Yargh, January is not my month.

I am going to simply re-do the slashed sleeves, with some beads on the ends, but with smaller slashes, and no ribbon trim for Di's gown. It will look a LOT better. For Muriel's gown, I am going to use the current polyester habotai skirt I have as a removeable (maybe) underskirt only. I have purchased 100% real silk habotai, and will be using that for her gown instead. One good thing though, for the third and final gown order I've had so far, I managed to make a mint green fabric, look like a lovely sage colour! It did take 2 baths of Dylon Olive green, but, SUCCESS!! It is a shade darker than her original colour sample, but VERY close to her final choice of fabric (which was sold out. I should be the only person allowed to sop at my local fabric store. such hassle of finding replacements!). I finally found a childminder, now I just need a little more time on my own, WHE I'm awake, and I'll be able to FINALLY finish them! Having a toddler who won't watch TV on her wn nstead wnting to ''help'' mama, is an adorable, but nearly impossible to work around distraction. Tonight, I crack down on the gowns. Coffeepot, here I come!

Spanish Style Slashed sleeves

As you probably may know from my earlier posts, Di wants to have Spanish style sleeves with her gown, with slashes, and a hanging oversleeve. I have never done this before. Annnd...the fabric we have for the undersleeve isn't exactly fray-proof...so..here goes...


As the sleeves in the photo are made of 2 fabrics, I laid my 2 fabrics out like this under the pattern,
leaving about 1/2 inch for seams, and pinning everything well in place.

I then ironed on my extremely period-accurate fusible interfacing
(ok, they used other stuff, but this is easier, and won't be visible!)
then went a little slash-happy with my x-acto blade. I made the cuts slashes
 rather than 'pinks' like Isabel's portrait due to the frayable nature of this fabric.



I cut rectangles of my second type of silk (the silk haj) and gathered
them at the ends and basted them in place all the way around the slash



I hand sewed the white trim, and then added tiny baby blue seed
beads just for an aditional effect if anyone looks up close.

The inspiration....

Third gown order!

Whee! So, I am just about done with Muriel's skirt (as in, I'm taking  coffee break then it'll be done!), am cutting out Di's as well which will be together by tomorrow, both bodice mockups fit pretty well, adjustments noted and are on their way back, which means..THE FUN PART STARTS NOW!!! Oh I SO want a tailor's dummy....
Also, I have one new gown order in! She also wants the Queen Mary style gown (as I've taken to calling it) and she's chosen a lovely sage green fabric (middle), with a lining in a berry red satin (left), with berry red trim as well. GORGEOUS! Happy days, now, back to work!

Just a note.......

I am NEVER working with synthetic silk/habutae again. EVER. Muriel's gown is going to be gorgeous, and the skirt will flow beautifully, but it took me THREE hours to piece together her skirt, measure and pin the hem, and sew 2 feet of it. And that's only the first seam. As I'm doing French seams, after I stitch the hem up, I have to go back and sew each of the panels again. Normally, not a problem. But with lightweight slippery fabric that wants to do it's own thing? It's a pain in the butt. And some of the seams aren't straight so I'll be going over those again. I am NOT looking forward to the bodice, but perhaps due to it being lined and stiffened with several layers of fabric, it will be easier than working with the habutae on it's own. Anyways, After I managed to piece together the skirt, trim the seams, measure and pin the hem (using Di's measurements accidentally), then measure it again (this time using the correct ones) then starch and iron it on the lowest possible setting, then pin some more, then trim said hem, then FINALLY begin to sew it, a tiny piece of thread got stuck in the bobbin of my machine and jammed it so I had to open it up, and used this as an excuse to take it apart, clean and oil it, put it back together, and then broke my needle. LOL. I have more needles. Somewhere. I have organized and can no longer find anything! Anyways, Muriel, if you're reading this, I blame me for offering false silk habutae as a fabric option. PLEASE don't ask for it agan if you order anything else from me? I'm begging you!! Other fabrics (aside from acetate satin and polyester organdi/organza) are sooo much easier to work with!) Linen perhaps? Cotton velvet? Duchess satin? Brocade? Wool? SO much more preferable haha. Anyways, I WILL win. End of story. Once I am finally done fighting with the skirt, and have won the battle (and oh I will dammit), have hemmed it and finished the seams, then I'll be making Di's skirt, which should go a little quicker due to the cotton vevet having a tendency NOT to slip everywhere.

Acres and acres of skirt! And that's not all of it folks...

Silk Haj partlet and other things

I bought some 100% silk haj to use with Di's gown in the sleeves and also to use to make an Italian Renaissance style partlet out of. I have never worked with silk haj before. I have never worked with any fabric that is thinner and about at flimsy feeling as toilet paper either. 2 hours of VERY careful hand-stitching later (I love it when the pub-my work- is empty, so much spare time!) and I have sewn up ONE side of the front and carefully stiched on clear faceted seed beads over the pale yellow/gold thread. I was going to have it beaded and embroidered, similar to the portrait on the left, but then decided to make it easier on myself and I bought a bronze large dress net to sew over the top to be a little more similar to Eleanora's portrait above. My plan was to fix it to the silk at each cross-section with a small bead. Except that the bronze doesn't really go with the yellow thread and clear seed beads. Now I'm thinking I'll stick to my original plan of embroidering it, and adding a collar with a thin lace trim and making it an Elizabethan style partlet instead or perhaps one with a short standing collar trimmed in lace like many of the Medici women's portraits. Except, I am going to not only use an embroidery hoop, but I will be tacking paper, with a pattern drawn on (in light pencil) or printed on to the back and sewing the design on with the paper to give the fabric more substance. I can then just dampen the fabric and peel the wet paper off later. This stuff is as light as spiderwebs, floaty and a pain in my bum. But SO soft, and so gorgeous! For embroidery patterns I found a book called Tudor Treasures to Embroider at the library and I will be printing out a few patterns from there.

2 hours, for this?? Really? Ok I was working too, but still...
not incredibly proud of this, but, once starched and
embroidered, it can be redeemed....

My other idea, to stitch on this net. I think I'll make
2 partlets...net on one and one netless

What a week.......

The red stuff, the gold stuff, and the pink stuff. None of it is incredibly period. 

So my personal life is undergoing some MAJOR issues and changes, and I have either been working or exhausted in the last week and sadly haven't gotten as much done as I'd like. Luckily, there is tomorrow morning, and Saturday and Sunday evenings to work on the gowns. I did get both bodice mockups basted together and shipped out and both ladies should have them in the next day or so, and I am eagerly anticipating the results, and hoping desperately there is little to be done. In the meantime I am cutting out the skirts, and piecing them together, and I want to get work started on the sleeves, but I think it would be prudent to wait to see how much alteration the bodices need first. I'll cut out the shoulder rolls instead. I have also discovered that I despise habutae 'silk'. It's slippery and disobedient and a pain in the arse to keep placed properly with the pattern. Luckily, I have had no mishaps so far, and I have plenty of fabric to work with. The cotton velvet is my friend right now. Much easier to work with. I am also going to go find some extra trim for Muriel's gown. She is playing Queen Mary, yet her green gown is bit austere, even for Mary with only one type and colour of 'layce' (braid trim). I may get some velvet ribbon in black or a darker green and put it underneath the braid just to give it a more opulent feel. If she lets me I'll add some tiny false pearl beads to the trim as well. No extra cost, I'm just bored! Di's gown is easier as far as sizing, she is nearly my exact size. I have grown a bit bigger it seems, I am no longer 32, 23, 33, my bust I was going off bra size but in reality I am a 29, 26, 35. My butt got bigger after baby, well, not my butt, my hips widened. The mystery of why my jeans feel weird is now solved. I have hips!

I am also making myself another gown for the faires this year, 3 actually, and boy oh boy am I going to have fun! An Italian Renaissance style gown in the style of Empress something or other from Portugal and Eleanora de Toledo, an Italian ''courtesan'' gown, most likely with cutout sleeve detail as in the photo on the left, and another Elizabethan gown, when  find enough money to buy the jaqquard I want! I have a red damask to use but I'm not sure if I have enough, and an antique gold one with a checkered-weave to it and a more modern looking pattern, I think I may actually dye the fabric an emerald green so that it is a slightly shimmery silk damask look and the pattern will dissapear a bit. I have an emerald green 'silk' and pure gauzy white silk as well. I have also fallen in love with a robin's egg blue jaqquard with red, pink, green and gold floral motifs, which is kinda period. I might be stretching it a little, but it's GORGEOUS! I am going to be buying oodles more of the silk to dye it as well and make myself a fairy gown for Faerieworlds music festival this year as well. It is so light, gauzy and floaty, I'll line it with a sheer cotton muslin and dye the whole piece together...sooo excited! I never have actually done that before...