Gallery of Finished Projects

[Manwariel]

Here are some of my recent projects.

I made this dagger frog for my younger sister,



this circle skirt that I'll probably wear to the faire,



this dress for a friend to wear to the faire,





and this medievalish gown for my younger sister, which she won't be wearing to the faire because it's polyester and has a train:

[Valencia]

I don't think I've ever posted my gowns in this thread. 
This is the first gown I did:




I had a LOT of advice from this forum, for which I am very indebted!  I'm not thrilled with the french hood, which I made of buckram, so I just bought plastic canvas for a second go at it.

Once I wore the gown to faire a few times, I realized it was REALLY heavy and hot for Southern California, so I made the next gown.


It has a few adjustments to be made; namely, the shoulder straps aren't quite right, they gape a bit, but I'm going to try to fix them because I like how the gown lays.  And because I hand sewed all the eyelets and there is no way I'm NOT going to wear this gown again.

[DragonWing]

   Very very nice work ladies.

[LadyElizabeth]

Lovely start Jacqueline on both gowns, now all I see is you need some beadwork and trim to make them Pop and turn the heads!! 

What is it you don't like about your french hood?  Looks fine to me, though obviously there aren't any really close ups.

Can I ask why you added a train to both gowns?  It does look quite stunning with the train, just can't imagine how easy it is to get around with that, or dance for that matter. 

[Valencia]

Thank you, Lady Elizabeth.  I trained the first gown because it's based on a portrait, and the gown in the portrait was trained.  I've not had any trouble with it, so far.  The second gown I trained because I liked the first one so much.  The third gown will likely not have a train. 

I find the french hood to be very fragile, and I'd like something sturdier. And, I'd like to cover the new one in velvet for a richer look.  And I'd like the top part to lay a bit closer to the head, it drives me nuts to see french hoods where the hood part sticks straight up like a visor worn on top of the hood. 

I did go back and start adding trim and pears to the brown gown. My problem is that one, I don't like a bunch of stuff on gowns, I love the simple look, and I don't want to be overdone with stuff.  My second problem is that I still have not figured which trims are period correct or not - I'd love to add wide cream colored trim with pearls to the gold gown, but I can't find a good one that would look reasonable authentic.  Any help on that front would be greatly appreciated.

[LadyElizabeth]

You ought to put up the portrait, that's really great!

Have you thought of putting in a wire frame on the next french hood.  I think that's what quite a few have done.

What sort of places have you looked for trim at cause I"ve never really had much trouble finding period correct-ish trims... of course that's up to debate on how truly accurate that trim is.... 

Simple look, huh?  Guess that's about opposite of me.

[LadyShadow]

Wonderful dresses.  I completely agree and understand about the trim and beading.  I worry about the same thing when I sew dresses.

[Valencia]

This is the gown I did the recreation of. I am in the process of adding the bit of trim that she has around the neckline, but you can see that her gown doesn't have all the trim and bells and whistles on it. I didn't want to over do it for a ren faire-ism when I wanted it to be a portrait recreation.


Lady Elizabeth, do you just use any trim, minus the obvious like paisleys?  And what about the trims with metallic threads? 

[LadyElizabeth]

On my stuff I'm trying to be very period correct with, I do not use the metallic trim.  Usually on my Elizabethan gowns I use trim that's for upholstery, so it's all woven fabric basically.  Here are quite a few examples of my own dresses and trims I use.  I hope you can see the detail of the trims well enough here.  I'm not a nazi on perfect historical accuracy, so I'll leave it up to those who do know better than I to comment on my true historical accuracy.

[NicoleBridget]

Jacqueline, I knew what portrait you were thinking of before you even posted the pic, so that must mean you did a great job recreating it!  And I'm right there with you on the simplicity factor.  I LOVE it.  I think that's why I love the Tudor period of fashion more than the Elizabethan.  They let the fabric speak for itself where as the Elizabethan gown fabrics can disappear under all the odornment and other eye-catching things going on elsewhere in the ensemble.  And you're right...Ren faire-ism CAN lure people toward the overdecorated Christmas tree look, which is usually a no-no for classic Tudor style if you're going for accuracy. **Side note**I always wondered if style evolving from the elegant simplicity of the Tudor age into the very ornate of the late Elizabethan had to do with Elizabeth herself aging?  She was the style figurehead.  And I mean...when you're young and lovely you don't need a lot of flash and distraction in your outfit, your beauty is showcased and complemented by your gown.  But as you age (and we know Elizabeth was vain) you may want to draw the eye away from your looks and have it focus on your dress instead.  Smoke and mirrors.  Kind of like how young girls don't need much make-up but some women as they age choose to wear a whole lot more.  Just something I always speculated...

But back on topic, I lADORE both of your dresses!  And I envy your trains.  I want to wear one SO badly but I'm afraid it will be ruined by dragging it through all the faire dirt.  Was it hard?  We need to figure a way to make trains faire friendly!  Detachable, or lined with nylon or soemthing...  Lady Elizabeth has a point about the French hood...definately use wire.  It will bend to the shape you want and stay there.  It's a pain but DEFINATELY worth it.  I think a simple antique gold braid trim would look nice at your neckline.  Bravo on your dresses, especially that re-creation!

[LadyElizabeth]

But see, there are some people that just simply LOVE the bling and decoration.  To me simple, is just that, simple... I love to show my talents and make it look the best I can by adding what I think makes it stand out, LOTS of beadwork and trim!  I guess that's why me and the Elizabethan garb are a match made in heaven.  I'm young and most people say attractive to some degree, but I still want MORE beadwork and trim at all times!!  I'm always looking at my older garb trying to find where I can add more beadwork or trim..... so obsessed, hehe!

[Valencia]

I love the conversation on trim, its so interesting how different people feels so differently about it.  I will look in the upholstery section at that trim, I wouldn't mind adding a bit of interest to the gold gown. 

I have added trim to the neckline of the tudor gown since the pictures below - here is a pic:


I don't think I'll do much more than that, I really love the simplicity of the gown, and since it's a portrait recreation, I don't want to change the appearance just to make the lots-of-trim-people at faire happy.

Regarding the trains, I've wore both gowns to several faires, and other than picking out thistles and washing the dirt out, I've not had any problems from walking around in it.  I did read that someone lined the train with a plastic material to protect the fabric; the material could be replaced every so often.  I didn't bother with that, because I've always figured if the train didn't last, I would just cut it off and shorten the hem. I did do a wide 4" hem on both gowns, though, to protect the train fabric a bit.   I did have the train stepped on last year, after we'd all spent the day drinking and making merry.  I had figured it was bound to happen at some point or another, so we had a good laugh over it, I borrowed some pins from a pirate to repair it until I got home, and then I sewed it back up. All is well that ends well!

[LadyShadow]

Elizabeth, I was wondering where you found your trim at.  I had always found it hard to find something I thought would match and not look extremely out of place.  I think I am going to have to go take a look down different aisles now.

Jacqueline, that is absolutely beautiful trim.  I was just looking at some last week wondering if I got some what could I do with it.  But you have made a wonderful decision.

[Pipere]

This is the best full body picture of my new Ottoman ensemble I've gotten since I finished it back in February (yes, I am riding a tiny playground sheep and having a corking good time):



I want to thank you guys for advising me to make sleeves rather than epaulettes- plus the large open bat-sleeves let me show off the topaz-colored silk I lined them in. It's quite cozy to wear, easy to get on, and the accessorizing and makeup is quite fun. Plus I'm mobile (in comparison to my friends in corsets and hoops).

Note: Yeah, it's not H/A Ottoman, because women don't wear turbans and the thick cincher belt, but it's a style.

[Kate XXXXXX]

And fun!  Looks lovely.