Monday, February 25, 2013

Monday Progress Update: February 25th

Got a lot done this week, but have little to show for it.  In addition to my Sew Fortnightly I did this:




It's the sleeve for the Naka-Kon kimonos.  I did 8 of them.  This involved sewing on the gold applique, clipping and turning, satin stitching down the raw edge, and then painting the edge past the satin stitching to cover up any fly-aways.  This is the hard part, thank goodness they're done!

Historical Sew Fortnightly: Challenge 4

 

The Challenge: Embellish

Fabric: Silk Ribbon

Pattern: No pattern, really, but I got the idea from a hat from Colonial Williamsburg and from This Blog Entry

Year: 1775

Notions: Thread

How historically accurate is it?  About as accurate as I ever get.

Hours to complete: 1

First worn: ?

Total cost: $25 in silk ribbon, about $5 in dyes and $1 in tea and coffee to darken the ribbon, and a hat I've had laying around for years


Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Yay Shoes!



American Duchess is at it again with more great shoes!  I've already ordered mine, have you?

Monday, February 18, 2013

Civil War Fabric Check


Thread for size comparison.

Monday Progress Update: February 18th

I've been doing a lot of work for Naka-Kon lately, which is in the last month before the con, so I haven't had a lot of time to sew.  I'm also waiting on some dye to come in to work on the lantern dress.  I did get mirrors in, so I laid them out in pattern:


I think I need to swap the small mirrors for even smaller ones.  They await buttonhole thread so I can couch them down.


Meanwhile, I've been working on a commission for Naka-Kon.  We've got a live-action show this year, based on a beautiful Manga drawn by Amelie Belcher, and I'm making the Tomo-side Kimonos.  You can go here to see what they look like.

Here's the base of Tomo's Kimono:


 There is a fight coreography and such so to make the dress different we went with a circle skirt instead of a straight kimono.  The other girls will have straight ones.  I've also patterned out the sleeve, which has a really beautiful wing-like design:


I can't wait to work on this some more!

Monday, February 11, 2013

Monday Progress Update: February 11th

Other than my Sew Fortnightly finished I didn't really get anything done this week other than half-cleaning my sewing room (which means it's now more of a disaster than when I started).  Hope to finish that this week.

I did get a little work done on my Lantern Dress:








It's the corset layer.  The underside is Kona cotton and flannel, channeled for boning.  The over layer is a really neat brocade.  So sad that there's not a lot of this, but it did inspire my color scheme!  Hopefully I'll get to more of this after I clean.

Historical Sew Fortnightly: Challenge 3

 

The Challenge: Under it All

Fabric: Kona Cotton

Pattern: Self-made.  It's a tube with a band the size of my underbust and straps.  The bustle is two crescents I eyeballed.

Year: 1820

Notions: Cotton Twill Tape, Polyester Batting, Thread

How historically accurate is it?  Except for the long seam it's all hand-sewn, and a hand buttonhole, so not bad there.  The pattern I came up with but it looks like period examples.  It should probably have self-fabric straps but I wanted fast.  I've never seen a bustle sewn-in like this, but I wanted to eliminate a waist layer.

Hours to complete: 10

First worn: ?

Total cost: stash



Monday, February 4, 2013

Monday Progress Update: February 4th

I don't have a lot to report this week.  I spent a lot of time "researching" for Costume Con (read: playing Okami).  I did get some work done on my Sew Fortnightly project, a regency petticoat:


It's pretty simple, a tube pleated to a band as big as my underbust.  I've sewn the skirt seam and the waistband on by hand, but I sewed the foldover by hand and I'm working on hand-finishing the inside of the skirt seam.  When I'm done I'll add on some shoulder straps to keep it in place and a button and hand-worked buttonhole.  I'm using the selvedge as the hem.  I also hope to add in a small bustle pad before I'm done next monday.