IRCC6: Update 2

I can't believe it's been another month of the Italian Renaissance Costuming Challenge already! I had grand plans for progress this month but some things came up so I didn't have as much sewing time as I wanted. But I still did complete some things for this challenge.

My first goal for this segment of the challenge was to hand sew all of my eyelets. I actually did them at an event so they went pretty fast! And I got to talk to some of the other ladies about how I make my costumes so win win.

One of the things that put a bump in my sewing plans is the fact that our moving date got shifted from late September to mid August which is right at the end of this challenge. So in addition to extra moving related activities this month, I'll be loosing quite a bit of time at the end of the challenge too. So I decided to do a bit more machine sewing than originally planned. I did handsew together the panels of the skirt together but I assembled the facing and attached it by machine. The skirt is just two 60" widths of linen sewn together. I used the selvages as the edges so no need for any sort of seam finishing.

 I ran one row of running stitch across the top of the skirt and gathered to make tiny cartridge pleats. Then I hand stitched the skirt to the bodice and hemmed the skirt to finish the dress.

So far, I'm very happy with how the dress is turning out. I still have to get a lacing for the bodice and make sleeves but so far it looks really nice.

I also finished my petticoat which needed a hem and a hook and eye closure at the waist. I'm very proud of the fact that I hand sewed this piece 100%. I don't do that very often, but when I have time, it is very fun.

Next up, I started my pocket from a bit of grey wool I had left over from another project. I love my pocket pattern because the pocket ends up being large enough to hold all of my mundane things like cell phone, keys and money.

I've sewn up most of the pocket by machine but will be hand applying trim once I decide on which trim I like best. I always have such a hard time deciding on trim options! It's too hard for me to visualize the finished project.

 I also purchased the linen for my camica. I'm glad I ended up waiting because I got some on sale. Due to my new moving date, I'll probably do most of my camica by machine but I hope to have it and my pocket done before the next update.

If you missed update 1, you can find it here.

Italian for Summer

This weekend was our monthly Adrian Empire event. The forecast was hot and humid with a good chance of rain so I dressed accordingly.

I decided to Italian-ify another of my English gowns. I've really been loving Italian garb, especially for this climate. My linen camica is just a dream to wear! The breeze goes right through it, leaving me nice and cool.

Not to mention that I find Italian looks effortlessly elegant while the English tend to look more prim and proper. I'm not sure why but it may have something to do with the lovely hair dos. Mine is still too short to do anything fancy but a snood and a hair piece make for a passable style.

And Italian jewelry is so pretty! I couldn't help but bling myself out a bit even though I was going for a more lower class look. Period appropriate looking jewelry makes my heart go pitter patter so I'm always on the look out for new pieces.

Often when I'm in costume, people ask if it's comfortable to wear. And I tell them that it depends. If your clothing is made to fit you and is functional, it's quite comfortable. If it's ill fitting and poorly made, it will be terribly uncomfortable! This dress had a boning pop out the top of it's casing and was poking me in the arm pit the last time I wore it and it was painful! Thankfully, it was an easy fix and this dress is back to being super comfy.

It's important to remember when doing historical costuming that ready to wear is quite a new concept! Clothing would be made to fit you or you'd remake a handme down to fit you. Most ladies would know how to sew or could afford to pay someone to tailor it to their bodies. Unfortunately, we are so used to ready to wear that many purchase ready to wear garb and end up with uncomfortable things! If you've ever heard some one complain about uncomfortable corsets, I can almost guarantee they bought ready to wear or did something silly like lace it way too tight on the first go.

This dress has 6 steel bones and fits like a firm hug. It supports and shapes me while still allowing me to do many everyday activities with ease. I won't be doing any yoga in this dress but that's ok.

You might think I'd rid my costuming closet of wool now that I'm in Florida but I'm actually wearing too bits of wool here. The soccia or pocket is made of wool and adds no warmth to the outfit. My apron is also wool. Since wool is water resistant and smolders instead of bursting into flame like linen, it's great for aprons.

So while I don't plan on making any wool dresses in the near future, I do enjoy having some wool accessories. To combat the Florida summers, it's linen all the way! While some people choose cotton due to budgetary restrictions, linen is cooler, more durable and period accurate to boot.

Personally, I'd rather wait until I could afford linen to make a new dress than to cut corners on fabric content and make more dresses. Summer is just too hot for polyester!! (Except for whatever my faux hair is made of. I'll keep my hair piece.)

 So I probably won't be making as much garb this year but I am making a new Italian Renaissance gown so be sure to check out my IRCC6 posts to see how it's coming along!

Brevard County Renaissance Festival

I was so excited when I learned that a new Renaissance Festival was starting in Brevard County! I really miss the Ohio Renaissance Festival and getting to do Renaissance costuming!! So the hubby and headed out for opening day this weekend.

I decided to wear my grey wool gown since we've been having a bit of a cool spell. It was great in the morning but the day heated up more than I expected and I ended up being warm for most of the day. Seriously, the only time I get excited about cold weather is for costuming.

Will opted to wear his monk costume for the event. He's lost quite a bit if weight this past year and both of his kilts are too big. I haven't quite figured out how to take them in with all of the loops and buckles and such.

I wasn't sure what period of the Renaissance the faire was going to aim for since their website mentioned William the Conqueror, Queen Elizabeth I, the Canterbury Tales and a Knight's Tale all on the same page. Turns out it was definitely on the earlier end of things with Richard the Lionheart and Prince John and all that. (I'm thinking 12th century.)

Anyways, I decided to go for poshly middle class Elizabethan but with no sleeves. (I knew it wasn't going to be that cold!). I added in my bum roll and my nicest shirt and apron. Too bad I never finished my blackwork caul! That would have been fabulous.

Loads of people too photos of us and we did get mistaken for staff but I take that as a compliment! They did a super awesome job for this being the first time running the fair in their first year. It takes a lot of time to build up a fair to the quality of what we're used to from Ohio.

The weather the day we went was fabulous but it had been raining a lot the few days prior so it was quite muddy!!! I decided to go ahead and wear my American Duchess Stratfords. I was very impressed with how well they handled the muddy conditions. I had issues in Ohio with all of the gravel at the fair eating up the soles but they handled the mud beautifully. They needed a bit of tlc when I got home but now they are back looking good as new.

There were a lot of cool shows including the Flight of the Raptor who flew falcons and hawks for us. It was so amazing to see these beautiful birds in flight. We heard several awesome Scottish and Irish bands with bagpipes and drums. There was no SCA presence but another Renaissance/Medieval group called the Adrian Empire was there and we got to see some skilled artisans and combatants. I love meeting more nerd people.

 We had a lot of fun and can't wait to see what they roll out in 2017. (They are open this weekend as well but it looks like we probably won't be making it out again.) Plus I have a whole year to work on an older period costume so I won't be to "modern"! I love playing with new periods.

Huzzah for the Brevard County Renaissance Festival!

La Vita Italiana

I finally finished my Italian dress! Woot! This was the dress that really didn't want to get made but I finally did it.

The story of this dress is rather a long one. I bought the fabric way back in 2012 to make a dress to wear to the Kentucky Renaissance Festival. Of course, after I got home and thought about it, I decided that polyester was a bad choice for a summer faire. So I scrapped that idea and the fabric was added to the stash.

After making a few kirtles, I knew I could squeeze a dress out of the 4.5 yds that I had in my stash, if I could find some evidence for stripes from this period. So I searched high and low and finally came up with some inspiration.

So 16th century Italian it was! Luckily, the shape of this dress was very similar to English styles of this period so I could use my kirtle pattern as a base. I decided to go with a side back lacking to minimize any interruption to the trim. (And there was a lot of trim!)

The sleeves were a big hurdle since I'd never made sleeves like this before. I started with my self drafted sleeve base and then experimented until I got a poof that I liked. It took a few tries but I'm pretty happy with the final version.

On the actual day of wearing, I had some issues with the lacing so it did some loose but there's always a few hiccups the first time you wear an outfit out to an event.

I also got to wear the jewelry I bought last year. I think the set definitely has a more Italian feel than an English feel. And I also whipped up a new partlet for this outfit since Italians weren't into the ruffs and ruffles the way the English were. And one can never have too many partlets.

The hardest part of figuring out this ensemble was what to do with my hair! It is easy to pull off short hair with and English look since they were all about having your hair covered. Italians were more ok with showing off your hair. So I played around with my fake hair and came up with this look.

Overall, I'm quite happy with how this dress came out! And I definitely want to make some more Italian costumes. I've got a few more posts on this dress coming up including a construction post and some pictures of a blogger meet up from last weekend!

HSF#15: The Great Outdoors

This Historical Sew Fortnightly Challenge was all about outdoorsy activities-hiking, swimming, and playing all varieties of lady like sports. All things I don't care for. So this one was quite a challenge just to think of something to do for the challenge!

Since my idea of a good outdoor event is being warm and bored, I thought I'd make some outer wear. I've wanted to make a fitted English gown for quite some time and I had already stashed some wool for the project so I got to work.

This was my first time using a pattern drafted from the Tudor Tailor. It was actually easier than I thought it would be. The fitting was a bit different because I don't usually sew for over a corseted figure so I couldn't use my standby alterations. In the end, I'm quite happy with the fit.

The Challenge: The Great Outdoors
Fabric: 3.5 yds wool ($7), 2 yds black linen ($16), 1 yd orange linen ($5), 2/3 yd black silk cotton (free-left overs), 3/4 yd cotton velvet ($6)
Pattern: Fitted English Gown from the Tudor Tailor
Year: mid to late 1500s
Notions: hooks and eyes ($2)
How historically accurate is it? I feel like I did really well on the fabric with the linen and wool. The velvet wouldn't have been cotton in period and there shouldn't be any cotton in my silk but it was a leftover piece from another project that I thought would look smashing on the inside of the collar. I followed the construction suggested by the Tudor Tailor but I did machine sew most of it. Their construction method wouldn't work with the hand sewing method I'm familiar with so I decided to play it safe and machine sew the first one.
Hours to complete: heaps and heaps
First worn: Just for pictures but I will be wearing it to the Ohio Renaissance Festival which is technically outside....
Total cost: $36 (woot woot! I got some amazing deals on fabric for this project!)

 This is the first time I've ever come close to wearing the period appropriate number of layers. It's definitely a lot! I could still use another petticoat and maybe a hat but other than that, I'm looking good.

We did have to take these photos early in the morning when it was chilly, but even inside it wasn't as hot as I expected it to be with all of those layers and wool. All the same, I'm hoping for a chilly faire season so I can wear this a lot!

Also making their costuming debut are my American Duchess Stratfords. So pretty! :D It's amazing how much of a difference proper footwear makes to any look whether historical or vintage.

My favorite part of this outfit is probably the decorated pocket slits. Since I did black velvet on navy blue wool, they don't show up to well in the photo but you can see them in the Lucas de Heere sketch c. 1570 on the lady on the left.

I got to wear a lot of previous challenge items with this outfit- bodied petticoat (#12 shape and support),  apron (#13 under $10), and the sleeves (#18 from 2013 remake, reuse and refashion).

Silly photo time! :D

Playing Dress Up Somewhere New

As a costumer, I love playing dress up! And what's better than dressing up at a new event.

This past weekend, we went to the Kentucky Highland Renaissance Festival!

I wore my red kirtle with my new shift! It was quite light and comfortable!

 I do adore dressing up! :D

 

There was an SCA group there doing demonstrations and it was quite fun to watch.

The SCA or Society of Creative Anachronism is a group of people who with an interest in pre-17th century life. Some like costuming or fighting or various crafts and trades. And they hang out and do nerdy things together. 

Everyone there was very friendly and willing to share about what they enjoyed doing. And I may just have convinced my hubby to let us go to a meeting at a near by chapter! :D

There were other entertainments like a joust!

And a whole slew of new shows to enjoy!

The faire was set in 1300 AD in Scotland/Ireland (I forget which) so it was definitely a different feel from the Ohio Ren Fest which is set in 1578 AD in England. It was smaller and quieter than I was used to but it was very fun.

The faire area was mostly shaded and very cool. There were a couple of vendors who also do the Ohio Ren Fest but most were new. I didn't end up buying anything but it was fun window shopping!