Sempstress FAQ

It's official - Sempstress has been around long enough to have a Frequently Asked Questions file. Herein lies a listing of the questions that I am most often emailed or asked. I'm not trying to discourage anyone from emailing or asking, I'm putting these out for people who want to know, but don't want to email (or ask). They are listed roughly by the frequency with which I receive the question.

• I've never sewn before, and would like to make an elizabethan noble gown. Where do I start?!
• I have a school project on on the Elizabethans/Shakespeare due at the end of the week and I need to research elizabethan costume/make an elizabethan costume and I was wondering if you could send me the information I will need. Please hurry.
• Is anything in the Gallery for sale?
• Where can I get a pattern for a dress from the Gallery?
• What kind of dress dummy do you have?
• Are you hot in that?
• I've never worn a hoopskirt before. How do I ... You know ... I've really gotta go!

I get this one often enough that it's getting it's own page, Advice to Beginners.

I believe you also have a library card.... Your friendly neighborhood Sempstress actually is an occassional teacher (web development, oddly enough) and would consider herself entirely remiss in her professional duties if she took to doing other people's homework for them. If you have a specific question about an area of your research which requires clarification, or some request that makes it clear that you have put some time and effort into your project already, I will be happy to help if I can. If you are simply hoping to get your homework done for you with a minimum of fuss, I am the wrong person to contact. I probably won't even email you back. I think that's totally fair.

Some of them. The costumes in the gallery fall into three categories. They are either commissioned pieces (thus not mine to sell), gifts (thus not mine to sell), or mine (and can be yours, for the right price). If you frequent Bristol, you might see one of the gowns running around on someone who is not me. It is probably on loan to a trusted friend, or my sister. I am also perfectly happy to work for people on commission. I make one-of-a-kind items. Please mail me if you are interested.

I draft all of my patterns. They are not available from stores. Technically, you can find the pattern for most anything in the gallery (and a number of things that aren't) in my pattern folders. Just so that no one feels the need to break into my apartment and try to figure out where those are, pictures of all the patterns and pieces are available on the Parsimonious Patterns page.

Lady Jane Beige (the dummy in question) is a Uniquely You dress form. She is made of some sort of polyfoam, and comes with a little beige jumper that you are supposed to tailor to your precise size/proportions/bumps/etc (hence the name). I am terrifically happy with the Uniquely You line for two reasons. The first is that the polyfoam body of the dummy is compressible, thus corsettable (warning: you will need a damn sturdy corset for this - the dummy is compressible only with extreme persuasion...). The second reason is that the extraordinarily kind folks at uniquely you are the only people on the planet who think that I'm a size 8. Uniquely You dress forms can be special ordered through most fabric stores (Hancock and JoAnne's fabrics will both do it if you are in IL. JoAnne's occasionally runs sales on the dress dummy lines they carry, but the price advertised is not the price you will pay, as they add a shipping and stocking fee. (Because they are evil and annoying, that's why.)) I'm fairly sure Uniquely You also has a web site or something.

Depends on the weather. Now, could someone tell me what possess an otherwise sane, and possibly intelligent, adult, who is sweating in shorts and a tank top, to walk up to a woman in a 50lb velvet dress and ask, in perfect honesty, "Are you hot in that?" I will never understand this phenomenon.

(I usually don't get this one via email.) Ok, here we go. First off, use the handicapped stall/portapotty. Use one leg to kick and hold the bottom-most hoop up in back, so that you can grab it with your hands. Shake all the overskirts down so that they are contained by the hoopskirt. Pull the bottom hoop up so that you can hold it under your arms. Now your hands are free, and your skirts are contained. You're on your own from here. This one is worth practicing at home, btw.