A new Venetian adventure: The Silver Gown

[riennynn]

 Part One: An Invitation

I recently received an invitation asking if I would be interested in attending an SCA war in 2012 as a merchant. Being a part-time seamstress and a full-time grad student, my first thought was, "Oh no, how will I ever survive a week camping *outside* in full garb? How will I ever make enough inventory to sustain a week's

Comments

[melearlin]

Oh wow, a Venetian dress with a split skirt! I didn't think those even existed!

Are you getting the sari on ebay? I haven't tried saris as a source for silk before.

[riennynn]

I didn't think they did either until I poked around the Realm of Venus :) Super excited to find that style, because whenever I try the center front skirt seam with closure it invariably bunches or pulls. Plus I'm looking forward to showing off a lovely underskirt.

eBay is a great place for relatively cheap silk blends if you're willing to ship from India and don't mind that it's not pure silk. The red Venetian gown in the pictures is made from a "Benarasi" style sari patterned with gold threads - the fabric is actually usable on both sides depending on foreground color preference.

[unclrashid]

Which war? I can comment on Pennsic.. way less bugs and greater extremes of hot and cold than you would expect. The bug issue will vary for wars other than Pennsic as they occur in different locations, climates and seasons.

You also need more clothing than you expect because you can get unexpectedly wet, muddy or otherwise dirty. Though if that doesn't bother you, you can make do with less clothing. I like to bring 1.5 outfits per day, evenly balanced between suitable for average weather and either extreme. (1/2 average, 1/4 for colder and 1/4 for hotter) I usually end up wearing less of one extreme than the other, but can never predict which extreme.

[riennynn]

Thank you for the advice - it's Gulf Wars. Having never been to Mississippi (lived my whole life in northern California), I have no idea what to expect in terms of climate.

[holyschist]

Hot, possibly humid, potentially rainy...pretty much the works. You may or may not want to wear silk in that climate.

[riennynn]

Sounds like a good place to bring an extra chemise or two. Hrmmm...

[kittikins]

I can comment to both Pennsic and Gulf Wars and know several of the merchants well if you're interested in type/quality/price of merchandise which moves vs. not.

Thanks for the dress diary!

[riennynn]

Any input from Gulf Wars is very much appreciated.

It's always difficult to remember to take pictures for a dress diary, but hoping that if I start from the beginning it'll help me pay more attention to detail :)

[katexxxxxx]

Looking forward to seeing how this develops! Should be fun...

Allow more time than the maximum you think you will need! Honestly... We allowed a whole year for Masquerade, and STILL ended up sewing buttons on in the car on the way, and cutting buttonholes in the hotel room...

[riennynn]

Yipes! My red Venetian was made in a week of evenings with a bunch of shortcuts and a lot of unfinished edges. Hoping that by starting super early I won't be pinning my hem up an hour before wearing it again.

[holyschist]

I think the red looks great on you, actually, but I'm sure gray will as well! This looks like a really cool project.

[riennynn]

Thank you! I'll probably spruce up the old red (ie: finish the sleeves and adjust the bodice) to take with me as well.