A little bit of organization... or, because I like lists (whether I always follow them or not is a different story)

The Dreamstress' "halfway-point" post prompted me to do a bit of reflection myself (and planning, mostly planning)...   No photos this time, sorry :-)

Summer is halfway over, and I've done more sewing these six months than I think I've ever done in even a year - primarily due to HSF - and at a much higher level (since it's not just measurements and draping and creative designing, but getting the pieces/shapes/trim/fabric/drape/etc. right for historical garments).
Even with how crazy life has been (somehow work and school doesn't slow down, but that's the fun and interesting part of it: balancing it all, and deepening my faith as a result), it's been nice to be able to exercise my creative side... and to do something that increases the art in this world, when so often art and an appreciation for the past (learning about it, not just using it as a setting for a modern-plotline/interpretation mode of entertainment) is being cut out of it.
On a closer-to-home note, doing something like this - sewing or just designing projects, even working furiously to complete an HSF challenge in time (or close to it) - is almost therapeutic, even with those deadlines.

So, because I like seeing what I can achieve... here's a few more self-imposed(ish) deadlines for me - or, perhaps, here's my "wouldn't it be nice" list between now and September.

• HSF 14: Eastern influence (due tomorrow) - remaking of a wood-and-paper Japanese parasol into a early 20th century / late 19th century cloth Japanese parasol.  The reason the parasol was so cheap ($4) was because the paper got torn all the way from the edge to the center along one rib, rendering it useless.  But the frame is sound (for now - I'll probably re-string it with stronger twine later), and it would be a fun project.  And, well, if I can't finish it for this one (aka, get it done by the end of the week), it might apply to the upcoming "Wood, Metal, Bone" challenge.
• HSF 15: White (due July 29) - recutting and then hemming the 18th century plain fichu that I quickly cut out for the Independence Day photoshoot.  Shouldn't take more than a few hours - though the hemming will be... fun.  Tiny stitches, yay, lol.
• Finishing the 1865 evening gown (this, I fear, will be my major-project-of-the-year-that-takes-forever-to-complete)... I have all of the fabric, all of the trimmings (unless I get very ambitious and decide to add beadwork) - I just need to make the time (perhaps this will be my in-between-courses-two-week-break project in August?).
• HSF 17: Robes & Robings (due August 26) - ok, this will probably be the second-most crazy project of the year (the first being the 1865 gown).  After going back and forth a lot about it, I decided that in fact I will try my hand at a saque using that blue-on-white floral indienne fabric, after all.  I have the fabric, I don't need another anglaise, and even if print cotton saques were rare, I have found two examples in museums - so they did exist.  Hopefully I'm not biting off more than I can chew with this one... hopefully. :-)
• HSF 18: Re-make, Re-use, Re-fashion (due September 9) - knowing where in the year this one falls, and that I might be either not quite finished with (or else worn out from) the previous adventures, I might skip this... Else, I'll remake an Elizabethan-esque shirt into a doublet/jacket; or find something else historical that I'm not so happy with and make a few needed changes/updates.
• HSF 19: Wood, Metal, Bone (due September 23) - so, either I'll finish the parasol for this one (if life intervenes yet again), or I'll make those metal shoe buckles for the Kensingtons that I hinted about in my Independence Day post.  Either way, at this point I'm probably (read: definitely) going to need a break from making clothing.  

Yes, I'm crazy (and too challenge-happy for my own good sometimes).  Moving on.

After that set, I'm guessing with the course I'm planning to take this fall, that I'll probably just stick with finishing some of my LOTR costumes (aka, sewing trim, hemming, re-doing the fit) for my "sewing therapy", instead of embarking on new projects for the fall-winter.  Of course, I say that now - and then in a month probably find out the new HSF themes and that expectation goes out the window.  

Some of those unfinished (or even not started) projects - just to get them on the list whether they get worked on or not...

• finish my golden Arwen/LOTR dress (essentially just needs hemming/trim)
• hem and redo the top for an evening dress I got on sale six months ago for a gala I didn't end up going to... but the dress should still be redone anyway (else it's useless if I can't wear it)
• 1880s/90s bustle dress (got the fabric last year, just have to make it - and a bustle to wear with it)
• Padmé's Tattooine light blue outfit (fabric from stash) and (perhaps, if I can find the right chiffon next year) a blue version of her Lake Dress
• and, since the Hobbit Part 2 is coming out in December, in homage to that, make a "Mirkwood elf" gown in similar style to the Hobbit Elven dress... again, this is all designed and the fabric is bits and pieces (a remnant here, some clearance yardage there) from my stash... just need to actually make it.  And this will probably be the last of my LOTR outfits, unless I'm inspired to make a Galadriel-esque white dress for some reason (haven't been particularly inspired by the ones I've seen so far in the LOTR or Hobbit movies).

For something to check off the list... I did manage to finish my version of Eowyn's golden/ROTK coronation dress (it badly needed some refitting, some hemming, and trim), so will (eventually) get some pictures of it to put up.  

I'd say I have my work cut out for me.  No pressure or anything... :-)  

Independence Day! The culmination of several projects

This post initially was going to be about HSF #13 - Lace and Lacing, but at the last minute I decided not to use lace to create sleeve engageantes or a fichu and instead use crushed voile, so my project no longer applied to that challenge.  Oh well.

The good news is that I was able to finish (mostly - for wearing once at least) the fichu (still needs hemming - that'll be my "White" challenge entry) and the engageantes - and trim a hat - in time for the Fourth of July.  Definitely was productive over my vacation: I even cut and pinned the rest of the 1865 evening bodice (more on that in a separate post).

I had also purchased a pair of American Duchess' historically clocked stockings (white with black) to go with the Kensingtons I'd gotten last year.  So, with the addition of the finished sleeves, a hat, and a fichu, my 1775 ensemble was pretty much complete (minus shoe buckles; I'll make those later - I have some ideas for making them using a wider florist's wire (so the wire itself is easy to work with yet holds its shape) and "forging" the twisted-together pieces together using flat pliers... not a good description, but you'll see later).

Without further ado... the full ensemble (hairstyle is NOT accurate to 1775; it was hot and I didn't want to fuss with it and then have it collapse in the humidity as it tends to do for anything fancy):

And, of course, no costume ensemble is complete without a cat's seal of approval (aka, cat fuzz over everything)... or showing off the shoes and stockings :-)  I'll have to take the stockings in a little, because I have small feet, but otherwise they are a dream to wear - even on a 90-degree day.

Here's the "making-of" part about the engageants, fichu, hat, and "padding" (not used/worn in the pictures)...

Making progress on HSF #12, the "princess" dress...

This is going a lot slower than I had hoped; I'd wanted to have the bodice fully sewn, boned, and lined by now so that I could pin on the trim.  Ah well, will have to make to with a few teasers... :-)

Here's the sizing version of the bodice (the lining) (front, back) - the two piece version (technically three, since the front is one, the back is two because I measured it and then cut it in half) with sleeve strips.  I placed pins how I'm going to do the boning/seams for front and back on the actual outside of the bodice.

And here's the sizing version worn and (partially) pinned closed in the back, with the skirt and appropriate hoops, stays, and chemise.  Will also need to make a bit of padding around the hips to make the skirt lie properly, but that can wait.

I have the front of the bodice pinned together with bones, but am not going to post pictures of it until the whole thing is done.  It looks more than a little weird right now, doesn't lie flat (due to the rigilene, grr), and since it's only the front I can't wear it, so it's hard to visualize what the full bodice will look like.  It's a bit longer than the lining, with a definite 'V' to the front of the bodice (like the peach silk gown), so we'll see how that bit of creativity goes... Here's hoping I can finish it this weekend.

For now, here's the HSF info, for the progress so far (will update it when I'm done, in the final post):


The Challenge: HSF #12: Pretty, Pretty Princess (a gown for Princess Victoria Adelaide in 1865)

Fabric: midnight blue poly-something satin (light weight) - 5 yards total, is my estimate, once the bodice is complete; will also have a black voile (polyester, sorry) overskirt held up in drapes, with a black voile berthe and black undersleeves (have 5 yards of the fabric, doubt I'll need half that since the voile overskirt will essentially be a long rectangle gathered at the top into a waistband under the bodice)

Pattern: self-designed based on the peach evening gown from the Met; bodice construction guided by the 1861-1864 bodice of the evening dress in Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion (modified the bodice point and ignored the sleeves; mostly for construction ideas and what the back looked like); and the 1867 skirt of the walking gown also in Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion (essentially as-is, since making one square per inch resulted in the measurements I needed)

Year: 1865; American Civil War

Notions: thread (so far); will have satin ribbon for some trim, and also a thinner satin ribbon for the lacing

How historically accurate is it?  The dress pattern and silhouette (midnight satin) is 90% accurate (slight modification of the bodice front so far, and the front panel was a single width instead of two with a center seam).  The fabric, being synthetic, is entirely inaccurate, but the satin weave is accurate to a degree.  The coloring is also accurate for someone of my age; and there were overskirts of black voile for a lighter gown, if not a darker one.  It's entirely hand-sewn.  The boning is rigilene (also inaccurate), and (to my knowledge) construction of the skirt is 100% accurate, while the bodice is maybe 60% accurate since I'm not lining each piece separately.

Hours to complete: so far about 10

First worn: only for the above photos and fittings

Total cost: at present, I'm using stuff only from my stash, except for the voile which I didn't have enough of, so bought a Wal-mart "sash" curtain (taking a page from the curtain-along book) in black voile for all of $15 - 6 yards, 56" wide.  When I got the fabric, it was about $5-6 for the entire 5 yards.  So far, $20 for a (fabric-ly historically inaccurate) ball gown.  Not bad.

Running a bit behind on posting HSF #11

I finished the 1860s chemise for  HSF #11 right before the deadline, but have been utterly swamped with work and class and, well, life that it's taken a while to post about it.  Sorry!

It came out really well, actually, and looks like a chemise of that period should (thank you gathering techniques), even though I only used a few rectangles and a couple triangles to make it.  It was harder to do it that way than to cut it to size/shape, but I think I might like it better.

The final chemise (front / back)... Sleeve position is not accurate for an evening gown (see picture below), but it can also be worn this way.

 

The Challenge: HSF #11: Squares, rectangles, triangles

Fabric: unbleached cotton, 2 yds

Pattern: self-designed based on photographs of extant garments and drawings from the period

Year: 1860s

Notions: thread

How historically accurate is it?  Since I couldn't find an exact match for it, but since it uses correct fabric and has the right neckline and body shape, I'd have to say 50%.

Hours to complete: about 5

First worn: only for photos

Total cost: maybe $3?  I bought the remainder of a bolt for $5, and there were 4 yards on it... plus a good portion of a spool of thread

And the final result, worn with corset (bought via etsy) and hoops (from costume "stash" / inherited in the 90s):

Here's a few close-ups of the outside (front / back) of the chemise:

...and of the gathering I did on the inside (front / back - the back is pleated):

HSF #11 - squares, triangles, rectangles... an 1860s chemise

In my previous post, I mentioned that I had found an 1860s chemise that (with a couple very minor - yet reasonable - alterations) could fit the requirements for making a project with (at most) one curved edge and whose fabric pieces are only squares, rectangles, and triangles.

Here is a real chemise that is closest to what I want to do, it's at the Met Museum: click here.

Here is an almost exact rendition (minus the small sleeves) of my chemise (no, I did not use this pattern, I used the picture of it as a visual reference): click here (it's the top one).

Another reference (1850s, but not unreasonable that a lady could have used the same style chemise for the 1860s and removed the sleeves): http://demodecouture.com/projects/eugenie/research.html

I do understand that this won't be an "exact" replication (in pattern/style) as an actual chemise that I found an image of, but given the silhouette, neckline, and construction style, it's not unreasonable.  I studied a variety of chemises from the 1850s-1870s (mostly through YWU articles on Victorian clothing/layers that I had downloaded a while ago, and also the Met Museum, as well as various bloggers' photos - such as Démodé Couture's, Katherine C-G's 1865 chemise, and one the Dreamstress had posted about).  In that study, I found a lot of commonalities in the 'body' of the chemise, and definite variety in the necklines and how they were added to the body - especially for evening gown chemises.  Since I won't be wearing it by itself, and it shouldn't be visible under the gown, it'll do.

I'm also making a short pair of drawers out of the same material.  I'll trim the legs with ruffles for weight and to extend the length.

Without further ado...

HSF #12 - 1865 midnight evening gown - the skirt

One good thing about a three-day weekend: there was more time than a typical weekend to not only get everything you need to get done accomplished (cleaning, laundry, homework), but also to get ahead on some sewing. (Though of course it's a couple days later before I can actually post about it...)

I'm almost done with the skirt for the 1865 midnight evening gown (except for hemming and the waistband fastening) - pictures below.

The next part will be to measure and cut/pin the bodice after I make an 1865 cotton chemise so I get the bodice neckline right (for the HSF #11 - squares, etc. challenge.  I have found a way to make a Victorian chemise without using curved edges and to still have it look like a chemise from 1865 that I found via the Met Museum's web site... and that is also based on a historical pattern... I've started on it and so far it looks reasonable).

Skirt pictures below...

Goldberry's dress - new and improved and FINISHED

After the disappointment of the darker green dress, the lighter (silvery-green) version went very smoothly.  I am quite happy with the overall look and the construction.

To start, I did a Google Image-search for cotehardies and 14th century fashion to determine silhouette, lacing styles, gore numbers/placement, and (most tricky) sleeve styles (since, once again, I had an idea of what I wanted to do and I wanted to see if it was even remotely historical - lo and behold, I found not one but several examples of sleeves that had the same 'look' - how it would be translated into a painting - as mine).  I used RomanticHistory's post about the construction of her cotehardie as a model for mine (except for the sleeves, since I wanted to do sleeves like on the darker green gown - not the super-narrow tippet-strips that are the most popular).  

So, without further ado, here is the final ensemble, the HSF information, and then (below the break) construction notes).

...yes, the curtain behind me to my closet has water lilies on it.  ...no, that was actually NOT intentional/deliberate to match the scene in the book of Goldberry surrounded by lilies (that just happens to be the curtain closing off my closet).

The darkest photo is most true to the fabric color.

The Challenge:  HSF#10: Literature.  Goldberry, from The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkein, as reimagined through a 14th century lens.
(Technically, due to the shapes used - purely rectangles and triangles - this also counts for the HSF#11: Squares, Rectangles & Triangles since at this rate if I want to make a 'princess'-inspired dress I will have to start on that now because I think it'll take a month.)

Fabric: poly-something that looks like a very thin fake silk, silver-green in color (like new white oak leaves); existing yellow linen hand-sewn long-sleeved shirt (1yd 54" wide fabric); existing ivory poly-something (same fabric as green) long shift (3 yd fabric)

Pattern: based on observations of historical artwork, combined with a basic pattern found on the internet, heavily influenced by RomanticHistory's construction of her linen cotehardie (except for the sleeves)

Year: later 14th century

Notions: thread to match the fabric, no trim; 24" of thin (5/8" width) ivory satin ribbon for lacing; 3yd modern gold floral ribbon for 'belt'; 1yd (three strands) golden florists' wire and thin red ribbom for circlet; (not really a notion, but... hand-carved white onyx goblet from Ten Thousand Villages - second favorite store ever, so have to put in a plug for them)

How historically accurate is it?  The look/silhouette is relatively accurate (though I'm not a fan of body-hugging clothes, so it's a tad looser than most of the paintings portrayed it), the fabric most certainly is not though it could pass for silk at a distance (both shift and overdress); linen shirt would be accurate.  Construction is accurate (hand sewn).  So, I'd give it a 40% with adding in accessories (circlet, ribbon strip 'belt', cup), shirt, and shift.

Hours to complete: 12-14 (that's hand-sewing for you)

First worn:  Only for photos; not yet for anything else.

Total cost:  Everything came from my stash (or else already made), so technically 'free' for this project.  I had bought the fabric for $2/yard a couple years ago (yay for red tag!), plus thread for $3 = $11.  With accessories... the gold ribbon was $4/yd, the wire was $5/roll, the ivory poly was $1/yd (best deal ever), the linen was $3/yd remnant, so add in $18 - $29 total for the entire ensemble.

Some more "in character" shots, and details of the final product, below.

The shirt and shift:

"Medieval" (non-accessorized" version:

Sleeves and skirt:

And a few more shots because this came out so well...:

And now, for the construction...