A Florentine Townswoman

I'm just going to stop saying I'm back and just write.

Today I present my Lower Class Florentine:

It's a really simple gown. The purple is mid-weight linen from Fabrics-Store. The trim is black velvet ribbon. I'm wearing it over a small pocket, my red quilted petticoat, a partlet and my linen 18th century shift (One day I'll have a proper 16th century one)

The fascinating part is the bodice. I constructed it with a layer of heavy duty interfacing, and two layers of heavy drill. All the shaping is in that form and the lacing rings at the side backs. I have a couple more of this style to make so there will be more pics.

Behind the scenes showing the general bodice shapes and the lacing rings. I stitched them on with waxed embroidery floss. As long as I went through all the layers they seemed to hold up.

Of course then I had to make more...

And us at the NJ Renaissance Faire. 

And again at New York Renaissance Faire. For this one my friend borrowed my purple and I wore an old green gown that I finally finished which will be the subject of the next post 

Needless to say I have more Florentines to make and man is this gown comfy also really versitile between two different people. 

Cheers!

How I Will Lose My Mind

Arrr! And welcome to more Pirate Insanity! Last year 'twas Once Upon a Time pirates, this year 'tis rather more insane than last! To begin we decided to go to faire (New York Renaissance Faire) as pirates, specifically Captain Calico Jack Rackham, Anne Bonny, and Mary Reed. Pretty easy when you think about it. I am to be Anne Bonny. That doesn't change we (Lover and I) just decided we needed to go to the Blackbeard Pirate Festival in Hampton VA too.

Now here's where the insanity strikes. There is a grand ball Friday night of the event. Ergo one must be dressed appropriately.......and what better reason for a robe a la francaise! (I know, I'm nuts.) Originally I thought I'd finally make the curtain along dress, but calculated out I'd need four panels, rough $100! I don't exactly have $100 lying around to spare. If I did there would be shoes. So Stash Shopping it is. Stash then grants this:

Actually 5 yards of this. The tag still stuck on it read that it was an Upholstery/Slipcover fabric and original retail was $4.79 a yard. The tag was written by a typewriter so this fabric has been around for awhile. It has a nice shine to it and a heavy-ish hand. The edge claims it was made for Concord Fabrics by Joan Kessler. A quick Google search turns up several similar fabrics. All are polished cotton from the 1980s. So it works. plus the print is almost identical from this example found in Patterns for Theatrical Costumes by Katherine Strand Hokeboer:

Pg 231

I feel pretty happy with myself. I know cotton isn't fully period but so far one of the biggest pieces I've ever made has cost me absolutely nothing! Which is always an awesome feeling.

I intend to use these two patterns from Norah Waugh's The Cut of Women's Clothes as inspiration along with Katherine's tutorial from The Fashionable Past (link goes to the start of the tutorial. With the fabric amount I have, I feel the second is better for conservation of fabric, but I love the cuffs on the first. 

Now if only I could have stays that actually fit and no fear of hoops........

More on Lover's clothes later!

Cheers,

Merlina

Plotting a Challenge, AKA Boredom Takes Over

Alright, so with semester over for now, I can fully participate in the Historical Sew Fortnightly! This requires a bit of planning on my part and alas a bit of luck as well, but it's me so there's loads of luck. Anyways.....

I looked through the list of upcoming projects and found that by my sheer luck, I can participate in the next few without having to buy anything! YAY! This is rather important now, because my dear Data, my laptop of six years, is no more. So money must be put aside for that. Luckily I already bought the fabric for some of the upcoming challenges.

Next project will be for #11 which will be a red petticoat, I need one for my damsel 1.0 gown for faire. Following that is the secret project for #12. Then possibly corded stays or a new corset for #13. But this post is about my planning for Challenge #14, the Eastern influence. :)

I went digging through all and found this pretty fabric.

. 

The original plan had been to make an awesome fantasy princess gown. But the image I have in mind,  requires more fabric then I possess. So back to the drawing board, sorta. 

Looking through the Pinterest for the challenge, I found this.

It is a furisode kimono style dressing gown from 1885. It's housed in the FIDM Museum. It's really pretty and who doesn't want a gorgeous dressing gown, or robe in general? Which leads to more digging. Giving us these:

The first is from the Adventures of Robin Hood with Olivia de Havilland and Errol Flynn. It was the only full length shot of the dressing gown for the love scene I could find. The second is of Padme Amidala from Attack of the Clones. Image is from Padawan's Guide. 

So these three plus the pretty wrapper/dressing gowns in Gone with the Wind, have influenced my project for Challenge #14. I'm still playing with how I want it to look, but so far definitely romantic and flowing. Eventually I'll put a pretty nightgown under it, probably more influenced from the Padme image, but that can be another challenge.....

Ooooo yay! I love sewing plotting. Now on to the red petticoat!

Cheers,

Merlina 

An Apology and A Salute to "The Stash"

To begin, I must apologize for the lack of a write up on my Regency Cinderella, Challenge #5 in the Historical Sew Fortnightly. The dress is done and currently on Petunia (my dress form. Inanimate objects are easier to yell at with names).

I want to do a full write up but that requires two valuable things which I currently do not possess: time and my photographer. The first will be easily solved. It is almost Spring Break. I just have to do a presentation and start a paper. Midterms are now over. The second requires plotting on my part. Lover is in rehearsal a lot which makes pictures difficult. But I swear I will have them for this week! (Also I will be able to figure out my hair for the dress, since I want it to look really good)

Also there have not been many projects on here. I have several in the works, two are waiting for the arrival of a box of fabric. Yay! Which should be here Monday. However! Until then, I present a Stash Project Genie and a valuable lesson in the Importance of a Ribbon Box.

This is the first part of the Stash Genie:

The top is made of a double layer of chiffon with the metallic trimmed sheer purple ribbon at the edges to add support and detail.

I based the pattern off a bikini top. Just flattened out the triangle portion of the top for a pattern and then cut out four, safely reinforcing that chiffon is a bitch to sew. I had to recut two after Jacques (the sewing machine) and the fabric had a disagreement. So I stitched it by hand. Went together rather quickly. The ribbon for the edges of the triangles and the neck ties is ironed in half, which was another rather difficult part.

Ribbon vs. Iron - Iron Wins. 

Luckily, I didn't have to use that piece of ribbon. I probably shouldn't have had the iron *that* hot but the ribbon wouldn't iron! 

Now, this ribbon, it is a lesson in the importance of "this'll be enough for the project I haven't thought of yet". I got it from a $1 ribbon sale at A.C. Moore. It's 7/8'' polyester sheer with metallic edge. I bought two spools in purple, one in white, and one in red. It took a little over one spool to make all the ribbon portions on the top and I knew I wanted to put the ribbon on the skirt and veils, to tie the outfit together. So I improvised. 

Satin Ribbon to the Rescue!

(We can tell I like purple)

So I just happened to have purple satin ribbon of a close enough color to the rest of the ribbon and chiffon in my stash. I believe I used it for ribbon rosettes on the Dark Queen's garters (Long story that was completely ruined by a vicious head cold and a lost hurricane). With all the ties on, the top fits like a bikini top. And thanks to MMA, I have no need for sit-ups to be able to wear this. (I know, Shut up Merlin!)

I have already started hemming the veils for this. They will be out of purple chiffon as well, probably with a bit of the teal chiffon worked in. There will also be a bolero or sleeves, either chiffon or satin; a teal chiffon shirt with a purple yoke and more purple ribbon. I'm gonna attempt this without buying anything. 

Despite the small scale of this project, I have learned several things:

1. Iron when one is in a patient mood. Polyester ribbon requires patience. 
2. Always buy more of the $1 a spool ribbons than you think you'll ever need. It can always be used for something. 
3. Chiffon is a bitch. It has a mind of its own. Sew small objects by hand. 
4. Stashes rock. I always get yelled at for having so much fabric, but I can do an entire project without buying anything! (More ribbon would be nice though)
5. It's fun to be fantasy instead of Historical Accuracy. 

Also in my stash search I found this:

Can anyone say "Over the Top Princess"? I would use it for the Pretty Pretty Princess Sewing Challenge, but I have a much more original idea for that. ;)

I love my stash!

Also the pirates are almost done!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Merlina