(no subject)

[mandie_rw]

I think, of necessity, it's going to be Boring Sewing this weekend...I was feeling industrious at some point last week, and cut out a simple black 1950s skirt (for work), and stopped feeling industrious when I got to the closures and hem. It's a full circle skirt, which I do like the look of, but I always run out of steam hemming about a quarter of the way around. So I have to get that done, or it'll end up being shuffled around my room, as it continues to get in my way. Did about another foot of the hem on that before I got super-bored.

Then there was the pile of white linen on my floor that had half an 18thc shift (or maybe Regency, if I need that first) cut out of it, so I cut the other half of the shift out of it, and the pieces for a new 16thc smock, to get that out of the way. (I finally threw away a couple old shift-type things when I unpacked from CosCon...I hate making them, so I let them get pretty grotty before making new ones!) Which means the pieces of those garments have shifted from the floor to the back of my sewing chair.

...That's so helpful. So I'm going to try to get those done as well, hand-sewn and all. I love how hand-sewing things seems like a great plan until I've actually been doing it for an hour or so, and then I say to myself, Why did I do this, again? (No, I really do like hand-sewing things! Or I wouldn't do it, I promise.) Finished one sleeve of the 16thc smock, then got bored and decided to get myself a drink and waste my life on the internet, which brings us up to speed here!

Well, okay. I did upload the pics of my new bustle, so there's that:

(Totally looks like the bustle's sprouted chair legs in that first pic...)

And I got two of my saris in the mail today, whee! They smell like mothballs, but, you know, could be worse.

The blue one's going to be some sort of late 1960s-inspired thing to wear round the house in the summer (what, I really do wear tunics and things in hot weather on my days off! They're comfy. Don't laugh); it's rayon, not silk, which I knew and was okay with, because it's period. *snerk* The green one is stinkier than the blue one, and also a bit more worn. There are some spots I might want to avoid, depending on what I make out of it...but it's so pretty! I bought it with no particular plans in mind, but then something struck me today.

I haven't wanted to make anything 16thc for a couple of years, but inspiration has struck. Possibly. And I've wanted to make something with that orange and green combination for ages. Hence the making of a new 16thc smock. But we'll see about the gown. Still kicking around ideas, plus I want to get Arnold's Patterns of Fashion 1560-1620 first, to make sure I'm not pulling my ideas completely out of my butt.

(Funny, 16thc was what first got me into costuming, but I never bought any really reliable books, just read millions of things online. I got the Norris book for cheap, but that's all I have. I mean, 16thc isn't really my pet time period, costuming-wise, so I don't want to spend a bazillion dollars on books like I cheerfully will on 18thc books, but I want at least one decent book!)

And now I'm rambling. Back to my oh-so-exciting shifts? Nooooo....

Comments

[padawansguide.livejournal.com]

You might be able to get the stink out by putting in a paper bag and burying in cat litter. I've seen that used as a technique for getting cigarette smoke out of things. You should do a regency costume out of one of them!

[mandie-rw.livejournal.com]

Hah, that's an interesting tip! I hung them outside today, and the smell's pretty much gone, but I will definitely file that one away!

And there shall be a Regency sari dress, definitely...I'm still waiting on, er, three more saris! :D

[padawansguide.livejournal.com]

Oh good! Glad you go the smell mostly gone! :-)

[heidilea.livejournal.com]

It's funny you say that 16th c got you into costuming, because it was the same thing that got me! I really wanted something extra cool to wear to the PA Ren faire, and now I never go.

Right now, I'm on a hat binge. I was in NJ over the weekend, and I got about 5 or 6 hats from a thrift store for $1 or $2 each (one was almost 10, but it's a milan straw, and worth more than that). All of them need TLC and I hope to flip them. The gent told me he's getting some 1920s hats in that are motheaten and I'm bummed I won't be back for a while. :P

[mandie-rw.livejournal.com]

Hah, that's the PA Ren Faire doing us both favors, then, because I made my first costume to wear there when my highschool madrigal choir was singing! I didn't go last year, but hopefully I'll get there this year; I need an excuse for something 16thc!

Oooh, hat binge! That's a good deal! Shame about the 1920s hats though. :/