FOUNDATIONS REVEALED COMPETITION ENTRY
Fanny Hill
(click images to to enlarge)
Other Credits
Photographer - Henry Clark
Outline the story …
I have recently been reading a lot of 18th and 17th Century fiction.
I was particularly attracted to Fanny Hill by John Cleland. This costume was constructed over the summer as an ongoing project. It represents Fanny when she first arrives as an innocent country girl.
I have designed various versions of this and made this as a wearable toile and practice for a future project.
Outline the construction…
The jacket is a scrap, of course wool, and drafted from a Jean Hunnisett pattern, it is mainly hand-stitched and has hand-worked eyelets for the lacing.
The petticoat/skirt is made from cotton canvas fabric and was a self draft from images.
The white bonnet and Kerchief are made from thin starched muslin and all hand-stitched. The bonnet is pinned to my hair in the traditional style.
The stays are drafted from Jean Hunnisett's pattern and adapted to fit, I contracted it from two layers of calico and one of cotton drill. It is boned with a mixture of flat steel boning and plastic cable ties. It was sewn on a vintage sewing machine (Jones Family CS) and the bias binding completely hand-stitched. I finished with metal eyelets for strength
The chemise was a self draft, combining a number of patterns. It is constructed in thin cotton and made on the vintage sewing machine. The ruffle was an issue and I needed to break down the fabric to make the ruffle softer.
The garters were made from a scrap of decorative ribbon, elastic and ribbon, to give a rich garter look They were handstitched with elastic, pulled taught, to make them gather slightly.
I hand embroidered a pair of pockets.
It is completed with cotton stockings and a straw bergere.
My biggest issue was that due to lockdowns and tiers I have not been able to visit a fabric shop in almost a year and so fabric was all from my stash.
A really lovely costume and it looks so authentic to the period. Very well done 🙂
Beautiful work!
I very much like the airy, light quality of the colors you chose. Your stays look really tidy, and I love your pocket!!
Embroidery on pocket is so lovely! You look very cute in that costume.
That pocket is super pretty! 🥰🥰 A lovely, well put together outfit, great job!
It looks like you’ve had some real fun this year and managing to do all that out of your stash is impressive in itself! It’s a lovely ensemble and so well put together. I like the garters and pocket being a little bit of bling under a more controlled outer look. Very nice.