As I alluded to earlier, there were some projects in 2016, despite the lack of blogging!
Sewing: aside from the brick stitch pouch, I made myself some basic, everyday wear. I made two more pirihan for my Persian wear - shirts were by far the limiting factor on how many days I could wear this style. I expanded my male clothing - a short tunic, two pairs of braies, and cheater hose. The braies and hose have elastic waistbands, and the hose just have stirrups instead of full feet. But they're comfortable and very practical. Finally, for my elevation I made a handsewn wool tunic for the vigil, and a white wrap dress to wear over my other clothes on my way into court.
I've been continuing to expand my metal an enamel work. The annular pin here was started in 2015, but in 2016 I finished the engraving, applied the enamel, and did the finishing work. I have a stupid-large cloisonne medallion in progress. Finally, I engraved a plate for intaglio printing; these were my vigil tokens.
Showing posts with label general. Show all posts
Showing posts with label general. Show all posts
17 January 2017
18 August 2015
Running to stand still
I have been making things, but none of it has really felt ... blog-worthy? I made a wool hood for myself, very basic. I felted another hat - this one went a lot more smoothly than the first one. Both of those were tied to the HSM July challenge (accessories). The brick stitch pouch is death by a thousand stitches (and then another thousand, and another...). It's halfway through August, and the only ideas I've had for the HSM challenge would be multi-month projects. Unless inspiration strikes, I'll be skipping this one. I do have a plan for September, though, and I've even ordered fabric.
12 January 2015
Biting off more than I can chew: Historical Sew Monthly!
I perpetually have the problem that my project ideas and ambitions vastly exceed my available time to work on them. This is only exacerbated by the fact that I enjoy planning and starting projects more than finishing them. At the same time, though, I love challenges and pushing myself. And this year, I want to dip my toes into the water of the Historical Sew Monthly. I have no idea how I'm going to add these things onto my already full plate, but having concrete goals is seriously motivating. The first step is try to match up project ideas with different months. In addition to the set themes, my overall goals for participating this year are to work from stash when possible, and to do projects from my someday/maybe list. Not necessarily things I would have sewn anyway, but ideas I've daydreamed about that deserve to actually happen, and new skills or eras I've wanted to learn.
- January - Foundations: You can never have too many chemises. I can think of at least 3 styles for which I don't have enough (or in one case, any!) linens.
- February - Colour Challenge Blue: This could go any number of ways. I need to look through the stash to see what blues I have (blue is one of my favorites, so the question is not whether, but how much). I also have a much-loved blue dress that needs to be seriously re-done if I want to wear it again.
- March - Stashbusting: Again, lots of options here. Tentatively, men's hosen in a gray wool-linen blend I have tons of.
- April - War & Peace: This one could be difficult for me; I don't have any ideas yet.
- May - Practicality: I've been meaning to make a lightweight wool tunic that goes with my rust sleeveless surcoat. Simple and practical if ever anything was.
- June - Out of Your Comfort Zone: My first thought is to build on the hosen from March and work on more menswear. I also have some ideas for new skills - mostly revolving around accessories, and some non-clothing textiles
- July - Accessorize: As the date gets closer, I'll need to evaluate whether I'll be able to make the deadline, but I want to finish the brick stitch pouch that I started last year.
- August - Heirlooms & Heritage: This is an interesting one - I mentally associate heirloom sewing with much more recent history (say, 1800-1950) than the period I usually do. Maybe this is an excuse to branch out into the Victorian bustle styles I so admire?
- September - Colour Challenge Brown:I've just made a dress out of what I think is the only brown I had in the stash, so that won't do. I think I'll start watching for nice brown fabrics, and base the project around what I find.
- October - Sewing Secrets: I'd like to do another German 16th c. dress, with slits hidden in the pleats to reach a pouch hidden under the skirt.
- November - Silver Screen: Step one is to watch a bunch of movies, since I've never seen many of the period classics!
- December - Re-do: The most likely candidates here are Stashbusting and Practicality... or both at once.
14 May 2014
Mostly quiet on the sewing front
I've been on a bit of a hiatus from my big sewing projects, so I haven't had a lot of new material to post here. I did remake the sleeves on the black kirtle (much better!), and I just need to add a lining and a new lacing cord to consider that finished. The next step is the outer gown, and although I know I want to fully line it, I'm not sure with what. Until I figure that out, that project's on hold.
I've been working on the embroidered pouch in little bits here and there. Right now, I need to decide on my finished dimensions before I go much farther. The current width is about the minimum for me to get my hand into comfortably; I'm strongly leaning towards adding another half-repeat which would put it at about 5 inches, for more room and better symmetry. The finished pouch should be approximately square, so I'll need to embroider something twice as tall as it is wide.
I've been working on the embroidered pouch in little bits here and there. Right now, I need to decide on my finished dimensions before I go much farther. The current width is about the minimum for me to get my hand into comfortably; I'm strongly leaning towards adding another half-repeat which would put it at about 5 inches, for more room and better symmetry. The finished pouch should be approximately square, so I'll need to embroider something twice as tall as it is wide.
06 March 2014
See you at Gulf Wars!
I've got a few fun new projects to show, and I'd really hoped to get some photos taken and posted this week. But I've run out of time, and the things have been packed into tubs instead, and there's really still far too much to get done before I hit the road.
07 May 2013
The end of the retinue bag project
Last year, I made bags to be used by the retinue for my local SCA royalty. I had enough material left over, though, that I went ahead and made an additional pair for the prince and princess as well.
I handed them over to the coordinator this past on the weekend, on the morning of Crown Tournament. Coincidentally, this was just hours before close friends (including someone I'd asked for advice on the project) were crowned as said prince and princess.
So all the exciting projects I thought I might have time to work on this year? Probably not. At the moment, I'm rushing to make some very basic additional clothes (geometric-cut tunics) for my husband and I before the summer camping season.
I handed them over to the coordinator this past on the weekend, on the morning of Crown Tournament. Coincidentally, this was just hours before close friends (including someone I'd asked for advice on the project) were crowned as said prince and princess.
So all the exciting projects I thought I might have time to work on this year? Probably not. At the moment, I'm rushing to make some very basic additional clothes (geometric-cut tunics) for my husband and I before the summer camping season.
10 April 2013
How to handle Pinterest?
Pinterest, love it or hate it, is becoming an increasingly large part of the idea-space for all sorts of things, including the sort of historic costuming and re-creation things I post here. I'm probably late to this party, but I have noticed that a significant fraction of my incoming traffic comes from there (well, less so here than on my photo archive over at Flickr). For the record, I neither love nor hate Pinterest - I'm just trying to sort out how best to make use of it.
Let's be clear: I have no problem with my stuff being pinned. There are reasons why I post my photos under Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC-ND specifically), and one of them is to allow people to use and share my work, with the major condition that it include proper attribution and linkback.
But there are a few things I'm struggling to figure out with Pinterest. One of the big ones is how to stay involved in the conversation about my work. If someone comments here, or at the photos, I get that feedback, and I can respond if I want to. If someone re-pins or comments on my photos on Pinterest, though, I may never notice. I don't see the traffic until someone actually clicks through, and my suspicion is that's actually a pretty small fraction of the activity. Do I continuously search Pinterest for myself to keep tabs on things (or automate that with Google alerts)? Would that even work (aside from the awkward vanity aspect)?
What about items that are pinned in ways that are potentially misleading? There's a dress of mine on a board that's nominally about a drastically different culture (different place, 400-500 years apart!) I'm not representing my work as being the style of that culture, but people who don't dig down might not know that. That's not even getting to the potential issue of things posted without attribution, and although I'm really hoping that's not a big issue, it's dark matter to me - if it's not attributed to me, I'll probably never see it. I get the impression, though, that users are getting a bit better about proper linking than they were in the early days of the site (wishful thinking?)
None of these things are really unique to Pinterest - they were all issues to consider before as well - but Pinterest has made it so much easier, so the volume is higher and it's harder to ignore. There's also the potential to leverage the site for additional exposure. I've considered preemptively pinning everything I post here, for example, on a blatant self-promotion board. Would that be in terribly poor form? Or just completely ineffective?
If there are any creators with input or suggestions about how to handle your work on Pinterest, I'd be interested to hear them.
Let's be clear: I have no problem with my stuff being pinned. There are reasons why I post my photos under Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC-ND specifically), and one of them is to allow people to use and share my work, with the major condition that it include proper attribution and linkback.
But there are a few things I'm struggling to figure out with Pinterest. One of the big ones is how to stay involved in the conversation about my work. If someone comments here, or at the photos, I get that feedback, and I can respond if I want to. If someone re-pins or comments on my photos on Pinterest, though, I may never notice. I don't see the traffic until someone actually clicks through, and my suspicion is that's actually a pretty small fraction of the activity. Do I continuously search Pinterest for myself to keep tabs on things (or automate that with Google alerts)? Would that even work (aside from the awkward vanity aspect)?
What about items that are pinned in ways that are potentially misleading? There's a dress of mine on a board that's nominally about a drastically different culture (different place, 400-500 years apart!) I'm not representing my work as being the style of that culture, but people who don't dig down might not know that. That's not even getting to the potential issue of things posted without attribution, and although I'm really hoping that's not a big issue, it's dark matter to me - if it's not attributed to me, I'll probably never see it. I get the impression, though, that users are getting a bit better about proper linking than they were in the early days of the site (wishful thinking?)
None of these things are really unique to Pinterest - they were all issues to consider before as well - but Pinterest has made it so much easier, so the volume is higher and it's harder to ignore. There's also the potential to leverage the site for additional exposure. I've considered preemptively pinning everything I post here, for example, on a blatant self-promotion board. Would that be in terribly poor form? Or just completely ineffective?
If there are any creators with input or suggestions about how to handle your work on Pinterest, I'd be interested to hear them.
26 December 2010
Housecleaning
I recently lost my access to a small webhosting account where I had just a few images. I've gone through the ones that I know were broken and fixed them, but if you see any other placeholders indicating a missing image, leave a comment so that I can replace it. Unfortunately, I have nothing else to report - my new job keeps me quite busy, and I haven't had time to pick up the needle in months.
08 June 2009
The List, 2009 version
Every few years, I take some time to write up a big list of sewing projects I'd like to do, and since it had been a while since the last one, it seemed like time to do a bit of planning again. Not to mention that the fabric stash has had much greater inflow than outflow recently, so there was a lot of material that needed to be assigned to projects.
I just got new patterns for the Moy gown, and an open robe anglais, so both of those are on the list of course. The Moy gown has been assigned a mustard-gold worsted wool twill, and I'm debating whether to interline the torso section in linen. I'm also thinking I might switch from buttons to lacing for the front opening, so that I can wear it comfortably under other gowns, more in the 14th century continental style. Definitely keeping buttons on the sleeves though. Starting that project is on hold at least until I can get another bolt of muslin, though, because the construction is bizarre and mandates a mock-up, even if just to understand how it goes together. The only major concern is whether my back length is so short that it throws off the shoulders.
The open robe anglais is likely to be a long-term, slow-moving project. The 18th century stays I've been working on are finally actually finished (pictures and wrap-up soon, hopefully), which means that I can start building out, but I also need to do some research on the rest of the undergarments, like shifts and petticoats, and figure out whether I also need pocket-hoops or equivalent. What I'm thinking at the moment is that instead of a mock-up, I can find some relatively inexpensive cotton in a plausibly 18th c. print, and use that for a test run of the dress before moving to a nice fabric like silk taffeta, and hopefully end up with two wearable dresses instead of one.
The smocked apron I posted on last month was actually on the List, so I can declare success on that one already. One of the other, simpler projects I have planned is a tunic and sleeveless surcoat in the Manesse Codex style. The tunic is going to be in a light grey summer-weight wool, with narrow, buttoned wrists but otherwise quite loose. For the surcoat, I'm using a rust-colored wool, also very lightweight, which is already cut into body and gore pieces, and should go together quickly as soon as I decide between machine or hand sewing.
Some of the other items on the List are things that didn't get done in the last iteration: a pendant-sleeve gown, using the same herringbone twill as the apron dress; an early-16th century Dutch formal gown; more hose; and accessories like a partlet and proper wustlhaube for the German gown. Some are just nebulous ideas: 6+ yards of lilac wool that might become a bliaut, or maybe not; something Indian - maybe Mughal, maybe Deccani, maybe Rajput; and some non-clothing sewing projects like bedspreads and cushions
I just got new patterns for the Moy gown, and an open robe anglais, so both of those are on the list of course. The Moy gown has been assigned a mustard-gold worsted wool twill, and I'm debating whether to interline the torso section in linen. I'm also thinking I might switch from buttons to lacing for the front opening, so that I can wear it comfortably under other gowns, more in the 14th century continental style. Definitely keeping buttons on the sleeves though. Starting that project is on hold at least until I can get another bolt of muslin, though, because the construction is bizarre and mandates a mock-up, even if just to understand how it goes together. The only major concern is whether my back length is so short that it throws off the shoulders.
The open robe anglais is likely to be a long-term, slow-moving project. The 18th century stays I've been working on are finally actually finished (pictures and wrap-up soon, hopefully), which means that I can start building out, but I also need to do some research on the rest of the undergarments, like shifts and petticoats, and figure out whether I also need pocket-hoops or equivalent. What I'm thinking at the moment is that instead of a mock-up, I can find some relatively inexpensive cotton in a plausibly 18th c. print, and use that for a test run of the dress before moving to a nice fabric like silk taffeta, and hopefully end up with two wearable dresses instead of one.
The smocked apron I posted on last month was actually on the List, so I can declare success on that one already. One of the other, simpler projects I have planned is a tunic and sleeveless surcoat in the Manesse Codex style. The tunic is going to be in a light grey summer-weight wool, with narrow, buttoned wrists but otherwise quite loose. For the surcoat, I'm using a rust-colored wool, also very lightweight, which is already cut into body and gore pieces, and should go together quickly as soon as I decide between machine or hand sewing.
Some of the other items on the List are things that didn't get done in the last iteration: a pendant-sleeve gown, using the same herringbone twill as the apron dress; an early-16th century Dutch formal gown; more hose; and accessories like a partlet and proper wustlhaube for the German gown. Some are just nebulous ideas: 6+ yards of lilac wool that might become a bliaut, or maybe not; something Indian - maybe Mughal, maybe Deccani, maybe Rajput; and some non-clothing sewing projects like bedspreads and cushions
10 January 2008
New beginnings... slowly
It's been remarkably quiet here, and there's exactly one reason for that: my sewing projects haven't been getting much love lately. There have been plenty of distractions, and winter weather doesn't help (my crafts and projects room is far and away the coldest area of our home in the winter), and the result is that things just haven't gotten done. I've got that spark back in my eye, though, so things may change. One big improvement is that I'm about 2/3 done with a big clean-up of the room - I can see the floor again! Over the next month or so, I'll still be busy trying to push some work-related stuff out the door, but hopefully I'll be able to carve out some time for all the sewing I've got planned. I have finally gotten all the eyelets into the 18th c. stays, meaning I could actually try them on, and the result is neither as good as I had hoped nor as bad as I had feared. I should have a more specific post with pictures up in the next week.
02 November 2007
Slow season
For me, fall is a bit of a slow season for sewing (as is showing in the lack of activity here). I've finished with last season's projects, and done the mending for the clothes that got worn a lot during the warmer months. But I haven't yet geared up for any big winter projects. This year, I've also been busier than usual with work, which slows things down even more. But I have gotten a few things done in the six weeks since my last post. From the pile of UFOs (UnFinished Objects), I finally put all the buttons and buttonholes on my schaube from last year. I've got reed into all the channels for my 18th c. stays, and I'm currently working on trimming them down to exactly the right size in order to bind the edges. I'm a bit worried about the fit on that project, though, as it seems to be turning out quite noticeably smaller than my mock-up. I've a also started a new project; I made a quick muslin for a new gown I'd like to get done for Twelfth Night. On the fiber arts side, I bought a ball winder and a swift, mostly for use with my spinning. I've also been working (very slowly) to clean and deal with accumulated clutter in my sewing room. This is a major quality of life issue as far as being able to work on projects, as my actual space for doing stuff was disappearing at an alarming rate. Hopefully I'll soon have more done in the way of 'visible' progress.
12 April 2007
Apron dress plans
My wonderful and generous sweetheart has saved me from the fabric disaster that I mentioned last time. We split a 10+ yard piece 50/50, and I washed only my part, so his is still smooth and not fulled-felted. Fortunately for me, he had no particular plans for his fabric yet, so he has offered to switch in exchange for me making him a cloak from the now thick, fuzzy stuff. So my apron dress plans are once again on track.
I should say that Norse is way out of my normal areas of expertise, but I'm learning a lot as I do the research for this project, so it should be fun. I'm planning to do a closed tube style dress, with some shaping like the Hedeby fragment. Actually, I think I'll separate out my commentary on that particular find out into a separate entry - I actually found it very difficult to produce a pattern that meshes with both the details of that find and other contemporary evidence and general knowledge of clothing construction. What I came up with is probably not original, I'm sure someone's done it before, but I'm happy with it and it's a bit different from what I see most commonly in recreations.
I also picked up some additional very nice fabric from the liquidation sale at one of my local Hancock Fabrics. (Many but not all locations are being closed - there's decent discounts on notions, and fabrics if you get lucky.) I got 2 yards of a lightweight wool in a cream color - I'm thinking that I might experiment a bit with wool veils, and see how they work, and also 6 yards of grey wool in the most summer of summer weights that I've ever had the pleasure to find. The color is not ideal, so I don't know what I'll do with it yet, but the weight and hand were so gorgeous that I couldn't just leave it there. Based on drape I think it would be excellent as a full-on court bliaut, but I'm having a hard time imagining doing such a high-status garment in such nondescript color. (And I'm not keen on the idea of dying it - evenness has always been a major problem for me when I attempt that.)
I should say that Norse is way out of my normal areas of expertise, but I'm learning a lot as I do the research for this project, so it should be fun. I'm planning to do a closed tube style dress, with some shaping like the Hedeby fragment. Actually, I think I'll separate out my commentary on that particular find out into a separate entry - I actually found it very difficult to produce a pattern that meshes with both the details of that find and other contemporary evidence and general knowledge of clothing construction. What I came up with is probably not original, I'm sure someone's done it before, but I'm happy with it and it's a bit different from what I see most commonly in recreations.
I also picked up some additional very nice fabric from the liquidation sale at one of my local Hancock Fabrics. (Many but not all locations are being closed - there's decent discounts on notions, and fabrics if you get lucky.) I got 2 yards of a lightweight wool in a cream color - I'm thinking that I might experiment a bit with wool veils, and see how they work, and also 6 yards of grey wool in the most summer of summer weights that I've ever had the pleasure to find. The color is not ideal, so I don't know what I'll do with it yet, but the weight and hand were so gorgeous that I couldn't just leave it there. Based on drape I think it would be excellent as a full-on court bliaut, but I'm having a hard time imagining doing such a high-status garment in such nondescript color. (And I'm not keen on the idea of dying it - evenness has always been a major problem for me when I attempt that.)
02 April 2007
Calm before the storm
My sewing room has been rather quiet for the last month, but I've been making plans for the new season. I've made a list of things I want to make this year, and it's a long one! Hopefully, real life won't interfere too much, although it's threatening.
Top on my list is more low-maintenance clothes for camping events this summer - simple linen tunic-dresses mostly, and a lot more stockings, as I've destroyed most of mine over the past couple years. I'd also like to do an apron-dress and pull together some Norse-appropriate accessories to dress up some of those tunic dresses a bit - probably aiming for the late end of that era.
Then I've got big plans for a new court dress - the blue dress from the April calendar page of Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. I've got a navy silk-faced satin brocade with gold fleur-de-lys, which I think should be about perfect. Unfortunately, the gold is poly, which means that the fabric is entirely and heavily backed with polyester, but I doubt I'll ever find anything better. I'm not completely sure what I'll use for the lining/contrast yet, but I do have plenty of white silk broadcloth that might work. Of course, I'll need to do a long sleeve cote first, to fit it over, which is just as well. I've been meaning to for years, but I still haven't made a long-sleeved layer to do late 14th c. stuff.
As a side project, I'd like to really finish my Persian ensemble. The coats are essentially fine (although one needs loops or buttonholes or something to go with its buttons), but I still need to make a pirahan (chemise-type layer), salwar (pants), and a hat. The pirahan will probably be white lightweight linen, which I always have on hand, but I'd need to find fabric for the salwar. The hat would be the style that Roxane Farabi calls a broom hat, which should be pretty simple once I figure out what kind of feather to use. (Incidentally, the look and color scheme of my coats is very similar to the figure in the lower left of the first picture at that link.)
If all that wasn't enough, I've also got a mid 14th c. gown with proto-tippets in the back of my head. Plus a bunch of mending and finishing on projects that should have been done by now. And I should probably make some clothes for my guy, since he's not likely to get around to doing it himself.
The picture above is the fabric I had intended to use for that Norse apron dress, before and after washing. (Note that the colors are mangled - it's actually purple and navy, and rather dark at that.) I hadn't expected it to react that badly to water, and sadly I threw my whole piece in (the remaining piece belongs to the guy, since we went in on the purchase). I don't know what I'll be doing with it now, since it doesn't seem at all appropriate for what I had planned. There's a lesson here about always washing a test swatch first, even if you think you know how it'll behave, and it's a lesson I really should have learned by now. Hopefully I'll remember this (rather expensive!) mistake next time : (
Top on my list is more low-maintenance clothes for camping events this summer - simple linen tunic-dresses mostly, and a lot more stockings, as I've destroyed most of mine over the past couple years. I'd also like to do an apron-dress and pull together some Norse-appropriate accessories to dress up some of those tunic dresses a bit - probably aiming for the late end of that era.
Then I've got big plans for a new court dress - the blue dress from the April calendar page of Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. I've got a navy silk-faced satin brocade with gold fleur-de-lys, which I think should be about perfect. Unfortunately, the gold is poly, which means that the fabric is entirely and heavily backed with polyester, but I doubt I'll ever find anything better. I'm not completely sure what I'll use for the lining/contrast yet, but I do have plenty of white silk broadcloth that might work. Of course, I'll need to do a long sleeve cote first, to fit it over, which is just as well. I've been meaning to for years, but I still haven't made a long-sleeved layer to do late 14th c. stuff.
As a side project, I'd like to really finish my Persian ensemble. The coats are essentially fine (although one needs loops or buttonholes or something to go with its buttons), but I still need to make a pirahan (chemise-type layer), salwar (pants), and a hat. The pirahan will probably be white lightweight linen, which I always have on hand, but I'd need to find fabric for the salwar. The hat would be the style that Roxane Farabi calls a broom hat, which should be pretty simple once I figure out what kind of feather to use. (Incidentally, the look and color scheme of my coats is very similar to the figure in the lower left of the first picture at that link.)
If all that wasn't enough, I've also got a mid 14th c. gown with proto-tippets in the back of my head. Plus a bunch of mending and finishing on projects that should have been done by now. And I should probably make some clothes for my guy, since he's not likely to get around to doing it himself.
The picture above is the fabric I had intended to use for that Norse apron dress, before and after washing. (Note that the colors are mangled - it's actually purple and navy, and rather dark at that.) I hadn't expected it to react that badly to water, and sadly I threw my whole piece in (the remaining piece belongs to the guy, since we went in on the purchase). I don't know what I'll be doing with it now, since it doesn't seem at all appropriate for what I had planned. There's a lesson here about always washing a test swatch first, even if you think you know how it'll behave, and it's a lesson I really should have learned by now. Hopefully I'll remember this (rather expensive!) mistake next time : (
16 October 2006
Introduction and Welcome
I've decided to split off my dressmaking projects and other sewing activities from my general purpose social blog (which can be found here). I plan to have commentary and progress pictures of ongoing projects, as well as showcasing completed items, thoughts on recreation methods and theories, maybe articles on specific topics and techniques, and anything else sewing-related that strikes my fancy. Hopefully the new labels feature of Blogger Beta will allow me to keep various separate projects organized within this single space, rather than creating separate blogs for each. I'm thinking I'll start with the highlights of actually finished items in my wardrobe, so that should be up here soon.
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