Diary of an Overly Ambitious Costumer

Moving

2011-06-19T11:20:00.002-04:00

I am so sorry that I haven't update in..... well forever. I went on a sort of hiatus while planning my wedding. In an effort to become a better costume blogger I have moved to the following link.

http://diaryofanoverlyambitiouscostumer.blogspot.com/

I hope that you will follow me there. In return, I promise to better chronicle my "in over my head" adventures.

On Skirt Panels

2009-09-14T09:10:00.010-04:00

I have chosen to do five panels instead of the customary four because I like my skirts full enough to drape dramatically over my cage and hide the cage bones well. I really don't like it when a skirt appears to tug and pull because it really isn't full enough to cover the cage properly. So, I went with five instead of four. We shall see if I can manage to gather it all to the waist.

In order to create the skirt, I first had to measure out how long I wanted the panels to be. These needed to be long enough to be able to hem the skirt later on. So I have 5 skirt panels the width of the fabric and long enough to hem, about 44 inches by 56 inches each. At the top of each panel I finished off the seam so the fabric would not fray. Then I sewed each of the panels together with a half inch seam allowance in order to create a circle. on the last seam I left about 10 starting from the top unfinished. This will create the front opening to the skirt. Once the skirt is gathered, I will attach the left side to the left side of the bodice and the right side to the right of the bodice. Hmm that seems a bit confusing. Pictures to follow.

On to gathering:
In order to gather my skirt I focused on one panel at a time to avoid breaking my thread and getting it too tangled. To create the gathering stitch (cartridge pleating) I ran one long stitch followed by a short stitch and so on along the top of the skirt panel. Once I was finished I would repeat the process in the same pattern just below the first row of stitching. once you have two completed rows, grab one end of the thread and pull, gathering the fabric as you go. Repeat for each skirt panel.

Ribbons, Feathers, and Other Pretty Things

2009-09-03T11:14:00.019-04:00

I did it. I bought myself a new bonnet, a more neutral wear with any dress kind of bonnet if you will. I purchased it from Timely Tresses and I can't wait to see it in person!

While I was apparently in a spending kind of mood, I also picked up some beautiful burnt pumpkin colored taffeta ribbon for my bodice and a white ostrich feather to add to the bonnet. Things are really starting to come together. As my good friend, Audrey, would say: Accessories make the outfit. Anyone can put on a big puffy dress but the accessories make the past some alive.

Making Headway

2009-09-01T09:14:00.011-04:00

I hadn't planned to work on my dress until Friday but I've been obsessing over it so I thought I'd get as much done as I could before Audrey came over to assist in the final fitting.

I ended up using my mock bodice as lining. I chose to do this so I wouldn't have to guesstimate the marks for darts on my actual bodice. By using the mock up for the lining the markings are already there.

To date, I have my bodice and bodice lining cut out, enough fabric for sleeves, five skirt panels, and enough fabric left over for piping. I am hoping to gather my skirt panels tonight so that when Audrey arrives we can fit the bodice and work on the hem line, two things I just can not do on my own.

Decisions, Decisions......

2009-08-31T08:59:00.008-04:00

After much pondering, the purchase of my own sewing machine, a trip to Shipshewana, and help from my best friend, I have finally started my new dress set to debut at Walcott Mill in October. The fabric is absolutely gorgeous and my camera just doesn't do it justice. It's somewhere between the color in the photos and a brownish burgundy in person, but the picture shows off the stripes well.

I have gone back and forth and back and forth on sleeve designs for this dress and I have come to the conclusion that I am incredibly picky about stripes and what does and doesn't look good with them. Who knew. I have scratched the modified pagoda idea. I just can't seem to get the right shape and instead of feeling pretty and feminine I am feeling frumpy. So, no more modified pagoda sleeves. Instead I am opting for a more suitable style with a tighter coat sleeve. I will also be replacing the undersleeves with cuffs.

"Black Jack"

2009-06-02T10:40:00.014-04:00

Below is a photograph of my great great great second cousin,
General John A. Logan.

Fought at Bull Run, Battle of Belmont, Fort Donelson, where he was wounded, the Siege of Corinth, Vicksburg where he served as military governor after its capture, commanded the Army of the Tennessee at the Battle of Atlanta, and others. He also ran for Vice President of the United States and was responsible for the legislation creating Memorial Day!

How cool is that!?

Latest Project: Civil War Striped Day Dress

2009-06-02T09:32:00.005-04:00

Fabric

striped cotton in fall shades

Design
Cartridge pleated skirt
Darted bodice
Modified pagoda sleeves
Satin bows instead of buttons
Pleated trim on bodice and sleeves
Sheer cotton voile under sleeves with lace accents

Patterns Used
Self-draped, based upon various sources

Additional Resources
Demode: extant women's clothing 1860's
Carte de Visites

Progress

2009-02-10T08:15:00.005-05:00

Often times I am self conscious about my work or just plain lazy, but this past weekend I was inspired by my best friend to get moving on my spoon bonnet. Last year she attended a bonnet making workshop with several of the ladies from the Michigan Soldiers' Aid Society and came home with a beautiful drawn silk bonnet in the most gorgeous autumn colors. Well this past weekend she was putting some of the final touches on and inspired me to stop being so lazy in regards to my own bonnet. I still need a few more filler flowers which I will probably get from Timely Tresses but thanks to Linda I have fabulous orange poppies I was able to add. I just love the combination of the light purple and orange.

Ambitious Indeed!

2009-02-05T11:27:00.011-05:00

Have I mentioned that I like to bite off more than I can chew? Not only am I in the middle of trimming my spoon bonnet, repairing my parasol, and creating a sheer day dress, I am also tackling my 1860's ball gown. (I must be crazy.) It needs to get done considering it was haphazardly put together in two days so I would finally have a gown to wear for the ball at Greenfield Village. Needless to say the construction can be improved upon. ;) I also have the time now to spend on fitting the bodice properly and making my sash and embellishing the bodice the way I wanted to from the get go. Here is my inspiration:

The Empress Eugenie Surrounded by Her Ladies-in-waiting

Yay for Treasure Hunting

2009-02-03T14:29:00.009-05:00

Once again, I eBay! For less than the cost it would have been to pay for gas, buy materials, and go to a workshop on making a repo parsole period appropriate I was able to buy an original in great working shape! Woot woot! Take that sun! No more getting overly hot and sunburned. (Not to mention that it's super cute.)

Full Speed Ahead

2009-02-03T14:15:00.007-05:00

Now that I recovered mentally from the disaster at Halloween, I have decided my next project will be something of treat for me as well as practical. I am in desperate need of finding a new way to stay cool during the hot summer reenacting months so a sheer mid-Victorian is on the horizon. Here's some inspiration:

I am planning on making it out of patterned or embroidered 100% cotton voile. I would like it to have a gathered bodice in the front similar to the second and fourth photos above, with some sort of lace detailing on the upper arm of the sleeves.

Note to self: Make a cute chemise so I am not embarrassed to show my underclothing.

Blood, Sweat, and Tears

2009-02-03T14:00:00.002-05:00

A bit of an update:

Finally I finished the gown. Only one problem: I messed up the armholes so badly that I couldn't get the bodice on! And to make it worse I hadn't figured it out until 5 minutes before the party started. Bah! So alas, after all of that hard work Ann Boleyn will have to wait until next year.

Nearly There

2008-10-23T08:46:00.011-04:00

I promise there will be pictures to come. The dress is virtually finished; I just haven't had the time to post due to Halloween party preparations. Where did all the time go? I swear this party sneaked up on me much faster than in past years. Anyway...

To do:
Attach veil
Attach hooks and eyes (skirt to bodice)
Turn up sleeves

The embellishing turned out to be much less painful than I thought it would be, harmless really. Like quilting and knitting (intimidating at first) beading the trim at the neckline was actually soothing and relaxing. Thanks to The Bead Shop for their help in purchasing the right tools. Without them it would have been very frustrating. I found the inspiration for the beading pattern from two images, one contemporary (Queen Catharine Parr) and one modern interpretation (Ann Boleyn, The Tudors).

I placed one 10mm white pearl above and below each large cross in the boarder and one 3mm Aurora Borealis Olivine Swarovski crystal in the center. I have also placed one 3mm white pearl in the center of each smaller cross.

Checklist

2008-10-13T20:29:00.003-04:00

~~Order fabrics~~
~~Make stays~~
~~Replace forepart~~
~~Make overskirt~~
~~Cut out pieces including train~~
~~Put together~~
~~Hem~~
~~Order pearls and other embellishments~~
~~Order trim~~
~~Buy supplies~~
~~Make bodice~~
~~Cut out bodice~~
~~Fit bodice (twice)~~
~~Cut out sleeves~~
Attach sleeves
Turn up sleeves
Add piping
Figure out back closure
Embellish

Make French Hood
~~Attach wiring to buckram~~
~~Cover with velvet~~
Embellish
Add veil

Order earrings

Order necklace

Minor Adjustments

2008-10-13T20:11:00.005-04:00

In order to achieve the turned up sleeves of the Tudor era I had to make a few adjustments to my pattern.... okay, a few is an understatement. First I had to chop the closed Elizabethan sleeve (including seam allowance) at the elbow. From the elbow up is constructed out of the velvet so as to match the rest of the bodice. From the elbow down (my undersleeves) is constructed of the same gorgeous fabric as my forepart.

Now comes the tricky part. At the elbow seem I have to insert the dramtic part of the sleeve that will be "turned up." In order to make these I have followed the directions I found online while drooling over other people's garb. I had to adjust the shape since I didn't want to have square sleeves. So all in all my sleeves come in three parts. This will be tricky to attach, but I am pretty sure that's only because I have no real training when it comes to costume construction. As you can see, the sleeve extendes well past my finger tips. This will ensure you see the beautiful lining fabric once I turn the sleeve up and also will expose the undersleeve.

Progress - In the French Style

2008-10-13T19:24:00.011-04:00

No gown is finished without the proper head wear. It completes the look if you will. Ann Boleyn was known for being fashion forward and bringing French styles of dress to the English court. One way she did this was through her head covering, appropriately named a French hood.

Thanks to elizab ethancostume.net, what otherwise would have been a daunting task is turning out to not be so bad after all. I followed their directions with a few substitutions and it's coming along quite well. Alas, I could not locate any millinery wire so heavy duty floral wire had to do. But it seems to be working out. I was lucky, their pattern for a 1533 French hood fit me perfectly so I did not have to make any alterations in that respect. I did however make thinks a bit easier on myself. Instead of covering both sides of the buckram crescent (3 layers) I covered only the front. No one sees the backside anyway. As you can see from the first photograph I cut the velvet a bit larger than the pattern so I could fold it over the edges.

Then comes the fun part: embellishments! I found beautiful gold trim at JoAnne's that resembles the gold metal trims found in portraits of the Tudor era. I have also used 10mm Czech glass pearls purchased from shipwreckbeads.com and several buttons I turned into ouches. Eventually I will be adding 3mm Czech glass pearls between the ouches and larger pearls but I won't be able to do that until I get some special thread and needles....

Once I get all the embellishing done I'll add the black fabric "hood" part.

2008-10-06T19:16:00.004-04:00

In order to assure the proper fit of the gown more is needed than just the pattern. I make a mock up bodice first out of muslin. That way if i make any huge mistakes or need to adjust the pattern (like always do) then I can mess up all over the muslin and not ruin my velvet. Adjustments are made the the seems as needed and excess fabric trimmed away making sure to keep seem allowances. Nothing suck so much as trimming off too much and ending up with a garment way too tiny.

Once the muslin mock up is to your liking, making sure it is close fitting you can take apart the seems and use it as your pattern to cut out your fashion fabric, in my case velvet.

2008-10-06T19:02:00.002-04:00

It occurred to me today that I should probably tell you what pattern I am using since it alway bothered me when, while reading other dress diaries, I would really love a gown and want to make one of my own only to discover that the author had not disclosed the pattern. So in an attempt to be forthcoming (in case anyone likes the gown and wants to make one of their own) I am using Margo Anderson's Elizabethan Lady's Wardrobe pattern with a few alterations in order to get Tudor sleeves.

Zoe: Naughty, But Cute.

2008-09-29T11:03:00.004-04:00

I would just like to point out how difficult it is to gather the overskirt and attach it to the waistband when one of your kittens is being really cute. Naughty, but cute. Above, Zoe is playing with the strings for the gather stitch as I attempt to make skirt and waistband one.
This is Zoe checking out of the corner of her eye to see if I'm looking before she continues to chew and play. Naughty, naughty kitten.

More Underthings

2008-09-29T10:52:00.006-04:00

The picture just does not do this fabric justice.
Lucky for me I had an old Elizabethan underskirt laying around so the only thing I had to do was replace the old forepart with the new and more beautiful forepart. Easy - probably took me 15 minutes.

Um yeah, here's a really bad picture of it hanging up in the kitchen doorway.

Who Knew?

2008-09-29T10:13:00.008-04:00

Well, if one wants to have a beautiful Tudor gown, one must have the proper undergarments. It is amazing how many perfectly well done gowns are ruined because of the wrong silhouette caused by a modern bra or corset of the wrong time period. So.....I had to make stays...... which I've never done before, nor even come close to doing.

Much to my surprise, it was not painful. In actuality my stays may be the most uncomplicated thing I have ever sewn. Huh, who knew? Apparently I can sew corsets. Woot! Now, with a confidence boost I can move on to the gown.

I know it's not the prettiest thing, but it functions.
No one will see it anyway....
;)

Here it is sporting the colors of the Green Bay Packers.....well really now Christmas colors since the addition of red ribbon. Green cotton duck canvas, a nice heavy duty fabric that will be able to withstand the strain of tightening and steel, is what I used as the fabric. The best part about duck canvas is that it's cheap. Yes, silk is sturdy and pretty, but it's expensive. My stays are outlined in grosgrain ribbon. This allows me to create the pockets for the boning with two layers of canvas without all the tedious work of folding the edges closed. This is the economic and pretty way to seal it all off and make it look finished.

My stays were made with a custom pattern tailored specifically to my measurements. I used the drafting and making directions from the Custom Corset Pattern Generator from www.elizabethancostume.net
These guys really know what they're talking about! Read EVERYTHING!

My supplies (1 wooden busk, 12 8" steel bones, 4 9" steel bones, and two 10" lacing steel bones) came from www.corsetmaking.com
If you need it to make a corset, they have it! Speedy delivery too. Definitely buying from them again.

Soon-ish

2008-08-05T14:06:00.002-04:00

Well, I may be getting a dress form. It's cheap and about time I actually have one. I mean, I do enough sewing of my own things that this is the next logical step for me.

So Okay, I know there's been a lot of planning and acquiring but I promise I will start in on the actual construction and sewing once the move is over. Oh yeah, did I mention I'm moving? Woo hoo for a three bedroom house. Shhh, don't tell Jesse. He doesn't know I'm converting the office into a sewing room. . . ;)

Yup, Definitely Overly Ambitious

2008-07-29T13:12:00.002-04:00

(I really don't know why I insist on doing this to myself.) I shall attempt to make an appropriate corset, complete with wooden busk and everything. After reading the directions, I have come to the conclusion that it seems relatively easy. . . and cheap. However, I am pretty sure I shall regret taking on this task once I actually begin it. I think there shall be much cursing to come.

Oh well, if one wants a beautiful Tudor gown, one must have the appropriate underclothing.

I Heart ebay!

2008-07-15T09:40:00.004-04:00

Thank you ebay! I swear, you can find anything you could ever want on ebay. (Except a proper French hood.) I was dreading having to make my own "B" Boleyn necklace out of some sort of crafting clay while begging my friend to teach me how to make the necklace out of pearls. I knew if I did that it would turn out sloppy, in my opinion, and not quite right. But never fear, ebay is here! And for less than it would have cost for me to make it too. So I shall purchase the infamous necklace and take pictures once it gets here. :)

Decisions, Decisions. . .

2008-07-15T09:11:00.015-04:00

I should note here that I generally go through about a month long period of indecision when it comes to choosing fabrics and trims, going back and forth until finally I've settled on the original idea. Mostly.

The question I posed to myself a while ago was, "Do I want emerald green velvet or purple and gold brocade?" The initial plan was to go with the green and gold brocade I already owned for the forepart and sleeves, using the velvet for the gown. For a while I fancied that regal purple was going to suit me just fine. No, no. I have finally settled on a version of the original. . . of course.

After more indecision, I finally settled on some beautiful trim to place around the neckline of my bodice. It's called "Persian Rug" and is green, gold, and brown. It's hard to see all the beautiful detail online but I am sure it will look stunning against the emerald green velvet and jeweled bilaments. I am purchasing this by the yard from www.calontirtrim.com.

Emerald Green velvet. So pretty in person, especially in the sunlight. Thank you Velvet Moon! www.velvetbags.com

Now, I hit the jackpot with this one. For my forepart and undersleeves I will use this fabulous jade green and gold patterned tapestry from www.iluvfabrix.com. Normally this fabric retails over $100/yard. Thank goodness for sales! Have I mentioned that I am in love with this fabric?

I'll be honest. I haven't really decided what to do about the turned up sleeves yet. I have several options here. I like the idea of playing around with different textures, the velvet, the tapestry, and yet a different one for the sleeves. So I was thinking that faux fur in a brown tone to add another texture and depth to the gown would be a good idea. Another option would be more velvet. I'll keep you posted.

Inspiration

2008-07-08T16:15:00.010-04:00

I like to create designs that are relatively close to historical accuracy, at least in appearance of the overall design of the garment. Here are a few paintings and costumes that I will base my own off of.

Portrait of Queen Ann Boleyn. Notice her signature "B" necklace.

Catharine Howard, Ann Boleyn's cousin and Henry VIII's 5th wife. I like the trim around her neckline.

Katharine Parr, yet another wife of Henry the VIII. This shows me how long to make the sleeves and a good view of the dress front.

Princess Elizabeth from the film Crossed Swords. I just love this gown! I can't say anything about the accuracy but it's pretty.

Beautiful Tudor gown I came across while researching online.
www.ladybrook.com

And so it begins. . .

2008-07-08T16:03:00.002-04:00

I decided to create this dress diary in the hopes of helping non-professional/non-experienced sewers understand that they can create beautiful costumes too, even if it is done in an unconventional way. I am someone who has never had proper sewing or pattern drafting instruction. However, I've always wanted those fabulous gowns from ages past. So I fudge it.

After much research and day dreaming, I finally settled on what to be for Halloween and today I start the saga of actually having to make what I'm imagining in my head. Somehow I am going to make Ann Boleyn, King Henry VIII second wife, come to life.