not so Utility corset

I'm sewing along with the 1911 corset sew along as it's possibly the only titanic related event I'll get to this year ... however tenuously linked.  There's an 10 course dinner in the Blue Mountains, however it's the same weekend as JAFA so I'll be in Canberra. I'd love to do both but without teleportation it can't happen.

I'm going to be a little non-conformist and sew the 1918 Utility 1917 Austerity corset from Jill Salen's Corsets.  I've long wanted to sew my way through all the pretties and the less pretty, so I'm seizing the opportunity.

I'll not need to use hessian like textile, phew I can afford better than that. I'll do the patterning next week as my local library has printer issues since xmas. :(

I'm cutting out  the 1790 Jumps tomorrow :D   I'm using a single layer coutil with steel bones and metal eyelets.  mwa ha ha ha.  I'm such a lazy re-enactor.   My group's costume authority will allow it cos it's internal and not external clothing.

1911 corset sew along

I'm leaping into this one, and not because I have a titanic era event to go to in 2012.  It's because i've been intending to make one for over a year.  This is motivation to actually do, instead of think about doing.

I'm sorta kinda hoping to be the winner of the blue coutil giveaway, but otherwise I'm going to use some pinky beige fabric I bought *cough* years ago as it reminded me of early 20th C underpinnings.  I got 4 metres of it and as I'm re-organising the giant stash-o-fabric over the Xmas/NY holidays I'll come across it easily. Pics will follow

getting to re-wear costumes at Bris'nova

I've not been at all productive, dodgy health is still to bet back to normal after 6 months of glandular fever in 2010.

So when I decided that I needed a mini break with friends in Brisbane, naturally it had to be for their bonus Supanova early in November. It was a great opportunity to wear costumes that are newer than my first (and only previous visit) to the north.

There were so many fantastic costumers - as ever - and it's so nice to not have to rush madly to finish something. I used to love deadlines, and they're still effective but I no longer cope with the adrenalin rush. It now makes me feel ill rather than excited. So it's great to have a wardrobe of costumes to raid.

There were quite a few Poison Ivy's (Val Kilmer was one of the major guests) and this is the best Poison Ivy costume that I've *ever* seen. Sexy and elegant.

A dodgy photo as it was my first outing with a new camera but I heart Monkey.

On Saturday I wore Dolores - not everyone recognised her either. But those that did loved it. I really wish I had a better wig, but at least my hair blended in with it more, so no obvious brunette edges with a pink wig.

Plus I got to squeee over my fave Amy Pond costume of the event.  Loved that she had a Jenny with her too.












On Saturday my friends were in these costumes (an anime character who's name I keep getting wrong Sabre something, and steampunk)

Sunday we went Disney.
Ariel:

  

Jane (from Tarzan)




















and a group photo Left is Jane, Front :(can I remember the cheerleaders from Captain America movie),  Back: a fave aussie author Marianne de Pierres and Right: me in Cinderella's fairygodmother,

Dolores was smooth sewing - easy-peasy

Sunday morning I had to sew all of the collar, edge the strips for fabric bows and pop in some small shoulder pads.   My shoes weren't left long enough, that is I should have had them done several days before and not 24 hours in winter. ie cooler.  So a couple of spots the new colour has been damaged (they wanted to stick together if I'd left them).  I'll probably touch them up fairly soon.




Thinks I'm not happy with, the fabric 'relaxed' as I wore it so that it ended up wider than I would like.  A clue should have been that it ended up about 2-3" longer than it was drafted.  I'd realy aimed to have it proportionally the same length as Imelda Staunton's ensembles.

The group I made the costume for, met to have a photo shoot at Sydney's oldest university - lots of sandstone buildings. One of the rooms was open so we took the opportunity for a group shot.

the best of the shoes I've made

I designed, drafted, stitched & lasted them.  I also built up the lasts to fit my feet ... and my teachers were suprised how accurately I was able to mirror image the sanding - purely by eyeball.  Actually they were dead impressed, especially when I got out the tape measure and they were spot on.  It helps to be visually dominant.

These are the shoes I'm most proud of.  I mostly made sandals as it's almost impossible to buy them for my bricklike feet. I made a couple of disasters (wedge mules that were ugly fugly clumpen disasters and I only recently threw away).  Now I wish I'd taken decent photos of my sandals (all 11 of them) when they were shiny & new ...and before they'd had a few years of use.



another pic, just cos

Redcoats & Convicts at Hyde Park Barracks

The re-enactment group I'm in  was asked to be convicts for the day as they were needed for the event as much as Redcoats.  I don't have british naval kit so I wore my newish open robe & crazy cap and played at an older version of Sarah Rose, transported for 14 years for stealing fabric & lace. 




At lunchtime-ish we convicts got to have a feast that was to re-create the celebration in 1818 for King Williams birthday  put on by Governor Macquarie.  It was all "men" at the feast cos there wouldn't have been any women at it back in 1818,  though I did sneak in before it was properly over to the scandal of the cooks.
 

We even had someone play Gov Macquarie's role so later in the afternoon I went up & asked him for permission to get married as convict women had to get the Gov's permission.  He kept asking if my intended was of good character & all I could care about was that he had land! 
I did get my photo with a proper lady, who probably wouldn't have been at the prison barracks back in 1818 but the organisers wanted a broader social status range at the event.  The other person played a convict pick pocket hence why he was getting closer to pinch something off her person.

two Lamias at Sydney Supanova

I'm hoping to be able to find & afford to replace the bemsilk for real silk suffolk puffs on the bodice. It was the best option at the time, to simply get Lamia to a wearable stage. Given that I only bought the lining fabrics on Thursday evening and spent quite a bit of Saturday at Supanova sitting at the back of guest panels making the puffs, it could be far worse.  I had another 20 that I could have sewn onto it, but I'd reached midnight, which was my self imposed deadline.

After dying all the other fabrics, drafting the bodice twice, well I had so many silly things go wrong that I was starting to think it was jinxed.  In a couple of months I'm visiting a silk shop (interstate) that has big range of real silk linings.

I also need to get a better wig ... this was the 2nd one I bought and I'm still not happy.  The first was too brassy so I looked jaundiced nor do I look all pink in the face, plus wig #1 turned out to be a small skull size and mine is broad scale.  Wig #2 is too pale and not wavy enough but at least I'm not jaundiced.



Another photo that better hides the lack of suffolk puffs on the bodice.

Ironfest: Steampunk in 2011

Ironfest's theme for 2011 was steampunk, and I just had to get there for at least 1 day.

 

and I made sure to wear my grey ribbon for May - Zombie Awareness Month