Ok, so where did I leave off?  Oh yeah...the kind of fabric I used.

So, the undergown....

I started with a basic bodice pattern block.  I measured the distance between shoulder tip to shoulder tip in the front to give the shoulders the spot to sit according to the pictures. 

I should probably give you all a link to what I'm talking about.  http://realmofvenus.renaissanceitaly.net/library/analysing1.htm  This site will give you a general idea of the design and where the shoulders and neckline fall.

So, after some figuring and drawing, I came up with a pattern similar to what I wanted.  I'm running short of time.  I've now got 2 1/2 weeks until the Faire.  I found some nice green cotton in my stash to cut up a mock and make sure that my figures worked.  They didn't.  So back to the drawing board I went.  I used the mock as the start this time, took a little off here and there and finally came up with what I was looking for.  I then took the mock and used it as a pattern to cut the brocade.  I included a bit more for seam allowance in the brocade.  That was a mistake!

Once the brocade was cut, basted and generally 'start finish' I tried it on.  Too long in the shoulders and too wide around the underbreast.  This gown is designed to be worn without a corset.  The breast is suppose to fit in the 'shelf' of the bodice.  Off comes the brocade and I trim here and trim there, and resew it.  It fits, in a general sense.  The left side seam is left open for the lacing rings.  I used the mock as the lining and sewed it all together.  On to trim.

I used a nice pearl trim that is about 1 1/2" wide.  But it wasn't 'dazzling' enough.  So I get the brilliant idea to bead it up with more beads.  A lighter green seed bead and a beautiful yellow topazy looking glass bead.  We are moving into two weeks left.  I sit and bead and bead and bead.  I finally finish the trim with a week to spare.  You need to remember, I have a full time job, not to mention playing taxi to the youngest back and forth to ball.

With a week to go, I take the trim and the bodice with me and every spare moment sew it to the neckline.  Once that was done, I measured out my grommet spacing to 1 1/2" on each side.  I only went with three since it sits beneath the bustline.  The grommets went in smoothly.  With no sleeves in the undergown, it was complete.  Finally...done with less than a week to go.

The skirt was real simple.  Since I was running with a cotton brocade that was designed for drapes, it had the width I needed to just sew up the sides into one long tube.  I left about 3 inches open to help me get into the thing.  I pleated it to fit the bodice and found that with this design it made me look too pregnant to suit me.  So, I took the pleats out of the front three inches and then it looked much better.  So the main gown is done.  The only thing left was to really try it on with the Italian chemise I had made and see how it really looked.

AAAAAKKKKKK!!!!  There is a big gap in the back.  It doesn't sit right on the shoulders and the neckline rides along the nipple line.  NOT what I wanted.  One week to go, and I have to really reman this gown. 

With the help of my husband, we pin the shoulders up higher and pin the right side in to where it needs to be.  This is the easy part.  The hard part is picking off the neckline trim.  Once that is done, and once the side arm holes are picked out, I could fix it.  I took the shoulders up about 1 - 2 inches, and the right side in about an inch.  Sewed it all back together and hand stitched the trim back on.  Finally, it fit like it was suppose to....with the exception of under the bust.  I wasn't sure how to fix it.  And I had 3 days to figure it out!!  Not to mention, hemming the thing and doing an overgown.  Overgown???  HA!  I won't have time to do it.  The stress at this point is beginning to get to me.  Why do I do these things to myself??

Two days to go until the Faire.  I throw the gown across the room in aggreviation.  Thinking and thinking of how to fix the under the bust area is getting to me.  Not to mention I have yet to measure and hem it.  Hel, I'll just where the old one.

Day of the faire.  Saturday morning.  I now have 4 hours to get this thing done.  Not impossible, but improbable. 

After finally configuring what I was going to do, I remembered that I still need to close the gap in the skirt where it attaches to the bodice on the left side.  A hook and eye will do that.  So I manage to put the hook and eye in the right spot.  Just enough to pull the bottom of the bodice over to hold the breasts in where they are suppose to be.  The hem was simple, and so the gown was finished, with an hour to spare. 

I had Brian help me get the hook and eye done and it fit!  Like a dream!  I had soooo many compliments from the faire goers and the characters.  Many asked where I had gotten the gown and I was proud to say that it was designed and created by me.  What a thrill!

I will make the overgown for this eventually.  It was a fun gown to make and to wear.  I'll definately be doing it again, but I think the next time I do, it will open on both sides of the bodice.

I forgot to take my camera with me, so when I get a chance, I will put the gown on again and get some pictures of it.  I'm sure you will all like it.

Posted on MySpace May 14, 2007

Two week Italian Gown

So, this is what happened.

Get a notice in our Charter bill in April about an upcoming Customer Appreication day at the Wisconsin Ren Faire.  I planned on going, but what to where.  While I am working on the Tudor style gown, it's the wrong period for the WI Ren Faire.  What to do?  I already have an Italian gown, but I wanted a new 'pretty' gown to show off my skills.  What to do, what to do?

Research began.  The faire is set in the late 1300's.  And that is the period this gown needs to be.  So, I set off looking at pictures and knowing what I region I wanted.  I didn't want a 'medieval' gown, nor did I want to 'wench' it up.  So I keep looking and studying.  Week one is now gone, and I have 5 weeks to do what ever I'm going to do.  5 weeks seems like a long time, but I don't necessarily have that type of mind.  Unfortunately, I have a full time job, and baseball has started.  So, the time ticks away.

Week 5 went in a blur, and we are now down to 4 weeks.  I find the style I'm looking for.  It's an Italian gown, empire waist, rounded neckline, undergown and overgown.  On to finding how I'm to design the pattern.  Week 4 is now gone....we are now down to 3 weeks and counting.

Week 3:  Designing the pattern.  Easier said than done, but I did manage to get more sketched ideas of what I was looking for.  I found the material I was going to use.  The undergown is in a beautiful brocade in a soft butter yellow with the design in a minty green.  The overdress will be done in a minty colored satin.  The gown that I'm looking at making is with the brocade as the undergown and the solid color the over gown.  The Tudor style is reverse.

More to come.....

Posted on MySpace May 14, 2007

April 30

Well, I got it finished except for the buttons and button holes.  It turned out wonderful and when I tried it on, it really fit....well, its a tad big around the chest, but I can take that in.  Now on to the description.

I originally was going to use the cotton/rayon fabric I had.  But when I was cutting out the body, I realized it was too slippery for what I was looking for.  A trip to Wally World solved that and I bought some nice white cotton.  I prewashed it, as I knew it would shrink quite a bit.  After drying it, I had to take the iron to it.  Those types of wrinkles are hard to get out, but after a bunch of steam and elbow grease, they seemed to disappear.

I went ahead and used the outline on the site I listed before.  When I cut the body, it got cut a bit short.  Not too bad, but a little shorter than I really wanted it.  It comes to above the knee and I wanted it below the knee.  Oh, well, it will work.  The sleeves are the right size.  Not too big around the upper arm area and there shouldn't be any bulk in the gowns sleeves, just what I wanted.  The neck line was a little tricky, but after some finaggling (yes, that is a word, at least in my dictionary) I got the style that I wanted.  It's a square neckline and wide enough not to show when the gown is on. 

As stated, I put cuffs on it.  I then put blackwork on the neckline and the cuffs, the same machine design I used on the other chemise.  With the neckline, I had to fiind a way to make the leaves go the same direction on both of the sides.  This was solved by embroidering the wrong side on one side, as the design comes out the same on the front as it does on the back.  The bottom of the neckline is low enough to not show with the gown on, but high enough to cover under the corset.  This will protect the corset from any body oils and thus it won't need washing, just airing out. 

The bottom hem is turned 3/4" and that is then turned under and stitched.  All in all, I'm overly pleased with the final results and would do this one again.  Once I get the chest area taken in a bit, it will fit like it should.  Pictures are coming soon, so be sure to keep looking in the Tudor Gown collection for them. 

Now, on to the bodice.

posted on April 24, on MySpace.com

So, after plugging away at the chemise, I finally think it's almost finished.  I have yet to put the buttons on the cuffs, but aside from that, it's done. 

On the neckline and the cuffs I did put on blackwork.  I cheated though.  I didn't want to take the time to do it by hand, so I used one of my decorative stitches on my machine.  It's a simple leaf and stem design and it turned out great!  I did take picures, but they didn't turn out the way I wanted, so I'll be taking more later. 

But....

After much research, the chemise that I've made won't work for what I'm looking for.  It will be great under my Italian gown, and the new Italian gown I'm designing (can you say....too much on one's plate?!?!) but for the Tudor style gown, I'm going to have to make yet another shift.  I've finally found the design and it's exactly what I'm looking for.  It has tighter sleeves and a lower squarer neckline.  You can find the directions here.. http://www.elizabethancostume.net/content.html under smock generator  and a picture of a finished one here... http://www.festiveattyre.com/gallery/linens/un9.html .

I've already found the material I'm using.  It's a cotton/rayon blend in white.  It will be more of a silky type of material, but it will work for what I want.  On this one, I will also be doing blackwork around the neckline and on the cuffs.  The pattern doesn't call for cuffs, but from all the research I've done, there are cuffs on a lot of them.  I'll be using a pearl button (or two) on the cuffs.  When I've got THIS one done, there will be yet another entry on it.

Now, on to this chemise.  As stated, the seams are all french seams and every seam is enclosed so there will be no raveling.  The neckline was finished by hand with a whip stitch on the inside.  Overall, it turned out excellent, but as I stated, it's not going to work for what I want. 

This was posted on MySpace.com April 17

Well, the chemise is coming along.  I've got it all sewn together using French seams.  The bottom is hemmed and the sleeves right now are open.  I have the cuffs for the sleeves cut and will be doing a blackwork embrodery (sp) around them.  The neckline will be a square neck and the binding is cut.  I will also be doing a blackwork embrodery on this too.  I've found the pattern I'm going to be using for the blackwork.  It's really quite simple.  So it should be finished soon.  I want to have the blackwork done on the cuffs and binding before I put them on.  That way, if I choose to make a different chemise later on, I can just remove them and use them on the new on.

I'm hoping to have the chemise completely finished by next weekend.  I'll have at least one new picture to post when it's finished.

Ok, so yesterday I started working on getting the new chemise done.  I pulled out my instructions from Festive Attyre and went through my fabric stash.  I found the white cotton lawn I was looking for and got it ironed out.  I measured out the front, back and sleeves.  I was a little worried that I wouldn't have enough for the gussets, but it turns out that when I cut the sleeves down to the size I wanted I had enough.

I pinned the gussets to the sleeves and sewed them on using french seams.  I knew this fabric will ravel unless the seams are finished.  I then sewed the sleeves to the front, finished with french seams and moved on to pinning them to the back piece.

Now, this pattern is simple except for when you start sewing the sleeves to the back.  That gets a little tricky making sure that you have it lined up and the sleeves aren't twisted.  But I managed to get it right the first time.  YAY for me!!  It would have been a bitch to rip out french seams!

Once the sleeves are on, the fabric starts to get a little unmanagable because of the size and shape of it.  I pinned the sides together leaving a 4 inch section open by the wrist area and sewed it up.  Surprisingly, the pieces fit wonderful, so I won't have to trim the hem line.  Sometimes I don't always cut straight, but it all works out in the end.  I haven't ironed and finished the side seams yet, nor have I completely decided on how to finish the neckline, but that will come.  Since I'm feeling better today, I'm off to work, so no sewing today.    But I will have at least the chemise finished by tomorrow eve, as there's really nothing on TV to watch. 

My mind keeps going to the gown and the beading of it.  I may break down and buy some nice red or copper beads and bead them where the diamonds meet.  That section, even though it doesn't show in the pictures, is reddish, so it should look great!   I'm also still looking at pictures to decide on how to make the sleeves and which bodice style I want.  I'm thinking that I will do the fold back "prayer" type sleeves, but like I said, I'm undecided. 

I'll keep you all updated!

on a side note.....These posts are on MySpace.com.  These have all been completed in April.

After cleansing out the bad taste in my mouth from the farthinggale, it's time to move on to another piece of the gown.  The bum roll.  This little piece of 'equipment' is designed to hold the skirt out at the proper angle from the waist.  It is not designed to make the butt bigger.  It is not suppose to make you look like you have a shelf on your hips that will hold someone's ale.  It is suppose to make the waist look smaller and hips wider, as was the style.  In fact, after doing research, it's not even suppose to sit on the waist, but a couple of inches below it.  I can dig that.  Keep that waist small, I mean, that's one reason for the corset, right?

I do more digging on line and find two sites that have similar instructions on how to make a bum roll.  Decide to combine the two and go from there.  Those sites are: http://www.reddawn.net/costume/bumroll.htm and http://www.elizabethancostume.net/index.html under underpinnings.  Both sites have a tip to use aluminum foil to get the inner curve accurate.  Aluminum foil?  Not when I have.......PLASTIC TUBING!!  Ha ha!  What a way to get back at the farthinggale from hel!  (note to self, sometimes it's better to allow someone else the headache and just BUY the finished product). 

Get out the left over tubing and pull it out of the coil it's in.  Put a piece around my waisty area (yeah, that's a technical term )  I cut it where the ends are suppose to fall.  BTW, the ends are suppose to fall at the start of the front hip bone area, not the navel.  I take it off, and VOILA!  the thing holds the shape I had it in.  Exactly holds it.  Gee, who would have thought it would hold a curve?  Heh.  I take much satisfaction in using it for something creative.

Place the tube on the paper and trace the inner part of it.  Perfect curve.  On to the outer curve.

Both sites say to make the outer curve 8" from the center back.  8 inches???  Have my butt look like it's huge?  No thanks!  So now what?  Redirect my thinking?  No, just more research. 

Found a site that recommends having it smaller.  Much more to my thinking.  Those instructions can be found here: http://www.farthingales.on.ca/bum_roll.html

Now, after doing more and more research, most tudor gowns did not have a bum roll.  But for the gown to sit the way I want, I need one.  And I also want it to support the weight of the fabric I'm using.  So I finish up the pattern.  I went with 4 1/2" for the outer curve starting at the midback point and decreased the outer edge on the sides down to 2 inches.  And yes, I did put in a seam allowance when I cut it out.  

I start digging in my stash for some white fabric.  Found a nice white broadcloth that will work.  Cut the pattern out, sew it together, turn and iron.  Easy.  Left the opening to stuff it.  Start stuffing, and the fabric rips.  Guess I'm not suppose to use this material?  Back to the drawing board.  Found a nice piece of white cotton duck and start from scratch.  Lay pattern, cut, pin, sew, turn, iron.  Wonderful.  Pull on the edges to see if it will rip.  Nope!  Cool!

Stuff the crap out of this bum roll.  Suppose to be firm, not soft.  Good thing I have all this on hand.  It would cost me a mint to have to purchase it all.  I used a chop stick to get the thing stuffed tight.  I whip stitched the opening closed as I worked until I had a very tiny hole in which to stuff the remaining bits of fill in.  When I finally whip stitched the remaining hole closed, it looked like some form of contraption that would be worn as a jesters hat, if they wore them stuffed, and not a bum roll.  Is this the way it's suppose to look???  My husband laughed and asked me back, "How would I know??"  (as if I was asking HIM). 

I take the contraption down to the dress dummy.  Over or under the farthinggale?  Since the farthinggale was a tad too long, and I had already reset the waist, I put it under hoping to make the length shorter than it currently is.  It worked.  And the last site recommended the smaller ones under.  It doesn't look bad, in fact it doesn't look as if there is a whole lot of difference, except in the back which sticks out a bit more.  Not bad for a first try.  Let's hope everything works this way. 

Now, onto the chemise.  Can you tell I'm nervous about starting the gown???

Ok, so the corset is done.  Now for the farthinggale. 

I start doing some research on line and find various sites with different patterns for a farthinggale.  They all look easy enough, but a few are complicated in the pattern pieces.  I wanted something easier.  (I say wanted, because this is done).  And for me it was a toss up of just buying a hoop skirt vs making a farthinggale.  But I'm stubborn and know I'll just make one.  No sense giving someone my money for something I can make, right?

I settle on using the instructions from Baroness Briana Etain MacKorkhill.  Those can be found here: http://www2.kumc.edu/itc/staff/rknight/farth1.htm

I take my instructions, get my measurements and pull out the white paper.  Drafting is not always an easy thing for me to do, but these are straight lines and I have an awesome work area and yardstick.  Draft up the pattern and it looks like it should.  No problem.  On to finding the fabric I want to use. 

I dig into my stash and find a wonderful piece of purple sheeting material.  I had probably over 8 yds of it and know I'll have to use about 3-4 for this project.  I get it ironed and lay it out.  Lay the pattern on it, and start cutting.  So far so good.  I also cut out the boning channels from this, as I don't want to use twill tape.  (That stuff is expensive, btw).  Sew it all together and discover it's 2 inches too small.  WTF??  Go back to the instructions and look over the pattern again.  Yup, cut it the way I was suppose to.  Read instructions again.  DAYMN!  There is no call for seam allowances, so I missed it.  Rookie mistake, but one that's easily made.  Make notes on my sheet of paper to include seam allowance.  So, now what?  Cut all over again?  Nope.  I rip out one of the seams, the one that was left open for the waist area.  I cut another piece to make up for the difference that I'm missing, and insert it.  Perfect!

The boning channels sewed in well.  And on to the boning.  I decided to use rigid plastic tubing as described on the Renaissance Tailor here: http://www.vertetsable.com/demos_farthingale.htm.  Go out and buy the recommended amounts thinking this will be finished in no time!  Piece of cake!  NOT!!

The tubing proves to be a pain in my arse!  I can't get it to straighten out no matter what I do.  When I finally think it's right and insert it in the channels, the damn stuff curls up again.  What a pain!  I even left it in the channels, put the damn thing on the dress dummy, stuff things underneath to hold it out, put weights on the bottom of the skirt to hold it down and leave it.  For two weeks.  Ok, so it should have straightened out by now.  Take off the weights and WOOF, it curls back up again. 

End up ordering a hoop skirt off Ebay, and think about getting some more throat drops to soothe the scratchiness from screaming.

As I said, I made my last corset from custom corset generator and it fit for the style gown I made.  But it isn't right for this new gown.  I need to redraft the pattern, and make it a bit smaller, as I have lost a bit of weight.  (yah for me!!)  I had also cut off the bottom point on the last corset, as it was not needed for the last Italian gown.  This gown will need the proper underclothing and that means creating a new one.

So I went back to http://www.elizabethancostume.net/custompat/index.html to punch in a few different sizes and took the instructions to redraft the pattern.  A while back, I had found a bunch of white paper rolls at a local discount store for a steal at $.25 each and bought them out!  This is what I use for creating my paper patterns.  I drafted the pattern exactly as it stated this time except for one minor change.  I made it a front closing corset not a back closing one.  I find them much easier to get in and out of.  I don't have to be a contortionist to get into this one.  The new pattern looks much more like what I am looking for and should prove to fit better.

I went to my fabric stash and found my cotton duck (that's cotton canvas for those who don't know) and laid the pattern out.  I cut two layers of this for the interlining as I didn't want to use twill tape for the boning channels.  I'm also looking for more support and stiffness.  I sewed the boning channels right into the two layers.  The bones are inserted from the bottom, so I sewed the two pieces together along the top, very close to the edge.  I then pulled out my ruler and pencil and marked directly on the interlining where I want the boning channels to be.  Yes, you CAN mark on the interlining, it doesn't show anyway! Sewed the channels and it looked good.  One word of recommendation:  Use a different colored thread than your interlining so you can see where the channels are if you miss the pencil drawing.  Much easier than hunt and stuff. 

Pulled out my bones that I have on hand, and decided to use the white coated steel bones vs the spring steel, especially in the front.  I think they give more support and a flatter line.  Besides, they're cheaper.  I haven't gotten up the nerve to use cable ties, like I read elsewhere on the web.  I had purchased the bones at http://www.corsetmaking.com/.  I recommend them for anyone who is looking for boning.  The price is great and they ship fast.

So, I put the bones in and discover that I am short a few sizes that I need.  I measure what I need and place my order.  While looking at the site and placing my order, decide that I'll also order the lacing from them.  Kill two birds with one stone so to speak.  While waiting for my order to arrive, I move on to the outer and inner layer.

I go back to my fabric stash and find a nice white linen.  There wasn't enough for a chemise, but there is more than enough for the corset.  I lay the pattern, cut it out and lay it against the interlining.  Perfect!  Glad too, as I wasn't up for cutting it again.  Bones then arrive and I put the rest I need in corset.  But guess what?  I discovered I mis-measured some of the channels so I have to order again.  GRRRRR!  There is nothing worse than waiting when you should have had it right the first time.

When the final set of bones arrive, I move into overdrive.  I'm excited to get this corset finished and try it on.  When all the bones are in, I pin on the inner and outer layer and baste it all the way around.  Now, the pattern online calls for using ribbon as the binding.  I didn't want ribbon on my corset.  Besides, no one sees it but me.  I also don't like working with ribbon as a binding, so I used double wide white bias tape.  I find I can get it to move the way I like.  I pinned it on.  Most people will stitch one side and hand finish the other.  But I've never been accused of being like most people, so I did it my way.  I pinned it on and top stitched it completely through all layers making sure to catch both sides of the tape.  One word of caution, always make your boning channels shorter than you think, as breaking a needle on a bone is a pain and makes a big mess. 

Ok, so the binding is on, tigher than if I had hand stitched it and it looks great.  Now it's time to move on to the grommets.  I personally like grommets, as I haven't gotten the hang of hand binding eyelets.  I mark along the side edges where I want the grommets to go.  They are about 1 - 1 1/2 inch apart.  I put in the grommets and it looks wonderful!  I have a professional grommet setter bought off Ebay last year and highly recommend it for anyone who has ever had problems with hand held grommet setters, or the pound with a hammer type.  These set flush and don't rip out, not to mention I can get through all layers without ripping my fabric. 

Insert the lacing and try it on.  Talk about cleavage!  But it fits better than the last one and looks much smoother.  It gives the nice straight line I'm looking for with this gown, and the cleavage won't be a problem, as it won't all show, but will give the illusion of it.   On to the farthinggale.

Well, after reading on line various other gown diaries, I thought I would try my hand at it.  The other diaries claim it's a good way to check what you're doing, keeps you on your toes and gives you a history of what you have done.  Keeping track is suppose to be a good thing, so I'm going to try it.  This will be an on going blog, so be sure to check back.  I'll be posting pictures to go with them and will let you all know which is what and so forth.

So, on to starting this blog. 

I'm in the processes of designing and creating a tudor style gown.  Why?  Well, the time period facinates me and it's a little more intense then the last gown, which is an Italian style gown from the 14th century.  This gown is also more of a challenge.  It entails a chemise, farthinggale (hoop skirt for those who are renaissance challenged), bum roll,  corset, bodice, underskirt, overskirt, parlet, and french hood.  I'm going to use a greenish diamond pattern light weight upolstery fabric for the overgown and bodice, a copper colored satin fabric for the underskirt.  Trim is still being decided, along with whether or not I'll be beading any of it.  My thought is that I will use beading on the bodice to give it a richer look.  This will be classified as a court gown if that gives you an idea.

I already have a chemise and a corset, but will be making new ones (Check the next blog on the corset, as that has been made). The chemise is designed for an Italian gown meaning the sleeves are HUGE!  I'll use the same pattern, (found here: http://www.festiveattyre.com/research/chemise.html  but will change a bit of it.  This is an easy pattern, and I found it turned out beautifully!  The sleeves will need to be shortened and sized smaller and the neckline will be changed to more of a lower square.  The corset was made using the online corset pattern generator (found here: http://www.elizabethancostume.net/custompat/  .  I adjusted the pattern when I made the first one.  I eliminated the bottom point and used very little boning.  It was my first one and I really didn't know what the hel I was doing, so it was redone.  I will also be making the farthinggale using the directions found here: http://www2.kumc.edu/itc/staff/rknight/farth1.htm .  Looks simple enough.  I will be using tubing instead of hoop wire.  This idea comes from various sources starting here:  http://www.vertetsable.com/demos_farthingale.htm.  This will also be a separate blog, so be sure to check back. 

So, on to the construction!  This will be both exciting to see it all come together, as well as frustrating, as I haven't done something this intense in a LONG time!  But I have faith in myself and know I can accomplish it.  I don't have a time set as to when this will be complete, as I also work a 'real' job.  Would love just to make costumes, but that doesn't seem to pay the bills as well as the weekly check.