Artisans Promenade Fascinator Class

Despite being crazy busy with work yesterday, I was able to make good on my promise to host a fascinator making hour at the Artisans Promenade.  The ladies that attended were super fun and creative, and I had a great time!

I ended up adding some feather pads and a buckled bow to a customers hat during the event, and of course I forgot to get pictures, but it ended up super cute, IMHO.

Small costuming update

My sister gave me this awesome brass ball pocketwatch which will become part of the outfit.  The lid is empty, so I may come up with something awesome to put in there.  :D

My ties came in the mail the other day, and I like them a lot more than I thought I would!  I'm excited to figure out how I'm going to end up using them.  Decisions, decisions!

I also found leather wings at the Steampunk Artisans Promenade yesterday - It's down to those, or a pair of white doll wings my sister spotted at JoAnns the other day.  I'll paint both of them, and once the hat arrives, I'll figure out which one looks better.

Just now I went through my stash to find some fabric for the bustle, and wouldn't you know....I can't find fabric that I'm totally in love with.  I found a few options that will work in a pinch, but since we sold some fairies over the weekend, I might take that money and see if I can find the fabric on sale.

To Be Continued........

Steampunk(ish*) Genderswapped Cosplay

“What kind of man would put a known criminal in charge of a
major branch of government? Apart from, say, the average voter.” 
― Terry Pratchett, Going Postal

Despite the slightly disturbing title, I am pretty excited about this project!  There are a few events coming up this year that would call for a victorian/steampunk outfit, so this may fit the bill.  (Also - my intense desire for yet another bustle.....!)

To bring it all up to speed, I'm planning on doing a femme version of Moist von Lipwig - specifically, the 2010 British TV version (It's fantastic - watch it ASAP!) post-dastardly con man Spangler; pre-suit of gold Post Master.  To that end, I've been shopping!

The exact design of the jacket/vest/skirt is still on the 'to be determined' side, but to give me a head start, I ended up purchasing a selection of Truly Victorian patterns to hack and slash and smoosh together to (hopefully) come up with something that'll work: (.....and has nothing to do with the fact that these have been on my wish list forevs...!)

TV163 1887 Imperial Tournure
TV403 1872 Vested Bodice
TV290 1889 Draped Skirt
TV428 1880 Jacket Bodice
TV560 1880s Late Bustle Coat
TV464 1883 Riding Habit Bodice




As far as the hat goes, I've been torn between taking a pre-made hat and gold-ing it up, or making one from scratch.  I've been perusing victorian-era hats on teh interwebs, and haven't found an appropriately feminine version that I like yet, so I may just go with it!  I'm particularly concerned with the hat, as it is most likely going to be the one defining characteristic between "eccentric female explorer/victoran catlady" and actual cosplay.

I ended up purchasing a plain black cap from Costumes International - if it doesn't work out, I'm only out about $20.  I'm probably going to be making the medal out of Sculpey or something similar.  I'm still trying to find a close-up of the front of the cap from the movie, or 'official' badge, so I can get a better idea of what the badge actually  looks like, but so far, no dice.

'Going Postal' movie poster art

'Official' City Watch badge

Badges of the GPO

'Official' Post Office Regulation Key fob

If I do end up making something up, I'll be using this collection of real Royal Mail badges, the 'official' badge of the Watch, the 'Going Postal' poster art, and the 'Regulation Post Office' key fob (which I may need to complete my outfit anyway...) as a starting place...

For the wings, an extremely important part of the whole ensemble, I'm going to try to find at a craft store for a (not necessarily a real) wing set, but something that looks like wings. If not, there are plenty of more options of the real/taxidermy variety (albeit most likely more expensive!) on etsy - so all is not lost, I think.

I've been on a mad hunt for the perfect fabric or tie for the neckerchief for quite a while, but have come up empty.  The closest I've been able to find (at an affordable price, that is!) is this one:

...the underdog can always find somewhere
soft to bite.
― Terry Pratchett, Going Postal

An ebay find - from 'Goodmaker'

I wish the dots were bigger and /or paisley, instead of dotted, but alas and alack, it is not to be.  I'm getting 2 ties to franken-tie into the final neckerchief. Not too bad for under $20!

Strangely enough (or not, since I cannot throw out old clothes to save my life), I already have a bright-ish yellow shirt that may fit the bill, as long as it doesn't clash terribly with the yellow of the tie.  (I'll find out once the ties arrive)  If it doesn't work, I am unsure of whether I'd go looking for a pre-made shirt, or if I'd actually go through the trouble to make one.  (I'm thinking.....not)

Shirt: Some sort of button-up yellow shirt from the depth of my closet
Waistcoat: Red brocade with a slight diamond pattern and chenille warp
Jacket collar:  Purple velvet from the depth of my stash
Jacket body:  Brown wool with slight pattern & flecks of red and purple
Skirt/Pants:  Lightly striped brown linen
(I'm not quite sure on this one! If I find a different fabric I like better,
I have another project in mind that will be perfect for it, so I don't feel bad having it in the stash!)

Now, to actually start working on things!  I have the patterns and the fabric, now I just need to figure out some solid designs and find the time to start working on it!**

And, finally, for your viewing pleasure.......(I dare you to watch this and not smile, at least a little bit!)

*The exact nature of the 'Steampunk' element is yet TBD.  It will be something clever and fabulous.  I hope.
**This post brought to you by being stuck on the couch working all Saturday long.  Win?  (At least I'm almost done - I may have Sunday free and clear!  Too bad there are a million other things I ought to be doing before digging in to a personal costuming project.......

Noelle's 'Steampunk' Hat

Thankfully, my sister did both of our hat blanks!  (I owe you, sis!)  I ended up making my hat at the very, very last second, and I *le gasp* constructed the entire thing with hot glue.  It's not as composed as I would have liked, but honestly, not too bad for an hours' worth of work, I think.  

I have to admit, I do have a bit of a hard time conforming to the popular 'steampunk look'.  In this outfit, my homage to the genre was my hat....

The NOT ACC dress

Holly was originally going to do this gown for her ACC entry, but she decided to pull out of the competition….but that also means that I got to do it for her instead!
The gown itself isn’t anything new, it’s the same side-back lacing bodice style I’ve been enamored with lately, with the addition of a teeny tiny train.  (This was a last-minute addition, so I didn’t end up doing a gore in the skirt, but it turned out quite nice nonetheless!) 
What I’m totally excited about are the freakin’ cute sleeves.  Holly wanted something ‘different’, so she brainstormed and surfed portraits to show me some of her favorite elements.  This is what we came up with:

The teeny tassels really make the dags *pop*…..I’m really excited about them. 
I didn’t really do any dress diary pics, but rest assured, I futzed and agonized over the best way to go about making the sleeves, and I changed my mind (as is my prerogative, right?) at least a dozen times.  I’m pretty pleased with how they turned out!

The jewelry, of course, is Holly’s own work, and more information on how and what she did can be found on her blog.
We only had a short while to grab pics before she had to leave, so the lighting is atrocious, but you’ll get the idea, right?  I’m hoping to get better pics this weekend at Collegium, with her own partlet and chemise, and hair done properly!

		Holly’s Gold Gown VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Still left to do:

• Second row of stitching on padded hem
• Steam iron the heck out of the hem
• Button/loops for sleeves

ACC: Muff

I finally got myself into a craft store and picked up matching floss, and while I was there suddenly decided I wanted a bigger button than I had in my stash, so I picked up a small package of bigger wooden beads.

I spent a couple of hours messing around with different thread wrapping patterns,  and finally came up with one that I can live with. I wanted the buttons to have a little bit of gold in them as well,  so I ended up with gold ribs.

I only have two more buttons to go,  but got bored doing them and moved on to the loops. I'm doing a seven stranded round braid with 4 gold and 3 red. Somewhere along the way, I messed up the cord,  so the pattern shifts a bit,  but it doesn't bother me enough to re-do it!

ACC: Muff

I'm still stuck on muff ponderings.  Right now I'm stuck on whether or not to use faux fur,  or the beaver pelt. (Below, beaver on left, faux fur on right)

I'm leaning towards the faux fur, just because if I mess it up, I wouldn't be terribly upset.  The color is kind of weird, however. 

Hmmmmm *ponder*

I'm going to drop by a craft store in a little while and pick up some floss either way, since I'm going to need it anyway. (I'm still a little shocked that I don't have an appropriate color in my stash, but at about $0.40 a pop, I'm not too worried about breaking the bank!)

ACC: Muff

I messed around for a day and a half with couching and different embroidery ideas, but finally settled on letting the fabric speak for itself.  I’m pretty sure I’m going to do a black (or brown) velvet muff in the very near future as well, so I’ll probably save up my embroidery energy for that project.

I decided to center the muff on the oblong motif on the fabric, and as luck would have it, worked out quite nicely. 

I remembered my nice, wide gold lace from my stash, and decided that it would give a little ‘excitement’ to an otherwise dull muff.  Here’s the trim pinned in place:

It didn’t take too long to stitch down the trim, and I quite like how it turned out. 

The only thing that concerns me is I’m not terribly enamoured of the finished size.  It seems a bit long to me, hmmmm.  If I can convince myself that I like the proportions, I’ll cut into my beaver pelt.  If not, I’ll use some of the faux fur I have lying around and do an embroidered velvet version for the beaver.

I thought that I had some embroidery floss is the correct colors to do buttons, but alas, I do not, so I’ll have to the first (of hopefully few) purchases for the ACC.

ACC Accessories: Muff

 

“Venetian Women of Mature Age, and Dismesse”Vecellio, Cesare, Margaret F. Rosenthal, and Ann Rosalind Jones. The Clothing of the Renaissance World Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas. London: Thames & Hudson, 2008. Print.  (pg. 136)

Muff detail:

“…muff of fine fur lined with silk, velvet or some other fabric for the winter…”

 

“Winter Clothing of Venetian Noblewomen and Other Wealthy Women In Our Time”Vecellio, Cesare, Margaret F. Rosenthal, and Ann Rosalind Jones. The Clothing of the Renaissance World Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas. London: Thames & Hudson, 2008. Print. (pg. 130)

Muff detail:

“At that time of the year they also wear a muff lined with fur, which protects their hands against the cold.  These furs are marten or sable, and the muff is of black velvet or some other silk fabric, fastened shut with buttons of oriental crystal or gold.”

~

I decided on a gold patterned brocade as the outer shell, as gold is fairly neutral and would match multiple outfits.

As I am not fortunate enough to have either marten or sable in my stash (and no, I’m not going to disassemble one of my precious zibies to obtain it!), I’m finally going to use my plucked and shaved beaver pelt*!  I’ve had this fur in my stash for about umpteen million years, and have always been terrified to cut into it, but now is the time!

This fur is the most soft and plushy thing I’ve ever felt in my life, it’s delicious!

The pelt is roughly 13” x 15” in the middle, with various hangy parts that if needed, can potentially be pieced for a larger finished fur.

I need to double-check my stash, but I do not believe I have any gold or crystal buttons or beads that would be large enough for buttons, so I most likely will be substituting thread-wrapped buttons for the closures.

Both muffs pictured below have a relatively thick border around the edges – I have yet to determine what exactly I’m going to do about that. 

I’m also wondering if I want to do some couching on the brocade to give it a bit more oomph – I guess it’s time to sit down for realsies and figure out exactly what I’m going to do!

 

 

*Say that phrase until you giggle!

Partlet(s)

I’m gonna be kind of full of woe for a minute here, so apologies in advance!……………….I’m feeling massively uninspired RE: Partlets. 
I’m nearly finished, but not so much in love with my first attempt:  (It’s nearly finished, so I’ll probably just finish it off and hide it somewhere in the back of my closet just so I have it if needed.  (One can never have too many partlets?)  The original plan was to put spangles all over the edges like in a bunch of portraits in Moda, but I chickened out before I got that far.


Which is meant to be kind of if these two had weird, fugly babies:

Portrait of a Florentine Lady 16thc
Allesandro Allori/Workshop of Alessandro Allori

Mother and Son 16thc
Sofonisba Anguissola

          















At any rate, I decided I didn’t like it (too many things wrong to detail here.), and was going to start again, only this time I was going to try a different style.  I think I stopped myself from committing too much time to this one before I realized I didn’t like it…..and I’m not liking it.
I’ve gotten as far as gathering up the entire yardage on gold cord before I hit the brakes.



It was meant to be somewhat like this one, only a bit more-different-other.

Giulia Varano, Duchess of Urbino 1545-47
Tiziano Vecellio (Titan)

I really need to sleep on it and see what I think in the morning, but my next attempt will probably be either a simple collared one:  (I’ve actually made the one on the right for Aine, so I know I can do it, as long as I get out of this weird funk)

Portrait of a Lady 1550s
Jacopo Robusti (Tintoretto)

Portrait of a Woman 16th
Unknown?

    















Or a gathered-neck style:  (Only probably less crazy than this one, I just like the black spangles!)

I’m taking a break tomorrow to go to my baby brothers wedding reception, so I’ll have plenty of time to take a break from sewing for a minute or two, recuperate, and ponder my next move!