Tudor WIP

Hemmed and sleeved!

Just gotta put grommets in at the sides.

It's Starting to Actually Look Like Something

 Here it is on the dress form, way too long still because UGH hemming bluuuuh.

This thing weighs a ton, too! Like, holy crap this is some heavy fabric! It's all good, though, it makes it feel...idk, real? Like, real clothing, not just cheap costume material.

Which I guess is exactly right. This thing needs to wear well, and wash well. I want to get some nice gold trim to edge it with, to go with the sleeves.

Even better, I just remembered that (somewhere) I have a dark gold snood, so hopefully I can find that at some point in the near future, too. We're still unpacking, though, so who knows when it's gonna turn up...

I'm not entirely thrilled with the way the bodice fits. Once the grommets and lacing are in, I might like it better, but right now I think I need to take it in just a bit. The shoulders and neckline are fine (for once!) but it's too big through the ribs, doesn't get that nice tight supportive quality it needs to have. I am apparently smaller than I thought I was. I think I added too much for seam allowances when I went up from the muslin pattern. :/

Also not best pleased with the way the pleats fell, but oh well. It's gonna be mostly covered by the overdress anyway.

Progress Photos from Today

 I got all the muslin patterns cut out, pinned, and then cut out again on the top fabric, which I'm almost positive is upholstery weigh linen, now. It turned out much more flexible, post washing machine adventure. Anyway, two layers each of front and back of the bodice.

Sewing + wine = much more fun, albeit with much worse fine motor skills. Got the bodice all hemmed now but for the bottom edge. Probably I will hem that before I attach the skirt? But it might not be necessary, I'm not sure yet.

Aaand the bodice thus-far, as seen over the smock. It's very very pale yellow, though the lightening doesn't show that off terribly well.

Tudor Gown - First Steps

Just put some fabric in the washing machine to get started on my first late-period garb for the SCA. I'm going to try making a fitted English gown, as seen in The Tudor Tailor. I'm a bit nervous? I made a miniature version a few months ago, to make sure I understood how the pieces all go together, but it's a huge chunk of fabric to waste, if I make a mistake.

Luckily I'm using thrift store fabrics? I found 12 yards of a heavy i-think-it's-upholstery-weight-linen at a resale shop. The pattern calls for 3.5 yards and I'm washing 4, so i've got room for screw-ups, but I'd rather not make any mistakes, you know?

I'm using the thrift store fabric for the kirtle, and I have another thrift store find to use for the sleeves, but I haven't found the perfect fabric for the fitted gown yet.

Here's the miniature version, as modeled by the lovely Claire Bear:

I haven't quite finished setting up the new sewing room, btw, but it's clearly operational! I made a mock-up in muslin of a Viking style tunic dress the other day. The pattern I found needs some adjustments, though, so I'm gonna wait until I remake it to post pictures.

(It might have turned out better if someone else had done the measuring! lol...I was trying to measure my own arm circumference one-handed...)


Kirtle fabric in back, sleeve fabric in the front:

Don't know, don't care if the pattern on the sleeve fabric is 100% historically correct, but it's really pretty and i'm gonna use it regardless of its authenticity. It's hard to tell in the photo, but the darker embroidered bits are a dark sage green, and I'm hoping to find a nice fabric in a similar shade for the over gown.

The smock I have currently is also not completely correct for the period, it having originally been used for an 18th century French fur trade reenactment that my neighbor used to do, but she wasn't gonna use it any more and passed it along to me, and since no one is gonna see it... Well, that's just one less thing I have to do.

Anyway, that's where I currently stand. Have a lovely day~!

Long Time No Post

I...admit, I kinda forgot I had this blog? I got swept up in Tumblr for a while, and it's much more fast-paced and easier to navigate...

...but I'm getting a new sewing space soon, and I'm really excited to chronicle the setting-up process, so I'll probably post here a bit more. ^__^