Welcome get-together (Friday 2 October 2009)

An ideal opportunity, over light refreshments and a glass of wine, to meet up with old friends or make some new ones particularly if this is your first festival.

The festival continues throughout the long weekend with workshops, displays, teas, suppers, outdoor activities, dances, balls and much much more.

The Festival is hosted by John & Aylwen Gardiner-Garden and the Earthly Delights Historic Dance Academy.

Events planned so far:

- Beginner Dance Workshops
- Advanced Dance Workshops
- Ettiquette
- Variety nights in the evenings
- Improv. Theatre on Sunday night
- Bonnet making workshop (early-victorian)
- Handsewing Workshop (mid-victorian, Godeys pattern)
- 1840s bonnet workshop
- 1860s needlework case workshop
- 1890s torque (small hat) workshop (late-victorian)
- Dickens and Steampunk Readings
- Victorian hair styling demonstrations (short & long hair)
- Antique Clothing Displays (different displays each day)
- Language of Flowers & Fans
- Steampunk - what is it?



Thursday, September 24, 2009

Sewing Workshops - Materials Lists

Sewing Workshops
Victorian Festival, 2009
www.earthlydelights.com.au
Earthly Delights Historic Dance Academy, Canberra, Australia

We will be putting you into classes of ten people according to your dance skills.
Advanced dancers will do the morning workshops, Beginner dancers will do the later workshops. Please let us know if you do not intend to dance.
IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO DO THESE WORKSHOPS PLEASE CONTACT US NOW SO WE CAN MAKE YOUR PLACE AVAILABLE.
If you have friends who have not bought their festival tickets please tell them to do so now so we can finalise catering arrangements.
If you are unable to find materials please contact garden@netspeed.com.au .

1840s Bonnet with Lynne Cook
Saturday 3 October 2009
Venue: 87 Schlich Street, Yarralumla ACT 2600
(Transport will be arranged if you have difficulty - we have moved all of the Saturday "daytime" activities to this address. Email us on garden@earthlydelights.com.au if you need travel assistance)

Kit to purchase on the day - $15
Includes Pattern, Instructions, Buckram bonnet base, PellonTM and Covered Wire.

You need to bring:

  • 70cm Outer fabric [Silk for those who wish to be period correct, but otherwise any (plain) fabric is fine, however natural fibres (cotton, linen, rayon etc) are definitely easier to work with than synthetics (polyester, acetate etc).]
  • 70cm Lining fabric [as aboveit can be a contrast fabric or the same colour, but it should be a shade that flatters your colouring]
  • 1.5m x 5cm (2”) wide Ribbons for the ties [It can be hard to get in this width, and ideally they would be silk too. 3.5cm (1½") will do, but 5cm is better if you can get it. Again it can be toning or contrasting in colour, and tartan & stripes were popular. You might find something suitable in the wired ribbon section - you can always remove the wire.]
  • Trimmings [flowers, feathers, ribbon, lace etc]
  • Sewing machine, matching thread, hand sewing needles, scissors, pins etc. [All the items you normally use for sewing].


1860s needlebag with Aylwen Gardiner-Garden
Sunday 4 October 2009
Venue: St Johns Church Hall, Constitution Ave, Reid ACT
This will be copying an extant English 1860s needlebag that Aylwen has in her collection. All sewing is done by hand.

To be supplied:
  • Pattern and instructions
  • Sewing needles


You need to bring:

  • 40cm white or off-white cotton or linen fabric, sturdy weight like canvas or calico. Please pre-wash and iron the fabric beforehand.
  • thin cotton cording/braiding in the same colour as fabric, approx. 5m
  • cotton lace edging, again, the same colour as the base fabric. 2m.
  • sewing cotton same colour to match
  • transfer pencil to transfer pattern onto fabric (make sure it can be washed out afterwards)
  • one button, 1cm diameter.
  • Scissors, pins, unpicker etc,[all the stuff you normally use for sewing].


1890s Small Victorian Torque with Sharon Doig
Monday 5 October 2009

Venue: St Johns Church Hall, Constitution Ave, Reid ACT

To be supplied:
  • Instruction Booklet

You need to bring:

Materials to make 1 hat to fit a 55cm head. Allow extra wire and ribbon if your fitting is larger than this.
  • 2 Lady Jane slide combs or similar

  • 1 reel of black 26 gage jewellery wire from bead/craft store

  • 2.5 m of Black cotton covered millinery wire [18 guage]

  • 4.50 m Navy/black Velvet Ribbon x 3.4cm wide

  • Thread matching your ribbon colour [black sewing thread]

  • 5 to 7 small bunches of silk flowers with leaves attached.

  • 4 silk oak leaves

  • sewing needles & milliner's straw needle
  • Pins
  • Wire Cutters
  • Small flat nosed pliers
  • Tape measure
  • Embroidery Scissors
  • Small clothes pegs [optional]

Some Suppliers:


  1. DeLew Designs - http://delew.com.au
  2. Bead Street - http://www.beadstreat.com.au
  3. Mimi Millinery - http://mimimillinery.com
  4. Silkflowers - http://www.silkflowers.com
  5. Age of Elegence - http://stores.shop.ebay.com.au/Age-Of-Elegance

  6. Julie Flemming -http://stores.shop.ebay.com.au/Julie-Fleming-Melbourne-Est-1989











Wednesday, September 23, 2009

There are a few tickets left.....

You can purchase tickets for the Victorian Era Festival HERE. There are a few tickets left so don't leave it to the last minute.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Victorian Era Festival Antique Costume Exhibition, 2-5 October 2009




The list will continue expanding, I have so many lovely items to share with everyone. See http://www.earthlydelights.com.au to purchase earlybird tickets.

From US & UK:
Victorian ladies boots
1830s gown and pelerine
1830s corded stays
1890s silk ballgown
three parasols
bonnet collection
1850 day dress
1840s sheer dress
medici belt
1910 walking suit
1860s hand sewn openwork stockings
1880s ivory silk bustle gown
Victorian service aprons
1890 velvet cris-cross front-bow woollen bodice (really unusual!)
1880s Blue Velvet and Peach Brocade Bustle Gown
1860s Striped Moire Silk Bengaline Dress
1890 hand-painted fabric fan

15 items from a museum closing-down sale in Adaminaby, NSW
nightgowns
bloomers
chemises

From my great-great-grandmother's glory box:
lace bedspread and tea cosy
part of a muslin and lace dress
handmade lace tablecloth
child's dress

Books & Prints
Godeys Ladys Books
Peterson's Magazines
Fashion Prints
French fashion magazines
Antique patterns

Friday, June 5, 2009

New to the program ... Steampunk


We will be putting together a "Steampunk" display on Saturday, with a selection of readings and question/answer sessions afterwards.

According to Wikipedia,

Steampunk is a sub-genre of fantasy and speculative fiction that came into prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. The term denotes works set in an era or world where steam power is still widely used—usually the 19th century, and often Victorian era England—but with prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy, such as fictional technological inventions like those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne, or real technological developments like the computer occurring at an earlier date. Other examples of steampunk contain alternate history-style presentations of "the path not taken" of such technology as dirigibles, analog computers, or digital mechanical computers (such as Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine); these frequently are presented in an idealized light, or with a presumption of functionality.

Steampunk is often associated with cyberpunk and shares a similar fanbase and theme of rebellion, but developed as a separate movement (though both have considerable influence on each other). Apart from time period and level of technological development, the main difference between cyberpunk and steampunk is that steampunk settings usually tend to be less obviously dystopian than cyberpunk, or lack dystopian elements entirely.

Various modern utilitarian objects have been modded by individual artisans into a pseudo-Victorian mechanical "steampunk" style, and a number of visual and musical artists have been described as steampunk.


Steampunk. (2009, May 28). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 01:29, May 28, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Steampunk&oldid=292793389

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Sewing patterns we recommend...

We use and recommend mid-late Victorian patterns from Truly Victorian.


You can also find good patterns from Simplicity Patterns Online, or from most sewing stores in Australia.

An excellent early Victorian (1830s) e-pattern can be purchased from our Australian website Regency Reproductions.

Festival daily themes

Each day of the festival will feature different themed activities, dances and costumes.

Saturday: Early Victorian 1835-1855
Sunday: Mid-Victorian 1855 - 1875
Monday: Late Victorian 1875 - 1895

Note: This means that workshops and antique clothing displays will be changed daily to fit the theme.