Finished Gift Persian

As usual... I got busy. Erf.
But I did snap a couple of pictures of the Persian Coat I made as a gift for my friend, Ty.

Tah Dah!

Click to Enlarge

Unfortunately, my real camera's battery was dead, so I had to use my Camera phone. This was made from the Folk Wear pattern for Persian coats. I just received the Persian pattern from Reconstructing History though and build a quicky out of it. Much easier, more historically accurate, and flattering pattern for sure (not that my friend Ty doesn't look great. That woman can wear a burlap sack and still be gorgeous *jealous*). I'll post pictures of my Persian experiment soon.
And the hubby requested a new Coat for Court. Going to try my hand yet again at some Men's garb.

Also, I picked up a pattern for a Regency Morning Gown which I an very stoked to start work on.
So much to sew! So little time!

Iiiits Persian Time!

Gift Persian Coat is GO!

Another project I did over the Holidays. Here is a Persian coat I did as a Christmas gift for my friend Ty. It's finished, but I still need to take photos of her in it. I'm hoping to get a couple pics of her in it soon.

I didn't use a super authentic pattern for this. I used one from Folkwear. But it works! Ty's main garb consists of mostly of Persian and Middle Eastern style garb. Its perfect for fighting and equestrian. The fabric is leftover linen from my Viking apron I made last year. I wanted to make the coat machine washable so Ty could wear it not to just tourneys and court but for all her equestrian events as well. Gotta look good on that horse!

The trim I had for years. I picked this up in LA after I designed a production of Aladdin. This was the trim I used on Jafar's robe. I loved it so much I bought some for myself. It sat forever in my stash until this Christmas. The red and the purple work great together! That trim was a bitch to put on lemme tell ya.

I wanted to at least give the coat a bit of a period feel so I tried to find a contrasting color to line the coat. Persian coats usually were lined in fabric that was a contrasting color to the main fabric (Orange to Blue, Red to Green, etc etc..) But I'm pretty sure Ty isn't a huge yellow fan. So I opted for green. I figured there was so much red in the purple and yellow in that green that it would work. I think it looks pretty spiff. Its also Ty's wedding colors so a little added bonus there. That green cotton had been sitting in my stash since 2002. It was great to finally find something to use it for.
So there we go. Hopefully I can snap some photos of Ty in her new duds soon to post!

Happy New Year-Blue Ren Details AND Future Projects Ahoy!

Just in time for 12th Night...again!

Okay, Maybe not JUST in time actually. I finished this back in December but didn't have a chance to post photos since I've been crazy busy with the holidays. The Blue Ren was both me screwing around to make some more court garb as well as put a lil somethin' somethin' up for Calafian Winter Arts. I ended up getting some fine trinkets for the dress. Honestly, that's the main reason I enter Winter Arts...for the free baubles.
I'm part raccoon.

Anyways. Here's some details on the sucker
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So I went back on weight watchers recently and I ended up losing about...oh...5 pounds and a couple inches since I made this. needless to say It was a touch large for me compared to the rather perfect fit I originally had with it...not that I'm knocking the weight loss but damnit, I had that bust PERFECT before the diet.

Bodice detail...more or less. You still can't really see the beading I did on the trim. Feh.

You can see the beading a LITTLE better here. I was trying to go for subtle but honestly, next time I bead I think I'm going to make it a bit more bold so it reads better.

Side button closure again...Its flattering and I'm a one trick pony.

Detail of my orange sash with the tassels. Yup..Orange. I love me the orange.

The main reason I left the sleeves off this go around. I wanted to show off my first round with black work embroidery. I'm pretty happy with my first go around. So far, that leaf stitch is the only stitch I know. I'll need to hunt down some black work books soon to learn more. I'm hoping someday to to another chemise detailed with black work.

So that's it for the Blue Ren. Going to be taking a break from the Rens for a while *GASP*. I figured I made enough to get what I wanted to learn out of this pattern. Lined up a have a few fun things coming. SCA wise I need to make myself a couple of short (and quick) Persian coats to wear to Estrella war. It tends to be a muddy war and the calf length coats are perfect to wear in that weather. Hopefully i can slam out a couple soon.
I also plan to work on two big UBER projects which I want to document heavily. First off is the German Cranach gown. aka...one of these.

I bought a fantastic pattern of one from Reconstructing History and I've really been drying to try my hand at it. There are a LOT of techniques I'm going to have to learn to make it, but I'm willing and hopefully will have the resources to learn from.

My other project is a full Victorian bustle dress. A steampunk con is coming up in my neck of the woods around May and I wanted not only my zombie hunter costume but also a Victorian lady costume as well This picture is heavily influencing my design... especially the middle dress. I want to make the under garments and the dress. Its an ambitious project but one I've been wanting to do for years now. Honestly It has me a bit intimidated.

Wish Me Luck!

Another Adventure In Italian Ren Land!

Yup...I'm at it again.
The original bodice pattern I made when I first started the blog ended up getting lost in the move. So I had to start from scratch. I made a few mock-ups then FINALLY managed to get something that fit relatively well. Took forever though. It also took me forever to realize I could have just ripped a pattern off my orange Italian to get it back *forheadsmack*.
Live and learn.

Anyways, Here's the beginnings of the new Italian. Still the same idea as the orange Italian, just tweaking a few things here at there. Pardon the crappy cellphone pictures.

I'll be raising the waistline to be more under the bust than my previous dress. The neckline is now lower cut which will show off a chemise more. I also cut the bodice a bit larger so I can wear a chemise comfortably under it all. The second shot is a close up of the trim. I'm slowly hand beading it. Not sure if I want to add anymore to it. I like the print on the trim and I don't want the beading to over power it. Still keeping the side closures. Its more comfortable than a lace up back for me.

I'll be adding on the skirt sometime this week. I'm hoping to do a sort of mock split skirt with a panel of the cream down the front, just to give it something extra. I'm still debating sleeves. I'm considering doing split sleeves maybe with the top and bottom open to expose the chemise. Still debating it.
I'll try to post some quick pics of my new Chemise soon. I did my first venture into black work on it and I'm pretty proud of it for my first time out.

Halloween Costume 2010 - March Hare

Hey hey All!
Figured I'd so a quick update and post my Halloween costume up on the blog. A nice break from the SCA garb.
We had a Alice In Wonderland/Victorian themed party this weekend which was a BLAST and the folks all showed up looking fabulous.

I went as the March Hare.

Its a costume made of out of my stash. Well sorta. The vest fabric (the most obnoxious plaid I could find!) was on the reminent table at Yardage Town. IT was only two bucks for a yard and a half so I couldn't resist. The rest is all stuff I happened to have laying around. I bought the socks at Target. I love them so. The tie is my husband's. The only thing I wish had time to do was the tea cup belt. I was going to make a chain felt and hang some small tea cups from it. alas, I ran out of time...like I ALWAYS do. I also ran out of time to paint the ears brown so I wouldn't blend in with the other white rabbits.
This was my last real pressing project. Not sure what is coming next. I have some fun period patterns to play with so hopefully I'll be dabbling there soon.
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And for the heck of it, here are all the bunnies from the party.

And with the Hatter.

I hope everyone had a great Halloween!

Completed Viking Garb at Lief Erikson.

Here it is, all finished!

I'm going to have to go back and re-fit the apron dress a bit, it was a wee bit large in the bust. But then I was being really generous with my seam allowance.
Easy fix overall.
General thoughts are it was warm and comfy and perfect garb for cold weather events (like Estrella War). Its not necessarily my style since I prefer Persian and Italian Ren. on my body type but still, I'm glad I made it and I'll probably wear it again to a winter event.:)

Well, tomorrow is the Lief Erickson tourney so I figured now would be as good as anytime to try my hand (again) at some viking garb. I ended up winning a spiffy "Viking in a Basket" prize at a raffle a few tourneys ago so it was time to put it to good use.

Heehee...Shiny.

As you can see, the basket came with everything needed, including the festoons. I already have the brooches from my previous go ahead.

Here are some in progress pics I took. I'll actually be wearing it tomorrow so here's hoping I can get a few photos of the garment on me.
The basket came with various instructions of how to put your apron together. I chose the method you can find here.
Not the exact directions that I used but pretty darn close. This was a VERY simple method so I highly recommend it...because i"m lazy.

Here's the Apron dress with partial decorative stitching done. I stuck a comparison shot of my first apron I did mostly so you can see the difference in shape. The new apron is more of a tube shape. It fits pretty snug and with a belt it gives you more of your waist.

The New apron is the purple one. The Old Apron is the blue one. You can see a vast difference in the shape here on the dress form..umm..ignore how really wrinkled the purple is. Its been pressed out..honestly.

Upclose shot of the decorative stitching. I was more or less making it up as I went along.

The Under Tunic/Dress really isn't that exciting so I just took a photo of the neckline. I was pretty happy with you neat I got the trim to look.
Tomorrow I'll be wearing this sucker completed (Weather permitting. If its hot, forget it!) Overall, Viking garb aren't really my style, but I have to admit, they're a lot of fun to make.