Gruß vom Krampus!

...and a happy new year!

Dickens Fair is over, the house is a mess of fabric scraps and costume bits from the sewing and being too exhausted or ill to do any real cleaning in between.

During the fair's run, I wasn't able to complete my velvet Sisi ensemble, but did create the velvet skirt for it, plus a couple of alternative items to wear; a black taffeta over-skirt, a blouse and another full length skirt.

Hopefully there will be photos surfacing of me actually wearing these items, or when the weather clears a bit, maybe I will have Anders help me take some new photos.

Already, plans for next year's outfits are on the drawing board, and my friends Laura and Caitlyn of Curse Words And Crinolines have plans for matching ensembles of awesomeness ;-)

Like last year, I felt out-of-sorts with my clothing. I didn't have enough time in my sewing area to really create some new pieces. I wasn't able to start the majority of my sewing until the last weekend of pre-Dickens workshops. This next year will be different, and I'd like to make more ensembles that require less fussing with them throughout the day. With the rush to complete things, I ended up having to use pins instead of actual closures, and no real time to make sure everything was comfortable to wear all day.

I'll need a new hoop petticoat, too, that can hold the weight of heavier fabrics and give a more historical shape and size. Mine, while very nice, is larger and built for lighter garments and modern bridal wear. It has only 4 hoops in a fabric casing, so it can't hold anything heavier than lightweight fabrics like taffeta and cotton.

I've sourced and purchased some of the materials to make at least one of next year's dresses, but as promised, this blog shall once again go forth into the 18th century!!

Perhaps a set of velveteen breeches and frock coat will be completed, and my gowns, hats and accessories will follow!

I am so excited to be starting on a different era after so much hoop era immersion over the holidays.

 XOXO

P.S. Now, what do I wear for the Twelfth Night ball in just a few weeks?!

The Velvet Hussar: The Skirt

Last night after work, I dove into an attempt to finish my velvet skirt.
I did pretty well, actually. The pleats are secured to the waistband, the hem is even after a little trimming here and there, and the hem tape is stitched to the raw edge of the hem as well....and that's as far as I got.

This skirt is heavy, and I definitely need to put my hoop on an actual waistband. I may even need to put more steel in my hoop by way of a few more hoops.
Here she is so far (once again on my too-big-for-me dress form) without a hem:

More Insanity By Choice

This is only my 2nd or 3rd time doing cartridge pleats for a skirt, and this is probably the most fabric I've ever had to pleat to a waistband; 8+ yards of black cotton.

At least I found, in my wondrous stash, a heavy grosgrain and silk satin covered fabric belt. It's perfect for this heavy velvet skirt that needs a heavier foundation to hang from. While only the lower half of the skirt is made of the velvet (it would be much too thick to pleat and fit the bulk into the waistband), it already weighs a good amount. I am seriously considering putting a waistband on my hoop petticoat. The drawstring seems like it would be much too weak to hold the weight of the skirt, and coat skirts of velvet and fur, for any extended amount of time

I also took a break from this and made a fitted blouse today from a lightweight cotton sateen. This is not only something to wear under the Sisi velvet ensemble, but as part of an alternative outfit to wear this year at Dickens Fair. 

More photos of this soon. The dress form in the photo is actually about a size or two bigger than I am, but I just needed one that wasn't broken (like the one I was using that *is my size) to take photos on.

I used the Truly Victorian 1860s Darted Bodice - TV446, and extended the length from the waistline. I literally just added extra at will, which is why the hem is all crazy in back. I will even this out, but the little tail that happened in back is actually kind of cute

There are a few details I want to add during the week; a vintage lace collar and perhaps pleated or ruffled cuffs of the same fabric.

I'm also hoping that I can get a separate overskirt and swiss waist made by next weekend to wear with the above skirt and blouse at Dickens next weekend. Cross your fingers folks.

The Sisi ensemble is nearly done, but the finishing details on the coat are killing me.

The Velvet Hussar - Details

The fur hem is nearly complete.
I swear, when this part alone is done I'm going to dance around the house in victory!

In order to stitch the top edge of the fur to the coat, and get a nice roll-under of the pelt edge, I needed to machine some black bias tape to it. After folding it over, I had not only a nice clean edge to work with, but something much easier for thread and needle to sew securely to.

 

I am definitely taking the lint brush to the entire thing when all is done. So much fuzz...

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: