Thanks so much for watching! I can't wait to share the final reveal of the Grape Gown with you at the end of May! 🥰

The fact that you hand sewn this, and had the patience to do it, is absolutely incredible. I only do machine sewing for structural seams and darts but doing hand work on linings, hems, and finishings as well as embellishments like beads and pearls. Good job on this skirt and good luck on your evening gown making endeavors! Cant wait to see how it turns out! Im making an 1890s ballgown too but its got a lot of panels to give me deep pleats and a huge train with the diagonal lines on the center back for making it easier to lay down the pattern on fabric.

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so so much!! 🥰 your gown sounds absolutely lovely. I’m sure it’ll be wonderful!

the fabric and color choice is so good! also i love that you're referencing revival fashion, can't wait to see those puffy sleeves

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much Khensani! Revival fashion is so underrated. Can't wait to share the final reveal 🥰

The skirt is so beautiful! The process is very well explained too, I've learned a lot! Thank you!

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much! Glad explaining the process was helpful 🥰

Dude you’re the highlight of my week❤️

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Awww thank you!

Ladder stitches for darts are genius! I can’t wait to use it!

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

You’ll love them! 🥰

Ladder stiches for darts? Mind blown! Thank you for sharing such a wonderful project

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

I only recently started using them for darts and it was the best decision ever! 😅 thanks so much for watching, glad you enjoyed the video 💕

This already looks amazing and I can't wait to see the finished product

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much!! I think you'll really enjoy it. I have a fun reveal planned too!

I've been in a sewing slump for the past couple months and this really inspired me! I hope you have a great week!

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Awww! How lovely to hear that this video has helped 🥰 Thanks so much, have a lovely week!

Can’t wait for the final reveal!!!

Exited to see the final gown 🌺❤️🌺

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you!! Can't wait to share it 🥰

Your hand sewing more than a hobby a way of living in beautiful creativity and mindfulness

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much!

Literally 1890s couture because it’s all done by hand, that’s a feat in and of itself and you should be proud

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Awww thank you so much! I really appreciate it. I ended up finishing the entire ensemble in a later video, so I hope you enjoy that one too 🥰

The deep violet and lime green is a very striking combination. Can't wait for the top - I like these type of sleeves as well.

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you Rara! These types of sleeves are so much fun to make as well, which makes them even more amazing haha 😊

That is so exquisite I love every bit of it. Purple is my favorite color Thank you for sharing

That dart technique is genius!!!

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Glad it’s helpful! 🥰

you just blew my mind with those ladder stitches!! thank you so much! talk about a protip!

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Woohoo! They’re so cool, right? Makes securing darts 1000x easier and no more wrestling with matching up the lines 😅

Ooooooh cotton velvet! And dead stock! You lucky person you!

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Hehehe thank you! I honestly got so lucky as it was the only one on the site. I ended up buying like 14 metres so I can make a tea gown later on!

@katwitanruna

2 жыл бұрын

@@VBirchwood I’d do the same if I had the funds! When I was buying fabric my rule was to always purchase at least ten yards. Then there was the time I found the bolts of raw silk in hideous colors for $2/yd in clearance. I figured if I couldn’t remove the dye I could use them for underlining. Muahaha! I bought every bolt. And the dye remover worked. I ended up with a soft orange and a cream. Ha! My family had matching garb.

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

@@katwitanruna ​Wow what a lucky score! The velvet and silk were about £12/metre which is pretty darn good for usual prices!

Ok but the shoes!!! I feel like you are going to wear that skirt a lot. So good.

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much! I definitely plan to wear it to anything fancy, and perhaps some day wear in the autumn too! 😊

Thank you for showing sewing steps in detail. Your videos have helped me so much!

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Of course!! I’m so glad it’s very helpful. I never think of these as tutorials but I’m very happy to hear they end up serving as tutorials inadvertently 🥰

Gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. The colour combination is very Daphne Blake to me I must admit lol

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much! Hahaha it definitely is, though totally unintentionally 😂

When I first heard you say you hand sew everything in your “why …clothing is comfortable “, I gasped. You’re my hero. I have ADHD so your patience is admirable😂.

@VBirchwood

Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much! I’m diagnosed ADHD as well, but I think sewing is where my brain hyper focuses so in this case it works to my advantage 🤣

It is going tobe stunning! I can't wait to see the reveal. In awe of your creativity & grateful for you sharing, Audri

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much Audri!

Such a beautiful color combination... I really look forward to the whole reveal

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you! Can’t wait to share it 😊

Nice job! I can't wait to see the whole thing!

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Luna! Really excited to share it 🥰

Beautiful work!

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you! 🥰

Piecing is Period!!!

Excited for the final reveal! the attatchable train turned out so well

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Takk elskan 💕🥰

I love that you aren't afraid of bold colors and contrast. The results are stunning.

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much! Bold colours are the best honestly (at least in my opinion). Historical fashion, I think, is so suited to bold colours also 🥰

It's awesome thank you so much for sharing ❤️❤️❤️❤️

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching! 😊💕

Congratulations on your swift and skillful design work & stitching! Your reveal is lovely!

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much Catherine! 🥰

@catherinejustcatherine1778

2 жыл бұрын

@@VBirchwood you are quite welcome!

I just wanted to tell you that your channel, which I encountered last week, has inspired me to make a 18-century skirt for myself and encouraged me to wear it to work! Thank you so much for your content and the inspiration you give us.

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Awww what a sweet comment, thank you so much! 🥰

I have actually read somewhere on facebook that princesses were not allowed to wear low and wide neckline with short sleeves on the evening during the late 1880s all the way to the early 1900s.

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Ah interesting! I would have absolutely no idea as I know so little about royal fashion or etiquette 😂

How beautiful! I can't wait to see the finished product. You just keep getting better and better! 💖

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you GiGi! 😊

The purple skirt is lovely, as is the detachable train! I look forward to seeing the whole ensemble!

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much E! Really excited to share the rest of the ensemble 😊

Hello, I just watch your 1 year old video, " 9 thing's I wish I would have known prior to dressing historically". I don't know how I missed it when it was aired??? I absolutely love the yellow and white dress you are wearing! Did you make it yourself? It looks perfect for Spring and pre-ummer wear. Just oohhhing & aaahhhing over your beautiful clothing. You mentioned that you, imagine the smile and joy you can bring to just 1 person when they see and enjoy your clothing. I am quite sure that, you, your bright smile, your elegance, and intelligence, brings about those smiles, along with those beautiful clothes. I know that you bring much joy to my household, with all you share of your talent, intelligence and teachings with us. I sincerely thank you. I also have another question. Perhaps there are others wondering the same thing??? Or, everyone but myself has a grasp on the workings of KZread. Besides the "thumbs up" and joining your Patrion, how else can your fans/followers ( never quite sure of proper words used online) help out? I can only imagine the cost endured to create such beautiful clothing and to create the videos. I don't want to break any rules asking you such a question. I have wondered this about another of my favorite people, who work so hard at this craft. Does gifting materials help, do KZread creative people accept donations? I honestly have thought these and several other questions, about how you ( and a few other's) can keep putting out such amazing projects, clothing and video's. I watch, enjoy emmencely, learn so much! Then, I wonder, " how do these extremely talented young woman( and men!) make any money sharing such knowledge with us?! Yes, I am older than all you amazing people I love to learn new thing's from. Yes, I do spend time worrying about you. It's a compliment and means I genuinely care about you outside of watching KZread. I also talk about how talented, creative, amazingly gifted.... you guy's are, so...... I burdened you with my crazy question because I thought if anyone would tell me honestly it would be you. I also figured if it's a question I am not allowed to ask or if it crosses all online etiquette, you would tell me that too. With such admiration and happiness, Audri

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Hi Audri! Thank you so much for the compliments! The “9 things” video you mention was the very first video I released on my channel, so that’s likely why you missed it, as I had maybe 50 subscribers at the time of its airing! 😊 The white and gold dress I did not make, as at that point I had been sewing for maybe a total of 5 months, so I think I barely had the skills yet, even though I did start in Georgian clothes constructing. It’s wonderful you ask, and certainly not off limits, about how to support your favourite creators here! Patreon is definitely a great way if the person has one, and some channels do accept donations too, and sometimes gifting materials can help but it’s best to ask each channel separately as it may be useful to some but perhaps not for others. I think the reality of how it is for many artists now, especially those creating content and art for the internet, is that many of us work two full time jobs (myself included), the job that pays our bills and then usually our creative job (like making videos here on KZread). Some people grow their channels enough to be able to make content creating their full time job, but it tends to be a very slow build. Because of that, you really have to love making the videos, etc. otherwise it’s very hard to keep up a channel in the long run because some days it can really feel very demotivating. Another great way though to support your favourite creators is some of them do sponsorships and if you like the product or service they’re supporting, consider purchasing it through the link they provide, as that will often show their sponsors that they’re “converting sales” so to speak. Thanks for caring though and wanting to support us and give back to us creatives! 😊

Beautiful. And I have to say that your stitching is fabulous. The backstitching looked as if it had been done by machine sewn.

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you!! It’s gotten so, so much better over the past year and a half. Practice really does make proficient as they say!

@theplussizecostumer

2 жыл бұрын

@@VBirchwood I had a choir director who would say, "Practice makes permanent." As opposed to practice makes perfect.

Outstanding work as always (both the skirt and the video!). I loved the presentation of the skirt at the end, with the lovely music.

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much Joëlle 🥰

Yoooo let's go Lady V! Back at it again with an amazing dress! I love how you're theming them after fruits! You are absolutely speedrunning this gown! Great job and I can't wait to see the full reveal in two weeks!

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Hey Amber!! Thanks so much 🥰 I’m not sure how much longer I can keep up with the fruit theme, but I do have some other fun nature-inspired themes planned for later in the year 😁

Your craftsmanship is impeccable, and your color choices are quite exquisite as well!!

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much! 🥰

I've been planning to make an 1890s evening gown for my birthday!! This video would surely help me out a lot, thank you very much!!

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Oooo amazing! Happy early birthday 😊 I hope your gown-making endeavours go well! 🥰

there's something about the shade of purple you chose that makes that skirt extra sumptuous I just sit in awe of your process here, especially when I barely have the patience for machine sewing, I can feel this helping my motivation and now I want to find my sketchbook

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so so much! I hope you had lots of fun sketching 😊

Underated youtuber i just found your channel and its so good

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Awww thank you so much! Enjoy the videos!

@brayanlapat4767

2 жыл бұрын

@@VBirchwood oh myyy a responddd thanksss i willll

Absolutely amazing, I am very impressed with the skill that goes into all your projects. I am about to start my own adventure with hand sewing and, although I won't be sewing ball gowns anytime soon, I find your projects sth to aspire to some day :) I especially would love to sew and wear a kirtle!

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Aww thank you so much! You've got this honestly! I think it just takes setting your mind to it and lots of practice. It helps to utilise the plethora of free resources here on KZread as well 🥰

I see that I missed this video last week! KZread!!! 🤔 But anyway, how beautiful is your skirt V! And hand made, it's just incredibly amazing! And with the shoes, they look so perfect together! 😍

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much Caroline! 🥰

I really like that the purple skirt could also be potentially used for day wear or semi-formal occasions without the tie-on train! Very handy to have multi-functional garments.

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you!! Yes! That was exactly what I was going for since there’s no way I’m going to just hand sew things I can only wear once. It would be such a shame.

@ragnkja

2 жыл бұрын

It was really common for Victorian gowns to actually be a skirt and a bodice, and fairly common to make both a day bodice and an evening bodice for the same skirt.

Wow Vasi! That fabric is gorgeous. I'm looking forward to seeing them final reveal. I have the detachable butterfly train from TV. I got it with the intention of making something nice to wear to costume college before the world shut do an from Covid. I'm not sure if I will ever make it to costume college, but I do know that I do love a good Renaissance faire and i've seen a number of amazing Tudor era kirtles out there and I have half a mind to make my own. Since my duaghter wants to do dress history for her curriculum in the fall i figures it might be a good time to start on one. 😉 Nicole Rudolph uses what she refers to as a running back stitch for her long seams. Basically she does 3 or 4 running stitches. Then a back stitch to help secure it. Repeat process to the end of the garment and secure with a back stitch. I've tried it with my own hand sewing and its certainly saves the hand. Especially when you have any endless amount of whip stitching to do. It might come in handy for you in the future. Anyways I look forward to seeing them final reveal and hopefully more puppy antics in the future. See you in tow weeks ❤️

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much DesertRose! 🥰 I have seen the running back stitch a bunch, but I always worry it won’t be sturdy enough for regular day-to-day wear, so I always just do very strong back stitches, just in case 😂 thank you for mentioning it though! See you in two weeks 💕

Oh I was curious how you attached the train, that's amazing!

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you!!

Oh wow that is absolutely beautiful! You definitely don't shy away from bright colors, I love it! Can't wait for the reveal 😍 I was thinking about adding twill tape to garments that need weight at the Hem and to enclose seams. I have so many ideas and projects I want to do but no fabric and funds (after spending almost $5000 on thena so far from her broken arm) Runa has gotten so big! She's beautiful 😍

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much Jessica ❤️ Twill tape is a wonderful way to accomplish both those things. Horsehair or wool brush braid was used historically but it’s tricky to find in modern times and far more expensive. You can also use stiff organdie like I did as well, which was used a lot historically. It’s a fairy affordable fabric too. I’m sorry Thena’s injury ended up costing so much! I hope she’s healing well and is feeling better☺️

@jessicabey275

2 жыл бұрын

@@VBirchwood Does organdie loose the stiffness once washed by hand?

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

It doesn’t! It can be machine washed even on the cotton setting at 30 degrees Celsius or lower 😊 just don’t add fabric softener when cleaning it! I made that mistake once and it ruined its stiffness. I would recommend ironing it also whilst it’s damp. It helps to remove any creases etc

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Also be sure to pre-wash it before sewing with it, just like you would any other cotton fabric

@jessicabey275

2 жыл бұрын

@@VBirchwood Thank you Vasi!

I appreciate the showcase of how the hem was finished; it is one thing to hear 'clip the edges' and another to actually see the process. Is the notching process intuitive or is trial and error involved? I appreciate that you do not get cinematic until the reveal; watching the process of how the garment comes together is something I want to see. That said, your end segments are always quite lovely to see!

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you Erica! I would say it was extremely intuitive honestly, as long as its within the seam allowance, that’s all that matters. And then you sort of just have to finesse the hem into the curve and try to get the two halves as even as possible 😊 I hope you’re well!

@ericalarochelle3779

2 жыл бұрын

@@VBirchwood Thanks for the insight! I am doing well after moving to a new location and job; I hope you are doing well yourself!

I'm surprised you didn't figure a loop to pull the train up off the floor with the length of the over skirt. Otherwise, I'm drooling over that velvet skirt!😍

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you! I removed the train altogether in order to be able to dance which was my solution instead of creating the loop 😊

@melissagoings1

2 жыл бұрын

Nice. I did not think of that. My brain went another direction. 😁

Ok so I wasted fabric trying to make a shift then I got really sad that I technically wasted money because I wasted fabric but I will try again soon when I have enough money to buy fabric again 😄

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Oh no! I'm sorry that happened. Definitely don't give up! Plus, you could perhaps use that fabric for something else, like an apron or bonnet?

This is gorgeous! Can I ask where you get your deadstock fabrics? I feel like any time I look at deadstock its always like "here's the ugliest pattern you've ever seen" 🤣 and never a gorgeous purple velvet.

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you 😊 Hahaha I can definitely understand! It's a site in the UK called AmoThreads. They have very limited quantities, but post new fabrics regularly, so you just have to keep your eye out for nice ones like this velvet (and the lime silk I got from them too).

This is absolutely stunning! Question.. does the twill tape at the hem act in a similar way to horsehair (fake lol) braid used today at the hem of gowns?

@VBirchwood

Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much! I have no idea honestly as I’ve never sewn a modern garment, but I would imagine so since it’s meant to almost provide a little support and stability to the hem. Wool brush braid was often used at the very edge of the hem historically and it could often be seen from the right side. I have a very hard time finding wool brush braid in the U.K. so I rarely get to use it, but most of the antiques in my collection possess brush braid

@katyb2793

Жыл бұрын

@@VBirchwood thank you so much for replying so quickly! That's so interesting!

What is this tool tape? I’m searching it and can’t find it. If any knows thank you for helping. 😊

@VBirchwood

Жыл бұрын

It may be labelled as a “dress marker” or “hem marker” on sites like eBay. Perhaps try writing “vintage” as well as most of them are vintage.

What was the annual ball? I would love to be able to go when it happens again.

@VBirchwood

Жыл бұрын

It was the Prior Attire annual Victorian ball 😊

Lol ... sooo ..... it's the end of May 😁

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Hahaha it'll be out on Thursday 😊

@jessicabey275

2 жыл бұрын

@@VBirchwood 😄

Lush

@VBirchwood

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you 😊