My Very Own “Coin ­à Coudre”

…Also known as my brand new sewing room. As everyone knows, my husband and I moved to Poland this winter, and now that our household shipment has arrived, we’ve finally been settling into our apartment.

To my husband’s chagrin, and to the detriment of our storage space, I have claimed a walk-in closet as my own! Here are pictures of my little sewing space.

I have actually already been sewing on my Simplicity summer suit in the room (more to come on that…fitting issues have been frustrating), and it’s pretty comfortable. I have plenty of room to store my hoops, past projects, and sewing notions. I probably won’t be cutting out patterns in the room, and I don’t think there would quite be room for me to get a fitting form, but it’s nice to have an entire room dedicated to my costuming!!

My Pattern Has Arrived!!

...Just in time to get packed up with the move! Too bad, huh? Well, the good news is that I got to pack up the pattern in my air freight which will hopefull get to Poland in less than three weeks. The bad news is that my undergarments, required to fit the outfit, are going slow freight, so the best you can expect to see here will be a cotton muslin in the next few months.

However, never one to be dissuaded by a move, and propelled forward by some odd sewing obsession, I WAS able to pack up a modern suit pattern wtih fabric into my air freight. Despite the fact that it isn't a costume, I think I'll put my progress on this site. Here's the pattern that will be made up in a gorgeous raw silk suiting in a dusty cream/rose weave. I got the fabric last weekend during the President's Day sale at G-street fabrics. I got everything for the outfit (lining, ribbon, fabric, zippers, etc) for $115!! I'm making view B of the pattern (the purple one) without the fringe.

Grr!!! Pattern Aggravation!!!

Allright...no, I have not completely dropped off the face of the earth! I would LOVE to be sewing, but the stupid pattern has STILL not arrived from Harriets. I sent an email to them, which bounced right back with fatal errors, so now I've left them a phone message. It's not as if Harriet's is a completely unknown website...I would have expected much better than this. It doesn't take a month to ship a pattern, especially after paying with Pay Pal.

I have a feeling that my move is going to begin before I'm actually able to get started on this project. I would have liked to at least had it cut out...but oh well. If you want to check on how my move is going, check out my brand new blog: www.daveandmelissa.blogspot.com. My husband and I will be putting up pictures so everyone can feel a bit more in touch with us once we're in Poland.

Be patient over the next couple of months: I promise I'll be sewing again as soon as fabric, patterns, and sewing machine show up in Poland!

New Project: Civil War day dress

Here we go again!! It's been a while since I've started a project...and to be honest, I'm getting ready to move, so we probably won't see too much progress on this one for a while.

I bought a great cotton print on sale during those great after Thanksgiving sales. The picture above isn't exactly like my fabric, but it's a good representation of the colors and type of print. Sort of a reddish/brown. I'm scraping the Simplicity pattern (even though it was the inspiration that led to my learning to sew). The yardages on it are just ridiculous. No one wants to wear 18

I really wanted a dress with pagoda sleeves, but the pattern I wanted didn't come in my size, and as much as I love a good challenge, I don't think I'm ready to alter a pattern so drastically. So, I've compromised, and got this pattern from Harriet's patterns. I've heard mixed reviews about her patterns: many people say that the dresses have lousy directions. I'll hope that won't be the case, because I've searched high and low, and this was about the only one I was semi-happy with. Wish me luck!

Completed Jedi Robe

Thanks to my husband for posing!

The Jedi Cloak is all finished, and ready to ship out. I finished the last of the seams today, and hemmed it up. I finally decided to go ahead and add a pleat to the shoulder area. I think the end result really looks nice, and the large spacious hood is exactly what I would expect to find in the Star Wars costume room. At a futur date, my friend might look into the matching tunics to make a complete Jedi costume (out of silk noil!), but for now, this wraps up my jaunt into Star Wars sewing.

I'm going to wait until after Christmas (to see if I have any new patterns or fabric funds) before deciding what my next project should be.

Jedi Robe: Change the Sleeves, or not???

Sleeve with a nice tuck/pleat

The unaltered sleeves

The final decision that I need to make on the cloak is whether or not I would like to alter the sleeves. The top picture shows the nice drape that results from a small pleat make right at the shoulder of the garment. The bottom picture is the sleeves as they look right now. I need advise. Which do you guys think looks better??? Again, if you need to see the real cloak, click here.

After this, I just need to finish a few more seams that are still raw, and hem the bottom to the correct legnth. That should be interesting since this is a gift, and that certain someone doesn't live in the area. A lot of careful measuring will be called for.

Jedi Robe: New Hood

The next step was altering the hood. I really disliked the way the hood on the pattern came to a point in the back. It looked a bit moroccan, but it wasn't what I was going for. I first tried to round out the pattern peice that came with the Simplicity pattern, but the hood wasn't big enough, and it still seemed to come to a point. I also didn't care for the seam placement or the pleats it used.

Instead of messing with the old pattern, I decided to make an entirely new hood. The Padawan's Guide had great directions that I was able to follow. The result was the second picture: it's larger, rounder, and falls the way it should in the back. The hood began as a large rectangle, and was gathered onto the neckline to the make the hood. On the front, the hood will even fold over a bit over the shoulders which is exactly what they did in the movies.

Jedi Robe: Altering the pattern

The gorgeous camel wool fabric for the Jedi Robes arrived this week, and the project is well under way. As a Simplicity costume pattern, it was very easy and quick to assemble. However, there were several alterations I wanted to make to the pattern to make the finished product nicer. Today, I started with the back of the robe. I noticed that the cloak was lying very flat, and wasn't draping as nicely as it could with such a nice wool. So, I added to pleats at the neckline in the back, which now helps the drape in the back.

Anna's Fabulous Silk Bustle Dress!!!

In a last ditch effort to finish the dress before Anna left town, we got together last night and finished sewing the bustle and bodice of a dress I've been helping her with. You can see several steps of the dress at her evil laboratory.

After we took this picture, we even added pleating to the edge of the underskirt. There's a little bit more trim that Anna can take home to finish on her own, but she has a completely wearable bustle gown. We were both very proud of the fit!! The bodice especially goes on like a glove, and doesn't pull anywhere! The triumph of the muslin strikes again!

Completed Civil War ballgown!!!

Completed!!!

Okay...the dress needs a little bit of ironing (and I may go back and do a bit more trim), but it's done.

I have to admit that it's pretty much as uncomfortable to wear as it looks (good lord, how did women dress in these things???). So let's see...underneath the dress, I'm wearing a chemise underneath my corset so the corset doesn't rub my skin, my hoops, a petticoat, and then the heavy lined and boned dress. There's even a little bit of padding in the bodice so you can't see my corset line. I had on so many layers that I was sweating after five minutes, and couldn't quite manage to lift my arms up. I think a comfortable day dress (cotton!!! And not 18 yards of fabric!!) is moving up on my wish list.

It is pretty, though, isn't it? And it does fulfill that girlhood dream of a HUGE dress.

Completed bodice!!!

Hey all (or the few regulars who read my page!!) :)

Did LOTS of sewing this weekend. Most of it was helping out Anna with her to-die-for silk bustle dress. Visit her evil laboratory to see pictures of the finished skirt and apron. We have a picture with her also pined into her bodice. All that remains is the bustle.

I also got a chance to do lots of handsewing on the bertha. I finished applying the bias tape, sewed on the trim, and then handstiched the next of the bertha to the neck of the bodice. And voila!!! A finished bodice. I'm going to add a privacy panel in the back, sew hooks to the top of the skirt (to keep it from seperating from the bodice) and hem the skirt. Then, I'll be able to mark this gown as complete!

Projects Moving Forward!

Hey All,

Just wanted to drop a line and let you know that I am still working on my c0stumes. I'm currently hand sewing on bias tape to the bertha for the Civil War ball gown, making fabric choices with Lauren for her Jedi Robe, and helping Anna with her fabulous bustle gown! If you haven't, you should all go see how her dress is progressing at her evil laboratory. We made all kinds of progress this weekend by fitting her in a muslin of the bodice and cutting out the entire dress (and of course, we went to the fabric store!!! muhuhuwaaaah!!). I had some pictures from cutting out the silk, but I didn't want to steal her thunder, so go look at her website for pictures!

One minor nuisance: I decided to take advantage of G Street Fabrics' 50% off pattern sale to buy the jedi robe pattern...and grr...they were sold out. What's the deal? A week after halloween and suddenly the costume patterns are gone??

Next Project: Jedi Knight Robes!

Yay!!! Upcoming project!!! My friend Lauren and her boyfriend Jeff have asked if I can make them reproduction Jedi Knight oufits from the new Star Wars movies. Since there's nothing I love more then sewing on someone else's budget, I of course said yes. :)

We'll start off by making the robe (or cloak) since it's the most expensive part of the costume. The Jedi Padawan website has a lot of great information on how to make Jedi costumes. I've already done a lot of research, and have decided to go with the Simplicity pattern pictured above. I'm be making view A (it's the one that's shown in the bright blue) but I'll alter the sleeves to make them more full, and change the hood from a point to a rounder shape with no seam down the middle.

Lauren and I have already begun to scour the online fabric stores and are considering different types of wool that might do well for this project. So far, this fabric is the leading contender. I'm failry sure the rest of the outfit will wind up being out of a nice linen of some sort unless I can find some really cheap homespun.

My Husband the Vampire

Haven't had much time to sew lately...Polish class has been taking up lots of my time. However, I did want to show a picture of our halloween costume. Dave dressed up in my black cloak and had a killer new set of vampire teeth. I think I want to go get a pair too...don't they look good? I went as his victim...but of course didn't get a good picture. We had a great time. Happy Halloween!!!

Applying the Bertha

Tonight I pleated and assembled the bertha for the neckline of the bodice. I have a picture of it pinned onto the bodice (I was making sure the pleats were straight), but it's not actually attached to the bodice yet. I have to tack the pleats into place, apply bias tape along the bottom raw edge, add the white pearl trim to the bottom edge, and then finally attach it to the bodice. Still, we're definitely into the home stretch. Everything from here out is just finished up the details.

Finished sleeves

I finished up the sleeves this weekend, so they are now entirely done and sewn into the bodice. The organza really does make beautiful puffed sleeves. I'm thinking about using my leftover organza to add a gather rim along the top edge of the bodice. I'm just not certain I have enough: I would love a very gathered, almost pleated, look.

The last steps on the bodice will be the bertha, and then finally adding a privacy panel in the back (it will give a bit more fudge room on the size when I'm lacing it up. After that, the bodice is 100% done.

The Scientific world of Sleeve "Poofs"

Alright! Now that my mother has unraveled the world of sewing with organza, the sleeves are moving forward. It takes a bit longer then sewing with another fabric because I have to take the time to go back over every seam and rip away the tissue paper I used as a stabilizer. Also, since Organza has a tendency to ravel, I'm using French seams. A french seam is a bit complicated to explain, but easy to do. It's basically a seam enclosed on itself to prevent raveling.

Robe Anglaise

AAaaaah! Someone save me from myself. If I had a million dollars...

JP Ryan, the master of 18th century clothing, has just come out with a new pattern! It's for a Robe Anglaise...a gown very popular toward the end of the 18th century. It has teeny tiny little cartridge pleats along the back, and instead of wearing side hoops, you wear a small bum roll. You can check out the pattern at this link:

http://www.jpryan.com/details/anglaise.html

I like view B. I haven't bought the pattern, and have no plans to in the near future (too many other things I would like to sew first), but ooooohh!! Maybe someday...

This is definitely on my wish list.

Bodice underway

Wow Sewing weekends are FUN!!

Before every one gets too impressed with the progress: I cheated here a bit. I actually started making the bodice months ago, and had it assembled for the most part (even the boning was already hand sewn in). What I did this weekend was hand stick on bias tape to finish the edges, and then I put on the sleeve caps.

The sleeves themselves are going to be poofy and made from silk organza. This is the first time I've worked with organza, and it's so fragile that I kept catching it in my sewing machine. Stumped, my mother came to the rescue and told me that I need to go get some tissue paper to place underneath and reinforce the organza while I sew. :) So, I'll need to hunt down some tissue paper that I can use (I suppose I could use pattern peices from sizes I'll never use).

Until next time, cheers!

Look!! It's an ENORMOUS skirt!

Ladies and Gentlemen...we have a skirt!!!

Ok, it's not hemmed, and as you can see by the hand clutching the back, I haven't sewed on the hook and eyes yet, but it's a SKIRT. Don't worry about the lace that seems to have folded itself up on the side...it's there, matching the other overskirt panels. I just need to iron it back down. I was very proud of my cartridge pleats (they make that huge poof in the back), but my pictures came out kinda funny, so I'll save that for another day.