Isíbéal's Ridiculous Costuming Adventures

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 01:45:53 GMT

Things that need to be done for Festival:

Coat of some description - maybe an English loose gown out of TT - in a heavy wool.
Hot weather garb - perhaps something Roman-esque. Not particularly flattering on someone of my er, body type, but I'm sick of dehydration/ head exhaustion headaches in garb.
Coat of plates - step one towards the nefarious get back into armour plan

No doubt more to come.

Sat, 14 Jul 2007 08:57:17 GMT

Coronation garb write up and pics to follow.You know, at some point :)

Fighting surcoat

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 06:36:58 GMT

So, I've been up to stuff. My new surcoat is all but finished, I just have to work out how to make my sewing machine do button holes, or suck it up and hand do button holes, and I'm done. Hoping to have it finished for the St Bart's demo on Friday.

My household pride ourselves on making with the pretty on the field. So obviously, I have big shoes to fill. Obviously, it had to be purple. That's a given. My household surcoat, while they look great en masse, isn't particularly flattering if you're shaped like a girl, so I wanted something different.

The outer layer is purple drill cotton, lined with bits of a purple king size bedsheet I picked up for a couple of bucks from the Brotherhood. The "bodice" is patterned off my italian bodice pattern, altered to fit over my armour. The "skirt" is about 3.5 metres of fabric, lined the same as the bodice, box pleated into the waistband. Fifth time lucky, as it turned out. I eventually settled for pretty big pleats, and less of them, rather than lots of little ones. This seems to have made the skirt less boofy, which is a Good Thing.

Here's a couple of pics of the almost finished surcoat (the pic on the right is closer to the real colour - it's actually royal purple):

The hem detail is 26 estoiles appliqued onto a band, then stitched to the bottom of the skirt.

Cutting out and applique-ing that many little starfishy-things was not fun. But it's going to look pretty good, I reckon, which makes it worth it :)

News on the frock front...

Fri, 13 Oct 2006 04:53:23 GMT

Well, in a fit of desperation, I took the frock to household A&S the other night, to see if what I've got can be salvaged, at least to wearable. Looks good. Once it's on over a corset that actually fits (and fits well, I might add... for two people who know nuts about corsetry, K and I have done very well there I reckon!), and once the straps were pinned together straight, and laced a little closer than I'd planned, it's still too big, but it's wearable. The bodice wrinkles in some pretty unattractive ways, but I'm assured because of the nature of the fabric, it's not noticeable unless you're standing next to me and looking for it. So, the new list looks like this:

Join straps
Secure boning in front properly
Fix slit in skirt - hook and eye?
Find red lacing ribbon - not ideal but better than the blue one I had lying around
Pin hem
Sew hem
Fix girdle
Check jewellery
Hem underskirt - a couple of inches too long... this can be done on the machine though if time gets tight
Sleeves if time

Feeling much more positive now, as most of these are small jobs, with the exception of *all that hem*!!!! It means that I can wear it to Crown as is, then actually take my time over the new better fitting bodice, rather than risking ending up with something just as frought because I'm rushing.

I'm going to wear my hair at least mostly down, since it's waist length, and the majority of the Ick is at the back of the bodice - all this hair had to be good for something!! Photos soon, promise :)

Update

Fri, 29 Sep 2006 01:27:57 GMT

So, the list first...

Gambeson

~~Attach sleeves to body (already pinned, just need sewing)~~
~~Buy grommets~~
~~Buy pretty purple laces~~
~~Mark location of grommets and laces~~
~~Attach pretty purple laces~~
~~Smile prettily at one of the boys to get grommets grommetted (wow am I making up words again?!)~~

Venetian

~~Bind corset edges~~
~~Mark and make corset eyelets~~
~~Get K to help attach corset straps at the back~~
~~Find bodice pattern~~
~~Marvel over stupidity in design of original bodice pattern~~
~~Redraft bodice pattern - three pieces instead of two I think, and revise boning plans~~
Remake bodice
Unpick skirt from original bodice *sob*
Hope I left the cartridge pleating threads in, alhtough have nasty suspision I took them out... why? Oh who needs reasons... :S
Reattach skirt
Hem
Fix girdle - hopefully not having to restring
~~Sort out Head issues - what goes on head?~~
~~Cut nine inches out of waistband of underskirt - thinking of just making this a little bit wrap-around and moving the eyes around rather than cutting bits out. No historical basis whatsoever.~~
~~Wonder about The Sleeve Issue~~

So, the gambeson is finished. I wore it last night, and it's very, very nice to have my own. Not much I'd do differently, actually, at this early stage. Woo hoo for me. Pics to follow. Maybe. :)

I have the new bodice drafted, and a first mock-up cut out. I couldn't find my original pattern, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, so I used my Italian bodice pattern as a base, and made changes from there - mostly the shape of the back neckline, and of course the ubiquitous Venetian Pointy Bits. NExt thing to do of course is get that fitted over the corset, which I should get round to - Crown being a month away and all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *panic*

Corset - finished!!

Sun, 17 Sep 2006 06:47:19 GMT

Finally! My new corset is finished, and so much better than the last one!! I took a couple of pics, although they're quite crap because I had to lace myself up, which means it's not fitting me as well as it does when someone who can see what they're doing laces me. So all the grotty spillage bits aren't usually there, but you get the general picture... also, I took the pics with the timer on my camera, so they're not even the best photos ever, since I had trouble getting lined up right, but them's the breaks...

Front view. This gives me that fabulous flat fronted look, and quite a set of boobs to boot :D

Side view, showing boning, and the fact that I didn't have my underskirt laced up properly, so it was slipping by this point!!

And the back view. That icky spillage on the right top isn't usually there. You can see the terrible job I did of lacing myself up here too!!

Generally, I'm really happy with the way it's turned out. It's a *heap* more comfortable than the last one, I can breathe in it which is good. There won't be much strenuous activity whilst wearing it, but it's a court frock for heaven's sake, it's for sitting around being decorative in :)

So. Next stop, the bodice pattern. I can't find the pattern I made last year, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I've decided to go with a three piece pattern instead of the two, a back and two fronts, so it might sit a little better in the back. There's about six weeks till Crown I think, so it's time to get moving, but it's going along nicely now.

List update - real update soon :)

Tue, 12 Sep 2006 04:16:26 GMT

Gambeson

~~Attach sleeves to body (already pinned, just need sewing)~~
~~Buy grommets~~
~~Buy pretty purple laces~~
Mark location of grommets and laces
Attach pretty purple laces
~~Smile prettily at one of the boys to get grommets grommetted (wow am I making up words again?!)~~

Venetian

~~Bind corset edges~~
~~Mark and make corset eyelets~~
~~Get K to help attach corset straps at the back~~
~~Find bodice pattern~~
~~Marvel over stupidity in design of original bodice pattern~~
Redraft bodice pattern - three pieces instead of two I think, and revise boning plans
Remake bodice
Unpick skirt from original bodice *sob*
Hope I left the cartridge pleating threads in, alhtough have nasty suspision I took them out... why? Oh who needs reasons... :S
Reattach skirt
Hem
Fix girdle - hopefully not having to restring
Sort out Head issues - what goes on head?
~~Cut nine inches out of waistband of underskirt - thinking of just making this a little bit wrap-around and moving the eyes around rather than cutting bits out. No historical basis whatsoever.~~
~~Wonder about The Sleeve Issue~~

List-y goodness and Venetian panic

Thu, 17 Aug 2006 03:02:49 GMT

Okay, since I seem to be a little unfocused at the moment, I thought a list of what needs to be done might be an excellent idea.

Gambeson

Attach sleeves to body (already pinned, just need sewing)
Buy grommets
Buy pretty purple laces
Mark location of grommets and laces
Attach pretty purple laces
Smile prettily at one of the boys to get grommets grommetted (wow am I making up words again?!)

Venetian

Bind corset edges
Mark and make corset eyelets
Get K to help attach corset straps at the back
Find bodice pattern
Marvel over stupidity in design of original bodice pattern
Redraft bodice pattern - three pieces instead of two I think, and revise boning plans
Remake bodice
Unpick skirt from original bodice *sob*
Hope I left the cartridge pleating threads in, alhtough have nasty suspision I took them out... why? Oh who needs reasons... :S
Reattach skirt
Hem
Fix girdle - hopefully not having to restring
Sort out Head issues - what goes on head?
Cut nine inches out of waistband of underskirt - thinking of just making this a little bit wrap-around and moving the eyes around rather than cutting bits out. No historical basis whatsoever.
Wonder about The Sleeve Issue

Given that Nov Crown is something like 10 weeks away, I should so get the finger out on this one... :S Progress is being made, my corset is almost finished, which will allow bodice dramas to be begun, which is going to be the worst part. I have a better idea of what I'm doing now, and enough fabric to completely recut the bodice if I need.

Re the sleeve issue, I have cut out paned sleeves, and intended to bag line them to keep all the fray-ey bits on the inside. However, once lined, I can't turn the panes right way round cos they're too narrow at the base to cram the fabric through. My practical knowledge of lining begins and ends there though. Without having to commit crimes of ugliness, I wonder if it's possible to salvage sleeves? I'm quite happy to wear it without, if I have to, and I have enough fabric to either recut the bodice or the sleeves, actually I'm not sure there's enough there for a second set of sleeves anyway, I wonder if I could get some more and just make simple straight sleeves??

Second musing is re headwear. Now, I'd intended to wear this frock bare-headed and have a friend so something fancy with my hair. That friend is no longer a friend, so I'm re-assessing that idea. A lot of the portraiture seems to show women bare-headed, which I'm good for as I'm not a fan of anything on my head if I can help it. I can plait my hair myself and put it up, that's no problem. Even in a scout camp bathroom ;). But someone suggested to be that a long, sheer veil would be the appropriate headwear, unfortunately I can't remember who it was or if they were a reliable source or someone generally Full Of It. Sigh. And if I do go with a veil, made of what? Really lightweight linen is more or less impossible to find in Melbourne, at least I can't find it anywhere, and especially not white for some reason. Light cotton unfortunately hangs like light cotton, is this a problem?

Argh, this was much easier when I was just making a pretty frock, without all the thinking about it too much... guess I'm going portrait hunting when I get home... or on the weekend more likely...

Eyelets...

Sun, 13 Aug 2006 08:29:08 GMT

So after my past experiences trying to set grommets, I thought that handmaking eyelets might be the go this time. Having never done it before, I figured having a bit of a practice was a good idea... I'm pretty happy with the way they turned out, although I think the holes could stand to be a little larger... I made them with an awl, then shoved a crochet hook through the hole to stretch it - I think I need to find something a *little* larger again just to stretch it a little further.

And a fairly blurry close up :)

Corset update

Sat, 12 Aug 2006 03:24:43 GMT

After trying to pretend it didn't exist for a few weeks, I've realised that it might just be time to get this damn thing finished. I've spent the last couple of A&S nights faffing about with boning and boning channels. I marked the channels on the inner bits, in black marker, partly so they wouldn't rub off, although mostly due to a Chalk Shortage, now remedied :). The channels are all numbered, and the corresponding bones are also numbered. This prevents the problem I had last time where bones get mixed up and inserted in the wrong channels...

Boning channels

Detail showing numbered channels

I have cut the linen outer, it's just waiting for me to start the sewing together.

Gambeson... nearly done....

Sat, 12 Aug 2006 01:19:36 GMT

Finally got around to assembling the gambeson bits, spurred on by having to share a gambeson with aedanmacdubhain at training which is no fun for anyone. Just need sleeves, which I will do on Wednesday, the binding round the neck, which requires more hands to maneuveur than I own, then lacing and grommets. Must get to Lefflers for purple laces. A couple of pics...

All the panels sewn together

The neck and the ends of the sleeves will have the same binding, then the laces will be purple :)

Corset progress

Mon, 17 Jul 2006 08:37:58 GMT

There is actually progress... woo bloody hoo!!! After getting the Mustard Mock Up From Hell fitted last household A&S night, I've got the guts cut out, just waiting for Wednesday to make sure that I haven't done anything peculiar with cutting them out, then we're away. The innards are cotton duck, something I haven't used before but seems to be a bit sturdier than the drill I used in the last model.

So, that's all going well. The next big thing - boning. I'm intending to pull the boning out of the orginal corset and recut it to size.The thing is, the original was boned the entire way around, as in one bone next to the other, from eyelets to eyelets. Not particularly comfortable, and maybe the cause, at least in part, of the weird sticking out funny at the top thing that went on. Net searches on boning patterns have not been terribly fruitful. I know I'll have to bone the entire front, that's the whole freaking point, but I"m wondering about the possibility of diagonal bones around the side, and a couple at the back near the edges... the ones at the side just to stop it from collapsing more than anything...

The Venetian, take two...

Mon, 03 Jul 2006 07:52:03 GMT

When we left our valiant heroine, she'd just cracked it and decided that as she wasn't going to the William Marshall feast, there was no point rushing to finish the dress. That was in December.

The local SCA scene being what it is, there hasn't really been a reason to get dressed up since, so it's still sitting there. (Well okay, there's been a couple of spiffed up type events, but not one I could actually make it to. Same diff.). But with November Crown approaching, and us being able to stay for victory feast this time, and the odds of a member of my household actually *winning* being reasonable, I've been persuaded to start work on The Frock again. Here we discover a couple of problems.

First and foremost, I've lost a metric shit-ton of weight this year. (That's the technical term. I don't weigh myself so I have no idea how much, but about two and a bit dress sizes.) Enough that the corset I made (badly, I might add) last year no longer serves its purpose. Even laced all the way closed, which it never did, it still doesn't hold anything anywhere. Even in the case of this gown, where a squished-in look isn't so much what I'm going for, it's still not serving its make everything nice and not lumpy purpose, because all it does is stick out at the front. Ick. So, new corset it is. Baroness T suggested we just modify the original, but frankly, I did such a crappy job on it, I'd rather start again.

Since the shape was *nearly* right, I must admit I cheated a fair bit by just tracing round the original. It needed to be slightly shorter in the waist, as the bones dug into my hip in a most uncomfortable way if I tried to sit down, at all. And I've also made it slightly lower in the front, which should help do away with the weird poking out over the top of the camicia look I had going on there if I wasn't incredibly careful. I'm also going to put straps on this one, since I can't remember my reasoning for leaving them off originally, and all the examples I can find seem to be strapped.

Now, I'm totally ignoring the "Did They, Or Didn't They?" Venetian corset debate here - the late 16th century Venetian silhouette could, in my opinion, only be achieved on my still quite lumpy body with the use of some special help *grin*. It's not a corset designed to give me a 21 inch waist (god the mind boggles)... its just designed to smooth things out.

So, I have the new pattern cut out, I just have to wait now until I'm next at Baroness T's to get her to help me fit it - the joys of living alone, no one to help fit things :( hehe.

Laid out flat

Pinned to the Not The Same Size As Me dummy

And one of The Stripes, who, despite looking very absorbed in whatever's going on Over There, was only seconds earlier "helping" me cut the pattern out.

The blue kirtle - rebirthed

Sat, 17 Jun 2006 10:10:36 GMT

I'd started this kirtle with the intention of having it finished for Rowany Festival at Easter. Surprise surprise,that didn't happen :) But, when Baroness T and I decided the other week that we absolutely must have frocks in our household colours of blue, purple, gold and white and that the best way to do this was to raid what we already owned and "adapt" something, I remembered I had this still half finished. It needed lacing rings, the straps adjusting, and sleeves.

After the hook and eye experiment on my red kirtle, I decided this was by far a better option, and this one closes the same way. Straps actually needed minimal work, for once, and pretty much just needed the ends sewing together.

Now, I'm pretty famously terrified of sleeves. But this frock is for an event in Melbourne, in the middle of winter.Its going to be cold, and my winter heavyweight linen smock is now *way* too big, so sleeves were going to be necessary. I went with just a simple straight sleeve, and made them detachable so this frock could also serve its original purpose of being reasonably light summer garb.

I also added guards of purple and gold to the hem of the skirt, and the bottom of the sleeves. Due to time constraints, I cheated and sewed them on by machine.

So, the sleeves still need to have their ribbons attached, but I'll need to wait till I have someone to help with that one. A week out from the tourney and my frock is, for all intents and purposes, finished. Scary, huh?

And there's a blue one too!

Fri, 09 Jun 2006 03:22:43 GMT

SO now that the red kirtle's finished, I've also go a blue one on the go to the same pattern. Since the boys have decided to fight the Baronial champion's tourney in household livery in ooh two weeks time, and Baroness T and I decided we should have appropriately coloured frocks (household colours are blue, purple, gold and white), I'm planning to add purple guards to this one. Photos soon... I promise :D

Red Italian

Mon, 15 May 2006 08:39:49 GMT

So, I finally got sleeves made for the red Italianesque kirtle thingy (hehe), and I think it's finally finished. I ripped out the lacing rings which drove me mad (in a pinch, all I could find was split rings, which, by their very nature,are not the best thing ever. I even tried sticking the split bit together with, of all things, nail polish, (like I said, in a pinch hehe), but that didn't go well either. So, got rid of them and used hooks and eyes instead. Here's a pic of the finished article - this is my champion and I at May Crown on the weekend...

An appauling photo of me, but shows off the frock pretty good :D

Mon, 27 Mar 2006 10:40:19 GMT

Wore the red kirtle-esque thing on Saturday quite successfully. Have a small amount of trouble getting it laced tight enough, but I was in it for a good 12 hours and quite comfortable. When I make the blue one, I'm going to do hooks and eyes in teh bodice instead of lacing I think, and make the centre front bones slightly shorter, and I did notice they stick out a bit funny. I've taken some pics of the kirtle in progress, and I will post them here soon, which will help with the knowing what I'm talking about :D

Wed, 15 Mar 2006 08:32:08 GMT

Well I thought this might be a good idea for those of you who would rather follow my sewing projects without having to listen to me whine on about my life :D I'll copy all the sewing entries from thepurpleempire over here, and I think I'll probably keep posting sewing type stuff there too :D