Sempstress

I’m a very lucky girl. You know why? Because I’ve had some absolutely amazing clients in my life. (Don’t get me wrong – I’ve had the other kind, too. I just try not to focus on those.) I’ve just had the most life-affirming September/October I can remember. I had not just one, but three fantastically amazing clients who were all surprisingly ok with the fact that they were all happening at once. One of these clients was Leah, who shall hereafter be known as the Calmest Bride Ever(tm). Seriously, brides are the reason I try to stay away from bridal work. ;) But I somehow got one who was sure she wanted me to do her dress, was able to articulate what she wanted perfectly, and then said, “You’re a pro; I completely trust you to do whatever you think is best.” Wow. Like I said: I’m a very lucky girl.

And now the wedding has actually happened, and I can finally post the pictures! Tee hee hee! :)  Read the rest of this entry »

My sweetie is involved with a faire Playtron group called The
Outlanders. They wanted to get together a group "look", and at some
point the idea that Dominic was (and still is) dating a seamstress came up.
After some talking and going back and forth on design possibilities (and vocabulary
— medieval is just not my period of expertise), we settled on doing the surcoats
in Ultrasuede and linen. Now, I know that a lot of people out there are really
opposed to faux-leathers for costuming purposes, but there are some serious
advantages. For one thing, unlike natural cows, Ultrasuede comes in a predictable
width and shape. There are no thin areas to work around. You can chuck it into
the wash. It never needs to be oiled. The colors are predictable and lightfast.
Did I mention the part about being able to chuck it into the wash? I do snuggle
up to one of these guys. Odor eradication is a serious consideration. ;)

All the fancy-pants insignia stuff if dome with reverse applique,
exposing a linen lining. Here’s a lesson worth learning from someone else’s
experience: always ask to see all the designs first. And insist that
you have the right to negotiate them. After this first batch of coats, I informed
everyone else in the group who wants one (yes, there are more coming) that there
would be an additional charge for heraldic beasts and arachnids. *grumble* Seriously.
Take a look at the pic on the far right. Sewing them was a challenge, but the
real hard part turned out to be cutting the darn things out without cutting
the backing. This turned out to be a serious foul language project. Since a
lot of my sewing time was gobbled up by hospital visits while I was trying to
get them done, my mother offered to help. I think she thought I was just pissing
about how annoying something so apparently simple could be. She learned, though.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard some of those words come out of my mother’s mouth
before…. They turned out well, though.

There were four surcoats in the original order. The fellow to
whom the scorpion belongs wasn’t there when I took the group shots. Hopefully,
I’ll have a picture of his soon. And there will be more coming, with pictures
to follow. And yes, at least one of those has a heraldic creature. :(