Victorian Vanities - Sea Foam Hair Cleanser

In case you didn't like Shampoo Cream, here is another hair cleansing option from The Era Formulary:  5000 Formulas for Druggists, printed in 1893.  This one for a "Sea Foam" and is found with other Sea Foam options on p. 194. FYI, Sea foams don't suds up like modern or not so modern shampoos, or soaps.  However, the ammonia and Alcohol are sure to cut any grease from ones hair whether natural or added.  They are also supposed to create a light foam when used.  I've gotten my nerve up to give this one a try if I can endure the fumes and will post my results later.  However for now, enjoy the recipe:

2143. 

Sea Foam

Glycerine 1 ounce.

Ammonia 2 ounces.

Alcohol 16 ounces.

Water enough to make 32 ounce

UPDATE:

General Observations:
The name is a bit misleading.  I got no suds, no foam.  Now maybe my hair was too clean and on "period styled" hair laden with fat rich products, some kind of saponification might take place, but I have my doubts. 

This stuff smells very strongly of ammonia and alcohol.  Not the most pleasant smelling stuff.

Results:
My hair seems very clean and soft (from the glycerin). 

My color treated hair is lighter than before the wash, so I'm guessing the ammonia strips some of the color.  It was time for a touch up anyway.

Would I use it again?
Probably not.  Unless I've used a heavy pomade and need to strip the waxes and oils from my hair.

Victorian Vanities - Shampoo Cream

The History

Compared to our Victorian ancestors, we wash the dickens out of our hair.  The idea of a daily washing would have seemed at best, ridiculously excessive, and at worst, dangerous to great great great grandma Flora.

In the 1850's and 60's, and to some extent, the 70's and 80's frequent washing was also counter productive to creating a fashionable style. That is because preferred hair styles were smooth and sleek. Wild frizzy hair just didn't cut it, and though there were plenty of styling aids available, natural oils from the scalp do a fabulous job taming one's mane at no additional expense.  During this time, you can find references that swear all one's hair needs for cleansing is careful brushing, a rinse in the purest of water, or if very dirty perhaps a homemade egg shampoo.  

As hairstyles change toward the end of the century and sleek styles give way to frizzy fringes and more pouf, oily hair can't keep up, and cleansing practices change.  We start to see more recipes for hair cleansers that contain soaps, or other oil cutting ingredients.  We also see beauty advice that recommends regular cleansing with gentle washes or the use of hair powders to absorb excess oil.

It is fun to note that even in the 1890's one can find druggists recipes for shampoos that are made with egg.  On page 193 and 194 of The Era Formulary:  5000 Formulas for Druggists, printed in 1893 you can find 4 different recipes using eggs.  Two call for the white, one calls for the yolk, and the last calls for the entire egg.  Depending on the formula, these egg shampoos contained additional ingredients like borax, ammonia, alcohol, rose water, fragrance, and even tincture of cantharides, an extract from the blister beetle which causes skin irritation.

The Recipe

For my Victorian Vanities presentation, I created 2 recipes from the above mentioned book.  Neither contain eggs, but both are unique in their own measure.

The sample recipe I'm sharing today is for Shampoo Cream and is taken from page 193 of The Era Formulary, mentioned above.

2127. 
Shampoo Cream

Soap (fine, white. in shreds), 1/2 ounce,

rose water, 1 fluid ounce,

solution of ammonia, 1 fluid ounce,

alcohol or bay rum,1/2 fluid ounce,

rain water, 8 fluid ounces.

Dissolve the soap in the rain water by heat, and when nearly cool add the ammonia, rose water and alcohol, stirring constantly.

Observations
When I first made up this "shampoo cream", I went back and checked 3 times to see if I had missed something in the recipe because there was nothing cream like about it.  It had the consistency and appearance of water.  However, after standing for 3 days, the solution began to thicken.  After a week of resting with periodic shaking, it was definitely something one might call a cream, albeit a strangely congealed and gloppy one.

After a months time sitting on a shelf, it has separated, but a quick shake and it's back to it's gloppy self.  I have no idea how this works.  I'm still a bit hesitant to try it. 

Victorian Vanities - Cold Cream

If your following my blog day to day, you might find it odd to see a post on cold cream right after a post on choosing a design for a new bed, but it takes time to decide, plus I have a cold and until it's gone, I don't foresee "getting my build on".  So to honor said cold in hopes it passes quickly here's a bit about cold creams.  

Origins

Cold creams can be traced back to ancient Rome where they are believed to have their roots with Greek Physician, Galen of Pergamon around 150 A.D. The first cold creams were created by melting olive oil and beeswax together, then adding water when nearly cool and whipping the bejeezus out of it.  

This concoction  had a short shelf life, it was prone to separation, and the oil went rancid with time.  By the early Victorian times, this formula had changed only slightly replacing the olive oil with almond oil, and the water with rosewater.  The cold cream smelled nicer, but still had a short shelf life. 

 Uses

Cold creams were used as moisturizer, face pack, cleanser, balm, and even as a shaving cream (by men).  In the 1940's they served as a primer/adhesive for facial powders, and are still popular with many women today. 

Why Call it "Cold" Cream?

When applied to the skin, the water evaporates giving a cooling sensation.  This cooling sensation is one possible explanation for why we call this concoction cold cream.  Another possibility is that the name comes from the cream being kept in cold or cool storage to prolong it's shelf life.   

Advancements

In 1876, Vaseline(introduced in 1870) made it's way into some cold creams replacing the almond oil and creating cold creams that were cheaper and would not go rancid.

In 1883 Adoph Vomack introduces a formula with borax.  The borax worked with the beeswax to form an emulsion that would not separate, even if oil was used instead of Vaseline.  These borax beeswax creams were slightly pearlescent which many Victorians took as a sign of quality.  

In 1890 we see the first commercial cold cream that contains both Vaseline and borax.

Examples/Recipes

This is a traditional almond oil, beeswax, and rose water cold cream created from a recipe found on p. 233 of The Druggist's General Receipt Book by Henry Beasley printed in 1878.

This reciept/recipe calls for:

4 parts almond oil

1 part white wax (beeswax with scent and color removed) 

3 parts rose water.  

The resulting cold cream smells and feels amazing.  I find that the beeswax help protect my hands in the winter when they are prone to chapping from frequent washing.  In the picture below, you might be able to see the downside of this formula.  less than one month after creation, even stored in ideal conditions, droplets of water are starting to separate out.  In a previous recipe, I added a small amount of borax to this recipe and the cream remained intact for nearly 2 years, even though the oil had begun to smell less than fresh.

The Vaseline cold cream below was made from a recipe on p. 170 of The Era Formulary written by D.O. Haynes and printed in 1893.

The recipe(#1842) calls for:

  75 parts white wax

  75 parts spermaceti* 

450 parts almond oil

200 parts Vaseline

200 parts water

  10 parts borax

       perfume q.s. (as needed)

*( I use Jojoba oil as it is the closest readily available substitute)

This recipe is very stable including both borax and Vaseline.  It is easy to make and feels great, but I do think I prefer the previous recipe freshly made or with borax added.

Want to DIY Some Cold Cream?

• Check out the books I've mentioned above.  They both have recipes for other cold cream variations listed on the same pages as the recipes I've given.
• Melt your wax and fats/oils together slowly in a double boiler set up.  Remove from the heat and slowly add the water while mixing with a hand held electric mixer.  Originally, this beating was done by hand and took a very long time.  Using a hand mixer gets the job done quicker and you end up with a very uniform product.
• As with all cosmetics, try and use at your own risk.  Please remember common perfuming oils like orange, bergamot, and lemon are photo sensitizing (they will increase you risk of sunburn where applied)

If you DIY your own cold cream, please leave me a comment and/or picture and let me know how it turns out.

Victorian Vanities - Mouth Pastilles

O.K. this is the last "Dental Cosmetics" post.  

I promise.  

Today we're delving into the world of Cachou Aromatise/

Mouth Pastiles/Pastilles/Breath fresheners.  

In old formula books these recipes are sometimes found in the perfumery section rather than with tooth powders or other mouth cosmetics, as their purpose is to purify and perfume the breath.  

It seems that a great number of recipes for breath fresheners originally contained Catechu, an extract of the acacia tree which has astringent properties.  Catechu was mixed with other aromatics like orris, peppermint, ambergris, musk, licorice, clove oil, or cinnamon, then formed into small pieces or pastilles which one would chew or allow to dissolve in the mouth to perfume the breath.  

For my presentation, I made 2 "breath fresheners".  Both can be found on page 201 of The Druggist General Receipt Book by Henry Beasley printed in 1850 which is available free for download on Google books.  

"Pastils or Lozenges, with chlorine, 

for disinfecting the breath"

Sugar flavored with Vanilla 1 oz.

Powdered Tragacanth 20 gr. (grains)

Liquid Chloride of Soda q.s.(as needed)

Any Essential Oil 2 drops

Form a paste and divide into Lozenges 15 gr. each.

These little beauties have a faint swimming pool aroma when they are freshly made, but that fades quickly and soon all you smell is vanilla and whatever essential oil you used.  I have not tasted these, and don't plan to.

M. Chevallier's Aromatic Cachou

Chocolate Powder 1 1/2 oz

Ground Coffee 1 1/2 oz

Prepared Charcoal 1 oz

Sugar 1 oz

Vanilla 1 oz (pulverized with sugar)

Mucilage q.s. (as needed)

Make into lozenges of any form. 

The description in the original text mentions these are good for smokers.  The charcoal pastilles have a smell that is heavy on the coffee and light on the chocolate.  I did taste test these and think you could recreate the flavor yourself by chewing equal parts sugar and coffee grounds.  As you might expect, these don't taste great, but if you're into espresso, they are tolerable.  

The gritty texture and lovely shade left on and between my teeth by the charcoal however, was not tolerable.  I ended up spitting out the black slurry and rinsing my mouth til the water ran clear- 4 or 5 times.  I will not try these again since I found them to be very irritating to my gums.

The Aromatic Cachous/Charcoal mouth Pastilles recipe above can also be found almost word for word on p.200 in: 

The Era Formulary: 5000 Formulas for Druggists printed in 1893 by D.O. Haynes.   

It is formula 2215.

Another very similar recipe can be also be found on that page and goes uses the name pastilles.  

p. 200 formula 2220.  

 Pastilles (Aromatic)

Roasted Coffee 75 parts

Wood Charcoal 25 parts

Boracic acid 25 Parts

Sugar 60 Parts

The ingredients are pulverized separately, then mixed will sufficient vanillin to perfume and enough gum arabic mucilage to "make a mass."  The mass is then to be divided into "pastilles, lozenges, or little pills".

Victorian Vanities - Saccharine Preparation

formula 1350 from The Era Formulary

Here's another Dental cosmetic for you.  It is used as a gargle and goes by the name "Saccharine Preparation".  

Who knew saccharine has been around for so long.  It was discovered in 1879 by Constantine Fahlberg and soon found it's way into everyday products.  The two recipes bellow are from p.129 of The Era Formulary. 5000 Formulas for Druggists published in 1893. 

1348. 

Saccharin Preparation for the Teeth.

Saccharin 1 gram.

Tincture of myrrh 5 grams.

Lavender water 95 grams.

Mix. Half a teaspoonful to a teaspoon ful as a gargle and mouth-wash after meals. Use undiluted. 

1350.

Saccharin Preparation for the Teeth

Saccharin 30 centigrams.

Borax 10 grams.

Peppermint water 50 grams.

Distilled water 450 grams. p.129 1350

Victorian Vanities- Charcoal Stick Dentifrice Tutorial

Continuing the Victorian Vanities series, here's another dental product for you.  

How about a stick dentifrice?  

This is an authentic 1893 recipe taken from The Era Formulary 5000 Formulas for Druggist. You can find this book free to read online at google books.  If you want to look it up, it's formula 1342.

Note:  I made this for my presentation on a whim because it seemed unique, and had nice instructions for how the finished product should be shaped.  I have never seen a "stick dentifrice" recipe before this one, and have no idea how this was used.  If you have any information on stick dentifrices especially with documentation, please leave me a message in the comment section below.

Charcoal Stick Dentifrice

Precipitated chalk                    11 ounces troy.

Powdered castille soap              5 ounces troy.

Powdered willow charcoal      20 grains.

Oil of wintergreen                   80 minims.

Dilute glycerine                           as needed
(1 glycerine to 5 of water)

Make into a stiff pill mass; roll and cut in cylinders 4 inches long.

Now this is where things get tricky.

  When you add the glycerin, add the wintergreen oil first, then add less glycerine than you think you will need and mix, mix, mix.  If you think you are almost there and are tempted to add more glycerin to pull it together, don't do it.  Instead, work the mix with your hands for a minute or two and see what happens.  This stuff is "funny" because once you get a stiff paste, the more you mix, knead, or roll it, the "wetter" it seams to get.   

When I first attempted to roll this stuff out, it didn't stick to my hands and was a nice stiff dough.  But as I worked it, it became goopy and stuck to my hands in a slippery mess.  

My solution:  use a piping bag to form a long log, let it dry an hour or so to firm up, then cut to length.  

After cutting, I gently rolled the sticks to straighten them.  Then I let them set for a day or so to dry, turning them a few times a day to ensure they dried evenly.

Once dry, I wrapped the sticks in a layer of waxed paper, then added a paper sleeve and affixed a label.  

To help me remember the ingredients, I add an ingredients list, something you would not have seen originally.  I have other "cheats" I add to the label as well.  To remember what book the recipe came from, and what year it was published, I often add an line for the "pharmacist", which is the book's author or editor if there is no author, and an established date, which tells me the copyrite date.  

A Clean Start a.k.a Historic Charcoal Toothpaste

It has been far too long since I did a proper post, so let's have a clean start shall we.  But, let's do it with a twist, and maybe a nod to dear old great great great grandma.  

Do you know how she got a clean start?  

Charcoal toothpaste. 

Just Joking.  It's quite likely that great great great grandma didn't start her day by brushing her teeth.  In fact, that whole thing about brushing your teeth twice a day didn't really take off until soldiers returned from WWII and shared military hygiene practices with their families.

However, back in the day she might have used charcoal toothpaste from time to time, or one of the other forms of dentifrices that often contained things like:  baking soda, chalk, orris root, pumice, talc, cuttle fish bone, soap, myrrh, benzoin, sugar, flavorings, & colorants.

The toothpaste tutorial I'm sharing today is part of my "Victorian Vanities" presentation, (read about it here), and is made from an 1893 recipe taken from The Era Formulary 5000 Formulas for Druggist.    Back in the day, the book sold for $5.  Today, you can find a digital copy free on Google books.  In case you want to look it up it is formula 1312 on p. 125.

Charcoal Tooth Paste

powdered charcoal 16 ounces

powdered orris root 16 ounces

Precipitated chalk 32 ounces

glycerin to proper consistency

Since I only wanted a sample and not a vat of "historic" toothpaste, I reduced the recipe significantly.  I'm not sure I'll ever want to actually use this stuff, but if you do, it is dead easy to make. Just measure, mix and mix again.  I take no responsibility for the outcome, but I'd love to see pictures and hear about it.

Mmmmmm...

 Doesn't that just look scruptious?

Introducing: Victorian Vanities

On Feb 21, 2015 I will share a 75 minute presentation which I have titled "Victorian Vanities" at the 2015 Southeast Regional ALHFAM Conference.   

I've done a couple of presentations in the area of cosmetics before, but they were either comparatively brief at 15 min. or lasted 90 minutes, but covered hairstyles and head coverings as well as cosmetics.  

While I really enjoyed researching and presenting this material, I found myself with notebooks full of fascinating information that I wasn't able to share because of constraints on time or topic.  

So now is my chance to focus in on a 50 year time period 1850-1900 in what I hope will be a very fun presentation for me and those in attendance.  

The research is done, the presentation almost ready, so now it's time to get my lab coat out and start recreating some cosmetics from period formulas.  I'll be sharing the results in the coming weeks, along with a tutorial or two so keep a look out.

FYI Here's the catalog write up:

Victorian Vanities – Being a painted lady might be scandalous, but that doesn't mean our ancestors were strangers to giving Mother Nature a helping hand when it came to looking their best. Join us as we explore the world of Victorian cosmetics from beauty aids to hygiene necessities. Discover what products were readily available for purchase or easily made at home, their ingredients, benefits and risks. Several examples recreated from period texts will be available to see, touch and smell. Tasting is not recommended.  

1890's Costume Challenge -Inspiration and Patterns

Now that I'm no longer in a sewing frenzy, it is time to play catch up on the 1890's costume challenge.

The Inspiration

 I spent alot of time looking over scaled period patterns, costuming books, fashion plates, and period photos to get a feel for the 1890's.  I decided pretty quickly that I would make a simple skirt but really had no idea what to do for a bodice until I saw this ensemble in Costume in Detail. I fell in love with the ruching on the bodice and knew I wanted to incorporate it into my costume. 

For my purposes, I really like this style of bodice and yoked bodices in general.  They have a more relaxed look and fit than their smooth fitted counterparts.  Because of the extra ease build into the front, they make fabulous "work" garments allowing greater mobility and less precision in fitting, thus saving a bit of time.  Plus, the extra fabric at the bust does wonders to conceal the top edge of the corset, which is really great if you don't have time to make a proper corset cover.

The Patterns

My salvation on this project was a set of "Natural Form" patterns from Truly Victorian, that I got back before my youngest was born.  
They include:

*TV 101 l880's late Victorian Corset

*TV 170 Victorian Petticoats

*TV 428 1880 Jacket Bodice

* the above images courtesy of Truly Victorian

Way back then, I made the corset (which I cannibalized for my current project), and a mock up of the jacket.  Everything fit and looked fantastic. 

Then, I found out I was expecting my youngest.  With a little one on the way, and growing belly,  the project and it's restrictive corset were joyfully tucked away in the closet, behind my maternity clothes.

Fast forward 5+ years to Feb. 2014, when I find myself in need of a costume which would be suitable for 1888-1900.  This set of patterns instantly springs to mind.  

Sure, there are some style changes between the 1880's and 1990's but altering a working pattern with seams in the right places is much quicker than starting from scratch.  

I made the corset according to the pattern directions, keeping the CF and CB of my original cannibalized corset as they were, complete with spoon busk and lacing grommets already in place.  I cut all the other pieces to my new measurements, basted them into  a mock up which fit perfectly, and then proceeded with the final assembly.  

The petticoat was cut according to the pattern instructions for view 4.  It was easy to construct, but those ruffles were tedious even with the help of my ruffeler.

The bodice is where it got tricky.  Although I dabble occasionally, I'm no expert pattern maker and what I've learned is from trial and a lot of error.  I wanted so badly to find a good tutorial on how to adjust my fitted bodice pattern to the new style, but didn't.   So, I was stuck winging it.  Now that the project is finished, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. 

In the future, I hope to do a quick tutorial about the changes I made  to the bodice pattern, so check back later if your are interested.  

If you know of a good tutorial for making similar changes, please send me a link and I'll include it below.

1890's Costume Reveal

I finished my 1890's costume just in time.  It isn't perfect, but it was perfectly fine for Saturday's cooking extravaganza with fellow volunteer, Wendy Neff, in the Meals house at Burritt on the Mountain.  This is what our table looked like about halfway through the day.  We aren't the tidiest of cooks, but our food tastes amazing. We were so busy during the day, that I didn't get a picture of myself in my building.

However, Kelly Fisk, the historic park supervisor, was kind enough to take my picture for me at the end of the day in the Balch house kitchen next to the old wood stove.  Check out the hair.  I swear it ages me 10 yrs.

1890's Costume Challenge - Petticoat

I didn't get as much done as I'd hoped for yesterday.  As usual, I  underestimated the labor involved.  Actually it's more a case of I didn't realize the petticoat has about 15 yards of ruffles, 10 of which also required a narrow hem.  The thought of basting and drawing up all those ruffles, not to mention turning that hem by hand made me kind of queasy.

10 +  yds. all hemmed nice an neat, ready to be gathered.

Then, I remembered that my New Home Sewing Machine, circa 1947, has a hem foot and ruffler attachment.  Unfortunately, the tension on it was totally messed up.  But it was definitely worth my time to try to fix it.  After a few minutes on Google and few more making adjustments, it was working again.  I had to wind the oddly sized bobbins on my modern machine, since the rubber bobbin wheel is rotted and I've never found a replacement of the right size, and it did take me about 15 minutes to get the ruffler set just right, but it was worth it. 

The really neat thing about this ruffler is that it has the ability to gather a ruffle and sew it simultaneously to an ungathered base fabric or apply an ungathered trim to the top of  the fabric you are gathering all in one step.

I don't trust my skills on this machine enough to try that yet, but I imagine back in the day this was an amazing time save.  I may try it out on my next petticoat.

1890's Costume Challenge Update

Apparently I'm not as good at multi-tasking as I hoped, which is why I've not managed an update before this, and why there are no pictures.  Still, better late than never.

So where do I stand? 

• Corset- Not finished but wearable.  Top and bottom edges need to  be bound and it may or may not happen before Sat.
• Bodice, Petticoat, and Corset cover- Cut out, will try to sew today.  My Singer 66 has some awesome attachments that would really help with these, but it isn't sew worthy yet.  Sigh....
• Skirt- Bought the fabric on sale yesterday and will wash it today.

So much left to do and so little time. Looks like I'll be playing blog catch up when all is finished.  There will be pictures. 

1890's Costume Challenge

In exactly 11 days, I will be doing open hearth cooking at Burritt on the Mountain, which is not unusual, because I do it about twice a year.  I usually cook in the Meals house and wear my 1850's ensemble.  I look quite convincing in front of the hearth in my 1850's restored building.  

Photo by Eric Schultz, The Huntsville Times 

Then, in May 2011, the unimaginable happened.  The Meals house was jacked up, placed on a flat bed and driven very slowly across the green to the 1890's side of the Historic Park.  

Immediately after the move, the interpretation of the building was up in the air so I continued to cook in my 1850's get up.  Now it is officially interpreted as 1890's, and I feel out of place in my "old fashioned clothes". I've tried cooking in  other 1850's building, but I miss "my house".  So I am challenging myself to create a 1890's ensemble in time for the March 1st open hearth event.  

I have 11 days to draft, fit, cut and construct everything that won't carry over from my 1850's outfit.  That means I have to make a new corset, petticoats, skirt and bodice at the very least.  

I'm using Truly Victorian's TV 110 1880's corset pattern, which I made up before my last child was born.  Since my body hasn't bounced back, and may never bounce back, I'm going to cannibalize that corset for parts for the new one.  Luckily, I still have some quality corset coutille from that project so I can reuse the front busk section and back lacing sections thus saving a huge bit of time.  As of last night, I've adjusted my corset pattern to my new measurements, and I'm ready to make a mock up.

Things to do today

• Check my stash for fabrics
• Deconstruct the old 1880's corset
• Cut out and construct a mock up for the new corset
• Check for fit and be ready to cut and construct the final corset tomorrow.
• Decide on skirt and bodice or dress pattern.

Custom Cherry Sewing Box

Do you remember when I posted pictures from the 2013 Southland Flywheelers Fall Event where I demonstrated apple head dolls?  I included pictures of some of the other demonstrations including the work of my friend Master Cabinet Maker Chris Lang, with special attention to a sewing box he was working on.

Well as I mentioned /gloated in that post, that sewing box was for me.  It was to be the bartered payment for making his adorable daughter a set of civil war era clothing.  When I posted about it before, it wasn't finished yet, and looked like this:

Well, I stopped by to see Chris and his family, the other day, and look what he had sitting under his Christmas tree waiting for me:

Isn't it gorgeous!  

Do you see those hand cut dove tail joints.  I am so lucky to have friends this talented.  This lovely cherry sewing box was custom made for me entirely by hand, so it is one of a kind.  

The beautiful design on top, is marquetry.  It's not your run of the mill mass produced laser cut or painted on image.  Nope!  Each petal, stem, and leaf was painstakingly cut by hand from thin veneers of mahogany and holly wood.  Then shading was added in a process called sand shading where the individual pieces were partially dipped into hot sand.  The sand being hot enough to scorch or "shade" the wood creating the look of shadows.  Finally the pieces were assembled and glued into place.  

As if this example isn't testament enough, let me take a moment to brag about Mr. Lang.  He trained in Williamsburg, VA. 

As in Historic Williamsburg, VA! 

He's been on TV, appearing on the Woodwright's Shop  to demonstrate what else, but marquetry.  (season 9 episode 13 entitled - "Marquetry: Painting with Wood" if your curious.   You can view a clip of it and see a much younger Chris in action here).  

He's worked as a curator, taught woodworking, demonstrated at more events than I can name, he's been a stay at home dad, and still does custom work, appraisals, lectures and restoration projects.  Calling him talented is like calling a navy seal team somewhat trained, so to have something made by him specifically for me is beyond awesome!  I definitely got the better end of the barter, but don't tell him I said so.

Back to the box.  Inside is a tray to hold my bits and bobs.  Chris let me custom design the layout of the tray to fit my existing tools and kept the dividers removable as I requested.  

Underneath is plenty of room for storage.  

He also turned a darning egg for me as a bonus.

Plus there is an  insert piece which goes in the top.  He left it unfinished so I can cover it to my liking.   So cool!

 I have a tiny sewing kit I DIY'd, from a cheap craft store box, many years ago with a similar insert.  covered in embroidered linen.  

My old sewing kit doesn't begin to compare to my new sewing box.  I like that the old can fit inside the new with room to spare.

In the future, I plan on covering the inside in velvet or silk.  I'll also line the tray and cover the top insert possibly adding loops to hold more frequently used or easily lost tools.  I also want to make a fancy pin cushion to go with it.  Of course, I'll be sure to post my progress and may even include a few tutorials.

Now if I could just decide on a fabric.......