Gallery of Finished Projects

[Adriana Rose]

Looove the sleeves! Did you do them?

[amy]

Thank you kindly!  Yes.. I did mine over the summer and his in about 3 hours the morning of faire! It is really just lopped off slacks, an unlined vest and flat cap, and made a new ruff collar his size to put on my linen shirt.  But the sleeves are my favorite part too!  It is a white tablecloth and I just outlined the brocade in the weave with a black running stitch.  The white fabric is a bit bright, but it is amazingly washable!  I highly recommend making practical garments from fabrics designed to be washed a million times.

[Lady Kathleen of Olmsted]

Gorgeous, Amy!!  Huzzah!!

[Anna Iram]

I never would have thought of that. Really lovely.

[DragonWing]

Amy, very nice and love the brocade fabric you chose. And what a great idea for the black work. 

[amy]

Thanks again.   Most of what went into both outfits are tips I picked up on this site.  I thank Lady Kathleen for the hat tips and pleating notes: DragonWing got me making my own jewelry and using found pieces to make others: Gem inspired the shape of the bodice (curved front edges) and everyone is the best coach on fabric/color choices and trim.  I never would have put orange with gold and blue!

[LadyStitch]

I finished my velvet cloak for the customer last night. It is so nice and warm.  Heh the Pink pirate had to try it on and do the whole "oo I'm scary cape sweep thing. (It is modled after Bela Legosio's  from Dracula)   The cloak is for a friend of ours.  We are debating do we give it to him on Sunday as part of the special All Hallow's Eve  performance, or do we wait until Closing night in 2 weeks?

On a Faire stuff note, I made the pink pirate and I new Favor sashes.  We go so many at Rendevous we couldn't keep them on just our shirts any more.

[gem]

Amy, what a smart idea! I'm getting ready *right now* to order some tablecloths for a kirtle project, and will keep that all in mind.

Sev, I am IN LOVE with your Campi dress. I couldn't reply before now because I was still in mourning over mine, which was half completed when I realized I wouldn't have time to finish it for this season. Sniff. But yours turned out absolutely delicious, and the guards look great! Did you tell us what it was all made of?

[Sev]

Sev, I am IN LOVE with your Campi dress. I couldn't reply before now because I was still in mourning over mine, which was half completed when I realized I wouldn't have time to finish it for this season. Sniff. But yours turned out absolutely delicious, and the guards look great! Did you tell us what it was all made of?

Thank you Gem! Sorry to hear about yours, but it's good to hear you didn't try to rush it -- that never works out well for me when I try it. The dark green is linen that I had on hand for the past year -- the first linen I've ever worked with, and I am IN LOVE -- and the rest is just cotton broadcloth, because I didn't have the patience to wait for anything else ordered online and my local places only have linen in boring neutral colors. (I did use some of a boring neutral color for the interlining of my bodice.) There's a tiny bit of interfacing at the bodice front opening because I couldn't find anything else that would work the way I wanted it to with the curved edges. I think I did mention that I used the awesome ribbon closure from Festive Attyre (http://www.festiveattyre.com/research/workdiary/images/lacing.jpg), and it works brilliantly. I also used the chemise instructions from that site, and am wearing my old partlet... I don't remember where I got the pattern, or if I drafted it myself. The skirt is also cartridge-pleated on, which was SO FUN and I love how that skirt moves.

Oh, but the cloak peeking out from under my skirt is fleece, and my hat is I think either denim or twill that was left over from a cloak I made for a friend. The sleeves (blue things tucked into the back of my belt) are cotton broadcloth lined in fleece because it was supposed to be cold that day.

...And I think that's it! Very comfy, and I felt so PRETTY in it. And the corners on the guards? Totally didn't give me the trouble I thought they would. Ha-HA!

[gem]

You didn't show pictures of the sleeves!  More, please?

(My partially-finished one is also all about the linen love: coral linen for the dress with brown linen guards, all from my stash. I'm waiting until next summer to resume working on it, however, since my weight typically changes over the winter. To soothe myself, I'll be working on a cotton damask kirtle from my corset pattern this winter, which will fit at a variety of weights.)

[Lady Renee Buchanan]

My skirt was a red brocade tablecloth on clearance from Bed, Bath, & Beyond about 5 years ago for $9.99 after Christmas.  My friend made the skirt for me then, and it's still going strong after so many washings.  I bought 2 red tablecloths and used about 2/3 of 1, so the other is still waiting to be made into something.  I also bought 2 of the same tablecloths in gold.  They're still in the package waiting for the right inspiration to come along, when they will shout to me, "I want to be THIS."




For the Halloween parade, I decided to use the 2 gold & the other red tablecloth & the remaining part of the one that became the skirt.  As I was unwrapping them out of the packages, I saw I made a mistake on the price.  Each tablecloth was only $5.99, not $9.99 as I posted above.  Huzzah, was I happy!

[Sabrina Black]

My skirt was a red brocade tablecloth on clearance from Bed, Bath, & Beyond about 5 years ago for $9.99 after Christmas.  My friend made the skirt for me then, and it's still going strong after so many washings.  I bought 2 red tablecloths and used about 2/3 of 1, so the other is still waiting to be made into something.  I also bought 2 of the same tablecloths in gold.  They're still in the package waiting for the right inspiration to come along, when they will shout to me, "I want to be THIS."

I never thought of using tablecloths but that is a fantastic idea!  Now, I'm going to have to keep my eyes open for good deals on stuff like that!  Thanks!

[operafantomet]

I scored more of the fabric I'm planning to make a partlet of. It's really cool, it looks like drawn thread work, or insertion stitches. I would never have the patience to do that for real... In total I got two big panels, ca. 3 yards in total, for $6. It kickstarted my creativity, so I finally got around to make an apron for my Italian dresses. Originally I planned to use plain fabric and insert lace bands in a similar manner to this:
http://realmofvenus.renaissanceitaly.net/workbox/apron1.jpg

But when I found the fabric described above, I took the plain route. I cut one of the pieces down to a 94 cm ("37) long and 82 cm ("32) wide panel. It was gathered on top in small pleats and sewn down to a 3 meter long white textile tape. The end was folded over and sewn down, so the pleats are "bound" both in front and back. I haven't hemmed it yet. Should I make it a bit shorter? Or keep the current length? Both are period, so I just can't seem to make up my mind... But I'm thinking just a tad shorter. Opinions?



Under the apron is the finished Peacock dress. Still not happy about the front skirt (good thing I made an apron... ), but much better now that before. But the sleeve/shoulder area has been revamped, and I love that part now. Went from looking Elizabethan to looking Florentine, and it is supposed to be a Florentine dress after all... Pics to come when I've made a partlet.

ETA: That red tablecloth looks wonderful! So rich and textured. Bed linens, upholstery, curtains and tablecloths are so perfect for SCA sewing, and often a lot cheaper than buying by the yard. Luuuv it.

[Anna Iram]

Renee, and Gem  I always get a chuckle out of reading when someone buys garb material from Bed Bath and Beyond. If only they new how "beyond" their products go! I recall someone making an entire gown from a couple of shower curtains some years back. Good shopping!

Anea I love those sleeves and the gown. Any chance of a closer picture of the sleeves? Curious also about the trim. How did you do that? It's really different.

Kindle! You got lost in the shuffle back a few pages. You don't look like a Mormon at all.  It came out lovely. Have fun at TRF!

[operafantomet]

Anea I love those sleeves and the gown. Any chance of a closer picture of the sleeves? Curious also about the trim. How did you do that? It's really different.

Aaaw, the trims are my favourite part of this dress. It's a self adhesive velvet ribbon from the Danish hobby store chain Panduro. I've sewn the ribbon on for most of the part, but the fact that it's self adhesive makes it easier to get the placement right. Panduro is present in many European countries and also has an English web site. Here's al ink to that specific trim:
http://www.pandurohobby.co.uk/pan/IboxServlet?p=IXS790&OPT=GET&AID=360116

I used a double row for the bodice and skirt, and a single row for the sleeves. It's inspired by the trim placement of these Florentine dresses:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/renaissanceportraits/firenze3/zucchi1565.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/renaissanceportraits/firenze2/bacchiacca1540.jpg

I'm toying with the thought of buying more, of the mustard coloured one and dye it golden, and decorate it with pearls - similar to what is seen in Maria de' Medici's 1551 dress:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/renaissanceportraits/firenze2/bronzino1551mariadm.jpg

ETA:
You can read more about the blue "Peacock" dress in my costume blog. It reveals all the tragedies I've had with this dress (I was so close to scrap the whole thing), of how the bodice was unfitting and the skirt a tragedy, of how I changed the trim twice, and how I struggled with the sleeves. There are detail shots of the shoulder area there too, which is in large inspired by the crimson Pisa dress. I guess the moral is "never give up"... http://operafantomet.livejournal.com/tag/peacock