Renaisance Dress

I'm  changing my mind almost every day about my Ren dress. The more I look, the more I see that, unless it is a doublet, the top and skirt are the same fabric.  I had wanted to do the bodice in the same green velvet that my SO will have for his doublet, but I didn't want the heat of a velvet skirt (and it would break my heart to drag vlevet on the ground). I'd originally thought to have the bodice in green velvet and some thicker trim made of green velvet strips  going down the bodice and along the skirt front edge and the bottom, but the more I think of trying to tie Roger's green velvet in with mine, the more problematic it becomes as I look into working with velvet. It seems that cutting velvet strips and sewing them on will be a nightmare and trying to make velvet piping would probably drive me to drink.  I have enough of the clay silk to do make both a bodice and the skirt, so no worries.   So here's my new idea:  Clay dress, skirt and sleeves - find some interesting lining fabric for Spanish or hanging sleeves if I decide on that or just do the paned sleeve with bigass puff and shoulder boulder strips with puff. (Lisa tells me she's doing the shoulder roll with paned sleeves, so that option is out for me.  We-just-cannot-be-twins rule is in effect. Need to find some sort of satin ribbon to decorate with, maybe rust?  Roger's will remain the same: Green velvet doublet, velvet paned sleeves, velvet paned pumpkin pants with that orange charmeuse showing thru.  The closer I get to actually doing it, the simpler my design will become! I'm so confused.
For the fore panel, here's my inspiration:




All of that design was embroidered by one of Queenie's good buddies, Bess of Hardwick on the figure on the left.  I have silk drapery fabric for the background and I'm going to use the wrong side of the fabric to boot.  I've download a bunch of Jacobean embroidery designs of birds and flowers (couldn't find any fantastical animals already digitized) and I'll start hooping soon. Just this part should take a long time and a boatload of thread! After it is embroidered, I'll cut it out and back it with canvass. I'm not making an entire skirt, just a forepanel. In the interest of temperature control, I will fore go the underskirt and just velcro the forepanel to the farthingale. Th figure on the right I like because of the pearl detailing. I don't want the huge sleeves on either examples, though. Huge shoulders, yes. Huge sleeve, not so much.

What I like about the black & white outfit  is the interesting use of trim and THE PEARLS!.  I have amassed a selection of pearls with 50% off coupons and I plan to go pearl crazy, as much as I can. I also like the sheer partlet cuz I don't like exposing my chest to the sun, but I also like the big suportasse that some ladies work and I'm not sure how to get them to play well together.  Most of the pics I've seen of costumes show the partlet open, but, historically speaking, on an older woman such as myself, the partlet would be closed. The partlet on the lady in blue is one example I'm thinking of emulating. I will NOT be making a ruff this time.  I also LOVE Bob Mackie's "joke" version.  To the modern eye it looks over-the-top, but if you look at the "bow portrait" of Elizabeth, it's not even close to over-the-top.  I'm glad I finally found a portrait using bows so I can include them on my dress somewhere! I love bows and I haven't seen them used in a lot of the costumes I've researched.  Bows on!

My pattern is from Margo Anderson's Elizabethan Lady's Wardrobe which you can find here: http://margospatterns.com/Products/ElizWrdrb.html  
I've already made the farthingale, blogged here: http://idlehandsthems-fitsworkshop.blogspot.com/2012/04/renaissance-farthingale-robin.html and am almost finished with the corset:
http://idlehandsthems-fitsworkshop.blogspot.com/2012/05/elizabethan-corset-r.html and, of course, that ridiculous bumroll!http://idlehandsthems-fitsworkshop.blogspot.com/2012/02/who-wants-to-wear-inner-tube-around.html

After spending many hours pouring over online fabric choices, I've decided that the sleeves will be lined in the velvet that I already have for Roger's doublet and pants. I also started the machine embroidery for the fore panel.  This is a lot harder than I thought and will be very expensive. I did wait for a 50% off thread sale at Joannes, but these designs will take a lot of thread! I bought my designs at emblibrary.com.  One of the problems I've encountered is that, depending on what printer you use will give you a different result on the colors that print out. I tried to use the Thread Exchange on their site, but trying to actually BUY a specific thread color is ridiculous. I will just make do with what I've already got. Add to that the fact that I can hardly tell which design is which once it makes it from the embroidery card to my machine and that makes for all sorts of problems. I thought I could just start it and let it stitch while I sewed other parts, but I keep having problems.  Last night, right in the middle of a design, I developed massive thread nests and had to stop mid-design and take the machine apart. Sheesh! I've re-hooped, changed needles, changed tension (resulting in a nest of thread, thank you) and all this after stitching a perfect test pattern. Argghhh! This is going to take forever. Here's a pic of what I've done so far:

Renaissance Farthingale - Robin

I finished the Renaissance farthingale as much as possible.  Until I can stand up on two feet, AND have the corset made, this is it.  The tubing is the same plastic stuff as Lisa used.  I had a difficult time inserting it until I realized that tighter is NOT better.  The tighter I pushed it, the more it wanted to twist.  Once I let the tubing have some ease in the casing, it responded well.

Here's  a close-up of the casing, made with twill tape.  I made the ends cross over, thinking I'd be able to maneuver the ends out to join them.  WRONG!  I ended up undoing some stitches about 3 inches in length to be able to join the tubes.

And just because I am proud of it, here is my first flat felled seam ever.  I used flat felled seams so the tubing wouldn't catch on anything while inserting it and to enclose all the seams.  All seams on Renaissance underwear were enclosed due to the abuse the garments took from washing.  I'm sure my farthingale will be icky grubby from dragging in the dirt at the Renaissance Faire!

Next up for us both is the Ren Corset, which promises to be a fitting nightmare!

Our Sunday Sewing Bee - R

Our sewing bee on Sunday was a success.  Of course we scheduled waaay too much "stuff to do" in one day, but I'm proud of all we got done.  In return for my machine embroidery of Lisa's black work for her Ren chemise, Lisa helped me cut out my Ren chemise and farthingale.  Her house has an area where we can lay out a huge swath of fabric all at once, however, I hate her iron because it doesn't steam enough!  And you know what's really great?  Finding out you made a cutting error on a nearly finished garment and trying to figure out how to compensate without do-overs.  Cause I did, and I did!


These sessions leave us exhausted but full of the feeling of accomplishment while reigning in our admitted procrastination/time waste tendencies.

New Year - New Project - L

The holiday chaos is not completely cleaned up, but I'm back and I'm starting my Renaissance costume.  I'm still having a tough time getting excited about it, but I think I'll be better when all the underthings are done.

I spent most of the post-Christmas doldrums knitting socks.  Sadly, not very many.  My first effort was stymied by my inability to understand the instructions.  My second effort (using a knitting board for the first time) is almost complete.  I'm about two hours from a completed pair of socks.  They are soft and warm and make my feet look very, very long.  Here's one and a half socks, and the knitting tool:

I also decided to make my farthingale. I got it cut out and realized that I didn't mark all the lines for the hoop channels.  Then I had to try and 'interpolate'.  My pattern is traced, and the original had been cut to accommodate my height. I also forgot to cut all the markings, and only cut some.  Seriously, if you're going to cut the little triangle at all, cut all or none.  Needless to say, there was additional confusion about which sides were to be sewn together.  Ultimately, I got it figured out and sewn.  I was going to do the recommended flat fell seams, but by that time I just wanted to be done.  So the seams are zig-zagged down.  I got most of the channels sewn in....at least until my bobbin ran out and I opted for a glass of wine and bed.  I can finish that this afternoon.  I took advice from a friend, Kyle Bogartman, who sells renaissance outfits and sews for an Austin designer Jennifer Ayers and used plastic pipe with connectors for my hoops.  It's fairly easy to take apart for washing.  Anyhow, after I put in my first channel, I had to put in a hoop to see how it looked.  It looked like a jellyfish.

It really seems too big, but I will be patient and wait until it's done before I change it.