Elizabeth I or bust….. A diary of a costume, long in the planning and now with a deadline.

OK, So I’m jumping on the bandwaggon of doing a costume diary. I’ve been following Missa, Sarah and Jen’s dress diaries for absolute yonks and love the things. Karen’s To Dress a Queen diary has recently joined the list as has Nicole’s Queen of Shadows diary, well I decided I’d like to join in too.

I’ve een planning (off and on in a sort of pipe-dream type of way) this costume since around 1993 or 1994, but somehow (as with many of the costumes I plan) I never quite gor around to starting the thing. The advent of the Elizabethan Lady’s wardrobe set from Margo Anderson’s Historic Costume Patterns brought it all a step closer. That, combined with the fact that I promised Karen I would be at Costume Con 2003 in Chicago and really wanted a new costume to present there decided me to get a move on and make the thing.

But I still needed something to keep me on track…. and The Costume Classroom provided that in the form of the classes Stephen Bergdahl teaches on making Elizabethan underpinnings and gowns using Margo Anderson’s patterns. A class schedule to make sure I actually got on with the work instead of mearly meaning to but not quite getting around to it.

So earlier this year I enrolled in the underpinnings class and produced the smock, corset, farthingale and bum-roll shown here. The corset and bum-roll are from heringbone weave linen from Whaleys (Bradford) Ltd (given to me by Stevie Gamble when she had it left over from a decorating project) and dyed in my washing machine using Dylon Machine dye (I happened to have a pack of Lilac sitting on my dyes shelf). It is boned with quarter inch plastic-coated steel, bought ready cut to size with the ends finished from Devine & Co. corset making suppliers in Southend, England. It is edged in red cotton bias binding (because I had a lot of it sitting in my sewing stash) and the eyelets are washer-backed metal ones sold for leatherworking purposes by Batchelors in Islington, London. They’re quicker and easier than hand sewn ones, I’ve never had any problems with them pulling out and they can always be sewn over to disguise the fact that they’re not period if anyone’s likely to inspect the underwear of the costume that closely (and if they did that they’d see that all the boning chanels are machine sewn anyway…)

The bum roll was originally made in matching red cotton to the farthingale – but I had a slight disaster with it. When I tried it on, it ripped clean around the middle leaving me holding two red horns with stuffing sticking out of the wide ends. It had split along the grain of the fabric from where I had clipped the curves in the seam allowance before turning the bum-roll through to stuff it. I didn’t have enough cotton left and the linen is sturdier, so I cut the Mark2 Bum-Roll from the linen and added stripes of red ribbon around it to make it fit more with the lilac and red colour scheme.

The farthingale is made of red cotton (a bargain from the Croft Mill catalogue). The reason I didn’t have enough of the red left to make a second bum-roll is because this farthingale is also Mark2. The Mark1 came out shaped more like 18^th Century panniers than a 16^th Century farthingale. Through a combination of getting the side gussets the wrong way around and getting the boning chanels for the hoops uneven (so that they dipped slightly on the side gussets) I ended up with a decidedly oval shape to the garment. It was easier to cut a new one and start sewing from scratch than it would have been to find the time to unpick and re-sew the failed Mark1, besides, this way I have a ready made set of panniers if I ever feel the need to do an 18^th century gown for someone… Sneaky eh?

The smock (another cotton bargain from Croft Mill) worked OK except that I really should have checked what size neckline I needed before cutting and sewing it. It’s slightly wider and lower than I would have chosen otherwise. I think I should have done the size 12 or 14 neckline rather than sticking with the size 16 (which is the size that the garment itself was made up in). As it was, the extra work of producing the Mark2 Farthingale and the Mark2 Bum-Roll set e bak behind the rest of the class so it was a good thing I didn’t stop to redo the smock as well.

Anyhow, they’re all mostly done. It took me most of the rest of the summer to get around to finishing the last bits, but they’re done, so I enrolled in Stephen’s next class to encourage me to make the gown to go over them.

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Monday 4^th November 2002

Well, I've read through the first lesson and need to get home and re-take my measurements and re-read the instruction manual (I read it all when I first got the patterns but that was back when they first came out so it's a bit foggy now).

In some ways I'm very lucky in this project in that I know the character I'm making this for is nobility - about as high nobility as it's possible to get because the character is described as being dressed as Elizabeth I - so sumptury laws aren't a problem to consider (for this foray into Elizabethan gowns at least).

The problems arise in choice of fabrics from my stash. I was too busy to take part in the Iron Dress competition on Margo’s list (and had to sign off before it finished too) but decided to do the gown for this class as much from my existing stash of fabrics as possible. Besides, Tom keeps telling me I’m not allowed to buy any more fabric until I use up some of the existing stash!

Also as this costume won't be worm often nor for long periods of time (and hopefully not at outdoor summer events in hot climates) I've been considering using up some of my (small) collection of synthetic-blend brocades and damasks instead of cutting into my stash of natural-fibre ones.

The problem here being that the only synthetic-blend fabric I have enough of for the gown is a goldish/yellow brocade which does not have the most period-accurate looking pattern.

The repeat is good and the general shape of it looks a lot like the Tudor/Elizabehtan repeats, but some of the flower-elements making up that pattern look a bit too naturalistic (looking a bit more 18th Century than 16^th).

So, do I go with it anyway on the grounds that the character is actualy from a Science Fiction book so being completley accurate to the 16th Century isn't as much of an issue.... or do I throw my more precious stash into the pot and use one of my natural-fibre fabrics with a more period-accurate pattern and have a costume that might be useable for a wider variety of events?

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Tuesday 5^th November 2002

I have to admit to being one of the throw-it-in-the-washer brigade. I make most of my costumes so they can be washed. I boil all my fabrics before I cut and sew them - to get any shrinking and unstable-colour issues over with before the garments are made and they're pretty much machine washable after that.

With the natural fibre ones - if they start to look a bit faded after a while, I can always throw some dye in the machine with them and spruce them up.

With this costume, however, I'm going to have to get into a whole different mindset - most of my costumes aren't beaded and jewelled and, whilst loudly decorated, are not unwashable-glitzily done in the way this one needs to be.

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Wednesday 6^th November 2002

Shannon asked,"What are various folks going to do?"

I'm going for a full underskirt in a fancy fabric, and a removeable forepart - so it can be worn without the forepart for an alternative look, and sleeves to match both the forepart *and* the underskirt so that I can switch them for the alternate look too. I might do a bodice to match the underskirt too, so it can be worn as a kirtle/gown in its own right without the overgown.

I guess if I'm doing that, then I'm planning to be wearing it more often than I originally thought - so it pretty much means I'll be going for natural fibres so I won't overheat and be uncomfortable while wearing the outfit - thanks Shannon, replying to your question has helped me to sort out my thinking!!!

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Tuesday 12^th November 2002

No probs yet, I have finally decided on my fabrics (black ecclesiastical damask/brocade for the gown (this pattern, but in black instead of in white), with red trellis-patterned brocade (old curtains) for the forepart and sleeves.

The underskirt will be in 100% cotton furnishing fabric. I have some short lengths of "Conway brocade" from the remnant bins in the furnishing-fabrics department of John Lewis on Oxford Street. They’re a light stone colour ("Can we say, ‘dull’ children? Because that’s wheat this colour is!") so I’m going to throw them into the washing-machine with a couple of packs of that wonderful invention, Dylon Maachine Dye, and turn them into a lovely, cheerful, Burnt Orange (which is actually a very bright orange despite the name the people at Dylon have given the colour)/

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Thursday 14^th November 2002

Oh well. I got out the fabric for the forepart last night, but several others in the box with it came out too and my darling Tom pointed at two of them and said - either of those would look good but that one would look *stunning* with the black damask of the dress.

The "stunning" one *wasn't* the one I was intending to use, so now I'm undecided all over again (I pressed all three last night knowing I wasn't going to cut out the forepart then and there anyway as I still had the flatlining fabric to boil wash once the washing-machine finished dying the last of the underskirt fabric)

The choices are,

The original one I was going to use. Wine red (with that pinkish "glow" you get when the light shines through the wine glass) curtains with a diamond-shaped trellis-pattern of cream and pale green curling leaves with a little bunch of curling leaves in the centre of each diamond (the diamonds are about 3 inches along each side)

A creamy beige and blueish black brocade with a very big bold standard "tudor" repeat to the pattern (might not work as it isn't a "true" black whereas the gown fabric is)

The "stunning" one which is a shiny gold brocade with a small self-coloured pattern in a period looking repeat and *high* shine to the satin-weave making the pattern. It's also a much heavier fabric than the other too and very oppulent looking. It's a curtain I was promised five more of, several years ago, but I never got around to going back to raid Ruth Blake’s stash for them so I only have the one, which will be just about enough for forepart and under sleeves

The choices.....Aaaargh!

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Friday 15^th November 2002

Current plan (until it changes again….<g>) is black gown trimmed in red and gold, gold forepart and

undersleeves trimmed in black and possibly some red.

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Monday 18^th November

Well, I went with the gold. Cut the forepart out as two pieces joined down the centre (left a bigger peiece of fabric for the sleeves that way). I added chevron/"V"s of black velvet with very narrow red braid butted up against the lower edge of the ribbon and will cover the seam down the middle (and the points of the V's) with another strip of black velvet ribbon with red braid down bothe edges.

I'm leaving the hem until later and will put a guard of either red velvet edged in black, or black velvet edged in red once I have marked the hem.

I love Christine’s suggestion (on the class message board) of using brooches as the sleeve fasteners . Must have a word with the Guildmistress of our Beadworker's Guild about getting some brooch settings and some stones for them.

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Tuesday November 19^th 2002

I haven't got the underskirt done yet... orange cotton damask with emerald green cotton velveteen guards at the hem... won't go with the gown or forepart at all, but I'll have enough damask left to make a matching bodice and possibly sleeves so it can be worn as a skirt in its own right with those (or with a contrastingdoublet bodice) at a later date.

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Later the same day...

OK, this is more me typing it out to fix it in my own head as I've got pages of scribbled sketches and notes in the notebooks I carry around with me and I lose track of where I got to and what I decided....

The plan currently is;

Underskirt: Bright orange cotton damask guarded with deep jewel-tone green cotton velveteen guards. Skirt made of four unshaped panels of 60" fabric to avoid joining them on bias seams that cut across the pattern repeats in the weave.... Plan to make bodice and sleeves to match from off-cuts of damask and velveteen so underskirt can be worn as a skirt in its own right (though heaven knows when I'll get the opportunity as the female persona I played ten years ago hasn't been around in at least seven years!)

Removable forepart: Gold brocade decorated with a chevron pattern of black velvet ribbon edged with very narrow red braid along the bottom edge of each chevron and down both edges of a stripe of black velvet ribbon down centre. The forepart will have a 3" to 4" guard at the hem of either black velvet edged in red or red velvet edged in black. If I get time between finishing the class and wearing the costume at Costume Con, I'll also add pearls and beads/fake jewels to regular points of the brocade pattern and/or at regular intervals along the bands of black velvet ribbon.

Undersleeves: Either paned or straight (and open up back and front seam) in gold brocade to match forepart. Also trimmed in bands of black velvet ribbon edged in narrow red braid…. Which may be useful for hiding piecing seams if the gold brocade I have left from the forepart isn’t in big enough pieces to cut entire panes/sleeve panels from.

Gown: Black ecclesiastical brocade. Square necked front-opening bodice. Tabbed shoulder-rolls with puffs between tabs. Rounded waist tabs. Open fronted skirt with train. All trimmed in gold and red (or possibly silver and red if the metallic gold of the trim and the non-metallic gold of the forepart and sleeves don't look right on the same outfit possibly a mix of gold and silver since that was a very Elizabethan thing to do).

OK, that's the plan, lets see how much of it goes flying out of the window while the project is in progress....

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Monday 25^th November 2002

Well, I had a friend come over yesterday to work on some costumes and he laced me into the corset and marked hems for me – Thanks Phil!

My farthingale needs shortening as it's just too long (I really needed to add less in when lengthening it) but that's easily fixed by cutting off the hem and re-hemming it so that the bottom hoop is moved up a couple of inches and gets a tad smaller in circumference.

The hem of my forepart was easy to mark so I now know where to sew the guard at the bottom... then I started work on finishing the underskirt....waah!

OK, so it's unshaped panels of orange damask - so it can be used as a skirt in its own right without disrupting the damask pattern by putting in sloping seams or gored panels to shape the skirt. This makes it nice and easy to hem as it's on a straight line instead of a curve, and nice and easy to get the green velvet guards on neatly as they don't have to be shaped to follow a curved hem. That worked beautifully.

And I had decided to line the underskirt to give an extra layer of skirting between the hoops of the farthingale and the overskirt. Simple enough, I had lots of plain green cotton which I had boiled to pre-shrink and spent a lot of time ironing (ironing board in front of the TV and some good videos on hand to watch – any of the "Beiderbeck" series’, Buffy, Charmed, Alias, Farscape, Dark Angel etc). It was wider than the underskirt fabric so I had the choice of cutting it into narrower panels so that the lining and outer fabric would be the same width (and having cut edges to finish in the seams instead of selvedge edges) or sewing together panels of full-width lining fabric and cutting one piece so that it made the lining the right length to sew into the skirt and I only had one cut edge to finish. I opted for the latter, and it worked fine with far less wastage than the other method would have produced (one reasonable sized off-cut rather than four narrow strips).

The lining and the underskirt were then pinned right-sides together around the hem, one line of machine stitching later it was pressed and turned through and the waist edges matched up - and it looked lovely.

It was at this point that I realised that there was far too much bulk of fabric to neatly knife or box-pleat to a waistband without making a lot of extra bulk to increase the waist-measurement by several inches, so, I decided to cartridge pleat it instead, which meant I needed the waist edge of the skirt neatly finished.

‘Simple’, I thought. ‘Just turn the lining back to the inside, match it up to the outer fabric along the waist, machine it leaving a gap to turn it through, press it and turn it!’

BUT NO.... when I went to turn it back the right-way-out I realised that I hadn't been thinking in three-dimensional terms - I had sewn a lined hoop of fabric. If you turn such a hoop through a gap in the stitching, you end up with a hoop that is half self-lined outer-fabric and half self-lined lining-fabric. It simply won't turn through. I had created a mobeus* skirt!

That was last night at the point I gave up and went to bed.

Waaaaaah!

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Tuesday 26^th November 2002

So far, all I've bought for this project is a few packs of bias binding in various colours. I'm trying to make as much as possible of the thing from my existing stash.

I may have to give in and buy some plain black cotton for lining the overskirts... I was planning to dye unbleached calico ("muslin" to you Americans reading this) but don't think I have enough calico to do it. I'll have to check tonight.

On the other hand - I can seldom resist a fabric or trimming bargain - which is why I have a large stash in the first place. ‘Though recently I've been resisting more than usual, and I suppose that's fair enough considering that the stash is so big that several friends (who have moved house over the last few years) are storing some of my velvet curtain collection by having them hanging at their windows until they get around to buying or making their own curtains, or until I get around to making something from them… in which case I could always offer them a swap for another pair, from my stash, in a different colour. I do, however, anticipate a fight when it comes to separating Lissa from the purple ones that are hanging at her spare bedroom (The Library) windows... If it’s purple it’s Lissa’s. She has it on a badge so it must be true...<g>

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Unrecorded date sometime between 26^th November and 2^nd December 2002....

Well, between the unused bits of calico I had in the stash and the piece pinned up to serve as a makeshift curtain until I replace the toilet door (Don’t ask!), I might have had just about enough to dye black for underskirt linings – just. Luckily, Tom had five metres of superwide calico from Whaley’s in his stash which he let me have, so that’s been dyed black (thank you Dylon Machine Dye!!!), the skirt panels have been cut and sewn together and so has the lining for them.

I cut four panels for the skirt. The two for the back are just over a foot longer than needed, the two for the front are just over six inches longer. This is to allow for the shaping of a slight train. By way of an experiment, I shall take a leaf out of Jean Hunnisett’s books and do the shaping at the waist edge – which means I can work a lovely straight, uncomplicated hem and use straight strips of fabric for the guards rather than shaped ones.

I matched the brocade pattern up at the seams on all of the skirt panels and it’s come out rather neatly, even if I do say so myself. The lining had to be pieced but there was plenty of fabric and it shouldn’t show.

I’d still like to get all the guards on before I sew in the lining so that all the stitch-lines are hidden by the lining. The plan for the guards that I’ve designed involves black cotton velvet, about three to four inches wide, slashed with a pattern of diamond shaped holes (about ¾ of an inch across) and alternating diagonal slashes to reveal red satin beneath.

In order that the velvet doesn’t fray away to nothing from the slashes and cuttes, each slash will need to have a facing sewn to the right side and turned through the slash to finish the edges.... GULP!... that’s a lot of work!!!

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Monday 2^nd December 2002

I'm behind again. My own fault for doing a more complicated/labour-intensive underskirt than the pattern or the class called for. I have just finished cartridge pleating the underskirt to it's waistband and found that the waistband has stretched and it is now far too large so I have to do the blasted thing again... Aaaargh!

I was away for the weekend babysitting (my 6 year old godson, Jared, a 3 year old and an 18 month old while their parents were rehearsing with their band, Phoenix) and hand sewing whenever the youngest was safely occupied or napping, or after their bedtime. I finished sewing pleats to the waistband on the train home and put it on the dress-stand over the farthingale as soon as I got in and realised that it's about 3 inches too big - possibly more (hard to tell exactly how much too big as my dress-stand is non squishable so I can't get the corset on it for a correct fit, but since it is loose on the dress-stand waist - and the dress-stand waist is already too big....)

Someone on the class message-board suggested non-authentic fixes - if they don't show, I'm all for them - after all, any nit-picking garb-snark who wanted to go that far would have to get past the machine stitching on all the seams etc before reaching the underskirt waistband and I'd have killed them (OK, probably not but, at the very least, told them in no uncertain terms where to go and what to do once they got there) in the early stages before they got that far.

The real shame is the skirt works so well otherwise - the deep orange damask in all those little pleats with the band of green velveteen around the hem just looks so good... Danielle’s gonna love it!... and as it's four full panels in the underskirt, it's got a lovely amount of fullness over the farthingale - fully lined in cotton so the drape is fairly heavy and opulent looking too (not that it will be seen as the underskirt, of course, but if worn as a skirt in it's own right it will be pretty impressive, I think)

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Wednesday 4^th December 2002

As to the guards on my overskirt, I think I may just have to give in and make it now, for the sake of getting it done, and add the guards later (sewing through all layers, even though I don't want to do that), otherwise I'll fall so far behind that I'll never catch up. I'll have to do the same for the bodice guards too, which should be interesting with the boning in place! It's my own fault for planning more elaborate guards than I actually have time to make during the class.

Here we are, half way through week one of working on the bodice and I haven't finished my overskirt, my underskirt needs the waistband unpicking and re-sewing and I haven't traced the bodice pattern yet, let alone cut a calico for a fitting!

And I have a couple of costumes to throw together for my acrobalance and flying trapeze displays on Saturday (something very basic but still sewing time away from the Elizabethan) and tonight is my only one available for sewing this week anyway.

Lets hope I can play catch-up over the weekend.

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Weekend of 6^th to 8^th December 2002

Went to Phil and Lissa’s for a relaxing weekend of sewing and socialising (except for having double booked myself and needing dash back up to London for Saturday afternoon and early evening to take part in Acrobalance and Flying Trapeze displays at The Circus Space, of course!!!). Lissa and her mum, Jenny, had taken young Alex out for the day, Tom had brought some linen shirts to work on and Phil is in full-swing on Rachel’s new gown for the Far Isles’12^th Night Revel in January, using some delicious red wool bought from Ali of Herts Fabrics at Warwick Leys (the Original Re-enactors Market at the Warwickshire Exhibition Centre) last month.

I got the bodice cut in calico and tacked together, Phil laced me into the corset and helped me fit the bodice, and alter the calico and fit again etc. I transferred the alterations to the pattern and eliminated the side-seam that Margo includes in the pattern for fitting purposes, then cut out the real thing in light-denim (flatlining, with boning casings sewn to it) and the black brocade outer fabric, zagged the two layers together as one and then put the bodice together. It just needs one last fitting to determine the exact position of the centre front opening edges and I can go ahead and add the guards/trim and make it up (or make it up and then add the guards/trim, depending....<g>). As with the skirt, the guards and trim really need to be added before the edges are finished and the fastenings added.

I tried a test piece for facing the slashing on the guards. Black velvet guards with black calico facings looks good with red satin behind it. Contrasting colour guards (to provide a narrow piece of contrast colour around the edge of the slash) looks impressive but is more fiddly (time-consuming) to get arranged so that an even amount of the facing shows around the edge of every slash. If I can get some black iron-on interfacing I might try that on the back of the velvet and just leaving the slashes cut and unfinished at the edges to see if the interfacing will stop (or at least minimise) the fraying.

The real problem at this stage is that I thought I had several largeish off-cuts of black velvet left from other projects that I could cut into strips for the guards – and all I really have is a bag full of small scraps......

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Thursday 19^th December 2002

OK, Christmas is fast approaching and I have less and less time to sew. Free weekends don’t exist at this time of year and free evenings aren’t much better – what with work do’s and outings, Christmas parties of various friends and groups (I won the "Royalty" themed Fancy Dress at the Lewis Carroll Society bash last Friday).

I should have started the sleeves this week, it’s late Thursday evening already and I’m scrawling this entry on a scrap of paper while on the train home from the Christmas Tun (monthly London area SF groupmeet) and will type it up later.

Tom, bless him, passed on a piece of good black cotton velvet from his stash. I was going to dye a piece from my stash black but have already used all the pieces that were too small to get entire garments from it seemed a shame to dye/cut up a large piece just to cut guards from it. Tom has more velvets than I do (his mother and cousin joyfully produce curtains obtained cheaply while bargain-hunting at Scouts Jumble and other such events). There was just enough of the black to cut the guards for the skirt and bodice from. I could have pieced the last of it to make the guards from shoulder to waist to edge the side-back seams as I had originally planned - but decided it was easier to alter my plans a little and cut a guard that followed the back neckline and used a smaller piece of velvet, that would not need piecing, instead. Then discovered I needed to piece it at the centre back anyway....<sigh>

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Monday 6^th January 2003

Contrary to my plans to get my gown and sleeves together over the Christmas/New-Year break (20th December until 5th January with no plans to go anywhere or have visitors was plenty of time, or so I thought!). I managed to spend the entire time trying to finish the redecorating of our hallway, stairwell and landing (Failed at that too - accidentally bringing down the ceiling of the hallway has sort of caused a log-jam in the plans). Currently I hate the sight of sandpaper, masking-tape and royal-blue gloss paint.

All the costuming I managed to find time for was...

- Another bodice fitting. Boy, did I goof transferring the alterations from muslin to pattern - it came out 3 inches too small to meet up the front! Luckily, I had eliminated the side seam so I was able to recut the front panels with a side seam (and extra seam allowance) cut new side-back panels from off-cuts (with extra seam allowance at the side seams) and save the bodice.

- Repleating the underskirt to a new (non-stretch) waistband and finishing it including the fastenings at the waist. It looks lovely.

- Transferring the slashing pattern to the guards and start facing a few of them. One quarter of the skirt guards done so far (half of the diagonal slashes and none of the diamon-shaped holes, yet)

- Shortening the farthingale to a reasonable height from the floor (but then discovering it’s still a tad too long for the underskirt – those cartridge pleats give a good spring out from the waistband but that take up overall length!

So, I still have the sleeves to start and everything but the underskirt to finish! Still, Danielle and Michael arrive on Saturday and will be here until the end of the month – Great!. Encouragement to get sewing form my Evil Costuming Twin and the perfect excuse to postpone any more redecorating – visitors!

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Wenesday 15^th January 2003

Phil, Barbara and John came over on Saturday. Phil and Barbara to sew and socialise and John, bless him, to have a look at our telephone cabling (which was old, covered in various layers of paint and coming loose at the ends – which worried us). Barbara and John didn’t stay long. The silver trim on Barbara’s dusky pink velvet bodice and sleeves is looking very nice.

Phil worked on Rachel’s new Tudor gown for 12^th night. The removable fur-turnbacks make them sit far better (as do the drapery weights he’s put in to the sleeves themselves to help the gold velvet (currently hidden by the fur) sit right without the fur cuffs to weight it down…. Lots of hand-sewing for Phil to do, however. Tacking the fur in place, adding the fastenings to the stomacher, adjusting the front opening of the skirt and sewing down the turn-under that was necessary to get it to sit in a wide-enough inverted "V" shape.

I plugged away at the slashes on the guards.

Danielle and Michael arrived at Heathrow late Sunday morning, so it was early afternoon by the time we collected them from the airport and got home. Then we needed lunch (and silly me had remembered that Danielle is allergic to Pork but forgotten she can’t eat red-meat at all and done a lamb stew… Doh!) and then had a mad dash to the supermarket for supplies before it closed.

I clipped the latest lot of slashes and turned them through while we chatted and watched TV.

Just half the skirt guard left to do. The ones for the bodice and the other half of the skirt are sewn, fray-checked, slipped and turned through. Then, of course, I need to pipe the edges, put the red satin ribbon behind the pattern of slashing and sew the lot onto the skirt and bodice… I may follow Missa’s advice…

… with the bodice guards and hand sew them onto the finished bodice rather than try and machine sew them on in the ditch between the edge of the guard and the piping. On the skirts, however, I’m tempted to machine it as it’ll save and awful lot of hand work (*anything* to avoid hand-work!). We shall see.

Speaking of advice and useful tips, several people e-mailed me with useful stuff back when I was wibbling over not having enough black velvet, getting the guards done before getting the skirt and bodice made up (and trying to decided if different guards/decoration would work instead) and I really should have saved their messages – both for future reference and to share in this diary. It was all good stuff and I stupidly deleted their messages after replying. I do this with the majority of my e-mails so it’s an ‘automatic reaction’ to do it and I don’t realise until afterwards (usually the next day when it’s too late to retrieve the deleted messages) that I’ve done it.

Anyhow – Thanks to those that responded to my desperate wibblings with helpful suggestions and tips or just with words of encouragement. I sent messages out to several 16^th century costumers like Melissa, Sarah, Jen, Drea and Karen, and would have pestered many more if I didn’t know they were busy with house-moves, schoolwork deadlines and other Real Life calls on their valuable time.

In the same vein, another helpful tip from Missa. This time about facing all the cuttes and slashes….

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Friday 31^st January 2003

Ok, no diary entries for a while, but I've not worked on the costume much either. Skip reading this entry if you're only reading for more details of the Elizabethan outfit.

I allowed myself to become side-tracked into making a bodice to match the orange underskirt trimmed in green velvet. I was intending to revive my old tradition of attending Valentine Revel as Violetta.... until I realised that Valentine Revel (and the Annual General Meeting of the far Isles Medieval Society - of which I happen to be Head of Society) is on a weekend when I have already promised to be helping someone else at another event... Oops!

12th Night Revel on18th January went well. I only forgot to put one thing on the herald's list for Court. Most people seemed to enjoy the revel and lots and lots of people got behind the theme of "wide sleeves". Some, like me, wearing old garments that already had sleeves, some wearing old garments to which they had added wide sleeves and some in completely new garments. Mel Wilson paid her second visit to the Far Isles and the entire family (those that came to the Revel at any rate) had new outfits with wide sleeves - even the dolls that her daughters brought with them.

Rachel's Tudor gown worked wonderfully - it looks great. Phil made a really good job of it, though I think he has plans for a few more tweaks and alterations now that he's seen how it works with Rachel wearing it for a full event rather than just for fittings.

Denise used the bodice pattern I drew her and the hastily scribbled instructions and suggestions for sleeve styles to make her first medieval garb. Her Renaissance gown and smock turned out beautifully, as did the big sleeves to finish off the outfit.

On the 25^th , Anne Daniels hosted an open house for costumers. Marion and I turned up as well as a friend of Anne's who has been to a couple of other open houses and is interested in getting more involved in costuming (Yay, more victims!) who brought her two daughters along. We had a fine old time chatting, burrowing through Anne's stash of fabrics and garments in her sewing workshop, trying old ball-gowns on Marion (some of them looked stunning on her) and looking at her current projects. I took along the orange bodice but never got around to doing any work on it. Richard arrived home from work a little while before we left, so we at least had a chance to chat to him for a while, even if he couldn't be there for the whole day. Marion and I stopped off at the nice fish and chip shop at Waterloo for a fattening supper on the way home.

So that brings us up to date, I've done a few bits of sewing on the orange bodice while Danielle kept me company in the sewing-room of an evening, but not much. Danielle got some lovely black silk dupion printed with a Jacobean pattern in gold for a great price in the "reduced to clear" section of John Lewis' furnishing fabrics department (sorry Drea, its the same stuff you got in red silk when you were hear, but for half the price!), along with some beautiful ikat silk that will be perfect for an 18^th century. I picked up more of the same cotton damask I made the orange underskirt form (lots of largish offcuts and just over 13 metres that were reduce right down in price to clear the last of a discontinued colour. It turned out to be the perfect colour for the quilted petticoat to go with Danielle's ikat silk, so she has a couple of metres of it now. We had a fun time playing dress-up one evening when Danielle was talking about making the 18^th century gown and I realised that I have Rachel's saque-back gown and underpinnings, and that Rachel and Danielle are pretty much of a size. We really should have got some pictures of Danielle in it - and some of the look on Michael's face when I led her into the living-room and announced that we'd been working hard in the sewing room and had managed to get Danielle's new costume finished.

Danielle and Michael left for the airport at seven o'clock this morning, just before I left for work and I failed to get any of the Elizabethan done to the point where I could bring it with me to work on while babysitting the Phoenix kids in Peterborough this weekend... if I get to Peterborough the way the transport system in this country has fallen apart (again!) due to a few inches of snow over the last couple of days.

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Wednesday 12^th February 2003

So much for a busy weekend catching up on sewing. I have a stinking cold thing. I'm bunged up, gunky throated, not sleeping well and was so zonked, Saturday, that I spent the day in bed with a book. Sunday was little better - I managed to sew the last two diamond-shaped holes on the bodice guards and cut and sew together the bodice lining. I got as far as pinning the lining into the bodice before I ground to a halt again. I also realised that my one (pseudo) 17^th century shirt is falling apart and I need one for next weekend.

Monday, I wasn't well enough to go to my Acrobalance and Flying Trapeze classes, so I went home. I had cut out (well, torn, actually, in rectangles and squares) the shirt in unbleached calico and did a bit of sewing and pinning on it while I watched Ground Force and Leonardo's Dream Machines on TV. Got the triangular neck gussets sewn in, the facing for the front-opening-slit, the underarm gussets sewn tot he sleeves and loads of darts sewn into a rectangle of calico to make it into a curved shape for a collar.

Yesterday I took the shirt pieces to work with me and hand neatened the neck-gusset seams and sewed down the edges of the facings on the slit. In the evening I gathered the neckline onto the collar, got both sleeves french-seamed to the body and got one sleeve/underarm-gusset/side-seam neatly French-seamed.

The triangular neck gussets bother me (this applies to Elizabethan shirts and high-necked smocks too) - I can never seem to get them to work well without a lot of hassle - at first this was because I hadn't seen any in extant garments so I was making them the wrong shape (long thin triangles - too long, extending too far along the shoulder-line). Then I went to the Bath Costume museum with Danielle last year and got a good look at the ones on the 16^th century shirts and smocks there, and realised the shape they needed to be.... which is fine - but the idea of gathering the triangle into the collar-band doesn't seem right - surely it defeats the purpose - the gusset is to add some shaping in to the shoulder line to account for the slope of the shoulder, right? - So why then take away all the shaping and extra fabric at the neck edge by gathering it into the neck band? So I alternate between gathering the fabric either side of the triangle, and gathering the triangle too.... either way, I'm seldom completely happy with how it sits and I'm tempted to cheat and do a sloping shoulder seam on the garment instead.

Today, on my commute, morning coffee-break and over lunch, I have sewn down the inside of the collar over the gathered body fabric and started gathering the sleeves onto the cuffs, so it shouldn't take much machining tonight to sew on the cuffs on, finish the second sleeve/underarm-gusset/side seam and just leave the hemming and ties a the neck and cuffs to do by hand tomorrow..... I hope. It better hadn't take long since I need to wear the thing on Saturday and Thursday night is already earmarked for working on the Elizabethan gown (Phil is coming over to goad me into doing it, Lissa says she'll provide the pointy stick, or possibly a cattle-prod, to ensure he's properly equipped for goading - Ain't it nice to have friends?) and Friday night I'll be heading of for the weekend.

And, as Karen's latest e-mail reminded me, it's less than two months until we head off for Chicago, so sewing and accessorising time is running short!!

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Friday 14^th February 2003

Well, the costume has progressed a bit - thanks to Phil giving up his evening to sit in our sewing room looking through costume books, chatting and cracking the whip over my tendency to get distracted. The evening passed pleasantly enough, we chatted as I worked, listened to some of the CD’s I got from Richard Daniels in January, and I managed to get the bodice to the stage where it just needs the fastenings up the front to be wearable (of course, to be finished it also needs the waist tabs, shoulder rolls, lacing strips for the sleeves and the guards….<g>).

Phil kindly pinned the last few in place for me while I was turning and pressing the bodice lining. He’s offered to do more, but, as usual, I’m not organised enough to have more of it for him to do (nor for Barbara, for that matter, who has offered to help me with hand sewing bits on several of my sewing projects). Besides which, as this is for a competition I really should be doing it all myself.

I also loaded Phil down, when he left, with costume and feast gear for Seanan and Albert to wear at Valentine Revel and loud variegated knitting-wool to pass onto Enid for the jumper she’s to make for Seanan.

As an(other) aside, the 17^th century shirt has is now together and just needs a few eyelets sewn for the cords to fasten it at neck and collar, plus the hem sewing (that will be tucked in and not seen, however, so if I don’t get around to it by tonight, it’s not the end of the world.

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Tuesday 18 February 2003

On Saturday night while washing up at the feast for 108 Sealed Knot (English Civil War) re-enactors that Karen and Annette cooking at the Guildhall in Lichfield, I remembered that I hadn't handed Phil the Camairndryth account books to pass onto Enid….. aaaargh! I'll need to grovel big-time to her, and those who are owed money for Winter Revel too.

Friday night and Saturday morning saw my shirt finished (all but part of the hem - which didn't show when tucked into my britches anyway - and that was finished on the train home from St. Albans), so that's done out of the way, it fits, is comfy and means I have a more accurate 17^th century shirt with a removable collar so that a fancy one can be added if needed for posher-wear.

Monday I was too zonked and gunky (again!) to be safe at my Acrobalance and Flying Trapeze classes, so didn't go (gotta get rid of this cold!!!! Tom's come down with it too so didn't go to work yesterday or today, it really drains you) so went home and did what sewing I could - finished sewing the slashes on the second half of the skirt guard and pinning all but two of the facings for the diamond-shaped holes in place - but have run out of black-dyed calico for the facings so will need to dye some more before I can finish sewing them… as it was my concentration was shot so I couldn't do any more if I'd been able to. Also, I ran out of black thread completely and had to snaffle some of Tom's.

I was late getting ready to leave the house this-morning, so didn't have time to gather the bodice and bits to bring with me to do the handwork on it.... this is nothing new.

Oh well, it's home-time now, so I'm off to Leicester Square to meet Lissa so I can treat her to ice-cream for her Birthday (Rika was meant to be there too but she's only just returned to work from being ill and can barely cope with moving about, let alone exciting ice-cream, poor thing)

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