| Dolman mock-up... |
[Jul. 11th, 2007|07:32 pm] |
Well, the first thing I've figured out is that I'll be tracing off the small sized pattern. The medium is huge on John, just about everywhere.
Here, let me show you! (Image-heavy cut!)
So there you have it! Now, I think I'll go beat my head into the wall. I am SO glad I made the mockup. I cannot imagine trying to do this on the wool. |
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| Thank God for Big Blue! |
[Jul. 11th, 2007|04:07 pm] |
As if I needed yet another reason to thank ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) piroshki for Blue, this jacket is one! Sewing through four layers of material is not something my Brother could do. Blue just chugs along.
The basting is killing me, but flatling (lining by the piece) was the total right thing to do! |
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| Opinions! |
[Jul. 10th, 2007|12:59 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  confused | ] |
For those of you who costume, or those of you who don't...
I'm making the Hussar's jacket out of McCall's pattern 4745 (you can see it here). It's a blue wool suiting, very pretty, but very soft.
So, I know I need to line it, or interface it, but which should it be? I can either flatline it or I can go with a medium-weight interfacing, but I don't know which!
Opinions either way?
Also, found a picture of a Hussar cantinier, so I've got some ideas for my costume as well. Wow! Not camp followers in the traditional sense, cantinieres fed the men, selling goods they weren't given as part of the rations. How interesting!
Cross-posted to soldiergrrrl |
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| Bad words and dirty dishes! |
[Jun. 28th, 2007|02:04 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  morose | ] |
I finished the scarlet wool pants. They're made from the same pattern as the mockup. I didn't change a thing and they look fucking fantastic. For someone with a waist four inches bigger than my husband's. What. The. Fuck?
I'm not kidding. The mockup fit fine. It was perfect at the waist.
So, now, I get to rip out the waistband, and put in darts to make the fucking things fit right, then recut the waistband itself and reattach it.
Kill me now. Really. Kill. Me. |
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| Wheeee! |
[Jun. 19th, 2007|04:51 pm] |
I've started the scarlet wool pants for John's D*C costume. Since I'm a weird, I've decided to do these all by hand. So far, they're not looking bad. Granted, it helps that the thread is the *exact* color of the wool, let me tell you. :-)
Of the four buttonholes needed, I've got two done, and then, I'll but putting the rest of it together. The crotch seam is a bit odd, but I think I can figure it out. The waistband is going to be a pain, but since I worked on another pattern, I've got an idea for that, too. In fact, it may work better than the original.
Oh! Need to buy suspender buttons, too. |
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| Want to start! |
[Jun. 12th, 2007|10:38 am] |
I've figured out the waistband problem in the trousers I'm making for John and I want to start already!
But we got John's HHG on Friday, and so, the house is...a wreck. Not necessarily in a bad way, but in that "OMG here's 2000 lbs. of stuff!" way.
*sigh*
We'll get this straightened out and then, it will be better. |
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| They're started! |
[May. 30th, 2007|11:31 am] |
I started John's trousers today, and so far, they're going together like a dream. I've never done a buttonfly before, so I decided to make the mockup in red cotton (old sheets) and so far, even with my horrid handstitching, they look good. Now, to print out a tutorial on how to do hand-buttonholes.
Wish me luck! |
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| Pattern is traced! |
[May. 27th, 2007|02:32 pm] |
I've got the pants pattern traced out on the tracing fabric. After a bit of a bobble regarding the sizing, I'll be laying out and pinning this evening, more than likely.
*facepalm* At least I discovered I was tracing off the wrong pattern before I'd got it all cut out, right? Right? Hello? *crickets chirping*
The pants aren't lined, but John says he's not allergic to wool, so here's hoping! |
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| Timeline... |
[May. 27th, 2007|11:22 am] |
Okay...so, I'm insane.
Here we go. These are the four costumes I'm making for Dragon*Con.
For John:
Hussar's uniform:
Pelisse: Blue wool with gold braid and buttons, lined in gold or scarlet silk. McCall's M4745. Must increase collar height and coat will be cut off at waist.
Dolman: Blue wool with gold braid and buttons, lined in blue linen. Patter is same as above.
Shirt: White cotton or linen. Laughing Moon Pattern 107 Mens Edwardian and Victorian Shirts, view B with standing collar.
Trousers: Scarlet wool, lined in red cotton. McCall's M4745
Royal Manticoran Marine Corps NCO undress uniform:
Green Pepper Black Butte jumpsuit. Black and green gabardine.
For Jen:
Hussar-style masquerade costume:
Military-style bodice: Blue/black dupioni silk. Truly Victorian pattern TV462.
Underskirt: Scarlet dupioni silk. Truly Victorian pattern TV202
Overskirt: Navy striped silk dupioni. Truly Victorian Pattern TV305
Bustle and petticoat: White cotton. Truly Victorian Pattern TV101
Underwear: Pink fabric of some sort, dangit. Laughing Moon Pattern 100
Royal Maticoran Navy Officer undress uniform:
Jacket: Black wool gabardine. Simplicity patter 7274 (out of print)
Trousers: Black wool gabardine, lined in cotton. Whatever pattern I find.
I can't get started on most of this until the patterns get here, dammit. Hurry up, post office! |
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| Dress dummy up! |
[May. 25th, 2007|12:53 pm] |
John's dummy is made up. Right now, it's on an old torchier lamp, but I think it needs bricks around the bottom or something, because...yeah...it's a bit more top-heavy than the lamp was, so it tends to list a bit. Nothing like a drunk dress dummy, lemme tell you. John and I figure that bricks on the base of the lamp should hold it steady enough to work with.
I'm getting a bit ticked off about the braid I ordered. It's been two weeks since I paid for it, and nothing from the seller about whether it's been shipped or not. I'm going to email again on Tuesday and if I don't hear from them by Friday, I'm going through PayPal to get the money back. I'm NOT amused.
Received the pattern tracing fabric, so I think I'll probably see about getting the jacket pattern traced off. Maybe I should start with the pants, since I have the lining and all for it. I'm still going back and forth on what I'll line the jackets with, but I think that the dolman will be linen and the pelisse will be silk-lined. That should be comfortable enough and look good. Hmmm...
I might start with the shirt, actually.
So...need to get more serger needles (yes, I serge even my period costumes although I might do felled seams or *maybe* French seams) and probably should go ahead and get new sewing needles too. |
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| Great.... |
[May. 22nd, 2007|04:25 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  anxious | ] |
Now I just need to find my courage!
The pattern tracing fabric came today, the wools are washed, and I'm ready to start. Sort of.
Iiiiieeeeee. |
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| Ta-da! |
[May. 19th, 2007|02:11 pm] |
No pictures yet, as I'd like to clean it up a bit, but the paper-tape dummy of John is done. I'll post pix after I get it cleaned up, stuff and taped up again. |
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| Oh, I think I'm gonna swoon... |
[May. 18th, 2007|12:35 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | envious | ] |
Look at that reception dress.
Oh my. Oh. My.
I haven't quite decided on my costume to match John's for D*C, but I'm leaning towards later bustle.
Oh just freakin' kill me. |
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| You know... |
[May. 18th, 2007|07:05 am] |
I should know better.
I found a gorgeous silk on ebay, a scarlet I planned to use to line John's coat. Now, I can't find the stupid stuff, at least, not at the price I found it before. I'm leaning towards using a dupioni, since I know poly linings don't breathe for nothin', and while I'm not trying to bankrupt us doing this, I don't want John to pass out from the fact that he's wearing two wool coats. Does that make sense? Besides, a dupioni isn't that much more expensive than a nice poly lining, at least I don't think so. Am I nuts?
Anyway, got the wool washed. It felted a bit, but honestly, with washing methods of the 19th c. it would have done that then, too. :-)
Now, to tape my my sweet husband so I have a form! Mwahahahahaha! |
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| Fabric is here! |
[May. 17th, 2007|01:59 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  bouncy | ] |
I bought some scarlet wool for John's Hussar pants. It arrived today and it's stunning. What a color! I need to trim a bit off to see if it can be washed or if it will felt up too badly. Any tips for washing scarlet wool?
Just so you can see...
The pinkish-red fabric to the left is the stuff I'll be using for lining/flat-lining. I don't think the pants need to have as much body as the coat, so I'll probably just line them.
I also ordered swiss tracing cloth so I can trace off the patterns for John and my HH coats. I've only got the one pattern and we'll need two sizes. Not to mention, I'd like to get into that habit. My last attempts at pattern tracing were....less that successful. Any good tips on how to best trace patterns?
Thanks! |
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| Almost done with the freakin' room! |
[May. 10th, 2007|03:14 pm] |
So, I'm almost done with the sewing room!
It's not really that dark, just the camera was metering off the light in the window, so it appears much darker than it really is.
A much better shot.
There's still a lot to do, but it's getting there. The dress dummies will stand against that far wall, beside the modem and such. I think. I hope. |
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| Now, for an update on other stuff I want to make for D*C- |
[May. 10th, 2007|09:43 am] |
This weekend, or next week, I'd like to make paper-tape dummies for myself and John, as I'll need fitting dummies like nobody's business. I'll post pictures of that adventure. I might use papier-mache, as I think I can shellac it, and while I won't be able to pin directly into it, it won't collapse, either. From what I've heard, that's the biggest problem with duct-tape-dummies.
I'll be working on costumes for my self and John out of the Honor-verse. Although I'm sure that I'm overthinking this whole thing, I'm a bit worried.
From what I can tell, Weber has said that the Mattingly covers are accurate representations of what RMN unis look like, so...here we go.
BTW, if you're reading this, I probably won't put too many pictures behind cuts. It may be rude, but I want to be able to see all this stuff right up front...
So, on to the Honor-verse costumes, and the other stuff.
Honor-verse:
There are several more pictures available of the uniform, but the one thing I want to know is...how the hell does this stupid thing close???
I think that I'll have to make a singe-breasted jacket and then an overlay placket. That's the only thing I can think of. The books talk about "sealing" the tunic, so perhaps I can close it with magnets? Velcro would be easier, but I'm not sure that's what's meant. Getting the stars and such embroidered should be pretty easy (HI Mom!) although I don't know what I'll do about the ship crest and the RMN patch. I have Jayne's Military Intelligence Review coming in, so that will help a great deal, I think.
I have a 1996 Simplicity Civil War pattern that should work well for the jackets, as they're straight with no waist seam I can, if needed find another pattern to make the shorter jacket. I have a band jacket pattern that might work as well. (This is why, when patterns go on sale for $0.99 I buy six million of them. You *never* know what you'll need that pattern for, but...you might want it! I'm going to have to make John's stuff first, as I'm going to start swimming again this spring and, please God, I'll lose the 12 or so pounds I've picked up from the Germany trip and the cruise.
I believe I'll make them out of black worsted wool, light-weight like a tuxedo.
Now, for my costume to match John's Hussar...
I'm going to try for a more military look, but not a Hussar's costume per-se.
http://trulyvictorian.netfirms.com/catalog/405.html This has the right look, if I do it correctly and I can get a nice stiff look to it. I'm thinking of doing it in a scarlet, with gold braid and black fur trim. We'll see.
http://trulyvictorian.netfirms.com/catalog/208.html This is the skirt, I believe.
http://trulyvictorian.netfirms.com/catalog/101.html The requisite petticoat and bustle.
For corsetry...
http://store.sewingtoday.com/cgi-bin/butterick/shop.cgi?s.item.B4254=x&TI='4254'&page=1 If this works, great. If not..
http://trulyvictorian.netfirms.com/catalog/lm100.html This has some nice things, but I'd like to use the patterns I own.
So, it's not like I've got nothing to do.... |
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| Well, here I go again... |
[May. 9th, 2007|09:27 am] |
In the planning stages for a Hussar's uniform for my beloved for D*C. God help me.
John's doing a lot of the research, but this means I really need to stop screwing around and get the sewing room cleaned up. Gah. |
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| Okay... |
[Jul. 24th, 2006|11:14 am] |
I've got the final dress color scheme.
I'll post pix of the fabrics later, but it's going to be grey and green. Not my best colors, but I'm planning on changing out the forepart pretty regularly, and if I can find a different fabric for waaaay cheeeeeep I might use a different color to do the forepart, but probably not. I'm going to save the dove grey and the cinnamon for a dress that's not quite so much of an experiment.
:-)
So, it's grey, with an olive green forepart (lots and lots of embroidery on that one!). The military-style doublet is my choice, again with a fair amount of embroidery on it, possibly with the tied on Spanish sleeves but...I'm not sure about those. The smock will be white cotton with dark blue embroidery on the collar, the cuffs and the sleeves. I went a bit lighter on the embroidery than I wanted to, but I think for a first full-on Elizabethan upper-class, it's *fine*. Now, I just need to convince myself of that. :-)
I'm not sure if I'm going to do a tall hat or just a snood-type thing with beading and cording. Foo. So many decisions! |
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