Sometime in early to mid 2024, I got a hankering for a new 16th-century outfit. No reason, nowhere to wear it, just wanted one. And not necessarily a fancy one either. I decided to order the Tudor Tailor pattern for a woman’s round gown and see how that made up. Although first, I realized I
At the start of this week, Sarah dropped off my new Venetian courtesan gown. This is the “real” version, in the expensive silk damask, as opposed to the tourney version in cotton damask. I need to hem & trim the gown & make the sleeves. The first two tasks are pretty straightforward, but the sleeves
The only kind of pattern drafting I enjoy is making sleeves. Not sure why, but it’s something I feel like I can handle. Maybe because the fit isn’t as weirdly tricky as going over the bust & around the waist. There’s only the armscye/sleeve head to deal with & then it’s done. The fit is
The J.P. Ryan 18th-century jacket pattern is seriously made of WIN. I idly did a mockup this evening, on a whim. The size fit true, went together easily (didn’t even need to consult the instructions), & *drum roll please* it fits! DOOOD. So I cut it out of the fashion fabric. No idea if I’ll
I made a muslin tonight. It might be the bodice of La Junesse. I have appropriate fabric and lining even (the muslin will *be* the lining, if it fits) in The Stash. I may even have trim in The Stash. No ruffs necessary, although I probably have material for that too. But no rush. Just
Pattern-drafting is not my strong suit, but I don’t live near enough to, well, anyone it seems for me to easily beg/barter that service on a regular basis. Thus, I had to start on my own for to make this 16th-century doublet. *sigh.* I was inspired by what I could suss out of the seam
There’s no point even considering hand-sewing something when the pattern you’re using (Jacobean Jacket by Dawn Anderson Designs) isn’t terribly accurate to begin with. It’s not horribly inaccurate — I can see exactly why the designer chose to put a seam there and that *is* accurate for doublet bodices in the era, even though it’s
Piping has been applied in all the places it’s supposed to be. Well, not the sleeves, since I needed to design them first. Speaking of which, I’m going to pat myself on the back for figuring out these sleeves entirely on my own, no patterns, no friends helping, nothin’. They’re not all that complicated, but
Didn’t someone suggest that the shorties (like, ehem, Sarah and me) wear a little bit of a heel? If so, I have simple black pumps with louie heels that would work. I’ll also keep trolling my thriftstore for white that I can dye to match my gown, but there’s enough black lace on mine that
This time, I sewed up the side seam and sliced a big ol’ chunk out of the front (after drawing various lines to see what worked, of course). I like it. I think it’s a fair resemblance to the actual Knollys sleeve. Y’know, if you get past the wimpy muslin ;-). I transferred the muslin
Lesson Learned Yesterday: Make muslins out of fabrics more similar to the final weight of the garment fabric. Lesson Learned Today: Don’t cut fabric before you’ve had your morning coffee. It seems that a lot of the problem was that, while the previous muslin and pattern fit beautifully, a big reason that didn’t translate was
Sewing before noon, who’da thunk it? Doesn’t look like much yet, but I’m getting there. Interlined with black twill and the cotton lining is also sewn. I’ll bag-line it (one thing I am good at). The thing is at the point where I really need to try it on, but the house is too cold
My idea for recreating the Lettice Knollys sleeves isn’t panning out, and I’m thinking of ditching that concept for now in favor of something quicker that uses less fabric. I can futz with the Knollys sleeve later. I *need* to have a wearable Elizabethan gown by January 6th, no lie. Doesn’t have to be fancy,
I’ve never scaled up a pattern from a book. This year, I made a point of acquiring all the biggies of the historical costuming library like Janet Arnold and Jean Hunnisett. They’re chock filled with patterns on teeny grids that you’re supposedly able to use. But how? Nobody would fill me in on that part.
Tried to fit the Aouda muslin on my dressform last night. I’m hoping that even though she’s a bit boobier than I and I can’t corset her, this dressform will be a smidge better than trying to pin stuff on myself. At least for the first muslin. ‘Cept nothing made sense to me. Dunno if