So... To prepare for the upcoming season at MDRF, I have enlisted the aid of the Ladies Taylor and Stephanie. Neither have much experience sewing, but if they want their garb finished in time they must assist! Here is the project list for this year.
For Myself: Corset Pomegranate front lacing dress (in the same pattern as last season's green dress) with matching underskirt and sleeves
For Lady Taylor: Corset Quasi-Blackwatch plaid front lacing dress (same pattern as my dress) with 2 mix and match underskirts
For Lady Stephanie: Doublet front Elizabethan style gown with matching underskirt.
As I am putting this up while at work I do not have pattern numbers in front of me, but I will get that info up here soon.
The ladies did come to our first of many sewing parties on July 3. Lady Stephanie cut out all 1,596 pattern pieces for her dress (yes, that's an exaggeration, but it was a lot!) and was able to begin cutting fabric for her underskirt. Lady Taylor began on her corset and I on mine. She got all her fabric pieces cut and got a good portion into the meat of the construction. The pieces are all sewn together and she is ready to begin sewing the channels for boning. Preliminary fit testing shows we were spot on in our measurements and pattern adjustments. Woot! I still need to buy some more fabric for mine. I ran out of canvas/duck and will need to make a trip to the store soon... If I can tear myself away from WoW long enough to do so... ;-)
It was rainy here and I was bored so I made yet another item not already on my list... Me and the list obviously have differences of opinion. I made a pillbox style hat to go with Lady Stephanie's Italianesque gown.
I got the idea and directions from the r/f forum. The directions I followed were spefically from Orphena. The direction below are hers, with alterations I made in italics.
Find a plate or bowl of the "right" dimension - a pill box should almost perch on your head, so go for the "snack" plates, rather than dinner ones.
Trace around the circle. Cut 2 of fabric, add 1/2 inch all around for a seam allowance, and one of plastic canvas. Cut 1 of felt, optional - bit it hades the holes in the canvas and gives it a nicer look. (I found plastic canvas circles in a 6" diameter, so I just used that size, and cut the fabric and felt as directed.)
Tape or stich felt to the plastic canvas. Sandwich felt canvas layer between the fabric circles and stich around the circle, encasing the felt canvas layer. (I stitched the felt to the canvas, if that matters to anyone...)
Measure around the circle for the circumference, and add 2 inches to that. Cut out a strip of canvas as long as that and between 2 and 4 inches wide. Again, cut a layer of felt and a piece of fabric slightly longer and twice as wide, plus seam allowance. (I chose 2" for the width of the band and I used a different fabric for the lining, so I made 2 fabric pieces, 1 in fashion fabric and 1 of lining the right length and 3" wide to allow for a 1/2 inch on each side for seam allowance.)
Tape/sew the felt to the canvas, encase in fabric. Bring ends together and slide one end inside the other to make the circle, finish the ends.
Push the top of the hat into place from the bottom (hiding the rough edges on the inside of the hat) and handstitch into place.
Trim with beads, feathers, trim. Handstitch small loops or ribbon around the inside edge of the hat, slide a bobby pin through the loop, and secure it to your hair. (I used thin ribbon to make bobby pin loops.)
That was it it was so easy!!! Thanks again to Orphena for the great directions and inspiration!
Ok, so here it is... Here are the pictures of my celtic ensemble. I told you it was complete and that I would have pictures today, it's not my fault you didn't believe me... ; ) This is the green overdress with the plaid skirt/stomacher set, with the addition of a second coordinating gold skirt/stomacher set. This was actually the very first dress I made, it just took longer to finish due to the trim debacle I previously mentioned... There are some minor changes I would make were I to do it over, mostly the placement of the straps on the bodice. I still may yet tweak them if I can figure out how to do it without ruining the line of the dress... But all in all I am please wit how it turned out and I can't wait to wear it on my brithday when we visit VARF! with sash and without with gold set
Here is a closer shot of the front of the dress.
I haven't decided if I like the sash or not, it was made from scraps from the skirt making, the plaid is just so pretty I couldn't throw it away... I liked the idea of the sash, but I'm not so sure with the execution...
This is just a pic of the green on gold girdle belt I made out 2 broken necklaces I picked up on the cheap. I think it looks good with the gold skirts...
The green front lacing overdress of my "celtic ensemble" is now completely trimmed and ready for faire. I had to abandon hope of getting more of the same trim I used around the bottom of the skirts, when it finaly did get replenished at JoAnn's, it was a totaly different color green and absolutly NOT usable. So I was forced to pick something different, but coordinating, which I did and it looks grand... Yeah, this will make a lot more sence once I get some pictures taken and put up here, hopefully tomorrow. My lord husband has sworn he will take pictures for me tomorrow and I plan to hold him to it!
Whilst I was waiting unknowingly for the aforementioned unusable trim to get restocked, I made another skirt to go with the green overdress, so now I have 3 different combinations using the green overdress, huzzah! One plaid, one golden yellow, and the burgady skirt from last season. Mix and match ren wear, my favorite! I also started another emsemble, not on my original list for this season, that is completely made of stash fabrics. My fellow fabricholics will be so proud... Actually, what happened was after I finished Lady Taylor's green dress I went looking for the items needed to start the next item on he list, only to realize I didn't have all the necessary materials to complete any of my projects. Each one was missing a vital item so I had nothing to sew and after a day or so I was just desperate to make something, anything! So I dug through the piles of fabric literally littering the floor of what used to be the computer room and found bodice material and skirt materials that coordinated together and were in sufficient quantity. I already have 1 of the pair of skirts finished except for the hem and guard at the bottom... This is the bodice fabric (it is wavy and cool, see!)
and this is one of the skirts
Sorry the pics turned out dark, I tried to correct it, but the colors turned bright eye burning orange when I did... So you get the slightly dark ones, but you get the idea...
The underskirt will be the same fabric only because the fabric is a tad on the thin side and I don't want see through skirts (sorry guys, but you would thank me for it really!). The overskirt I am going to put a guard at the bottom of the bodice fabric if there is enough, which there should be unless I foul something up real bad...
I think the bodice fabric began life as a curtain, it came from a box in the basement of my one gramdmother's house, the skirt fabric was a $1/yd walmart bargain fabric (as it was only a dollar, I of course bought 10 yards, completly logical...right). I have dubed this my "stash ensemble" because 'uplanned project' just sounded to unwanted...
... now, in fact, completly done. So I have finished the trim on Lady Taylors dress, it now goes into the completed pile until it is taken home by it's intended.
What next you ask? Well, let us revisit the list...
The Lady Selwyn Underpinnings (corset and corded petticoat)I decided against making the petticoat, found a cotton hoop skirt for far less $ than it would take to make one, maybe next season... Celtic Ensemble (chemise, underskirt, front lacing overdress, and shoulder sash) I am waiting on 5 more yards of trim to finish the overdress... 'Court' Gown- which is not really a court gown but sounded better to me than calling it 'really pretty dress' and it is by far the fanciest I will have thus far- (chemise, underskirt, overdress, full sleeves, and some form of head gear)
My Lord Husband ALL DONE Celtic Ensemble (great kilt and shirt)
My dearest friend, Lady Taylor ALL DONE Celtic Ensemble (chemise, skirt, and strapless bodice) 'Italian style' gown (underdress/smock, half bodice with attached overskirt)
Our beloved sister, Lady Stephanie 'Italian style' gown (chemise and gown w/underskirt) Celtic Ensemble- as yet TBD
So in a nut shell, I have my 'CE' overdress to trim, and my 'court' gown to make. One ensemble for Lady Stephanie and the addition to my list of one ensemble for my lord husband's mother, Lady Long. Not to bad considering MDRF is still a few months away...
Lady Taylor and I are planning a VARF trip or 2, but we both have garb enough for those occasions at this point. I can't wait to get a RF fix in!!!!
