It's almost here!

Renaissance Faire season is almost here! I've been working furiously on my costume to make it wearable again.

I've made my sleeves detachable and whipped up a second pair of sleeves from Simplicity 3782 for when I'm in the mood for a more Elizabethan look.

Each sleeve is mounted on a facing and the rings are tied to another set of rings on the shoulder of the dress.

I didn't end up lowering the neckline since I was worried about it opening up a whole new can of fitting worms. But I did retrim the dress.

And I am almost finished with the foresleeves for those chilly days. Plus I have my lower class dress to wear. I really can't decide if I want it to be hot or cold since I want to wear both costumes so much!

My first outing to the Ohio Renaissance Faire will be Monday September 3rd. If you are going to be there that weekend (or another) and would like to meet up, please let me know. I was so bummed that no meet ups worked out last year.

Corset!

I finished my new corset! The pattern I used is Simplicity 2621 in size 14 but I took 1" off the center back.

Yay for a nice columnar shape! I've been wearing it around and it's pretty comfortable. I still haven't figured out how to make this kind of corset with amazing gravity defying properties so I'll have to wear a modern bra. That works out for me anyways since I have to get dressed outside at the Renfest. I definitely can't wear hoops in the car!

This corset is a bit big in the upper back just like my last one. Not sure how to fix this problem....But this one isn't to bad. The sides touch but there's no gaping up there. I doubt I'll keep the purple ribbon for the lacing but that's all I had long enough laying around in my stash and I really wanted to try it on.

Now I just need to have my husband lace me up good one time so I can measure myself with my new corset and get on to fixing the rest of the costume. It's so hard to lace up your own corset!

Here's mine from last year. Very pretty but too big.

Do you keep any pieces that don't fit you anymore?

Advice Needed

Well, I've gotten my costume to the point where it's almost wearable. I'm just not sure I like the look of the lacing rings on the outside.

I think they look a bit garish on the outside especially since the lacking cord goes almost straight up and down.

My husband had the genius idea that I try it on inside out to see how I liked it. Much cleaner but there is still gaping under the bust. That's where all of the support comes from. I'm not sure if more lacing rings in that area or a different way of lacing or maybe just placing the lacing rings further away from the edge would help. 

I already have a caul to cover my hair but since I'm still a week and a half out from the event for this costume, I'll have time for some accessories. I could do a partlet which is this bit with the collar.

Or removable sleeves or a petticoat or an apron. Hmmm... decisions, decisions.

So do you like the rings outside?

Or inside? I think they'd need a bit more tacking down on the inside to help the fabric lay properly.

Bodice Construction: Part 2

Here are some pictures of my corded bodice on me so you can see how it fits.

It looks a bit wonky but this was super hard to pin together. The birds were helping. ;)

Lots of boning channels!

Some back wrinkles but I think my shorts were making it ride up. Plus the skirt will help hold everything down.

Look at that bust support! I'm not wearing a bra here, this is just the hemp and cut of the bodice doing all the work.

The skirt is 3 yds of linen that is pleated to be the width of bodice waist line. I used a combination of box and double box pleats. The front(ish) is single box pleated and the back(ish) is double back plated. I did measure out the front box pleats but just kind of eye balled the back ones and fiddled with them until the waistline was the correct length.

I'm super excited because the inside looks so pretty!

Boning channels on the inside.

I sewed on brass plated rings meant for drapes and curtains to use as lacing rings. I'm going to try and do a more period spiral lacing. I had planned on using some black wool from my stash to make trim but then I found three packs of black bias binding and decided that that would be much easier.

And here's the back.

Bird!

Another bird!

Sources:
corded boning: http://www.festiveattyre.com/research/cording/cord.html
pleating: http://www.elizabethancostume.net/pleats/
pleating layout: http://www.festiveattyre.com/research/diary/diary4.html
spiral lacing: http://www.festiveattyre.com/research/lacing/lacing.html
pattern drafted following (mostly) these directions:
           bodice: http://www.elizabethancostume.net/kirtlepat/
           skirt: http://www.elizabethancostume.net/makekirtle.html
Trim inspiration: http://www.festiveattyre.com/gallery/campi/wkclass.html

Bodice construction: Part 1

 So, after perusing the rather limited color selection of linen blends and (even smaller selection!) linen, I ended up purchasing this lovely red linen/rayon blend for my dress. I think it's 62/38 or 64/36 being more linen but I looked at so many I can't remember which. I also purchased a bit of navy for sleeves and natural for an corded petticoat. The linen was on sale 50% and I had a 30% off coupon to use on top of that so I decided to be ambitious.

 These pieces are actually the "lining" so to speak so that the cords don't sow through the front (I hope). It's interlined with cotton twill. I made 1/4" channels and used a doubled length of hemp cord for the boning. Not sure how that curvy one in the front is going to work out but I guess if all else fails, I can always pull the thing apart and remove it. I used a piece of jewelry wire that I bent to have a very thin hook on the end to thread the hemp. Wish I'd had thinner wire! It took up a bit much space in the channel and made the insertion process hard. My poor hands were killing me last night!

 I also cut out and interlined the back piece which will not have any cording. This is going to be a very interesting experiment and I hope it works! The twill alone did a pretty good job of supporting the girls but once I decide how to line this project (an therefore which seams to sew next!) I can try it on and see how things are coming along.

 Working on a major sewing projects with the birds around has been interesting.

 Not only do I have to make sure they are safe from things like pins and hot irons, but I have to make sure my work stays away from fresh bird turds.

 They adore playing with fabric and have adopted some of my scraps which is good because between the birds and the fabric cutting I've been doing lately, I desperately need to vacuum (which is what I ought to be doing instead of blogging....). Seriously, fabric and seeds everywhere! I just have to keep these gals away from my good pieces. But since I did just clean up my sewing space of all non-Renaissance related materials, it can all fit on my table.

Sources for the use of cord boning:
http://www.festiveattyre.com/research/cording/cord.html

More Renaissance Planning

On Friday, I posted a pretty extensive list of things that I needed to fix on my Renaissance dress before September for the Ohio Renaissance Festival. Then I posted this picture after a much needed trip to Jo-Anns. So here's what happened between the first and second post.

My husband and I recently decided to go to a different Renaissance Festival in Kentucky. The only issues is that a) there's no way my red dress could be done in time and b) in July it's much too hot to wear it anyways. I thought that I could wear my very first "Renaissance" dress, but my husband vetoed that idea. He thought I could do better. So when I went shopping, I found an appropriate pattern on sale plus some yummy home dec fabric for $4.50 /yd. Bingo!

Alas, after some more research Friday evening (and realizing that a dress made from the fabric I bought would still be gobs too hot in July), I've decided to opt for something more like this:

source

From what I've found, this type of costume is more of an Italian style. The Ohio RenFest is set in Elizabethan England and the KY one appears to be Scottish, but really the average person is not going to know/care if I'm a couple of countries off.

source

I love all of the different trim patterns. Simple but lovely.

source

I'm currently planning a front laced dress made of linen and a bodice interlined with twill.

source

I'm also planning a white shift.

 

source

I may also make a partlet (that's the bit with the collar), detachable sleeves and corded petticoat if I get around to it.

I've been using this site for research/pattern drafting. So far I've been working on the bodice muslin. I won't be wearing a corset or boning this bodice but I'm hoping the twill and cut of the bodice will give me enough support to forgo wearing a modern bra. I wore my 3rd muslin (made of the same twill I'll be interlining it in) around a bit last night and it does have rather astounding gravity defying properties. We'll see how the final outfit turns out.

Today's goal is to bang out the shift and get some fabric on the cheap. My budget is $50 or less for this garment.

Because I am crazy

Because I am crazy...... I blame my husband (it WAS his idea) .....and Jo-Ann's 50% off clearance home dec fabric.....

Renaissance Dress: Assessing the Damage

My Renaissance dress needs SO MUCH WORK! Losing ~30 lbs after making a costume tends to cause problems. I've been trying to avoid going to Jo-Ann's since I've been trying to stash bust but I definitely need to make a trip for notions and things and I thought it would be a good time to take a closer look at my costume (since it hasn't seen the light of day since October) and see what I might need to buy. So this is really more for me than you, but I'm ok with that.

The patterns I used.

If you want to see older posts on this costume, go here.

So, from the inside out:

Chemise:

When I made this, it was too small in the arms and I never got to wear it. Now it fits! Assuming the neckline isn't too high (since I never actually tried it on with the dress), no work needs done on this piece.

Corset:

I need to start from scratch on this one.... It was always just a smidge big but now it's huge. I plan on reusing the busk and lacing but that's about it. Last time I made size 16 and this time I'm going with 12. Thankfully, the pattern was printed in such a way that I can cut out the 12 even though I already cut it as a 16 so no need to buy a new pattern.

hoops:

My hoops have a drawstring waist so I don't need to adjust them at all.

I did, for some reason that has now escaped me, pry up the casings a bit all the way down one side so those will need tacked back down.

Bum roll:

Bum roll (aka butt poofer to my husband) is ok as is.

Under skirt:

I slipped the under skirt on with no foundational garments and the waist is too big so it'll definitely need taken in with a new corset.

This does not have a drawstring so I'll have to take the grosgrain waistband off and gather the skirt a few inches tighter.

The dress:

I was most worried about the dress because I couldn't remember how I finished the seams! Thankfully, I finished each side separately with bias binding.

The thing I'm dreading really is the cartridge pleats which I hand sewed on. They'll have to come off so I can take in the bodice and then be sewn back on again. I'm really hoping that the waist is where most of the adjustments will have to be. I won't know though until I get my new corset done.

I may try and drop the neckline a bit. Since it'll have trim, I can just pop the top open, shorten the boning and then just top stitch through all layers. Not sure about it yet, but I did think this area looked a bit funky last year.

I also want to remove the sleeves and make them interchangable. These sleeves were a bear to get on though. There are two yards of fabric in each of the bottom parts of the sleeves! I do have some extra red and gold fabric to make a simpler long sleeve.

I also want to kind of pump up the volume with some more trim. These are some I have in my stash but we'll see how my budget and time are looking closer to the end of the summer.

French Hood:

I also have a lot of faux pearls that never ended up on my French hood.

Other bits:

My husband bought me this FABULOUS hat from The Blonde Swan last year and I promised to make it work with my outfit. It definitely reads more Elizabethan than Tudor and ideally, I'd like to do the smooth sleeve plus a new underskirt in a green color to tie in the hat.

I also never got around to the foresleeves last year and there were actually some days that were cold enough for me to welcome them! I have the main fabric and I did have some white fabric but I think I used it for something else.... Will have to scour the stash if I get this far.

I'm also on the wait list for an Elizabethan wired cap class at Costume College so that'd be nice to add to my Renaissance wardrobe.

Phew! That's a lot! The original ensemble took me the entire month of August and that's all I did. I wasn't working so I probably put 40-50 hours a week on this dress not to mention about $500 so I'm so not going to give up on this dress!