Catching Up

It\"s been a while, once again, since the last entry here and seems to be a habit of mine. Especially as I go about gathering up materials and supplies for Dragon Con costuming.

Here are a few shots from way back in January, taken at the Twelfth Night Ball.

This is the ice blue ball gown I was working on, and barely had enough time to finish...and I still don\"t consider it totally finished. But, it turned out to be a gown "that would do" and is stylishly simple.

A surprise photo with Anders, Photo: Laurie Tavan

Tea-dyed satin slippers; they went from a glaring white, to this lovely candlelight ivory thanks to some English breakfast tea. They show up a slightly deeper shade in this photo than they actually are.

I wanted to add more trimmings made from the blue silk and gold trims, around the neckline for a faux bertha collar (as seen on some extant ballgowns). I\"m still hoping to give it a delicate helping of that, a little extra on the sleeves, and perhaps something on the skirt as well made from the taffeta and gold metal brush fringe. Something along the lines of this, instead of having the metal fringe straight along the hemline as I do now:

Still, I wish I had a good shot of the bodice front. With that said, the gown ended up very much reminding people of Cinderella, and that became my nickname for the evening ;-)

A little more boning at the seams is needed, too. Hopefully as the weather and free time improves, and I’ll maybe head up to Villa Montalvo for a quick photo shoot with this gown. The Villa is the same location we shot my Sisi velvet and mink ensemble, so it should be the perfect spot for a Cinderella-like set.

Striking a Winterhalter pose with Jenny Storm, Photo: Bill Watters

Dancing

Photo: Laurie Tavan

With Daniel and Laura, photo: Christopher Erickson

And then things just got weird...

Photo by Bill Watters

End-Of-Year Update Part I

Happy Yule to everyone!

As the holidays ramp up toward the new year, here\"s an update on what I\"ve been up to since I last posted here. Hold on tight, it\"s a long one. First up; the dress(es) conundrum...

Ballgown bodice pre-seam clipping, hence the bunching on the dart seams.

For Dickens Fair this year, I decided to take time away from participating as a cast member and focus on sewing. Even so, other performances and costuming ended up taking much of my time away from my goal of creating a fabulous pastel frou-frou 1830s ensemble. My friend Laura and I were planning on attending the final weekend together in these outfits. Unfortunately time ran out for me, but that really wasn\"t the final reason why I didn\"t use the pale blue silk taffeta for such a project. More on that in a bit.

On Saturday in the middle of the afternoon before Laura arrived to meet me (after spending the morning rushing to finish her outfit), Anders became violently ill.

He played Bill Sykes with the Oliver Twist cast this year, and was feeling right as rain Saturday morning. That is, until he ate some tainted food from one of the vendors for lunch. He was so sick I feared that I’d need to take him to an ER. When the worst of it passed after about 3-4 hours, I got him in the car and we just went home. I spent that Sunday looking out for any recurring symptoms that might surface, but he was almost normal by Sunday night. He’d had just four french fries on Saturday that made him feel "funny" about 30 minutes after eating them, then he blacked out, came to and was violently ill multiple times. Later we heard more than a few other people had come down with the same symptoms that same day, and it’s strongly suspected that it was botulism(!) from poor food handling and tainted ingredients.

So while we enjoyed those few earlier hours at Dickens on Saturday, Laura and I never had the chance to wreak Frou-frou havoc together.

It was also due to two other less intense factors:

1.) I had initially purchased the silk with the intent of FINALLY making myself an 1850s or 1860s ballgown, and while I could have made the 1830s day dress convertible into the 1850s ballgown, I would have had to do some major futzing that would likely compromise the design I wanted for my ballgown.

2.) After weighing the risks, I didn\"t want to wear this pale and wondrous silk fabric at Dickens, where patrons are walking around with drinks, the ground is dirty and hemlines suffer, small children and adults alike with grimy hands that like to shove in crowded areas and patrons are often walking around with food. I didn\"t want to subject my future mid Victorian dream ballgown to any of that.

Last year I had a pale colored dress and a patron spilled food on the skirt. I had to have it dry cleaned and even though they couldn\"t get all of the stain out, it was expensive. Luckily the stripe pattern in the fabric helps hide the faint stain, but I don\"t want to go through that again.

 If we do attempt the pastel 1830s madness thing again next year, I\"ll make it out of something more easily washed. I had initially thought about getting a synthetic taffeta for this, but cost-wise I\"d already spent my costuming funds on the silk.

Next year I\"ll make the 1830s dress in a good quality silk blend, or a lined sheer blue cotton. This isn\"t that I\"m a fabric snob, but synthetics get really warm at Dickens Fair and it can be downright sweltering indoors when the crowds are their thickest.

Natural, breathable fabrics are the way to go. As long as I can hand wash or put it through the delicate cycle in cold water and drip dry, I\"m comfortable with wearing an all-over solid pale color at Dickens Fair.
So in the end, I took this dress and made a few changes.

I removed the sleeves from the bodice, and replaced them with my own altered version of the gigot sleeves from the Truly Victorian 1830s dress pattern. I made them out of a slightly contrasting fabric to the dress. It used to be a grey pink shot taffeta skirt I\"d made 2 years earlier, and wore once.

Then I took some of the trim from the old sleeves, and used that to trim the gathered areas and the shoulder seams of the new sleeves.

The skirt received an update as well. With more of the left over trim from the sleeves, I applied it in a straight line down the center front. I also attached a bunch of lush bows made from the grey/pink skirt fabric for an 1836 skirt decoration style I\"d seen in a fashion plate.

I want to do something like this dress again, but in richer colors. This plum/dove grey/pinkish color scheme is lovely in daylight, but indoors or in the dusky lighting of Dickens Fair, it gets washed out easily. I at least had its pretty luster to save it. If I do a pale blue, I\"ll go for something that looks like a bright sky blue in outdoor light.

This bodice was also worn over a different corset this time, and while it was more comfortable than its predecessor, there is some wrinkling I\"ll need to fix on the bodice with a re-fitting and more boning.

As for the hat, stay tuned. That and the ballgown will get their own blog entries.

 

 Photo by Mary Anne Butler

 Photo by Laurie Tavan

*Gasping For Air* Too Much Cosplay!

I need a small mental break from the cartoon and Sci-fi costuming, so here's something to appease my historical leanings.

With Summer nearly upon us, and my closet still devoid of 18th century items (save for one, very old one), here are some of the things in no particular order, that I absolutely need to get done. With examples in pictures, I will attack these after the Dragon Con madness is over.

Absolute #1 on the list: 18th century/Georgian Stays

I can't even begin to tell you how badly I need these right now. They are the one thing I need to start very nearly my entire 18th century wardrobe. Perhaps not this particular set with the strap arrangement, but the cut of these is what I'm after for most of the Georgian period items I want to make. I wouldn't mind a slightly earlier pair of stays either, for doing earlier decades.

With that said, I could add a huge rundown of all the 18th century things I want to make to this list below, but I'll hold off for now. This single pair of stays is what will make it possible, and without that, the rest is a moot point. These are all the things that I *need* to do first.

The 1830s froufy, poofy fabulousness.

I'm toying with the idea of not taking part in Dickens Fair this year, instead opting to attend as a patron or at least go part time on a Pickwick pass. We shall see, but if anything, the above will happen and will make appearances at Dickens along with two others ;-) We have plans. I'm thinking a lilac or a pale blue. And a current Victorian corset of mine will work for this too, however...

A mid-century Victorian corset, cut similarly to this one here.

Again with the undergarment that is needed to create further projects. I have plans to make an early/mid bustle era gown, and the bodice requires one that is meant to be worn underneath clothing. As many of my corsets are meant to be seen and give a nice silhouette, the thicker fashion fabric binding tends to create a ridge at the bust line that shows on the outside of my bodices. I want to wear this under 1850s to early 1870s ensembles that are sleeker, and don't have a bunch of trim going on around the bust to hide such a ridge.

An 1850s ballgown for the Twelfth Night and Gaskell's Ball

It seems I am always off by a decade or two outside Dickens Fair when it comes to the more fancy events involving the same era. I have plenty of day wear, but nothing fancy for the Twelfth Night Ball held as our post-Dickens Fair cast party! So I end up in bustle era ensembles, and while pretty, I feel out of place. I think I want something in a pale blue organdy, perhaps with metallic gold brush trim. The neckline and sleeve on the pink one is appealing.

A bustle (for an 1874 two-tone tailored gown).

Yes, I need the corset mentioned above first, but I have a Victorian corset I can currently use to at least do the fitting. Yet here I am again, needing the proper undergarment first. The gown style I speak of is inspired by one above from the V&A; I adore the buttoned revers on the skirt and the men's suit look of the bodice. Sure, I don't "need" this particular bustle to get the effect, but it's just such a fantastic shape that I want to try my hand at it. Plus, I saw another seamstress use this Laughing Moon version under an early bustle gown with fabulous effect.

So, that's my final list of more realistic proportions.
Time wise, I'm going to need to start the 1830s ensemble by early October if I want to wear it to Dickens.
I'll need to work on the 1850s ballgown during Dickens Fair so I have it for Gaskell's and Twelfth Night.
I'm sewing on various items for Dragon Con right up until the con itself at the end of August. So that doesn't leave much room for the 18th century stays, or anything else on this list.
If I can focus and bust my butt on getting the DCon stuff done sooner than August, that leaves me a good chunk of extra sewing time. On one hand I might burn myself out, but on the other, when I sew on varying projects that are nothing like each other, it can also open up the floodgates and make me want to just keep going.

A Brief Photo Post

I found a couple more photos of the other ensemble I made, taken by my friend RJ Johnson this past weekend at Dickens Fair.
When seeing these photos all I can say is wow, I REALLY need to put stays/boning on those side seams and front darts! The lack of time whilst also completing the Sisi velvet project played a part in that. Still, not too shabby for a somewhat rushed bodice.
I want to find a really nice silky ivory brush fringe to apply to the sleeves, just above the pleating on the cuffs, and around the shoulders going into a 'V' down the front of the bodice. Probably at the bottom edge of the bodice skirt as well.
Like I had mentioned earlier, after Fair is done I'll get some nice full length photos of both outfits.

I was so sleepy that Sunday, heh!

The lovely bonnet is on loan to me from my friend Laura. I need to make a similar one for next year, I have found myself adoring the drawn bonnets of the 1850s.

 The new Dark Garden corset I'm wearing underneath also made me considerably smaller (even though it didn't feel like it!) than the one I had been using previously, and to fit this bodice on. So, the bodice fits a tad looser now, hence some of the wrinkling. The pattern I based it off of also calls for a slight amount of padding between the bust and armscye, to get that hourglass curve into the nipped waistline. Another thing I didn't have time for, but this may also help to smooth things out when I do add it.

The temp. hair color is also fading out nicely, and is even lighter now since these photos were taken. It makes me glad that this is the final weekend of Fair. Any more and it will have faded out to the point that my add-on braids of fake hair no longer match! I'm looking forward to getting back to my own blonde color.

XOXO

One little photo...

The dress was a success, at least in its current state. Hopefully there will be more photos of it, after this Sunday at Dickens Fair. Or after the madness of the holidays is over, I can get a few shots of it outside in better light.
Here's one so far, taken of Anders, myself and our friend Todd at The Bohemian absinthe bar, and its 'not-so-great-for-photos' lighting.
I still want to add some pleated trim in the same ivory silk to the bodice, going from the upper back over the shoulder seams and down the front to a 'V'. The little poof at the shoulder seams bugs me and that should balance it out a little. I went with a double tiered skirt instead of the triple version, since it worked out better with the type of stripe the fabric has.

FYI; the odd shape of my skirt is due to the placement of my mantle (cape) resting off one shoulder.

Bodice Progress

Here it is as of yesterday evening.

The seams still needed clipping to smooth them out, and a little boning.

I'm taking it with us so I can at least hand sew on the button loops and some of the buttons.

The sleeves are cut out, minus the extra frill, but ready to go on when we get home tomorrow evening. I went with the narrower bell sleeve popular during the early 1850s, that has the slits from the cuff to about the inner bend of the arm.

I also found an antique collar the same ivory as the silk that will work wonderfully at the neck.

Cross your fingers I can finish it by the weekend! The skirt will need to wait until next week, but I have a few skirts that will work for now.

Just a little update,,,

I'm chugging along on the 1850s bodice for Dickens.
The fabric I'm using is an ivory silk taffeta, and is a dream to work with. I've missed using this fabric, it's been a while!
Before you get worried about ivory silk at Dickens fair; not to worry. I'm careful, and I have a shawl.  I can also drape it across me in a bohemian manner while at tea, if I need to ;-)

I'm using the Simplicity mid 1850s pattern #9761 as a guide, but will be doing something else for the sleeves and front.
I may even round out the points of the peplum in front and in back.
As far as commercial patterns go, this one is going together fairly easily, I just wish I'd taken some photos yesterday. I'll post some here when I'm further along on it.

I'm having the hardest time deciding on what sleeve style to do, as there were so many lovely options during the 1850s. I'd love to get away from the typical pagoda style I see everywhere, but still need something that isn't too time consuming.
The bodice front will have faux revers, and little covered buttons all down the front. I'm hoping to use some of the burgundy stripe in the fabric I'll use for the skirt to cover the buttons with. That way I'll have a nice pop of color on top, and it won't look too bridal.
I have some beautiful net lace trim on the way, too, for both the bodice and somewhere on/in the sleeves.

But yes, sleeves.
What style?! The good part is that the sleeves that come with the pattern can easily be tweaked to create any of the following, so at least I have a template that fits the bodice armscye already. The less futzing, the better!
Here are a few concepts rattling around my head as options:

 The tiered sleeves on the gal in blue.

And this plate again, either one of these would be great; puffed or with multiple little cap sleeves.

 And this green dress is just 'effing amazing. Again; puffed sleeves seem to be all the rage, and visually make the waist smaller by contrast.

With the puffed sleeve option, it all depends on how it will look on my frame, so I'll definitely do a quick mock-up first. With the large skirt it could either look fine and balance out, or make me look like a Stay-Puft marshmallow girl.

XOXO

And Onward!

The new burlesque costume was a success! Although the act itself was a bit edited from its original choreography, since my poor love came down with the hell flu.
I made him sit this one out, not only because
A) he had the flu and I didn't want him to get worse, but
B) I also didn't want him passing out on stage!

Of course, I still need to make some additions and adjustments to a few things on the ensemble and as always...there will be even more rhinestones added.
I will hopefully have at least a few shots of it from Sunday night's debut performance to post soon.

One of the ostrich plumes I hand dyed for my costume's headpiece.

This was taken before I added the fuchsia Swarovski crystals along the spine of each plume.

And with that, I can now take another deep breath and dive into my sewing for Dickens Fair.
I have a feeling this will be a bit less stressful, since there is far less engineering involved with my planned dress(es) compared to making a burlesque costume.
I already have the new hoop crinoline, and a new corset on the way from Dark Garden, so those are already taken care of and will save time spent on futzing with the items that aren't as fun to construct.
I actually have an ensemble or two to wear, but they are showing their age and they have become rather uncomfortable. The corset I built for underneath the main dress has seen better days, but it's the only one the dress fits over. So, I must make a few new items.

I would also like a new bonnet this year. I will either need to make the time to build one myself, or I will try to find something at the fair that is historically appropriate. There are a lot of lovely hats and bonnets sold at Dickens, but the selection tends to veer into the modern crafty or 'historically inspired' territory. While these creations are absolutely gorgeous, many of the materials and modern trims used wouldn't have been seen during the time period I am portraying.
I also bought a pattern for a proper ladies mantel for outerwear while on the "London streets" of the fair. Fumbling with a pashmina or large scarf became really tiresome last year, since the ones I own are not the larger true pashmina shawls of the time period. Hopefully I can just use some fabric I already have in my stash for that one. I may need to snag more cotton velveteen from somewhere.

And yes, the Sisi fur and velvet dress will be completed by the final weekend of fair.
I promise.
meanwhile here's another pretty, from the 18th century, to distract you:

A Bit Of Light In The Darkness

After digging through my stash of silks, I ran across a lovely ivory/lavender/rose stripe silk taffeta I've had or years. The ivory stripe has a satin finish and a light ribbed texture. I also had to bite the bullet and buy some Ivory silk taffeta from Renaissance Fabrics, so I can make a complimenting bodice. I only have 5 yards of the stripe for the skirt.
I hope to finish both that and my Sisi velvet ensemble before the end of Dickens fair.

 I might use a cotton broadcloth for the skirt base, and do the silk in 2 tiers with the stripes going horizontal.

Also, I love my new 1850s hoop crinoline from Kay! It's the perfect bell shape and doesn't have that annoying "lampshade" look that so many modern (bridal) hoop petticoats do.

***WARNING***
For those seeking a good deal on silk taffeta fabrics, you may want to be wary when dealing with B.R. Exports. Better known as puresilks.us. The hilarious thing, is the stripe silk shown above is actually from this same seller, but from their Ebay store ages ago. They still carry this weave (supposedly), and while I would love more, after my recent experience with them, I don't want to roll those dice.
While I am always careful about where I order online goods, I had done some research on these folks and heard current reviews that varied from fantastic, to slightly annoying. Well, I decided to place an order last week for 10 yards of that light royal blue silk taffeta from their website.
They were super quick (less than 24 hours) to contact me and said they no longer had the fabric I ordered in stock, and offered other similar options (other colors/dupion textures, etc). Right away I replied that the other options were not going to work for my project, and could I please have a refund of my money.
Keep in mind I used Paypal for this transaction, thank gods.

Even though they didn't have the fabric in stock, they accepted my payment right away.
They have yet to reverse/refund it, and after a week of little to no communication from them, I filed a Paypal claim to get my money back.
Granted they are in India, but if they were so quick to contact me initially about my order, why should it take so many extra business days for them to even discuss a refund of my payment.
I heard from them finally yesterday morning before I finally escalated the dispute to a claim, and they continued their attempt at selling me fabrics I did not want! Then they had the balls to say that they didn't have my money!
Well, Paypal shows the transaction as complete and in their hands under their company name. 
When I pay for something via Paypal, it comes from my bank account and goes into a balance toward the purchase. When the seller accepts payment for a purchase, it takes the funds from my Paypal account into the sellers Paypal balance, where they can then withdraw it to wherever they want. Either way, they have my money. It shows that they took it, and it's not sitting in limbo. 
I will keep you all updated as to how this unfolds. XOXO

And The Wallet Whimpers Again

***Update***
NOPE! Out of stock. Ugh, I hate it when this happens.
Hey Seller, here's an idea; maybe you should update your inventory so your customers don't end up ordering something you DON'T HAVE. Just a thought :-|
And the money is still tied up in Paypal until they refund me...I hope they refund me

(I still need) 10 yards of sapphire blue silk taffeta for my Dickens Fair project.
Renaissance Fabrics has something similar, and probably of better color & quality, but it's an extra $50 after tax and shipping. I may need to go that route though:

The true sapphire blue taffeta at Renaissance Fabrics:

and the other guy's 'light royal' blue taffeta, that is no more:

With this blue kick I'm on, I'm thinking of using a contrast trim of delicate burnished gold or metallic something-or-other. Maybe even silver, in a lightweight metallic fringe or soutache, combined with self ruching from the same silk? Now the question is if I will actually be able to get the darn fabric!

Dicken's Fair; Narrowing It Down

Already, I've been making moves toward my new ensemble(s) for this year's Dicken's Fair.
I decided to have a proper hoop made for me, as this will save me a good chunk of time, and it's already on it's way.
Many thanks to my friend Cait who suggested Originals By Kay.

I will still need to make a fully flounced petticoat to go over it, and (cue dramatic music) a new corset.
It will be very basic, plain cotton, but I'm still not sure I will have the time to make that as well. Especially if I want it to be totally comfortable for all-day wear.
There may just be another trip to Dark Garden in my near future.

I also plan on finishing the Velvet Hussar/Sisi project that was started last year.

Below are just a couple of fashion plates I have for inspiration. I adore the dress on the left in this one, but I'm thinking of rich blue hues. Perhaps with a contrasting pale pink or burgundy silk bonnet.

 

I also want a mantel or some kind of decent outerwear this year too. I became really tired of messing with a shawl, and want to keep my hands more free. Either one of these would be wonderful. I'm really drawn to the one on the right with the lace: