Needle, Threads, & Whims

2011 The Year of Chaos

2012-01-02T13:25:00.000-08:00

2011 has ended and 2012 has officially begun.

2011 Was my year of Chaos. I started by expecting to Move in February so I boxed up my sewing and set it aside with dreams of my new huge sewing room. My move ended up being pushed back to the first of April. So I got very little costuming done. Then my move turned out to be a disaster. The big day arrived, I was packed and ready to go and as we started bringing our things over, I found that the previous occupiers had not finished moving out. So they cleared one room at a time as I moved my things in. My new sewing room ended up being the room where everything ended up.

It took over a month to clear out and start setting up, then I learned that the half of the room where I wanted to put my sewing machines... well the outlets didn't work. So I rearranged, got cords, etc. During this time I was at least able to complete my 16th century stays, although I lost weight so I gave them to an awesome friend. I managed to have about 3 really good days of sewing with friends in the new work room and they were amazing.

Then the new crisis came. I wont go into too many details but basically I ended up moving again. And it was another messy cruddy move.

But now I am settled in my new place, which I love. And I have set up a little sewing area. I have already started on a 1910's corset with plans of a 1912 gown to follow. I also am sewing a 1940's skirt for myself for work.

I have big plans for 2012, and several unfinished projects that need to be completed.

Now all I have to do is find my camera....

Completed 16th Century Stays

2011-05-24T08:17:00.000-07:00

I really wanted to document the making of this, however moving and then losing my camera made that difficult. So, here it is. Silk outer and bias binding, Linen lining, canvas interlining, plastic boning, wooden busk.

These came together very well. I even hand sewed the eyelets. I wish I had gone ahead and followed the pattern for the tabs, because they are more far apart than I would like. But overall it was a good and useful experience.

I intend to make 18th century stays with the same fabrics, only the lighter as the body, and the trim and stomacher out of the darker.

Now that I have a work room and am mostly settled in the new house I can make more and post more.

New Camera = New Posts on the way

2011-05-18T09:23:00.000-07:00

In February I went to Florida on a business trip and ended up sacrificing my digital camera to the Atlantic Ocean. After that I moved and have not really worked on anything sewing related. However, I have now bought a new digital camera and am anxiously awaiting its arrival this Friday so that I can begin to show my new work room, new scary industrial sewing machine, and projects of course. So, stay tuned, I am hoping to have an actual sewing related post up this weekend.

Pulp Fashion at the Legion of Honor -Review-

2011-03-01T12:59:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I was able to get together with a few of my fellow costumer friends and view the

"Pulp Fashion" Exhibit at The Legion of Honor in San Francisco. We were not permitted to take pictures of the exhibit, so I am only posting a couple of pictures from their publicity photos.

Here is the link to the exhibit for any who are interested in seeing it.

http://legionofhonor.famsf.org/legion/exhibitions/pulp-fashion-art-isabelle-de-borchgrave

On to the review:

This exhibit was interesting and wonderful. First, all of the fashion is made of paper. My first thought at seeing the various gowns represented was "wow, I can't even do this with fabric..." The textiles are painted and even the lace was made of thin wispy paper and there were ruffs cut from cardboard. Layers of paint were used to achieve depth and to create the patterns on some of the painted textiles. There were some pieces where we all huddled closely to the gown and had to examine parts to make sure it was really paper.

Second, there was a huge variety of time periods represented. Most of the gowns represented are fairly well known gowns that I've only been able to experience through portraits, fashion plates, and in some cases pretty pictures from other collections. Some of my absolute favorites from both 16th century and 19th century were there looking splendid. Being able to see a 3-D representation of the gowns in life size was really interesting even not being made of actual fabric they still brought inspiration and ideas for how to create some of the styles. There were also accessories including hats, shoes, hair pieces, and jewelry all made from paper.

Granted of course being made of paper there are aspects that were not brought to life and some of the ensembles had carefully crafted jewels of paper and some just had jewels painted on. The same can be said for some of the trims, some were carefully constructed out of separate pieces and some were more like cut out pictures added to the gown. As a lovely extra treat, on the walls were some authentic textile samples as well as a few pieces of 16 century lace which added some flavor and additional interest to the rest of the exhibit

Overall it made for a lovely outing, the Legion of Honor itself is amazing even the cafe had good food. If you have the time I would recommend a day trip to San Francisco and The Legion of Honor.

Fabric for the 16th Century Stays

2011-02-13T17:24:00.000-08:00

I realized this weekend while I finished up on patterning the stays that I really did not have any decent linen for lining. I thought about lining them with silk but I just have a nasty feeling that they might be a bit slidy and besides, I really like linen for lining. So while I wait for my order of "ginger" colored linen to come in I figured I could at least show the wonderful fabric I am working with.

The fabric on the left is a lovely shot silk taffeta and I will use it for binding.

I will most likely have the pattern upside down from this.

So now I wait for the linen and then I cut into this lovely silk and hope for the best.

Day One 16th Century Stays

2011-02-08T16:44:00.000-08:00

Having chosen Simplicity pattern 2621 for my first attempt at new stays I proceeded to measure myself and cut out the appropriate size. I always trace my patterns onto painters plastic first thing. I do this extra step for a couple of reasons, one the plastic is much more durable than paper so I can pin it and fold it without destroying it. Also because then I can just make my size without actually cutting into the pattern which allows me to use the pattern later or loan it to friends.

Traced pieces that are difficult to see, but here it is. The pattern itself is fairly basic, only 3 pieces. Front cut on a fold, side and back, then the tabs. This is where I had to veer from the pattern itself. The pattern has you cut the tabs separately then attach at the waist. I really debated with myself on this because I wanted to be faithful to the pattern but I know that to hold the weight of the skirt I will be making, the tabs will need to be strong and a seam line right at the waist sounds very uncomfortable. And so I used my trusty plastic and sharpy and redrew the tabs so they are part of the pattern pieces as a whole.

Next I cut the mock up out of canvas.

Here is the front view.

Back view with the boning guides transferred to the fabric. I extended them down into the tabs. Obviously there will be a lot more boning, these are just the guides to get one started.

So far it seems that this will give the appropriate shape for the rest of the outfit, the fit is good, taking into consideration that boning will change the way it fits. Next I will complete the mock up, make any changes that I need to the pattern and then start cutting into some fantastic silk.

New 16th Century Garb

2011-02-07T15:39:00.000-08:00

First, the polonaise is still coming along, I have gotten to the tedious slow part of sewing in the boning to the bodice and then I will finish the back with a couple bows, once that is completed I will post pictures. I took my time on the project and enjoyed it greatly I had no event in mind to wear it to so it has been my "go-to" project. I will most likely wear it to the Old Sacramento Easter Bonnet Promenade this upcoming April. Of course that means I need a truly fantastic hat to go with it. So, we'll see.

So onto a new project.

I have had a 16th century doublet gown in mind for well almost 10 years now. Ever since my mom bought me several yards of dark green velvet that was on sale at a fabric store in Reno. The design has been there in my mind and then changed a bit once I got my hands on Moda a Firenze 1540-1580. This book is full of lovely portraits and lodes of inspiration for the lover of renaissance fashion. Here are a couple of examples of 16th century doublets that I am using for inspiration.

The riding habit from Shakespeare in Love. Though not a historical outfit, I do really like the doublet in general. I plan to have my skirt be a yellow tapestry fabric that took me forever to find. So this image Gives an idea of having the doublet different from the skirt.

Portrait of a Noblewoman

Lavinia Fontanai, 1580

I enjoy the gold embroidery on this one. I do not plan to have my front in the open style however this portrait is one that I find myself coming back to over and over again.

So, why the new gown? Does a costumer need a reason. Sometimes we do, especially when we lack time to do all the things that we would love to do. I have a dear friend who is getting married in April. Since I mainly spend my time at Faire playing Irish I have not been able to justify putting together another nobles outfit. This wedding is going to be themed and garb is appreciated so Bingo I now have an excuse/reason to spend time on a new gown that will not get a lot of wearing but one that I would like to have anyway.

I have decided to start with a new set of stays/corset. I have decided to use a commercial pattern and review it as I sew it. I started this past weekend and will upload the pictures and first part of the pattern review on my next post which I promise will not take months for me to do. The pattern is the Simplicity 2621 and I am going to do my best to not alter it too much. If I find that the pattern does not give me the desired shape and fit that I would like then I am prepared to make the effigy stays as well.

It occurred to me that many of the people that I talk to don't have the first idea how to make a pattern or find a pattern for historical garb. So I figure if I use a commercial pattern that anyone can find and buy, maybe I can provide a few tips so it wont be so intimidating to get the foundations for your 16th century garb more accurate.

Closer to Completion 1870's Polonaise

2010-10-12T18:51:00.000-07:00

Little by little as I have had the time I have been chipping away at this little project. It is finally taking shape. I managed to wrestle my camera away form my son for long enough to get a couple of shots of the progress.

Side view with the one sleeve attached

Front view. Still wants for buttons.

Meanwhile I have other events approaching as well that each have their own costume needs. I am extremely grateful that I actually completed my Irish gown back in June so for the Faire this weekend I do not have any last minute sewing for my out fit.

Polonaise Is Moving Forward

2010-09-11T09:39:00.000-07:00

My Polonaise gown has been living on my dress dummy silently mocking me. It is sewn together, fits me perfectly, just missing sleeves and trim. I would not have believed that trim would be such a problem, and yet as I have stared at this piece for several weeks, I have not been inspired at all to complete it. So I have gone through pages and pages of illustrations and photos from the 1870's waiting for something to jump out at me. And here it is finally day before yesterday this fashion plate spoke to me.

I am just going to do a simple navy blue box pleated trim. I spent so much time trying to find the "right" lace or the "right"tassels or the "right" ribbons. But I am going to just let the trim be simple so the lovely plaid shows through. I will use hooks and eyes to close and false navy blue buttons down to my waist and allow the sides to hang open at the hips much like the gown on the right. I will also add a bit more trim to the bottom of my skirt to tie them together.

So a lot of boring cutting, sewing and pleating for the weekend. On the bright side, I really need to practice my box pleats.

On another note, my eldest son has borrowed my camera for his yearbook class and so now I have to track it down so I can take pictures of my progress. Ah the joys of motherhood.

Next I need a really awesome hat....

Back from Costume College

2010-08-22T13:03:00.000-07:00

I am a terrible blogger. It's been two weeks since Costume College and have not posted anything.
I also have a few more projects and updates I've been chipping away at that I have not
posted anything about. I have a little time today so I am playing catch up. So here's the scoop from Costume College.

Steam punk was the theme of the weekend which meant they would have a track specifically for Steam Punk classes. I like Steam Punk, however there were other classes that I was more interested in and my two roomies were all about the Steam Punk so I figured I could always pick their brains.

I did not get many pictures. Unfortunately... Which was my mistake. I did take several from the fashion exhibit which I am happy to share.

I learned a lot while at Costume College, not just about the sewing and such but about how to go in the future and get the most out of it. For example:

Lesson 1 - When I signed up and received my catalog I chose 4 limited classes because I wanted to feel as if I was walking away with something. In the future I will probably only choose one limited class and then attend as many of the shorter classes I can that interest me.

Lesson 2 - Take my camera everywhere and have others take pictures of me as well.

Lesson 3 - Pack more costumes than I think I will need. I really only packed a couple of things, I figured that I would wear street clothes most of the time. *Wrong* Costume College provides such a great opportunity to be able to wear my various things "just because". I had been worried that I didn't really have a lot of "Steam Punk" garb, however the majority of the costumers there were actually wearing 18th Century garb.

I am still so thrilled that I went. I learned some tricks and tips and saw so many gorgeous costumes from all different eras. Total win! I will be there next year!

So without further ado, here are some of the very few pictures that I actually had on my camera from the event.

Steam Punk display at the beginning of the exhibit. Surprising how much can be done with a toy gun and some paint.

Nice and cheery bonnet.

I just loved this bustle gown.

And the equally awesome back.

Lovely Kimono. I have several friends who wish to include Asian inspired fashion into their Steam Punk persona's.

Gorgeous example of a bustle gown made from Saris. She said three Saris died for this gown. I think it was well worth it.

I did bring my 1950's style dress and so when we had lunch at a 50's style diner, had to get the photo opp.

I wore my 1870's bustle gown skirt with my brown paisley corset and hijacked Robert's coat I made him last year to the Gala. I ended up forgetting my bustle so I had to use a folded up towel. The down side to that is that is squished me all weird and I ended up needing to leave fairly early in the evening because it ended up rather painful.

I still had a terrific time though, dinner was great, the company was great, just all around worth it. I would recommend the trip to anyone who enjoys costuming on any level.

Dessert and it tasted as good as it looked.

A Lei From Laurie

2010-07-18T07:59:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I helped to throw a baby shower for the lovely and talented Laurie. And as a gift she brought me a Lei from her trip to Hawaii. I have always wanted one of these. I have no idea why but it's kind of been on my list of cool gifts to receive. I am kind of full of fail in that I have never been to Hawaii even though two of my sisters have lived there for extended amounts of time. I keep meaning to plan a trip but work and kids and life just seem to go in different directions. Perhaps now that the husband is done with school and life is settling down a bit we can actually plan a real vacation.

I realized upon receiving the Lei that it wasn't exactly going to last. Which kind of made me sad. I thought about ways to dry it, but then realized that then it would be another fragile memento that would end up being kept out of reach of cats and kids. So I decided to take a few photos of it. The cool thing is it matches a linen I had bought the weekend before that I am thinking of making a dress out of. A modern dress... can't quite think of a way to pull off anything remotely historical out of the fabric.

So here is a beautiful Lei and some fun fabric for a future project.

A new life for a gown from my past

2010-07-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

As my polonaise has been slowly taking shape one question has been at the back of my mind. What will I wear it with. Strangely the colors and texture are not as easy to find complimentary fabric as I would have thought. While wandering through the fabric store gazing at anything blue, yellow, or off white I was tickled by the memory of a gown from years ago that was light blue and navy blue. I had decided to trim in navy blue anyway so I pulled out the old gown when I got home.

This was a natural form gown made about 10 years ago using all Truly Victorian patterns.

If you look closely at the bodice you will notice that some of the buttons have been replaced with little flowers. This was an emergency fix after the dress was hit by a truck. Luckily no one was in it at the time.

You see years ago I ran a children's birthday party business. We planned and threw tea parties, princess parties, pirate parties, fairy parties, you get the idea. This was one of the tea gowns that my partner Wendy made for me.

Well it happened that we had a booth set up at a baby fair. And we had the gown on a dress form as part of our display. Upon leaving the gown went into a trunk with our money, candy, and paperwork. As we were driving away people kept honking at us. Then we hear a thunk as we pulled onto one of the busier intersections in Sacramento. To our horror we discovered that we had left the trunk on the top of her car and it was now sitting in the middle of the road and people were swerving to avoid it. We pulled over just in time to see a very large truck hit the trunk and my gown attach itself to the front of the truck and keep going.

We were able to salvage the bodice except for the buttons that had popped off at impact and the underskirt. The over skirt was found 4 miles down the road covered in grease.

So this gown was put in first a bag, then a box and kind of forgotten about. Until now.

Close up you can see more of the grease on the over skirt.

Right now I only have a use for the underskirt, I have always loved this dress because it was my first attempt at making an actual historical gown. Not that we knew enough about fabrics and such but still it looked great and felt wonderful to wear.

But now I have a decent underskirt to go with the Polonaise that I have been working on. I don't think I can bring myself to tear the bodice apart. I may reuse the lace from the over skirt though.

I can not help but be in love with this plaid.

Things pinned together to get an idea of how it's going to look. The fabric has a nice life to it. I haven't even put ties in it to get the bustle to take shape, this is just over my bustle.

So this is where we are. The project is coming together nicely I am extremely happy with how it's looking.

Polonaise Progress and Stumbles

2010-07-08T08:23:00.000-07:00

For the 4th of July I had a 3 day weekend, which is a wondrous thing and with my job almost never happens. This meant a ton of time for sewing. This realization hit me and I went into a sewing fever. I jumped right in to pinning the mock up for my polonaise... and something didn't seem right. Then it hit me, I hadn't bothered laying out the part of the pattern for the actual back of the skirt because it's not something that I would need to alter.

Oops.

So I had just enough fabric without the back skirt and there was no way I would have enough with it. So I sat with my piece of fabric laid out on the living room floor turning pieces this way and that way trying to figure out a way to solve the puzzle.

I ended up deciding to shorten the entire thing by about 10 inches and I will have to be clever with the sleeves, but I managed to cut out the body of the polonaise.

Then I carefully cut the canvas to interline it with. Then sewed the back together.

Ta Daaaa

oops left my ginger beer in the background...

Just for the record I am not trying to match the plaids.

(I still have flashbacks from the stripes on my day bodice.)

Then it hit me... trim? Oh right, I forgot to get trim, you can't have anything Victorian without some form of frilly something...

So... Had to go to the fabric store. The fabric store is a very dangerous place for me to go, and because it was the 4th of July weekend, EVERYTHING was on sale.

I walked away with 3 new patterns, and four new fabrics. After staring at trims until they literally closed the store on me. I decided that I will do a thin maybe one inch thick navy blue rouching as my main trim. So I bought the fabric and made my way home.

Here's a closer shot of the bottom of the back, it's wrinkled because it's just pinned at this point to my dress form. I am hoping that the navy blue will pop just enough with the other colors.

So now I have a ton of rouching to make which effectively put the interesting parts of this project on hold temporarily. So I started and finished another fun project over the weekend. Another post coming soon.

In the meantime here are a couple of polonaise pictures that I am in love with.

I'm not exactly sure where I found this picture. I spent a lot of time online looking for ideas for my Polonaise and I just found this one pretty adorable.

This second one came from the FIDM Blog

http://blog.fidmmuseum.org/museum/

On the blog there are some amazing detail shots of this one.

Costume ADD hits again

2010-06-28T08:13:00.000-07:00

I pulled out everything to start on Harley Quinn this weekend and I really meant to start on it. But as I pulled the red silk out I saw there in the back looking all abandoned, my blue and yellow plaid I had bought for a polonaise project. I had bought the very last of the fabric and really did not know if I would have a enough for a polonaise or if I would end up being short, so it has sat on it's spool waiting for me to have the time and energy to take it out and lay the pattern to see if it would be workable. Well since I had a friend over doing sewing stuff anyway I figured what's a couple of moments to lay a pattern just to see. Well it fit perfectly, just enough plaid.

The steampunk group here in Sac is getting together with the GBCS which is ran by Lauren at http://www.americanduchess.blogspot.com/ for a train ride excursion to Virginia City in September and I am thinking the Polonaise may be the perfect train riding outfit.

Here is the basic pattern I will be working with, I have it drawn and cut in plastic and on my dummy now. So this week perhaps I will get the toille done and go from there. I still intend to work on Harley Quinn, I just seem to do better when I have more than one thing to focus on at a time. Hopefully more updates to follow.

Steampunk Harley Quinn

2010-06-25T10:37:00.000-07:00

Ten years ago I had the idea of being Harley Quinn from Batman for Halloween. It was a joint adventure with my close friend at the time who really loved Poison Ivy. Instead we went to Gaskels that year as a fox and a peacock.

A couple of years later I actually went out and bought a nice Harley Quinn suit. I learned that dancing in full latex... not so fun and very hot! Alas I have no pictures of that event from over 5 years ago. But I have never fully gotten over my desire to go all out ballgown with the Harley Quinn character.

Now that I am involved with Steampunk I feel like she would fit perfectly.

Here is the comic Harley Quinn

Now, I am not a comic book geek. I think I read about 25 or so comic books as a preteen because I thought Wonder Woman was very cool and I enjoyed the references to the Greek mythology. My husband and the majority of our friends however are big comic book geeks. My husband loves the Joker and so it works out fairly well. So for my other non comic book readers: Harley Quinn is the girlfriend of the Joker. She was his psychiatrist in the asylum and fell for him and became a villain in her own right. She also had a friendship with Poison Ivy.

For Halloween we have a group together to go for Steampunk Batman Villains. So since I have not been feeling creative at all, I figure it is time to pull out the red and black silk and begin my Autumn event outfit. That way if I do get tired of it, I can move on and still have time for completion.

So my ideas for this ensemble is going to start with a corset type bodice half red half black. Probably going to use the Laughing Moon Pattern that I used for my other Steampunk corset.

Next I am thinking of a ringmaster styled coat with the tails.

I am going to use this pattern as a base only without the false vest front. Just black and red

A bustle over skirt.

Just the over skirt. This is from Truly Victorian and it is such a fun over skirt, I used it for my 1870's ball gown. I do love their patterns in general. I am thinking the over skirt will be red, lined and trimmed in black, then on the sashes and along the hem use the black diamonds.

And for finishing touches boots, one red one black and of course gloves. Have to think about what to use as a head piece and I need a nice black mask.

That's what I have so far, I have a feeling this one will change and grow as I go.

16th Century Irish

2010-06-14T18:00:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time I played nobility at Renaissance Faires. I could not even imagine the very thought of not being a noble. I took several years off and now have been actively going to Ren faires again for 2 full years. In that time I met up with an old friend who is a member of Saint Patrick's Irish group and was invited to guest with them last Valhalla. I went ahead mostly because my hubby begged me because he is absolutely in love with Irish culture and plays an Irish Gleeman at faire. I fell in love with the group and made many good friends. So for this Valhalla I made myself an Irish style gown.

This is me in my Irish with Daniel who is wearing the Ionar I made for him a couple of months ago.

16th century Irish is an interesting time period to sew from because there is almost no information available.

So I took what little I could find and extrapolated a bit. You can not tell from the picture, but this is a split front gown. There will be a saffron colored petticoat and a new leine in the near future.

The gown was extremely comfortable and I loved being bright red.

Here are most of the St. Patrick girls with our hair braided, with Laurie from Daze of Laur and a couple of the guys.

Closer shot of my bodice and proof that Laurie and I are two different people. Aren't we cute both in red? We resemble each other enough that when I first started going to Faires again people often mistook me for her. If you ever need something completely amazing made then Laurie is the one to go to! Not only is she one of the most talented seamstresses I have ever been fortunate enough to meet, she is also one of the absolute sweetest people in the world.

Steampunk Picnic 2010

2010-05-30T14:26:00.000-07:00

Just returned from the first Sacramento Steampunk Picnic. I had actually thought about skipping it due to an incredibly bad few days, however my friend Clint was kind enough to come to my house and encourage me to attend. So here are some pics of my Steampunk outfit as it is now. I don't have any gadgets yet, and the outfit is quite organic and I expect it to change and to add bits and pieces as we go.

1870's underskirt and overdrape, white blouse, with paisley corset.

And a riding hat I picked up at Dicken's Fair years ago that I plan to decorate.

My friend Katia and I in the park.

Haha got Clint to be in a picture with me.

You can see a little bit of the back draping in this one. I really need to pose for some back views, maybe next time....

Now on to complete my Irish gown in time for Valhala next weekend. Here is a sneak peak of the bodice.

The Dreaded "In Progress Box"

2010-05-02T09:14:00.000-07:00

So last week I had two deadlines I was working on feverishly, one was a new Ionar for my friend Daniel and one was a new corset and outfit for a Steampunk Ball. I have learned over time that if I get to the point on a deadline for myself that I am just not going to make, then I don't stress over it. I just don't have the energy to stay up until 3:30am the night before a dance rushing to finish garb that I will end up having to redo because of the rushing process. After all I have 2 kids, 6 horses, a full time job, a handful of various other creatures, and a husband who all depend on me to retain some small amount of sanity. So I made the decision after one of those such nights that I would remain calm in my sewing endeavors and if it looks as if I will not have a finished outfit in time, then I will keep sewing but also start looking for alternatives.So I diligently worked on Daniel's Ionar, hand sewing the little details and was happy to hand it over to his glowing review last Wends. I will be posting pictures this upcoming week. He is currently wearing it at Southern Faire right now.

As I was working on the Ionar it seemed fate was working against me on my corset project. First none of my drawer of steel boning was the right length. So I decided to get some plastic boning. First store was out, second store only had 4 yards left. I ended up only having enough to bone one side. So here is a pic of how far I got.

I need to go out and get more boning and then bind it, I am going to use some brown velvet for the binding because I have it in my stash and I think the brown will look nice.

So now it is officially in my "In Progress" box.

I also ended up working late that night anyway and did not get to go to the Steampunk Ball. Which was frustrating, but the reality for weeknight events for me.

On another note I have a Renaissance Faire this upcoming weekend that I need to have something to wear to. So I have decided that this is a great reason to finish my Florentine Gown. It just needs sleeves, which are already cut out, the net or partlet, and if I have the time, a matching caul and new chemise. So I am hoping to finish the sleeves today.

Picture of the Dreaded "In Progress" box.

Feels good to be sewing again.

2010-04-24T07:43:00.000-07:00

We recently moved into a new house and so my sewing sat on the back burner waiting for space to open up and things to calm down. We have finally gotten mostly settled in and about %80 unpacked. I even spent an evening organizing my fabric and actually labeling the plastic containers that the fabric lives in so I know where various things are. My new sewing area is still a work in progress, however I have a lovely bay window with a seat. I'm having to use the dining room table for a cutting table, but I'm finding that works rather well as long as I clean up my mess afterwards.

I am currently working on two projects, my steampunk corset and a new ionar for my friend Daniel.
I have a couple of other things I am also working on but these two have the immediate deadlines.

Progress on Steampunk corset:

Pieces cut. I used the Laughing Moon Dore Corset Pattern because I really like how it looks and it's comfortable.

Khestral my sewing nemesis.

Busk inserted and basic seams all sewn. Shiny shiny fabric

Corset Challenge #1 a drawer full of boning and none of it is the correct size. I am weighing a few options including fining my cutters and cutting boning from the roll I have, using plastic boning, or driving myself the 10 miles to Sac Dry Goods and spending the money on new boning...

Project Two: Ionar for Daniel. Daniel had a very specific vision for a nice Ionar and so I have employed my long dormant hand work skills for this piece.

Very cute on my female dress dummy...

I have been working on an Ionar for my friend Ash as well, however 4 layers of coatweight wool did not make my sewing machine happy. I have gone out and bought heavier duty needles and am going to give my trusty Singer another go at it. If it fails then I plan to drive to San Jose and beg the use of my friend Laurie's industrial monster. Which has the added benefit of getting to spend a day with Laurie.

And here is my first finished piece since the move. I have always wanted an apron and this fabric really seemed to want to be an apron. So Ta da!

More updates to follow since I now have a sewing area, and my computer area. Happy projecting everyone.

Steampunk Musings

2010-04-18T10:58:00.000-07:00

I have recently begun hanging out with the local Steampunk Group in Sacramento. I have to say the people are just wonderful and welcoming. I have never done Steampunk before although I have seen some amazing costuming done with a Steampunk flair. This led me to a great deal of thinking about what Steampunk meant to me and how I would like to portray it. I have decided that since I do so much with historical Victorian that I am going to base my Steampunk around that. Since it's by far more about the fashion than the gadgets for me personally.

April 29th there is a Steampunk Ball here in Sacramento and so I am working on my first Steampunk outfit for it. Here are some pics of the kernal of an idea.

What I have here is the underskirt for my 1870's ball gown. Still needs the ruffle and rouching on the bottom. Robert's 18th century Pirate coat. And I will be making a corset out of some lovely fabric that my friend Maricica gave me for my birthday for that purpose. I have a riding hat that I never got around to actually decorating, a pile of peacock feathers for the hat, and a gold cord on the shoulder. I also will most likely have a black silk sash where I will be hanging my replica Derringer. I may find a way to lift the skirt up as well to show off red petticotes.

Everything is a bit wrinkled since I just kind of pulled it out of various boxes and threw it together. But I think it will be a fun little project. My goal is to create various Steampunk looks by using pieces that when put together differently are outfits that I could where to more historically focused events.

First step will be to make the new Corset. Updates will follow, only 2 weeks to pull this off.

Costume Lust

2010-01-04T14:22:00.000-08:00

I am utterly in love with this gown. Just thought I would share...

2009 costume wins

2010-01-02T09:13:00.000-08:00

Since I reentered the costuming world summer of 2008 it has been a whirlwind of activity. First I had to come to terms with the fact that none of my garb from 8 years ago fit me any longer. My 24 inch waist is a thing of the past and I am ok with that. Next I needed to get my sewing skills up to par since I hadn't even looked at a sewing machine in 8 years either, and I only dabbled a bit to begin with. This year in particular has been one of a phenomenal amount of personal growth. It started with me working a cruddy job that had crazy hours and made me want to commit violent acts. Now I have a decent paying job that I actually enjoy. It makes a huge difference. I started a lot of projects in 09 and only actually finished a handful. My new years resolution is to complete my unfinished projects and not start anymore new ones until then. There is only one major 2010 costume project on my agenda and that is my Harley Quinn Steampunk Masquerade ball gown, slated to be worn for fall of 2010 with Maricica's steampunk Poison Ivy, and our signifigant other's Batman Villian steampunk ensembles. I am extremely excited about this project and am using it to bribe myself to finish my other projects.

So competed in 2009:

1860's Day Gown (ballgown bodice pending)

Robert's 18th century outfit (I will need to get some better pics before he completely grows out of it)

Tudor chemise

Tudor Peticote

Tudor Kirtle (plan to add a few jewels)

Tudor Overgown (undersleeves just missing jewels)

Revamp of my Blue Italian gown.

Italian Bonnet

No good piture of the finished bonnet, since the gown I made it to go with is not completed.

Doublet and skirt for Ivanna on the vaulting team.
(that is actually my Italian Bonnet she is wearing)

Also completed outfits for the rest of the vaulting team for Ren Faires.

That's my son wearing his pants, doublet, and shirt that I made for their historical performances.

Pillbox Hat

Basic Victorian Corset

(no good pics, just a simple laughing moon white corset)

Mom's DiscCon costume. I guess you have to be a Terry Pratchett fan to get it. But it won an award much to my suprise. There is a long explanation that goes with this one...

Wow looking at the list, I guess I have been more productive than I had thought. I think I will do a different entry for in progress projects.

1860's day gown success

2009-12-20T11:38:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Gaskell's and Dickens Faire, we had such a great time.

The day gown was a huge success, it was comfortable and turned out quite lovely.

Ballgown bodice did not get completed, but I was ok with that. I would rather finish it up for the next Gaskell's rather than rush and get myself upset over it. So here are some pictures of the gown in action.

Maricica and I at Dicken's Faire.

Shot of the whole dress.

Here I am with my two boys. Robert is the one on the left in his little 18th century outfit, and Mathew is on my right. Mathew doesn't do pictures so I had to sit there smiling until he was distracted enough to stand still...

And now I have a pile of unfinished projects that I will work on completing after a week or so off from sewing.

Happy Holidays everyone.

1860's Day Bodice

2009-12-18T08:41:00.000-08:00

After hours of sewing on hooks and eyes down the front. I have a finished daygown bodice.

I will probably add a little lace to the collar and potentially to the cuffs.

I may add a couple of buttons or somthing to the back.

Now onward to see if I can actually finish the ballgown bodice. If not then I can shoot for the Jan PEERS dance to have it done by.

1860's bodice update.

2009-12-13T17:59:00.000-08:00

So after a couple of days of wrestling with the stripes of my day gown bodice I decided to go ahead and make the ball gown bodice to keep my momentum going.

Mock up of ballgown bodice.

The front comes down a little further than I would like but over all the mockup fit really well.

And here is the front view.

And a side view.

So now I need to add boning, sleeves, lining, and a bertha or somthing. Oh and hooks and eyes to the back. Then I will have a nice little ballgown bodice to go with my pretty skirt.

After I got this far it was time to suck it up and get back to the daygown bodice.

First I recut pretty much the entire thing...

While recutting I thought, gee I really like chevron fronts... and so I cut the front pieces differntly this time.

Then I began to panic because matching the stripes had been so incredibly difficult the whole time. These thick stripes are really unforgiving. But At this point I only had enough fabric for one more mistake so I continued forward figuring that I was saving the other pieces just in case.

And I am proud to say that I think I mostly won against the stripes.

Here is the back view now.

The fabric is folded a bit so you can't see how well they actually do match up.

And the front.

The only issue now is the sides because there was just no way that I could really match the stripes at all of the seams.

So the vertical runs into the horizontal, but I have decided that I can live with it.

And I am quite pleased that the back side seams meet so much better than before.

Now I need to add the boning, lining, and front closures to this one as well.

One week and 2 bodices that are about %75 completed. Heading into the homestretch....

1860's Skirt Complete

2009-12-07T20:05:00.000-08:00

This evening I finished the last few things on my skirt. My weekends have been pretty full so I tend to sew in little increments of time here and there. I am quite pleased with how it turned out.

And here is a close up of the ruffle and trim.

I was so happy I almost began madly ripping out the stitches in the bodice in order to recut the pieces. Then I was actually smart and remembered that I have not cut out my sleeves yet. So I am going to do mock up sleeves then the actual sleeves and only then if I still have fabric left will I recut my bodice. And if the fabric gods are kind to me and I still have some left then I can entertain ideas of a matching ballgown bodice.

*Gleefully rubs hands together*

2 weeks left to complete.

1860's Day Bodice Progress

2009-12-05T09:46:00.000-08:00

Thursday night I purchased my string and made my piping for the bodice. Funny how such a small thing like piping makes such a difference on garb. This is something in general I would usually consider skipping in the past. However during my past year of actually studying the garments and learning to appreciate the workmanship ect. I am happy that I took the extra hour to add it.

Here is my piping, since Khestral would not leave my sewing table, I decided he would be my backdrop for the piping.

I don't know if the piping made a huge enough difference for me to actually like how the stripes look on the back.

last night I sewed the bodice together at the shoulders, then I discovered that if I redo the front pieces I can in fact get the stripes to match at the shoulders and have a cool chevron effect instead of the weird thing that I have now.

I do really llike the overall shape of the bodice.

So I have about 4 yards of fabric left and really want to add a ruffle with the stripes diagonal to the vertical stripes. I am going to put the bodice aside and complete the skirt, then if I have fabric and time I am going to redo this puppy until I love it.

That will also give me time to decie whether I would like buttons or hooks and eyes for my front closure. I am leaning a bit towards buttons right now...

Still 2 weeks left to futz over it.

Productive weekend

2009-11-30T07:54:00.000-08:00

Well this weekend I managed to stay busy but was still able to work on my new day gown. The skirt base is finished. And if I do run out of time it is pretty enough that I don't have to add a ruffle or trim.

In this picture it is just pinned to my dummy and not hemmed yet.

I had already cut and interlined my bodice pieces and so I began the darting and pinning together process. I epic failed at matching my stripes.

I wanted the nice blue stripe straight down the back. I am trying to decide if I want to recut the side pieces to match the back a bit better. That is the most likely scenario as of right now.

Straight line in the back equals slanted lines in the front and not in a cool chevron sort of way either. The good news though is that it fits nicely over the corset and that although I may have developed an intense adversion to stripes I think I am over my bodice phobias.

I have time to mess around with it I would like to wear to Dicken's in a couple of weeks but no overshoadowing deadline and I am enjoying the process.

Day Gown Progress

2009-11-27T08:19:00.000-08:00

My pattern arrived last week for the 1861 Dress Bodice from Truly Victorian. I do have to say that I have worked with several of their patterns before and have never been dissapointed. Bodices for some reason are my cryptonite though. This is generally for two reasons: one I have absolutely no patience so I tend to leave out important steps such as mock-ups and two they just scare me for some reason so I end up putting them off for as long as possible which then leaves me rushing to finish.

This pattern however looks to be as easy as they get and in all fairness I have been able to complete a few decent Renaisssance Bodices this past year. So it was time to suck it up. I began by being a good little seamstress and I cut and sewed a mock up complete with the darts and such in order to check the fit of the pattern. Which it turns out is a really good thing since the shoulders were each off by about an inch.

Alas though my camera was nowhere to be found so no pictures of the exciting fitting of the mock up.

I have also decided that stripes are the enemy. I am incredibly OCD about plaids and stripes matching up. This bodice has darts so... stripes in the front are going to be squished. Also in order to have a nice straight stripe pattern in the back, that means the stripes in the front will either not match at the shoulders or be a bit slanted. Luckily I bought a lot of this fabric so I am doing the bodice and if I hate it, I can cut it again and try the stripes in a different way.

Today I am hand sewing the interlining to the fashion fabric. I usually machine baste it, however this was causing the fabric to pucker a little bit and I really don't want to take any risks with it that could end up making it look cruddy. I usually interline with canvas, however I opted for just the cotton on this bodice because I wanted the fabric to flow a little differently. This first go is kind of my expensive mockup, if it doesn't work out then at least I'll be learning.

I am hoping to get a lot of work on this completed this holiday weekend. No pics for this post because they're kind of boring of just fabric sitting pinned. Next one though...

1560's Florentine Gown Progress

2009-11-18T17:32:00.000-08:00

So since the Irish Ionar has been put on hold while I scavage for needles for my dinasour sewing machine and I have not started on my new Victorian since I am waiting for my patterns to arrive. I decided to work on my Florentine Gown a little bit. This gown was actually inspired by several in Moda a Firenze. This book is full of extremely drool worthy pages of Renaissance Fashion from 1540-1580 mostly focusing on Florence. Most notably of course are the gowns of Eleanor Toledo who was responsible for a great many of the fashion changes in Florence during her time. I used the the Florentine gown from Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion as a guide and resource.

This gown kind of came to life on it's own. I found the fabric at Ikea in the convenient form of velvet curtains. I was actually scoping the Blue which I had planned on using for my Tudor gown but ended up as Robert's coat for Gaskell's and rouching on my 1870's ball gown. However as I saw the green Clint, (a friend who I will mention often in this blog because he encourages me and listens to my gripes in my sewing endeavors) mentioned that the color was close to the color of patina on copper as it ages. So I bought the package just incase somthing copper came around because copper is one color one does not see much of at fair.

Not long after I happened upon some copper metalic trim. I decided to layer the trim on top of black velvet trim to achieve a deeper look.

This was also my first attempt at draping a pattern or even not using a commercial pattern.

Bodice mock up number 3 or 4 in my lovely yellow calico cotton fabric.

And this is where I had left it. I decided to leave the skirt with the option to be worn open incase I ever decided to make an underskirt and a different styled bodice. So I added hooks and eyes all the way down to keep it closed for it's Florentine look. The red is my tudor peticote peeking out. Shortly after getting this far I shifted my fair focus to my son's vauting team and spent a couple of faires with the Irish. So my poor Florentine gown was relegated to a box with other unfinished garb. Until Halloween Gaskells....

For the Oct Gaskells I had nothing to wear... no really. I had spent all of my sewing time on Robert's costume which he looked adorable in, so I had not finished my costume. So I was going to fake it and go wearing an old fairy gown from 10 years ago or so. Then my friend Maricica saw the green velvet of the bodice sticking out and suggested I wear it. So I figured it is Oct Gaskells, anything goes.

Here we are at Gaskells, I was suprised by how comfortable it was and by how many people really liked it.

So now that I have brought everything up to date what is missing from this gown are sleeves and the net or partlet.

I began the sleeves last week before my house was taken over by several dear friends from various parts of this country and Canada and to my great dismay all that was left of my green velvet was scraps.

Literally just scraps, I was able to salvage 3 pieces big enough to actually make sleeve panels and the rest I pieced together. Pieceing is completely historically accurate and yet I hate doing it. But I also could not think of any other creative way to make sleeves, a completely different fabric or color would throw the whole gown off.

I used the paned sleeve pattern from Margo Anderson, I used it on my Blue gown and really liked the results.

After I complete the sleeves I will move on to the net. Here is a pic of what I would like mine to look like.

I also intend to make the matching caul. You can also see in this portrait the general style favored by Eleanor Toledo. The single shoulder poof, solid color base with gold embroidered trim. This image also illustrates the layering effect of the period. You can see her chemise with blackwork peeking up under the gown with the net over it tucked into the gown. Notice also that unlike many of the other European fashions of the time or English fashions, the gown is fairly simple. It is the simple elegence of the Florentine fashion that drew me to wishing to make one for myself.

Here is the fabric that I bought for the net and caul. This is silk I found quite by chance on one of our LA excursions.

Now just picture it with pearls at the crosspoints....

So that is where I am with the Florentine gown. I hope to complete it by the end of December. So more shall follow. Next post will be about my 1850's gown for Dicken's Faire, I am anxiously awaiting my patterns.

Dicken's Fair is Fast Approaching

2009-11-12T10:08:00.000-08:00

I have been so good. I have my list of unfinished projects which have all been waiting so patiently for me to complete them. I have been working on each in turn, some require hand sewing and others require new needles or other small things. Then the other day I realized that Dicken's Fair is in just a few short weeks. I don't work Dicken's Faire, however I do like to make it out at least a couple of times each year. Last year I had made plans for some ambitious projects, I really wanted a bloomers outfit. However I did not get a chance to really start anything. And now here is it the middle of November and I only have my old gown.

Here is my current gown. I've had it for about 10 years and when I got it it was already older. I did not sew it, it was given to me by my god-mother. Over all it definately does the job.

I do love the obnoxious lime green velvet trim. The picture does not really show off the Pagoda styled sleeves.

I have decided that I really would like a new 1850's ish day gown. Here are some pics that I am enjoying for inspiration.

I'm not a huge fan of the fronts of these however I do love the trim detail work.

My waist can not possibly get this small, for some reason I just like the simplicity of this one.

I really like this one. It is from the 1860's and I am finding that I like the style of sleeves on this one and the square neckline.

I do know that I will not be going with Pagoda sleeves for this project. The fabric I have chosen is striped and I am considering if I have enough to do a founced ruffle at the bottom with the stripes pointed at a diagnal. I have seen this used in several fashion plates but was unable to find them again. If I happen upon any good illustrations I will be sure to post them.

Here is the fabric I have chosen. I found this last year on my first LA trip.

This project is scheduled to be started next week since I will be out of town this weekend. I need to find and settle on a pattern atleast to give me a foundation to work from. I am liking the TrulyVictorian one here.

I will need to see how it works with the stripes. Probably alter it a bit, but it will give me a base to start with.

In the meantime Anton's hat is getting my hand sewing time.

The Elusive Irishman's Kit

2009-11-04T22:08:00.000-08:00

Progress on Ash's new Irish Garb

Progress on Ash's new Irish Garb Ash started out the season with a borrowed plaid and shirt and several sharp pointy objects. After a few faires he decided that he would like an Irish outfit for himself. I come into this because Ashlin bought me my sewing machine in return for me being his sewing slave. :D

Ash's first Faire outfit. Valhalla 2008

Part one as I mentioned in a previous post is the leine or Irish shirt. These are unique from other nationalities from the time period due to their enormous sleeves. However not as enormous as they have been portrayed in recent history with huge drawstrings and such. Ash's Leine went together very easily, simple white linen and I bought the pattern from Reconstructinghistory.com

Finished Leine, I have no idea why oh why I have no pics of him in it at Folsom Faire. He has requested a closure of sorts to be added to the front, other than that it fit the bill.

Next was the Ionar. Sigh and that is where I am temporarily stuck. We bought the fabric in LA, and he chose good wool in dark blue, coat weight wool. My poor Singer did not like 4 layers of coat weight wool and expressed this too me with broken needles. Everything is done with the exception of attaching the skirting to the body...

Here is my normal sewing maching, nothing fancy, gets the jobs done.

Couldn't do it, so we called in Big Bertha...

Let me introduce you to Big Bertha, a 1951 machine which my father and sister both swear can sew through anything, including fingers. Took half a day for my friend Clint to figure out how to work her. Now I need to find needles and give it a go. If it works then Ash will have a completed ionar to complete his Irish look, and I will have one more project marked off my list.

New Name!!!

2009-10-29T20:04:00.000-07:00

A big thanks to my friend Clint who came up with a much cooler name for my little sewing blog. Needle, Thread, & Whims is a name full of win and fits my projects perfectly!! I have also been playing around with the templates and backgrounds. I'm still very new to the whole blogging thing so bare with me as I continue to figure it out.

Things to do and new inspiration

2009-10-28T11:21:00.000-07:00

Actually completing Robert's outfit brought to light the painful number of unfinished projects that I have allowed to accumulate. I am afraid that I very much suffer from Costumers ADHD. I find somthing I love and I really want to sew, buy the fabric, start on it, then... oooh look at that one, I must make it. So the poor unfinished gown gets put away in a trunk until an event comes up that I really want to wear it to.

Here is a list to keep myself focused:

Ash's Ionar for his Irish outfit. Mostly finished, needs for me to sew the skirting on.

Then attach the sleeves and closures.

Anton's hat. Needs to be lined, hemmed, then starched.

Chrismas Gaskell's Gown. Bodice needs to be taken in a tad and I need to finish attaching the trim.

Florentine Gown. Worn to Oct Gaskell's needs the sleeves, net, and caul. Considering entering it to http://www.realmofvenus.renaissanceitaly.net/ for a showcase per advice from Laurie from http://www.dazeoflaur.com/ Her Florentine gown which was showcased in July is easily one of the most beautiful creations I have seen.

1870's Bustle Ball Gown. Needs Ruffle for overskirt, More trim, and I plan to make two bodices. I should be happy if I finish one bodice first though.

Doublet gown. Need to pleat the skirt into the waistband and hem. Then I actually need to sew the doublet. I've been planing this outfit for 10 years...

These are just the projects that I have actually started. I have more that are sitting as just patterns and fabric.

So... no new stuff for me until I get the above completed. This is my challenge to myself.

Now for inspiration for a future ball gown....

The big night and unfinished projects

2009-10-26T08:40:00.000-07:00

Gaskells was a wonderful night. I had many lovely dances and enjoyed catching up with friends. Robert's costume was a great success. So here are a couple of pictures. Unfortunately the lighting was not the greatest so several pictures that I took did not turn out well enough to post.

I forgot to pack the stockings...

I decided on the coat against using a ton of gold trim. The simple brass buttons seemed to work really well and I used gold thread for the button holes to highlight them. He recieved many compliments and had a wonderful time. Alanna is already trying to get him to invite her to the Christmas ball.

Two hours before we were going to leave I still had nothing to wear. I had gotten my face painted at an event at work and was thinking of pulling out an old fairy costume. My friend Maricica came over and saw my Florentine bodice peeking out from under a few hats on a shelf and suggested I wear that. Well it is only half finished and still has no sleeves, but with a little peer pressure I went for it. To my great suprise I recieved many compliments.

Close up of face painted and bodice.

Here I am with Maricica with Clint's mask.

I must say this gown was my first attempt at draping a pattern. It was extremely comfortable! I was not wearing my corset underneath it, so the sides wrinkled up a bit. I'm really glad that I wore it. I just need to complete the rest of it. So look for future posts.

Gaskells Tomorrow Night

2009-10-23T09:21:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow evening is the much anticipated Gaskells Halloween Ball. I have been working almost non stop on a costume for my eldest son Robert. Who like any normal 12 year old, when asked what he wanted to wear said that he would like to go as an 18th century gentleman... It's almost as if he reached into the costuming hat and pulled out the one era that I have absolutely no experience in and has not caught my attention as of yet. This is a big deal as well because Robert has invited a girl his age to join him at this ball, so I buckled down and got to it.

First I chose a pattern.

Simplicity 3644

Fabric-

White Cotton Poplin from my LA trip which was .99 per yard for the shirt

Greenish Blue Cotton Velveteen from Ikea (it was curtains)

Goldish Brocade from Triad

The great thing is all of these fabric were already in my stash, so I did not have to buy any new fabric.

Buttons:

I decided on plain brass buttons for the coat and slightly different ones for the vest.

Several times during this process I had to be reminded that I was sewing for a 12 year old and that this is not "garb". He will grow out of it entirely within a few months.

I started on the coat first:

Personally I think once Robert is done with it, witha few alterations I can turn this into a very nice riding habit...

The shrit was very easy to make and put together. For others considering this particular pattern, I would recommend making the neck opening a bit bigger. Poor Robert has to sqeeze in a bit.

As of now the outfit is complete except for buttons which I will be sewing on today while on the road to a wedding in the bay area.

I will post pics from Gaskells with the complete outfit asap.

The down side of all of this is that I have no idea what I will wear and will most likely end up in my regency gown. Sigh... Harliquinn Bustle gown for next year.

Irish outfit for Ashlin

2009-10-03T08:47:00.000-07:00

Ashlin is my roommate and a great guy. Over a year ago my sewing machine was giving me problems so he bought me a new one. A nice Singer machine with some bells and whistles. In exchange I agreed to be his sewing slave. So far I have only made him a shirt. Ash likes to play with one of the Irish groups at faire and after an expensive trip to the Los Angeles Fabric District we agreed on a new outfit for him.

Here is a sketch or Irish men during the Renaissance period. Notice the baggy shirts with huge sleeves and the short jackets? This is what Ash would like, and he has also requested a pair of trews as well. The shirt is a leine and the jacket is called a kilcommen or is refered to as an ionar. He purchased some nice white linen for the leine and dark blue wool for the kilcommen.

He also bought me these shears to help cut the fabric. I normally use a rotary cutter but I think with the thickness of the wool that the shears will be better.

Shiney!

Last night I cut the pattern pieces, today I prewash the fabric. I am thinking I will be working on this project next week.

October is full of projects

2009-10-02T16:04:00.000-07:00

The bustle gown is going to have to be put on hold until after October. I had planned to attend the Sweeney Todd Ball this weekend http://peers.org/ However a friend of mine has come in from England for a visit and has also gotten engaged. So... My Saturday shall be filled with friends, pictures of wedding gowns, food, and fun. I'm sure I will find a reason to complete the bustle gown but for now I have several things to start/work on/complete for October.

Events in October:

Folsom Renaissance Faire http://www.folsomfaire.com/

and...
The Halloween Gaskells

http://www.gaskellball.com/

Folsom Faire is one of my favorite faires and it is very close to where I live. This year is also special because my oldest son will be performing there with his vaulting team. I've put many hours into preparing the team to demonstrate vaulting as a historically accurate sport during the Renaissance, so far the kids are doing very well and are having fun. Also our horses are a big hit!

Halloween Gaskells is always one of my favorites. I have gone on and off for almost 12 years. My favorite was about 8 years ago, my friend Wendy made absolutely the most gorgeous fox gown out rust and gold fabrics. I wish I had pictures... She had bought the rust fabric on sale for $1.00 a yard to use for a mock up of a victorian bodice pattern we had in a book. The illustration was only about 2 inches and she scaled it up and made the bodice. It turned out so nicely that she used it as inspiration for her full gown. I decorated my blue and black ball gown with peacock feathers and we had an evening full of fun.

Both of these events are going to involve a great deal of sewing so look for future posts...

1870's Blue Bustle Ball Gown

2009-09-29T07:39:00.000-07:00

I have actually been working on several projects and have been pretty terrible about posting them. So after a few "reminders" from people who don't actually follow blogs I promised I would do a better job. I thought I was curious... I never used to even read blogs except if I was pretty bored or if I was researching something specific and I could find a good dress diary about it. Now I find myself jumping to familiar blogs and mumbling under my breath about nothing "new" to read about..

I've been working on a bustle gown for a little less than two weeks off and on. Some of my inspirations are based on the Gowns designed by Charles Worth. Here is one of my favorites. This is a gown from 1872 which is the time period which I am basing my gown on.

I really liked the lines of trim on the underskirt of the Worth Gown, so I incorporated that look into my gown. I chose pleated trim with lace. I will have darker blue rouching above the trim. I found the trim on sale at Joann's for $.29 per yard and so I bought it all. To my dismay there was not enough to do more than two full rows of trim. So I will have a matching blue ruffle on the bottom of the overskirt and also the darker blue rouching.

Below are a couple of pictures of where I am with this gown. I apologize for the poor quality in pictures. I will get newer/better ones soon. These were the only ones I took at this stage, and my other lamp for the sewing room with MIA.

Here is the underskirt and side drape over skirt. Both patterns are from Truly Victorian. I love their patterns and have used several of them.

The back view shows the sashes that are part of this overdrape. I had some embroidered silk left over from a Renaissance gown that I made, and by some I mean over 5 yards... I thought it would look really cute peeking out, to my dismay the cream of the silk is off from the off white of the cotton that I lined the rest with. I couldn't bring my self to tear out that many stitches and redo it so my OCD just has to deal.

Unfortunately this gown is going on the back burner. I have other commitments so I will not be attending the event I was making for. Instead I will be focusing on my October projects. These include: finishing Anton's Hat, making an 18th century costume for my son, making an Irish outfit for Ashlin, and completing at least one of the Renaissance gown for myself for Folsom Faire. Also the vaulting team may need repairs or new items. I will try to remember to keep this up to date. Blogging is not my strong point.

Anton's hat...almost finished

2009-09-28T19:20:00.000-07:00

Here is what the actual hat that I'm attempting to make looks like.

Here is my hat so far... The wool isn't staying as still as I would like, some starch will most likely help.

Top of the hat

Inside of the hat

As you can see, It needs to be lined and the bottom edge of the sheepskin turned up with the lining. I will then starch the heck out of it so it can be molded a bit more. I made this hat from scratch without a pattern so I'm fairly happy with it in general, however there is definately room for improvements. Also most of this had to be completely hand sewn so it took a bit longer than I had expected. It has been a good companion during the few television shows that I watch. Hopefully it measures up for Anton.

New bustle gown in the works

2009-09-28T08:25:00.000-07:00

Ok, I am actually going to move my sewing blog from Live journal and leave my live journal for more about my horses, kids, and non sewing hobbies.

Current projects I am working on include a Hat for Anton and I started a bustle gown and a costume for Robert for the Halloween Gaskells.

This update is mostly about my bustle gown.

Originally it was supposed to be a polonaise gown like this one. This is actually one of the patterns that I have although I was going to alter it and change it up just a tad.

Here is the fabric that I was going to use. I found it at Triad on sale!

So I was going to find a nice blue or even a yellow for the underskirt and trims. Well Joanns had a sale on silk taffeta and I saw a nice blue that I thought would look perfect. Let me tell you I learned several lessons from buying that fabric. One I will not order fabric that I want to match with something online again. Two I will not order from Joann.com again, they had the worst customer service ever and when I went to track my package their system told me it had been delivered to Abu Dabi. I'm not kidding, it really said that. Also the silk was not nearly the quality that I would have preferred. The fabric came and the color was totally off.

However, the color itself was very nice. So I put the plaid polonaise aside for not and started on a different concept for a bustle gown.

Here is the beginning of the front apron. As you can see, the color is completely wrong. It was much darker in the picture on the website.

More to come later....

Hat Adventure

2009-05-19T11:30:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago a friend of mine requested some help with a hat. I took my hobby of sewing back up last year and decided that there was a lack of good hats out there so of course I wanted to try to make my own. In doing so I learned that I enjoy making hats and even am begining to understand the concepts behind hatmaking. I have since created a pillbox, a french hood, and an italian bonnet. Each getting better and increasing my understanding of how buckram works.
This particular hat is fairly unique. It is a Russian style military hat and tht top is square in shape with a round base with a wide trim made of fur/wool. This is actually a difficult hat to find information and pictures on, but Anton did provide me with several.
Materials I will need:
Buckram - I will actually fuse 2 pieces together for extra stiffening.
Millinary wire - used for molding to shape and to hold shape.
Flannel - for Milling softening the edges
Dark gray wool felt - lucky for my my friend Clint bought the exact color in LA and has been so kind as to donate enough for the hat.
Cotton - lining don't want the inside to be ugly.

Tonight I will start playing with pattern plastic to make a mock up before cutting into any of my good materials. Looks like the top is a basic square of buckram 5 or 6 inches across the point of the square faces forward. There is about 2 inches of space between the top of the hat and the top of the wool. Here Anton is going to place a cockade. The wool trim is about 4 inches high and lucky for me already fitted to his head.

Pics to follow.

A new Blog

2009-03-26T06:34:00.000-07:00

I think I like Blogspot better than Live Journal so I am giong to attempt to continue my blogging here. I have so many hobbies that I like to keep track of, and I have found that having a blog keeps me a little more organized and also allows me to follow my progress. So we'll see how it goes. My hobbies that I will blog about will most likely include, my sewing and my horses. Also I will blog about my sons vaulting team progress and from time to time I will most likely vent about the broken system dealing with foster children and the horendous time we are having with the adoption of our daughter. I have a decent camera now so I will post pics when I can. Thanks