green_martha | Entries tagged with redingote

So, a short recap.
I'm back home, with

heileen in my suitcase... errr... guest bedroom.
The week-end was a whirlwind of amazing costumes and people and... epic fail. Including running late, an isotherm bottle, a pair of shoes, lots of running late, scissors, more runnig late, overbooked hairdresser, lost hairs, low blood sugar, lost scissors, late night/early morning driving, and a few things we won't mention here just yet. But it was amazing ! I want to make moar costumes !
I... have about 600 photos to go through, a not yet complete florentine bodice, and a ball in ten days, so this post might be a little short in terms of visual impact...

( This is just the second day )
More to come, I promise !!!!

Current Mood: sleepy

It's when you're in need of one particular fabric that you'll do stupid things. Like starting a new costume. ^^

I'm done, as in completely DONE with the redingote (hey wait ! Redingote => 12-5 is done !). I added small voile frills at the sleeves, I made a fichu, the HG is almost done with the shoes. The hat is still unfinished... partly because I'm out of black velvet. I want to refluff my bumroll a bit but have no more fluffing material.

I want to make a chemisette to make my wedding dress more day-wear appropriate... except the cotton voile is at

lady_darkstone's place. The hat for said dress ? I hacked the straw hat apart, sewed it back together... And now I need the turquoise taffetas I forgot to buy last week.

I'm STALLED ! I can't work on anything Ineed to work for June ! I CAN'T sew ! I...

... wait...

I can start something new, right ? I can be incredibly crazy and try and achieve a quick-and-dirty renaissance something by the 3d of July, right ? Riiiight ! *mad giggles ensue*
I might go to bed pretty soon, though, today was.... interesting.

Current Mood: crazy

I have a finished hat ! - minus trimmings. I need to find some suitable black fabric and to order black ostrich feathers.

I also have 25 meters of fabric. Ahem. Buuuuuuuut...
1) I needed fabric for a summery early bustle. See indescribable first exhibit.
2) They had a bolt of white sheer striped cotton voile and

lady_darkstone only wanted the half of it. See exhibit in the middle.
3) They had the blue indienne I'd been drooling over last year (but they didn't have when I went out to find fabric for my Vaux outfit. See last exhibit.
4) All of it was 3 euros/meter !!!!

Bad lighting courtesy of It's-2AM-And-I-Can't-Sleep on all pictures. Except it's now 4AM, as I took the pictures before spending some time browsing the web and finishing the hat.

I brilliantly forgot to buy black trimming fabric for the hat that presently sits on my head and fr the regency bonnet - although the guy had some !!! I could just kick myself in the but. Maybe

lady_darkstone wants to go to MT on Thursday to find her red organza and I'll pick some stuff - I brought her along today and this resulted in her starting her regency outfit. Don't you just HATE people who can just wring a mock-up in 20 minutes and one fitting ? Starting from sratch ? (as in : no previous pattern at hand, not even taking measurements or using her own shirt as a pattern base. Drawing the pieces free hand on the fabric with one eye on the reference picture for seam placement. GRRRRR !)

Do I now try to get some sleep or do I start the fichu ?

Current Mood: awake

I've been a horrible slacker at posting progress pictures, or even finished pictures. I think there might be some pictures of my hanbok on me somewhere... except I forgot to have some taken before leaving for the wedding and now I should go through the hundreds of wedding pictures to maybe find one. Huh, not motivated for that !

I let the HG work on the shoes (I THINK he's going to save them, keeping fingers crossed !) and concentrated on the hat. I'm not entirely sur emy ghetto construction will be up to par and hold for the whole day. I also noticed after assembling the buckram that the crown wasn't exactly in the middle of the brim. Oops. It should not be noticeable if I make the brim tilted sideways, but still, oops. So much for cutting in a hurry while the kid sleeps.

Thanks to the gigantic-ness of this hat, I'm almost out of buckram, and not sure I have enough to make a bonnet for the regency picknick. Which kind sucks, but since I'm not 100% positive I'll have time to make said bonnet, that might not be such an issue.

My redingote dress is done and only lacks accessories. I might want to add engageantes to the sleeves but I'm notsure yet and might just do without if I'm getting pressed for time. Left to do : finish glueing the shoes, a few stitches to the hat's buckram base, then covering and decorating it, and making a fichu.
I also fit back into my wedding dress - no need for a new dress for the regency picknick !

However, both have some issues. I'm only moderately pleased with the fit of the redingote, and I cut the skirt a little too short, and I made the wedding dress a bit too long for the period.
Perfecting the redingote's fit would be a major PITA, esp. since part of the issue is due to my shape fluctuating during the making of this (oddly enough, I gained some weight (thanks Mom for the cooking...) but can now close my stays again in front... o_O). So I think I'll just leave it this way. Recutting the skirt is out of the question - I cut it too short twice, and I don't have enough fabric for a third try - but I could add a flounce. I'm not really sure this would work with the overall look of the dress, though.
As for the wedding dress, I could unpick the seam connecting the skirt to the waistband and shorten the skirt, but I'm really NOT looking forward to also unpicking the handfinishing I did at said waistband after I attached the skirt. It really is a bit too long though, and I don't want to get my padded hem all muddy... *sigh* But I don't wanna... :(

Current Mood: lethargic

I handsewed one half of the redingote(s skirt to the bodice. My finger still hurts from putting in all those pins. I have minimal hope to have the redingote done by the end of the week. Errr... make that next week.
Now with yoru permission, I'm going to collapse into bed and pray that the kid is kinder on my backand arms tomorrow than he was today.
LJ, if you could please give me back the two user icons you ATE, that'd be nice.

Current Mood: exhausted

I had some computer issues that prevented me from posting this this morning. Gah, stoopid computer. We really need to get me a new one before it fries...

So, pictures !
Redingote in progress !

EDIT : the stomacher will NOT stay this bright green, it will be covered with the green taffetas but I need to bone it first and I'm out of cable ties.

It's coming along really well, I'm currently pleating and pinning the overskirt to the bodice, and I am soooo pleased with the fit and the look ! Actually, I only have handwork left : hemming the sleeves and adding the lace ruffle, adding boning channels and boning along the seams in the back, sewing the overskirt to the bodice. And then I can move on to the stomacher, fichu and hat. Not bad for an event in June, right ? Well, until you take into account that I actually need TWO costumes for that weekend, one of which I haven't even started...
I actually had an epiphany today, I realized one of the reason I love costuming is the impossible deadlines. Part of me strives in adversity and feels lost without and unreachable goal looming on the horizon. This part of me might or might not have said she'd be interested in adding a 60 pages translation job into the crazy mix.
I must say the kid is just adorable and has let me a lot of free time lately. He's been taking much longer naps these past few weeks, sleeping in in the morning, and going to bed around 9PM. I have some more pictures of His Adorableness, also known as the Sleeping Oger, or the Troll.
( Under the cut to spare your bandwidth )

And before I forget again, I have to tell you about my latest book purchase !

It's in French, but with really pretty pictures of reproduction costumes from 1795 to 1814. *insert drool here* I just adore the concept, the costumes are very pretty and the reading is extremely interesting. And the author has more in planning about other periods. Yay ! It can be ordered wia Amzon.fr, or directly from the author's site. The price (it's actually 19 euros, not 20 as written on the image) is the same but the author gets more money if you buy it directly from her.

Oh and if I keep track on the 12-12 projects ?
12-1 finished 1872 bustle
12-2 pirate shirts
12-3'1 redingote skirt
12-3'2 jeogori
12-4 goal : finish both the chima and the redingote

Current Mood: productive

I don't really have that much to report...
Not much happened this week in the devastated area that used to be the living room's table and has slowly become my sewing-and-other-stuff domain. I finished the front edges of the redingote bodice, added the closing strip at the waist, and started inserting the buckle at the neckline.
The chima needs a hem, and I need

lady_darkstone for that, because it doesn't even fit on my dummy. Insert moaning about my dummy's stupid shoulders. And more moaning because the wretched thing hates all kinds of bustles and is basically falling apart. Balancing skirts is getting tricky.

The past weeks have been an emotional roller-coaster, for no particular external reason. I guess it's kind of normal (at least that's what everyone, including my doc, told me) that I kind of "loosen the strings" now. Things have been cray since what... August two-thousend-EIGHT ? Crazy good and crazy bad. Ouch.

The hubby is really tired as well. The little angel, on the other hand, is fine - no strike that, he's ADORABLE ! ( Mommy's babble or How is he doing at 6 months ? under here )

This was last month, but it's still one of my faves :) I have to convince the HG to transfer the latest pictures onto the computer...

Current Mood: sleepy

(gah, I had typed this, but my browser ate it. And lolcat-speak did not make me type eated instead of ate right now. Not at all)

First of all, thank you so much for your sweet words on my little progress. I'm trying to be good and update and answer comments but... in the end it's mostly trying, and then trying to sew... I need more tiiiime !

Ok, I did manage to sew some. I have a sleeve pattenr I'm sorta-kinda-almost-nearly-perhaps satisfied with. I have a pattern for the front zone. I know where my strap and my buckles will be going. I'm not following the inspiration piccie too closely, since my buckles are so wide, I'll need to put one on a strap at the waist, and the other one up at the neckline. I'll look verry good if I manage to get it done in time. Sigh, time.

I have, however, a technical questiona bout the zone part. My redingote will close with a buckel above it at the neckline, and another buckle over it at the waist. Now how do I put the zone into it ? Do I attach it to the corset like a stomacher ? Sew it to one side of the dress and hook it.pin it to the other side ? Anything else entirely ? I am *really* unsure on how to proceed... I can't even remember how

heileen's front zone worked last august *facepalm* I feel duuuuumb... Help pleaaaaase ! *big watery kitten eyes*

Current Mood: confused

And I have pictures to prove it !

The skirt, in progress and finished. The balancing picture shows the color best. Hey wait... It's a finished garment ! I said one finished garment, even if it's just part of an outfit, counts for 12-12... OMG I already have a finished 12-3, I'm working on 12-3 the second ! o_O

And then we have the redingote itself. Pinning the stripes to match...

... and the finished back. Except for the center back seam I sewed this by hand, as it was easier to fold over the seam allowance and then just pin one piece on top of another. Plus, I love all those visible teeny tiny handstitches on the back of 18th century gowns, I actually made some on both sides of the center back seam when attaching the lining there. I could have made the stitches invisible on the outside but they just make me sooo happy. I know, I'm a little silly *giggles* but if I can be excited about my son eating carrots, I can be excited about unnecessary visible handstitching, right ? :)

lady_darjstone and I took a trip to a "seamtresses flea market" today. We didn't know what to expect but it was pretty cool. Mostly geared towards quilters, but there still were some gems. Too bad enitehr of us had some spare 200 euros... a lady was selling a lovely cotton damask victorian fabric reproduction that was just soooooo yummy. I got a little fabric : one piece of changing acetate taffetas for a corset or the like (the color was just too gorgeous to pass up), a sheer white something and a lilac and white striped cotton blend that would make a perfect early bustle bodice... if only I could find a coordinating skirt fabric. Aaaand I found two buckles for my redingote !