Down to the 'to-do's; - Elizabethan - Lisa

For the most part, this is it.
- I need to add rings for the sleeve ties.
- I have aglets for the ties that I have stored in a very special place.  Wish I remembered where.
- I need to pin the for-skirt to my farthingale.
- I need to add a panel in the center front because my bodice gaps a little which is frustrating because it seemed loose when I started.  Being squishy, I have trouble lacing to the same size consistently.
- And I have some decorations for the shoulders left to add.
- I should probably have a head covering.
But I'm basically done.  Hurrah.  Hurrah.  NEXT.

 We are going to the Ren Faire on October 5th.  I've never been.  I'm afraid I will sweat to death. I may have more pictures.  Or not.

Back to work (Eliza-beef-'n) - Lisa

Sigh.  I'm taking a break from fast, fun things and going back to work on my Elizabethan gear.  I've enjoyed making the underthings but so far I have not been inspired by the actual dress.  Maybe because we started these so long ago, and the project keeps being postponed?  Still, this is something we're doing, so I'm back in the saddle.  We recently cut muslins for our bodices and are ready to cut the fabric.  But before I do that, I need to fix what I've already done.  The neck opening for my chemise was too big and I couldn't keep it on.  None of the blackwork showed when I got dressed.  So I'm making it smaller.  What a pain.  Also, I'm aware that the opening should be big but it is too big for my taste.

First the blackwork facing had to come off and be made smaller.  I cut and sewed it back together less about 2 inches of width and 1 1/2 of length.  It was quite a lot, but I wanted to match the pattern on the embroidery as best I could.  I cut close to the turned edge at each corner so it had to be hand sewn to make sure the rough edges stayed turned under. Then I had to add fabric to the neck of the chemise.  Sounds simple, but it wasn't.  It was like adding the neck facing AGAIN.  I didn't want the addition to show meaning there were few places I could machine sew, so I gave up and sewed it by hand.

WRONG

On to the skirt.  I had already sewn the cartridge pleats to the waistband but the front was... off.  So I put EVERYTHING back on and marked the center front and back a few (5) inches where I want the front to be relatively flat.  Then I pulled all that careful stitching and did it over.  By hand.  Grrrr.  But now it's done and I can hem it and put on trim.  (after I shrink the hoops by about an inch each because of course they are not quite right).  When I put skirt on, the weight of the fabric pushed the front of my farthingale out and I ended up on Margo Anderson's Facebook page where I got a lot of helpful suggestions.  I ended up putting the bumroll UNDER the farthingale which redistributed the weight into the proper shape.  The over skirt is now done.

Next up is the fore panel.  Sad to admit that I wish I'd had more hot glue experience before I started it.  Arrgghh.  I had tentatively hemmed it, but that all changed once the overskirt was completely finished.  I finished hot gluing the black 'gems' and decided I needed to tack 'pearls' around them to disguise the hot glue mess.  Anything in ' ' can also be called 'plastic'.  Though once I got the ribbon trim on, I was pretty happy.

Here is a picture of the bottom half of my Elizabethan/Renaissance outfit.  All done.
I may add more to the forepanel, but I'm pretty sure I want a complete bodice first (wink).  I still need to shrink one of the hoops a little.  And the whole thing still seems a bit too big and shiny.  Probably because it IS big and shiny.

I'm not dead yet! - L

We have been a bit lax in posting recently.  There are a couple of reasons, and some of them are really good!  Robin has been sewing all out in an effort to meet deadlines.  She really wants to have ''his and hers' Elizabethan outfits ready for the end of September.  She has a lovely vacation planned between then and now.  CAN SHE DO IT!

Lisa is busy finishing stuff for VPLL 1912 Project and working on her Elizabethan dress.  I am really enjoying it, but it doesn't appeal to my aesthetic so I'm rarely motivated to post about it.  Then again, I did make some incredibly silly flea furs for us.  I had posted their body and head construction earlier and here they are in a very bad iPhone pic.  Gilded and bejeweled.  I particularly like the diamond teardrop fangs.

I have also started making my sleeves.  Here are two of the panels totally completed.  There are 3 panels per arm and they are sewn together at 5 or 6 points and decorated with jewels or buttons.  I guess I could also add ties (points) but that's just TOO busy for me.  Once I've made all six panels...seriously... 6... I'll go back to decorating the front piece that goes under the skirt. And decorating the sides of the front skirt panels.  That will just leave the bodice and a head covering.  These folks were nuts.  They make Victorians look like Puritans.

And Robin has donated this picture of the slops she's made her beau.  He's game.  Many men would run screaming.  His doublet is next up in her queue.

Fitting Marathon - L & R

Imagine, if you will, fitting multiple garments from multiple eras....  It was a whirlwind of activity as we took advantage of the July 3 early close in stock markets to fit everything that we were working on.  Every surface was piled in fabric.  The floor was scattered in pins.  Robin's foot was a sad and pained thing that swelled and throbbed.  And we got a LOT of stuff done.

What we did, and what we learned while doing it:
Lisa:
Petticoat - multiple layers sewn to a yoke for mid 19th century outfits.  I'd sewn the top layer including lace on the bottom flounce and just needed to attach it to the yoke.  Robin pinned it to the yoke, allowing a level hem.  We also experimented with a 'bum pad'.  Yes...I pinned a throw pillow to my butt..
1850's skirt - with the petticoat pinned, the skirt hem could be pinned.  Well, actually the waist.  We both had already trimmed near the bottom of our skirts, following the plaid, so we adjusted the hem at the waist.
1850's bodice - THIS was interesting.  Being small boned but fat, I cut the back of my bodice roughly 5 sizes smaller than the front.  I expect to have problems matching shoulder and side seams as a result.  I had already fit a muslin and cut and sewn a new one.  So this should have fit nearly perfectly.  HOWEVER, when I was sewing the new one, I couldn't remember if I'd matched the shoulder seam at the neck or armscye. I chose to match at the armscye leaving excess at the neck (we're talking 2 inches of excess).  When I put it on with all my underthings, NOTHING FIT RIGHT.  Poor Robin! (When she does stuff like this, it makes me doubt my initial fitting abilities, thinking "I can't be THAT bad, can I?" until I find out that she's jacked up something on her own  Dude!  I didn't jack it up!  It is entirely impossible to know what to do with all that extra fabric. It wasn't THAT BIG the first time.) Luckily, before too much had been done, we decided to re-stitch the shoulder and our optional bust dart and see what happened.  It was all the difference.  Seriously.  Suddenly, everything fit.
Elizabethan underthings - I finished them.  I put them on.  The farthingale was too long so I'm taking a big tuck all the way around between two hoops.  The corset straps needed grommets, so Robin marked where they were supposed to go and I put them in (and yes, one of them is backwards).
Elizabethan bodice - Robin had taken my measurements and I compared those to the pattern.  It seemed odd and didn't make sense.  I decided to cut the pattern size that went with my corset size and add a bit to the seams on the front and side back.  Turns out I didn't need them, and Robin pinned them out.

Robin: I'd taken the train into the city so that we could both use one car to get to Lisa's house. I lugged my cage crinoline, petticoat, corset, drawers and chemise just for the fitting of the Victorian stuff. I also had to carry my Vic skirt and bodice plus the Ren corset.  Talk about a pack mule.  With my slowly healing foot, carrying that stuff almost killed me.  And then, the fitting sessions did me in entirely.

Lisa adjusted my Vic skirt from the waistband. Adjusting it over a hoop skirt that sways uncontrollably is a nightmare.  I had to take frequent "foot elevation" breaks,which slowed the process.  Adjusting from the waist is a total pain in the fanny (and the foot) but sometimes it's the only way.  Standing still while someone fits you is pure torture, with or without injuries.  We were so tired we forgot to take pictures of Rob's skirt - but you can get a glimpse of the plaid here. (And WHAT is that LOOK on my face??? You'd think I'd discovered something nasty in my tote bag!)

The Vic bodice was interesting.  I was worried that it would be too tight in the back as I'd made 3/4" seams there, but Lisa ended up taking it in even more in that area (Rats!  I'll have to take the piping out to resew that!)

The Ren corset was easy as it was only strap placement. (Except that Lisa get the right shape and I just become a cylinder cuz my ribs won't squish and there's not much room between the ribs and the hip bones )All in all, it took us 5 hours, but it had to be done in order to continue our projects. We were mentally exhausted but pleased.  And I just LOVE my pink binding on the Ren corset! (Worn here with Victorian underthings.)

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: