Local baronial Fall Championships are coming up (this weekend, in fact), and the event is kind of a big deal around here. I needed something ~*awesome*~ to wear, not just for court, but also for the choral guild's performance after feast Saturday night and before the theatrical performance set for that night. And since I know my tendency to think, "Look at all this time I have!" and then find myself sewing until 3am every night for the week before an event, I started seriously early - July early. It worked: I've been done with the thing for over a week now (though I can't quit fiddling with it), and I'm not remotely stressed about getting my dress done.
I'm stressed about getting other things done instead! Yay! But I digress. The point is: I love my outfit, and I can't wait to wear it, and I also want to SET IT ON FIRE because I've been looking at it for three months. There's got to be a middle ground between working on something slowly for freaking ever and waiting until the last minute.
ANYWAY, without further adieu, some
In 26 years of sewing, and over a decade's worth of costuming, somehow I'd NEVER made a *supportive* garment from scratch. Ever tried draping/body-blocking yourself without help? It's not easy, and it's not fun. But I did it! This tutorial website was a HUGE help, by the way, so, big thank-yous to them/her. :)
(And actually, this first draft was wrong, wrong, wrong, and I had to start over and do a second one - but this one has camo shorts in it, so, your argument is invalid. ;)
Body/sleeves seamed together, but not finished in any way - those are pins holding the front closed, while I checked fit. Which I had to do a LOT over the last few months as I made this, since between July and this week I've lost about ten pounds and gained some muscles I didn't have before. It's been weird.
The gown itself is a plain ol' 15thC côtehardie. Black linen with a woven textural stripe. Straight front and back skirt with wide gores - 2 each side, and 1 in the back.
It's lined with Random Blue Cotton (TM) that I had lying around the craft room, and trimmed with a forest green "velvet" (velour).
This is me checking button placement. Obviously.
While the actual côte has short sleeves on it (they're not adjusted for length yet in the pic above); the "real" sleeves for the gown are separate, full-length sleeves that will be pinned to the shoulders of the dress with decorative pins.Because I. Love. Pinned. Sleeves.
The embroidery - just dashes and dots, which prompted my boyfriend to ask me if it was Morse code - is simple, which is really all I can do, because I hate embroidering with a red, bloody passion because I suck at it and it makes my stupid arthritis flare up like whoa. But it's simple, and sparkly, which is exactly what I wanted. :)
<-- bling!
And no, I don't have any "after" pictures of me in the complete outfit. You'll just have to wait until after the event to see the whole thing. :D
To be continued...
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I love the fancy hemming. Very nice; says "I rock!" without being too over the top!
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