Costume College pix and Gatsby Sewing Sunday - L and R

Lazy, naughty, slacker bloggers.  I finally downloaded some pictures from Costume College.  I didn't take many.  I was too busy listening, learning, and meeting new people.  We also got a couple studio pictures which haven't been posted yet.  I was hoping to get them by now so I could post them here.

Getting ready for the Gala, Robin is all white and I am all black.  But this was just the foundation.  Our final pictures are still not up on the photographer's website.  

Most of the pictures we took were pictures in class to help us remember things.  Here's a couple from one of my favorite classes, 'How to Drape a Bodice' where we watched the teacher drape a civil war bodice in an hour.

I'd only imagined how to drape, so it was very enlightening.

And she gave us slides!

At the end of this post, I will add a bunch of pictures from the costume display.  Including some very cute hats.  But FIRST, we had sewing sunday yesterday.  

Robin has a LOT on her plate.  She needs to make significant progress on her Elizabethan dress, AND she needs to make a dress for the Gatsby picnic.  We focused on getting both bodices fit so she can cut and sew the final dress without worry.  Also, while I had cut out an Elizabethan bodice muslin, it is lost in history.  So I cut a new one and we fit mine too.  We did not take pictures.  

The only pictures we took were of MY nearly finished Gatsby dress.  Just needs hem and sleeve hems.

And my hat.  Which I should be getting very soon.  I borrowed my daughter's hat for pictures.  I also included a silly picture.  Because I like silly pictures.  

And I'm now buried in a mountain of hand work.  Hemming.  The skirt may be drapey, but it's a full circle.  

Also crocheting a vintage 'glamour' collar.  It's easy.  Slow but easy.

And while I'm hand sewing, I'm thinking about too many new projects.  

Victorian Anteater dress

Natural Form Plaid dress

Romantic era 

Robe a l'Anglaise

Regency

Pirate Coat (man's style but for me)

Improving my kraken bustle

Here are some pictures from the exhibit at CoCo and the dread pirate Robin:

Back from Costume College, full of ideas -L

Wow.  Robin and I went to Costume College and it was intense.  I took 10 and 1/4 classes in 3 days, wore 3 of my own costumes, made my first visit the the Fashion (fabric) District, met a lot of talented people, and learned more than I could possibly remember.  In addition, I didn't eat properly, didn't sleep well, (sorry for SNORING SO LOUD Robin - I blame the A/C), and was pretty intimidated by the costumes I saw around me.  I didn't take nearly enough pictures.  I was running from class to class, and trying to carve out time to get dressed for events, and eat something better than muffins for every meal.

Fashion District - there is, literally, tons of fabric.  Much of it is cheap, mostly for a reason.  But that's not necessarily bad.  Cheap poly cotton blends can be great for costuming.  So can poly satin.  I got some linen for $5 per yard.  Burn tested.  I got the most amazing cream cotton lawn.  Light, sheer and soft.  For $4 per yard.  Burn tested.  The shop keepers expect you to negotiate.  They know exactly how low they can go so you can get a bargain, but not likely a steal.  Unless you can get something that you can't find elsewhere and at a VERY reasonable price.  There are also some crazy places with stuff piled on the floor and shoved on shelves.  I got 10 yards of poly fringe, very hairlike, for $5.  And 15 yards of 3 inch rayon or poly ivory lace for $10.  I don't plan to dye it so I'm happy.  And on and on.....

Classes were great.  Teachers all knew their stuff, and covered it concisely.  I took a draping class and am ready to give it a try (with actual knowledge!  Thank you Lana Bailey).  I caught the last 20 minutes of a sleeve fitting class and learned how to solve some of my problems fitting where the front of the sleeve meets the bodice (thank you Jennifer Rosbrough at Historical Sewing).  And on and on....

People were all friendly.  And they were all willing to share.  There are a LOT of very talented costumers out there.  Even the folks who were really into historical accuracy were nice.  Robin and I like to take inspiration from historical dress, but we indulge our imaginations too much for historical accuracy.

We are expecting some pictures soon.  Real pictures from professionals.  We'll post them soon.
Message me if you are going to the Fashion District, and I'll tell you where I found the best stuff, but they turn over often so your results may vary.

Heading to Costume College! New dress too - L

I had made decent progress on my dress for the Gatsby picnic.  But no matter how I pinned and basted, I hated it.  It was not flattering.  Then, a few days ago, I woke up and thought 'I'm gonna use the Folkwear Tango Dress just like my daughter.  But I will use a simple cotton and style mine differently.  It's a fairly simple pattern but a pain in the neck to cut.  And since I'm tall and I wanted a longer length, it was particularly hard for me.  Basically I had to add 10 inches to the width of my fabric for one piece.  And try and make it invisible.  My fabric is plaid in a loose cotton weave.  So yeah, all that matching......                      It's not hemmed.  The sleeves aren't hemmed.  But I already feel much happier.  Off to pack for our costuming adventure.  We'll be back next week with picture!

Arrrrr! Here There Be Pirates!

Although my original Pirate Costume (Pirettes of the Cariboobean) due date isn't until October and the "Pirates of Penzance" Tea for Costume College is up in two weeks, I was jamming on the "starter" pirate costumes for both me and my S.O. to wear to a GBACG Pirate Bonfire, held Saturday, July 20,  at Ocean Beach, in San Francisco.  First off, I knew I didn't have time to make coats, so I thought we'd wrap ourselves in various shawls for warmth because it's always cold at Ocean Beach. I didn't even have time to make my sweetie a waistcoat.  Gone were the elaborate plans for a baldric - those plastic guns and swords would just have to get stuck in our waist sashes.

I ended up with a finished man's poet shirt (Simplicity 3758), two puffy pants and a peasant blouse (Simplicity 3677), and purchased sashes, head scarves, striped socks and replica Jack Sparrow flintlock  from Pirate Fashions. I'd actually visited that shop in Florida last year and loved their stuff. The boot covers were purchased last year and are just cheapie costume stuff (the elastic broke while putting them on).  The Tricorn was purchased in Italy on our vacation last year (who'da thunk you could buy an inexpensive quality wool tricorn in Italy???) and the other weapons are from various dollar stores from last Halloween. I didn't have time to modify any of the weapons, but that didn't matter as you couldn't see them because we were wrapped in shawls due to the cold!  It was 98 degrees in our neck of the woods and 48 degrees with an 8 knot wind in Ocean Beach. We had enough time to roast our hot dogs, share the Rice Krispy Treats, drink some hot tea and get the heck outta there!

Of course, Gizmo, the pirate dog, was the hit of the party. He hated his pirate scarf and tricorn and vigorously tried to shake them off whenever possible, thus elicidating some engineering problems I had not foreseen. It ended up around his neck most of the time, especially when he took off after that seagull!

Now I get to try out the vodka-water spritzing I've read about to see if that takes out smoke smell - don't want to launder them as they were only worn for a bit over an hour and the tea dye might lighten!

Hey, is anyone out there afraid of being shot by the police for wearing a replica flintlock and carrying a flimsy plastic knife? Gotta love our Modern Times...

And here's how it really was - could really see the costume because of the cold. But the dog looks good...

Big engineering problem with the dog hat/scarf combo. It just didn't want to stay on top of his head.  HE didn't want it there either!

Hero in a Half Shell - L

There are events on the horizon...

In a day or two, Robin is going to GBACG Pirate Bonfire.  I am thinking about it.  OF COURSE it would be fun to don my Haradrim costume and 'grrrrr' and 'arrrrhhh' my way around a fire.  But I have plans for that costume and don't want to have to wash the campfire smell out of it.  And it will be cold.  It's at Ocean Beach in San Francisco.  And we know what Mark Twain said about summer in San Francisco....    I would need to wear my cloak, and that would be another pain to clean.  I have to decide today.

Costume College is in two weeks!  Robin and I are going for the first time.  I'm nearly ready, having added hooks and eyes where I had been using safety pins and added buttons that were missing.  I want to fix the weapon attachments on the Haradrim costume.  There were NOT satisfactory last time I wore them.  That's in the queue for today.

And then the Art Deco Society Gatsby picnic.  I've been working on the dress.  And, knock on wood, it's going together well.  I'll post some pictures shortly.  I've also been concentrating on accessories.  There is a very strict dress code.  There's also a 'dress code' for our picnic.  No plastic.  No modern electronics.  Coolers must be disguised or covered.  So I've been acquiring accessories.  I already had gloves and a deco bracelet.  I got some flat spectators (no heels for me on grass!), some round sunglasses, and a thrift store wooden purse.  The inside needed a lining, if only to keep everything from falling out every time I opened it.  So I used some taffeta scraps and made one.  First I made a paper model to make sure my plan actually worked.  And I added a pocket for my phone so it wouldn't clatter around inside.

I put interfacing in the top inch of the side sections and ironed it in the folded position so that it would 'want' to stay that way.  

I also added some stiff plastic to the top edges of the body to make it stay in place tucked under the edge of the purse.  Then I hot-glued the top edges and a little curved part of the body.  It's not a perfect fit.  It can't be.  Otherwise the purse wouldn't open and close.

Here's a quick picture of all my accessories except a hat.  They are sitting on the dress fabric which is a soft green.

Yes.  Green.  Late 20's, early 30's style.  My waist-less torso.

Middle-aged Mutant Ninja Turtle.  

Hero on a half shell - turtle power!

(a direct rendering of the original cartoon theme song for you infants that don't recognize it)

Busy busy weekend - L & R

 Robin will be a pretty, pretty pirate!
We are going to Costume College!  And we are excited.  Primarily we learn about sewing and costuming, but there are also 3 events that allow us to show off what we've made.(Well, 3 that we're going to)
Our Sewing Saturday was devoted to getting stuff ready for this event.
Time Traveler's Gala:
The theme seems cavalier/pirate but we don't have anything.  We're bringing out LOTR stuff.
Fantasy Tea - Pirates of Penzance:
In a shocking turn of events, Robin is being a pirate and Lisa is wearing a dress.  Weird.
Sunday Undies:
Lisa is wearing her 1912 princess slip.
(I shortened it by raising under the bust in front, and above the pleats at the hem in back.  Trust me, there was no easier way to do it)

In addition, we have tickets to attend the Gatsby Picnic.  Lisa has already posted her pattern.  Robin has finally settled on hers.  And at the last minute, Lisa's daughter has decided to attend.  That means she needs to make a dress too.  She chose a grey poly crepe with shiny rectangles.  It's sheer and will have a natural muslin underslip.
Lisa has tweaked and tweaked her muslin.  On Sunday, she did one final tweak to the shoulders and started cutting her fabric.
(I really really REALLY hope this works - otherwise I just don't know WHAT I will do....)

Anteater update:
I hit that spot...  You know, where you can't find anything and the more you look, the worse it gets?  I've been folding and listing fabrics, patterns, notions and stuff.  That 'stuff' that defies systematic organization.  Seemed a good moment to take a photo of the fabrics I had in mind.  I still haven't settled on trims.

Of yarn and anteaters - Lisa

Took my son to the zoo yesterday.

And became inspired to make a bustle dress base on this anteater.

I even have a hat in mind.  And there will be fringe.

In the mean time I'm knitting another pair of socks and crocheting some black fingerless gloves and spinning some yarn to knit a hat.  Not because I want a hat.  Because I'm spinning yarn.  I don't think I'll have enough to make anything but a beret.

I'm waiting to hear about some fabric I might have bought.  As soon as I know, I'll post fabric swatches for the impending anteater dress along with a drawing of what and how and all of that.......