Here; look at pictures!

I finally got a minute to get to my computer (started new job day after Other Noelle left to go home).  I don’t have much to say about the pictures that follow, other than I am so glad they’re done, and I think Other Noelle looks smashing in her new gowns!

		18th C VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

		Victorian VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

OMFGBBQ

So.  Updating regularly during the sewing extravaganza….not going so well.  Mostly because the 18th c is trying to kill me.  Kill me dead.  There were some major issues RE: back pleating/neckline yoke, but for the most part, they have been sorted out.

There are some serious fitting issues in still to be addressed in the pictures below, but just to prove that we have, in fact, done something, here is some proof:

The wide gap in the waistline of the first picture has been narrowed quite drastically, and I’m still pondering how to fix the bagginess of the side seam (probably involving unpicking seams and re-doing them outright), and some lining issues to be sorted out, but it at least looks like a dress.
I really just want to lick Kendra’s brain and gain enough knowledge to get this bloody thing done so we can move on to the enormous list of other things to be done this trip.  The schedule is woefully behind at this point, and I’m getting nervous!

In Which I Tell What I’m Gonna Post About Later:

1) American Duchess “Georgiana” shoes - After having them in my possession for almost a full week, I finally pulled them out and tried 'em on. I'll talk in detail about them later. (Probably)
2) Plan A B C D for Barons War Dress. Yes. I have found a solution to partlet woes, sleeve worries, and veil angst. Tis a cunning plan. (I’m going to pretend I meant to go this direction the whole time, no really.)
3) Awesomeness that I received today yesterday for Barons War
4) Ancient Greek "chopines". Awesome, right? Right.

HOORAY!

Kendra of Démodé pointed out there are new, improved pictures on the Kyoto Costume Institute picture gallery.
….which prompted me to go re-poking around……
……….which led me to……..BLACK LACE* ONNA 18th c gown! Hooray! It’s too late for the gown I’m doing (boo!), but it’s one step closer.
Hopefully I’ll forget about the big black lace search again and next time I’ll find something ~5 years of what I’m looking for?
*Now I want this dress too. Argh! Update: OHMIGAWD! The sleeves are LACED CLOSED!

Another update: Check this beauty out! I'm so distracted.....

Trapunto–I may have found the perfect project!

I’ve been itching to put my newly-found trapunto skillz to work, but was hesitant to start on a full-size quilt.  (quite daunting for the beginner!)

I eventually had a brain flash; “Hey, wait, I think I remember seeing quilted stomachers at some point or another…..I wonder if there are any that use that technique?”

Lo and behold, I found the perfect project!  Not too big to be overwhelming, actually useful, and just complicated enough to be slightly amazing!

Stomacher, V&A Museum

The description mentions that there is also “drawn-thread-and-pulled-fabric work” (which I also happen to be able to do!), although I’m not sure exactly what’s going on with the design. 

From the Victoria and Albert Museum:

“A stomacher is a decorative panel of fabric, usually triangular in shape, worn to fill the space between the front edges of a woman’s open gown. The stomacher formed part of the ensemble of fashionable women’s dress from the 1680s to the 1780s. This example incorporates whitework embroidery, quilting and cording. In the latter technique, parallel lines of stitching have been filled with short lengths of linen cord, inserted from the back of the fabric. The bold design includes flowers, leaves, pomegranates and shells. As quilting and cording were popular techniques for petticoats and informal jackets, this stomacher may well have been part of a matching ensemble.”

It would be nice to have the option of making a fully matching ensemble, although I don’t think that would happen for quite some time!

This is all very preliminary, and I’ll be researching some further design options before I begin, but I’m so excited I don’t want to wait to tell you all!

Back to panniers

I set aside the infuriating stays for a moment to focus on getting the second set of panniers done.  The linen is not as stiff in this pair, and I’m using a slightly different design – it will be interesting to see what the differences are.

When doing things like hoops, it’s invaluable to have multiple sheets of transfer paper, and a good tracing wheel.  (My favorite is the needle-point wheel)

And while I was looking for a good link for the tracing wheel above, look what I found!  This handy tool, called quirkily enough, a “Roll-A-Pattern”.  I’m thinking this handy thing might have to come and live in my stash some day!

Back to our regularly scheduled programming–”Stays Edition”

First, a bit of whining:  I’m incredibly uninspired when it comes to these stays.  I very much understand now why there were two separate and distinct professions; those who made stays, and those who made clothing.  I am very, VERY much not a person who makes stays, or any sort of shaping garment. 

I haven’t been this close to tears over a sewing project in years, and I am about to loose it.  I know how to sew, honestly I do – but for some reason these stays are escaping me!  If I had the time to commission a pair of stays, I very much would at this point, but time is limited, and the very few whom I would entrust them to wouldn’t have the time in such short notice.

Ok, deep breath!  Stays, and my progress (or lack thereof)

Here’s my mockup, which went fairly well.  At this point, I was still pretty positive about the whole endeavor.  I read somewhere on LJ recently about taping boning in place for corset mockups, and I will say, it works like a charm.  I will be using this trick when mocking up my boned bodices from now on!

I promptly ruined the front panel of the lovely silk that Jaqulinne gifted me to make my stays out of by water staining from my iron.  I’ll have to look at it again in the light of day to see if I need to replace the front section.  (Um, ok.  It doesn’t show up that well in the picture, but I assure you, it’s there.)

And here are all the pieces cut out and ready to be assembled.  (The front panel is already constructed

I got as far as finishing all the major seams before I quit for the night.  I need to take a break and look at it with fresh eyes in the morning, because right now, I’m at the end of my proverbial rope!

Signing off for now!

Panniers–confessions

I recently found a new (to me) blog of note, “All Things Vintage Rouge”.  Yesterday, Lulu posted about some completely fabulous aluminum tubing panniers she found at the Berkeley Rep warehouse sale.  (of which I’m insanely jealous of.  That’s the ‘confession’ bit of the title)

They give an absolutely fabulous shape, and appear to be very rugged.  I had assumed that because they came from a costuming shop and looked so odd, they were the figment of a costume designers’ imagination.  How very wrong was I?!

Today while browsing for more information on panniers, I found these bad boys on Costumer’s Manifesto.

The image comes from Maurice Leloir's “Histoire du Costume”, a sketchy source to be sure  – however, I know there are extant ‘skeletal’ panniers out there, though I’m not certain any of them are made of tubing or have the articulation shown in the diagram above. 

(Fig. 17. – Baskets of steel hinges.  (Musee de Cluny).  After M. Leloir.  1:  profile – 2:  perspective. – 3:  folded view – 4:  folded and held under the arms.)

Apparently, these are the panniers that the Leloir sketch are based upon, however, I’ve not been able to find more detailed information about them.  I am guessing that they do indeed fold as shown in the drawing, and the ‘bones’ are indeed tubular metal.

Pannier dating from 1750
Inv. Cluny 7874
Paris, Musée des Arts Décoratifs

I’m not terribly sure that these three pictures are representing three different sets of panniers, or if they are different pictures of the same item*.

It’s hard to tell from the pictures, but they look similar enough to Leloir’s diagram, but it’s entirely possible that these panniers are also articulated.  I’ve yet to find any further information on them, but hopefully I will be able to find out where they came from and if they do indeed fold up like the diagram shows.

 

*I’m having a horrible time trying to find the original source of these pictures, – If anyone knows, please message me!!  My Google skillz are failing me.  I found the first picture here, and the other two here.

18th Century trims pondering

I’m not sure how much extra fabric I’m going to have, so I may or may not be able to do as much with self fabric as I would like.  So I’m going through my stash to see if I can find anything that might work as trim.

I have loads and loads of black lace, which might work as a trim.  I’m a bit worried about using it, however.  In my (admittedly somewhat limited) research, I’ve not seen any gowns trimmed with black lace.  I’ve seen lots and lots of gold and silver lace trim, and even some cream or white lace trim, but no black.  If I can justify black lace for my gown, I'm set – I seriously have SO much of this stuff.

The lace is gathered down the center, then I did a quickie job ‘dying’ some trim with a sharpie (just so I could see what it would look like as a combo).

I have quite a bit of the pink (top) trim, but I really like the color, and I am actually planning a pink gown sometime in the future, so unless I really need to, I may not use this trim.

The mint green (bottom) trim on the other hand, I have an entire roll of, and would not feel bad at all dying and experimenting.  (This is the same trim layered over the lace above)

I’m not sure if I’m going to use any of them, but I have some options when it comes to lace – I even have enough gold lace should I decide that the dress needs moar bling.  I have such a hard time with trimming anything, so something shiny like gold lace might be a bit too much for me.

Panniers Complete

I need to name these panniers – they have the destructive force of a full-blown hurricane!

I faked the angled bones with extra-long zip ties, and will probably need to switch them out with stronger boning when I get my hands on some, and there still is not boning in the very bottom casing, but for all intents and purposes, they’re done!

I also tried on my pair of bodies – they’re a bit snug, but if push comes to shove, will work. This is probably the most dangerous costuming-related picture I’ve ever taken. The only mirror big enough to show the (mostly) full width of the panniers was in my bathroom, and the side of the tub is quite high – I was quite the sight trying to scramble to the top of the tub and crouch just enough to be able to take the picture! I still need to mess around with the gathers – I thought everything was all perfect; but then I see in this picture that the line is certainly not smooth. Grrrr.

Things don’t look that different from the last picture I took, but I assure you, I’ve done a lot today. I finished the waist attachments, added all the internal infrastructure, and re-did the angled boning.

I’m not 100% that I like the change, but I was having difficulty getting things to lie correctly, so I took a proverbial page out of the “Truly Victorian” bustle construction book, and moved the bones to the inside, catching the boning in small loops, rather than fed through an entire casing. This makes the bones easier to remove, and also seems to be holding up the corners of the panniers better.

I may end up re-doing the waist – I’m not terribly happy with the way it’s puckering at the hip, but I think it matters what it looks like underneath a skirt rather than what it looks like all on it’s own.

This whole experience has certainly underscored my distinct dislike of making underpinnings. (Even though I know how very important they are!) I’m just not as comfortable with the process, I suppose!

I’ve taken a shortcut or two in the process of constructing these panniers – I’ve used zip ties for the shorter, angled bones; and I’ve used masking tape instead of real boning tips. I have some on order, and will hopefully remember to switch out the ugly masking tape for real tips. (Even though I’ve never had trouble with the masking-tape shortcut…it makes me nervous since I’ve not done a whole lot of costuming that has involved reinforced and hooped underthings.)

And for other-Noelle: I’ve used my dad’s old wire cutters for years now – on everything from hoop boning/wire, zip ties, and corset boning. So, no, you don’t need ‘special’ boning cutters, but I bet it can’t hurt to have them on hand.

Panniers–Casings Complete

I’ve finished all the casings for the panniers, and I feverishly stuffed a couple of the casings with boning I had on hand.  I’ve over-stuffed the casings and they’re straining in an odd manner and I certainly need to spend some serious time getting everything balanced correctly.  But that time is not now!

Still to do:

-Buy and insert remaining boning

-Finish waist tape

-Balance hoops

Panniers–First ‘Official’ Post for the Double-No-L Project

I’m going to be doing panniers somewhat like the ones I saw at  LACMA earlier this year. 

I’m making mine out of tannish-brown linen, with casings made of cream twill tape.  The original is made of plain weave linen and uses cane in the hoops.  I have cane I can use for the hoops, but I may end up using steel instead – that’s a decision I’m going to make sometime down the road; after all the casings are done and I can make Bertha try them on for me.

These bad boys are HUGE!  They are so huge, in fact, that they do not fit on my table, and I can’t get the whole thing in frame, even while standing on a chair!

As you can see, I’ve constructed the ‘skirt’ portion, and I’ve been able to attach two casings before my shoulder (and other obligations not sewing-related) won out.  I’m not terribly convinced that I have this pattern all figured out, but I won’t know for until I get closer to the top and can mess about with the waist and gathering and whatnot.  I won’t be too terribly disappointed if I have to start over (other than the time wasted) since everything came out of my stash.

I originally was going to put the casings on the inside, but now I’m not so sure – I strangely like the contrast!  (Not that it’s going to matter a whole lot, I mean, it is underwear after all.

Another decision I will need to make is whether to do two bones at the corners as in the LACMA example, or one angled casing, like the one described in “Corsets and Crinolines.  I’ll most likely go with two, since I’m not sure how much strength my potential hoop boning will have. 

I have two more enormous horizontal casings to do before I make any foolish decisions, however.  For this, I am thankful.

And with that, I am heading off to bed!

Anyone have a spare $10,000 just lying around? (what, you mean you don’t??)

Well, because if you did, you could have THIS dress.  >.<

I particularly am in love with the trim – it’s fantastic!

And just look at the bodice detail – I love the little covered buttons!

Double-No-L CoCo Project

I decided I’m going to at least attempt a period-correct pair before falling back on my Effigy stays.  They’ll do in a pinch, but I’d rather have something that’s actually meant for this project.

         

I’ve had this Reconstructing History (#833) “1740s-90s Stays” pattern for a couple of years, and decided it’s time to pull it out.  I’m slightly disappointed at the level of instruction in the pattern, so I’ll be surfing the blogOsphere for dress diaries to see if I can figure out how these are supposed to be put together.  Not that this is a new situation for me, I rarely use patterns to begin with, so I’m actually ahead of the game this time.

I’m feeling pretty uninspired when it comes to fabrics for my stays.  I think they’re going to end up plain-jane black!

I’ll be doing the half-boned stays in the lower-left.  So far, I’ve ‘shopped’ in my stash and I’ve gathered up some black coutil, black silk taffeta, and black twill. 

After this Saturday, I’ll be working either on the stays, or two sets of panniers.  Hm.  I’m not looking forward to these stays, and I’m not in love with my color (or lack thereof) choices, so I may end up working on the panniers instead.  Hmmmmmmmm.

Stash Taffeta for “Double-No-L” Project

I’m having a terrible time concentrating on the project at hand (eyelets?!  who need's em?!), and am horribly distracted by the 18th c CoCo project.

I am hoping I will be able to make my entire gown out of my stash fabric.  The only thing I think I may need is trim – either dye for the current trim I have, or new trim.  Other than that, I think I’ve got it covered, as long as one of my taffetas work.

A.  Dark teal taffeta (not as dark in the picture, however)  I have the most of this fabric, and would have absolutely no problem with making the entire gown, petticoat & trim.

B.  Dark plum taffeta (the most color-correct of the five pictured)  I think this is the one I have the second-to-most of.

C.  Red/Black shot taffeta.  (not at all what it looks like in the picture – this is very, very dark, and has definite black undertone that is not picked up in the picture at all)  I’m pretty sure I have enough of this to make a full gown, and if not, I can always fake the back of the petticoat.

D.  Pumpkin taffeta (pretty much color correct, though a bit darker)  I have quite a bit of this, too.

E.  Rose/Teal shot taffeta (shot taffeta never shows up in pictures the way it looks in real life.  This fabric has the nickname “Icy Rose” in my sewing room, and is completely nummy, but may not be the right fabric for this project.  It is darker in real life than shows in the picture)  I’m pretty sure I have enough of this fabric.

F.  Black  (not pictured.  Yeah, it’s just like what it sounds like….black taffeta)  I have enough to make a gown, but may potentially need to get more for petticoat.

Costume College Joint Noelle's Project 2011

We (by “we” I actually mean the ‘Other Noelle’) have decided what the Double Noelle Project will be for CoCo this year.  (Is there a better name than the “Double Noelle Project”?)

The original inspiration picture was found via “OMG that dress!” tumblr.  (Many thanks to Other Noelle for finding this gown, and telling me about “OMG that dress!”)  The gown is at the V&A museum, and is available to view in their collections online.

Will need:

Item	Yardage  (if applicable)	Notions (if applicable)
Stays	1 FF 1 Lining 2 Interlining	Boning Ribbon/Twill tape Lacing
Shift	3	Lace
Drawers	3	Lace Ribbon
Petticoat	4	Ribbon/Twill tape
Panniers	4.5	Ribbon/Twill tape Boning
Gown	7 FF +/-2 FF (trimming) 2 Lining	Trim Ribbon
Petticoat	4 FF +/-2 FF (trimming)	Trim Ribbon
Wig	SEEKRIT (maybe.  I haven’t decided if I want to blog this bit of the ensemble yet….)
Shoes	American Duchess
Stockings	Jas Townsend & Son (?)
Jewelry	TBD

My very, very least favorite part of costuming is undergarments – specifically shaping garments.  More than half of my corset/stay/bodies collection are purchased (bad costumer, BAD!)……I need to go through my stash and see if either of my Elizabethan bodies will work for this gown.  I’m really hoping one of them will, because I certainly don’t have the money right now to purchase a pair of stays, and I really, really don’t want to make ‘em.  ;)

I have to run off and make dinner, but perhaps tonight I’ll post about fabric options. 

I really need to buckle down on the kirtles because I can’t touch a new project until they are all done!

American Duchess Pre-Order “Georgiana” Shoes

I’m sure this isn’t news to many of you, but American Duchess (who has a fabulous blog, by the by) has been working on 18th c silk shoes.  They will be available for pre-order April 1st for $85.00.  (I’m not sure, but I think the price may go up to $105 after pre-orders….just a warning)  I know I’ll be ordering (at least) a pair!

Oh be still my heart!!!

 

It's a Brunswick.............WITH FUR.

Do you hear me?!  An 18th C hoodie trimmed in FUR!!!

*dies*

Must have.

Must.

Costume post catch-up

I didn't get to post about the hat before I left for CoCo (which was awesome, but that is another post entirely) - I think I already posted about shaping the brim, and most of the decor, so I'll just spam y'all with some pictures.  If anyone is interested as to *how* it is actually structured, let me know and I'll do a better post.  ;)
As a refresher, these are the feathers that I used, and my brim

First run of the entire outfit - at this point I was trying to decide if I wanted the sash or not.  I decided yes.  :)

Some hair tests....