On A Personal Note...

Ever since I began neglecting Live Journal for Facebook about 4 years ago, FaceBook and this sewing blog are really the only outlet I have had for writing.
Sure, I could just use FB Notes, but they seem so temporary. They get buried beneath the main interface of daily doses, LOL Cats and memes. There isn't that directness of viewing them the way you can here, and frankly, the FB Notes interface is just plain ugly. There is no way to personalize it or make it your own, this is why I loved Live Journal for so long.
When someone visits my blog, it's my own little space, and I want them to be swept away for a little bit. I want them to not only read what I have written, but experience it as well via imagery and artwork that isn't simply defined by a tiny jpeg link in each post. Being able to frame the pages your posts reside in with textures and images, helps to blur the reality of the fact you are simply staring at a computer monitor. Rather, you are looking into someone's personality and even soul.
FB is cold, and while I do enjoy much of the social interaction it provides, it's not very engaging for the kind of writing, idea sharing and image posting I enjoy.

LJ simply became too, well, depressing. It seemed as though all the friends I had that posted regularly there, all left for Facebook and would rarely, if ever, post in LJ.
Now, I could care less if people post a bunch of replies to my updates as was the thing at LJ.
I just want a fresh space.

While I could very well use this sewing blog as a personal blog too, I choose to keep the two separate.
I would rather not fill this up with my personal drivel, letting people who really do want to read about 'me' do so in a separate blog, and sparing those here who just want the sewing ;-)

You are welcome to follow me at:
https://avikingqueen.blogspot.com/

XOXO!

Let The Fur Fly...

Tedious.
That is the word for this current costume project, but not impossible.
To some, the mere idea of this project caused a few people to politely and helpfully suggest alternative ensembles, but I stood firm.
I agree with many of the warnings given by my peers, but truly, it's not that bad.
It's just time consuming, and now my only worry is finishing on time.
The hardest part thus far; the fur trim on the hem of the coat.
Shaping it so that it fits the curve of the hemline smoothly, with only so much fur to use, has been a lesson in (even more) patience in hand sewing.

The underside of the fur hem with slashed 'darts' pinned in place...

 

After darts have been stitched securely, this is what you get on the pretty side...and hope there isn't too much variation in the fur texture over those spots

At least the faint stripe in the mink fur is matching up for the most part.
Hopefully I can get a good amount more of it done tonight because after that, all I have to do is flip it over, and secure the top edge of the fur trim to the coat. The bottom edge of the pelt is already machined onto the hem.
At least I could do that much on my machine.

Ugh...I shall prove victorious!

The Velvet Hussar Gown: Part III

 So the sleeves are on and I decided to start in on some of the fur trim. At least to salvage and size up the long shawl collar front piece. Armed with a felt marker and an exacto knife, I began the surgery that is re-purposing a vintage mink fur coat. 

If you have ever seen the inside of a fur coat without its lining, it is insanity:

Here is the front shawl collar just draped and pinned onto the front of the coat for an idea of what I'm going for. The bottom edge of the coat will also be trimmed in this mink, and the sleeves will have mink cuffs (please excuse the creepy mannequin head in the bottom right corner):

 

The monogram that was embroidered onto the lining of the fur coat I used is stunning. The Initials read ONM, and every time I find a vintage monogrammed item, I like to imagine what the owner's name may have been. Olivia, Olive, Ophelia, Olga, Octavia, Odette?

Perhaps I'll make a little cushion from the silk, with this at its center:

The Velvet Hussar Gown: Part II

I made a lot of progress on Sisi's velvet ensemble today.
There was only one near tragedy; I had accidentally cut one of the princess coat panels with the nap of the velvet going up instead of down. So I had to re-cut it and use up more fabric than I had wanted to.
Still, I think I have plenty to go into the lower panels of the skirt. I ordered an extra yard though, just in case.
The bodice to about hip level is flat-lined in a black cotton twill.

Here she is shown over my new hoop petticoat, again with no sleeves yet and not much to look at. I will wrangle the sleeves on tomorrow:

Sisi's "Velvet Hussar" Gown: Mockup Part I

Here is what I have as a muslin mockup for the coat portion of the ensemble, sans sleeves. Pretty good so far! Only a couple of minor adjustments needed; I moved the outer dart down a smidge on the front and took it in a bit more (see darts at left side of bodice). This is because I have a longer torso than the natural waistline of the original bodice pattern I used.

The Velvet Hussar

So I had decided on the fur and velvet Hussar-inspired promenade gown.
I have all my velvet, my fur material in the form of an old mink coat, linings, all the mohair braid and fittings for closures and details. While I may not be able to replicate this ensemble exactly, given the time, I think I will come pretty close.

 Sisi with her beloved dog, Shadow.

As guides, I am using Truly Victorian patterns TV446 and the free petticoat diagram for the skirt.
I have extended the lines of the bodice into a princess 'coat'.
The upper half of the underskirt will be black cotton, with the velvet material attached just under where the hem of the coat ends. There is no way I want to make the entire skirt of velvet, let alone try to pleat it into a waistband! The stuff wasn't cheap either. This was also a typical way people used to save on expensive fabrics, even the wealthy.
I may even build this over my already existing elliptical hoop, since that is what she is wearing in this 1864 photograph. For Dickens I need a regular circular hoop, but should I ever want to do an accurate portrayal of Sisi for a future photo shoot later, I can have the other option of an elliptical.
I have my muslin cut and ready to go, wish me luck.

The Versatile Blog Award

I have been so busy these past few weeks that I have sadly neglected my blog here.
Browsing by, I noticed that I had been nominated by Sanna K of Rococo Atelier for the Versatile Blog Award! Thank you, Sanna ;-)
This is all the more reason for me to record my current sewing project(s) here, in the days leading up to Dickens Fair...no matter how rushed I am. I've felt as though I haven't given you all much to look at lately, so I don't want to disappoint. Still, I am honored that someone would find my blog worthy of such an award.

Accepting this honor means I need to:

1) Thank and link back to the person who nominated me.
2) Paste the award to my blog.
3) Tell 7 things about myself.
4) Nominate 15 other blogs.

So, here are 7 tidbits about me, some rather random:

1) I LOVE marzipan. Not the pasty cake decoration kind, the real crushed almond kind you get usually enrobed in dark chocolate. Even by itself I find myself salivating at the mere mention of it.
One of the things that lead my now fiance and I to our first kiss, was a chocolate covered morsel of this aphrodisiac. Literally since I can remember, my favorite sweet of all time involving this candy of the gods; Mozartkugeln. They are little grenades of love. I can't help it, I'm Viennese (and still have family there).

2) I began sewing at around age 10.
This was mostly for my dolls, but by age 12 I was stitching together full Victorian and 18th century ensembles for myself...or at least what I imagined to be of the era.
I really should dig up the photos, they are hilarious.

3) My first corset was a little white 1890s style 'ribbon corset' from Amazon Drygoods at a cost of $60.
I was 13 or 14.
Granted, I didn't wear it all the time and didn't tightly lace myself in, but I still thank my mother to this day for helping me buy it with my allowance. It was a perfect and early introduction on how historical clothing should fit and what NEEDS to go underneath. Not long after, my grandmother bestowed upon me a late 1880s wire bustle, the small collapsible kind.

4) My grandmother (mentioned above) and grandfather on mom's side, owned and ran an antique shop out of their home. Much of the house was converted into shop space, so the guest room where we would sleep when staying over, was the clothing 'department'. It was filled with everything from 1970s Gunnie Sax dresses, 1950s prom gowns, Victorian dresses, deco era beaded works of art, to stage costumes complete with headdresses. I was allowed to play dress up in some of these, and every Christmas or on my birthday, I would receive a giant box in the mail filled with variations of the above, plus costume jewelry, from the various estate sales my grandparents would attend. Much of it was either very damaged but salvageable for copy or costume making, and some was in near pristine condition. Some of which I have to this day...and have since grown into ;-)

5) I hate working retail. HATE it with a passion. I am so thankful I don't any longer. Hopefully it will stay that way and I can move up in the industry I am currently in. I work for a logistics company that supports Facebook.

6) Though I was born here, I don't really enjoy living in America as much as I am told I should.
It has its merits, don't get me wrong. But after living here and spending a lot of time in Europe as well with family, I belong in Austria or Germany. Not just because I think Vienna is pretty or the food in Munich is better, it's a feeling that runs in my veins 24/7 literally and figuratively. It's embedded in my DNA.

7) Update 2017*** I'm actually gay. I've known I wasn't straight for most of my life, so if you're reading this now please accept that I don't owe anyone an explanation for my seemingly hetero-normative past, some sort of *proof* of my gayness, or validation for my personal journey to allow my authentic self to come out.

I shall nominate the following blogs:
my apologies if anyone has already been nominated...

A Most Beguiling Accomplishment
Two Nerdy History Girls
American Duchess:Historical Costuming
All Things Vintage Rouge
Munich rococo
FlouncedLucia
Before the Automobile
Smells Dead
A Camera Girl
At the Sign of the Golden Scissors
Bridges on the Body
Clothes closet of a 21st century Empress
Q's Daydream
The Laced Angel
This Old Life