More progress! (long and rambly)
Well, I finished all the bone casings on the LoJ bodice, and I'm really excited about it... I think it's going to come out really well. It's amazing how much stiffer it is just from having the casing on there, even without the bones.
I placed my order at Farthingales, although, due to holidays and whatnot, it's not likely to get here until this coming Friday, or possibly the Monday after. Apparently, their shipping person won't be in until Tuesday. *grumblegrumble* Also, it cost me $10 in shipping & handling for an order of $12 worth of bones and other odds and ends! That just isn't right!!!
At any rate, not having the boning means that there's only so much I can do on the bodice this week, because I have some bones that don't go all the way from top to bottom, and need to be inserted from the top. My construction plan was to stitch the bodice to the lining, wrong sides together, along the center back seam, neckline, and the bottom edge of just the blue bits that will poke out over the skirt (i.e. center front and center back). The green side panels will be under the skirt, so I was going to bind the tabs in some of the leftover green taffeta (which I really wish I could get a start on, because it's going to be a royal pain in the arse!) Then, all that needs to be done is to make up and attach the sleeves, make the (metal--not hand-worked! eyelets down the center back, and add any trim I may want.
So, after finishing the bone casings, I sat down and drafted (read: eyeballed) a sleeve pattern, made a muslin mock-up, and cut it out of the blue gauzy fabric. didn't assemble it though, since that would require putting away the piles of junk that have accumulated on the chair in front of the serger. Will get around to that today.
I also revisited my indecision about how to do the skirt(s). I have a smidge over 5 yards of 60" green taffeta, and a smidge under 4 yards of 45" blue taffeta left. The ideas I've thought of have included:
1. Make a solid green overskirt and a solid (slightly less full) blue underskirt. Looking back at the ballroom scene in Labyrinth last night, this seems to be the most like what they did in the movie. Still, I don't need to copy the movie exactly!
2. Make a green overskirt with a border of blue, and find something else to use as an underskirt. The idea appeals to me, but I don't think I really want to spend more money on this outfit. I have some purple/gold fabric from JoAnn's that I bought when they were doing their "Destination India" line, that has stripes of wide sari border-looking designs woven into it, but the purple bits are not quite opaque, so I'd still need to find something to line it with. I was going to wear my corded petticoat under all this, assuming I finish it in time, but it's white, and I think it would be too noticeable under the semi-sheer purple.
3. Make just one skirt in solid green, and use the blue to make a ruched drapey thing, like on the underskirt of the dress on p. 176 of Historical Fashion in Detail (17th & 18th centuries). This is a fun design, and I definitely want to use it on something, but ruching is just very 18th century, and the style I'm going for is more 17th century. Not that I'm trying to be historically accurate, mind you, but I am trying to keep to that general aesthetic.
Of course, all of these options also leave out the question of trim--it means spending more money, but adding more bling. It would be period (but not necessary) for the era of gown that I'm basing this off of, and I couldn't spy any trim in the ballroom scene of Labyrinth (strange, since the costumes all look so sumptuous!) Compounding all this is the fact that the ebay auction for the trim I want ends this afternoon. Eep! That, and anything I order would need to be shipped this week in order to arrive in time for me to sew it on before the masquerade. Arrrghr.
Still, I have to admit, in spite of all my indecision and frustration, it feels good to be sewing again. That, and I get to roll around on the floor in yards upon yards of shiny taffeta, which always puts me in a good mood. :)
The only other thing I did last night was to stitch a few more rows on my corded petticoat. I've got either 7 or 10 more to go, depending on how it looks when I finish the 7 rows. After that, all it needs is one seam, a hem, and a waistband. Whoo hoo!
Well, I'm off to Jiffy Lube, to give my car a much-needed oil change. The hand-sewing project will be the regency corded corset, since there's not much to do that's portable for the LoJ ensemble.
I placed my order at Farthingales, although, due to holidays and whatnot, it's not likely to get here until this coming Friday, or possibly the Monday after. Apparently, their shipping person won't be in until Tuesday. *grumblegrumble* Also, it cost me $10 in shipping & handling for an order of $12 worth of bones and other odds and ends! That just isn't right!!!
At any rate, not having the boning means that there's only so much I can do on the bodice this week, because I have some bones that don't go all the way from top to bottom, and need to be inserted from the top. My construction plan was to stitch the bodice to the lining, wrong sides together, along the center back seam, neckline, and the bottom edge of just the blue bits that will poke out over the skirt (i.e. center front and center back). The green side panels will be under the skirt, so I was going to bind the tabs in some of the leftover green taffeta (which I really wish I could get a start on, because it's going to be a royal pain in the arse!) Then, all that needs to be done is to make up and attach the sleeves, make the (metal--not hand-worked! eyelets down the center back, and add any trim I may want.
So, after finishing the bone casings, I sat down and drafted (read: eyeballed) a sleeve pattern, made a muslin mock-up, and cut it out of the blue gauzy fabric. didn't assemble it though, since that would require putting away the piles of junk that have accumulated on the chair in front of the serger. Will get around to that today.
I also revisited my indecision about how to do the skirt(s). I have a smidge over 5 yards of 60" green taffeta, and a smidge under 4 yards of 45" blue taffeta left. The ideas I've thought of have included:
1. Make a solid green overskirt and a solid (slightly less full) blue underskirt. Looking back at the ballroom scene in Labyrinth last night, this seems to be the most like what they did in the movie. Still, I don't need to copy the movie exactly!
2. Make a green overskirt with a border of blue, and find something else to use as an underskirt. The idea appeals to me, but I don't think I really want to spend more money on this outfit. I have some purple/gold fabric from JoAnn's that I bought when they were doing their "Destination India" line, that has stripes of wide sari border-looking designs woven into it, but the purple bits are not quite opaque, so I'd still need to find something to line it with. I was going to wear my corded petticoat under all this, assuming I finish it in time, but it's white, and I think it would be too noticeable under the semi-sheer purple.
3. Make just one skirt in solid green, and use the blue to make a ruched drapey thing, like on the underskirt of the dress on p. 176 of Historical Fashion in Detail (17th & 18th centuries). This is a fun design, and I definitely want to use it on something, but ruching is just very 18th century, and the style I'm going for is more 17th century. Not that I'm trying to be historically accurate, mind you, but I am trying to keep to that general aesthetic.
Of course, all of these options also leave out the question of trim--it means spending more money, but adding more bling. It would be period (but not necessary) for the era of gown that I'm basing this off of, and I couldn't spy any trim in the ballroom scene of Labyrinth (strange, since the costumes all look so sumptuous!) Compounding all this is the fact that the ebay auction for the trim I want ends this afternoon. Eep! That, and anything I order would need to be shipped this week in order to arrive in time for me to sew it on before the masquerade. Arrrghr.
Still, I have to admit, in spite of all my indecision and frustration, it feels good to be sewing again. That, and I get to roll around on the floor in yards upon yards of shiny taffeta, which always puts me in a good mood. :)
The only other thing I did last night was to stitch a few more rows on my corded petticoat. I've got either 7 or 10 more to go, depending on how it looks when I finish the 7 rows. After that, all it needs is one seam, a hem, and a waistband. Whoo hoo!
Well, I'm off to Jiffy Lube, to give my car a much-needed oil change. The hand-sewing project will be the regency corded corset, since there's not much to do that's portable for the LoJ ensemble.