Thimble Raven

Patterns used: Scroop and Virgil’s Fine Goods Amalia Jacket (view A), 1780’s black silk bonnet (pattern from The American Duchess guide to 18th century beauty).

Materials used for jacket: 100% linen fabric, cotton muslin, cotton thread

Materials used for petticoat: 100% linen fabric, cotton thread, cotton twill tape

Materials used for silk market bonnet: Silk taffeta, cotton organdy, silk thread, Dritz heavy duty plastic quilter’s template, 1/8″ satin ribbon.

Modifications made: I lengthened the waist of the Amalia jacket pattern by about 1.5″, as I have a long torso and I personally think this pattern runs slightly short waisted. I graded the pattern up to a size 54 from the largest size provided (52). I also trimmed some height away from the neckline until I was pleased with the proportions and look on my body.

The Amalia jacket pattern is lovely to work with! I have had nothing but good experiences with Scroop Patterns. The fit guide is very comprehensive and helpful, and the sizes are graded very well, making it easy to implement fit adjustments if needed. This was my second time using this particular pattern, the first time being View B, which also turned out very nicely.

I chose a beautiful dark indigo linen from Burnley and Trowbridge for the jacket, and made a complimentary petticoat with a golden yellow linen from them as well. The block printed kerchief I am wearing is also from Burnley and Trowbridge – can you tell that I’m a fan of their products? 😉

The silk market bonnet: I used the gridded pattern provided in the American Duchess guide to 18th century beauty book. It’s a pretty simple piece of millinery to craft, at least in my opinion! I absolutely love this dramatic bonnet, and definitely want to make one in an ivory/cream color at some point in the future. I had just enough leftover silk to create some pinked/puffed trim for the seam where the brim and crown are joined, though I think it would have looked better with larger puffs/bows – I was working with a remnant, so I didn’t really have much leftover fabric to use this time. I decided to use dritz heavy duty plastic template for the brim instead of the heavy poster board recommend in their supply list, as I find it to work just as well AND to be more durable. I used 1/8″ wide satin ribbon for the drawstring at the base of the neck.