new Venetian partlet & necklace
As I last blogged, I needed a partlet for my Venetian courtesan gown. Well, here it is. I ended up going the simple route because I had a spectacular fail when I attempted a fancy ruff neckline. The saving grace is that it was easy to just hack the whole thing off for this no-neck version which is perfectly historically accurate (and easy to cover up with trim! yay, trim!).
Working with organza is never easy, & French seams always seem to break my brain. That whole ‘sewing right side out’ thing. However, here’s a pro tip for ya: have a chopstick handy, preferably a plastic one. That’s the best tool ever for turning the seams as you iron them out smoothly. Try it, you’ll like it.
Because the partlet closes up the neckline some, I decided I needed a new necklace — a simple choker that wasn’t quite as big & chunky as the necklace I’ve been wearing with my courtesan gown. In the jewelry-making stash, I found just enough gold beads to go with the numerous pearls & strung up a necklace easy-peasy.
One can never have enough bling, tis true. At Forever 21, I found some cheap & surprisingly appropriate faux pearl & goldtone filigree necklaces that I knew I could make use of. Turns out, one would be the right length for a girdle around my courtesan gown. I sewed it down with light tacking stitches so the girdle followed the waistline’s point in back & front. Don’t know what I’ll use the other necklace for, but it’s in The Stash for now.
A costume is never truly complete. You keep adding bits to it, changing accessories, modifying trims, wearing the outfit different ways. Costumes evolve over time.
Wait, what? I…uh. A costume is complete the first time you wear it – regardless of whether there is work to be done on it yet or not!