More costuming progress; no pics
Jan. 28th, 2011 01:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
totchipandaEverything was on hold for a little bit. I swear we did not get any mail AT ALL for nearly two full weeks, and I was waiting for some of the supplies I'd ordered from ebay. But, that was most likely due to the massive amounts of snow we got in that time period. We got something like 56-62 centimeters in a 5-day period, most of it in two days. It's kinda amusing, since I didn't have to leave the house during the worst of the storm. The streets were shit-tastic, the snowdrifts are, in some places, almost to my waist, and the lilac trees on either side of my step are all but buried. I haven't seen this much snow in YEARS.
Anyway, we finally got mail, which included a bunch of stuff I really needed to keep my projects going.
Soooo first on the plate is my Elizabethan stuff. I'm going to Investiture at the end of February (note to self: find out actual date) and I want to have a super-complete outfit. Today I made a caul (for those Not In The Know, it's essentially a hair-net, just a band and a bag for my hair), and it took maybe an hour from starting to lay out the linen to finishing the band edge by hand. It's really fun to wear XD (shut up, I've never had hair coverings before, aside from Clinton 2006, and that was more to A: keep the sun off and B: cover up my uber-gross unwashed hair after a couple days of not washing it). I want to make a hat as well, though I still can't find the instructions for all the Margo Anderson patterns, and I also laid and cut out a partlet today (see previous note of MISSING INSTRUCTIONS how the hell do I insert the neck gusset pieces?? And I'm pretty sure I need to make the collar bigger. Anyway.)
I did restart the farthingale using the period pattern... been procrastinating on that, though, as I want to have my hoop material on hand before I decide how big my bias strips need to be.
Somewhere in here I started two retail jobs, too. I have a rather large amount of bills to pay yet, and nowhere near enough money to actually pay them. Grf. And I had to buy some new shirts, cuz the one job requires black or white dress shirts, of which I owned... one. The other is at a store I don't normally shop at, so I will need to buy some items from there to wear while working, but that can wait a short time.
So, the most important part I needed was the boning material to finish my corset. I'm using a custom-drafted pattern and I need the corset done before I can even think about adapting it for a bodice. I'm using 1/4" plastic boning, reasoning to myself that lots of people have waxed poetic about zip ties, and period boning is of a similar weight. I don't need it to really re-shape any part of me except the bust, and that's more an issue of holding the girls in a different place than they normally sit. Plastic should be fine, and the preliminary fittings I can do by holding the halves closed behind me indicate that the pattern is SUPER FANTASTIC in terms of fit :D I was disappointed by Margo's corset pattern there; I needed a bust area at least 2 sizes smaller than waist/hip and it still doesn't fit right.
Now that I had boning, time to start working! First... bias-binding the edges. I've been working on it for 2 days... my fingers hurt. I read somewhere that a period thimble would be worn on the middle (or was it ring?) finger and used for pushing the needle through the fabric. Whoever wrote that down... I love you. I ignored such advice on the first day, and my finger is still sore. Today I wrapped it up in several layers of masking tape, and while I need to reinforce it every so often, it's fabulous for protecting my poor fingertip. I spent an hour or so cutting and trimming plastic boning to fit all the channels; originally, I had them all going with the curve of the plastic, and got a rather hilarious shape. I went back through and turned every other bone around, and it flattened out nicely.
I've done the top edge, one back half, and one set of tabs along the bottom side of the corset. Tomorrow, I will hopefully finish the rest of the binding. I'm currently debating the merits of hand-bound eyelets over set grommets for lacing (really leaning towards hand-bound eyelets) and wondering if I can after-thought-attach straps.
I may skip the farthingale for Investiture, as I may not have time, and more importantly, money. My electric and phone bills are more important.
For my super-fluffy Lolita skirt, I was waiting for both some beading lace and a small border lace. I wound up finding some PERFECT cotton beading lace at the local store that I have been looking for for as long as I've been sewing lolita :D (and promptly bought the entire bolt of 23m) That got attached promptly, but I wanted to wait for the edge lace just in case. It wound up being the wrong colour, so the panel got attached to the back parts, and then I put the waistband on. Then I decided that I can only handle one gathering project a day, and came upstairs to watch TV while I pinned the longest hem known to man...
I had a bunch of stained broadcloth that my grampa had salvaged from his retirement home (the other residents put out anything they don't want on the pool table, so he rescued a bunch of curtains, and among them was these large curtains made from 2 lengths of broadcloth and hemmed into place. Each piece was about 96" long :3) and some of it got used for the aforementioned farthingales. I decided to use the rest to make a Victorian petticoat, using a Truly Victorian pattern. No real reason, beyond that my social group started discussing our now-annual steam-train trip from Stettler to Big Valley, and Mom and I set the trend of going in costume. It was just us the first year, and last year it was more like 12 of us :D So I'm starting to plan my outfit, and I thought a petticoat might be a nice item to have.
I also want to "obtain" some more linen from my mom to remake my undies. My current set would be a fine weight for fall/winter/spring, but in the middle of July, it's stupid hot.
The main portion went together very, very quickly; I meant to time the whole process but lost track after the first hour and a half or so. The lower back panels took the longest, as they were two 45" widths that were pintucked 5 times (GAAAAH. But there is more to come...), but I had the waistband attached and everything but the lower ruffle ready to try on in a matter of hours. The lower ruffle... is 6 45" widths. I have it all looped together and finally got the hem stitched today, but as I mentioned, I can only mentally handle one gathering project a day, and I made a caul so... That will on the project list very soon. The worst part is, my super-fluffy lolita skirt also has a 6x45" width hem that I need to get together and pretty quick here. I want to wear it before the Victorian stuff.
That's been my last couple days. I donated blood last week. I kinda wish I had an obscene amount of Doctor Who to watch yet, but I did finish up a series called Swingtown that was pretty interesting but never got past 13 episodes. I did have a dream last night in which Matt Smith!Doctor magically appeared and wanted my help with something weird going on at a school... That would have been wicked XD
And the weather's been super-fab the last few days too, above freezing. We've had RAIN. The downside is that it still drops under 0 at night, and everything ices up and is very slippery. Boo.
Anyway, we finally got mail, which included a bunch of stuff I really needed to keep my projects going.
Soooo first on the plate is my Elizabethan stuff. I'm going to Investiture at the end of February (note to self: find out actual date) and I want to have a super-complete outfit. Today I made a caul (for those Not In The Know, it's essentially a hair-net, just a band and a bag for my hair), and it took maybe an hour from starting to lay out the linen to finishing the band edge by hand. It's really fun to wear XD (shut up, I've never had hair coverings before, aside from Clinton 2006, and that was more to A: keep the sun off and B: cover up my uber-gross unwashed hair after a couple days of not washing it). I want to make a hat as well, though I still can't find the instructions for all the Margo Anderson patterns, and I also laid and cut out a partlet today (see previous note of MISSING INSTRUCTIONS how the hell do I insert the neck gusset pieces?? And I'm pretty sure I need to make the collar bigger. Anyway.)
I did restart the farthingale using the period pattern... been procrastinating on that, though, as I want to have my hoop material on hand before I decide how big my bias strips need to be.
Somewhere in here I started two retail jobs, too. I have a rather large amount of bills to pay yet, and nowhere near enough money to actually pay them. Grf. And I had to buy some new shirts, cuz the one job requires black or white dress shirts, of which I owned... one. The other is at a store I don't normally shop at, so I will need to buy some items from there to wear while working, but that can wait a short time.
So, the most important part I needed was the boning material to finish my corset. I'm using a custom-drafted pattern and I need the corset done before I can even think about adapting it for a bodice. I'm using 1/4" plastic boning, reasoning to myself that lots of people have waxed poetic about zip ties, and period boning is of a similar weight. I don't need it to really re-shape any part of me except the bust, and that's more an issue of holding the girls in a different place than they normally sit. Plastic should be fine, and the preliminary fittings I can do by holding the halves closed behind me indicate that the pattern is SUPER FANTASTIC in terms of fit :D I was disappointed by Margo's corset pattern there; I needed a bust area at least 2 sizes smaller than waist/hip and it still doesn't fit right.
Now that I had boning, time to start working! First... bias-binding the edges. I've been working on it for 2 days... my fingers hurt. I read somewhere that a period thimble would be worn on the middle (or was it ring?) finger and used for pushing the needle through the fabric. Whoever wrote that down... I love you. I ignored such advice on the first day, and my finger is still sore. Today I wrapped it up in several layers of masking tape, and while I need to reinforce it every so often, it's fabulous for protecting my poor fingertip. I spent an hour or so cutting and trimming plastic boning to fit all the channels; originally, I had them all going with the curve of the plastic, and got a rather hilarious shape. I went back through and turned every other bone around, and it flattened out nicely.
I've done the top edge, one back half, and one set of tabs along the bottom side of the corset. Tomorrow, I will hopefully finish the rest of the binding. I'm currently debating the merits of hand-bound eyelets over set grommets for lacing (really leaning towards hand-bound eyelets) and wondering if I can after-thought-attach straps.
I may skip the farthingale for Investiture, as I may not have time, and more importantly, money. My electric and phone bills are more important.
For my super-fluffy Lolita skirt, I was waiting for both some beading lace and a small border lace. I wound up finding some PERFECT cotton beading lace at the local store that I have been looking for for as long as I've been sewing lolita :D (and promptly bought the entire bolt of 23m) That got attached promptly, but I wanted to wait for the edge lace just in case. It wound up being the wrong colour, so the panel got attached to the back parts, and then I put the waistband on. Then I decided that I can only handle one gathering project a day, and came upstairs to watch TV while I pinned the longest hem known to man...
I had a bunch of stained broadcloth that my grampa had salvaged from his retirement home (the other residents put out anything they don't want on the pool table, so he rescued a bunch of curtains, and among them was these large curtains made from 2 lengths of broadcloth and hemmed into place. Each piece was about 96" long :3) and some of it got used for the aforementioned farthingales. I decided to use the rest to make a Victorian petticoat, using a Truly Victorian pattern. No real reason, beyond that my social group started discussing our now-annual steam-train trip from Stettler to Big Valley, and Mom and I set the trend of going in costume. It was just us the first year, and last year it was more like 12 of us :D So I'm starting to plan my outfit, and I thought a petticoat might be a nice item to have.
I also want to "obtain" some more linen from my mom to remake my undies. My current set would be a fine weight for fall/winter/spring, but in the middle of July, it's stupid hot.
The main portion went together very, very quickly; I meant to time the whole process but lost track after the first hour and a half or so. The lower back panels took the longest, as they were two 45" widths that were pintucked 5 times (GAAAAH. But there is more to come...), but I had the waistband attached and everything but the lower ruffle ready to try on in a matter of hours. The lower ruffle... is 6 45" widths. I have it all looped together and finally got the hem stitched today, but as I mentioned, I can only mentally handle one gathering project a day, and I made a caul so... That will on the project list very soon. The worst part is, my super-fluffy lolita skirt also has a 6x45" width hem that I need to get together and pretty quick here. I want to wear it before the Victorian stuff.
That's been my last couple days. I donated blood last week. I kinda wish I had an obscene amount of Doctor Who to watch yet, but I did finish up a series called Swingtown that was pretty interesting but never got past 13 episodes. I did have a dream last night in which Matt Smith!Doctor magically appeared and wanted my help with something weird going on at a school... That would have been wicked XD
And the weather's been super-fab the last few days too, above freezing. We've had RAIN. The downside is that it still drops under 0 at night, and everything ices up and is very slippery. Boo.
