A Damsel in Distress or a Distressing Damsel?

It's clear, the list is off the table. I started with a nice, defined, short list of what I intended to make this year. 

• Pirate Garb
• Stays and Shift 
• Curtain-A-Long 
• Tudor Undergarments

The 1790s gown wasn't originally on the list, then I fell in love with theses shoes:

They're from the 1790s and the pic is from Vintage Textiles. I originally saw them on American Duchess ages ago and saved the pic, then found it when organizing files. One cannot make shoes and not have a dress to go with them! 

So despite the 1790s not being my favorite time, that joined the list. Then we decided to have some fun and run around at the NY Renaissance Faire as more than just the secret project. Lover and I like having characters to be. And since part of the Secret project also works as Hero Attire (Clue #3). We decided to also go as the Hero/Damsel. Which was more to design! But really fun to play, I mean who doesn't want to be rescued and swept off her feet every once and a while?

After look at tons of pics and trying to think of something, I came up with this:

I love the sleeves but I wanted to make the dress blue and that would look too much like Belle's out of Once Upon a Time:

 Both pics are from IMDB (http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0305780/mediaindex)

Don't get me wrong, I like Belle as a character, sometimes, but I really don't want people to think that's who I'm dressed up as. And Once Upon a Time is a really good show, but I want this to be me, one of my characters. So back to the drawing board.

So I thought I need to be in a dress that could be a "working dress" for a noblewoman in the Elizabethan Times, because A) for some reason upper class women are the majority of the ones who run around damselling. and B) I wanted to be even a little historical.

Also because I fell in love with pretty purple linen off Renaissance Fabrics. Linen would be nice and cool for the hot summer. So I got bored and doodled, and since I can't find the sketch, I have a pic of the idea that I did off the Tudors Scene Maker off Doll Divine. It's a really cool way to get ideas and lose track of massive amounts of time.

The left image shows my Elizabethan character, Isabel, dressed for court before the Queen, and the right shows her as a damsel in a working dress which is really the same as court dress just with unlaced sleeves, sleeve rolls, no ruffs, partlet or fancy hair. The idea is to be on the summer progress with the Queen, ie like a RenFaire. 

My plan is to make the purple out of purple linen, the underskirt and sleeves out of damask or flocked fabric, and then have all the pieces. 

So now there are sixes things on the list instead of four. And I've already made some stuff I didn't even bother to list. Perhaps I need to learn to plan better. Or maybe it's just a costumer thing. 

Cheers 

Merlina

It's a Dress! Or Finally Finished

Semester ends! Yay! And I catch the sewing bug. But with money tied up in Christmas Gifts, I must dive into the UPB or Unfinished Project Box. We all have one, they're usually that box tucked away in the sewing room of things no one wants to see, where a couple tweaks and maybe an hour and there'd be a finished project.

Anyways....

This is my first colonial dress. I made the stays, shift and pockets a few years back. As with the small bumroll and the three petticoats underneath. (Said petticoats and bumroll are used for everything requiring petticoats.) There are pictures of the underthings, somewhere. And I know I need new stays. The ones I'm wearing are from when I first started sewing and not really comfortable. (had yet to learn of tabs. OMG! I love tabs.) Pretty much they're boring white with blue thread. I'm debating new ones with an actual pattern and possible that goregous curtain fabric......

So here is the dress (excuse the cell phone):

It is a very pretty quilter's cotton I found in Joann's. The pattern looks very colonial to me, but I cannot swear to accuracy. I'm a costumer not a historian, Jim! (Sorry, couldn't resist). The back is quartered and the front fastens down the front with pins, which are currently pulling because I'm not laced right. (My assistant was over the river, literally) The pattern is a combination of the Simplicty pirate gown and historical stuff I found/looked at online. I drafted it from the information myself! I doubt it's together historically acurate but alas. Partially machine partially by hand.

You can see the pattern of the fabric well here and how full I got my skirts. Plus the shape provided by the stays.

The yellow skirt is not the right one for this gown. I made a very full, teal petticoat that looks gorgeous under the gown and adds even more fullness. But it and I are not on speaking terms (long story.) So I am using possibly the first skirt I made. It too is of quilter's cotton and has a matching blouse and corset to go with it. (technically it belongs to the Padme outfit...)

The neck-kerchief is not the right one. I have one somewhere but I don't know where. So its a muslin square. And a little bit of self fabric trim is not on yet. I ran out of fabric. But there are sleeve flounces that had to be removed to adjust the sleeves. Hey! There's a hem and a closure, to me that means finished!

Happy New Year!
Merlina