tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29788971842966481802024-03-13T03:48:19.153-07:00So Steady as She SewsJenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497740667660184594noreply@blogger.comBlogger81125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978897184296648180.post-22670638450035266462018-01-10T18:36:00.000-08:002018-01-10T18:36:44.179-08:00Shear Madness Challenge: Anything Goes!<div style="text-align: justify;">
Shear Madness is one of those blogs that I love following, just to see the amazing variety of awesomeness that is out there in the costuming world. Their tag line is "The joy of impractical costuming," which is kind of an awesome summary of what this hobby can be, at times. They hold quarterly challenges with varying themes which I often intend to enter, but often fall short of getting my shit together in time. Their end of the year challenge was "Anything Goes," which easily translates into "all of those things you meant to enter earlier, but didn't get around to. </div>
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To make a rambling story less rambly, costume bestie was over for the holidays and was all "Hey, you're about done with a thing. You should enter it." Cue an 11:30 sub zero front porch photo shoot ahead of a midnight deadline and Viola! First place in the historical category.</div>
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We crammed about 20 pics into 90 seconds, it was so cold out there. The hemline is cut off in every picture because I totally cheated and wore flip flops, we were in that much of a hurry.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Non-functional anchor button embellishment and sneaky hook-n-eye closures.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So. Much. Trim! I feel like I owe my sewing machine a spa day for this one. In put the trim on after the skirt had been finished and hung up for a good long time, because I'd have cried if those lines warped due to heavy wool skirt sag.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I <i>tried</i> to get the majestic beast to pose for pictures with me, but she was having none of that. But it gives you a good look at the top of my hat. Re-shaped thrift find with thrifted ribbons and a pair of mallard duck wings for decoration. The wings were WAY more affordable then I anticipated. Pro tip, shop in the fly fishing supply section for feathers.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Check out all of the amazing winners <a href="https://shearmadnessblog.wordpress.com/2018/01/08/shear-madness-challenge-16-anything-goes-winners/">here</a>. And if you feel that your day would be brightened with a dose of costume nonsense, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/shearmadnessgroup/">their Facebook group</a> is totally worth following.</td></tr>
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<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497740667660184594noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978897184296648180.post-30073717573011749552017-08-04T21:05:00.000-07:002017-08-04T21:05:14.885-07:00CoBloWriMo Current Project: the Bastille Day ProjectLast weekend saw B and I traipsing around Kansas City, hitting up craft stores and thift stores and a long overdue visit to <a href="http://www.fabricrecycles.com/">Fabric Recycles</a> in Overland Park. The place is like a curated thrift store for sewers of all flavors. We walked out way poorer, but with a lot of nifty finds. One of which was the motivation for my latest impulse project. I've been meaning to do something for Bastille Day for several years. So many pictures of lovely late 18th century costumes showing up from dinners and picnics around the world, and I wanted to play, too. Nothing happened this year, but I figured it might work out better if I got on top of getting a costume ready. At Fabric Recycles, I managed to find the perfect ribbon for making cockades. Now, that wasn't my whirlwind project for the week, but it did motivate me to start working on a hat for the costume.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thrift store find: generic straw hat with plastic flowers hot glued to the brim.</td></tr>
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I picked up a straw hat for something like a buck. While it's not a great quality of material, it worked just fine as a base for a late 18th century hat. For inspiration, I just browsed the fashion plates I'd saved to Pinterest and a couple of modern tutorials on re-coverings straw hats. The puffy crown idea came from <a href="http://venefice.blogspot.fr/2012/05/creer-un-chapeau-dans-le-style-18eme.html">Venifice</a>, and the pleated brim from <a href="http://www.koshka-the-cat.com/18chat.html">Koshka</a>. I ended up deciding that the tri-color ribbon was just a little too in-your-face for what I wanted. I'll save that for making cockades and instead just focus on making myself a costume in the red, white, and blue palette.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ta Da!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">sans flash, the colors really come through.</td></tr>
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The red silk is a nice low-slub dupioni that I salvaged from a blouse picked up at a thift store a few years back. This project was an exercise in compounding trims. I'm really pleased with how much texture and dimension I was able to get out the different combinations. The sashes were made by attaching a strip of braid to one piece of blue ribbon, then sandwiching a single piece of the pleated white ribbon between two pieces of the blue, making them pretty from both top and bottom.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blue ribbon and gold braid picked up in the LA Fashion District last CoCo. White pleated ribbon re-homed from (I think) my mother's stash at some point. It looks like it could be her handwriting on the label, at least.</td></tr>
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He may be a bit too bourgeois for a Bastille Day outfit, but I gave this fella a tail and some gold detailing and he just pins on. Now if I could just figure out his name.<br />
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<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497740667660184594noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978897184296648180.post-89004839816841326722017-08-04T20:07:00.001-07:002017-08-04T20:07:12.372-07:00CoBloWriMo IntroductionWow. Looking back, it's been a year and a day since I last posted. That feels kinda significant to my Pagan heart. I've had a lot of Big Life Things going on in the last year. Most took me away from costuming in some fashion, all ate up significant amounts of free time and brain processing capacity. But I feel like I've kinda settled a bit and found renewed motivation for being a productive member of the costuming. And to me a part of that means a more active online presence. So how timely is it that Aurora from <a href="http://www.dramaticthreads.com/">Dramatic Threads</a> sends me a link a link to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/CoBloWriMo/">CoBloWriMo</a>. I'm going to take that as that Universe dropping a hint and make an attempt at sharing on the blog again. I let myself get into a rut feeling like I had nothing to share if I didn't have some epic tutorial or research project to disclose. I'm trying to remind myself that I have interest in other people's small projects, nifty finds and even just pictures of what they wore to some event. So why should it be so foreign to think that some quite person out there might find some tid bit of information or idea of mine to be useful?<br />
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I'm a few days behind, but let's consider this my (re)introduction post. Hi. I'm Jennifer and I'm gonna do my damnedest to share my creative adventures with you.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497740667660184594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978897184296648180.post-84906642951321987992016-08-03T23:21:00.003-07:002016-08-03T23:21:36.059-07:00Sometimes it's so hard to stay focused...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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And that pretty much sums up where my brain is right now.</div>
Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497740667660184594noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978897184296648180.post-76346363045764328742016-06-11T20:55:00.000-07:002016-06-11T20:55:07.142-07:00Costume-Con 33 Roundup, Monday et al<div style="text-align: justify;">
Wrapping up the last of my Costume-Con 33 posts. Monday was a pretty low key day, with only a half day of programming and no competitions. My crew did an Archer cosplay group, including Bethany's mom in on the fun as Mallory, complete with a drink tumbler full (of iced tea). We commandeered an unused boardroom for a quick a photo shoot. I played Pam, which was fun simply for the excuse to run around with a hand puppet and nosh on pastries.</div>
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I also took down my quilt show entries, the 18th century quilted petticoat and waistcoat. The stays got an award for best wearable art.<br />
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<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497740667660184594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978897184296648180.post-29433408426999222432016-06-08T20:44:00.000-07:002016-06-08T20:44:05.622-07:00Costume-Con 33 Roundup, Sunday<br />
Still playing catch up from Costume-Con 33. On Sunday, they had the "Miss Ellen's Portieres” competition, where entrants made costumes out of curtains. I entered wearing my <a href="http://sosteadyasshesews.blogspot.com/2014/04/hsf-8-ufos-unfinished-objects-cranberry.html">shower curtain short gown</a>, paired with a teal cotton petticoat and my perpetual work in progress, the whitework apron.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G__9uSKSfjw/VhJV_H9gbwI/AAAAAAAAFf4/d-06xqNGgcE/s1600/10006000_10154153526592316_8771585307061400933_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G__9uSKSfjw/VhJV_H9gbwI/AAAAAAAAFf4/d-06xqNGgcE/s400/10006000_10154153526592316_8771585307061400933_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Showing off my grandmother's sewers union pin from when she worked at a men's pants factory in the 70s. </td></tr>
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Sunday night was the Historical Masquerade, to which I wore Maria Carolina's court gown. Kristen was kind enough to help me with my presentation, wearing her own jacket and petticoat combo to serve as a chamber maid.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jbrN-EzC8LE/VhJWL0_YGWI/AAAAAAAAFgU/YI7rm9c-ATI/s1600/CC33-Historical-20150517-3528.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jbrN-EzC8LE/VhJWL0_YGWI/AAAAAAAAFgU/YI7rm9c-ATI/s640/CC33-Historical-20150517-3528.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our presentation was a comical nonsense number that was basically me getting my maid to help me find my dog.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S9y24hzicjI/V1TwQSTme7I/AAAAAAAAF-w/aHV5RzmXC2IgFeecLTOhLOLuFpVuT5kPgCLcB/s1600/A%2Bportrait%2Bof%2BMaria%2BCarolina%2Bof%2BAustria%252C%2BQueen%2Bof%2BNaples%2Band%2BSicily%252C%2Bby%2BGiuseppe%2BBonito.%2B18th%2Bcentury..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S9y24hzicjI/V1TwQSTme7I/AAAAAAAAF-w/aHV5RzmXC2IgFeecLTOhLOLuFpVuT5kPgCLcB/s640/A%2Bportrait%2Bof%2BMaria%2BCarolina%2Bof%2BAustria%252C%2BQueen%2Bof%2BNaples%2Band%2BSicily%252C%2Bby%2BGiuseppe%2BBonito.%2B18th%2Bcentury..jpg" width="444" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A portrait of Maria Carolina of Austria, Queen of Naples and Sicily, by Giuseppe Bonito, c. 1770s.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-a0w__LcTNeE/VhJWL5NJsqI/AAAAAAAAFgQ/Pk30iWqiVJU/s1600/CC33-Historical-20150517-3539.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-a0w__LcTNeE/VhJWL5NJsqI/AAAAAAAAFgQ/Pk30iWqiVJU/s640/CC33-Historical-20150517-3539.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I still have a few yards of this red silk left, as well as some fur. I'm thinking that one of these days I'm going to make myself a court train to hook onto the dress, even through one wasn't present in the source painting.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm particularly proud of my wig, which I carted onto the plane in a gift bag as my carry on. Well, it made it!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ridiculous staged costume portraits. It's was friends are for.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kristen and I with our roadies, Bethany and Lauren.<br />
(the gals pulling the strings to make our dog move on stage).</td></tr>
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No awards for this one, which just goes to show how hit or miss this kind of thing can be. Ah well. We had a hell of a lot of fun back stage and I'm proud of how the costume turned out. Now I just need to figure out where on earth I'll ever wear the thing again.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497740667660184594noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978897184296648180.post-3932665667230052532016-06-05T20:15:00.001-07:002016-06-05T20:15:19.467-07:00Costume-Con 33 Roundup, Saturday<div style="text-align: justify;">
Opps! Going back through the drafts, I've found a few posts that really should have happened before now. For a bit of a throwback, here is the roundup from Costume-Con 33 (LAST year) for Saturday day, which I found sitting around waiting for captions to photographs, but otherwise ready to post.</div>
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I pretty much spent the entirety of Saturday running around without a bra on. It was AWESOME! I started the day in my black and brown <a href="http://sosteadyasshesews.blogspot.com/2015/03/sideless-surcoat-historical-sew-monthly.html">sideless surcoa</a>t with the <a href="http://sosteadyasshesews.blogspot.com/2015/02/medieval-fantasy-kirtle-and-paternoster.html">linen kirtle</a>, then lost the surcoat in the afternoon for rehearsals (so I was pretty much running around in my underwear. Yay for historical costuming!) Then put on the white overdress at the absolute last possible moment because white and me, we make messes together. There's just something about a white dress that makes me want coffee and spaghetti sauce.</div>
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I was a part of a group for the Sci-Fi/Fantasy Masquerade that was based on the fantasy novels by Garth Nix. Super fun costumes, but I was only able to make myself read far enough into the books to be introduced to the group of characters that my costume was to represent. We did well, too. A presentation award for best literary adaptation and Best in Show for Workmanship. I'm not even going to pretend here, the BiS was about 95% earned by the crazy people molding leather, printing tartan and smithing their own jewelry. My outfit was fairly simple by comparison, with nothing terribly special beyond a bit of dye work and embroidery. But I think it was well made and Bethany came up with an awesome design for the overdress that we worked together to make, so there you go. I'm happy with 5% of that ribbon.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The white characters in the back row were all representations of various vocations<br />of Clayr, a sort of academic and future-reading sort of group. I was personally set<br />to represent a merchant, with my money pouch and key.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blonde, lol! I am totally digging the way that light green pairs with my skin tone, though.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stay classy, people.</td></tr>
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<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497740667660184594noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978897184296648180.post-22279369154130999152016-05-12T00:28:00.001-07:002016-05-12T00:57:10.172-07:00Costume Con 34 in Madison, WI<div style="text-align: justify;">
*le flop* We got back this evening from driving up to Madison, WI for Costume Con 34. By far, one of the most fun Costume Cons I've been yet. Major kudos to the team that put it together. The overall con theme was "The Wonders of Nature," which I didn't personally find super inspirational, but meh. I hardly had time to put together much of anything new this spring, so it worked out just fine. I had a lot of costumes that were completed in time to wear to Costume College last summer, so that's mostly what I brought out here.</div>
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Friday morning I wore the 1950s Avengers wrap-around dress, minus a lot of the accessories. I kept it simple and comfortable, since I was going to be spending the majority of my morning in ICG board meetings. That afternoon, my costume bestie and I teamed up to present Practical Considerations for Costumers," which I thought worked quite well. We're a good team, B and I, not the least of which because we are so damned different in the way that we go about things. But it was funny and informative and the audience had good participation.</div>
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Friday evening was the social and Single Pattern competition. I had picked up the pattern in time to use as a basis for my Chambord Fairy from the booze fairies group at CoCo last year, so the Honey and I worked on putting together a nicer set of wings to take along. I brought a bottle of Chambord along to judging as my documentation. And then found several nice people to help me drink it after the show. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A better picture of the wings. Each is a layer of silk gauze over habotai, spray painted in two<br />
shades and sewn together to make a channel along the tops, through which the wires run.</td></tr>
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Saturday was a busy day. I started in stage blacks to help with the run through for my costume bestie's entry for the Science Fiction and Fantasy masquerade that night. Tech rehearsal accomplished, I changed into the 1890s seamstress to wear for a spin around the vendor room. I picked up a hall costume award for this one, as well as a ton of compliments. People were really digging on the vintage sewing accessories I had dangling from my belt. Ooh! And there was a vendor selling vintage and damaged kimonos and kimono materials for $10/lb. That was a dangerous booth. I ended up with three little bolts of indigo and white cotton intended for yukata, as well as one damaged silk kimono with a small gold ivy leaf motif on a read background that I'm thinking of turning into an 18th century jacket of some sort. With my wallet lighter and luggage heavier, I hit a workshop on costume rendering.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'll keep working on it.</td></tr>
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Then it was up to the room to help the bestie paint herself black from the waist up. A good time was had by all who got to witness her getting slathered in cold paint, and it paid off for her when her Lolth took an award for Best Group.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm totally in this picture. Those are my feet as I stand in the back and hold up her giant spider butt!<br />
See what I said about being the polar opposites of costuming?</td></tr>
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Sunday was a fun day, with the theme for hall costuming being "peasants", I put together an 18th century costume from all the odd bits that I'd been working on over the last couple of years. Several old Historical Sew Fortnightly challenges that hadn't really worked into anything, such as the petticoat made from poorly dyed linen and a shift with sleeves too long to fit under my other gowns. I also got to wear the quilted waistcoat for the first time and it was SUPER COMFORTABLE! Also, hella boosting for the bust, which was a bonus. While packing, I realized that I couldn't find my simpler rough linen cap, so I ended up cobbling one together utilizing the extra bit of ruffle that I had cut out of the neckline of my chemise a la reine. Since that bit was already hemmed, all I had to do was cut a crown and gather the two together, sewing them on the machine on the underside. Quick and easy like that. Then I realized that my only apron was the one I've been doing white work embroidery on, so probably a touch too dressy for a peasant. I hacked up the skirt of a Regency petticoat that was made out of a bed sheet, so a super thin cotton apron was achieved.</div>
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Sunday night was the Historical Masquerade. I waffled about entering this right up until the last minute. What sold it for me was that, in ten years together, the Honey and I have never entered a masquerade together, outside of large groups. So I cobbled together close enough for stage outfit for him that he then proceeded to distress the hell out of. Not gonna lie, I got a little weepy when I first saw that waistcoat covered in black smudges. I wrote up the documentation in the hotel room on Thursday night and away we went. It must have been worth it, because we took home a Best in Show for Workmanship. TOTALLY didn't see that coming. I expected maybe a lesser award for presentation, since it was kinda funny and I thought we did a good job of showing off the costumes without feeling like we were just spinning in a circle on stage. I tried to make fun of the ridiculous poses you see in some some fashion plates, but then only sorta serious presentation gets 'interrupted' by a zombie shambling across the stage. I guess all of the meticulous hand-stitching on the bodice of the dress, as well as the cap and chemisette paid off. I *cough* did not take the Honey's outfit in for workmanship judging, not only because it was filthy, but because the shirt and waistcoat were made on the fly out of non-period-appropriate materials, sewn almost entirely by machine and with tons of short cuts, such as unfinished button holes, non-functional buttoned bits half-assed finishings throughout. The trousers were an older pair that was made with the intent of serious wear, but that he hates the fit of.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">*sigh* How could I refuse that face anything?<br />
Also, am totally digging on the red shoes with this outfit.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cgclTVN3Rl4/VzQrdJeXQzI/AAAAAAAAFyU/I2b76shBmQ4v_WrD-Alw4ZD8fFNfpwowgCLcB/s1600/13179072_10155026271127316_7249896035016936014_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cgclTVN3Rl4/VzQrdJeXQzI/AAAAAAAAFyU/I2b76shBmQ4v_WrD-Alw4ZD8fFNfpwowgCLcB/s640/13179072_10155026271127316_7249896035016936014_n.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emo zombie. Only historically accurate in the impression,<br />
but I'm still submitting it for the HSM April Challenge.</td></tr>
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Monday's theme was pijamas, and I won a hall costume award for my 1930s Lounge PJs. SO comfortable. I think these are going to be the go to hall costume for every con from here on out. I did a lecture on 18th century fashion terminology, which was surprisingly well-attended for first thing on Monday morning. I promised the class that I'll put some of the information from those slides up here, and I'll do that just as soon as I figure out a somewhat easy way to get that info off of the power point slides and onto the blog. Then all of the sudden, con was over. I picked up a video of the masquerade, then spent the afternoon being a tourist. We hit up Gayfeather fabrics while she was unloading from the con, then the Mustard Museum, a chocolatier, a coffee house, and I got hooked up with some Laotian food hot enough to make me cry. It was a good day.</div>
Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497740667660184594noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978897184296648180.post-30871402507807756502016-05-11T23:05:00.001-07:002016-05-11T23:05:47.307-07:00A Regency Spencer, HSM March: ProtectionHSM 3 Protection<br />
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I finished a spencer to go with my Regency day dress this spring. The blue cotton pique was picked up at the scrap swap at Figments & Filaments last year. I used the pattern from the dress for the bodice back and sleeves, and just extrapolated the rest. The dress has a drop front bib, so I was able to work with the under bits which overlap underneath the bib.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JrEtHjDSqZ8/Vuz5jdiUR0I/AAAAAAAAFvA/mVeTx7Oh7f0OGXUeeuzPCqP1rcJbVzhjw/s1600/100_5803.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JrEtHjDSqZ8/Vuz5jdiUR0I/AAAAAAAAFvA/mVeTx7Oh7f0OGXUeeuzPCqP1rcJbVzhjw/s640/100_5803.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Decorated with a total of twelve completely non-functional buttons, as well as a few<br />bits of folded fabric tubes sewn down over the back seams to add a bit of interest.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xJzDk8LEFX0/Vuz5d3PUp5I/AAAAAAAAFu8/U6DjtVEAK3kI4H-lbmNblcLZphr0XO_iA/s1600/100_5805.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xJzDk8LEFX0/Vuz5d3PUp5I/AAAAAAAAFu8/U6DjtVEAK3kI4H-lbmNblcLZphr0XO_iA/s640/100_5805.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ruffled collar holds its shape with two rows of piping along the edge.<br />Or perhaps a couched cord would be a better way to describe it, as it's not encased within a seam.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/--biNn33DLzI/Vuz51RFk9gI/AAAAAAAAFvI/A6Z4rhzfdPYz2_UOopayUSz4fpHaRk4Hg/s1600/100_5806.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/--biNn33DLzI/Vuz51RFk9gI/AAAAAAAAFvI/A6Z4rhzfdPYz2_UOopayUSz4fpHaRk4Hg/s640/100_5806.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail of the non-functional false cuffs (and fabric texture).</td></tr>
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I turned the sleeve inside out so I could show off how that nonsense was put together. The seams at the armsyce and bottom of the sleeve puff are bound with cotton tape. The puff is supported with a crescent of silk organza and the band is held up with two tapes, further assisting the poofing.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UZ-h0Fxskz0/Vuz50N5HkDI/AAAAAAAAFvE/3QBgcO5GhI4SinCdyBTkffkLsE8FSa89Q/s1600/100_5807.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UZ-h0Fxskz0/Vuz50N5HkDI/AAAAAAAAFvE/3QBgcO5GhI4SinCdyBTkffkLsE8FSa89Q/s640/100_5807.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sleeve head, inside out.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MyCjBZ54Umo/VwGSLU2HGdI/AAAAAAAAFwQ/03QQBYTJPVASQo1V4YYMb5RypedpYKVcA/s1600/100_5820CROP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="488" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MyCjBZ54Umo/VwGSLU2HGdI/AAAAAAAAFwQ/03QQBYTJPVASQo1V4YYMb5RypedpYKVcA/s640/100_5820CROP.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I can't decide if it's too much ruffle to wear the chemisette AND the spencer.<br />I suppose I could always sub out for a fichu if I want to tone it down a bit.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FFdZqgsBHzI/VwGSGWLyR2I/AAAAAAAAFvw/KtzctvWYjw04Bqhf0rfjyMS-Xa-xl6k7g/s1600/100_5819.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FFdZqgsBHzI/VwGSGWLyR2I/AAAAAAAAFvw/KtzctvWYjw04Bqhf0rfjyMS-Xa-xl6k7g/s640/100_5819.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The flash really brings out the shiny in the dress fabric. I haven't the foggiest what the secondary<br />content of the dress is, and have absolutely no fabric left to play with. I guess the world will never know.</td></tr>
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<br />And for the Historical Sew Monthly Challenge:<br /><br />What the item is: Regency Spencer<br />The Challenge: Protection<br />Fabric/Materials: blue cotton pique, linen, silk organza.<br />Pattern: heavily modified from the Laughing Moon Mercantile bib front dress pattern.<br />Year: 1810-ish<br />Notions: fabric covered buttons, hooks with hand stitched loop closures, cotton twill tape.<br />How historically accurate is it? 8/10<br />Hours to complete: maybe 20<br />First worn: in a 'done enough' state for a costumers' guild outing to see Pride + Prejudice + Zombies, but in the finished state, right there in the dining room.<br />Total cost: The fabric came from the scrap swap at a local costuming convention and the lining is from my own leftovers, so the only really cost was the button forms. All told, maybe $6.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497740667660184594noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978897184296648180.post-73818425790990119772016-03-22T03:25:00.001-07:002016-03-22T03:25:46.670-07:001930s Lounge Pajamas<br />
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I was able to whip up a quick indulgence project for myself in between the hustle and bustle of February. This was one of those projects that killed two birds with one stone. It stated like this. I'm going through the fabric in my grandmother's stash when we sorted out her house after her passing. In among the truly lurid 1970s polyester atrocities happened to be some flour sack rags that I took home to use as pressing cloths. They started me down the path of researching the feed sack dresses and clothing from the 1930s. I got all gun ho about making one for myself, and even found a lot of 11 feed sacks in matching print on eBay. But I ran into a conundrum when it came to finally buckling down and making a feed sack dress of my own. The whole point of making clothing from feed sacks was that the sewer was being economical. That made full length dresses a luxury that ran counter to the use of feed sacks. And I HATE the way I look in knee length dresses. So the fabric sat around being useless.</div>
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I had been holding onto the 1930s Kitchenette Pajamas pattern from Decades of Style for a couple of years now. I'd originally bought the pattern for a Single Pattern contest at Costume Con, but then never got around to making them. So it languished in the pile. </div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yhoybOLJIL8/VuzxY-iT4dI/AAAAAAAAFuA/LVkKlwwVbkkLkN-FoASdPmuK2P_eg__Mg/s1600/3001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yhoybOLJIL8/VuzxY-iT4dI/AAAAAAAAFuA/LVkKlwwVbkkLkN-FoASdPmuK2P_eg__Mg/s640/3001.jpg" width="425" /></a></div>
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Fast forward a couple of years and I'm reading an article in Behind the Seams that looked at the details in a couple of feed sack dresses. The lighter one in the background was hypothesized to be a night gown, and the waistline was fitted using a series of narrow tucks. I had one of those light bulb moments where nightgown = pajamas and tucks fit in with the Historical Sew Monthly's February challenge of pleats and tucks. Viola! A solutions was found!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TyW_0Zf0Y1M/VuzxbaOTgmI/AAAAAAAAFuQ/m3oUUPRo2aExvAf_oOhaEQObbS9QAgEcQ/s1600/02-bts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TyW_0Zf0Y1M/VuzxbaOTgmI/AAAAAAAAFuQ/m3oUUPRo2aExvAf_oOhaEQObbS9QAgEcQ/s640/02-bts.jpg" width="425" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From an article in <a href="https://www.seamwork.com/issues/2015/04/behind-the-seams-2">Behind the Seams</a>.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hVHzOVlTxqo/Vuz0EGMaDkI/AAAAAAAAFuc/_rTofte90ZICvvHUmfD8SQzI4bJKWfxAQ/s1600/100_5792.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hVHzOVlTxqo/Vuz0EGMaDkI/AAAAAAAAFuc/_rTofte90ZICvvHUmfD8SQzI4bJKWfxAQ/s640/100_5792.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I had thought about staging a lovely photo shoot with me doing some 1930s-worthy kitchen chores,<br />
but I honestly just drank coffee and ordered pizza for dinner that night, so this is what you get. </td></tr>
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It's a one piece garment that closes with overlapping center back panels and attached waist ties. If I were a bit smarter about this, I'd have read a few more pattern reviews before I started cutting. I could have saved myself the exact same problem had by so many others in that the back with tend to creep open with wear. If I were to do this up again (and I might, they are wicked comfortable), I would move the attachment point of the ties up an inch or two. As is, a well-placed safety pin does the trick. Or I could invest the time in putting in a couple of lingerie straps into the shoulder seams. We'll see how annoying it gets.</div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7R0cmUU-rHg/Vuz0F0MnP9I/AAAAAAAAFug/r-0AXZ5o4k8_1zcpa2lZhzMzGKuNMdo1g/s1600/100_5793.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7R0cmUU-rHg/Vuz0F0MnP9I/AAAAAAAAFug/r-0AXZ5o4k8_1zcpa2lZhzMzGKuNMdo1g/s640/100_5793.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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The front part of the bodice is cut in one piece. The shaping comes from a tuck going into each shoulder seam, in addition to the waist ties. In order to lessen the shoulder drooping problem, I added a pair of box pleats into the center front neckline. This pulled the shoulders in a bit, in addition to adding a bit of shaping around the bust.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No flash to show my snazzy pleats and tucks.</td></tr>
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The tiny cap sleeves were an addition to the pattern as well. I had come across this image on Pinterest, linked only to the image and not the source, so I'm without context. I was digging on the way that the end of the sleeves on the brown dress were set up with the bias tape and the overlapping top. Since I was planning to finish the neckline and cuffs with a contrasting bias tape anyhow, this seemed like an awesome way to continue that theme.</div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PlJv-gpPUjA/VuzxbJMaHCI/AAAAAAAAFuM/WzTR8SrmeLc-3_dNEcrqjS-ZMCz8hQxpg/s1600/bf2d0628c3ecf13df247dbdbbb8dc9f8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PlJv-gpPUjA/VuzxbJMaHCI/AAAAAAAAFuM/WzTR8SrmeLc-3_dNEcrqjS-ZMCz8hQxpg/s640/bf2d0628c3ecf13df247dbdbbb8dc9f8.jpg" width="598" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ErA5Wd3XKBQ/Vuz0HsbvurI/AAAAAAAAFuk/Mzt4JuvvLTYUZEIbyOBj0Ie-hxEavVFVw/s1600/100_5789.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ErA5Wd3XKBQ/Vuz0HsbvurI/AAAAAAAAFuk/Mzt4JuvvLTYUZEIbyOBj0Ie-hxEavVFVw/s640/100_5789.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The incredibly technical pattern for the sleeves, which amounted to me going,<br />
"Eh, let's make 'em about that long and overlap by about yey much."</td></tr>
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Now, 11 feed sacks go a heck of a long way. Each piece opened out to about 36" x 48". However, many of the pieces showed damage from long years in storage. A few had a discolored background, others had stains in spots and there were holes and tears scattered throughout. Also, feed sack cotton equals THIN. See through when back lit, even. So what I did to make the most of every piece was to fully flat line all pieces in the sketchier pieces of fabric. I had to piece one of the pant legs, and overlook a few of the pinprick holes, but overall this worked well. The print is the same inside and out, the double layer of cloth is thick enough to ensure adequate warmth and modesty. Plus, you could never find another fabric as soft as feed sack. The finest combed cotton ain't got nothing on this.</div>
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Details for the challenge:</div>
1930s Lounge PJs<br />
Challenge #2: Tucks and Pleating<br />
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Fabric: self lined with vintage cotton feed sacks and burgundy cotton for the bias tape<br />
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Pattern: 1930s Kitchenette Pajamas from Decades of Style.<br />
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8/10 for Accuracy. The feed sacks are vintage, but probaby date a little after the lounge sets were all the rage in the late 20s and early 30s.<br />
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Hours to complete: maybe ten. Cutting was an adventure as there were 11 individual feed sacks in the auction lot of varying quality. It took a bit of finagaling to work around the stains and holes and there is some piecing on the inner layers. The lining with self fabric gave me a bit more modesty, plus it meant I was able to use up almost every scrap of fabric, regardless of how stained or discolored it may be. Also, SOOOOOOO incredibly soft.<br />
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First worn: not gonna lie. After I put them on for pictures, I wore them around the house for the rest of the day. they were incredibly comfortable.<br />
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Total cost: $60 US ($58 of which was the feed sacks)Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497740667660184594noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978897184296648180.post-86496098208802661152016-02-29T20:48:00.000-08:002016-03-04T16:51:40.893-08:00Done Enough! An 1890s Outfit<div style="text-align: justify;">
Over the fall and winter, I've been plugging along on an 1890s outfit. It's kind of morphed as I go, from something with a sailor theme, to something with more of a city park picnic sort of feel. I suppose a lot will get decided when I figure out exactly what I want to do for a hat. But until then, the outfit is at that wonderful yet frustrating stage of "done enough" where I technically have enough pieces to put together a reasonable outfit for wearing, yet haven't gotten to the finishing touches that really make a costume pop. Ergo, I share my progress with you all to help inspire me to quit letting myself get distracted with other things.</div>
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I started with the blouse, or a shirt waist as it was called at the time. I used the 1894 Shirtwaists pattern from Truly Victorian and the fit was amazing. Perhaps largely because the toughest thing for me to fit is my upper arm and shoulders, and the shirtwaist has a lot of, well, you could probably smuggle a moderately sized woodland creature in that sleeve without anyone being the wiser. They are kind of ridiculously huge.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iXIOtXxv1Xs/VtUCbt9vqNI/AAAAAAAAFrE/IC411fJ0x54/s1600/TV494.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iXIOtXxv1Xs/VtUCbt9vqNI/AAAAAAAAFrE/IC411fJ0x54/s320/TV494.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.trulyvictorian.net/tvxcart/product.php?productid=129&cat=6&page=1">TV 494: 1894 Shirtwaists</a></td></tr>
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The fabric is a silk/cotton voile with a beige and white pinstriped pattern from Fabric Mart. One of those acquisitions that I purchased for a project that I never got around to doing, but it worked great with this. It was nice to have something other than a flat white, which is what everything looks like in the old black and white phots from the era. I flat-lined everywhere with an off white quilting cotton. The oompf in the sleeves is held up with a strip of folded over silk organza layered under the arc of the sleeve head.</div>
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For the skirt, I used the 1898 Walking Skirt over the appropriate version of the TV170 Victorian Petticoats. The skirt fabric is a lovely dark teal wool/rayon suitting, also a Fabric Mart find. This one was one of those "I have no idea what I'm going to do with it, but I have to buy this fabric" kind of purchases. It always makes me happy when I can go back into the stash and put one of those to good use.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5TFOuKba65E/VtUKMYJl5GI/AAAAAAAAFrU/2rfe6S9gtc8/s1600/TV291.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5TFOuKba65E/VtUKMYJl5GI/AAAAAAAAFrU/2rfe6S9gtc8/s400/TV291.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.trulyvictorian.net/tvxcart/product.php?productid=83&cat=6&page=1">TV291: 1898 Walking Skirt</a></td></tr>
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The skirt was a bit cumbersome to assemble, due mostly to the size of the panels and the weight of the fabric. The skirt is fully flat-lined with cotton and an additional 12" deep facing of cotton and some obnoxious purple stiff linen-like thing I found in the bottom of a bin. I think it was an online fabric purchase gone horribly wrong that I was too lazy to bother with returning. Makes a great substitute for horsehair, though! The petticoat and flat-lining are both done with the striped cotton from that epic roll I picked up in the scholarship sale at Costume College last summer. We unrolled it in the hotel room to try to fold and pack it into the luggage and came up with 72 YARDS! Not bad for a $55 donation to the cause. And for the record, we did make it all fit into the luggage of two people. There was some packing magic going on right there.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V34Aj-fj0JM/VtUOJKPmfJI/AAAAAAAAFrg/Nr271NSGaZ8/s1600/11846172_10154365497887316_1460566470_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V34Aj-fj0JM/VtUOJKPmfJI/AAAAAAAAFrg/Nr271NSGaZ8/s320/11846172_10154365497887316_1460566470_n.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I regret nothing.</td></tr>
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Speaking of no regrets. OMG, MY SHOES! I picked up a pair of the Astorias from American Duchess on imperfects sale. Both pairs I've gotten this way have been damn near flawless. I think I cause more damage on my first day wearing them than they come with, but hey, I'll take that discount. I used the Angelus leather dye in Brandy, which was way more straight forward that I had expected. With a little sweet talk, I even got my Army vet spouse to come give them a spit shine when I was done. So shiny!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-168j74YzGyg/VtUQzk20RyI/AAAAAAAAFr0/ZFOCo6kBqgQ/s1600/astoria-edwardian-shoes-ivory-340x340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-168j74YzGyg/VtUQzk20RyI/AAAAAAAAFr0/ZFOCo6kBqgQ/s400/astoria-edwardian-shoes-ivory-340x340.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.american-duchess.com/edwardian-shoes-boots/astoria-womens-edwardian-shoe">Astoria Edwardian Leather Shoes</a> from American Duchess</td></tr>
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Put it all together and Viola! An excellent historical hall costume for wearing around the convention. It worked well for an outfit that I could wear during my office hours in the programming nexus at Arisia. The layers kept me warm but not too warm. And the shoes were incredibly comfortable for someone who almost never wears heels.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ybtQrX-6RFU/VtUVB0e2IGI/AAAAAAAAFsQ/LNPYdtny_r0/s1600/12418101_10154723054857316_5619104760308054326_n.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ybtQrX-6RFU/VtUVB0e2IGI/AAAAAAAAFsQ/LNPYdtny_r0/s640/12418101_10154723054857316_5619104760308054326_n.jpg" width="433" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dz8onbMtC1s/VtUVM50beKI/AAAAAAAAFsY/O5ABTwor0pg/s1600/12523067_10154723054962316_1907936088026093478_n.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dz8onbMtC1s/VtUVM50beKI/AAAAAAAAFsY/O5ABTwor0pg/s640/12523067_10154723054962316_1907936088026093478_n.jpg" width="396" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QcKwzDN-3OU/VtosykWgYiI/AAAAAAAAFtk/a3WyezIYRcE/s1600/100_5798.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QcKwzDN-3OU/VtosykWgYiI/AAAAAAAAFtk/a3WyezIYRcE/s640/100_5798.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail shot of the fabric and buttons. I have no provenance on the buttons beyond being<br />
"Czech" and "antique", but they were bought off eBay as a gift and I never found out any more.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GgLbFRxgfKU/VtUVQxDtIeI/AAAAAAAAFsg/G17vxfqA__k/s1600/1524_10154723054617316_5177227093135669320_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GgLbFRxgfKU/VtUVQxDtIeI/AAAAAAAAFsg/G17vxfqA__k/s640/1524_10154723054617316_5177227093135669320_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look at the shine on those toes! Thanks Honey!</td></tr>
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The belt was made with a bit of ochre gabardine of dubious content that I found lingering in the stash. I made a few folds to emulate a bow and wrapped them around the ends of one of those novelty buckles that interlock. Not sure about the historical accuracy of that kind of clasp, but it worked in a pinch. I've found myself a bit more sympathetic to that nasty shade of yellow after watching Crimson Peak. The bit hanging from the strand of red rick rack is a pair of folding snips I inherited with my Nana's sewing stash. They were actually kinda useful to have at hand when at con. I'm still pondering what else the outfit needs to finish it off. A hat, for sure. Perhaps a hand bag. I have the pattern for the 1898 Eton Jacket that could certainly work, but I'm hesitant to try to stuff all that sleeve into all that sleeve. The original plan was to do something of a nautical theme to take to Costume Con 36 in San Diego. But like most embellishment projects, there are so many choices out there as to make picking one impossible. I keep hoping that I'll stumble across something that will sell me on an idea. If nothing else, I have a ridiculous roll of narrow, natural colored twill tape that I picked up in the Fashion District in LA. If I could just pick a pattern, I could certainly do that to my heart's content. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uGlTpk8H8CE/VtUS85OLi_I/AAAAAAAAFsE/jmGfjPcP6zs/s1600/TV498.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uGlTpk8H8CE/VtUS85OLi_I/AAAAAAAAFsE/jmGfjPcP6zs/s400/TV498.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.trulyvictorian.net/tvxcart/product.php?productid=96&cat=6&page=1">TV498: Eton Jacket</a></td></tr>
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Some of the inspiration photos I'm working off of:</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XAurwTIgOxE/VtUZjhJsMAI/AAAAAAAAFsw/G8ub5pd3U0k/s1600/db9d144f44a21be200bcc57dcdbb1a6f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XAurwTIgOxE/VtUZjhJsMAI/AAAAAAAAFsw/G8ub5pd3U0k/s400/db9d144f44a21be200bcc57dcdbb1a6f.jpg" width="281" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "ヒラギノ角ゴ pro w3" , "hiragino kaku gothic pro" , , "meiryo" , "ms pゴシック" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/406309197611723503/">April 1898, Standard Designer</a></span><br />
Love, Love, LOVE the way the embellishment is done on the dress on the right.<br />
If I can find the right trim in the right amount, I think I'd like to do something big and angular like this. </td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-veL4TT38sjg/VtUZ2byuoiI/AAAAAAAAFs4/Gl0Nb5pgfUs/s1600/3204e138de2d69dfd78f004f96394def.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-veL4TT38sjg/VtUZ2byuoiI/AAAAAAAAFs4/Gl0Nb5pgfUs/s320/3204e138de2d69dfd78f004f96394def.jpg" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "ヒラギノ角ゴ pro w3" , "hiragino kaku gothic pro" , , "meiryo" , "ms pゴシック" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/406309197611621491/">Walking suit by Jacques Doucet, 1895 Paris, the V&A Museum</a></span><br />
Can't get much plainer than unadorned khaki. But the silhouette seems to make<br />
up the difference. I was comforted that you can clearly see the stitching line of the<br />
hem facing, even from a distance. Makes me feel less weird about my own.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-imionCyr6oQ/VtUbX_3rQWI/AAAAAAAAFtQ/QT8bi8oxj-U/s1600/e051f1edf1410332b4e05b6582e72e17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-imionCyr6oQ/VtUbX_3rQWI/AAAAAAAAFtQ/QT8bi8oxj-U/s320/e051f1edf1410332b4e05b6582e72e17.jpg" width="140" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "ヒラギノ角ゴ pro w3" , "hiragino kaku gothic pro" , , "meiryo" , "ms pゴシック" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/406309197611723534/">1890's Studio Portrait</a></span><br />
No reason I have to have a jacket at all, really. This lady looks quite put together,<br />
finishing her otherwise simple outfit with the parasol, belt, bow tie and hat.<br />
Oh how I wish I could get a better look at her belt. It looks intricate, even from afar.</td></tr>
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497740667660184594noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978897184296648180.post-4846582823887679412015-11-01T01:00:00.000-08:002015-11-01T01:00:05.932-08:00Happy Halloween, from Kermit and Miss Piggy!<div style="text-align: justify;">
The Honey and I did Kermit and Miss Piggy for our Halloween party this year. Talk about costuming to body type. We were a hit, and it was such a fun costume to do. Will have to break it out for conventions where my Honey will be joining me. Arisia, perhaps?</div>
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There wasn't a significant amount of work involved. I made Kermit's eyes out of molded craft foam glued to felt. Kermit's collar and flippers were felt. Piggy's ears are folded felt hooked onto a wire head band. SO EASY!</div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">The dress was an uber cheap "bridesmaid's" dress ordered from Amazon. Doesn't flatter anyone, but at under $40, at least I didn't have to worry about getting cheese dip on it. It did come with a pre-formed bust area that I in my wildest dreams couldn't hope to fill. It fit the character, but oh man, those boobs were weird.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uAxwFRyROu4/VjXTNfO4zSI/AAAAAAAAFjA/2AcyhaBOgas/s1600/Katie06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uAxwFRyROu4/VjXTNfO4zSI/AAAAAAAAFjA/2AcyhaBOgas/s640/Katie06.jpg" width="352" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apparently, Piggy eating salami was hysterical.</td></tr>
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<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497740667660184594noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978897184296648180.post-40360593551779855752015-10-05T03:48:00.003-07:002015-10-05T04:07:21.664-07:00Costume-Con Roundup, Friday<div style="text-align: justify;">
Wow, have I been lax about blogging this summer/fall! Life, work, blah, blah, blah. Time to play some catch up. Costume Con 33 was held in Charleston, SC this year. Through some sort of cosmic frippery, I ended up having an entry in pretty much every contest over the course of the weekend. So I was hella busy doing pretty much nothing but over the course of the four day event. But I got the chance to show off a lot of stuff that I'm really proud of, and I got to work with some of my bestest costuming besties throughout, so it was worth it. I did have to leave my Honey at home, though, since he had classes he couldn't get out of. Also meant that I didn't have a companion's luggage for spillover, so I had to get super conservative on the packing. My year's as a Girl Scout served me well here. I can pack like a boss, and I had to do like I've never done before.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KBA_JZ2F6TY/VhJU3_ce0yI/AAAAAAAAFfo/G-Xlz8r83fs/s1600/11269739_10154153511017316_3991905276998626818_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KBA_JZ2F6TY/VhJU3_ce0yI/AAAAAAAAFfo/G-Xlz8r83fs/s640/11269739_10154153511017316_3991905276998626818_n.jpg" width="352" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There are eight, count 'em, EIGHT costumes packed into those four bags.<br />
(there's a black check bag at the back of the stack, blending in with the sofa)</td></tr>
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I spent much of the day on Friday running about, turning in paperwork and entries and doing all of that last minute BS that always eats the day away. So I went with something more comfortable to wear: the chemise a la reine. It's nice and cool, even with the stays. And it's easy to sit in. Plus the hedgehog wig just sorta plops on the head and requires very little prodding before getting covered with a cap and hat. I got a lot of very flattering comment on the dress, including one from Sandy about how I 'always look so lovely and put together' at con. Which just about made my weekend right there. While I love Love LOVE to make pretty things, I always get a bit weird when it's time to put them on. So yeah, total confidence boost there and a great way to start the weekend. Sandy spent a lot of the con hanging out in the con suite, seeing the rest of us parade through. And his smiles over the weekend always made me feel like it was worth getting all dressed up just for that. Unfortunately, I was so busy that I never caught a picture of myself in this outfit. But not so dire, as I've gotten some good photos in it before.</div>
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The Friday Night Social had a 1920s Speakeasy them this year. And the Single Pattern Contest included two Folkwear patterns that I've made use of in recent years: le Smoking Jacket and the Monte Carlo Dress. Both were used in the making of <a href="http://sosteadyasshesews.blogspot.com/2014/08/project-summary-1920s-batman-villains.html">our big 1920s Batman Villains</a> group from Arisia the year before, but neither had gotten any recognition on their own (our Best in Show for that group was in Presentation, and the only Workmanship award went to the Joker's suit). Plus, this Poison Ivy dress is one of my all time favorite costumes, yet not something that I could ever personally wear. Luckily, Lauren was a doll and agreed to play dress up for me. A few minor adjustments for fit and a new bob wig and she was ready to go! I'm no sport a shaved head, so I made up a house cap to match the smoking jacket and cover my hair.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RDvzFlnSM5c/VhJTDizZJkI/AAAAAAAAFfc/XUQV6_F8Jro/s1600/11209426_10154153511182316_660073732586941546_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RDvzFlnSM5c/VhJTDizZJkI/AAAAAAAAFfc/XUQV6_F8Jro/s640/11209426_10154153511182316_660073732586941546_n.jpg" width="352" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lauren being a life saver and donning the dress for me. She must have been having fun,<br />
because I'm pretty sure she sashayed those hips and made the skirts swish all night long.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Silver buddies at the Social. So Much SHINY!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u3i0bPvt43w/VhJSymnTjYI/AAAAAAAAFfU/D53ZZv2wV38/s1600/11250926_10154153519592316_8986349950348408797_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u3i0bPvt43w/VhJSymnTjYI/AAAAAAAAFfU/D53ZZv2wV38/s640/11250926_10154153519592316_8986349950348408797_o.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not gonna lie. I totally had Maral's Cyd Charisse in the back of my mind when I was designing Poison Ivy.<br />
I was tickled to get to see the two of them back-t-back like this.</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">I was going to link to the project summary for these two, but it looks like I only ever got around to posting the one about <a href="http://sosteadyasshesews.blogspot.com/2014/02/project-summary-1920s-poison-ivy.html">Poison Ivy</a>. Note to self: get on with that. The judges split the awards up, giving a Best in Show for each of the four featured patterns, and the two of us each took home that honor. And amazing start to the weekend.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497740667660184594noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978897184296648180.post-91099753665298882542015-07-20T01:37:00.003-07:002015-08-05T13:47:59.134-07:00Hand Hemmed Handkerchief Instructions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
As promised, the photos to accompany my hand-hemmed handkerchief workshop that I taught at Costume College over the weekend.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xlJW26K7nUc/VcJp_Bt9jvI/AAAAAAAAFLY/d0rZlvghe58/s1600/100_5405.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xlJW26K7nUc/VcJp_Bt9jvI/AAAAAAAAFLY/d0rZlvghe58/s400/100_5405.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Squaring' your piece of fabric by drawing out a single thread.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TLBOEv9AeE8/VcJqHDHp5FI/AAAAAAAAFLo/rL3WJVTWLzs/s1600/100_5406.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TLBOEv9AeE8/VcJqHDHp5FI/AAAAAAAAFLo/rL3WJVTWLzs/s400/100_5406.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cutting along the cut line left by drawing that single thread gives you a perfectly straight line.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ogW1Met9New/VcJqA6-dRxI/AAAAAAAAFLg/C37rwkShfwU/s1600/100_5407.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ogW1Met9New/VcJqA6-dRxI/AAAAAAAAFLg/C37rwkShfwU/s400/100_5407.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Measuring in one inch to draw another thread, then drawing three more threads<br />towards the center of your work, giving you a 'ditch' of drawn threads.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SJxYwHdDS5M/VcJqgPy6gTI/AAAAAAAAFMI/z2nbZ-ZZEm8/s1600/100_5416.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SJxYwHdDS5M/VcJqgPy6gTI/AAAAAAAAFMI/z2nbZ-ZZEm8/s400/100_5416.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Each edge is folded over about 1/4 inch, working around your handkerchief, then folded over again until the folded edge lines up with the outer edge of your ditch of drawn threads. You have to work sequentially around the piece, otherwise, the raw edges won't tuck in nicely at the corners.<br /></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OA3wsXqO8O4/VcJqR-PQzbI/AAAAAAAAFL4/-katWclv818/s1600/100_5411.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OA3wsXqO8O4/VcJqR-PQzbI/AAAAAAAAFL4/-katWclv818/s400/100_5411.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gently unfold your edges and identify the outermost square out of the nine part square left in each corner. Carefully trim this square of linen out to reduce bulk at your corners.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P4cv5MUjdJ0/VcJqXZF4pBI/AAAAAAAAFMA/E7bCEAeBDM4/s1600/100_5413.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P4cv5MUjdJ0/VcJqXZF4pBI/AAAAAAAAFMA/E7bCEAeBDM4/s400/100_5413.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Refolding the hem and pining in place. Press with the iron if necessary.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mlATyYrjLRk/VcJqrrD8IsI/AAAAAAAAFMY/_XTfiXrYv64/s1600/100_5418.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mlATyYrjLRk/VcJqrrD8IsI/AAAAAAAAFMY/_XTfiXrYv64/s400/100_5418.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anchor a single length of waxed thread inside the folded hem where it won't be seen.<br />Your thread should come out of the folded edge near the gap made by the crossed ditches.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6nW-EyzMugI/VcJqxJs0T4I/AAAAAAAAFMo/90YwLycFhcM/s1600/100_5420.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6nW-EyzMugI/VcJqxJs0T4I/AAAAAAAAFMo/90YwLycFhcM/s400/100_5420.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">To begin your first stitch, take the needle down through the gap, going under four threads, then coming back up. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rv5TpSM9DqY/VcJqsRz593I/AAAAAAAAFMg/tHrAKgy2GR8/s1600/100_5421.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rv5TpSM9DqY/VcJqsRz593I/AAAAAAAAFMg/tHrAKgy2GR8/s400/100_5421.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gently tug the thread to the right to make a small gap between threads.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Bv8veWfj64w/VcJq8QJAZbI/AAAAAAAAFMw/HbLwKyKGyJ0/s1600/100_5425.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Bv8veWfj64w/VcJq8QJAZbI/AAAAAAAAFMw/HbLwKyKGyJ0/s400/100_5425.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Take the needle back down through your first hole, then back up through the second, re-tracing the original path. Only this time, when you come back up to the top side of the work, catch a thread or two of the folded edge of the hem with your needle.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3e8vZuzNGKY/VcJq8h_myTI/AAAAAAAAFM0/q8dnYS6ql-k/s1600/100_5426.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3e8vZuzNGKY/VcJq8h_myTI/AAAAAAAAFM0/q8dnYS6ql-k/s400/100_5426.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Your thread has wrapped around the four threads in your ditch, pulling them into a wedge shape.<br />This is the end of the two parts of the hem stitch.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rY4Th3-kCHY/VcJq_yLU_FI/AAAAAAAAFNA/u9YphcgFKsM/s1600/100_5429.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rY4Th3-kCHY/VcJq_yLU_FI/AAAAAAAAFNA/u9YphcgFKsM/s400/100_5429.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">To begin the next stitch, take the needle down through what WAS your second gap from your first set of stitches.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fOnxa2OfsbI/VcJrPAhh2UI/AAAAAAAAFNM/-IoC5Lxek18/s1600/100_5430.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fOnxa2OfsbI/VcJrPAhh2UI/AAAAAAAAFNM/-IoC5Lxek18/s400/100_5430.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The second part of the second hemstitch on this example.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OJRr41VxxmI/VcJrPWtv58I/AAAAAAAAFNQ/IXCtfALmR64/s1600/100_5433.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OJRr41VxxmI/VcJrPWtv58I/AAAAAAAAFNQ/IXCtfALmR64/s400/100_5433.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Repeat your two-part stitches until you get to the end of your work or run out of thread (which will happen on larger pieces).<br />If you run out of thread, just anchor the end of your thread under the fold of the hem as you did in the beginning. Then anchor a new piece of thread to continue stitching.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JwGw1XZ8pxM/VcJrOh4gexI/AAAAAAAAFNI/6VcbJnaLa5Q/s1600/100_5437.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JwGw1XZ8pxM/VcJrOh4gexI/AAAAAAAAFNI/6VcbJnaLa5Q/s400/100_5437.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When you get towards the end of a row, you will be picking up a few threads from the cross-ditch instead of a folded edge.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4ZGLiNegcVw/VcJrc06z3CI/AAAAAAAAFNg/wFZAqv31Anw/s1600/100_5439.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4ZGLiNegcVw/VcJrc06z3CI/AAAAAAAAFNg/wFZAqv31Anw/s400/100_5439.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">To continue the hemstitch across the corner, use your needle like an awl to shimmy a hole four-threads wide,<br />by deep enough to encompass all three of the layers folded up at this point.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9xB2id5xZwk/VcJriyvkSaI/AAAAAAAAFNw/NIRjucc4E04/s1600/100_5442.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9xB2id5xZwk/VcJriyvkSaI/AAAAAAAAFNw/NIRjucc4E04/s400/100_5442.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You may not be able to take the "down and back up" in once stitch like you've been doing thus far without the gap you've made shifting on you. If so, just take your needle straight down and all the way through your work, then come straight up from the bottom. It's a touch slower, but you'll only be doing this at the very end.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ejpw5oK_1fA/VcJrrmUXfTI/AAAAAAAAFN4/KGMWZA_vr44/s1600/100_5443.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ejpw5oK_1fA/VcJrrmUXfTI/AAAAAAAAFN4/KGMWZA_vr44/s400/100_5443.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When you've completed your row, you can either pass your thread through the middle of the corner and begin work on your next row, or you can anchor the thread by taking 3 or four short stitches back and forth within the corner.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dtj1-dWUvvA/VcJryTfQq8I/AAAAAAAAFOE/e_l4hFEsTzE/s1600/100_5446.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dtj1-dWUvvA/VcJryTfQq8I/AAAAAAAAFOE/e_l4hFEsTzE/s400/100_5446.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If you decide that this corner nonsense is too fiddly, don't sweat it. You can also secure the hem on the corners with a series of neat whip stitches. Only someone examining your work very closely would be able to tell.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lg092K2A39g/VcJr02gEIrI/AAAAAAAAFOQ/pTnzZiiQ_dA/s1600/100_5447.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lg092K2A39g/VcJr02gEIrI/AAAAAAAAFOQ/pTnzZiiQ_dA/s400/100_5447.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's not such a big deal on work with a narrow hem, but if you're doing something larger like a table cloth or pillow case, you can use a whip stitch to close up the open edge at the corner. Totally up to you.</td></tr>
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<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497740667660184594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978897184296648180.post-46110172672032180612015-07-13T23:24:00.004-07:002015-07-13T23:26:18.203-07:00A quick-n-easy way to store pre-cut corset boning is... not what I'm supposed to be working on right now.Getting ready for a big costuming con is always a maddening thing. It seems like the to do list gets more things added to it than get crossed off. And my attention flits from one project to another so often that I feel like I'm always working, and yet never getting anything all the way done. Plus, I never get around to taking the time to take any good pictures, so even the stuff I'm getting done doesn't get shown off. I suppose that when I'm quiet around here is probably when I'm getting the most things done. I just can't seem to share any of it until after the con has come and gone.<br />
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The Sunday breakfast at Costume College has a Regency theme this year, and my only Regency piece was a ballgown. So, something new had to be made. And with the ballgown I wore a pair of wholly inadequate short stays, so new stays were on the docket. And a new chemise. And perhaps a day cap. Ok, so I was building an entirely new outfit from scratch. My sanity is clearly in question. Here, have some ridiculous fitting pics to giggle at. The chemise is straightforward, and the cap is exactly as ridiculous as I intended. Once I get a nice, clear photo of it, I'll put it up on the Historical Sew Fortnightly group for the Accessories challenge.<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">Collapsing bust cups. Not groovy, yo. I went back and put some corded channels </span><span style="text-align: center;">over the bust to give a bit of added shape, then put in an additional boning channel. </span><span style="text-align: center;">Not extending over the hips made the stays super comfortable and way easier to fit. </span><span style="text-align: center;">Back looks good, except for the boning is too long going into the straps. I either need shorter boning, </span><span style="text-align: center;">or I need to learn to hold my shoulders back, because when I pull them back, it looks fine. </span><span style="text-align: center;">An extra snug bodice on the dress might aid me in that respect, but I might try to shorten the bones, anyway.</span><br />
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Anywho, so of course, my brain decides to take a little detour on a a quick-and-easy side project that: fit an immediate need, used up a bit of stash and was started and a finished in a matter of hours, making me feel like I'm at least accomplishing <i>something</i>. While trying to figure out what boning lengths I had and what I needed to order, my frustration level with my current mode of storage for corseting bits reach critical mass.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u0nH1Ue6WaM/VaSiFH3s1kI/AAAAAAAAE3s/isW-B7wPPWg/s1600/100_5354.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u0nH1Ue6WaM/VaSiFH3s1kI/AAAAAAAAE3s/isW-B7wPPWg/s640/100_5354.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Seemed like a good idea at the time, but hella hard to dig out the lengths I'm looking for.</span></td></tr>
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The concept came from the ideas for rolled up storage of knitting needles and crochet hooks that I've come across over time. There are no pictures of the pieces, but it's pretty straight forward. Cut two rectangles of the cotton canvas left over from the stays project; wide enough for one inch per number of differing lengths of boning I'm likely to have on hand and tall enough to accommodate my longest bones, plus a few inches for seams and wiggle room. Lay the two pieces on top of each other. For the top piece, cut it in half at an angle, on a line drawn between marks 2 inches shorter than the shortest and longest bones.<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">Bind the angle cut side of the 'top' piece with bias tape from the Grandma stash. </span><span style="text-align: center;">Lay canvas pieces together and sew 1 inch channels through both pieces. Lift the needle and skip over the top of the channels, but go ahead ans sew across the bottoms. They're going to get bound, anyway. Cut the loose threads at the top of the channels on the right side of the project, but...</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: left;">Leave the threads on the back of the project in place to prevent unraveling.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sewing across the bottom of the channels, within the 1/2" seam allowance of the binding.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Lay the two layers of cotton on top of a fashionable outer fabric and sew<br />together with binding around all four sides</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Add a ribbon to one edge for securely tying the rolled case.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">And the genius moment, use up the leftover bits of bias tape by making a loop for hanging and...<br /><br />Viola! Store hanging up to keep boning from sliding out and free up space in the drawer.</span><br />
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You like that striped yellow cotton? Me too. I picked it up from the Scrap Swap at Figments & Filaments this year. The other 5 3/4 yards of it is getting made into the Regency day dress that goes with the foundations pictured above. I like how the projects pair up like that. Makes me smile.<br />
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497740667660184594noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978897184296648180.post-44991958479299339062015-06-30T18:24:00.001-07:002015-07-01T17:27:22.327-07:00CoCo Count DownOnly 29 sewing days left before I leave for Costume College. *flails* Aaaand, I'm stuck at work waffling about what I want to be working on, instead of at home working on it. So I'm going to do a bit of an accountability post here to try to wrap my head around what's left to do.<br />
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<b>Cavalcade of Costumes Exhibit:</b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1920s Poison Ivy: totally done</td></tr>
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- This is one of those costumes that I can't wear myself, which is sad, because I am hella proud of how she turned out. Since she packs small and has fiddly bits that just love to be appreciated up close, I'll hopefully be bringing Poison Ivy to go on display in the Cavalcade of Costumes exhibit, should there be space left.<br />
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<b>Thursday Night Pool Party:</b> Journey to Atlantis (the Booze Fairies group)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chambord Fairy: about half done</td></tr>
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- I've always had a problem with having a concrete plan of attack when doing a totally original project and this has been one of those projects that morphs as it goes along. I've somehow ended up with a Wild West Steampunk sort of theme going on. Very stylized saloon girl with the ruffly skirt and corset on the outside. Skirt and blouse are done. Still needs a corset to wear on the outside (something that's both reminiscent of that CHAMBORD label strip, yet also kinda steampunky. Yeah, I know. Don't make it easy or anything). I also need to make some spats to wear with my boots and some sort of leather crown topper hat 'thing' since the tiara I'd originally picked out doesn't gel with the Steampunk direction the costume took.<br />
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<b>Friday Day:</b> hall costume<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1882 Tea Gown: 95% done</td></tr>
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- The tea gown was one of those projects that I've worn a couple of times, but not yet had any really nice photos taken in it. Looking forward to having the opportunity to stop by the Photo Studio and get those done this year. The dress is done, I just need to make an adjustment to the waistband of the underskirt to make it lay right over the petticoat. Will take all of 20 minutes once I actually get around to it. Should also figure out something to do with my hair, as it not grown out enough to do much in the way of historical styling with.<br />
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<b>Friday Night Social:</b> Around the World in 80 Days<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hanbok (Korean) Totally done. This is my Historical Masquerade entry from Costume-Con 31.</td></tr>
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- I will find an excuse to wear this costume at least once to probably every con I'll ever go to. Wicked comfortable and such pretty colors. The outfit is done, but I need to pick a new pair of shoes to wear with it, as the old ones had to be tossed. As the skirts are floor length, any nondescript pair of flats should do. If I'm lucky, my hair might be JUST long enough to pull back into a tiny little pony tail that I can hook the bun onto.<br />
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<b>Saturday Day:</b> hall costume<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1950s Avengers Dress: done (enough)</td></tr>
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- Yay for comfy and fun hall costumes. If I have time, I'd like to sort out some accessories themed after individual Avengers, but that's pretty low on the priority list.<br />
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<b>Saturday Night Gala:</b> Characters<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6EytWdJH-CI/VZM60egpqKI/AAAAAAAAE0Y/CI7m-7P4lT0/s1600/10957752_10154144151477316_6605207412939128070_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6EytWdJH-CI/VZM60egpqKI/AAAAAAAAE0Y/CI7m-7P4lT0/s320/10957752_10154144151477316_6605207412939128070_n.jpg" width="122" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clayr from the Abhorsen series by Garth Nix: done.</td></tr>
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- I'll admit, I've been waffling on what to wear to the Gala this year. The big group of 18th century court gowns picked back up and is really happening this year, so I kinda wanted to participate in that. But I wore that last year and won't have the added luggage space from the spousal unit this year and was trying to pack conservatively. So I'm like 90% certain that I'm going to partner up with one of my costuming besties and wear the dress from her big masquerade entry at this year's Costume-Con (that I haven't posted about yet because I'm waiting for pictures better than the ones taken on our cell phones). It's another comfy costume that packs down well, doesn't have a corset and is worn with flats. It's a character from a book and it should be fairly easy to sit at the dinner table in it.<br />
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<b>Sunday day: </b>Breakfast with the Bennets<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GfPm7gwPnZQ/VZM8lDeMEfI/AAAAAAAAE0k/Kd9GhyNTFjA/s1600/apron.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GfPm7gwPnZQ/VZM8lDeMEfI/AAAAAAAAE0k/Kd9GhyNTFjA/s320/apron.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Regency day dress is going to be entirely built around getting<br />
to show off the bib-front smocked apron that I made last year,<br />
when I didn't have anything to wear with it.<br />
Total outfit progress: about 30% done.</td></tr>
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- The nice thing about Sunday this year is that I'm not doing the afternoon Tea and won't have to negotiate a costume change between meals. I'm teaching a workshop on handkerchief hemming that afternoon, so a downplayed Regency day gown seems about right. I only had a Regency ballgown and I'd worn with a pair of short stays that I didn't really like the fit of. So, other than the apron, this project was essentially starting from scratch. The aforementioned bestie helped me drape a set of full length stays when she came out for Halloween like a two years ago, so I pulled those out of the drawer and set to work. The stays are now done except the boning and binding. I've also made up a cap of ridiculousness to cover my hair. I've got the petticoat from the ballgown that I can use, and the apron is done. All that's really left to start on is the dress. The boning is on order. Once that arrives, I can finish up the stays and start draping on the dress. I think I've settled on using the striped yellow cotton blend in the picture below that was acquired from the "scrap" table at Figments & Filaments. I don't know who out there considers six yards of fabric a scrap, but I'm certainly not complaining.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">bib-front Regency day dress</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: center;">This dress will be long-sleeved and </span><i style="text-align: center;">relatively</i><span style="text-align: center;"> simple. At least minimalist on the embellishments. A</span><span style="text-align: center;">nd the front closure should be somewhat adjustable, limiting some of the stress from fittings. I'll also need to make up a chemisette, but I ought to be able to bang out a simple tucker or even reuse one of the late 18th century fichus if time becomes a constraint. </span><br />
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So yeah. Lots to do, but lots of it is little projects and finishings that I should be able to bang out relatively quickly once I set to them. It feel better just putting it all together like this. Now to print out a to-do list to hang above the desk with these guys and I'll be good to go.<br />
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<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497740667660184594noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978897184296648180.post-61863610086392632482015-06-23T20:53:00.000-07:002015-06-23T20:53:30.865-07:00Chambord Fairy: skirtPreparations for Costume College are beginning to pick up speed. As I was clearing out the crafting kingdom of finished pieces for Costume Con, I set out a little inspirational pile of my CoCo projects to be there to welcome me home. The 1950s Avengers dress there at the bottom is already done, so the next step was up to the pink and gold ridiculousness in the upper left.<br />
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There's a cluster of us that are doing a twist on the Absinthe fairy, picking a new booze and a fairy style of our own choosing. I decided to go with Chambord, mostly because I liked the sound of the flavor and was digging on the burgundy and gold color scheme.<br />
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Then plotting led to ruffles and ruffles led me to <a href="https://teainateacup.wordpress.com/2015/02/27/making-a-steampunk-skirt/">a tutorial from Tea in a Teacup</a> about making a steampunk skirt and a cohesive theme was born: late Victorian Steampunk Chambord Fairy. Since the skirt was the driving force behind the costume, I started with that first. I used the suggested cutting diagram as more of a guideline. I originally thought to use a crisp silk like tafetta, but finding the right color at a reasonable price just wasn't working out for me. So I ended up getting the hot pink shantung pictured above for something like $11/yd and I tried my hand at dyeing it. The fabric took up the burgundy dye beautifully, but the texture was forever changed by the super hot dye bath. What was once shiny and crisp had been turned into something dense and of an interesting texture...<br />
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AND I LOVED IT! I started playing with scraps and totally fell for the petal-soft fabric with the tiny cross-hatch appearance. I was getting a Moulin Rouge can-can dancer type feeling going on, and the ruffles just made it happen. The skirt has a raised front panel that shows off some leg, and a faux-bustled back with two extra layers of ruffles. Rather than a boring old zip or button closure, I embraced the hardware-heavy steampunk style and put in some gold grommets for lacing. <br />
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Three tiers of ruffles in across the back. Each row has a three and a six inch roll of ruffles, set off with a strip of gold satin piping.<br />
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The bulk of the skirt is flat-lined with brown cotton bed sheet. I ended up cutting the narrow side panels away a bit, to give the skirt a bit more of a swept-back look. But this mean that a bit of the brown could be seen by someone sitting. I'm going to add some twill tape ties to the seam between side and back panels, using these to bustle the skirt a bit. This should help that side panel to curl inwards a bit and hide the lining. It'll also pull the back hem up just enough to keep it from trailing on the floor. I also took a lesson from my Avengers dress on built-in petticoats and used extra sheeting to make a small built-in bustle for added umph.</div>
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I ended up doing bias-cut ruffles and giving them a rolled hem by hand. The super-tight weave post-dye bath didn't really need finishing on the raw edges, but the fluttery fabric was so thin that I worried the ruffles would just hang limp and lifeless. The rolled hem makes me think of the curled edges of a rose petal, and I flipped the ruffles over so that you see the 'wrong' side of them, added additional texture. All told, the skirt has roughly 30 yards of ruffle. I got through the entire first season of Daredevil working on that nonsense.<br />
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Next up, I need a bodice. Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497740667660184594noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978897184296648180.post-65998092512719562972015-06-23T19:22:00.001-07:002015-06-23T19:23:53.745-07:001950s Avengers Dress<div style="text-align: justify;">
I came home from Costume Con and indulged in a quickie sewing project. Well, quick was a bit of a relative term, but when compared to months-long historical recreations, a few days is nothing. Now, I'm just a teensy bit of an Avengers fan. I had been keeping an eye on some of the themed cotton prints at JoAnn's for a while now, but it wasn't until I spotted this gem that inspiration struck. they finally came up with a print that included Black Widow and Hawkeye along side the other more commonly represented crew. Cue the flailing.</div>
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In order to take advantage of the large characters on this, I needed a dress that had a lot of acreage that wasn't frequently interrupted by seams. <a href="http://butterick.mccall.com/b4790-products-6089.php?page_id=371">This McCall's 50s retro wrap dress</a> seemed to fit the need:</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Only three pattern pieces, darted in front and back, with back waist and shoulder seams.</span></span><br />
<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Back wraps around to the front for a sheath-and-overskirt look. A: has contrast back and skirt.</span></span><br />
<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Bias tape finishes edges.</span></span><span style="font-size: small; text-align: justify;"> </span>Large pieces of fabric with darts for fitting that would be largely<br />
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A bit of googling shows that it was once Butterick's most popular pattern, but among the modern sewers, the dress is getting a lot of hate. I read everything that I could, especially the details on just what people were hating about it. Poor fit throughout the bodice, insecure fastenings, gaping under the arm, heavy skirts draging the dress off kilter with wear, and so on and so forth. Wow. For once being so popular, people sure did hate this dress. But then I lucked upon a tutorial for re-fitting the dress. It turns out that the pattern was re-drafted when being made up for a modern release, loosing a lot of the fit that made the dress so awesome. Katrina over at <a href="http://www.edelweisspatterns.com/blog/?p=814">Edelweiss Patterns Blog</a> wrote up a comprehensive set of instructions that made huge improvements in the way the dress fits.</div>
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This was another one of those patterns that, once drawn out, I kinda of started to ignore the cutting construction details. For starters, I had to get creative with the piecing since I was working with a narrow (45") width fabric. <span style="text-align: center;">Blue lines show where I extended pieces out for better coverage/security/up-sizing. Red lines are where I </span><span style="text-align: center;">either added additional darts or broke pattern pieces down to be able to cut them from a narrow fabric. </span><span style="text-align: center;">Since the bulk of the front panel gets hidden under the skirts, I wasn't worried about the extra seams.</span></div>
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A nice thing about this print is that no matter which orientation you have the fabric in, <i>somebody </i>is upright. The dominant image to my eye was the Hulk and I wanted to keep him upright on the bodice and skirt fronts. This left Black Widow and Hawkeye the upright characters on the skirt back. Of course, Hawkeye falling to the earth while shooting an arrow straight up might actually be upright, so it's hard to tell.</div>
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I flat-lined the front and bodice back with the <a href="http://www.joann.com/sew-classics-bottomweight-wrinklease/10493609.html">Sew Classics Bottomweight Wrinklease</a> in white. This gave a nice foundation for the bodice pieces, while also ensuring opacity. I added a few inches to the center front pieces so the finished dress doesn't have quite the open space in the front, which I think that I like. I wasn't a fan of where the skirt fronts flip back, so the three inches or so of the center front is faced, which serves two purposes. One, the reverse of the fabric is quite obvious and a bit unsightly. Two, I used the same cotton bottom weight as the flat-lining, which added a bit of weight to keep the skirt fronts from flying open. I also swapped out the button-and-loop closure recommended in the pattern for a set of shoestring ties that wrap back around to the front. Being able to tighten the under layer means that stress is not put on the closer of the outer layer, so that it lays nicely and doesn't bunch.<br />
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Another issue with the dress is that you can't really wear the standard petticoat under this, since the dress is open in the front, and the front bodice piece does not flare out from the waist. And this dress NEEDS a petticoat. You can't achieve that classic 50's silhouette without one. Katrina's sew-a-long tutorial had instructions for making a petticoat that separates in the front so that it could be tucked under the overskirt, but I worried that it'd work it's way forward and show. So instead, I chose to build the petticoat into the dress. I cut a second overskirt piece out of my white cotton bottomweight that was a couple inches shorter in length, and did not have the added inches to the center front. The hem was finished with some vintage bias tape and sewn down with several rows of straight stitching in a trapunto style to add a bit of stiffness. I sandwiched the bottom edge of the upper back piece in between the two layers of skirt, then surged the seam allowance which would then be hidden when the skirt layers hang down. The built-in petticoat is nice because I don't have to worry about tracking down extra pieces, but the cotton did add a bit of weight. I don't notice it when I'm wearing the dress, but my hanger wasn't happy and I'll have to keep that in mind when packing for travel.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-km9oyxeHnLc/VYoTiWNF8XI/AAAAAAAAEw8/blfRqQu1oXM/s1600/100_5312.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-km9oyxeHnLc/VYoTiWNF8XI/AAAAAAAAEw8/blfRqQu1oXM/s640/100_5312.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The dress opened up to show the facings on the overskirt, as well as the added petticoat layer.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The front has 3 hook-n-eye closures, but I stitched down a couple of Avengers logo pins in place of buttons.</td></tr>
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The back of the skirts ride up just a bit. I think that the next time I make up this pattern, I need to add more length to the skirt back, taking a bit of it out of the bodice back. I like the built-in petticoat, but I think I'll look for a light-weight tulle and keep the dress hand-wash only. And even though I added more coverage to the armhole, it still falls a bit short in the front. Easy enough to fix with a neutral colored tank top for now, but I'll have to tweak that for next time. Because OF COURSE there's going to be a next time. The dress is comfy and fun to wear, while still dressing it up quite a bit compared to my usual slovenly fashions of knit tees and cargo pants. I'm actually already plotting another. This time, a fancy party frock. I've got three yards of this synthetic plum taffeta with black flocked floral designs on it that's been languishing in the stash for eons. It's not enough to make a full dress out of, but if I pair that up with a plain black taffeta and do something along the lines of View A, only cutting the upper back piece out of solid black and leave it so that only the over skirt is the decorative bit, it ought to look pretty sharp. Holiday party dress? <br />
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497740667660184594noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978897184296648180.post-36043750487377670832015-05-07T20:39:00.001-07:002015-05-08T19:44:56.546-07:00Figments & Filaments 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last weekend I attended the sophomore year of Figments & Filaments here in Kansas City (Overland Park, if you want to get specific). It's exciting to have a costuming convention starting up in my own town. And there was SO much awesome packed into such a small con.</div>
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I got to go to a great panel about the 14th C V-neck gown (houppelande) by Robin Netherton. She had many thinky thoughts on the evolution of the neckline and the construction there of. It left me wanting to make another go at making a houppelande, and possibly not out of heavy upholstery fabric this time. I also hit a panel on the use of silk and gold in Medieval textiles by Gale Owen Crocker that left me wanting to embroider everything in gold. A panel on leather working got the inspiration running and lead me make an inaugural visit to Tandy Leather for basic supplies. I also caught Jillian Venters catch-all panel on Goth Style which left me wanting to tweak and mod my way into something fabulous. I also hosted a panel on 18th C Womens' Fashions, focusing on the social and political climate that they were a part of. Wow, but it's been a while since I've had to do such concentrated prep work for something. It was like college all over again. But on the bright side, I now have a rough draft of a good programming topic put together that I can refine before bringing out another time. Not that spending hours collecting images of portraits and extant garments wasn't a fabulous use of my time. And I solidified a lot of things that I kinda knew, but didn't know well. Especially with regards to the timeline of events in the French and English courts and the people involved.</div>
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Pretty much everything else that I got up to can be summarized in photos. Luckily, the official con photographers and the couple of others that were flitting around were great about catching lots of photos of everyone and I got caught at one point or another in every costume that I wore. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5Sy2F4nMD68/VUsMv6AkL6I/AAAAAAAAETw/HO6y9YJhUmA/s1600/FnF07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="419" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5Sy2F4nMD68/VUsMv6AkL6I/AAAAAAAAETw/HO6y9YJhUmA/s640/FnF07.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I put the His & Hers 18th C Court Ensemble in the costume gallery.<br />
Photo by BMoon Studios</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N7VWzxt40hQ/VUsTWpsUPUI/AAAAAAAAEUI/ttaYuN4C6EU/s1600/Tom%2BUlrick%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N7VWzxt40hQ/VUsTWpsUPUI/AAAAAAAAEUI/ttaYuN4C6EU/s640/Tom%2BUlrick%2B1.jpg" width="424" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">I finally caught a few photos of me wearing my 1880s tea gown.</span><br />
Photo by Tom Ulrick</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3OU1nYMz9sk/VUsTWlL43YI/AAAAAAAAEUA/jNQBQ23dzXM/s1600/FnF01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3OU1nYMz9sk/VUsTWlL43YI/AAAAAAAAEUA/jNQBQ23dzXM/s640/FnF01.jpg" width="424" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Obligatory cup of tea with the tea gown.<br />Photo by BMoon Studios</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nKAQXWXGAR4/VUsVmDsO2MI/AAAAAAAAEUk/L-GLa9oCGFg/s1600/FnF10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nKAQXWXGAR4/VUsVmDsO2MI/AAAAAAAAEUk/L-GLa9oCGFg/s640/FnF10.jpg" width="425" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As a guest lecturer, I scored an unexpected invite to the VIP meet-n-greet on opening night.<br />
Photo by BMoon Studios. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OLb5UrTJiMo/VUsWOjDbJcI/AAAAAAAAEUs/vNIMgvdU0gM/s1600/FnF08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OLb5UrTJiMo/VUsWOjDbJcI/AAAAAAAAEUs/vNIMgvdU0gM/s640/FnF08.jpg" width="425" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I overslept and missed the opportunity to wear my chemise dress to my 18th c fashion panel,<br />
but it made a great outfit for lounging about on Saturday afternoon.<br />
Photo by BMoon Studios.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6uIw2kRSwRI/VUsWoLNDFmI/AAAAAAAAEU0/DZTcrfGVjCs/s1600/Tom%2BUlrick%2B4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6uIw2kRSwRI/VUsWoLNDFmI/AAAAAAAAEU0/DZTcrfGVjCs/s640/Tom%2BUlrick%2B4.jpg" width="425" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finishing my white work embroidery project started back at Costume College last year.<br />
Photo by Tom Ulrick.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5hUQhFH-TiE/VUsXIMXnN2I/AAAAAAAAEVM/UN7HV0pa6mE/s1600/IBOT%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5hUQhFH-TiE/VUsXIMXnN2I/AAAAAAAAEVM/UN7HV0pa6mE/s640/IBOT%2B1.jpg" width="451" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aaaaand, I got to have a right and proper geek-gasm getting my photo taken with the lovely gentleman from<br />
Iron Brothers of Topeka. I've admired their suits from afar at other, more crowded events. So it was a real<br />
treat to get to check them out in a much more subdued venue. Photo by IBOT.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TjXLLK6xK_4/VUsZSO9YZII/AAAAAAAAEVY/4TRvj9t3Iqc/s1600/Stephanie%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TjXLLK6xK_4/VUsZSO9YZII/AAAAAAAAEVY/4TRvj9t3Iqc/s640/Stephanie%2B2.jpg" width="435" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stephanie caught a photo of me in the Queen of Hearts costume that I wore for the fashion show.<br />
The look was well-received, but I creep myself out whenever I see pictures of that makeup job.<br />
The goal was to minimize the pretty and over-emphasize masculine mouth and jawline. *shivers*</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Lyn00Nx3qmQ/VUsZSeR2D9I/AAAAAAAAEVc/TKOF0oMcZdU/s1600/Stephanie%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Lyn00Nx3qmQ/VUsZSeR2D9I/AAAAAAAAEVc/TKOF0oMcZdU/s640/Stephanie%2B1.jpg" width="409" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And here I am with Kimberly, scaring off new friends just as fast as I can make them.<br />
Photo stolen from Stephanie.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LF86MscNwXE/VUsa7YVnEMI/AAAAAAAAEVs/aaj8eF_-HQE/s1600/FnF05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LF86MscNwXE/VUsa7YVnEMI/AAAAAAAAEVs/aaj8eF_-HQE/s640/FnF05.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was SO hard staying in character for pictures. Everyone seemed to get a kick out of reacting to an angry queen,<br />
but I would bust up laughing in a matter of seconds.<br />
Photo by BMoon Studios.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lazy Sunday costume of my Medieval Sideless Surcoat. No wig, corset, makeup, or heels.</td></tr>
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<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497740667660184594noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978897184296648180.post-66582993357680079832015-04-02T01:10:00.001-07:002015-04-02T01:10:12.642-07:00HSM April: War & Peace - the 14th Century Linen Coif<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
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April's Historical Sew Monthly Challenge was War & Peace: <i>The extremes of conflict and long periods of peacetime both influence what people wear. Make something that shows the effects of war, or of extended peace.</i> </div>
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After <a href="http://sosteadyasshesews.blogspot.com/2015/03/sideless-surcoat-historical-sew-monthly.html">getting dressed up for pictures in my new side-less surcoat</a>, I was reminded that, while I love having the veil, I hate the work it takes to get it on right. I had been wearing my veil pinned to a matching silk fillet (strap around the head) and barbette (strap under the chin), but the process of pinning those pieces in place, then pining the veil to them had grown cumbersome. I was looking for something both more secure, and requiring less fiddling to get and keep on straight. Hence the coif!</div>
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There are any number of excellent patterns and instructions out there, but the one that I found most useful was posted by the <a href="https://maniacalmedievalist.wordpress.com/2012/11/02/pattern-your-own-simple-coif-unpadded-arming-cap/">Maniacal Medievalist</a>, which used lots of measurements and math to get something close-fitting and properly fit. I made slight alterations to the pattern in that edge against the face is bound in the same narrow strip of fabric that extends down into the ties, rather than having a turned under edge with separate ties attached. I felt that this made my ties more secure, but had the drawback of leaving me with short ties, due to the size of the scrap of linen that I was using. As much as having things secured under the chin tend to annoy me, I'm thinking I may just leave the ties undone, or tie them instead behind the neck. Either way, the cap stays relatively secure.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dt6GgpLiIOE/VRz3bEe8H5I/AAAAAAAADZo/z_knFIet3Pw/s1600/100_4950.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dt6GgpLiIOE/VRz3bEe8H5I/AAAAAAAADZo/z_knFIet3Pw/s1600/100_4950.JPG" height="640" width="510" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I left a bit of ease in the back so I'd have a place to stuff my hair, if I succeed in growing it out.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Octopus made a fantastically patient model for me while I kept fiddling with camera settings.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seen from the back. Lower edge was turned under twice and whip stitched.</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: start;">Once the cap was complete, I tried it on and was a bit disappointed in the center seam. The two pieces were sewn together, then the seam allowances folded back under themselves and secured to their respective halves. I was a touch unsure about the security of the seam, and so decided to do some sort of decorative top-stiching to secure it. Well that went downhill and I ended up doing a more elaborate layered herringbone design reminiscent of some of the St Birgitta's caps I'd come across in my research.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail of the herringbone stitching down the center seam.</td></tr>
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<u>The details for the challenge</u></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.0799999237061px; text-align: center;">What the item is (and how it is a product of war or a lengthy period of peace: Medieval linen coif. I kind of see the entire medieval period as an unsteady period of war and peace, and war again. However, 600 years in the future, historians could probably say the same of today.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.0799999237061px; text-align: center;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.0799999237061px; text-align: center;">Fabric: lightweight white linen</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.0799999237061px; text-align: center;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.0799999237061px; text-align: center;">Pattern: <a href="https://maniacalmedievalist.wordpress.com/2012/11/02/pattern-your-own-simple-coif-unpadded-arming-cap/">here</a></span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.0799999237061px; text-align: center;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.0799999237061px; text-align: center;">Year: 14th century</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.0799999237061px; text-align: center;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.0799999237061px; text-align: center;">Notions: linen thread, bamboo viscose crochet thread for the embroidery</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.0799999237061px; text-align: center;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.0799999237061px; text-align: center;">How historically accurate is it? 9.5/10, with a half-point docked for the embroidery thread</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.0799999237061px; text-align: center;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.0799999237061px; text-align: center;">Hours to complete: about 8, starting from measuring and drafting out the pattern. About half of that was spent on the embroidery.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.0799999237061px; text-align: center;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.0799999237061px; text-align: center;">First worn: Planning to wear it for Figments & Filaments later this month</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.0799999237061px; text-align: center;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.0799999237061px; text-align: center;">Total cost: maybe $2. All of the materials were in the stash and really only a very small bit of them had to be used.</span><br />
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497740667660184594noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978897184296648180.post-91398544199556944662015-03-19T00:28:00.001-07:002016-03-06T21:35:27.770-08:00Naka-Kon 2015<div style="text-align: justify;">
I spent the weekend out at <a href="https://naka-kon.com/">Naka-Kon</a>, Kansas City's Anime convention. While anime is not really my thing, I've been involved with this convention in one capacity or another for going on seven years now, so it's always held a warm spot in my heart. The con has been growing by leaps and bounds lately and this year, they had over 8500 attendees - and that's without counting hundreds of badges handed out to staff and volunteers and guests and vendors and press... So yeah, it's gotten kinda big. I went out on Thursday night and helped out with registration, and took the opportunity to wear my "angel and devil on my shoulder" bobble head get up. Yes, that's Captain America and Iron Man. No, you shouldn't have to ask which is the angel and which the devil.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9cEB8NTqYxc/VQkMyatCsmI/AAAAAAAADXM/beZat3mNCVQ/s1600/100_4924.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9cEB8NTqYxc/VQkMyatCsmI/AAAAAAAADXM/beZat3mNCVQ/s1600/100_4924.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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After I went home on Thursday night, I got the itch to make up this yukata that I'd bought a lovely water lily cotton for something like $1.99. It was one of those "simple" projects that I always meant to do up, but never seemed to get around to and I found I was just annoyed with myself enough to power through it. From sketching out the pattern and doing my math (had to get creative with the cutting layout, as I only had 3.75 yards to work with), the whole project took just under six hours to complete. But as I was approaching that third hour, disaster struck when I realized that I had cut one of my front panels upside down. The left front panel, to be precise. The exact panel which should be folded over on top of the right in a properly worn kimono. Cue minor bits of swearing. However, genius idea struck. See, the major faux pas in wearing a kimono wrapped right over left is that wrapping a kimono in that fashion is how the dead are traditionally dressed for burial. Soooo, I decided to be a ghost. And let me tell you. Googling for pictures of Japanese ghosts for makeup ideas at four in the morning does not prepare you for a restful night of sleep. But, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vS3e36i9xcU">a lovely You Tube tutorial</a> was found and all was well with the world.</div>
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People seemed to fluctuate between staring and being unable to make eye contact. And let's be honest here. I scared the crap out of myself whenever I wandered by a mirror. Creepy veiny eye bruising aside, my wig was BLONDE!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Creepy bottom-lit cosplay photoshoot for the win.</td></tr>
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Saturday was eaten up as a workmanship judge for the cosplay contest. I swear, workmanship is my favorite kind of judging. I get to see all of these amazing costume up close, and then they TELL ME HOW THEY DID IT! I am still amazed by all that can be accomplished in the world of faux armor, and got several ideas for painting techniques that I hope to one day take advantage of.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TMj79ZZa2Ns/VQkgBlzRMYI/AAAAAAAADYI/RjyfTc9sE3U/s1600/1461235_3364764036552_7090726864292794079_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TMj79ZZa2Ns/VQkgBlzRMYI/AAAAAAAADYI/RjyfTc9sE3U/s1600/1461235_3364764036552_7090726864292794079_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">photo credit to <a aria-describedby="js_15" aria-haspopup="true" aria-owns="js_14" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=1192652217" href="https://www.facebook.com/satoshi.inoue.984786?fref=photo" id="js_16" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">Satoshi Inoue</a></td></tr>
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I always have trouble deciding what to wear when I'm judging a contest. There's a part of me that thinks that need to "wear my credentials', but sometimes hard to balance. It has to be a costume that I can drive to and from the convention center in, as well as comfortably sit in for hours, and that eliminates pretty much all of the corseted costumes. I don't want to wear anything that has lots of makeup or body paint when I expect to be fondling other peoples' costumes. And at an anime con, I'm always afraid that the historical garb would be completely lost on anyone. So, kimono it is, then. I ended up over-sleeping on Saturday and just threw on my hand-painted haori jacket over street clothes and had to make do with that. Felt a little odd being the only non-character, unwigged person on the judging panel, but perhaps I got lucky and they all just thought I was super confident, or something.</div>
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Now I just need to find myself an anime character that I can make a cosplay of for next year.<br />
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edited to add on 3/06/16: basic kimono pattern manipulation to accommodate wide hips.<br />
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<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497740667660184594noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978897184296648180.post-84975028917344918542015-03-10T16:03:00.001-07:002015-03-10T16:14:52.958-07:00Sideless Surcoat - Historical Sew Monthly Stashbusting Challenge<div style="text-align: justify;">
Building on the <a href="http://sosteadyasshesews.blogspot.com/2015/02/medieval-fantasy-kirtle-and-paternoster.html">generic Medieval fantasy costume</a> that I started working on last month, I made up a relatively straight-forward sideless surcoat. Went the easy route and again brought out the Burda 7977 for this instead of using one of any number of fabulous tutorials that are out there. The goal here was to bang something out quickly so that I could show off the kirtle at <a href="http://figmentsandfilaments.com/">Figments & Filaments</a> here in Kansas City next month.</div>
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I was already planning to avoid buying anything new for this project, so it fit in nicely with the Historical Sew <strike>Fortnightly </strike>Monthly challenge for March which was "<a href="http://thedreamstress.com/2015/03/hsfm-15-challenge-3-stashbusting/">Stashbusting</a>". I found a five yard section of wool suiting that had a subtle brown and tan twill weave to it that I picked up at a steep discount eons ago with the notion that <i>surely </i>I could use it for something. Thems dangerous words right there. Well, to make it a little less 'shiny suit' and a little more Fourteenth Century, I serged the raw edges and dumped the lot of it into the washing machine on warm, and dried it on medium heat. This resulted in an every so slight bit of felting which softened the overall hand and color nicely. The contrasting was done in black silk velvet that was leftover from my <a href="http://sosteadyasshesews.blogspot.com/2013/11/hsf-challenge-22-masquerade.html">Queen of Hearts</a> project, and plus the thread, that's all there is to it.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lol. My neighbors must think we're so weird.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not sure why it's riding up like that in the back.<br />
Must have caught on the belt I'm wearing over the kirtle.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bNnMffphWwo/VP92XQbxGoI/AAAAAAAADWo/OI2FKW2958U/s1600/100_4885.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bNnMffphWwo/VP92XQbxGoI/AAAAAAAADWo/OI2FKW2958U/s1600/100_4885.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another shot at that paternoster and the decorative edging on the sleeves of my kirtle.</td></tr>
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You can almost tell in the close up shot above, but for the velvet, I just laid out the pattern pieces and cut strips about four inches in from the arm hole openings. The velvet was sewn to the WRONG side of the arm openings, then folded to the outside, encasing the seams. I then top-stitched about 1/4" from the edge, then again about 3" in from the edge and trimmed off the excess. The top stitching largely gets lost in the pile of the velvet, so I didn't think it detracted from the historical look too much. To finish those raw cut edges, I just used black silk thread to whip stitch and short intervals all the way around. The collar and hemline were treated in much the same way</div>
Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497740667660184594noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978897184296648180.post-63905543629167705902015-02-28T21:04:00.000-08:002015-02-28T21:06:26.324-08:00Thrift Store Finds: making a 1920s Flapper-worthy hand bag from a ladies blouseA bit of a 'quickie' project to help me feel accomplished in between finishing off bigger fish. One of the things I made time for on my trip to LA last summer was to hit up some thrift stores. One of my finds from the Goodwill of Los Angeles (just west of Beverly Hills and south of Hollywood) was this blouse, a Hale Bob beaded silk burnout tank top that I practically tore off the hanger and hid under my arms. It's the kind of top that, while pretty, I could never personally wear and do justice. But as luck would have it, it was just enough fabric for a kick ass purse.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-otaL5lGOCUM/VOuwmz_JM8I/AAAAAAAADSg/oOvWyxY_v50/s1600/100_4811.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-otaL5lGOCUM/VOuwmz_JM8I/AAAAAAAADSg/oOvWyxY_v50/s1600/100_4811.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The color. The beading. The pattern... there was nothing about this that I didn't love.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-I6RUq5kppUQ/VOuwno--BbI/AAAAAAAADSs/2hu-YM2B4XY/s1600/100_4812.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-I6RUq5kppUQ/VOuwno--BbI/AAAAAAAADSs/2hu-YM2B4XY/s1600/100_4812.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blouse was lined in a bright yellow habotai silk, and so I cannibalized that to be my purse's lining.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GbXYphrkckE/VOuw8ei3cpI/AAAAAAAADTE/IPelkye5qvc/s1600/100_4823.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GbXYphrkckE/VOuw8ei3cpI/AAAAAAAADTE/IPelkye5qvc/s1600/100_4823.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a><br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MmKk7laPrJQ/VOuwna2Pv1I/AAAAAAAADSo/2SNcT5ov18M/s1600/100_4821.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MmKk7laPrJQ/VOuwna2Pv1I/AAAAAAAADSo/2SNcT5ov18M/s1600/100_4821.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Only $2.99. Considering similar blouses on the store's website were running around $140, I got off pretty light.</span></td></tr>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-snDQtfUh0No/VOuw6Gf4LAI/AAAAAAAADS4/IJh0D5Qrapw/s1600/100_4825.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-snDQtfUh0No/VOuw6Gf4LAI/AAAAAAAADS4/IJh0D5Qrapw/s1600/100_4825.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I happened to already have a ball clasp purse frame in the stash, so I used that as the foundation. The lining and fashion layers were separated, and a bit of scrap yellow cotton was used to sketch out a pattern (and later as an interlining to give the finished bag some shape). Basically, from the hinges up, I added a half-inch to the finished dimensions to allow for seams to be folded down. Then I free-handed a basic purse-like shape that was wider than the handle, but would end up being gathered in at the top edges to meet the hinges. I did the whole thing over top of the lining to remind myself of what my absolute limits to the dimension would have to be.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_pKQb638TOw/VOuw6CqJqeI/AAAAAAAADS8/cJhLpJYlZ7c/s1600/100_4827.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_pKQb638TOw/VOuw6CqJqeI/AAAAAAAADS8/cJhLpJYlZ7c/s1600/100_4827.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I took the cotton pattern and folded it in half before cutting so that I'd end up with something a bit more symmetrical that what I could manage by hand.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HQs_4QSV1Mg/VOuxLQbh-JI/AAAAAAAADTU/dAHQQEc17Sc/s1600/100_4829.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HQs_4QSV1Mg/VOuxLQbh-JI/AAAAAAAADTU/dAHQQEc17Sc/s1600/100_4829.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I treated the interlining as a sort of flatlining for the lining silk. I did this because I wanted to install pockets and they needed something of structure to attach to. I made up the template by pulling out the things that I knew I wanted easily accessible. By having the heavy phone anchored to the wall of the lining, I could avoid having a bag that sagged in the center under it's weight. The pen and cash/card pockets were for things easily lost in a big bag. I just approximated about a half inch of space around each of the items for ease of use.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ctp_bn19vMQ/VOuxN8HMj8I/AAAAAAAADTc/__8YIzRyb_E/s1600/100_4832.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ctp_bn19vMQ/VOuxN8HMj8I/AAAAAAAADTc/__8YIzRyb_E/s1600/100_4832.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I folded the lining fabric over the edges of of the interlining once on three sides, and folded down twice on what would be the top edge. The bottom corners were turned in to keep them from straying into the seam allowance on the bottom edge.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RYO6wMstVY0/VOuxdldpbtI/AAAAAAAADTs/l930HePtD4k/s1600/100_4838.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RYO6wMstVY0/VOuxdldpbtI/AAAAAAAADTs/l930HePtD4k/s1600/100_4838.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finished pocket attached to the lining, flat-lined to the cotton interlining. I put a row of stitches across the bottom of the cash n cards pocket to raise these items up a bit to make them easier to retrieve. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g9PJ4_BrpVs/VOuxhXKS1RI/AAAAAAAADT0/Iof9qaKy3HA/s1600/100_4837.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g9PJ4_BrpVs/VOuxhXKS1RI/AAAAAAAADT0/Iof9qaKy3HA/s1600/100_4837.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The fashion and lining layers were assembled separately by laying the right sides together and stitching around the bottom/sides to within just over a half inch of each top corner. The lining was sewn on the machine, but the delicate burnout velvet fashion layer was done by hand (mostly to keep my machine from eating the bead).</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rZ0ryToZnn4/VOuxck6gB3I/AAAAAAAADTo/f5FZhnSnxHs/s1600/100_4836.JPG" height="480" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So sheer!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C2Iptm0V_8E/VOux0sHt_NI/AAAAAAAADUM/QnqdYeCZURU/s1600/100_4840.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C2Iptm0V_8E/VOux0sHt_NI/AAAAAAAADUM/QnqdYeCZURU/s1600/100_4840.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The fashion layer was attached to the purse frame first by folding the top edge over the bar and hand-stitching in place.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bFSLI0QJFwE/VOuyDlm5VMI/AAAAAAAADUk/c86sy9Pt_Eg/s1600/100_4851.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bFSLI0QJFwE/VOuyDlm5VMI/AAAAAAAADUk/c86sy9Pt_Eg/s1600/100_4851.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Then the lining was inserted and the top edges folded under, then whip stitched to the fashion layer just under the bar. The outer corners were folded under and whip stitched as well, and then the points of those corners were tack stitched to the insides of the corners near the hinges to give the bag a bit of a gathered effect. I made sure to put the tag back into the finished purse, as a reminder of the piece's former life. It makes me smile.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FFiN78hw0NM/VOux-wHMtJI/AAAAAAAADUU/BoMCxOi1J9Y/s1600/100_4846.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FFiN78hw0NM/VOux-wHMtJI/AAAAAAAADUU/BoMCxOi1J9Y/s1600/100_4846.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slap on a beaded tassel and TA DA! We're done! Now to find an excuse to wear it. :)</td></tr>
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<span id="goog_1048618475"></span><span id="goog_1048618476"></span><br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497740667660184594noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978897184296648180.post-5599063431500946892015-02-26T18:50:00.003-08:002015-04-02T00:16:32.129-07:00Medieval Fantasy Kirtle and Paternoster (Rosary Beads)<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So I made myself a second kirtle for a medieval fantasy group project that I got roped into and I found myself wanting to come up with an outfit to wear it with. Hence the non-specific Medieval fantasy-like project was born.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I used Burda 7977 for the kirtle and ended up fitting it with bust darts to give it a bra-less snug fit, so not terribly historically accurate, but comfy as hell. Darts were a much easier fix to do when fitting myself, as opposed to trying to re-work the armscye. There is not enough yoga in the world that would let me do that properly and I was too impatient to wait for help.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o_rxZact1GQ/VO_KAm-wk9I/AAAAAAAADUw/EHCLTIwmbTc/s1600/burda%2B7977.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o_rxZact1GQ/VO_KAm-wk9I/AAAAAAAADUw/EHCLTIwmbTc/s1600/burda%2B7977.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The dress is a mid-weight (4.7 oz) linen from Dharma Trading Co, dyed a pale green to match the details in the as-yet unfinished overdress. Machine sewn for all weight-bearing construction seams, since learning when to say no to hand-stitching is one of my goals in life. But I did cave and tack down the felled seams by hand.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: x-small; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is the second time I've made up this pattern, but the first time that I attempted the double sleeves thing it has going on. They actually turned out pretty nice and I think I'll leave off the lacing on the over sleeves so that they hang open a bit for some flair.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here you can see the hand stitching to finish the seams, as well as where I used gold silk thread embellishment to hide the top-stitching around the neckline, which was also how I treated the lower edge of the cuffs of the over sleeve.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once it's on me and I'm wearing shoes, the hem will sit just off the floor.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While I was fitting with the back safety-pinned closed, I realized that I could slip the dress on and off without un-pinning it. Therefor, the lacing didn't have to be strictly functional. So to save a truly epic amount of time, I skipped binding the eyelets and just gently used an awl to help thread a rayon yarn through the edges. I was able to keep my lacing intervals much narrower this way, so to avoid too much puckering of the center back when worn.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; text-align: justify;">I came across the idea for a paternoster while browsing through medieval costume sources online, looking for accessory ideas. While not a particularly religious person myself, I latched onto the notion of the rosary being an acceptable way for individuals to express their tastes and show off wealth, without being considered "too flashy" in doing so. As the outfit I was making was gearing up to be an upper class representation, the rosary became an essential accessory. Sarah Edgecumbe has put together a fantastic </span><a href="https://www.pinterest.com/EdgecumbeArt/paternosters-medieval-and-renaisssance-rosary-bead/" style="text-align: justify;">pinterest board</a><span style="color: #222222; text-align: justify;"> on the topic, with LOTS of references from paintings. Also, paternoster-row.medievalscotland.org, as well as <a href="http://www.sca.org.au/stow/rosary.pdf">this SCA paper</a> were </span><span style="color: #222222; text-align: justify;">super informative.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I ended up making mine from materials that I already had on hand. Fifty 5/16" light red beads meant to resemble coral, separated by larger beads of "jade", also quite decadent. Christ Laning has <a href="http://paternosters.blogspot.com/2005/11/when-rosaries-are-red.html">an entire blog post</a> devoted to the red beaded paternooster that helped cinch my choice of beads. My fantasy lady apparently has expensive and exotic tastes. I strung them all on gold silk cord and I made a small tassel from the same.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The whole thing isn't large, but just enough to wear wrapped around the wrist and offer me something for my fidgety hands to play with.</span></div>
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497740667660184594noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978897184296648180.post-60267631730438578602015-02-17T16:58:00.000-08:002015-02-17T16:58:00.681-08:00Life catching up with youSo... apparently, I haven't published anything since mid-September. Opps. I'd say, how did that happen, but I think I already know. I got side-tracked from historical projects when I scrapped my initial plans for Halloween. And then work got the way work tends to do, sometimes, with looming inspections and an unimaginable quantity of new responsibilites. Stress means that I started spending my free time immersed in my preferred avoidance technique, reading fanfiction. Combine that with a shiny new fandom obsession (hellooooo, Marvel Cinematic Universe. Where have you been all my life?) Then there was Arisia coming up and my responsibilities there were more focused on the planning of programming than the making of anything new. So, yeah. A creative dry spell and falling off the face of the blogosphere was bound to happen, as I always feel like I have nothing to say if I've got nothing to show. But things have sorta kinda settled down with work a bit, and I'm ready to stop avoiding the craft room and get back to work. So I share with you an overview of what I've been working on.<br />
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<u>Scrapped Halloween Plans</u><br />
My original idea for Halloween fit into the Alternate History challenge for the Historical Sew Fortnightly. The spousal unit and myself were going as 'Victorian Spiders', inspired by some of the fantastical fancy dress costumes of the late Victorian era. I already had the black underskirt, but I was able to bang out a black widow themed over-skirt and most of a brown gentleman's vest that was due to have an inverted fiddle applique on the back. But this was the project that just stalled out on me and ended up getting shelved. Nice part is that when I come up with another event needing something along these lines, it shouldn't take too much effort to polish them off.<br />
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<u>Halloween 2.0: Marvel Superheroes</u><br />
When the motivation to work on the Victorian spiders dried up, I decided to pursue a wild hair inspired by my current fandom obsession. I made the Captain Marvel on the left for my bff (well, cannibalized a zentai suit and attached the mantle, hip scarf and accessorized), and my fem Captain America on the right (in which I Frankensteined a dress set out of a pair of stretch, textured tube skirts off the rack). Wolverine in front and Star Lord in the center back completed our haphazard team.<br />
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<u>Quilted Jumps</u><br />
They were originally plotted out as an entry for the HSF challenge #16, Terminology. Then they took a little while to get from drafted out to cutting and so got pushed back to #17, Yellow. Then I found a funny reference in a poem while I was doing some research and they were totally going to be done in time for the challenge #18, Poetry in Motion. But even on the machine, the quilting took FOREVER and I was like, that's it. I know I've seen SOMEBODY do jumps in the last 18 months of HSF, I'll just write it in for inspiration and call it good. Well, yeah. They're still a work in progress. I'm just about done with the binding, having left a few gaps to put in the boning that I ordered the other tnight. So there's really very little left to do at this point. I wanted a set of jumps to use as an alternative to stays worn under my chemise a la reine. The yellow should be light enough to not be TOO obvious under the thin white cotton (or at least less obvious than my current gray and navy stays).<br />
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And what's coming next? <br />
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- Well, I've given myself permission to set aside the HSF challenges for now. As much fun as they were, I was stressing myself out about getting to every single one of them and screwing myself over when it came to prioritizing projects. <br />
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- Figments & Filaments (a costuming convention here in Kansas City) is coming up and I've gotten a few panel ideas in for that. I've not let myself be in charge of anything big, but I've found lots of little ways to get involved and hopefully make the experience a better thing for all involved. <br />
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- the deadline for getting in class proposals for Costume College came too soon after Arisia for me to be able to devote a lot of energy to them, but I was able to get one proposal in at the last minute for a workshop that would be uber fun to do, should it get selected. Plotting for costumes for that, however, will just have to wait. Before that is...<br />
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- Costume Con, which I had to miss last year and I was totally missing it. Costume Con has a strong competition element to it (among a lot of other things), but as I'm one of those people that thrive on competition, it's totally my thing. I find that having a hard deadline and knowing that someone is going to be looking at my costumes VERY closely really spurs me on. I do more research, make my work neater and really put the extra umph into it, which results in a better finished project. I've lucked out in that I have only one new 'from scratch' project in mind for this year, and that was being an extra in someone else's big group project, so I don't really have to do the stressful plotting and planning for it. Just make a dress and show up for rehearsals, which is oddly relaxing. I have a couple of pieces that were long languishing works in progress that I've brought out to finish up for this. And a finished costume that totally fits a theme. And my historical masquerade entry was 'finished enough to wear' but totally needs more work and the collation of all of my documentation.<br />
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So I've got enough to be getting on with, me thinks. Mostly I wanted to get all of this down to swing myself back into this blogging thing. As I wrap projects up, hopefully I'll remember to do the show-and-tell part that should come after them.<br />
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<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497740667660184594noreply@blogger.com5