I'm not even going try and explain WHY its been 2+ years since updating this website, except to say that life sometimes has a way of making things difficult sometimes.... However, I'm excited to be able to announce that I'm moving The Curious Frau to a new webhost, which should make the site easier to use, and will make updates a lot easier. So, if things are a bit hard to access over the next few days, just blame the move, it will get better! ... continue reading...
Drafting a Basic Fitted Sleeve
Sleeves can be one of the most daunting challenges for old and new pattern makers. However as long as you keep one simple principle in mind, you can draft sleeves easily. (I wrote this article originally for Your Wardrobe Unlock'd in March '09) ... continue reading...
Diary of A Schaube or Husecke
October, 2004 A Schaube (another word for it is Husecke) is an overcoat of sorts, usually depicted as fur lined and worn by respectable persons looking snug and warm in portraits. Since it is typically worn by men in portraiture, its not usually thought of as a woman's garment, yet women did wear them and they appear quite frequently in wills of the time in all classes in Nuremberg. I decided to make one in the winter of 2003, and bought the fur for it. Unfortunately, life intervened and ... continue reading...
The Orange and Black Dress from Augsburg
Summer of 2003 After wearing the Enn's dress to two events where the temperature was around 100 degrees, I decided that I really needed something cooler if I was going to go to anything during the summer time. This turned out to be a wise decision as we had one of the warmest summers on record for Seattle in 2003 and I had lots of chances to wear this new very cool linen dress. ... continue reading...
A Schlappe in the Military or Landsknecht style
Spring 2007 Background The Schlappe is a type of Barett from the southern Germanic lands in the time of 16th century. The name of the cap, Schlappe, is derived from the Middle High German word "slappe" and means a "bag shaped headcovering with flaps" (Zander-Seidel, p.129-137). The ear flaps and the back neck piece are the distinguishing characteristic between the Schlappe and the Barett ... continue reading...