Accomplished sewing stuff last night. Added a 3″ hook-and-eye placket to the 1580s bodice. Fits beautifully now, and while the placket is nothing great to look at, it’ll all be covered up with trim soon enough. Still need to add to the skirts waistbands, but that’s a quick fix. Then I can wear the gown
Explanation: I decided I wanted to wear this gown to the SCA’s Crosston Ball, but the dress no longer fit. So I came up with a way to extend the size … a week before the ball! At 6am, riddled by insomnia, I just bit the bullet, got up, and did some seam-ripping. I removed
Doesn’t look like much, but I’ve been at it all day, off and on, between errands and chores around the house and, of course, screwing around on the computer. Cut the skirt panels, shaped the waistband and hem (the front comes to a point and there’s a small train in the back), finished the top
Here’s a crappy iPhone photo before I left for work… Late that night… The jacket and belt are wearable! No pix — it looks like this morning’s photo but with a lot of trim on it and parts that you couldn’t see were unfinished are now finished, plus there are a lot of hooks and
Needs a buttload of trim, plus sleeve hems, but the concept is proven. Can kinda see the paper diamond pattern I made for the belt (I was inspired by the handy pattern Koshka drew from an extant 1860s Swiss waist; I didn’t actually print that out, but I eye-balled it). I’ve since sewn the velvet
It is begun! I cut the pink taffeta, spray-basted it to some white twill for body, and sewed all the side seams of the bodice. Then I started hand-sewing on the trim. Have to start with trim over the seam lines, you see, then work out in 1.5″ spacing. I’m not actually doing the exact
Not the I’m bragging, but I don’t see what the fuss is about sleeves. They’re pretty easy. My sleeves probably don’t look that good to anyone else, but I like them. They go together fine, no big stress, not like the strum und drang I hear from so many other costumers when it comes time
Almost making it out of Polonaiseville alive! Technically, the stripey polonaise itself is done — I only have to finish the petticoat. Want (but do not absolutely *need*) to add a ruffle at the hem. I cut it out, sewed it together, hemmed one edge, and wave-roller-cut the other, so it’s completely prepped. Have to
I feel like I’m never going to get this damn dress done! Hemming takes forever. I’ve got tons of trim to put on. OMG!!!11!!!111!!
It’s only a paper stomacher… The easiest thing to pattern. Just stick some paper under the francaise and draw a shape. Smooth out the lines. *Ta da* It’s a stomacher. For the actual item, I used an inner layer of white mid-weight canvas-y stuff, covered w/the pink silk on both sides and the sari fabric
I was about to post a picture of trim pinned to the Carnivale gown’s stomacher and ask “is this too much?” and then I realized, no, there is no such thing as “too much” on a Carnivale gown. It’s like a Spinal Tap “none too black.” Add moar trim! Big fluffy craaazzzy trim! (Not that
It was kind of a girlie weekend, in more ways than three. Saturday, I did a ton of pleating and pinning and re-pleating and pinning to build the petticoat for my Carnivale outfit. I just took two widths of silk — made the back one half-again as wide, for some oomph — and stitched them
Right now, I’m avoiding going back to working on the black francaise. I got the back seams done earlier, and I could totally see why sewing them by hand would have made sense. But I did it on the machine because it was a smidge faster (well, a lot faster by me) and a lot
Beading — Hard to tell but the red dots are faux garnet beads between each curl. About a quarter done. Man, iPhone camera blows for macro pix! Looks better in person, promise. But I’m sick of sewing tonight. Gonna finish off this bottle of wine and call it a night 🙂 *sigh* Wish I had
Started working on my ruff for 12th Night. A quarter of the way through applying the lace by hand (ew, but necessary).