yards? Heavens.....
@@rosequartz4102 once you get the pattern down it (tatting) does go faster, and "in the day" you were working on your "hope chest" items well in advance anyway.
@@MickeyMallone. Where did Laura make her own fabric? She knitted or crocheted the lace, but she never wove fabric.
@@lisalu910 I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I was probably referring to the lace as fabric.
"I'm so hyped to get started"
I've never heard of someone getting so excited on making antique undergarments that is historically accurate.
I think this might be the best channel I've found this year.
I've watched this series 5 times now and I'm enthralled
I’ve watched this VIDEO 5 times and I can’t stop myself anymore
Tired Victorian mother with 7 kids making something: Yea I don’t care about stitches, if it holds together they will wear it.
"if my kids tear this apart, I'm going to scREAM-"
- some poor mother, probably
Lol
My nan (who is now 89) always made her twins all of their clothes. Back in the day that was very much the norm. She also made and used her own cloth diapers and had no washing machine (obviously). I have no idea how mother's did all they did back then (and had so many more children than we do now!) but I do know that everything was cared for, handed down and adapted to the new wearer. Nothing went to waste, all clothes were fixed (even under garments!). I completely admire women/mother's of the past. They had so much to do!
No, sounds like modern people. They took more pride in things well done back then.
@@benlucas3625 Hand made things were relatively speaking cheaper back then. You had your choice of dozens of tailors, dressmakers, etc. in even a small town. Buying something bespoke now can be a major expense. There is also the aspect of style. Modern styles change every year, whereas historical styles lasted for lengthy periods, so there's less reason today to desire clothing that lasts.
this really helps me appreciate why clothes used to be so expensive!
@@bernadettebanner absolutely!
industrialisation
I inherited boxes of my great-grandmothers undergarments, they are incredible, they almost make me weep when I look at the amount of work that went into all the tiny stitches and embellishments the care they put into it is inspiring.
This is why I wondered if there was any older woman in her building or life that could have help interpret the parts she got stuck on? Stories from elders can add amazing fulness to our life!
Oh I envy you!
I'm so old I just realised all the sewing techniques my grams and mum taught me are Victorian techniques. Who knew?
I'm a 72 year old survivor of ten years of 4-H (starting in 1958) and years of upholstery for an antique Shoppe and making bridal gowns. I realize my teachers and mentors all instructed us using Victorian ways and means!!!
i mean they dont really change much, just saying
Betty Butler way off topic but 4-H as in raising and selling animals? I’m in 4-H so that’s why I’m curious
@@mariahzeh9405 4-h is much more than just animals. There's needlework groups and history groups and archery groups. Many many many different types of 4-H clubs out there. 👍🏻 Go to a local 4-H Fair sometime and you will see there are tons of groups at the fairgrounds and almost all of them are 4-H groups lol
I mean is it's not broken don't fix it right?
I'm getting married next October and I'm making my wedding dress and watching your videos is SO painfully tempting to hand sew the whole dress
DO IT!
"I'll do it but I'll probably hate myself in the morning" Bugs Bunny in "Little Red Riding Rabbit" 1944
Unless you are a Great seamstress with a body form that is your size Don't do it. You screw up your dress and you will never forgive yourself.
Ara Cod!? Ara Cod!? Not necessarily it all depends on what you like and the reasoning for making the dress
@@cerbean My Grandmother was a seamstress. It is your only wedding day right?
Whenever I see someone on RUclips who’s just watched a sewing tutorial, ask,....”can I sew this by hand? I don’t have a sewing machine.” I wish I could show them this. Yes people, you can make things sewn by hand. I think your project came out beautiful.
You can. But you'll hate your life.
I made a denim backpack completely by hand and yes, sometimes I just wanted to burn my house down with the backpack in it but sometimes you just have to take a break and keep going later.
The problem people have when it comes to doing something by hand for lack of the machine is that it takes a lot of time and effort. Modern times are so fast. Everything has to get done in spiffy without much effort and still look like quality work. Way back when it took time and effort to make something, from garments to furniture, it was done with the thought in mind that it should last for a long time too. These days everything is treated like disposable stuff, easily replaced and without much cost.
@@CologneCarter yep, it's true
sewing the pieces together by hand isn't the hard part, its the edges falling apart and having to hem them around every side *sobs*. (Sergers are godsent and magic).
My grandmother used to have me hem all by hand as a 9 year old before we started embroidering by hand next. I hated it but now i have an appreciation for technology and for the delicacy of handwork.
"Nobody's going to see the undergarments, [...]"
Months later at costume college: *wearing the combinations for the pool party*
I get this is probably a joke, but she used silk ribbon for trim and also said to NEVER let water touch silk.
...Come to think of it, why put silk ribbon in the "washable" layer?
@@dbseamz that was bugging me a bit the whole time 😆 Tis pretty though.
@@dbseamz you take it off when you wash it
@@dbseamz
You take the ribbons out when you wash them? Yes?
@@gigiw.7650 I think so, but would the person who wrote the above comment remove the ribbons before wearing it to the pool?
31:53 “once the garment is roughly together”
me: “don’t you mean ruffle-y together?”
...sorry i had to...
Lol
May all your puns be intended.
No worries. I had the same thought
somone had to
It was necessary
Bernadette speaks with a British person's vocabulary but without the accent lol I love it
For the longest time I believed she was british, until I suddenly realised that she doesn't have a British accent
@@JustJenn1192 she would be really fit as a British honestly
I was trying to desperately find out what was going on because she sounded like when I was a kid and we played kings and queen and stuff and we would use bad accents and vocabulary.
She has stereotypical british vocabulary , yeah , a lot of brits don’t actually speak with such vocabulary
@@hannahdiane8451 I believe she was educated in a higher class British university
Bernadette: “whilst”
Me: ... subscribes*
Wait, isn't "whilst" used nowdays? (English is only my secondary language so I actually use the words I understood and some words like this, so I thought it is normal and used by everyone.)
@@emilycheshire (beware, English is only my second language as well) I think nowadays "while" is used more commonly. I've lived in England for some time and I don't think I ever (consciously) heard someone use "whilst" in everyday vocabulary
@@Deniera Oooh, that is interesting.
Thank you for the info!
I actually thought theese words didn't die. I write stuff but somehow the older words seem more welcoming.
My English teacher leaves an « archaic » note on my papers when I use whilst. However, I shall never stop using whilst as to me, making a clear difference between the meaning of while and whilst makes more sense. Therefore, in my head, while is A while, a moment whereas whilst is DURING said moment. Is it a weird assumption??
@@happyjellycatsquid well, it doesn't really matter whether that is the case. You prefer one over the other, so you should be able to use the vocabulary you like. Free variation is a beautiful thing, we need linguistic diversity, and these little preferences enrich language use in my opinion. Go ahead friend, give whilst the place it deserves in your own personal mental library of words.
I would love to make a pair of these in black to satisfy my little goth heart. Absolutely stunning
I think your cheaper lace is pretty accurate actually. It was the cheaper machine lace of the industrial revolution that allowed so many women from different circles of society to have "frilly" underthings. Previously, far from being simply a matter of preference, it was more a matter of what you could afford. The more humble garments, devoid of any decoration , would have belonged to the poorest working classes. The more frills, the more handmade lace, and therefore, the more costly the garment. The industrial revolution was the great equalizer of much of society. Many women from varied classes were dressing the same way, whether they were wealthy or not, because so much fabric and trim was available at moderate prices. The massive socio economic upheaval/change of the time was reflected so succinctly in this relatively small way.
Nice catch. That make sense.
It depends which rich people you mean: you refer to the new rich not the old rich. the last one only wore lace on Sundays. modest but well made for instance handmade woven linen without knots held a lifetime. you could say that it is the difference between style and fashion. Also lacemakers were found in the underclass and could make it for themselves and it depends on their attitude and work environment when they could wear it. Industrialisation can't change that.
One thing to take into consideration-"cheap" circa 1890 is a lot more "expensive"/handmade/skilled than "cheap" circa 2019. Just sayin...
@@Kunstpost as a craftsman I've noticed people who specialise in fashion items often never wear what they make 😂 I make a shit ton of handmade jewelry and never wear them unless I need to
Yeah and the Rich were not happy that Everyone Else could now dress in a way that made it no longer clear who was who. Not one bit.
Anyone else notice:
Victorian- Bertha Banner
Modern Victorian- Bernadette Banner
???
Bernadette is just an immortal
@@PmpknHead She probably has an picture of herself painted by the famous Basil Hallward stored in her attic.
Son/Daughter of Slaanesh It takes on all the injuries she gets from her sewing and crafting endeavors.
@@MickeyMallone. Ha i knew it!
The way you talk is so appealing because your passion and enthusiasm bleeds through. It's like watching Steve Irwin with animals. Love the content.
Perfect example! Both are 100% genuine, no BS! Refreshing in this world of selfies and self-proclaimed 'influencers' 😍
Or Bob Ross with his paintings
This crazy attention to detail is so satisfying and therapeutic. The calm she gives even if things don’t go right is like a bob ross feeling.
Why do people refer to Bob Ross? Who or what is a Bob Ross? I don't understand.
@@catslove3884 He was a painter who did tutorials back in like the 80’s and they’re all super calming, encouraging and inspiring.
Better than bob ross.
This makes me want to make more combinations just for lounging around and being beautiful trash on a chaise lounge.
Oh I completely agree with this sentiment!
You'll be the talk of the local opium den!
A resonance has been felt within my soul. Frilly home clothes.
This is the superior version of "athleisure"
"Once we have legs.."
Me, panicing: "WE DON'T HAVE LEGS?!!"
I can not feel my legs!
gorillaau I read this in the voice of Olaf (from the Disney movie Frozen 😅)
I have to admit, I said aloud, "I've always had legs."
gorillaau I can’t feel my legs when I’m with you
"Still got legs! Yes!"
How...did I get here....and why do I feel anxious about buttons on lace?
I'm asking myself the same question, friend
I’m just trippin because my grandma was born in 1898 (she was 45 when she had my mom) so she could have been dressing in Edwardian fashion in her teens. Grandma- wearing britches?! And layers upon layers?? Wow
My grandmother was born in 1899, and her mother had been a seamstress for wealthy women before she came to Michigan as a bride. The garments she made for her daughter's were stunning.
My grandma was born about the same time (1902 I think). I'm not sure what she would have worn as a young girl, but I think that her life as a homesteader and farmer wouldn't have run to a lot of lace. She lived to be 100.
One of mine was born 1896, my grandpa was born about ten years earlier, I think lol . Crazy to think o 10:25 f all these women went through… like dreaded wash days. 😊
Somehow, I can picture Bertha Banner. She would be a severe and aged woman who, though long disillusioned with the art of teaching young women how to sew in the proper manner, would rediscover her love of sewing thanks to a youthful seamstress in training: Bernadette. Impressed by her great passion for learning, Bertha Banner would be proud of her young protegé and would teach her with much glee any litle detail she had yet to learn!!
We are all proud of you for the exquisite work you did on this piece!! You are researching, planing, teaching yourself how to make entire garments, even the most accomplished Victorian seamstress would be impressed!!!
I'd read the heck out of that...
46:46 “isn’t time travel fun though?”
Proof that Bernadette Banner is indeed a witch
A very cute witch
A time traveling witch
a time travelling immortal witch
Or a TimeLord.
Yes, the amazingly talented time travelling sewing witch that pulls open the curtains, tells us to get out of bed, and teaches us about the amazing world of 19th century clothing.
the long chatty videos including distraction are really quite enjoyable. thank you for this and a cookie was consumed in your honor.
Your uncontainable excitement while talking about your machine being repaired & everything along with it is just so absolutely, wonderfully pure & wholesome; I had to pause the video & my own sewing to tell ya that. Also, thank you sooo much for making your videos, it's like having a friend to sew with and I really appreciate the information I learn from watching (:
This is my second full time watching this, although some parts have been seen a bit more. I want to thank Bernadette for how she handles background music. About a third of us humans have something called Auditory Processing Disorder which makes it difficult to pull voice out of noise. Many videos have the background music up too high and watching is a struggle, sometimes rerunning parts to catch what was said and sometimes deciding, "Oh bother!", and moving on to a different video. Bernadette, though, does it perfectly, dropping the music down each time the voice over comes in. Just thought you'd like to know that she's perfect in another way that may not have occurred to you;) If you want to know more about Auditory Processing Disorder, Wikipedia has a good overview.
@@angrytrees7519, maybe get him to read the wikipedia article so he maybe realizes it's a thing and stops being such a dick? That's just hostile behavior.
@@PatrickPoet it is worth a shot!
@@angrytrees7519 let me know!
@@angrytrees7519 best of luck with this, if you haven't already spoken about it
Only your second time?
cookie tips:
1. get a cookie jar with a rough textured inside and burn a small amount of sage in it. sage smoke is very heavy inhibits mold spore growth.
2. store some bread with your cookies! this keeps them soft!
3. make more than humanly possible to eat at once. so you have cookies to put in the jar!
How do you know this? I'm genuinely curious where you get this information...
A very quick google search of “does sage inhibit mold growth?” comes up with absolutely 0 results in favor of your statement. Please list reliable sources.
you underestimate my cookie eating skills
Bold of you to assume I would actually need to save cookies for any reason
@@JacquelineUnderwood
www.greenmedinfo.com/article/medicinal-smoke-can-completely-eliminate-diverse-plant-and-human-pathogenic-ba
"We have demonstrated that using medicinal smoke it is possible to completely eliminate diverse plant and human pathogenic bacteria of the air within confined space."
www.ellejamesinteriors.com/elle-james-what-is-smudging-why
"In high enough concentrations, burning sage will eliminate negative ions and can clear the air of mold spores, pollen, pet dander, odors, cigarette smoke, bacteria, viruses, dust and other hazardous airborne particles."
naturalmentor.com/surprising-reasons-you-should-smudge-your-home/
" the medicinal smoke is believed to release negative ions, which bind to positively ionized particles like bacteria, viruses, mold spores, pet dander and other allergens, dust, and other hazardous particulates."
actually finding sources wasn't too hard
You sucked me in by offering some insight into the likely historical truths of corsets, and then I got trapped into watching 47 minutes of sewing. Well done.
Seriously though, there's something about your videos that are just completely intriguing.
Zack Lujan same here, honestly when i was recommended to watch the masque of red death(is it right? im not sure) i was immediately drawn in...it's weird as im not fond of sewing and yet im interested in the process. it also gave me quite a lot of inspiration to draw:)
Same
A pair of combinations, Bernadette Banner made,
With historical sewing, her skill was displayed.
The fabric was chosen with care and precision,
The colors were chosen with a great decision.
The pattern was intricate, with a hint of surprise,
The waistband proved to be quite the price
The lace were chosen with a great eye,
and sewed into the fabric with a skillful try.
The seams were sewn with a great finesse,
The combination proved to be a great success.
From the Metz to Bernadette with a great care,
The combination was made with a great lace flair.
These combination is a work of great art,
Shared with her viewers with a huge heart.
i love humans🥲
Huzzah!
Nice poem
this is so sweet lol
Petition to bring back combinations? I sat through all 47 minutes in complete glee. Bernadette, it is a joy to watch you work.
Signed, Anagabriel Trevino
Signed, Kathleen Burns
Signed Michele Brazelton
I loved the chatting on the floor! :D It made me smile. I 100% agree that revisiting one's documentation after making the thing makes a huge difference in your understanding of the thing. I always catch myself afterward having done some element not entirely correctly 😱
Thank you so much for the delightful sharing of your project! Am 67 and sewing since my childhood, though it was out of necessity. My grandmother was born in 1867, lived with us for at least 10 years. She demanded that my sister and I learn to sew without a sewing machine because it was as important as walking. Want you to know that your techniques are marvelous and your voice is very precious. Can hardly wait to view your entire composition of this project!
Wow Danice, you will be the epitome of a walking reference for so many little bibs and bobs. Do your children sew? What a wonderful legacy to hand down.
The curved waistband is something I think we have lost in modern clothing. As a very curvy, plus sized women, I have found that straight waistbands don't lay nicely, but curved ones fit better and allow the top to sit nicely and gives way for the garment to sit nicely on the hips. Jeans truly benefit from curved waists. The leg movemen has be so interested and I'm curious how jeans and pants would work with that. I will be playing it myself for sure!
Agreed. so many pants look ugly because they don't respect the natural curve of he waist, nor follow the natural shape of the leg.
Congrats on making your first feature length film! 😂I've been looking forward to this all week! Now time to sit down, relax, and enjoy the movie 🎥🍿
@@bernadettebanner Just finished watching it. Absolutely brilliant video! The production value and quality is amazing considering you did this all by yourself! 😱Your combinations turned out beautifully and I am in awe of your neat little hand-stitching - it doesn't matter if it's not invisible or perfect by Victorian standards - it gives it a personal touch and like you said, it's all an experiment from which can learn and discover more from! You should feel so proud of what you have accomplished. Thank you for putting so much hard work and dedication in this video 💕Take care not to overwork yourself making the corset, the rest of Lady Sherlock AND video content. Slow (well, moderate) and steady wins the race 👍
That was funny. Tee Hee
No lie: when Covid19 quarantining is getting to me, I make mint tea and watch a video of hers. She is quite literally getting me through this...
Are.... Are you me?
Your not alone
It's gonna be okay!
how you doin so far?
Same here; I have found her videos extremely calming and, yes, they are helping me to get through this time of worldwide madness. (Even though I have never made a single piece of period clothing. :))
The adventures of Lady Holmes: The secret of the unseen undergarments
In which the weapon is concealed
This didn't quite cure my depression, but it did make me feel a lot better.
I'm 100% positive Victorians would absolutely love how much research and care you put into your projects
I know this project is part of a historical lady Sherlock costume, but when I hear Sherlock, I immediately think of the Benedict Cumberbatch portrayal of the character. This resulted in me bursting out in bouts of giggles throughout this video, because the thought of that version of the character having frilly undies is pretty freaking hilarious.
I don't know if you've seen the BBC series with Jeremy Brett as Holmes (for me, the far superior Holmes) but Jeremy in frilly ninnies is even more hilarious!
@@jennymulhall816 My first and favourite Sherlock Holmes. The Sherlock Holmes I vision whenever reading about the detective.
@@jennymulhall816 Yes! The definitive Holmes.
@@jennymulhall816 For me, Jeremy Brett will never be surpassed as Sherlock Holmes. Conan Doyle must have had Mr. Brett as inspiration for our favorite detective.
@@bernadettebanner ofc, we wouldn't mind to have you as a lady Sherlock Holmes
I love this channel with all my heart. Seeing someone talented and creative nerd out hardcore over something they are passionate about is the best part of this whole website.
I can't even sew, though I do love historical things. But i totally agree with this! I love her enthusiasm, and how incredibly smart she is. I love how she approaches it like a puzzle. I love your description "nerd out hardcore" lol!
I could not agree more. Bernadette's enthusiasm is most refreshing.
Whoever did the captions, thank you for the effort, as a hard of hearing person I appreciate it, and secondly, I love the commentary in brackets 😅 Bernadette does have gorgeous handwriting, and I also am scared to imagine how long the hand stitching took 😛
As far as I know Bernadette commissions the captions, to ensure they are up quickly after the video goes up. Though there has to be something g said about community captions. Some videos I've seen have like, 5-10 different languages of subtitles, amazing.
"these videos are not tutorials"
me, currently making a corset like urs: huh, cool...
exactly!
how did it go? :D
As I am a dude who's only interest in the Victorian era is mostly Hats and most machines I find it weird that I keep getting recommended your channel even weirder is I actually watch it
It's fun to learn and hats are grand.( ◜ᴗ◝)
Duddeee hats are rad! I _adore_ 1800s century hats!
A crafty person admires other crafty people....you may learn or appreciate something new and take it back into your craft...like I do for my antique dolls 😎👍🏻
We dudes appreciate sewing skills
😁it's like an addiction. once you start watching, it's hard to stop.
When I was a girl, so long ago now my grandmother taught me to make little button loops with very fine thread that were tied together using the same knot that attaches boats to a deck.
I hope you teach your granddaughter to make those knots.
Every time I look at extant items I think to my self "my goodness that must have taken quite a bit of time." And then I watch your videos and think, "why yes, yes it did take a long time!" :-)
I saw in a move once a woman using a glass cylinder full of water as a magnifier. Looking through one side while sewing on the other. It struck me as pure genius.
Which movie was this? do you remember? It sounds interesting. Was it historical?
I don't know if its the same one that @DEploribus Unum was thinking of, but The Man in the Iron Mask has one of the female leads sewing, or embroidering (I dont remember which as its been a while since I've watched it), with a water filled glass between and a close candle for better light. At least I think it was that one, I haven't movied in a long time, it was one of those musketeer movies for sure. 🤦🏽♀️ I have now rambled myself a long way from the certainty I started with.
"you know what? No one's gonna see the undergarments."
* Posts it online *
Dawn Harper that's exactly what I was thinking, but also in her costume college vlog, she wears her undergarments out for the first night😂😂 bless her sweet historic soul regardless
I've been recently learning how to sew, and honestly I get ahead of myself a lot, or frustrated, or overwhelmed. I'm not very good at it yet. But whenever I'm feeling absolutely lost I take a few minutes to sit and watch some of these videos and it completely refocuses me and recentres me. Bernadette, you're my patron saint of sewing & patience & attention to detail, and finding the joy in it all. Of getting excited, and persevering etcetc. Well anyway I just really needed to send some love, your videos bring me a lot of joy. Thank you thank you thank you!
As an eco-conscious (and budget conscious) historical sewist - have you considered using used linen and cotton bed sheets as the fabric for your undergarments, or at least your mock-ups? taking them directly to a laundry service who can wash in very hot water and a very hot dryer for plague control? (because no lie, that is what the bulk of donated masks for heathcare workers were made from when the stores ran out of cotton fabric during the stay at home orders) I can't tell you how many dresses and slips my dear Grandma (who was born in 1893) and my mom made me of sheets and flour sacks when I was little.
_takes notes for next thrift shopping trip_
I've always kept my sheets for sewing projects. They are large pieces of cotton fabric! Thrift stores are great sources. I've also been gifted sheets from friends who are still into "shopping" for something to do, I think.
I love these videos!!! Started more handsewing. It's a lovely meditative activity.
I currently have a lovely floral print peice of 300 thread count cotton that I intend to turn into a pair of curtain panels. The accompanying pillow cases will be turned into valances. Pray for me. I have Never sewn anything in my life!
I've done this. Gonna be honest with you, it sucks. Great for mock ups but not for much else. It sucks to hand sew through. It's cheap poly fabric loosly woven together. Not great for historical accuracy or long lasting clothes.
@@starsun6363 that's why I specified cotton and linen bedsheets. I find Egyptian cotton sheets with a higher thread count than any retail fabric available at thrift stores for less than $5 USD for a king size sheet SET. That's less than 50 cents a yard, even when I Include the cost of the anti-allergy laundry additive to the wash.
Dear Bernadette, I want you to know how much I like your wonderful way of speaking, and teaching.
I too love the Victorian day, I love chivalry and politeness and good manners. I think what you do and love is that period of life that was so beautiful. I love sewing but I am 83, that doesn't mean I will not continue to try. I love making everything by hand. I think it is wonderful.
You give those who think the same way as you do, a spark, to say ,yes, I want it back, I am going to jump right in and make it happen again. I enjoy you gracious friend, and all you do. Don't ever stop, it is a lovely way of life. We miss it so much. Thank you Bernadette.
I'm just commenting to support your content. I have nothing of relevance to say.
That alright, neither do I.
+
so i’m a freshman in highschool, and i’ve always been asked what i wanted to work in, and i a l w a y s respond with “english literature or history.” THIS IS WHY! this is my favorite type of history, it’s always entertained me. *my dream.*
All that beautiful hand work and it would be all covered up by the outerwear!! Such a fascinating process. I could watch you and your friends stitch all day.
All of Bernadette's videos should be, at the very least, 45 minutes from here on out. All in favor say aye. 😊
NS Cat aye
aye, but props to the community captioners who have to spend x3 the time to caption the video to make it more accessible
aye
Aye
Aye
Listening to your voiceover, at the front of my mind, as ever, was the insistent thought: "Good grief, this lady is as adorable as an entire basketful of kittens..."
That said, the combinations are utterly gorgeous (why don't we wear amazing clothes like this anymore??) and watching the process of putting in insertion lace was very interesting. Can't wait to run through the other Sherlock videos!
Kathleen Pannell, the amount of work it takes is why we don’t have clothes like this anymore. 😕
@@DAYBROK3 Yeah, fair enough. But that said, clothes made this way generally would last a hell of a lot longer than cheap mass-produced garments. I guess it's a balance of where you want to spend your time - on good long lasting products or on something you need to replace every five minutes :/
Kathleen Pannell it’s so sad isn’t it!😩
Agreed, Kathleen. I would suspect that there are actually a growing number of folks these days who are willing to put a bit more effort into sewing (by hand or machine) their own clothing if for no other reason than to avoid spending their hard-earned money on cheaply-made clothing (often at exorbitant prices, not quite fitting, and certainly not LASTING!)
'Adorable!" yes, I also have a window open on my computer to "TinyKittens" live. L (but not OL).
Bernadette : You're probably really bored of watching me stitch this together
Me: Literally rewinding to see how she's stitching certain parts of the lace on
Also I love how she's calling it "the youtube" I might have to start calling it that too x)
My 90 something Aunt says "Ask THE Google" so now I say it too :)
"Doing it without any modern persons interpretation of how it should be done. This will just be my own interpretation..." Evidence that you're not a modern person, lol. You came from that era :)
"Oh my goodness, friends, BEHOLD." If I wasn't already subscribed, this is what would have made me do so.
This is lovely. You have reminded me of a funny thing that happened in my 19th century costuming journey. I tried to make a pair of drawers. Unfortunately, my skills are at best, low-level journeyman and my measuring was off. I ended up with a severe cases of cutting into parts that Victorians never spoke about. What to do? So much effort and I can't wear them. So I took the waistband off. The original plan was to insert a yoke and try again, but there were so many fitting issues that I abandoned the idea. Instead, I took the corset cover that also hadn't worked out well, cut them up the front and added a button placket. Result? COMBINATIONS! This leaves me wondering if something like that might have led to the invention of the things.
Oh that's actually really interesting :)
I have developed a severe case of ruffle envy. Why do I feel like I need this underwear in my life. Sigh...
Me too! It's very pretty and cute lol
If I ever learn to sew I'm going to make this and I'm going to make it so incredibly fluffy
Clio Lasht correct, people should wear more nightgowns
Dude same. I literally only wear jeans and sweatpants and I still want these
@@cliolasht9192 but are they frilly drawers?!? XD
I greatly appreciate your determination to never sacrifice precision. True art (fashion is art) deserves that level of quality, and indeed cannot be achieved with shotcuts, haste, and refusal to backtrack on mistakes. It's your dedication to the craft you love that convinced me to subscribe to you. I, as a fellow artist, respect and relate to your need to do it right.
"As the end was near, I thought it prudent to bake some cookies." I like that thinking!
I cannot overstate how amazing it is that you have enough skills and abilities to do proper research using limited resource material and similar patterns and figure out how to create such a lovely and fitted historical undergarment, doubly so since it is made entirely with hand sewing. What an incredible finished project! I now feel that I must consume a cookie and a cup of tea in your honor.
Those look so comfortable holy shit I would live in those even after quarantine. Just wear a pale blue long sleeve tee with those on top and that is my aesthetic
ik. get some thicker fabric and back the lace with more fabric (bc I don’t want people seeing my bare skin in certain areas), maybe adding in some chest padding for my bigger busted ladies, and this is a completed outfit
hmm what an interesting combination, pun not intended
I want a pair of these for loungewear! Yes, hello 2020. I've not worn "real" clothes for months.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣weve all been there!
When I saw the inspo photo I thought "i wonder if she'll use red ribbon instead of blue." You didnt disappoint!
I don't know that any other RUclips channel could keep me captivated without skipping for 47 minutes... I just love all this beautiful historical sewing!!
This is like heaven to me. I don't usually coment on videos but i feel like i should do this everytime you post something.
Bernadette your channel is unique, incredibly delightfull, informative and relatable for all of us who are adventuring in historical reproduction. This combinations are really well done and they captures with sucess the feeling, shapes and proportions of an original piece. Congratullations for another great sucessfull reproduction and thank you for inspiring us all with this.
PS: I LOVE THAT THIS VIDEO IS ALMOST 1 HR LONG and hope the corset one have a similar long format, hahaha!
I would not have realised that this video is almost 1 hour long if i didnt see your comment. i thought it was at most 15 minutes!
I can never get enough of your stitching. It make my world seem more orderly. This is my 3-4 time watching this video. I’m getting ready to start my combinations. Everything is ordered & on the way. I my have to watch this another 3-4 times.
How did they go?
A long-form Bernadette Banner video? Oh happy days!
I love how red everything she wears is, everything matches beautifully.
I do steampunk costumes for a convention in Cincinnati OH, and normally I just wear modern undergarments with them. But now I really want to make something like this for my costumes. I love steampunk cause most of the time it's set in the Victorian era so I can kinda play fast and loose with fashion from that time period but this series is really making me want to create a more period true outfit. Maybe next year cause the convention is only a month and a half away and I've already decided on this year's costume based on our theme of Steamtastic Beasts.
*snags two cookies on the way out*
Kathleen Burns Kathleen, I live just a bit up from the King’s Island exit. We must get together for sharing notes and cabbage (excess materials), when you’re in town! Where do they have the convention?
@@PowerToolsnPearls Here is a link for the convention. steampunksymposium.com you should totally come its a lot of fun, Friday they usually have a big swap pile where people can trade things at. I heard tale that lots of interesting bobs and cabbage could be found there. And that would be cool, I know where that Kings Island is at. Maybe we could meet up at Symposium? Its the last weekend of March.
Me, a tailor with ADHD: soul dies from watching all the hand sewing I would never be able to do
I always run into the same issue when I want to hand sew ANYTHING but the one time I got up to do some hand sewing I didn’t stop until 9 hours later and when I finally stopped the entire thing felt like the more pleasant version of a fever dream
@@littleprincess4615 That sounds like something I would do too! I know exactly how it feels, and after you're like " why am I so tired :D "
That's why ADHD is the best thing. Once absorbed, you are unstoppable 🦸♀️
hyperfocus goooo
As a bona fide ADHD Human ®️ i will tell you that (once you get the hang of it) it is a perfect repetitive task to keep your hands busy when you have to sit still and watch/listen to something :)
The determination to hand sew so so much of an undergarment is proof of indomitable passion. I envy and respect you and your talent!! In my own craft, I look at every stitch and wonder if and how I can adapt it to a sewing machine because I am absolutely hopeless with a hand needle. My own ineptitude aside, I appreciate every second of this video and the hours that went into making it because this is a masterpiece.
When you were talking about being given the needles for your machine, your joy and excitement made me extremely happy!
This video is actually a HUGE help. I’ve just started researching specifics of Jacobean fashion and for the shift I was considering doing insertion lace down the side seams to mimic the gap they left in that seam, connecting the two hems with free-standing needlework. (As I’m making a Jacobean wizard inspired by the wizard portraits in the Harry Potter films, mimicking some techniques is ok for me.) For the under-robe I’ve also found a portrait of a skirt made of thin, long panels of a fine, semi-sheer fabric where each panel has dense free-standing needlework or even inserted lace between the next panel. So seeing how you’ve done this is a huge help and has me feeling less intimidated!
Interesting that in Spanish slips (without a pantlet aspect) are still sometimes called combinations. I never understood what was being combined but now I see it is just a legacy term that outlived the reversal of this undergarment back to a shift only shape.
My goodness, I do love hand stitching and I need glasses to produce those tiny stitches. Thank you for including the resource links to Agnes Walker and Bertha Banner, not to mention working bifurcated garments into a sentence. Word of the day ladies: bifurcated, word of the day! Take care!
You could probably title most of this channel 'adventures in experimental archeology'
Fun Fact, the shop's name "Hecht" is a dutch word, meaning: to sew up ; to append ; to adhere ; to attach ; to fix ; to fasten ; to glue ; to suture ; to affix ; to paste on ; to glue together ; to paste in ; to paste together ; to stitch ; to sew together ; to stick
So you can see how befitting it is
Hecht is also a Fish, At least that's what it is in German ...
Rewatching this in my series of rewatching all Bernadette's "Underthings-videos", prompted by the new Pirate Shirt :)
Can I just say that her enthusiasm for this project is so very wholesome and contagious and apparently EXACTLY what I needed in our current plague times.
Bernadette, I could watch you hand stitch forever. This piece is completely lovely
I wandered into here from a post on Reddit r/Artisanvideos. I'm a maturing chap (not old, but my teenage years are well behind me now!) with no previous interest in dress making, but at the end of the video I realised I had sat through and watched all of it and thoroughly enjoyed it.
You are engaging and articulate with a lovely turn of phrase and humour. Your enthusiasm, excitement and knowledge of your topic held my interest, and I love the research element you do to achieve the historical detail you strive for, and you and your presentation are utterly charming.
Whilst i may not exactly be your target audience, or know anything about Victorian dressmaking, I do take joy in watching someone skilled do their thing and do it well, whatever that is.
Thank you for a thoroughly delightful, entertaining, informative and surprising 45 minutes.
That’s awesome! These videos are a great learning experience and I thinks that’s why I love them so much.
Imagine if people went though this much work with every historically inspired garment.
Costume design for plays would be so fun.
I’d love to live in that world
It also illustrates why mending was such a big part of life. Whether you purchased this or made it yourself you would not want all that work to go to waste because of a simple tear. It really upsets me how a lot of modern fashion seems to be "single" use and mending is simply dying out. :(
Having worked in a theater costume shop that made costumes primarily from the late 1800s... that sounds like a nightmare! Everything was scrupulously held to the 15 foot rule - if you can't tell from 15 feet away, it doesn't matter. Otherwise a single play would take years to costume!
@@mariaarnt4939 And tickets would then have to be so expensive to make up for all that time that nobody would be able to actually watch the play..
I began sculpting about five years ago when my health had me housebound. I never thought I would have the level of success I do now, fully satisfied for the first time in my life with the dedication to the art as never before. I feel your joy from creating
Each time I started to make something I had never tried before, I poured over videos, books, examples, everything short of going to a fair where like artists would be selling. Always experimenting then practicing to my satisfaction.
Recently I traded a 1 3/4" polymer clay and resin cherry pie for a real pie made from homegrown cherries. It was as wonderful as the reaction to my pie. I crimped crust, dusting it with colored chalks to show that it was baked. The pie wasn't stuffed with scrap clay or foil, it was ALL cherries! I made sure to make decorative openings to see inside and I made the pie pan to specs from a 1902 Sears catalog. I even cut out a piece of the pie, laid it on one of my 1" plates and made a working knife along with a non working fork to set the feeling in the kitchen for my friends dollhouse.
I had always loved miniatures and ended up making an entire gardens worth of veggies and fruits for her Victorian Dollhouse. I even made "Heritage" creations. As this grew from making jewlery I decided everything had to be classic but a bit over the top. Beauty came first. I made her special things for the house then built a "produce stand for all the fruits and veggie's. I even made a stand for her granddaughters to play with their barbies so the jewelry the girls made could be "sold" beside grandma's stand. If you can't tell, I am in love with this aspect of the medium I was told back in highschool that I would never master.
Shortly afterwards I made a replica "washing machine" from the Sears book and now there are cast iron pans and cauldrons gallor. I live in a small house so I am cramped for space but this hobby fits just right.