Curtain call - finished masquerade costume

And... It's posted!  Sewing has taken a back seat lately due to long work days and plenty of classwork on top of that.  But at least this was done in time for the Desolation of Smaug premiere (not that I went to it, but it's the thought that counts), even if it waited until two weeks later to be posted.

So, since I gave a ton of background in my previous post, this one will just contain a few updates.  I did reference the Rivendell musicians' gowns in construction initially, but in the end I more closely followed Thranduil's silver robe (especially in terms of fabrics, colors, and silhouette) with an Arwen/feminine interpretation (from FOTR, the farewell dress).  So it's a touch "Oriental" (stretching it a bit there), (more than) a touch "fantasy", and really not remotely historical at all except for the en fourreau back and the front pleating; but it's masquerade, so that covers it just fine.

Here's the fabric (the outside will be the side that reflects lighter; the other was too dramatic):

Here's the final outfit:

Just the facts…

The Challenge: 2013 HSF #22: Masquerade

Fabric: 4-ish yards 44" sage-silver brocade (poly-something); 1-ish yd 44" crepe-back satin (yellowish sage); 1930s green dress (HSF #21)

Pattern:  My favorite kind: sketch out a rough drawing, then make it up as you go along, draping and pinning as you go until it looks right-ish.

Year:  Um… fantasy.

Notions: Sage green polyester thread, a few pins (for the final photos)

How historically accurate is it? Not really at all; borrows from several eras, pure fantasy, really.

Hours to complete:  14-16 (sewing all those pleats was FUN)

First worn:  For these photos

Total cost:  Stash project.

And the making of…

Finally and fashionably (heh) late... HSF #21 - Green '30s glamour

Ok, finishing this gown took longer than I thought, and posting even more delayed than that... but it's done, so it deserves a post.

A little backstory on this dress, as it kinda happened as a result of another project/challenge that's in the works...  A while ago (June), I'd posted about the upcoming projects I wanted to do...  On that list, at the very bottom, is a "Mirkwood elf gown" in - you called it - green.  Lo and behold, more recently, an HSF challenge was announced for a Masquerade costume.  And an idea was born... I decided that the Masquerade costume would be the elf gown, but have some historical origins (1920s or '30s, due to the fabrics).  

Since the whole thing would be a bit much to make in two weeks, I decided to split it into two projects: the underdress (which could be historically accurate to an era) and the overdress (which could be pure fantasy with historical references/techniques such as an en fourreau back, and some sewn down pleats like the dresses from The Hobbit).  

So, I needed to find an appropriately historical gown to make (in green) for the undergown.  Initially, I thought this would have to be a '20s gown (or a purely medieval gown) due to the typical "elven" silhouette of long lines and draping from the shoulders, which I wasn't too happy about since '20s doesn't work well for me and I have plenty of medieval stuff already.  But... watching The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey again, I paid special attention to the elves' gowns to see what the undergowns looked like, and had a pleasant surprise.  My original recollections were mistaken - the undergowns (female elven musicians, in that Rivendell dinner scene) were closer to the '30s in their silhouette/gown draping than medieval (barring the overrobes).  And if there's one "modern" historical era that I like the clothes for (and that the clothes actually look good on me for), it's the '30s.  So, now I just had to find an appropriate designer whose necklines and drapings were sufficiently "LOTR"/"fantasy"/"medieval"-ish that could pull off being the undergown for a (completely fabricated, since I haven't seen any previews of elven finery for H2) Hobbit-era elven gown from Mirkwood (assuming they all don't dress in leather and fighting gear all the time). 

And in my searches, I stumbled across Madeleine Vionnet, one of the designers known for bias-cut, bias-draping, and the more simple, elegant styles (with a mix/match of grecian and A-line silhouettes).  So, found two dresses that I'll be combining together into one: a 1936 gown that will be the chiffon overdress, and a 1936-38 gown that will be the model for the underdress (slight modification to the neckline of the bodice). 

I also found (on sale/clearance) a taffeta curtain of just the right shade of green to match the metallic leaf fabric for the Mirkwood dress.  The only issue: it was sewn into one of those valences that were all folds, so I had to take all of the stitches out.  Thankfully, it was all one sheet of fabric (instead of a bunch of strips, which would have stopped this project cold), and was a good size, too.  I also had some sage green chiffon in my stash that was originally intended for a reproduction Arwen coronation gown (yes, I was that LOTR-crazy at one point) but thankfully never got around to using.  So, that'll be the overdress for this and sewn in the style of the peach chiffon 1936 gown, while the underdress will be a halter top and bodice shape like the white-black 1936-38 gown but not covered with chiffon (and with a slightly different neckline due to how the fabric gathers).  I also happened to have in my stash this gorgeously heavy satin ribbon that was (I kid you not) the EXACT shade of pale green as the taffeta curtain.  I seriously could not have found the same shade had I gone out and searched for it, or dyed it myself.

So, here is the final product:  (taffeta pinned / taffeta sewn )

(full ensemble)

Just the facts!

Challenge: #21 - Color Challenge Green - 1936-38 evening gown, à la Madeleine Vionnet

Fabric: green taffeta valence curtain from Wal-mart red-tag clearance section (2yd by 2yd); sage green chiffon (stash) - 2yd of 54" fabric

Pattern: none; draped based on photos of extant gowns (linked above), with a few modifications for fit

Year: 1936-38

Notions: sage green polyester thread (from stash); 3yd satin ribbon (for taffeta dress sash, chiffon dress halter strap and edge binding on sides/back, and chiffon dress belt); silver florists' wire artistically twirled for the belt "buckle" of the chiffon overdress.

How historically accurate is it: hand-sewn (not that accurate for the '30s), polyester taffeta (pushing it), chiffon (ok, that works); based on a plausible combination of two actual dresses (could pull it off).  Overall, accurate enough to pass muster.  

Hours to complete: All told: 11-12 hours spaced over multiple weeks:
... the taffeta underdress took about 1.5 hours to drape/pin/sew, once the fabric was no longer a curtain (that prep work took another hour and a half), so total 3 hours;
... the taffeta bodice took about 3 hours (mostly draping and pinning to get it to fit right);
... the chiffon overdress took 5 hours (hemming chiffon, that is frustration), and then I hemmed the rectangle left over for a "wrap" like the matching one in the photo.
... the satin ribbon was too wide for both the tie at the neck and to edge the chiffon, so I cut it in half (width) and hemmed an entire side of it (for the tie) and sewed it onto the chiffon (as a border), which took a couple hours.

First worn: for these photos

Total cost: $10 for the curtain.  The rest came from my stash, thus "free" for this project.  But, in actuality... the chiffon was probably $3/yard (red-tag at Joann's years ago), and the thread was probably $3; the ribbon was a 3yd spool for about $3 (clearance); so, $12.  Not bad. 

And the making of...

HSF #19 - adventures with metal

My original project for this challenge was going to be remaking (recovering) an oriental parasol with a cloth cover instead of paper (which was badly ripped/split) and by strengthening the ribs and the lines securing them.  But... that's rather ambitious for a short timeline, so it'll have to stay on the "to-do" list.

Instead, I made shoe buckles.

Back when I photographed the final product for my "flora, fauna" HSF entry - the indienne anglaise - I wore the correct shoes, but at the time didn't have anything (other than ribbon) to secure them with (and for the photoshoot didn't even bother with that).  Seeing American Duchess' beautiful buckles gave me an idea to make my own - functional and not nearly as delicate, but will do in a pinch (and from afar).  First attempt came out rather well, actually, and the next time I'll make them a bit smaller, and probably in a circle instead of rectangle.

Without further ado, here they are (on American Duchess' Kensingtons, with totally period-incorrect socks):

Just the facts...!

The Challenge: HSF #19 - Wood, metal, bone... 18th century metal shoe buckles

Fabric: none

Pattern: none; self-drafted (somewhat on the fly - aka, as I was making it and finding out what worked and what doesn't) based on images of period buckles

Year: 1770s

Notions: main material is florists' wire (I forget what gauge, but approx. 3/32" thick); maybe 1 yard total for both?  I didn't measure it out.

How historically accurate is it: I highly doubt that anyone in the 18th century made the buckles like I did, out of two pieces of wire twisted around each other into a buckle shape and compressed using pliers to stay together.  However, from a distance (as in, from eye height, or when walking around) they look accurate enough.  Close inspection would render them creatively inaccurate in construction though they have all of the requisite parts and fasten in the same way that historical buckles do (see pictures below for details).

Hours to complete: ok, so this one now takes the cake for fastest project.  Excluding research time, actual construction was about an hour for both (about 40 minutes for the first one, and then the second went much faster).

First worn: only for the photos here

Total cost: stash strikes again!  Made from wire I'd gotten to do some other project with, and had plenty extra left over.  So, free. :-)

The making of...

The shoes, prior to buckles:

 The wire:

Close-ups of the final product.  I can walk in it and it stays on my foot (and the strap doesn't loosen, either).

Here's the buckle attached to the under-strap.  Yes, it does go through holes in the strap like period buckles should.

The underside (you can see the wire going through the strap).  The strap goes between two "bars" of wire that are very, very tight together, which - along with the prongs - holds it in place. You can kinda see how the original bar has a gap between the longer prong going over the top of the buckle; this was the first buckle I made.  The second doesn't have the extra bar since I realized I could make it better without it.

HSF #18, or, the challenge completed by accident

In my last post about the saque, I let slip that I had just made the gown of a française without doing it over panniers (but using rather inconsequential padding instead)... and then wished I had had panniers because the gown felt so... unfinished and the silhouette was leaving a lot to be desired.  (Not to mention the minor embarrassment of having made a gown essentially blindly.)

So, while in the middle of something completely unrelated (schoolwork) - I suddenly had a brainwave: I have three or four more old ('80s) bridal hoops just sitting in my closet that can't be worn unless some wear and tears are fixed, and that no longer have that perfect conical circumfrance (from being shoved into garbage bags and stored - squashed - in any which place/box/hanger over the years): why not take one of them and mold it somehow into full panniers using ribbons underneath and creative gathering/sewing at the waistband.

And, as sometimes my crazy ideas do: it worked, and in less than two hours I had historical-looking (when worn under something) panniers of the trapezoid variety (with another hour or two to sew everything in place).

(Sidenote: I tried the saque on over it - and wouldn't you know - it looks great now, PHEW!  Major shout-out there to Katherine's tutorial skills - proof that one can make an accurate saque sans panniers to drape it over.  Only problem is that before I can take pictures wearing the saque over panniers, I need to make the petticoat, since the other I was using has a significantly narrower hemline and won't fit over the panniers, and the gown with only the panniers looks very bizarre.  Always one more thing to complete...)

Mind you, it was a completely spur-of-the-moment thing (well, procrastination played a little hand in it - there's only so much reading about budgeting and budgeting systems that one can take at a time; six hours is enough to send anyone loopy).   Only after it was done did I think, "wait, wasn't there an HSF related to re-making something?  I hope it covers making something newer into something older - going the reverse of what is usually done in history."  And, sure enough: HSF #18: Re-make, Re-use, Re-fashion - and, even better, it's only due in less than a week!  Very timely.

So, without further ado, the finished panniers (collapsed top / collapsed bottom / front / side):

Before (collapsed / front / side):

Just the facts!

The Challenge: HSF #18: Re-make, Re-use, Re-fashion... modern hoops into 18th century panniers

Fabric: the hoops are a polyester/nylon blend base fabric with plastic boning in channels (3); also used scraps of a quilted cotton for part of the waistband and to secure some of the "molding" (you'll see in the photos below)

Pattern: None. Silhouette based on images of gowns in museums from 1760s-1770s, and from browsing of others' pannier projects (theirs are significantly more authentically made than mine).

Year: time machine'd from 1980s to 1760s-1770s

Notions: all-purpose thread; 56" of 5/8" black satin ribbon (leftover from another project); safety pins (to close it, for now - eventually I'll sew on a ribbon tie)

How historically accurate is it? Shape-wise, when you can't see the panniers themselves, it'll pass for accurate since it mirrors the more trapezoidal/gradual/flared panniers rather than the "block" ones. Materials-wise, not remotely. Construction, passable.

Hours to complete: 2 hours for pinning/shaping for finished 'product'; another 1-2 hours to sew in place.

First worn: Only once with the saque gown, but no pictures of it (except on its own) have been taken.

Total cost: It's FREEEEE! The hoops were from my costume stash (hand-me-downs I played with as a kid, so must have been from at least the '80s or early '90s); random pieces of fabric leftovers in my stash (as were the ribbons); and thread was just generic white polyester all-purpose from the thread stash.


And the making of... trial and error style... :-)

Summer dress (non-historical)

Several months ago I had shown a teaser of the fabric I was going to use to create a tropical sundress, Regency-style... well, a few weeks ago I finally started and finished it, and wore it the Sunday before last (and then promptly forgot to post about it until now).

And, here it is (with and without the sweater).  I wore it with a wide dark blue ribbon as a belt tied in the back (it would be mostly hidden under the sweater's edge), it made it look better.

Fabric: I used just over a yard and change of 44" wide thin/loosely-woven cotton fabric.  The underdress/lining is a compilation of a polyester remnant and several large (and oddly-shaped, trapezoidal) scraps pieced together from a previous project (the teal chiffon dress from a year and change ago).  

Pattern: None.  It gives a nod to Regency/empire-waisted silhouette, but is essentially one piece of fabric folded in half and cut with a back on the diagonal and two strips of fabric used as sleeve straps.  

Making of: Basically pinned it on to determine how it would look, noted measurements, pinned it together on the floor inside out, tried it on again (right side out), cut it, sewed it, tried it on again and made some adjustments, cut out/pinned on the sleeve straps, tried it on for placement, made adjustments, sewed the top edge and sleeves, and voilá, done.  

Accessories: I'd made a circle/A-line bias-cut skirt out of another woven poly-cotton earlier this year and used the rest of that fabric to make a loose shrug/sweater.  The color was perfect for this sundress, but... it was a bit too loose across the back (it gapped rather outrageously at the top and didn't stay in place), so I used a box pleat at the top to pull it together for a few inches and let the rest hang as usual.  In these pictures, I've tied it in a knot in front like a Regency spenser.

Construction details below...

Hit the saque! ...beginning HSF #17: Robes and Robings

...ok, bad pun.  Remember when I said that the 1865 evening gown was going to be the most ambitious thing I did?  Well, as it turns out, this robe will probably take the cake for that - mostly due to the shape of the skirt.  It's gone well so far, only a couple snafus (granted they were big ones, but thankfully easily fixed), so the robe part is done (stomacher will be finished Tuesday, and hopefully lower sleeves, too).  Granted - it won't be trimmed, and it won't have a proper self-fabric petticoat (yet), but the basic dress will be there.

Here's the dress as it was this weekend: no sleeve flounces or engageants, no trim, a pinned-in piece of fabric temporarily used as the stomacher (actually the square 'sample' piece that the stores have for ordering in bulk, it was on sale for a dollar so I grabbed it one day), and the bodice waist pinned to the correct height...

I rather like it so far, especially the back, though the front needs finishing at the time of these photos.

... Without further ado, here's how it got to the above photos.

Inspiration (and historical reference/"proof" for the existence of printed/indienne cotton saques) came from this Pinterest page of cotton saques put together by Katherine of Koshka-the-Cat (thank you!!).  And MAJOR props also to Katherine for her tutorials on making a saque (this project really fits nicely under the "Gratitude" HSF, too, I realized); I used those as my "making-of" guide, though I did a few things differently (so far it's come out ok though).  The silhouette I'm going for is not a "court" silhouette, but narrower, more everyday one like that of the "block print francaise (c.1770)".  Wide isn't the most flattering for me, anyway, and right now I'm making do with a rather extended hip roll padding (with quilted petticoat on top) in place of panniers, so I doubt I'd've been able to get that trapezoid shape perfectly right (I know, I know, shame on me.  Pocket hoops are on my to-do-list).

And the construction...

I'm late, I'm late for a very important date! (well, HSF date at least!)

I actually finished the HSF #15, White, in time to submit it (almost a month ago), and even took pictures - but it's not a spectacular project nor a perfectly accurate one so didn't really feel it was worthy of an HSF entry... plus, what with work, class, and church stuff I've had a hard time finding time to do a blog post.  Much as I love to write in general, that's somewhat ironic but true.  I have done a lot of sewing, though... stay tuned over the next few days (I'll finish uploading pictures for the posts and get them up).

In the mean time, here's a very short post (for me at least!) with a few pictures of the fichu.

The original (unhemmed) version (kinda puffy and slipped a lot so it hung on my neck rather ungracefully) / the new version (pardon the modern skirt-posing-as-a-petticoat and complete lack of the proper silhouette):

Front / back / side views:

And, for consistency's sake, HSF info:

The Challenge: HSF #15 - White... a basic (probably oversimplified) late 18th century fichu

Fabric: white/translucent crushed organza (poly something, probably), 1/2 yard (ended up being too narrow, but it'll do in a pinch)

Pattern: My own, based on how fichus look in various paintings from the 1770s- 1790s

Year: 1770s-1790s

Notions: white thread (hemming), 6 inches of thin red ribbon (totally anachronistic; will replace later) for a tie

How historically accurate is it?: Overall look is accurate, either tied or tucked in. Material is not. Pattern could be significantly better. It's more costume-y, I think, then accurate (I probably wouldn't wear it to a reenactment, but for pictures it has the right 'look'). But I like it anyway. :-)

Hours to complete: Two at most. I had done a quick cut-out for the Independence Day shoot, but then reworked it a bit and took the time to hem it after that.

First worn: Independence Day shoot in a previous post (I'll post one of the actual fichu-shots here, they weren't very flattering so the only shot of it in the other post is where it's wadded up in my hand); then for pictures once it was fully completed Total cost: Essentially free, since it came from my stash. Originally, it was part of 3-4 yards of that organza which I'd bought on super-discount clearance for another project (and then haven't used)


And a couple photos for the 'making of'... not much, really, it was pretty straightforward.

Originally, it was a rectangle of fabric with a point in the center back (same shape as below left with more of a back), and a slit down the middle.  That left some rather obnoxious front edges to deal with, and was way too much fabric when worn (got into my face very easily), so I cut out the neck a bit, and then hemmed it by folding it over itself twice so the raw edges were held inside.  As I said, simple, and not the best - I really should have made it a diamond instead of a trapezoid (realized that *after* I cut it out) - but it does the trick in a pinch.  I'll have to make a better one soon.