White Queen Post #2

I am slowly making a start on my White Queen costume, including rolling up the wig so that it will curl. But yesterday morning, my white boots arrived. I will be wearing these for the costume, but they are leather and historically appropriate so I will be able to wear them with my Victorian costumes in the future. I am very pleased with my purchase. :D

White Queen Post #1

After a quick trip up to Lincraft at lunch time today, I am on my way to starting my White Queen costume. So far, I have two base petticoats (my georgian ones) and the false rump that I will be wearing. I started working on the quilted petticoat on the weekend and it all it requires now is a hem.

My first attempt at the bodice was not at all successful in that it was way too short and not stylised enough for my liking. So I went back to the drawing board and started again. Instead of makeing a bodice that sits over my current georgian stays, I will be makeing the outer bodice onto a new set of stays. Time consuming I know, but they will not have tabs which takes the longest time to bind. The biggest advantage is that the stays themselves will be stylised and I won't have to worry about the outer bodice slipping and the orange silk stays underneath being seen.

I have also had to re-think my undershirt as the first attempt also failed. (I was having am awful day. On top of the stomach bug I had, nothing I was sewing was going my way). It's not that much of a step back, it will actually be simpler as I will make the base shirt and then just cut the neckline while I am wearing it so I don't have to worry about drafting up a pattern.

Adding to the list of failures, the wig that I purchased (not cheap either) was the wrong colour. I need something that is platinum blonde, almost white, and while that is what it was called on the internet and the photos showed a very white blonde, I got stuck with yellow blonde. Not only is it too yellow, it really does not suit me so I can't use it anyway. In revolt, I went hunting through my wig stash and dug out my plain white one. It is going to have a trim and styling to hopefully get it into an acceptable shape.

On the other hand, I stopped by Diva on my way back to the office and managed to pick up the last of the jewelery pieces that I need. I got a necklace of fake pearls for $5 that I intend to chop up and use to decorate the bodice. And I picked up a couple of sparkly diamante bracelets that I can pull apart and turn into the necklace. They are just about perfect for what I wanted, and since they are on an elastic, they are simple to dismantle.

Now I just need to get cracking on it all and stop getting sidetracked by computer games *shakes fist at the sims*.

JAFA Progress entry #16

And another one is done. I am so overtly happy. I now only have one more ensemble to put together. I finished this one yesterday afternoon, but was so buggered that I didn't get around to posting about it. The dress is based on one of the ones that is worn in the movie "The Duchess". It is done at an early 1790s dress. It features the same style of back as the earlier Georgian dresses but it ends at the waist. where the skirts are gathered on. The front is made as a drawstring at both the neckline and the waist. It then has a silk waist sash tied around the middle. I will be wearing this with my Georgian undergarments - ie, stays, false rump and 2 petticoats. Believe me when I say it gives a nice shape. I am pleased with how it turned out, especially since I was butchering a pattern that for an era that I have never made before.

This dress adds the green colour to my rainbow wardrobe of gowns for JAFA. So far I have pink, blue, white and teal, yellow, purple and now green and brown. The next dress is actually cream and orange. Very autumn colours.




On another note. I sat down last night for about 5 hours and started on the styling of my Georgian wig. I attached my mannequin head to a stand so that it could perch easily. Then I put the wig I am styling on top and started curling it. Because this is a synthetic wig, I can't use heat to give the curl so I have to rely purely on setting the curl in place. I did this by first wetting the hair with a spray of water and the dousing it in hairspray and the rolling it up and pinning it in place. The wig I am using is my super long one that I wore with my Dogma God costume. The costume doesn't fit me anymore and I don't have certain parts of it, so I was happy to give new life to the wig and revamp it. The first step was brushing it out. Because it was a curly wig, I was unable to brush it in the past because the curl would come out, so it ended up being quite a bit of a knotty mess. At the moment the wig is sitting in the sewing room drying out. I know it won't take days to dry, but I would rather be safe than sorry, so I thought I will leave it until the weekend before I attempt to style it. Here's hoping it works.

Dad's 55th Birthday Gift

Wow, for once a post about something other than JAFA. Still regency though. I thought that I would share the few pieces that I made up for my Dad for his birthday earlier this year.

Firstly, I made him a brand new regency vest and jacket. The vest is made from the laughing moon mens suit pattern, and the beautiful fabric I found on ebay (and some leftover silk dupion for the collar). I was so proud of myself for going to the extra effort to make up this pattern. In the past I have simply used a modern vest pattern with a couple of adjustments. The thing about the historical pattern is that the shoulder seams are set back, it has a straight bottom and the pockets in the front are actually real and usable.

The next piece I put together was a tailed coat. I picked up the fabric (fake cashmere) at spotlight on a sale rack at the end of winter. I knew that it would be perfect for a jacket. Not only would it be warm, but it looks amazing made up. It took a little longer than some of the other jackets I have put together because the seams end up being very thick, and I am paranoid about getting the pile running all the same way. (I once made a pair of corduroy pants where the pile on the front went down, but went up on the back. They looked funny and felt so weird to touch). I only just took these photos today as I finally put the button holes and buttons on for him (he had to try it on so that I could get them in the correct place). And I am happy with my gold metal buttons, they actually work rather well.

Finally the last thing that I made for his birthday is this adorable cross stitch kit. Orchids - my Dad takes pride in growing them. Kitty - he is a cat person. Perfect gift. I was just pleased to get everything done in time.

And thus you now know the reason I am so far behind on my own projects for JAFA and supanova. While getting two of my dresses completed in the week of leave I took in January, I spent most of my time hurriedly sewing in secret to get Dad's birthday present done. I really am going to have to stop making gifts for my family. It really is too much stress.

JAFA Progress entry #15

I have slowly been getting bits and pieces of my last two JAFA gowns together. The only thing I have completed today is the hat that will be worn with the day gown. Keep in mind that the gown is late Georgian.

I started with a low crown flat brim hat that I shipped in from America (found it on ebay of all places). It sat in my sewing room for a few weeks before I finally decided that Friday was the day I would tackle re-shaping it. I pinned it to my mannequin head in the shape that I wanted it and soaked it with water (I filled an old squirty bottle). To my astonishment it actually worked, and I am very pleased with the shape. It really was that simple to shape the hat.

I then made the band and bow out of the leftover silk for the dress sash and attached that to the hat with a few quick stitches. A bit of attention with the hot glue gun (yes I know, not historically accurate) and I was done with the decorating. Now that the hat is done, I really need to get stuck into getting the gown done as well. Stupid hand sewing is going to be very time consuming though - there is so much of it.