Feeding the Demons

The sewing demons, that is -

Spent about 16 hours at Lady Jolie's house sewing like a maniac on the Italians. I got both Geoff's & mine to the handwork stage. Photos will follow.

On vacation in Sedona, I have completed the necessary handwork on Geoff's Italian so far. All I have left to do on his is to sew his Camisa, block his hat, & make a belt to hide the handwork at the waist.

I'm still handsewing on mine. I need to finish the bottom of my bodice, tack the box pleats on my sleeves, finish the inside of the bodice, cartridge pleat the skirt & tack it to the bodice, & hem the whole beast. Oh, & I also need to sew my lacing holes on the bodice. Sigh.

Work to do. :)

Patterning extravaganza

Ok, so I don't really want to cut into my lovely fabric until I'm certain that it's goinng to look the way I want it to, so I spent this weekend patterning like a madwoman.

Geoff's Italian -

• used his favorite button up shirt to pattern the top part of the outfit. Drew everything out on newspaper
• drafted the sleeve from the armhole of the shirt & designed it in three parts so that it can slash properly. Realized that I'm going to have to line the entire top, so had to go digging for my linens again (decided to line the bits that show with red linen so that it just flashes).
• did the math (roughly) for the skirting panels. sigh.
• I'm basically ready to cut out fabric & start sewing things together at this point.

Mary's Italian -

• duct-taped the bodice (always a challenge when ductaping oneself). It became rather a comedy of errors with various members of my household grabbing bit of duct tape & attaching them to my person where I asked them to. Directions were something like, "see that bulgy spot? - Yes - Tape over it." Was absically able to reshape the bodice after I cut it off, though.
• cut the pieces of linen, canvas, & silk & realized that I needed to add about an inch into the measurement, so in went a small panel at the shoulder. marked in where bones would go since it laces at the sides. glued down support canvas at strain points (sides & shoulders)
• Decided that my sleeves would be partially attached to the bodice.
• Drafted the sleeve pattern, including the box pleating on the cuff piece (that was a very frustrating couple of hours - finally figured out how to get even pleats by using the grid board to help - lots of fold, mark, turn)
• Still need to draft the outer sleeve & cut those out. Have decided that all of the rest of the fabric will go into the skirt once the sleeves are cut.
• Still need to pattern the Turkish coat. Will Likely do this on the dummy when the dress is done.
• Still need to make my mask & hood.

progress is being made!

Fabrick-ey goodness

Ok, so this past weekend was the pilgrimage to Downtown LA for fabric. I scored a gorgeous champagne & black satin (3 yards of each) for 2 dollars a yard. I'm fairly certain that nothing naturally occurring died to make the fabric, but it looks spiff & will be very washable. I also found these lovely red harlequin patterned bugle buttons (which cost more than the fabric) that accent everything perfectly.

For my dress, I found this amazing burnt orange silk for $4.00 a yard & another embroidered sheer for my hair for $5.00. Then, to go over all, I found a stunning red velvet brocade embroidered with gold medallions that will become a Turkish coat. I am very excited. pictures will drop in after a while.

Also this weekend I cut & sewed his half cape. It is not as full as I'd like, but it ought to work for him. Pictures soon.

Somehow, in the depths of my insanity, I thought it would be fun to handstitch his camisa. Eep. This weekend, I hemed the gussets.

Sunday Stitch n bitch

I was productive on Sunday. I draped & sewed parti-colored tights for Geoff's Venetian. Yes, they're out of cotton knit when they ought to be cut on the bias out of wool or linen, but I got a 17-year old to agree to tights, so I decided not to push my luck. Also, since I'd never made them before, I figured the knit would be more forgiving of error (I was right).

Steps:

1. sew the two fabrics along a straight seam for the front of the leg.
2. pin along back of leg from just under buttock to heel at floor, mark cutline over top of foot throught the arch
3. slip leg off, mark seam allowance, cut
4. lay piece open over fabric for 2nd leg, cut around.
5. seam both legs, have him try on
6. measure distance from top of foot (cutline) to toe
7. draft pattern piece from measurement (don't forget to give seam allowance) & cut
8. sew top of foot piece to leg, have him try it on
9. curse because you accidentally reversed one of the legs, have him take it off so you can french seam the back & foot so the colors repeat properly
10. trace his feet out on fabric for bottom of foot, give some seam allowance, cut
11. pin foot bottom to legs, trim, sew, try on (do the happy dance when it fits properly)
12. sew up back seam (above crotch)
13. draft a small gusset for the crotch, curse while trying to fit it properly, sew
14. have him try on, celebrate proper fit
15. fiddle with front until it looks right (draping yay)
16. draft a fast waistband using his waist meansurement, cut and sew.
17. Have him try on, Yay!!!!!!

Will insert pics later.

Camisa:

1. cutting out the block is easy. Yay for the directions on realm of venus.
2. all the pieces are stitched together.
3. I still need to hem the neck, sleeves, & bottom, then I need to pleat the neckline to a manageable size.

Mask:

1. Looks cool!

I still need to cut and sew the cape, but the goal is to get that done before Thanksgiving so that I can go shopping for fabric for the main tunic with a clear conscience.

Venetian updates

Ok, so as of today, I have a full b/w pencil sketch of Geoff's Venetian. It's going to be parti-colored in black and pale gold with lovely full split sleeves. I have the fabric for the tights, his camisa & his cape (3/4 circle black velvet lined in pale yellow linen). I have a hat to reblock for his hat, and I have just about finished making his mask for the ball. His camisa is completely cut out, so all I have to do is sew it together. At some point, I'll scan in the sketch & hopefully photograph Geoff in completed tights and camisa this weekend.

After Friday of this week, I hope to also have my fabric & his fabric purchased. Yay for driving to LA!

A nefarious plot

So, at Queen's Champion last week, the very nice lady whose name I can never remember but was on Ed & Mora's court, has an Italian persona, & always has nifty hair, suggested a nefarious plot for Twefth Night. Since Twelfth Night has a Venetian theme this year, she suggested that as many folks as could arrange it should throw persona to the winds and come in full Venetian attire. This seems to me to be a lovely idea, & since Twelfth Night this year is on my birthday, I think I need a lovely new dress for my birthday. The boyo also allowed as how he would like a spiffy outfit & would not be averse to wearing tights, so (woot! Woot!) I get to make new Italians! Yay! First to research:

The lovely Italian lady of the forgotten name suggested that I begin my research at a website called Realm of Venus. There, I found this portrait by Capriolo:


I think this will look realy spiff on Geoff, but in black and pale gold with a black velvet 3/4 circle cloak & with parti-color tights & black boots. I also need to make him a mask for the ball. I'm thinking red, gold, and black harlequin. He'll look pretty. :)
Geoff will need:
hat
cape (3/4 circle, black velvet)
camicia
tights
particolor tunica
belt
boots
brooch
ring(s)
mask


My dress is more problematic. I found a couple of idea portraits at Realm of Venus, but I need to think about color.


This is a neat neckline (right). And these sleeves are glorious (below).






















I like the idea of having a Turkish coat to pull over the dress in the evening for the ball. The documentation for that was provided by a laurel from Lochac and is linked here. However, if I want to put the Turkish coat on over the dress for evening, then I'll need a different, straight, sleeve.

Hmm...pondering....Ok, how about a list of garments I'll need to make the look -
caul
camicia
flats
dress
2nd sleeves
turkish coat
mask
long pearls
brooch
rings

Plotting mode on...

A Fresh Start

HI, Me -

So, this is all about just posting where (hopefully) no-one will find you unless they really want to. The point here is for you to just write, so go to, kiddo. paks