Sempstress

Let me preface this one by saying that the character name is
Not My Fault(tm). I can’t remember the long version that he rattles off so fast
that the words distort as they pass the sound barrier. Seriously. Brian
is one of my magician friends (a statement that leaves me wondering when my
life got to a point that I have "magician friends" — that doesn’t
seem quite normal. Then again, a woman who lives with three cats and has been
known to sew for thirty hours straight probably shouldn’t quibble about normalcy.)
He does shows and street performances out at the Maryland Ren Faire, which I
hear actually *pays* its employees and performers. Brian wanted a moorish costume,
and he was impressed with some work I did for another magician, so I got the
honor of making this a reality. Now, I knew about it last year. I had a design
last year. What I didn’t have was Brian available for a fitting, until about
two weeks before he needed the darn thing. (To complicate matters, the mathematical
genius over here managed to sneak an extra week in between the first week of
august, and the third — I thought I had three weeks, so I didn’t start immediately.
A friend eventually straightened me out on that one, and panic ensued.)

So, basically, the vest-thing was made in a week and a half,
and overnighted on a thursday with good faith that it would, in fact, arrive
overnight. It’s made from a wool crepe that’s been slightly felted. The trim
is made up on separate strips of crepe, then applied as an edge finishing and
trim all in one. The trim is two overlayed knotwork patterns, and yes, they’re
real knotwork — the trims are twisted together throughout the patterns. The
base pattern is made from green gimp, and the upper pattern is made from a gold
trim with silver tinsel in it, and continues around the entire thing. There’s
a green sash that’s supposed to go with it, but due to the insanity that is
distance fitting, it needs to be remade.

I’ve been promised better photos, she says, in her incredibly
subtle way…..

I did a lot of commission work this year, as part of the never-ending
Quest To Pay My Rent. Now, working for others is great and profitable and all,
but it’s frustrating when you basically just want to play dress-up. ;) If I
recall correctly, in the middle of a terribly frustrating piece of work, I made
myself a deal and gave myself three days of play sewing time, if I met a set
of deadlines. This was the result.

The main of the dress is a fabulous red/blue brocade that speaks
for itself. (It occassionally shouts, actually. I don’t know if anyone had notice,
but I seldom use colors that stand there and mumble selfconsciously.) Now, normally,
in ‘bethan costuming, we end up trying to "jazz up" a plain fabric,
or use decorative elements to give a little oomph to an otherwise plain dress
fabric. This was sort of the opposite case — I was afraid anything I did might
tone down the overall effect. I settled on very thin guards at the neckline
and center front, with a wider guard at the bottom of the skirts. This is seen
more in the early reign of Elizabeth. The guards are a crimson velveteen, edged
with matte gold-tone piping. The sleeves are dark blue acetate grossgrain, with
silver trim. I mean to do little slashes on them, but that’s going to be after
I repleat the skirt (which isn’t playing well at the front in these photos),
which is going to be after I finish adding jewels and pearls around the neckline,
which I had better finish soon if I plan to wear it this weekend when I go to
MN, huh? Right. That’ll all happen. The skirt is gored, a la Alcega. The forepart
is actually from another dress, but it worked
well.

As a note to the discerning viewer, the horizontal creasing
at my waist is from the bulk of the skirt top beneath the bodice. If I’d had
the good sense to tack the front of the skirt downwards along the edge of the
bodice, you wouldn’t see that. Also, the single pleat at either side of the
front is too deep, which gives the skirt a poofy appearance. Remember, I make
these mistakes so you don’t have to. ;)

Photo Credits: Yvonne Curley — Thanks, Yvonne!

So, sometime during the season, while bemoaning the fact that
I had absolutely *nothing* to wear to faire, the clue fairy dropped in to give
me a good whack with a blunt stick and I said, "Hey! What about that grey
dress that teddy told me I should actually *finish* someday?" (From one
of last year’s diaries.) So I
dug it out of the closet, and I thought about finishing it, but I’d long since
lost the fur I was going to use (more accurately, a cat left a memo on it, and
it had to go byebye), and I could only find one of the lower sleeves (I swear,
I thought I only had one box left to unpack!), and I never did figure out what
to make a hat out of. So rather than finish, I wore a simple wired veil with
it, and stamped it Close Enough(tm).

There’s a great lot about the construction in the diary. It
worked out pretty ok. There’s a horridly annoying wrinkle diagonal-wise on the
bodice to remind me that I need to take it in about 3/4" at the armscye
on each side, and I should take in the sleeveheads a little at the bottom.

Beyond that, it’s a rather solid little middle class number,
and I kinda like it. I’m even enamored with the silly little veil. ;)

Photo Credits: Yvonne Curley, who takes some of the best darn
pictures… Chainmail Girdle Courtesy of Chris Kailhoffer. If you’re looking
for one, I can put you in touch with him.