All posts by Susanna Art

I am a sewing, singing and drawing medical student. I feel the best when I'm able to be creative.

Upcoming Music Events

10th July 2019 Susanna Art Leave a comment

I’m thrilled to inform you that there will be music this summer! All of the events is together with the lovely singer Hanna Karlsson and there will be different, exciting constellations for the instrument part. ?

Jag är så glad över att få berätta att det blir musik i sommar! Alla tillfällen blir tillsammans med den fantastiska sångerskan Hanna Karlsson, och på den instrumentala fronten kommer konstellationerna variera. ?

18 juli kl 19 – Mariannelunds torg – sångerska Hanna Karlsson, gitarrist Martin Karlsson, sångerska and violinist Susanna Antonsson
19 juli kl19 – Kröngården – Hanna Karlsson, Martin Karlsson, Susanna Antonsson
27 juli kl 18 – Vallersvik, Mariannelund – Hanna Karlsson, Susanna Antonsson och Marianne Nilsson vid pianot
3 augusti kl 19 – Nyllinge bränneri – gitarrist and sångare Kalle Sellbrink, Hanna Karlsson och en hel drös med fina musiker

You are most welcome!

Afterwards…

How wonderful it has been to make music once more. Our first concert, at the square of Mariannelund felt a little bit as a rehearsal before the concert at Kröngården, which was awesome! Alas, I have no really good pictures or whole songs recorded from that. My and Hanna’s stop at Vallersvik was also very appreciated. The concert at Nyllinge was great fun – I was not very pleased with my own achievement, but it was so great to sing together with a whole band, full of accomplished musicians. And I made my debute as a 80s metal singer, singing Eye of the Tiger and Made for Loving You! ? Here are some photos that I have stolen from others.

Singing together with Hanna Karlsson and Martin Carlsson at Kröngården

Greatest group ever? Love singing and playing with these folks

Clothes, Kläder, Uncategorised

Open back

7th June 2019 Susanna Art Leave a comment

I made yet another quick dress. ? The idea was radiant, but I simply had no time to execute it well. The construction was complicated and there was too much going on at work and my boy demanded undivided attention). I had no patiens to wait for better times, so I made one quick seam at a time and did not make enough ajustments as I went. I think it’s kind of pretty and was very happy for it yesterday, when everybody else were sweating and I felt cool. Then I understood that I perhaps exposed myself more than I had planned to. ?I thought it was foolproof, covering everything except for the back. But obviously not. I will try to get some nice strings to pull the front tighter to the body, while making some intricate crisscross in the back. Uh. I don’t know…

Jag sydde ännu en snabb klänning. ? Konstruktionen var komplicerad, men jag var alltför ivrig att bli klar med den (samtidigt som jobbet och barnet var för krävande), så klänningen blev inte perfekt och nu är det för sent att ändra på. Den är dock skapligt fin och extremt sval – perfekt om den här sommaren skulle bli lika varm som förra. Jag var hur nöjd som helst, tills jag testade att ha den på kalas igår och insåg att den inte var så idiotsäker som jag trodde, med hela framsidan skyld och endast ryggen fri… Jag ska försöka hitta några fina snoddar att dra framsidan tightare mot kroppen, när de bildar något avancerat mönster på ryggen… Åh. Jag vet inte… I have used two Tanzanian ketenges. I started with using the pretty borders of the first ketenge for covering the bust, going down the sides, crossing each other in the back and then continuing in their uncut state at the bottom. It was really tricky to bring the top together with the skirt part. I used the lower part of the second ketenge for the front, using two sets of longitudinal darts – one pair visible in the from and one invisible pair along the border. At the bottom back, I had to make hidden darts growing toward the corners of the borders.

Jag har anänt två tanzanska skynken. Jag började med att använda två hörn för att täcka bysten, sedan löper borderna snett ned längs sidan och ryggen för att korsa varandra och fortsätta ned i kjolen. Borden är alltså sammanhängande förutom vid bysten, där jag klippt bort en stor del av ketengets kortsida. Det var jätteknepigt att sätta ihop de båda tygstyckena på ett bra sätt. Det är två par longitudinella infodringar på framsidan, ett synligt par och ett par dolt längs hela borden. På baksidans nederdel löper två horisontella infodringar längs borden.

Believe me when I say that it was freezing when we shot these pictures some days ago, in the cool wind and long shadows of the evening. ?

Barnkläder, Children's clothes, Clothes, Empir, Historiskt, In English, Period clothing, Regency

Regency Gentleman, Toddler and Teen

1st April 2019 Susanna Art Leave a comment

At Tjolöholm Castle 2016

Teenager’s Dress

These last few months have been crazy. I’ve had my internship at the psychiatric ward, which have been both thrilling and exhausting, as I have been working nights a lot more than I tolerate. At the same time I have been preparing clothes for a recency ball. In a weak moment I decided to even participate in dancing sessions before the ball, in order to fully enjoy the historically authentic ball (for those of you who don’t know me, I am not the dancing type). My dear nieces will accompany us for the dancing lessons and thus, there is need for one more regency dress, for a slender thirteenyearold. The younger niece will wear this dress which will be long enough after having removed the pin tucks. I made the quickest dress ever, with the least amount of material ever, leaving approximately five square centimetres of scraps. This is the result.

This is what fabric was left after making the dress. I’m quite proud of myself.

The new dress with floral print and the old white dress which has now been successfully lengthened by removing the pin tucks.

Toddler’s Dress

Our toddler will join the dancing sessions, off course. So he needs a kirtle. I made one in a few hours by machine. He should have a pair of trousers and a hat too, but there is no time and what does it matter, really? If you want some background about children’s clothing, see this lovely page.

Tired boy in the company of his best friends

Fall Front Breeches

I have been working on a new pair of breeches for my husband for some years, moments at a time. Now only the buttons remain. I have tried to solve the mystery of the construction of the elusive fall front breeches and drafted the pattern myself. This is how I have interpreted what I have seen in pictures.

1) putting together front, back and both sides 2) cutting slits by the sides for narrow or broad fall front 3) adding the pieces behind the fall front

5) adding fabric pieces to the fall front sides 6) folding the pieces around the sides in order to hide the raw edges 7) adding one piece more to the top of the fall front in the same way

After I stopped documenting this process – why, in heavens name? – I added a waistband to hide the raw edges at the rest of the top of the breeches. I hid the raw edges of the end of the legs in the same way. And at the very last I will add buttons and make button holes!

Shirt with Ruffles

I thought that he also needed a nicer shirt and cravat than the first set of clothes, so I made a new shirt with ruffles in the neckline and by the cuffs. Afterwards, I have found excellent tutorials for period regency shirt construction, as in Fabric and Fiction and at Your Wardrobe Unlocked. This one is obviously wrong in many ways.

I started by cutting the double length wished for, folded and cut a whole for the head and a slit at the mid front. Then I added two square arms with square gussets at the arm pits, with gathering at the shoulder and at the end of the arms. I also added ruffles at the slit in the front, although I found out later that the slit should probably have been 3-4 dm long and the ruffles should have been in one continuing piece, instead of one on each side.

I have no idea how this should be done, but this was my way of making the ruffles at the end of the arms: I had two pieces of fabrics in which I hid the raw edge of the arm gathering. After having stitched this in place, I added a folded piece of fabric with gathering, which I tucked in between the two layers in the same way as the arm gathering.

I believe that the opening in the from should have been longer, but then there would not have been enough of fabric for ruffles.

Ruffles sewn by hand and self covered buttons for the collar.

Tailcoat

My most time consuming sewing project ever must be his new tailcoat. I have used historical methods and made all of the interlining by hand – hundreds of stitches that no one will ever see… ? I used the fantastic pattern of Laughing Moon that I bought for the prize money for my win in the 2017 competition of Your Wardrobe Unlocked.

Now there is only a new waistcoat left to make the suit complete. And a pair of shoes, stockings, pocket watch, new hair etc… When starting to update the historical wardrobe, there is no end to it, especially as the family expands.

If I’m still alive by the end of the week, after two more nights at work, I look forward to see all of these clothes during the dancing session.

The dance training was featured in the local newspaper, with some nice pictures. This was what our family looked like. Alas, it was all too obvious that I had not made adjustments for the tail coat during the process, for it did not fit as well as I had hoped for.

Art, Konst och pyssel, Uncategorised

Sketches

2nd January 2019 Susanna Art Leave a comment

The day before Christmas Eve, I had the pleasure to sing two songs at the sermon of my home church.

Fjärde advent hade jag nöjet att sjunga i min hemförsamling, kompad av pappa på piano.

After a lovely Christmas Eve, the holidays turned out not to be as festive. We had planned to stay at my parents abandoned house after Christmas, so that we could hang out with our friends and famili in Vimmerby, but our families went down with the flu, my husband and son included. I got a sketchbook and a nice “kneadable art eraser” as a Christmas gift from my thoughtful sister and brother in law. These came very handy, as I could not go outside for days and my sick family members slept a great deal of the time.

Efter en härlig julafton visade sig jullovet inte bli lika festligt. Vi hade tänkt stanna kvar i mitt föräldrahem när de drog vidare på äventyr efter jul, så att vi skulle kunna umgås med vänner i Vimmerby, men många drabbades av influensan, så även min man och vår son. Jag fick en skissbok och ett proffsigt suddgummi i julklapp av min omtänksamma syster och svåger. Detta kom väl till pass nu, eftersom jag inte kunde gå ut på flera dagar och sjuklingarna sov stora delar av dagen.

The first sketch was inspired by Art Deco, with flowers surrounding a princess on horseback. No, wait a minute, she is riding a snail. I would have prefered to use water colour, but in the arts-and-crafts-stash that my parents keep for their grand children, I found sharpies, oil crayons and a painting kit from IKEA, containing watercolours without any brush, crayons and enormous colour pencils. I used the colour pencils.

Första bilden var lite inspirerad av Jugent, med stiliserade blommor som omger en prinsessa till häst. Nej, förresten, hon rider visst på en snäcka. Jag skulle ha föredragit att färglägga bilden med akvarellfärg, men i pysselhörnan i mina föräldrars hus hittade jag bara oljekritor, tuschpennor, IKEAs målarkit med vattenfärg utan pensel, kritor och gigantiska färgpennor. Jag använde jumbopennorna.

The next picture shows the unholy alliance between a crocodile and a rabbit. Isn’t it sweet?

Nästa bild visar den oheliga alliansen mellan en krokodil och en kanin. Är den inte söt?

The last picture shows the great hippopollion, the king of the river. He wishes you a

Happy New Year!

Sista bilden visar flodhäjonet, flodens konung. Han önskar er ett

Gott nytt år!

Clothes, Edwardian, Edwardianskt, Historiskt, In English, Kläder, Period clothing, Reconstruct, Sy om, Uncategorised

Blouse out of a Shirt

18th December 2018 Susanna Art 2 Comments

My father does not care about clothes. This high quality shirt, made of fine Egyptian cotton, was damaged while carrying wood. It felt wrong to just throw it away. I thought about just using the unstained parts, but then only the back and the collar remained, so the shirt has been lying in my stash for one year now, awaiting the serendipity.

Pappa bryr sig inte om kläder. Denna fina skjorta, i fin egyptisk bomull, blev sönderriven och nerfläckad när han bar ved. Det kändes fel att slänga så fint tyg. Jag hade tänkt behålla de oskadda delarna, men vid närmare granskning visade sig endast ryggen och kragen ha klarat sig. Därför har skjortan legat undangömd i väntan på en uppenbarelse.

I often wore my historical clothing at home before becoming a mother. Now I have hardly worn anything historical for two years for fear of having it stained or torn and because of the impracticality (it is quite hard to crawl around on the floor and under furniture, wearing floor length skirts). One week ago the need for wearing something historical grew too great and I decided to wear Edwardian clothing for the Christmas dinner at work. Since I ended up sharing table with people who did not know about my interests, nobody understood that my strange hair and clothing was historical and I just felt awkward. I decided that it was time to make something historical that I could wear at home – practical for the sake of my son and nice looking for my sake. This was the perfect purpose for the damaged shirt!

Innan jag blev mamma hade jag ofta historiska kläder till vardags. Nu har jag nästan inte använt något historiskt på två år, dels i fruktan att kläderna ska förstöras och dels för att det är så opraktiskt (det är ganska krångligt att krypa runt på golvet i hellång kjol). Förra veckan blev abstinensen efter att ha historiska kläder för svår, så jag bestämde mig för att ha min edwardianska dräkt till julbordet på jobbet. Jag hamnade vid ett bord med folk som inte känner till detta udda intresse, så ingen fattade att kläderna och frisyren var historiska och jag kände mig bara dum och missanpassad. Jag bestämde mig för att sy något slitstarkt historiskt plagg som jag skulle kunna ha hemma istället. Detta var ju det perfekta användningsområdet för den redan förstörda skjortan!

I decided to refurnish it – I took everything apart and switched sides for the front parts, so that the worst parts were placed at the sides, about the hight of the waistline. The front parts were sewn together and then the armholes made a deep neckline, that I needed to hide.

Jag sprättade isär alla delar och bytte plats på framstyckena, så att de värsta fläckarna hamnade i sidorna, nära midjan. Framstyckena syddes samman framtill. Ärmhålen bildade en djup urringning som behövde fyllas.

I used the pieces from the top of the back, to fill the neckline.

Jag använde delar från ryggens ovandel för att fylla igen urringningen.

Since this blouse should not fit closely, I made straight seams in the sides and cut armholes. Then i started decorating the neckline with the help of my sewing machine. Because of the different layering along the neckline, the seams ended up very uneven, and I found myself masking my mistakes by adding more and more decorating seams.

Eftersom blusen inte ska smita åt runt kroppen, sydde jag bara raka sömmar i sidorna och klippte ärmhål. Sedan började jag dekorera runt urringningen med maskinsöm. På grund av alla olika lager blev sömmarna ojämna och jag la till fler och fler sömmar för att maskera tidigare fel.

Then I gathered the top and bottom of the arms, so that the became poofy. I reinserted the the original cuffs, but shortened them and used the wrong side out, as this was less stained.

Sedan rynkade jag upptill och nedtil på ärmarna, så att de blev puffiga. Jag satte tillbaka de ursprungliga manchetterna, men förkortade dem och vände ut avigan, eftersom den var mindre fläckig.

The stains remain, but you just see them when looking for them. As I made this blouse in a hurry, there is a vast amount of mistakes, but as I am to wear it at home, I am quite happy with the outcome.

Fläckarna är fortfarande kvar, men man ser dem bara när man letar efter dem. Eftersom jag sydde blusen snabbt och slarvigt är det galet många misstag här och där, men jag ska ju bara använde blusen hemma och jag är nöjd med slutresultatet.

Clothes, In English, Kläder, Uncategorised

Red Winter Coat

20th October 2018 Susanna Art Leave a comment

The Indian summer gave me time to finish my new coat. I bought the recycled wool from Korps market stall at Söderköpings gästabud. The interfacing comes from my sister’s old winter coat. I have also used shoulder pads and black lining material from my husband’s regency tailcoat.

I tried to design a pattern that would work for mild winter weather, with the possibility for wearing thick clothing underneath. It ended up being without buttons, only closed with a belt. In order to give the skirt a nice fall and to reduce bulk, I could not make a double fold at the hem, but handstitched the lining to the coat fabric all the way around.

Later, I am planning to make a removable high collar too. I have already made buttonholes on the inside for securing the collar.

Barnkläder, Children's clothes, Clothes, Fantasy, Historiskt, In English, Kläder, Period clothing, Reconstruct

Medievalish

6th September 2018 Susanna Art 2 Comments

Two years ago, we planned on going to the Medieval Week at Visby together with my brother and my sisters family. At the eleventh hour, I noticed that we had booked the ferry ticket and hotel nights for the wrong week. Oh, the horror. We comforted ourselves by going to the beautiful castle of Tjolöholm instead, where there was a Jane Austen display. My nieces have been very keen on experiencing the Medieval week though. I had no vacation this summer, so Visby was out of the question, but I had time for a day at the medieval fair at Söderköpings gästabud.

With a tiny bit of help from me, my nieces made their own gowns – all from cutting to sewing. I am so proud of them! We used fabric from my stash. The green cotton was initially blue, but became green when I was trying to dye it black for the Scary Robe. The pink linen was a huge table cloth. The dresses are made from rectangles and triangles. As the fabric is so unmedieval, the girls went all in by using Tanzanian wooden belts fort decoration. I think that they look like fantasy princesses!

Linen kirtle and liripipe hood out of soft wool

They asked me several times what our boy would wear. Eventually I could not resist making a little kirtle for him, out of an old linen skirt.

Earlier, we worn the cheapest underwear, made out of old cotton bed sheets. At our last stay at the Medieval week though, I bought linnen. During my internships far away from home, I spent the lonely evenings hand stitching a new shirt and a pair of breeches for my husband. I made a new chemise for myself the last night, on machine. I am quite proud of that I succeeded in making alterations for my husbands cotehardie. I made it for him ten years ago, when he was quite slender. Since he began bodybuilding, he has not been able to get into these clothes again. Astonishingly, I seem to have been wise enough to save broad seam allowances, so that I could make both the torso and sleeves wider. After adding sleeve gussets at the shoulders, he was even able to move!

New underwear: linen chemise, shirt, breeches and a little kirtle for the boy

The day at Söderköping was cosy. Off course, it could not compare with Visby, but our boy was happy in the clothes (he had my liripipe hood because of the cold weather) and my nieces were happy to play with him for a whole day. The city is beautiful; the main part consists of pretty wooden houses from the 19th and early 20th century. The market was nice and I found a nice fabric for a new modern coat. All together, it was a nice day, in great company. Thank you, dear nieces!

Clothes, Kläder

Halterneck

24th July 2018 Susanna Art Leave a comment

My latest creation is a very much needed summer dress – maybe you have heard of this years brutal Swedish summer with week after week with unusual heat and fires spreading all over the country. Since I have shrunk since before the pregnancy, only one of my old dresses fit well now. This new dress is made by fabric from Tanzania, an old zipper and thread from an old project – things that have been in my stash for years. Unfortunately, the zipper is too short and ends at the waist, so that I have to snake my way into the dress without bra.

Senaste skapelsen – tyg från Tanzania, brun tråd från ett gammalt projkt och en gammal dragkedja – allt sådant som redan låg i mina gömmor. Tyvärr går dragkedjan bara ned till midjan, så jag kan bara åla mig in i klänningen utan BH. Jag ska byta ut dragkedjan så snart jag kan.

Clothes, Edwardian, Edwardianskt, Historiskt, Kläder, Period clothing, Uncategorised

Edwardian Blouse out of Reused Materials

4th July 2018 Susanna Art Leave a comment

I have a dear friend, who loves historic fashions and has swooned over my Edwardian lady outfit. She has had a really rough time, so I wanted to do something for her, and promised her that she would have the outfit. Then I decided to make a new blouse for her, that would have long arms to protect her sensitive skin and that she would be able to close by herself. I dug deep into my stashes and found some lace left from the tank top that I used for the regency chemissette, and a matching off white cotton from other recycled materials.

I layed out the pieces of lace on the mannequin in order to find the best design. Then I added the cotton fabric to fill the great voids. I used the same techniques as in the last high collar blouse:

I started with two rectangles of fabric – the back as wide as half of the bust measurement and the front 10 cm wider than the back
I stitched 5 mm wide pin tucks in the front, starting in the middle and working my way to the sides with 1 cm spaces between the tucks.
I stitched the lace to the fabric, then I cut the fabric away on the wrong side and hemmed from the wrong side.
Then I added three pin tucks more on each side.

First I stitched the piece of lace to the right side of the fabric, then I cut the fabric away from underneath the lace and last I hemmed the edges.

When this was finished, I stitched the front to the back on the shoulders and sides. Then I attached the great piece of lace and high collar to the bodice in the same way as the other pieces of lace.

Next, I made the very simple arms: I measured the circumference of the armholes, cut to pieces of fabric with this width plus 5 cm, made a rounded top and added lace at the gathered end of the arm.

After attaching the arms to the bodice, I put push buttons and hooks and eyes for closing at the side of the neck. Then the blouse was finished. I can’t wait to see my friend in this outfit.

Clothes, In English, Kläder

Polka Dot

17th June 2018 Susanna Art Leave a comment

Since I got back to work, I have been struggling to reach my former level. Therefor I have dedicated the free moments during my baby’s naps to reading medical literature again. This last week, I decided to give myself a treat instead, by making a well needed dress; my body has changed a lot during the past year.

På sistone har jag ägnat alla min bebis tupplurar åt att läsa gammal studielitteratur, för att komma tillbaka till samma nivå som jag hade innan jag gick på mammaledighet. Senaste veckan bestämde jag mig dock för att sy en ny klänning till mig själv i stället, eftersom min kropp har ändrats så mycket under året så att mina kläder generellt inte sitter särskilt bra längre.

Alas, I live in a town without any fabric store. I bought this fabric last year in Söderköping, some days before the expected child birth. I did not have any matching buttons, so I asked for it on Facebook. A friend of mine had a box full of buttons, inherited from her grand mother, and she kindly gave these to me. After painting them with nail polish, they came out well, I think.This is the first time I have made this kind of collar and I am quite pleased with how it came out. I am less pleased with finding out that my bust has sunken down below the placement on my mannequin, so that the darts are subsequently placed too high on the dress. This I found out during the photo shoot. Then I also found out that the fabric gets wrinkled by anything; the wrinkles that you see on the pictures formed during the five minute travel by car. Super annoying.

Märkligt nog bor jag i en stad utan tygaffär. Det här tyget köpte jag förra året i Söderköping, några dagar innan beräknat förlossningsdatum. Jag hade inga matchande knappar, så jag frågade på Facebook. En av mina vänner har ärvt en hel knapplåda av sin farmor, och gav dessa knappar till mig. Det är första gången som jag gör denna slags krage, men jag tycker att det blev helt ok. Jag är mindre nöjd med att inse att min stackars byst har sjunkit ned under brovdockans nivå, så att inprovningarna i sidan sitter för högt. Detta insåg jag när jag såg bilderna. Dessutom blir tyget skrynkligt bara man tittar på det. Überirriterande.

Very well. Except for these nuisances, I am quite pleased with the pattern and the dress as a whole. It feels so good to wear a dress that fits well and that does not become totally indecent as I lean forward to help my offspring challange forward through the vegetation.

Ja, ja. Förutom alla dessa irritationsmoment är jag nöjd med mönstret och klänningen över lag. Det är grymt skönt att ha en klänning som både sitter ok och inte blir totalt oanständig när man böjer sig fram för att hjälpa sin avkomma att ta sig fram genom vegetationen.

Susanna Art Blog