Monday, June 27, 2011

What Robin Is Making Now

I'm making a big dent in my wallet right now. Gathering the fabrics and ideas for a Mid-Victorian day dress (for me) and full-out Victorian Gentleman's garb for my beau, I ordered patterns for the ball gown skirt, pagoda blouse, crinoline hoop cage, men's frock coat, men's shirt, and men's pants from Truly Victorian and the entire Elizabethan couple's wardrobe patterns from Margo Anderson ( margospatterns.com )for use next year.

I wanted to start with the underwear for the Elizabethan (Ren)) and Vic outfits just so I wouldn't have to change thread in the machine, but while waiting for hoop wire, patterns, coutil and other esoteric notions to show up on my doorstep, I started fabric shopping. Some might have called that a mistake… Alas, I could NOT justify the cost of silk for my Mid-Victorian costume no matter how much I love silk, but while browsing at Joannes, I saw (felt) some Silkessence fabric. Most people use it as a lining, but I told Lisa about it, found it on-line with more available in more colors than we had locally, and Lisa and I were off to the the races buying all the pretty colors. Yes, it's synthetic and yes, it will be…warm, to say the least, but my Mid-Vic will now be lavender Silkessence lined in… lavender Silkessence. I found a lavender/peach striped silk shirting fabric that would work for the bottom skirt if stabilized and bought some other bits and pieces of various hues of purple for trim, the bonnet and, perhaps, a reticule (love that word). Then we went crazy and bought the frock coat material (lovely pewter), some suiting for a jacket for Lisa, and a bunch of other stuff I can't remember because I was on a charge card high.

Did it end there? Heck no! I marched myself over to a discount fabric house I'd had on my list and promptly bought a boatload of lovely emerald velvet for the bodice and doublet (that I won't even be starting on for 6 months, but ya gotta strike while the iron is hot), another boatload of linen and some lovely charmeuse (mocha latte) for my beau's Ren breeches. I'm on a roll.

Oh, I forgot to tell you how this all started, this buying spree: I fell in love,,, with a fabric. "Clay" colored drapery silk that I wanted for the overskirt for the Elizabethan that I wasn't making yet. There were 15 yards. I bought them all. Hey, I'll use it for something. Sometimes I walk by and just pet it, it's so pretty. That was my downfall. The fabric could not live in the closet all alone, it needed compatriots, and that's what brought me to my credit card overload. Gotta stop now and pay some of this stuff off!

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