New Foundations Article Published!

13. June 2011 · Write a comment · Categories: Pictures, Sewing, Tutorials · Tags: , , ,

I missed  posting this last week but my latest Foundations Revealed article, 1903 Savoye Corset: Patent 74093, was published last week.  It’s outside of my usual area of interest but I’m very excited about this project and very pleased with how it’s turning out.

In other project related news I finally have pictures of my finished venetians.  I’ll try to get them up this week for y’all since I’ve been so slack about posting recently.  I did start my new position last week though.  It’s keeping me very busy but I’m really enjoying it.

Alterations

24. May 2011 · Write a comment · Categories: Sewing · Tags: , ,

So just a few days after my last post I formally accepted a Regulatory Associate position with the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.  I’m very excited about this new opportunity.  Since accepting the position I’ve been working furiously to get everything ready in my current lab for the transition.  I start the new position on June 6th which thankfully has given me just about a full month to make sure that everything is good to go.  This has meant though that by the time I’ve been able to make it home from work and get something for dinner I’ve been pretty much completely exhausted and haven’t been able to get much work done on projects.  But that should change in just a few more weeks. :)

To update you on the article I was working on when I last posted, I wasn’t able to get it finished during the week so I ended up skipping Tourney of Friends to finish it up and get it turned in.  I was sorry to have to miss the event but it worked out for the best (plus my hubby was able to make it and had a marvelous time).

I did finally accomplish some sewing this weekend.  I managed to finish a bunch of mending and alterations and I’m very pleased with how things have come out.  The last alteration I need to finish is altering the sleeves on an older doublet.  Sadly I’ve never worn this doublet because I didn’t notice the issue until after it was finished and by then I couldn’t bring my self to take it apart and fix it.  I finally took it apart yesterday and I think I can fix the issue with a little simple piecing.

Alterations aren’t always easy.  Over the weekend what appeared to be a quick pants alteration to shorten the waist band ended up taking close to 4 hours because both the lining and outer shell had to be removed from the waistband separately and then, due to the way the pants had be constructed, the only way to reattach the newly shorten waistband so that it looked right was to sew the whole thing back together by hand.  But it was totally worth it because the new pants fit better and I was able to use this opportunity to take out the cartridge pleating I had used originally and replace it with knife pleating which I think will suit these pants better.  Now it’s like having a whole new pair of pants!  Altering the doublet is going to take more work and quite a bit of piecing but it will be worth it to be able to put that piece of clothing into regular rotation.

Making a Decision on Some Shelved Projects

27. April 2011 · Write a comment · Categories: Culture, Sewing · Tags: , ,

May of you will recall that in February I decided to shelve several projects until I could figure out what I wanted to do with them.

Well, I finally came to some conclusions about at least two of them.

eBooks

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about it and I decided that it wasn’t writing the tutorials and eBooks that I didn’t enjoy (because I did enjoy writing them) but rather marketing and selling them as well as the self imposed schedule I was trying to keep myself on.  So, all the eBooks formerly for sale will now be freely available in the tutorials section of my website.  I will still continue to publish tutorials and eBooks (although without the self imposed schedule) but I have decided that selling eBooks through my site and blog is not a direction I want to go in after all.  I would much rather make the information freely available.  For those of you who purchased them and are unhappy with this change please contact me privately via email (alison [AT] elizabethanmafia [DOT] com) and I will do whatever I can to make it up to you.

Comissions

After enjoying a bit of a break I have decided that I will be taking up commissions again but I will be tightening up my schedule and instituting a strict “no more than one commission at a time” rule.  I will also be instituting a new set of policies for commission projects which I will be posting in a detailed “Commission Policies” section to my site.

 

New Article

12. April 2011 · Write a comment · Categories: Sewing, Tutorials · Tags: , ,

I spent last night working on an upcoming article for Foundations Revealed.  It’s outside of my usual area of work so I’m finding the project challenging and quite a lot of fun.

I did get my Venetians hemmed over the weekend so we are now only ~8 buttons away from pictures of the final garment.  I just need to decide if I want burgundy buttons or pink buttons that match the trim.

Burgundy Venetians: Current Status

01. April 2011 · Write a comment · Categories: Pictures, Sewing · Tags: , , ,

Venetians side view

While I haven’t finished them yet I did want to go ahead and post updated pictures of my new venetians.  I still need to hem the leg openings and I need to add the buttons and button holes but those are the last things I need to complete in order to finally be able to wear them.

More pictures are available on my gallery.

Costuming Fail

30. March 2011 · Write a comment · Categories: Sewing · Tags: ,

I have only managed to hem 8 inches on my pants since Friday.  Bah!  Finishing them for Coronation is not looking so good but I’m still going to try.  I only need to finish hemming the leg openings and add the buttons and button holes so it could still happen.  Happily though I won’t have to go naked if it doesn’t.

A Waist Band!

23. March 2011 · Write a comment · Categories: Fashion, Sewing · Tags: , , , ,

Last night I finished cartridge pleating my venetians onto the waist band.  The original ones were gathered but I decided to try cartridge pleating in the hopes that it would help replicate the awesome puffiness seen in the De Ghyen venetians.

Once the waist band was attached I tried them on to double check the fit and the leg length to see if I needed to shorten them at all.  Everything looks good so far and I think once I hem them up a 1/2 inch they will be perfect.

I had briefly considered taking a picture of them while I had them on last night but since they were unflatteringly only safety pinned on I couldn’t bring myself to do it.  The buttons and hemming should go very quickly though so I should have some new pictures soon.

So it looks like I really might have new pants for Coronation next weekend.  Next up is a new doublet although I’m not sure if I will be able to finish that in time.  I’d really like to but we’ll just have to see.

New Venetians

21. March 2011 · 2 comments · Categories: Fashion, Sewing · Tags: , , , , ,

Since I posted a tutorial on incorporating pockets into venetians and trunkhose yesterday I thought I would post a bit today about the pants the tutorial is based on.

I had posted recently that the first project of my great wardrobe overhaul was going to be new rapier armor.  Since I wanted to base it off of depictions of suits worn by soldiers in De Ghyen’s The Exercise of Armes I spent several hours pouring over my copy of the treatise.  While there were several examples of men wearing trunkhose, most appeared to be wearing venetians so I decided to start with a pair of those first.  Most of the venetians depicted appeared to have legs that were gathered or pleated into a leg band but a few appeared to be made with a fitted knee similar to the ones depicted in Janet Arnold’s Patterns of Fashion.  Since I’ve always like those pants but never made a pair for myself I thought this would be a great opportunity to finally have my own pair.

I decided to make my venetians out of a burgundy wool flannel which I purchased from B. Black and Sons several years ago.  The are lined with linen and the pocket bags are also made of linen.  Since many of the venetians depicted in The Exercise of Armes and the ones I was basing mine on from Patterns of Fashion also had contrasting trim on the sides I decided to trim mine with pink linen bias tape that I made myself of a remnant I had left over from a previous project.  Pictures of the pants currently in progress can be found in my gallery.

Adding a Pocket to Your Trunkhose or Ventians

20. March 2011 · Write a comment · Categories: Fashion, Sewing, Tutorials · Tags: , , , , , ,
Pocket

A pocket in my new venetians.

One of the things that has always attracted me to late 16th Century menswear is their pockets.  There are several examples of trunkhose and a pair of venetians depicted in Arnold’s Patterns of Fashion that include pockets.  Until recently though I’d always been a little unsure of adding them to my own trunkhose.  Even though I thought they were awesome I had always been afraid that if I tried to add them into my own pants that I’d mess them up and end up with big ugly holes instead of ultra cool pockets.

When I decided recently to redo my wardrobe starting with new rapier armor I decided I need to defeat my fear of making pockets.  My new rapier armor would contain the pockets I had always envied in the extant examples.

I started with a pair of venetians patterned after those in Patterns of Fashion.  I still need to attach the waist band and hem the legs but I have successfully completed the pockets so I thought I would include a tutorial on the process.

Adding a Pocket to Your Trunkhose or Ventians

This tutorial is based the Venetians depicted on p. 86 and p. 87 of Janet Arnold’s Patterns of Fashion.  That pattern was drafted up from the original and a muslin made to ensure a proper fit.

Marking the pocket slit.

1. Mark the pocket slit on your hosen based on your pattern. 

 

 

 

 

Cut open the pocket slit.

2. Cut open the pocket slit. If you have carefully pinned both sides of you pants together to ensure that nothing shifts you may cut both slits at the same time.  However, if you are concerned then just cut one at a time.

 

 

 

The linen for the pocket bag.

3. Cut the linen for the pocket bag.

 

 

 

 

 

Measuring the pocket slit.

4. Measure the pocket slit.

 

 

 

 

Transferring the measurements.

5. Transfer the measurements of the pocket slit to the pocket bag.

 

 

 

 

The pocket slit sewn up.

6. Sew up the pocket bag taking care to leave the opening that will be sewn into the pocket slit.

 

 

 

 

The pocket pinned into the pocket slit before basting.

7. Baste the top of the bag to the edge of the pants and carefully pin the edges of the pocket slit and the bag opening together.

 

 

 

 

The pocket sewn closed.

8. Stitch the edges of the pocket slit and bag together using a whip or blind stitch.  To reinforce the tops and bottoms of the pocket slit use a button hole stitch there.

 

 

 

A finished pocket.

9. Repeat for the other leg and enjoy your new pockets!

 

 

 

 

Of Mending and Many Things

07. March 2011 · Write a comment · Categories: Sewing · Tags: , ,

Life has been insanely busy this past week so sadly I’ve had very little time to blog.  This week looks to be at least a busy (if not more so) but things are looking up on the other side of Friday.

This weekend was filled with mending.  Now I’m not the biggest fan of mending.  It takes forever and it’s far less exciting than making something new but if you take the time to check and repair your clothes they will last you far longer than you ever expected (and you don’t end up finding out at the event that there’s a huge hole in your shirt!).  Case in point: Gaston has three pair of trunkhose that I would absolutely love see go the way of the dodo.  They are among the first trunkhose I ever made.  The ones I make now are so much nicer than these and I would love to replace them with new three new pair.  In fact I would happily replace them with three pair just like them if I could pry them away.  But he really loves them so whenever they rip, tear, or are in need of a button I mend them.  And they have lasted for years.

This weekend I mended all three pair of trunkhose (although it may finally be the last time because after Gulf Wars he would like some new ones!), one fencing doublet, two G63′s, washed and repaired his tabard (although I need to sew back on three buttons tonight), and made him a new pair of brais.

With the mending I had I didn’t do any sewing for myself but I did spend some time planning two new sets of rapier armor for myself.  I will be basing the suits off of ones depicted in De Ghyen’s The Exercise of Armes.  So far I’ve managed to settle on the colors but I’m still narrowing down whether I want to copy a specific engraving or if I want to take elements from multiple engravings to make a unique suit.  What do y’all think?

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