Regency: Teal Velveteen Pelisse

Behold:  a finished velveteen pelisse for winter wear!  

Last fall I acquired a huge stack of velveteen Ikea curtain panels from my local neighborhood swap group.  I knew right away I wanted to make a pelisse out of it. The fabric is heavy and warm, but not TOO heavy - perfect for our relatively mild central Texas winter weather. 

It would be a nifty addition to my Regency wardrobe, I thought, but more than that, I was in dire need of a long winter coat that was affordable - so I knew I wanted to make one, but I could never find the right fabric and pattern for it.  Yes, I absolutely plan to wear this in "real life" as my regular winter coat! 

left: fashion plate from Ackerman's;
right: design inspiration from Laughing Moon

This fashion plate, and this gown, were my first inspirations.  I loved the ruffles around the neckline and the big tie in the front of both, so I decided to use my Laughing Moon Spencer pattern (#129) for the bodice and sleeves, since it already has the shaping and design on the bodice that I wanted. 

I used the skirts from my Reconstructing History round gown pattern as a guide for the width and length of the skirt panels. 

dyeing the velveteen

The first problem was the color of the velveteen curtain panels:  they were bright aqua, which - no. Too bright and cheerful for me.  

Fortunately, they're 100% cotton, so they dyed pretty easily with Rit dye.  I used a 2:2:1 mixture of dark green, teal, and charcoal gray,  and came up with this lovely deep muted spruce green color.  (Okay, it's TEAL. Rit dye's formula charts call this "Blue Spruce Green," but it's totally teal).  

 

inside ties and hand-finishing

The pelisse is lined in a sage green cotton fabric that started life as a duvet cover I had sitting around not being used. Here you can see the ties I placed inside the bodice to help hold the thing together - I didn't want to rely on the belt/sash to do the job on its own.  The ties will help keep everything aligned properly when I wear it. 

The problem with dyeing the fabric was that I originally did it in two separate batches.  I measured carefully, and used the exact same dye on both batches...and yet, they still came out slightly different colors - one batch was a bit greener, and one batch was a bit bluer. 

So, after I finished the pelisse, I overdyed it again to bring the colors back in together.  The lining dyed, as well, and now it matches the velveteen fabric. 

bodice back

Since I do plan to wear this coat mundanely (i.e. not as a costume, but as regular daily wear), I made a few modifications to the pattern to help it be more wearable - the inside ties are one. 

I also lowered the hem of the bustline by 3" to accommodate a "normal" modern bustline.  It still fits fine when I'm corseted, but since I mostly won't be wearing this with a corset, I wanted it to conform to my "regular" bust shape when I'm wearing it to the office, for example.    

I added hidden side-seam pockets to the skirts as well.  Bitches need pockets! I generally don't carry a purse - just my phone which is in a wallet case, and my keys, and I needed somewhere to stash them. 

I also added belt loops to the side seams of the waistline, to help keep the belt/sash in place. 

before hemming the bottom

Altogether, this pelisse took me about 12 1/2 hours (over the course of 7 days) to construct and finish.  Most of it is sewn on the machine, although I did do all the finishing - anything that's visible from the outside - by hand.  Because it's so long, and there's so much fabric, it's surprisingly heavier than I thought it would be, and it IS very warm.  It'll make an excellent top layer and windbreak in winter weather this year. 

Thankfully, our winters are generally pretty mild, usually averaging about 40-50º most of the time, and only getting down into the 20s-30s for a couple of weeks in January or February; so this pelisse didn't have to be very heavy - it's mostly just a windbreak and an extra layer. With a sweater underneath and a scarf at the neck, it'll be just fine for the weather here.  

Things I would change if I had to do this again: 

(1) the sleeves are a teensy bit too long. They're lovely, but I worry about them being in the way while driving.  

(2) the back of the bodice and the shoulders are very fitted, and I worry that they won't accommodate more than a very thin shirt underneath - I won't be able to wear sweaters with this thing.  (Good impetus to lose a bit of weight before this winter!) 

(3) The belt loops are laughably too big. I should have made them half the size I did; but it's okay, I doubt anyone will notice or care. 

SCA: Event Recap, and Looking Forward

I went to my first Steppes Warlord a couple of weeks ago!  I'd never gone because I always thought it was "just" a fighting event, but it turns out, it's SO much more.  All the fighting, all the A&S, tons of vendors, lots of competitions, lots of parties, and all kinds of stuff - there were even snow cones for sale, LOL.  I had a a lot of fun.  

Oops

Sadly, one of the strands of beads in my Viking "festoon" necklaces broke, so I only had one to wear pinned between my brooches.  Thankfully, all the beads fell out on my bed while I was getting dressed, so I was able to collect them all and save them to re-string them at a later date.  I'll probably do that this week. 

Also, my gray linen serk "sprung a leak" - a hole opened up in one of the arm seams.  Since the sleeves are tight enough that I can't just take it in to cover the break, I'll have to dig around in my stash to see if I have any more of that fabric so that I can make a patch for the hole.  

Nope!

I was traveling with a friend this event, so to save space I opted not to tote my clothes hamper with me, instead carrying my clothing and EVERYTHING else in my black chest to save space in the truck.  It did NOT work out very well at all - everything was so crammed in there that I had to unload the entire chest to find anything, my clothes got terribly wrinkled, and it was a huge pain in the ass.  I'm definitely not going to do that again - especially since I mostly travel alone, and can pack anything I want in my nice, big truck.  As much as I fantasize about one day building myself a new, period tent; I really like the way I have everything packed and arranged with all my baskets and wooden boxes.  

Yay! 

I spent the mornings at the event working in the kitchen at the Antsteorran Longship Association's omelette breakfasts.  The Longship allowed me to camp with them for the weekend, since my household wasn't going to be there; and so to give back I pitched in in the kitchen, and I had SO MUCH FUN.  It was hard work, but I really enjoyed it.  They set up a full kitchen with camp stoves right there in camp under a huge pavilion, and serve up omelettes made to order - the proceeds go to fund the group's efforts in - get this - building actual wooden Viking longship replicas.  That's so cool!  I look forward to working with them again.   

Next

I hear some kingdoms have indoor events in the cold of winter.  You'd think Ansteorra would do the same thing in the summer, but people down here have some weird tough-guy thing about being able to withstand the Texas sun - we have no indoor events during the hot summers at all.  There are a couple of events over the next two months, but they're outdoors, and they're at least five hours away by car, so I won't be going to anything until the fall brings cooler weather and local events again.  

Plenty of time to work on new projects, fix up my existing wardrobe as needed, and plan for A&S in the fall.  I'm looking forward to the break for a while (I have lots of new Regency stuff planned to keep me busy), but I also already can't wait for September! 

More soon.