More Different Other...

My lame miniscule attempt at needlelace...


And my garb is *so* not "from a pet-free home"...


Also, Sis and I worked on some costumes for her new business venture, and it was SO WEIRD topstitching with a machine, using elastic, and using "whoa that ain't period!" fabrics! (Weird, but oddly liberating, in a way.)

I'll post pics of what we made tomorrow, I'm too tired to go back upstairs to snap a pic.

g'Night all....

Analysis of Holly's Dress

Ok, this is for you, Holly!


I used the same method as my picture. There was a lot more on this portrait to measure, though! I had Holly measure her lip/chin ratio. The picture I found of holly was a lot darker, and so I removed her picture after lining everything up....


And the results -- (Roughly)

Width of bodice panel, 8 3/4"
Width of gap in bodice, 3 1/2"
Width of guards on bodice, 1 1/2"
Width of ruffle on camacia, 1 1/4"
Width of band on camacia, 3/4"
Width of ruffle on under sleeve, 1 3/4"
Width of cuff on under sleeve, 4 1/4"

The only measurement I can't get that I really want on this portrait is the length of the bodice! This is one of the important measurements, but I can eyeball that when we mock up a toile.

Continuing Analysis of RVIGoD (Red Velvet Italian Gown....of Doom)

***Photoshop to the rescue!!!***

Ok, so this is what I did

I took the original portrait and made it the background. I then found a picture of me in roughly the same position, wearing a corset and overlayed it. The overlay I brought the opacity down so I could see the portrait behind me. I moved around my pic to match up on the shoulders of the portrait. (The girl in the portrait has a much thinner, longer neck than I do!)

I then made a 'ruler' (the red dotted line) measuring off between my lips and chin.

And this is what I found out

The embroidered band on the camacia is around 2 1/2" wide
The front of the bodice is about 8" long
The sleeve of the gown is roughly 40" around
The hat is about 4 1/2" tall

From these few measurments, I am confident I can draft up patterns that will echo the fit of the portrait.

Back to the smock...So, I've determined the embroidery is around 2 1/2" wide. The part that is driving me crazy is that the left and right sides of camacia embroidery don't seem to be the same pattern! Her right side seems to to be based on diamonds, and the left side is based more on lines.

Some doodly sketches of possible embroidery designs...