They mate for life - L

Since my sewing machine is in the shop, I've been working on peripheral stuff.  Things like handwork for the pending renaissance dress, flea furs for both of us, renaissance buttons, and cutting and hemming chiffon. All need to be done by hand.  It's sort of odd to be shifting projects from moment to moment, but I'm getting used to it, and making some progress.  It's become glaringly obvious that Robin and I each have different talents so we are starting to parse some things to the 'expert'.  She is doing all the blackwork embroidery on her machine.  I don't have the ability or the patience to do that.  She is doing hats.  I have some sort of aversion to it.  I am doing renaissance buttons, flea furs, and research on new techniques like hand rolled chiffon hems.  (ugh).  She doesn't have the urge to make papier mache weasel heads...though I can't understand why not...??
Here is a matched pair of headless weasel bodies, including their gilded paws.  More pictures below.

What follows is a string of pictures including my first ever hand rolled hem.  The second edge was smoother.  Clearly this is a learned skill.  We'd heard that chiffon was a bitch to work with.  We heard true.  Ultimately, I found myself singing:
'I Fought Chiffon and Chiffon Won''

This edge is a center front panel.  I had planned to do the bottom hem, but I can't do it until I get it level.  Possibly in the next century?

Also, 4 different renaissance button samples.  Since Robin is doing my blackwork, I said I would make buttons for both her and her beau.  Lucky for me he has chosen one of the easiest to make because it turns out to take a lot longer than I'd anticipated and makes my fingers cramp and he needs 36 buttons!!!   I'm already rethinking my personal choice.

Finally, I tried paper clay for the first time.
Regular clay make the 'heads' for the flea furs too heavy.  
I spread the goop over heavy paper cones and made little 'lumps' with wire toenails for paws.

Then I cut some of Robin's faux fur into creature bits.
I decided to make them have a little character.  Then I had to make little legs.  Once I had sewn on the legs and added a little stuffing to create shaping, I gilded the paw pieces and glued them into the legs.  While I was sewing I was baking the paper clay at very low heat to speed the drying.
The heads will need to be sanded quite a bit and then gilded.  I will glue some fake jewels into the eye sockets and for general decoration.  Here they are!

February Sunday Sewing Bee or Finessing the Fitting - L&R

Lisa and I have scheduled a sewing day once a month for this year.  So far, we are sticking to it because we have so many projects going and so much fitting to do. Normally, we have two machines going, but I'm taking Lisa's in to the shop (the dealer is closer to me) and my other machine was set up for embroidery, so we made do with one. We turned the dining room into a factory and set to.




 First up, we worked on our Titanic Tea Dress muslins.  The pattern is from Sense and Sensibility and looks easy on the surface, but fitting the bodice is NOT easy. The front and back are all of a piece so adjustments often come with some unexpected side effects elsewhere. For mine, I tried to increase bust and lengthen it, but the way I did it gave me too much material under the kimono sleeve. We ended up using the original muslin with no FBA and adding length to the bottom, the easiest solution for me.

Lisa, in attempting to have enough material for her full bust, cut a size too large for her shoulders, but had a great fit for the FBA.  Instead of recutting, we glued fabric on to the muslin to get a shoulder line that wouldn't fall off her VERY small shoulders.  This is the beginning of the Franken-bodice.

My problem was that I had to add a lot of room for bust coverage plus length in the torso.  I ended up adding too much in the bust area so after angling the bust line and not having success, I removed a chunk of length and added it UNDER the bust.  You can see the glue lines and the vast difference this fitting made.  
Now we are ready to cut in to the fashion materiel - but not today.  Today is for fitting.
Actually we had cutting the fabric on our list of 'to do' but we just didn't have time.  We don't need each other's help to cut.  But we do solve problems together much better than alone.  L.

Material and pattern pieces adorned every surface. We had bolts of muslin and scraps, our Titanic fabrics, the Frock Coat Lisa is making for her S.O., a 1940's muslin, a Ren Corset and Lisa's 1912 lace-insertion slip (needed button holes and my machine is the resident button hole master.

Rob plays with fabric.

I made 12 buttonholes, sewed on 12 buttons.  I sewed together enough of the frock coat to be able to fit the shoulders and back-side seams.  I fit my Titanic bodice (about 6 times with cutting and gluing between each fitting) and then cut a final version.  And I did a first 'look' at a renaissance corset (see below). L.

Ugh!  I cut this out according to the measurements listed on the envelope and this muslin is just... big. Lisa keeps reminding me that envelope information is only a suggestion.


I love the intricacies of the draping but the only place to alter is on the sides and in the back.  Lisa gave me deeper back darts and took the sides in about 4 inches total. We wondered why it looked so dumpy and Lisa was considering even fitting alterations when we had an epiphany - We hadn't accounted for shoulder pads!!! Argghhh!

Now, I have pretty "strait across' shoulders, but this design, without shoulder pads, makes me look slope-shouldered. Below you'll see a shot of the pattern envelope and the solution.

Notice how the fit changes on the left (to viewer) side once the
wadded-up T-shirt stands in for a shoulder pad? It gave the shoulders
much needed form.  I'm still not the same shape as the fashion
rendering, but it makes the dress less dumpy on me. Hopefully,
the polka dots of the fashion fabric will fool the eye around the tummy area even more than the draping!

We also fit a muslin for Lisa's Renaissance corset and decided that she needed to cut a size 6 back and try to mate it to the existing size 20 front - those dang narrow shoulders actually are part of a very narrow back!  We redrew the offending back pieces.  Once Lisa gets the muslin pieces somewhere in the correct size territory, she'll cut out a new muslin of canvass or something that won't stretch to test the final fit before using fashion fabric.  In the meantime, I've decided to make "fitting lacings" where you have lacing grommets on a twill tape that can be stitched to whatever corset you are trying to fit.  I think we can both use this and it beats the heck out of trying to guess where it'll end up.
I'm just going to take a second to whine.  I really have the oddest shape.  It is really hard to fit.  Even when I was very thin, I couldn't find clothes that fit.  Now that I'm heavy, it's insane.  My weight is not evenly distributed.  But to end on a positive note, I am forced to learn a lot about modifying patterns.

All in all, a most productive day after which we were, again, both exhausted.

How Many White Things Can You Cut Out In 2 Days? - R

There are no pictures for this post because everything I did this weekend was done in white muslin or white material:
Traced pattern, then cut and marked 1940's dress muslin
Cut out white brocade and lining for a man's formal vest and bow tie,
Traced and cut out man's doublet muslin
Sewed a bit on a white muslin farthingale
Machine embroidered the cuffs, ruffles and collars of a man's white muslin Elizabethan shirt.  Have finally learned how to line those suckers up properly.
Did machine black work embroidery on a white muslin smock yoke for me (not at all successful and will probably have to scrap it and start over)
And, finally, made a pattern from an existing dress for my sister (that project is about 10 years in the waiting, but I finally had the skills and materials to do it right).

Waiting in the wings is the white muslin bodice for the Titanic Tea Dress that Lisa will fit to me this weekend, a white muslin Victorian chemise that is almost finished and some other project in a bag that I just didn't bother to look at.

So what do you do when you are sick of white muslin?  Go online the next day and by some colorful fabric for which you will need to make...you guessed it....a white muslin!

Princess Slip - Nightgown is done - L

Here's the lace detail on the finished challenge pattern that I reworked.  FOUR kinds of lace.  And when I say finished, I actually mean finished except for buttons and buttonholes.  I think my machine needs help.  Can't get buttonhole attachment to work.
This was primarily a mental exercise.  Once I figured out how to make this work for my body it was just a sort of a jigsaw puzzle with a lot of long seams.  I posted last week about all the measuring and mental gymnastics of changing a pattern for a short and slender woman into something for a tall and substantial woman to actually wear.  And it worked!  I added the sleeve caps as a visual way to balance my hips.

Here's the whole thing.  Pleating is a pain.  Pintucks are a pain.  I think I have it out of my system for a long while.  And really, only the center front insertion lace offers a possibility of embarrassing the offspring.  The part I ended up liking the best was deciding to use bias binding around the armhole.  I looks tidy and solved a multitude of small problems.  Here is a close up of the bias binding. I did it by hand since I felt I would suffer more trying to machine sew it in all the tight spots.  Actually, I did one of them riding in a car on the way to see my daughters new flat.

Now I'm starting the frock coat.  Actually I'm blogging in an effort to avoid the frock coat.  It's cut out and marked.  Now I have to do the welt pocket.    And YES!  I finished another pair of socks!!!

Who Wants To Wear An Inner Tube Around Your Waist? - R

 "I do! I do!"
  Congratulations, you are now an Elizabethan costumer.
OK, this has got to be one of the most ridiculous items of fashion ever invented, but I'm going with the flow here.  It's done.  Yes, it's lumpy.  I cannot get it NOT to be lumpy.  Hopefully, it won't show under the skirt.  If it does, I'll kneed it a bit more or give it to my dog as a chew toy.

VPLL 1912 - progress on the Princess Slip

I finally got a couple of uninterrupted hours to start working on the slip.  Since I modified the top front beyond recognition, I had to spend some time figuring out how to put everything together.  And since I wasn't sure how it would fit (I'd held the grocery bag pattern up and hoped), I could sew shoulder or side seams without a fitting.  And it was difficult to decide where to put the front lace without shoulder or side seams.  And round and round.
Finally, I just started.  The beaded lace at the neck is just pinned on since I want to sew it around the neckline all at once.  I got the pintucks made on  one side and will finish tonight.  I think I'm only going to use gathers at the bottom.  Also, I'm starting to suspect that the bottom of the 'top' will not be level.  I'll need to shorten at the side seams and maybe a bit in the center to avoid bagging around the waist.
Next step is to figure out placement of shoulder seams and side seams.  I'm going to do it while wearing it.  Should be interesting.

My plan is to pin the shoulders and side seams and mark where I want the armscye.  If I use bias binding around the arm hole, I don't have to try to figure out 'fit + seam allowance' plus it will look and feel better. I have a clever plan to add a sort of flap at the shoulder and attach lace.  If it works, it will add the illusion of wider shoulders to balance the rest of me.  Pictures soon!  
This is my first ever try at pin tucks and insertion lace.  I also used french seams everywhere there isn't lace.  Haven't done that since the 60's when I was a fetus.

I still need some ribbon for the beading, and some small buttons for the back.  I need to cut the lower front.  And then I need to make about 9 yards of pleated flounce with a lace insertion.  And there goes my long weekend!

I've added a very blurry picture of the back.  Showing off my tiny french seams.  I only had a little 'leakage' in a couple spots.
I also finished the vest and will try and start the frock coat this weekend.  Also, maybe go outside and get some exercise.

VPLL Princess Slip - From 'It' to 'Me'

This is my very amateur drawing of the changes I've make to the slip pattern to make it a working nightgown that fits me,  Here's what I did, described as briefly as I'm able.  If you don't understand you can leave me a message in comments on this blog.

I loved the proportions in the picture which are NOT the proportions of the pattern.  The flounce is much shorter in proportion in the pattern.  In addition, I'm 5'10" with long legs, narrow shoulders, large bust and thick mid-section.  This forced me to not only up-size the pattern, but make some major alterations.  After printing the pattern, my scale was not correct.  I chose not to fiddle with it since I'm making so many changes already.  The pattern size I show may NOT be the pattern size YOU get when you print.  (For other VPLL participants)

Pattern:

Bust:  37.5

Waist: 28.75

Hip: 44

Est length (from shoulder) at flounce attach:   43

Est total length (from shoulder) to hem:  50

Me:

Bust: 46

Waist: 38

Hip: 45

Est length (from shoulder) to hem: 58

First, the flounce to total-length ratio in the picture is 25%.  I decided 20 to 25% is what I want.  The need for this much flexibility will be obvious later.  I will want my flounce to be between 12 and 14 inched finished.

That leaves me 44 inches for the top of the slip (58 - 14) from the shoulder.  This is very close to the actual pattern.  However my larger bust will require me to add some inches in the front to keep the hem level.  Also, my bust point is notably lower than the picture.  This means I don't want to add width at the widest part of the pattern.  I want to add it where I am widest.  Also, my shoulders are narrow, so I can't just add nine inches.  In fact, I really don't need to add more than an inch or so at the shoulders (across my back is only about 14.5 inches).  I don't want the shoulders falling off.  First step, I held the side front up to myself and made a mark on the pattern at the point that is roughly my bust point.  At the same time, I eyeballed the shoulder height and location of armscye.  I did the same with the center front.  Then I traced the pattern piece from shoulder to natural waist and started to make changes.

Then I ran into trouble.  I have decided to use 2 1/4 inch insertion lace.  With wider lace, it's normal to cut the fabric, hem the edges, and sew on the lace to each side (rather then sewing it down, cutting it and rolling back the hem).  I suspected that the wider lace would give me a little additional length and width.  It would also complicate my calculations.  I started to modify the pattern and realized that no matter what I did, the lace was 'inconveniently' placed.  Very romantic.  Not practical for an over-50, over-weight mom.  So goodbye to the lower bust band of insertion lace.  I moved it to the natural waist,  And if the vertical bands are stopping at the natural waist, why bother with the princess seams up to the bust?  That would require a great deal of fussy modifications when I could that with two panels that go from side seam to center bust insertion band, and from top lace insertion to natural waist lace insertion.  The biggest advantage to this change is that I could measure the distance from the top of my bust (where the lace insertion ends) to the top of my natural waist (second insertion band starts).  And I could measure it over my bust.  That solves the problem of adding 'volume' over the bust.  In addition, the top insertion sort of runs into the bottom of the armscye.  This means I can make it as wide as I want when I put in the lace.  I will need to trim to adjust the armhole but that's what my pal Robin is great for.  I stand still and she marks where the opening should be.  When I drew the pattern (on cut up grocery bags) is marked where the lace would be so I could have an idea of how big the pieces would be with lace attached.  There is no lace in the back, so I merely added a couple inches near the bottom of the arm hole where I am the fullest.  Here's some bad pictures of my grocery bag pattern:

Notes:

The arm-scythe is cut around towards the back, so the side seams are NOT directly under the bottom of the armhole.  Also, by the time the pattern reaches 'hip' length, the front to back proportions are evenly balanced.  Basically, this means I can just add to the pattern evenly from the natural waist down.  

Things I will do 'on the fly':

Cut an extra inch at the top of the shoulders.  I can take a bigger seam if needed.

Cut the armscye as printed.  I can cut away more, but once I cut, it's gone forever.

Cut the front 'bust pieces as rectangles.  I can put gathers under the bust points as needed and take in the side seams too.

Add little 'flaps' on the shoulders to extend them.  This will allow me to 'cheat' the proportions.  These are about 6 inch long curved pieces, 1 1/2 inch at the top of the shoulder, tapering to nothing.

Add a couple inches of length even though I don't think I will need them.

Wait to cut the flounce until the body of the slip is made.  This way I'm sure it's the right length.   After all, I have made dramatic changes, I'm not a pro, and who KNOWS what will actually happen.