Thursday 21 January 2010

Blue and white striped rococo dress (upcoming)


As stated in the picture, the pattern dates from the end of the 18th century and can be found in "Patterns of Fashion Vol. 1 1660-1860 - Englishwomen's Dresses and their Construction" by Janet Arnold, ISBN 978-0896760264 (warmly recommended). So far I have the fabric at home and am currently fitting the pattern to my measurements. All the patterns from this book can easily be enlarged by 800% using a photocopier (which saves shitloads of time!) and then just need to be adjusted to your body (test piece from cheap cotton fabric necessary).

Well yeah, so far, so good. This is the fabric:



And as to the rest, I have just discovered that it's useless to start this project without a decent dressform. So, postponed again. At least that gives me time to re-work the corset and sew a bustle pad to give the dress the right shape. Renaissance bumroll wouldn't work well here...

Hanging pockets for rococo-dress



Voilá, finally finished! And I have already used my pockets and found them very practical. From now on I'll have to remember to make pocket slits into all my new skirts.


I know, I know - at this stage, the pieces still look like pot cloths :D The three pieces to the front are the layers the two sides of the pockets consist of: striped fabric for the outside, light wadding and white fabric for the inside. And no, the wadding is not period. The back row in the picture shows (left to right) the three stages from sewn, half quilted (diamond pattern) to fully quilted, the leftmost piece also shows part of the back.

The pockets were often embroidered with floral patterns. I designed a rather simple one (and afterwards decided to change the center rose for a butterfly, which fits the style better):



The three layers are sewn together around the edges by means of simple zigzag stitch. Won't be seen in the end. I quilted them in a diamond pattern to keep the layers closely together, then used carbon tissue to apply the pattern for the embroidery. Make sure it's centered. For the embroidery, I chose multi-coloured thread in various shades of blue. After the embroidering was done, the back of the pocket was lined with another layer of light cotton to hide the ends of the blue thread.



Both pockets were then finished with matching blue bias tape.

Tuesday 19 January 2010

Huntress (beta-version)

© Fotostyler
Okay - except for the leather-strap bra, this costume was the quick product of one day, hence the addendum 'beta-version'. I'm going to perfectionate it, especially the leggings (will be made from leather, lined with fleece) and the loincloth.

The bra-design is based loosely on "King Arthur" (remember Guinevere fighting?), but I used medium suede to cut the straps from, instead of braiding leather strings until the outcome is broad enough. Time was pressing. Two straps run round the chest, one close beneath the bust, the other one right across it to press it flat and upwards. This is a constant battle between aesthetics and physics and only works up to cup C, if you ask me. At the crossings, the straps are joined with leather strings, and the whole thing is closed by means of two strings under one arm.

Loincloth and leggings are based on Native American patterns, but adapted to avoid their getting out of place. The loincloth consists of a long strip of sand-coloured cotton fabric, the edges slightly frayed (don't cut the cloth, rip it, this gets the desired effect) that is long enough to hang down about an ell behind and at the front AND pass through between your legs. It's covered by a layer of fleece (only added for warmth, can be left aside) that does not hang down, front and back are then decorated with a piece of fur. All this is stitched onto a soft fabric belt that ties on one hip and keeps everything safely in place.

.....currently no time for the rest, will keep it coming though! ;)

Monday 18 January 2010

Eowyn's blue and brown dress (aka Refugee Outfit) from LotR

© Fotostyler
I could not resist attempting to copy this costume as closely as possible when, by pure chance, I stumbled upon (almost) exactly the right fabrics! It's not an exact copy nevertheless, but who cares, as I don't do cosplay ;P

Pictures of the original can be found here, the detailed description I discovered here. Both are very valuable pages for costume research.

For the underdress, I used my 6-parts-plus-sleeves pattern. I left the straight-cut sleeves unlined (the original version has lined sleeves) and embroidered them with pale golden thread in very simple lines. For the neckline, I embroidered a separate piece of the same fabric and, for lack of detailed knowledge as to the exact pattern, sewed the lower end flat to the dress, about a span from the neckline, and gathered the upper end to the neckline to join both layers into the neckband. Neckband is sewn flat with invisible stitches and decorated with larger, diagonal stitches with golden thread.

The overdress consists of three parts - two for the back to follow the curve of the backline, one for the front -, which I designed myself. As the dress should fit closely, you should pin the pieces together and try it on before you trim the edges of the side openings. The side openings as well as the neckline are just folded back and sewn down with invisible stitches - this only works if the fabric, relatively coarse linen in my case, can be stretched to lie flat and not crease around corners. The hem is frayed out for about four centimetres and there secured with zigzag stitch. For the side-lacing I used off-white cord (original is golden).

Saturday 2 January 2010

Literature

There's a lot of books about historic clothing, historic patterns, style and whatever. The following list is but a tiny selection of useful literature - further book recommendations that I can add here are very much appreciated! :)

For your convenience (and to pimp my blog a little) I have now included direct links to Amazon which is where you should get most of the books. As for the currently out-of-print books, try to borrow them from a bigger library (e.g. university libraries) or have a look at www.zvab.com, the biggest online exchange for used and rare books.

"Seventeenth-century Women's Dress Patterns: Book One" by Jenny Tiramani et al., ISBN 1851776311
Seventeenth-Century Women's Dress Patterns, Book 1 (Womens Dress Patterns 1)

"Seventeenth-century Women's Dress Patterns: Book Two" by Jenny Tiramani et al., ISBN 1851776850
 Seventeenth-century Women's Dress Patterns: Book Two (Dress Pattern 2)

"The Cut of Women's Clothes: 1600-1930" by Norah Waugh, ISBN 978-0878300266
The Cut of Women's Clothes

"The Cut of Men's Clothes: 1600-1900" by Norah Waugh, ISBN 978-0878300259

The Cut of Men's Clothes: 1600-1900

"Period Costume for Stage & Screen: Patterns for Women's Dress, Medieval-1500" by Jean Hunnisett, ISBN 978-0887346538

Period Costume for Stage & Screen: Patterns for Women's Dress, Medieval-1500

"Period Costume for Stage & Screen: Patterns for Women's Dress, 1500-1800"
by Jean Hunnisett, ISBN 978-0887346101
Period Costume for Stage & Screen: Patterns for Women's Dress 1500-1800

"Period Costume for Stage & Screen: Patterns for Women's Dress, 1800-1909" by Jean Hunnisett, ISBN 978-0887346095
Period Costume for Stage & Screen: Patterns for Women's Dress, 1800-1909

"Period Costume for Stage & Screen: Patterns for Outer Garments I: Cloaks, Capes, Stoles and Wadded Mantles" by Jean Hunnisett, ISBN 978-0887346651
Period Costume for Stage & Screen: Patterns for Outer Garments : Cloaks, Capes, Stoles and Wadded Mantles

"Period Costume for Stage & Screen: Patterns for Outer Garments II: Patterns for Outer Garments : Dominos, Dolmans, Coats, Pelisses, Spencers, Callashes, Hoods and Bonnets" by Jean Hunnisett, ISBN 978-0887346705
Period Costume for Stage and Screen: Patterns for Outer Garments : Dominos, Dolmans, Coats, Pelisses, Spencers, Callashes, Hoods and Bonnets: Dominos, ... Spencers, Callashes, Hoods & Bonnets

"Patters of Fashion Vol. 3 1560-1620"
by Janet Arnold, ISBN 978-0333382844

 Patterns of Fashion: c1560-1620

"Patterns of Fashion Vol. 1 1660-1860 - Englishwomen's Dresses and their Construction" by Janet Arnold, ISBN 978-0896760264

Patterns of Fashion 1 Englishwomen's Dresses & Their Construction C. 1660-1860

"Patterns of Fashion Vol. 2 1860-1940" by Janet Arnold, ISBN 978-0333136072
 Patterns of Fashion

"Patterns of Fashion Vol. 4 - The Cut and Construction of Linen Shirts, Smocks, Neckwear, Headwear and Accessories for Men and Women c. 1540 - 1660" by Janet Arnold, ISBN 978-0333570821
 Patterns of Fashion 4: The Cut and Construction of Linen Shirts, Smocks, Neckwear, Headwear and Accessories for Men and Women C. 1540 - 1660

"Corsets and Crinolines" by Norah Waugh, ISBN
0878305262
Corsets and Crinolines

"Corsets: Historic Patterns and Techniques" by Jill Salen, ISBN 1906388016
Corsets: Historic Patterns and Techniques


"Underwear Fashion in Detail" by Eleri Lynn, ISBN 1851777849
 Underwear Fashion in Detail

"The Dictionary of Fashion History" by Valerie Cumming et al., ISBN 1847885330
The Dictionary of Fashion History



"Fashion History: A History from the 18th to the 20th Century" by Akiki Fukai, ISBN 3822827630
 Fashion: A History from the 18th to the 20th Century (Taschen 25th Anniversary)

"The Wearing of Costume: The Changing Techniques of Wearing Clothes and How to Move in Them, from Roman Britain to the Second World War" by Ruth M. Green, ISBN 0952114119
Wearing of Costume: The Changing Techniques of Wearing Clothes and How to Move in Them

"Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Fashion in Detail" by Lucy Johnston, ISBN 978-1851775675

 Seventeenth and Eighteenth-Century Fashion in Detail: The 17th and 18th Centuries

"Nineteenth Century Fashion in Detail" by Lucy Johnston, ISBN 1851775722
 Nineteenth Century Fashion in Detail

"Fashioning Fashion" by Sharon Sadako Takeda, ISBN 3791350625
Fashioning Fashion: European Dress in Detail, 1700-1915 -

"The Tudor Tailor: Reconstructing Sixteenth Century Dress" by Jane Malcolm-Davies, ISBN 0713489855 
TheTudor Tailor Reconstructing Sixteenth-Century Dress by Mikhaila, Ninya ( Author ) ON Mar-30-2006, Paperback

"The History of Underclothes" by C. Willett and Phillis Cunnington, ISBN 978-0486271248
The History of Underclothes (Dover Fashion and Costumes)

"Patterns for Theatrical Costumes: Garments, Trims, and Accessories from Ancient Egypt to 1915" by Katherine Strand Holkeboer, ISBN 0896761258

Patterns for Theatrical Costumes: Garments, Trims, and Accessories from Ancient Egypt to 1915

"Costume: 1066-1990s" by John Peacock

Costume: 1066 to the Present (Third Edition) by Peacock, John (2006) Paperback

"Chronicle of Western Fashion" by John Peacock

[(The Chronicle of Western Costume: From the Ancient World to the Late Twentieth Century)] [Author: John Peacock] published on (September, 2003)

"Kleidung und Waffen der Früh- und Hochgotik 1150-1320" by Ulrich Lehnart, ISBN 3935616007 (german)

Kleidung und Waffen der Früh- und Hochgotik. 1150-1320

"Kleidung und Waffen der Spätgotik I, 1320-1370" by Ulrich Lehnart, ISBN 3980564282 (german)

Kleidung & Waffen der Spätgotik, Teil I: 1320 - 1370

"Kleidung und Waffen der Spätgotik II, 1370-1420" by Ulrich Lehnart, ISBN (german)

Kleidung und Waffen der Spätgotik: 1370-1420

"Kleidung und Waffen der Spätgotik III, 1420-1480" by Ulrich Lehnart, ISBN 3935616171 (german)

Kleidung und Waffen der Spätgotik III 1420-1480

"Das Buch der Wäsche - Ein Leitfaden zur zeit- und sachgemäßen Herstellung von Haus-, Bett- und Leibwäsche, sowie zu deren gründlicher Behandlung und Pflege unter Beigabe der erforderlichen naturgroßen Schnitte" by Brigitta Hochfelden & Marie Niedner, 1900; Reprint 1983, ISBN 3887460812 (german)

Das Buch der Wäsche

And in case you want to browse costume literature in general:


General tips for sewing costumes

Disclaimer: I'm a historian with a fondness for acting and costumes, but I do not sew my dresses for the sake of scientific research. Many of my costumes are made based on historic models, but not all of them. Moreover, I mostly use a sewing machine and only do the embroidery by hand.

- First of all, get a pattern for what you want to do. You can draw the pattern yourself (if it's either a simple pattern or you're an experienced tailor), you can buy a full-size pattern, you can change a similar pattern to fit your needs or you enlarge one from a book or from the internet. Whatever you do, you will find that in any case (except for drawing the pattern yourself) you will have to adjust the pattern to your measurements.
- When you're buying the fabric, keep in mind what kind of costume you want to sew. Do you want a soft and flowing material for it, or stiff brocade? Is it planned to be semi-transparent or lined with a matching colour and trimmed with fur? What colours match? What type of fabric feels right for your costume and good on your skin? What kinds of material (silk, cotton, wool,...) did they use at that time, and if unavailable/unaffordable, how can you substitute it?
- Never buy pure synthetic fibre, if you can avoid it. Additions of synthetics aren't that bad, e. g. wool with some synthetics can usually be washed easily without shrinking. But pure synthetics usually look like it.
- Buy enough fabric/trimming/lace etc. Few things are more annoying than fussing around because you've bought a few inches too little of whatever.
- Cut the pieces with enough seam allowance if it's a new pattern you're trying out. Makes adjustments much easier.
- For really complicated things (corsets etc.) cut the parts from cheap cloth first and make adjustments. When it fits you perfectly, use the new pieces as pattern for the real thing.
- The most important rule: Don't panic! Even if it's tempting sometimes ;-)

Well then...

As I have discovered that keeping my costume-page up to date seems to be an impossibility with my busy schedule (i. e. my complete lack of proper time management *bg*) let's try blogging. Should be quicker than encoding and uploading and designing and stuff...

I know there's a controversy whether to buy at Amazon or not, but fact is that sometimes what you need can only be found on that big retail platform unless you can afford to spend hours and kilometres checking out every store in your area (and abroad). So I will provide Amazon-links on those pages where it might be useful for finding literature, movies or material there. What's good enough for so many other blogs will be good enough for me as well ;)