Actual work done!

So, I left for fall semester, and without a sewing machine or any real lengths of time (not to mention the fact that the materials all remained at home), there was no work done on the dress. I left it in pieces, with the bodice done but overall unfinished.

But big news! I finally finished the outerdress... well, all except for the eyelets. Those I haven't gotten around to, but I may well do it this week before I head back for school next week. I got a lovely mini sewing machine from my grandmother, but I have my doubts about what I can actually do with said machine, especially in the face of handling upholstery fabric, which the Kenmore I've been using has enough difficulty getting through. Anyway, any work I get done will have to be done this week, or else saved for Spring break in March or summer vacation.

Anyway, I got a blouse and a simple cap done, too: what can I say, I can get a lot done when I put my mind to it! All that's really left is an underskirt and (maybe) a farthingale. I haven't yet decided if I'm going to make a farthingale, so I'm going to wait until I put the underskirt on underneath to see if the proper shape could be achieved without. It's not that I'm against hoops: wearing a hoop skirt is one of those life-long dreams for me. I just don't know for sure if I want to go through the trouble of making one, much less if the thing would even work under the outerskirt. Given how close I'm cutting it with the hem, I'm a little hesitant to add extra 'oomph' outwards, which could pretty well screw up my skirt bottom. This is one of those rare instances that I curse my height. Given that most women back in the day were maybe 5', my 5'8" would be pretty awkward. Oh well: I found a pattern (free!) for a farthingale, so we'll cross that bridge when it comes.

Unfortunately, my underskirt is on hiatus until I find a good fabric for it. Given the little spots of red in my fabric, I think that a crimson front panel on the skirt would look the best, and also help to bring out the red. Yet all the fabric I look at is either a) not the right kind or b) wickedly expensive. What can I say, I have good taste? That, and home decorator weight fabrics are ridiculous. I spent all Friday visiting all the fabric stores in the area, and found fabrics that were, to my utter chagrin, recockulously expensive. Even at 40% off, I couldn't really afford it (what with Christmas being just over), so I passed over a $30 fabric purchase for now. I don't need the dress done until about late May, so I'll have time when I get home to finish: the underskirt won't take too long.

In other news, my brother's joined the bandwagon for Renaissance, and I'm now proceeding to make him a cloak and tunic (Simplicity 9887). Since Hobby Lobby had their Simplicity patterns for $.99, I figured what the heck? While it almost killed me to get this polyester/rayon blend thing (polyester??? AHH!!), I purchased 5 yards of it for his cloak, and so it should be done fairly soon (since it's an easy pattern). The tunic was at least broadcloth, so while it's red (....) I'll be happier about it.

Anyway, I've got a trip planned now to Hobby Lobby for jewelry making supplies. What for? Well, I need a belt of sorts for my gown, now don't I? So taking some pre-made ones as inspiration, I've got a design in mind. Turns out that jewelry making is far easier than I previously believed it to be, so it should be fairly simple to make my belt. :)

With that, I'm off to Hobby Lobby: wish me luck!

Cutting

Not much time, but the cutting is done on interfacing. Marking done on all cut dress pieces.

Coming soon: lining and stripping boning!

Also found the perfect trim- can't wait to show off!

Rug Burn

Well, there's substantial progress to report today: pattern pieces cut out! :) With mum's help I laid all my pattern out and cut most of the pieces from the main gown fabric, with the exception of the sleeves. After cutting out 6 pieces in the span of 2 hours (with the addition of making cookies), I was quite tired, so I stopped lest I make some terrible mistake. So yes: progress! :)

Photography later.

~r

Progress- Finally!

So, after over a month of having this whole dress thing sit stagnant, progress was made today: I roped mum into this whole endeavor, and... *drumroll* found a lovely fabric for the outer dress!!

We went over to Hancock today (after having a great deal of dificulty finding the stupid store- it was only with my Mogul's help that we really did), and lo and behold, they had a WAAY supperior selection of upholstery fabs than JoAnn. I was in heaven, and probably spent waay too much time oggling at all the lovely fabrics. There was a 50% off sale on, conveniently enough, on most all of the decorator fabric, so I had my run of the place. what makes it even BETTER was where I found the piece i decided to purchase. After much digging by both me and mum, one of us finally unearthed this non-pretenious looking cotton thing. It's a brownish-gold back with red flowers on it. I know it doesn't sound like much, but the flowers are so terribly period, I couldn't resist! I'm planning on pairing it with a nice burgundy underskirt once it's all done.

So yes- I got fabric. Only problem is, it won't exactly match my fan, but oh well- how bad can it be, right? Maybe this will convince me that I must learn to make my own fans. As for other accessories... well, let's just say small steps, right? All I ended up getting today was the outer fabric (which was around $22... not bad for almost 5 yards!!): no underskirt fabric, no muslin, no trim, and certainly no grommits (which I, by the way, am having a devil of a time finding- eek!). But there is hope! With the fabric purchased, there's quite a lesser liklihood of this project ending up kaput due to lack of remembering: now all I have to do is work dress-making into the already hectic schedule of 2 jobs!!

~r

Congratulations

So- I won the ebay auction for the pattern! Yay!! For a grand total of $3.94 ($2 of which was shipping costs), I should soon have a pattern on the way to me! Hooray! I'm very excited, I must say.

To add happiness, my mum has agreed to take me to Hancock Fabrics, which, by their website, looks like they may have even better selection of adequate upholstery fabrics for this little endeavor of mine. I'll also be taking a gander into other types of fabrics, perhaps another brocade-esque pattern that's a bit more lightweight. Seeing as how I live in Texas and will be attending Ren fests primarily in Texas.... yeah, the summers are HOT.

Anyway, I'll probably be going to Michaels today, too, where I intend to look at the beads and whatnot, maybe even some trims and fabrics if they carry them.

I'll probably post again once I get the pattern.

~r

How hard is it...???

...to find a decent period-esque brocade or jacquard that isn't RED?! Honestly!! I don't want a red gown, thanks kindly!

Anyway, you may wish to know the source of my frustration- I went over to Joann fabrics today on a quest to both find my pattern and perhaps find that perfect fabric for the gown. Well- one thing was accomplished. I did find my pattern, but it's $10 there.... Why pay that when I could get it cheaper on ebay, right? So, we'll see. I think I made a $4 mistake by bidding for a pattern that, upon closer inspection, looks to be the upper size bracket, which I'm a wee bit too small for. I figure I'll make a size 14 (*sigh*- so big!), but still.

So, Joann's was... uhm... We'll start by saying that they had a far better selection of upholstery fabrics than Hobby Lobby- what a surprise. However, just when I had thought I had found something that would be perfect, a look at the underside revealed a tragic revelation- a plastic-y backing. *sigh* Why?! Oh well, I thought, surely there would be something just as nice....

Wrong. My original intention of a deep blue gown with silver underskirt seems to be dashed for the moment, since there seems to be a profound lack of navy blue upholstery material. I may have to switch to green with a light blue underskirt: my only hesitation with that is the simple revelation that, like Anne Boleyn, I've got a more olive complexion and therefore wouldn't look good in all the gaudy pastels that would be so terribly prevalent in the Tudor court. Deep blue, I found out through research, would have been a color of nobility for certain, since the plant that was used to make the blue dye was rare, and only the nobility could afford cloth that was dipped more (which would consequently make the clothing darker). So- since I certainly don't wish to portray myself as so highborn as that, I may take my other path- green. Since green is my color, I could really have a ball with it. Which poses the other problem- uhm, silver anyone? The common accessory color for green is often gold, but again, cloth of gold or anything that had a gold hue was, back in the day, *made* of gold, therefore costly beyond measure for all but a select of the nobility.

So- with that little history lesson over, we get back to today: essentially, no luck. My current intention is to go and do a little research into what appropriate patterns would've been in the Renaissance times and go oggle at more lovely costumes. I know- a big disappointment, right? Not.

Until then!

Little Luck

So- after about 15-20 minutes in Hobby Lobby, I was quite disgusted by their lack of fabrics and left. I don't think they had the pattern, either- then again, I was stupid and kinda neglected to write down the pattern number. Oh well...

Fortunately, I took a look on ebay as well today, and WOW! Our favorite online auction site has quite a large selection of fabrics, although some run around $10.99 a yard... which for around 5 yards would be a real kick in the wallet. Ouch. So, with luck I can find something a bit more economical. I'm really not looking to break the bank with this gown. If I was, I would've probably just gone ahead and picked up the lovely green chenille brocade that was at Hobby Lobby today (which was a killer $16.99/yd- ouch!).

Anyway, I plan to go over to Joann fabrics tomorrow to get a larger selection to look at. Tomorrow, I resolve, I'll actually go prepared- we're talking my measurements (*cringe*), pattern number (to avoid the mistake of today), and ideal materials that I'll be looking for. I'm still slightly leery of the mention of boning (featherweight though it is), given how boning has turned out in the past for sewing endeavors, but we'll see.

I've already gotten the subtle nod of approval from mum for this, so now it's just a matter of checking the old checking account (haha- checking checking) and looking for the ideal fabrics.

Wish me luck.
~r