How my adventures in costuming began...
I always loved playing "dress-up" when I was a kid - ask any of my childhood friends, I had a HUGE closet full of handed-down clothes (old skirts and dresses, some that were quite old - from the '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s - maybe even a few earlier?) and home-made costumes, as well as clothes from around the world that were my mom's (from her parents/grandparents that they bought as presents) or were gifts from some of those same friends when they traveled. My friends and I would dress up and create outfits to go along with all sorts of fantasy stories ("swords and horses" style). I even made a couple of fake swords - one for the year I was Zorro for Halloween, and another inspired by Robin McKinley's The Blue Sword novel. Most of the clothes I still even have today; a few wears and tears (usually more so on the bought costumes and a few of the favorites), but still in decent condition and wearable. I also was a dancer since I was in kindergarten (or thereabouts) through middle school, and had all of the jazz and ballet costumes that I had gotten over the years from being in the annual dance recital of the dance school I was in.
In college, my freshman year, I became friends with a group of people who were very much into all things Star Wars and (I found out later) also liked costuming. Also in college, I had the opportunity to choreograph a solo routine as part of a dance ministry event that group was going to hold on campus. I had my pointe shoes, but no costume, so while I was home on break, I searched through the costume closet mentioned above, and found a dress that I could convert into a leotard-with-skirt. I did, and it worked well and actually looked good (will post a picture of that later).
As cool as Star Wars was, I really have to blame the Lord of the Rings movies for infecting me with this costuming bug. :-) My first real costume (the dancing dress doesn't count) that I made was a black skirt and blouse combination that - when worn together - looked like a cross between something Arwen and Eowyn would wear. Terribly simple, but looked cool. I then made a cloak to go with it (same fabric), which was a bit complicated (fitting the hood, at least). It was almost two years after that when I launched into costuming on a regular basis (and even a year or so after that finished/lined the cloak and added a real clasp). My first more complicated costume was - of course - LOTR-related: my version of Eowyn's green gown (in blue not green, with batik instead of brocade).
How I create costumes...
I don't use patterns. This may seem odd to most people (and I get a lot of funny looks when I mention it), but I started costuming without patterns and though I tried to make my own using newsprint for that first black outfit, I quickly gave it up when I found that draping and measuring were FAR more reliable (and efficient) for the "interpretive" (aka, LOTR, fantasy, medieval, etc.) styles that I was doing. Photos (especially high def) of costumes, movie screenshots, watching the movies themselves, and the invaluable detailed analysis on experienced costumers' blogs and sites were more than sufficient for me to use. I would first sketch what the costume looked like, add my measurements (and even not-to-scale drawings of the component pieces, if it looked tricky and/or if I had a limited amount of fabric and needed to plan out what would go where), add pins to the fabric as markers of where to cut, pin them together (usually using myself as a "dress dummy" to ensure it fit), hand sew them, and voilá, finished costume. Later on, I skipped the drawing and sketching part entirely and just visualized, draped/pinned, measured/pinned/cut, and sewed. (Some costumers would have fainted by now, reading that, if they correctly inferred that no, I don't make muslins, either.)
When I wanted to begin making historically accurate costumes, I wasn't sure that those methods would work, and therefore gave in and bought a couple patterns (Elizabethan, Tudor) when they were on sale. They remain the only two patterns I have ever bought. One I still have yet to open; the other - Elizabethan - I opened, but then when I went to use it, had to make so many modifications to it to get it to fit properly that I packed it away again in disgust.
Once again, the solution came through reading through costumers' blogs and guidance sites: do extensive research of whatever dress style / time period I'm interested in through photos of extant dresses and portraits and paintings from the time period; also, to use as a guide (since it's not sized like a bought pattern would be), Patterns of Fashion by Janet Arnold and similar texts-with-illustrations-and-notes to see the shapes of the pieces of the gowns and how they fit together. Yay for libraries and copy machines. :-)
Aside from the historically accurate gowns, I have only created one screen-accurate costume, and have one more on the list (Padmé's light blue Tattoine outfit). I try to use the same techniques and fabrics (type and weave) so the dresses drape and move in the same way, but I prefer different color schemes than the actual outfit (also should note that I shop in the 'red tag' clearance area since fabric isn't cheap, and it is VERY rare that there is fabric there that is color-accurate much less screen-accurate).
I also hand-sew everything. I can honestly say that none of the projects listed below had any part where I used a sewing machine. Mostly because the fabric I use is either too thick for the needle to go through (I turn all of my seams to keep everything neat / prevent fraying, so that's six layers of cloth right there) or for being able to fit through the space between the needle and the arm of the machine itself (sewing trim on a gown wouldn't work all that well). Plus, my "sewing area" is my room, and that has limited table space for a sewing machine, and I've gotten into the habit of watching a movie or streaming a TV show on my computer while I'm sewing after I've gotten home from work as a way to relax.
Hand-sewing can take a while, but I think it's worth it, as it's prepared me for working on historically accurate pieces, which (until the late 1800s, or for higher quality stuff) were entirely hand-sewn.
Why do I spend the time doing this?...
I enjoy it, a lot. It's something that is relatively low-stress (aside from my own expectations) and relaxing. I enjoy finding out the "how" of it - it's like a 3-D problem to solve. I have had the opportunity to wear some of what I've made (mostly the non-costume pieces); the rest is just waiting for the right opportunity. For example, my latest project (as of the creation of this blog) - the cranberry anglaise - I'm hoping to wear on July 4th this year to be an unofficial docent at the Newport Colony House Independence Day celebration.
List of completed (or in progress) projects... clothes, dresses, etc.
(in order of creation; for movie costumes, colors/fabrics listed if different from actual outfit)
You may notice that some will seem to have taken me a while to finish (i.e., the blue Eowyn TTT "Green gown") or are yet incomplete - sometimes I take a break from sewing if my schedule gets really full; or I'll work on another project in the mean time. They'll all be finished sooner or later.
Those that I already have taken pictures of (prolly posted on FB) I've noted with a "P". I'll get around to posting pictures for most of them... eventually ;-)
- blue 'Transformation' dancing outfit (2004-05) - P
- black Eowyn-Arwen (generic LOTR) outfit (2008) - P
- black Galadriel ROTK "Grey Havens cloak" (unlined: 2008 / lined: 2011) - P
- blue Eowyn TTT "Green gown" (begun: 5/2009; plain dress complete: 2/2010; full dress complete: 10/2010) - P
- black-and-white floral "Sunday" dress (early 2010)
- turquoise linen skirt (mid 2010)
- cranberry medieval "bliaut" and linen undershirt (historically accurate except for red cloth) (begun: late 2010; complete: 10/2011) - P
- linen medieval chemise (late 2010)
- velvet Eowyn ROTK "Coronation dress" (begun: early 2011; plain dress complete: 5/2012; still needs trim)
- gold velvet Arwen ROTK "Coronation dress" (begun: early 2011; plain under dress and overtunic complete: 5/2012; still needs hemming and trim)
- dark green Arwen ROTK "Dream dress" (early 2011) - P
- linen Elizabethan/1660s front-lacing stays (early 2011)
- High Priest outfit for "The Door" drama at my church (historically based) (begun: 3/28/2011; finished: 4/13/2011) - P
- dark purple jersey skirt (mid 2011)
- cotton Marion Loxley "blue dress" from Robin Hood (2010) (begun: 5/2011; complete: 9/2011) - P
- brown wool Elizabethan bodice and skirt (begun: 7/2011)
- blue Eowyn TTT "Shieldmaiden outfit" (begun: 5/2011; plain dress finished: 6/2011; vest and overskirt finished: 7/2011; slate microsuede overtunic finished: 5/2011) - P
- King Richard's Faire medieval outfits: man's green tunic-shirt, woman's brown overtunic, woman's navy overtunic, wool cloaks (navy, gray, brown) and annular broaches/pins (10/2011) - P
- dark green medieval-inspired blouse (12/2011) - P
- Eowyn ROTK "Houses of Healing" dress (screen-accurate) (begun: 2/2012; complete: 4/2012) - P
- turquoise chiffon dress (inspired by Maria's green chiffon dress from The Sound of Music) (5/2012) - P
- dark green medieval dress (begun: 7/2012)
- King Herod outfit for the Living Nativity (12/2012) - P
- blue batik blouse and skirt (12/2012) - P
- grey batik skirt (4/2012)
- black chiffon-and-satin Roman-esque/fantasy tunic-dress (à la Nikki, Sword of Truth series) (5/2012)
- black velvet 1770s boned bodice (historically accurate references/pieces, not materials) (6/2012)
- cranberry cotton 1770s anglaise (separate bodice/skirt) (begun: 2/2013; skirt finished: 3/2013) - P
- linen 1770s stays (reworked previous Elizabethan stays) (2/2013)
- (not clothes, but worth a mention) home-made dress form (2/2013)
- teal/turquoise jersey knit 1930s-inspired dress (3/2013)
- cranberry copperplate print 1770s toile robe à l'anglaise en fourreau (fabric purchased)
- indienne floral/stripe print 1770s robe à l'anglaise en fourreau (fabric found)
- indienne floral print 1770s robe à la française (saque) (fabric purchased)
- 1860s Civil War era ball gown (non-historically-accurate fabric purchased; prolly do a muslin as a steampunk version)
- 1880s bustle era dress (non-historically-accurate fabric purchased; steampunk version)
For those of you still reading... this will probably be the only post that contains entirely text, and the longest one of any post anyway... so thank you for bearing with me to the end of it! :-)
Happy reading!
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