Tag Archives: spanish

Library demo

Yesterday was lovely 🙂 I  do enjoy displays for kids so long as the theme is very particular. So we were teaching history.

I generally don’t have that sort of hook in recreation costumes, so it winds up being a better opportunity to do activities such as read.

It was also lovely getting interesting questions from kids and parents.

So happy to hear there were people interested in the dressing a lady part 🙂 The worry is that after a full display of gothic plate makes everything else pale in comparison! So it was a relief- I really wanted the Spanish ensemble because I could have talked about the differences between male and female dress and how very similar they are in places.

But I do now have all the patterns to go through and work out a generic layer of paddings and facings.

So, I need to keep hunting for sliver lace for my Marie Antoinette- I am seriously going to look at sarees, it’s rare to find two the same but I need about 20m of lace and close to that in scrolling appliques.

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Passion project-2 1600 silver Spanish court gown before I fall alseep

Landvoogden Albrecht en Isabella van OostenrijkIts a cool name for a cool but insane ensemble I have been plotting for years. It has taken years just to get the fabric sorted! but sorted it is ????
This s the portrait that inspired it all. Well actually a copy of the portrait that inspired me. That one though is just madness embroidered in insanity…

I have discussed this on Livejournal several times so I shall try and copy the entries over here.

Or I shall just link to the tags ????

http://pinkdiamond.livejournal.com/tag/spanish
http://pinkdiamond.livejournal.com/tag/saya
http://pinkdiamond.livejournal.com/tag/ropa

So I have several layers:
Camisa (chemise/shirt)
Verdugardos (farthingale/hoops)
Cuerpo baxo (stays/corset)
faldalin (petticoat)
Saya (skirt)
Jubon (doublet)
Ruffs (ummm ruffs- haven’t tracked down the Spanish term, I really should)
Galerilla (a semi fitted Ropa or surcoat or robe) y manga redonda (hangng sleeves of a circle folded in half)

I have several fabrics:
Camisa fine linen, approx 3m
Verdugardos approx 2.2m canvas, 2.2m green ilk twill, 15m crimson velvet ribbon, 2.2m brown linen
Cuerpo baxo approx70cm linen-cotton twill, 70cm linen lining, 100 cable tie bones
faldalin 1 yellow silk saree, approx1.5m brown linen
Saya, Galarilla y manga redonda 7.5m white and gold silk and cotton brocade, 7.5m calico interlining, 7.5m silk dupion (two shades as t is partially recycled) for lining, 50m heavy bullion braid trim, 50m cotton twill tape to support the braid, brass buttons.
Jubon silk charmeause backed with cotton sateen (recycled would be approx 1.5m), 1.5m calico, 1.5m cotton sateen (both for lining), 7m wide silver ribbon, 9m narrow silver rbbon, brass buttons
Ruffs sheer linen, unsure of what lace, but will require 10m in length of fabric/lace for the neck and 1.5-2m for each wrist.

Jubon progress

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Did stuff

Bought thread, pulled apart costume for zip for Maleficent, sewed a row of ribbon on my verdugardos, tidied channels along seams on the inside of verdugardos, covered and inserted shoulder pads in my spring jacket (also reshaped the shoulders), dyed fabric for farthingale hem (firm cotton and fulled wool) trimmed Valois skirt (tore skirt, fixed skirt) reassembled skirt pinned in full silk lining.

Now I think I can have a break, but I may wind up trying to do more of my Cleves hem trimming.

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The next few months

Not hectic, but a lot of planning 🙂 And not in order of importance.

!) Spanish work. I have texts and physical costume to finish. They are both at the personally satisfying stage but not at all ready for public viewing. But the two have been working together. And I do now have my physical project stored in a way I can work on what needs to be worked on.

2) Cleves/Cologne wardrobe. Finally got my “sunt” kirtle made. This is so that I can do all the finishing work on my gown and accessories while I work on the undergarments proper. I know I am bang on in fit and contruction of my outer gear (making a new heuke though) but the undergarments are taking a little more time.

3) Marie Antoinette. This is possibly my last media recreation costume for a while, so it’s going to be a delicate but ultimately workable project. There are elements I can bang out quickly, there are going to be small hand worked elements. And I finally decided how to tackle the lace. It’s not the first time I have hunted for real metal lace so I know how and where to look.

4) Mina. I need that corset made.

5) Maleficent. The gown is fitted and assembled, I need to figure out the machine sewing stage as pressure and thread and everything will affect the hang of the seams. Hand sewing might be my best bet. This is bias cutting and it is only mildly less difficult than with charmeuse satin.

6) Sunburst. It’s been ridiculously long time coming, and I am still not sure I have enough supplies. I think I missed out on the last lot of beads that match so I’m going to have to carry a swatch with me.

7) Workshops- waiting to hear back what is going to be the best match. But I now have a frame work to make these totally portable. But I also have to make it clear I do not do easy techniques, they are not shortcuts, what I teach is a way to look at a project with a different eye. I do teach some basic principles but they are not easy. Once you get it though, oh it makes everything else make sense.

8) Showcase. Yep I’m having a showcase of my work, and so I need to tailor that to the audience, so I will be promoting that as soon as it pops up.

9) Other workshops. These are going to be limited and I am struggling with the self promotion aspect. Had way too many knocks. Not valid ones, they come from misunderstanding but it still has decentered me enough to not be in marketing headspace. Marketing is not about being self assured it’s about promotion. I don’t do that!

10) children’s charity events- got a few planned. I need to confirm a few.

11) Elsa. I need a new cape. My cape is literally too beautiful for this world- it’s so delicate that I want to preserve it. This is not a flaw, this is me making art in a format that is not really intended for durability. Oh it’s going strong, but repeatedly handling it is going to break it down eventually.

12) Website. It’s 13 years since I self hosted so maybe this year is just feeling worse because of that number. I don’t believe it is unlucky, but rather it was Friday the 13th that we had the house fire, so it’s just there in my mind. So coincidences stand out. Confirmation bias or whatever, I still just feel the need to do better.

And my site has really changed from what I wanted due to interference of others, but I do need to play catch up and do this asap. My archive of what I have done has been lost and it’s no use me saying “but I did that in year x” if I don’t have my work up then it’s meaningless.

I think that’s it. Enough to try and get a handle on anyway 🙂

 

Today is tidying up after the sewing and organising so it’s going to be a day of rest, then tidy, rest, then tidy.

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more hemming

My cleves gown really needs to play catch up with my Saya Entera and Vasquina y Ropa. So this gown is using all the resources at the moment 🙂 I need to decide on adding to my embroidery pattern so that means sorting out pearls by size.

Shower time, and then hemming. It is well worth it just tough!

 

 

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Early start to what should be a good day

First a shower, I am online with a coffee to wake up. Then removing some clothing from my project workboxes, and then I can work on my real passion projects:

  1. Vasquina y ropa y manga redonda. It still needs a jubon y manga justa. That will require my embroidery frame set up to lay the miles of trim on!
  2. Maleficent Christening Gown- so close to finished, and then I can work out how much leather I really want. Also I have a date for this one now 🙂
  3. Mina Red Gown- well I need my corset finished to refit the bodice. My new mannequin is amazing so should be much easier.
  4. Marie Antoinette silver gown- I had some fail with finding enough colour remover, I have it now and can press it all tidy.
  5.  Worth Sunburst gown- I need to transfer the cutwork, so it’ll be a case of machining the detail and then beading on the frame and finally cutting.
  6. Cleves festkleid, I am facing tiny narrow strips and scarps for the hem as spotlight no longer sells vibrant red velveteen (crimson- it’s crimson)

So that is a lot, but I’m able to put the projects in different project boxes so I can use the machine and frame.

The neighbours are also working early- so this is great. I’ll put All The Musicals on! To the CD storage box.

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Hah! laundrey detergent back in the positive!

In other words I made my Elsa cape purple again. Luckily before I resorted to buying blue acrylic ink (as it does tint very well- though it needs to adhere and the risk of streaks is high when you use water and the risk of flame too great when using alcohol) I decided to use one kettle of not quite boiled water and more than a cup of laundry detergent.

So a small trek back… My poor white and silver Silly Spanish frock was ruined by the cat peeing and the laundry detergent staining. The cat pee washed out but as laundry detergent uses a bluing agent my fabric was ruined. I then soaked the whole shebang in detergent and it mostly worked. But I still had to remove the trim. All 3kg of it so far (about 6 1/2 pounds).

You can see the bluing agent as grain like nodules in the powder- you can buy without but this is more common here. The detergent I used on the Silly Spanish frock was only a warm blue. This current detergent? It’s a mix of cool blue and green. Yes green.

THIS IS AMAZING!

Anyway. So having turned my fabric purple (again) I decided to at least try a super concentrated wash. The water and powder mix was a lovely china blue. Once I put the fabric in it went purple. Which means excess dye is coming out. And now. Well in the green bucket it reads as electric blue. So this is good as it will be worn next to cool blue so if it doesn’t read as purple against very definitely green I am already winning.

So photos of the progress soon. At the moment it’s a bucket full of suds with a wee bitty of fabric poking through.

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Wow, I have been away a long time…..

Or at least it feels like it. I am still rehabilitating my body after the last six months of inactivity due to the sinus infection. I am not sure if I have cleared it but I am able to sit up, look at a monitor for more than five minutes. Except today. Today I am zombiefied because of the two steps forward one step back pattern I am currently in.

But I have had a chance to clear out several projects I felt hampered by, knowing I would never finish them or lost the desire to finish and so felt a bit disloyal to part with them.

This has left me with a much more manageable pile of stash fabrics and in progress costumes. I am also going to clear out some more. I really do not “need” everything. I like having a rnage of costumes but I am at the point where I have so many to choose from I feel held down by the weight of them as well.

So this year I have decided to make a final list of Must Do/Finish?repair and they should fill the next five years nicely.

1) Think of Me Gown, the full kit from slave girl through to dressing gown. I have the dressing gown, pointe shoes (I want to soften them a little more to be able to wear them and strengthen my ankles back to the state they were when I first bought them) and most of the fabrics and trim to make the overgown.
Aim to finish this year for Auckland Armageddon.

2) Cleves gown overhaul. The gown was decimated by the dry cleaners so I have totally recut a new shell of maroon faille (perfect for a Cercei gown if I can bare to face that embroidery) and black silk duchesse satin. The bodice is still the came canvas and I will be able to line the sleeves in vintage bordering on antique tube rat. I never use new fur, and tend to buy seconds or recycled animal products and I hate the smell of tanned skin but for this gown I really do aim to make it as accurate in materials as I can.
Aim for possibly next year? Would love to get her finished for the Bloth/Baronial Anniversary but I really am having a very slow recovered back to good health and this is a project that will require a lot of handsewing.

3) Worth Sunburst gown. If I culd get this finished I would get my butt to the Oamaru Hertiage festival. If not I’m going to Howick and posing the plce up due to the beautiful atmostpheric lighting. This has a tablier of cutwork and beading. I am going for a blend of the two variations so I can use glass pearls for the clouds. The Met clouds are formed from cut glass beads. The Kyoto gown though is pink. So Met base colours and trim and shape, Kyoto beading. On hold for about 6 years. Time to actually transfer the pattern (currently on paper ready to pin and machine the pattern in place- I plan on machining the pattern to really stabilise the cut work) and then repair my stand up frame and get beading.

4) Silly spanish. This is actually the most doable as the linen thread to hold the trim is easy on my hands once waxed properly.
Again I’d love to get this done for BA, but I may wait until I have a Kingdom level event I can attend.

5) Nyreen. Luckily the pattern for the fabric parts are done. I have fabric I can use for the bodysuit but I may invest in a new can for my airbrush and airbrush the pattern to the bodysuit fabric. Then it’s a case of adapting footwear and making armour from foam- not fibreglass or leather!) simply because this is the first costume where I feel it an appropriate material that I have done.
Love to be done by WellyGeddon if I can.

6) Mon Mothma. I keep pushing this back but she is going to be a nice simple costume to wear even if no one recognises her. I just need to remold the brooches as the last set tore. I am avoiding epoxy though so this may take a while just to make sure I don’t trigger a big allergic reaction. I have some molds and costume pieces to repair so will save it all up for them.

7)c1600s Cleves style. So far just a swingy coat half made. All hand sewn though and fully lined so I have a reason for it to be held off 😉

8) super fine ruff and partlet. A hem of less and 2mm is still tough on my hands, but while my eyes are still good I’d like to attempt it!

9) Wedding Dress from Phantom. I have most pieces and have managed to salvage much of my original piece. I aim to make it hook up the front as per the very original and take elements from favourite versions from around the world. Including the super amazing bow trails from the Japanese production.

10) MLP inspired costume. Fluttershy is my totem (her reticence, surprising amount of understanding of things people assume she is ignorant of and her few glimpses of rage).

11) repair Shae, Talon and Shaak Ti, as well as redo the Mina bodice.

I also have my Tissot inspired dress to repair and the Green Spring dress to decide to finish or not. Both mid 1870s.

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