Workshops
“I wish I could help you in your Needlework, I have two hands
& a new Thimble that lead a very easy life.”
– Jane Austen to her sister Cassandra, Dec. 27, 1808
Important things to know about workshops:
Tickets for workshops are available to purchase during AGM registration.
Registrants in the Attendee and Companion categories may purchase workshops.
Sessions that do not meet minimum headcounts may be canceled.
Session times are subject to change in the final schedule.
Make Your Own Regency Evening Headdress
Cost: $70
Headdress 1: Thursday, 9:30 – 11:30
Headdress 2: Thursday, 1:30 – 3:30
Join Dannielle Perry of Timely Tresses to study the shapes and styles of evening headdresses in the era of Jane Austen and begin creation of your own appropriately styled headdress on a period-correct base provided for participants.
Dannielle Perry, historic milliner and author, opened Timely Tresses in 2006, a premier source for museum-quality millinery. A collector of fashion ephemera, Dannielle publishes millinery patterns and books.
Make Your Own Regency Era Soft (Unboned) Corset
Cost: $135
Workshop is offered several times with identical content.
Corset 1: Thursday, 8:00 – 10:00
Corset 2: Thursday, 10:30 – 12:30
Corset 3: Thursday, 1:30 – 3:30
Corset 4: Thursday, 4:00 – 6:00
In this workshop, make your own Regency Era Soft Corset using the Fig Leaf Pattern 207 Kit, which includes both muslin for a fitting toile and fashion fabric of linen sateen, individual pattern and sewing instructions, plus brass busk. Class will focus on working with attendees to fit individual muslin toiles of the corset. Throughout the workshop, there will be instructions on period construction and sewing techniques as attendees move from sewing the muslin toile to fashion fabric. Attendees are welcome to ask questions throughout the conference.
Mackenzie Sholtz brings 40 years of garment industry experience and love of clothing history together in her Fig Leaf Pattern line, with patterns created from real period garments.
Make Your Own Handbound Edition of Jane Austen’s “Volume the First”
Cost: $35
Bookbinding 1: Thursday, 8:00 – 9:00
Bookbinding 2: Thursday, 9:30 – 10:30
Bookbinding 3: Thursday, 11:00 – 12:00
Bookbinding 4: Thursday, 1:30 – 2:30
Bookbinding 5: Thursday, 3:00 – 4:00
Bookbinding 6: Thursday, 4:30 – 5:30
Bookbinding 7: Friday, 8:00 – 9:00
The workshop includes a discussion of the state of book publishing in the late 18th/early 19th centuries. Models of 19th century books will be passed around for examination, including a model of the first edition of Sense and Sensibility. Participants will then construct their own souvenir book to keep, modeled on Jane Austen’s Volume the First, with Austen’s “Jack and Alice” as content.
Fran Kovac is a hand-bookbinder in Cleveland, Ohio, with more than 20 years experience as a binder. Historic binding structures and bookbinding history are her special areas of interest.
No-Sew Turban Tying
Cost: $35
Turban 1: Thursday, 12:30 – 2:00
Turban 2: Thursday, 2:30 – 4:00
Turban 3: Friday, 8:00 – 9:30
Wearing a turban or bandeau is a quick, easy, and inexpensive way to hide your modern haircut or give yourself a Regency look when time is short. Following an overview of fashions and a demonstration of techniques, Lisa Brown will teach different methods of tying turbans and bandeaux from commercially made scarves, shawls, and wraps. Materials (scarf, ostrich feather, and hatpins to take home) and an instructional handout are included. Small mirrors will be provided for workshop use.
Lisa Brown is Regional Coordinator of the Central and Western New York Region, and is well known for her popular AGM workshops, fashion shows, and breakout sessions. During the pandemic, Lisa created Jane Austen Bingo for Zoom meetings.
Make Your Own Ribbon Flowers Inspired by Jane Austen’s Gardens
Cost: $40
Workshop is offered twice, featuring a different flower each time.
Ribbon Flower 1: Thursday, 8:00 – 9:30
Ribbon Flower 2: Thursday, 10:00 – 11:30
Jane Austen loved the Hampshire countryside and used it as a natural backdrop for most of her novels. From her letters and books, we know that some of her favorite garden flowers and wildflowers included old-fashioned roses and wild violets.
This is the type of rose that might have been in Jane Austen’s Garden. The “Parson’s Pink” is a cross between an Alba rose and China rose, introduced via the East India Company around 1759. Create a true botanical beauty that Jane herself might have picked!
Ribbon Flower 2: “The Parsonage Path”
Jane and her sister Cassandra often walked the pebbled path from their parsonage home in Steventon to the church where her father was a Vicar. Cassandra spoke of the sweetly scented wild violets that grew along the path. Could they have resisted picking a little bouquet to decorate the church?
Ribbon, embroidery scissors, needles, and thread will be supplied in class. Feel free to bring your own embroidery scissors if you prefer.
Camela Nitschke has been the owner of a ribbon shop in Perrysburg, Ohio, for over 40 years. She is known for her accurate recreations of flowers and wildflowers in all types of ribbon, which are featured in her DIY Ribbon Flower Kits and three published books on her work.
English Country Dance
Cost: $25
Dance 1: Thursday, 8:00 – 9:30
Dance 2: Thursday, 10:00 – 11:30
Dance 3: Thursday, 12:30 – 2:00
Dance 4: Thursday, 2:30 – 4:00
Dance 5: Friday, 8:00 – 9:30
Whether your dancing shoes are brand new or just a bit dusty, have no fear! Join us on a shame-free dance floor for a 90-minute English Country Dance workshop that will prepare you for this year’s ball. Many of the dances Jane Austen enjoyed are easy to learn, and Tom and Toni make it almost as simple as walking.
Tom and Toni Tumbusch have taught together since 2005, hosting English Country and other historical dance workshops throughout the United States and Canada. They regularly teach for re-enactments, schools, and more. Both serve on the board for the Cincinnati English Country Dancers and perform with the vintage dance troupe Forget-Me-Not.