Elizabethan Hat and Mask Shenanigans

At the end of summer my other fun project outside of work was creating an Elizabethan men's hat for my partner, who was working on his own full English Renaissance ensemble.  It is a very similar style to my own 1560's hat (that goes with the turquoise dress) but constructed AFTER I spend a few months as a milliner's apprentice at the Lynne Mackey Studio.  In other words, it is MUCH better and more professionally constructed.  

Elizabethan bonnet of red silk & wool blend, bound in navy with an underbrim of ultramarine silk.  Pheasant and ostrich feather plumes, pewter medallion, metallic trim over grosgrain for the hat band.  The brim has an under structure of lightweight pellon, wired with millinery wire and mulled with a single layer of canvas. 

  

Barrettes make a pretty good substitute for alligator clips. Score!

 

The finished product!  No model photos yet, as the rest of the project is still catching up.  We all know that the hat makes the man, anyways.

I delivered the hat in person to the New York Renaissance Faire, and took the opportunity (or maybe used to the excuse to avoid packing for my move...) to make a masquerade mask to match my copper Italian ensemble.  I also dressed my sister up in the Lettice Knollys gown, and we had a grand time as patrons, socializing and hitting the pubs. 

 

Of course, I wore the hat myself for as long as I could get away with.

 

Here you can sort of see my mask, which I was quite proud of but nonetheless completely neglected to photograph.  Maybe later!

Speaking of masks, my image and work were  used on the poster for Masquerade Weekend at The New York Renaissance Faire for the 2016 season.  So even though I was living the southern dream in North Carolina, some piece of me was still present in New York.

 

Heading Down South to the Land of the Pines...

Hello world,

I'm finally settling into life in North Carolina after moving in August to begin school.  The first semester of my costume production program is largely sewing and pattern-making samples as I re-learn everything I thought that I knew about making clothes, so there isn't much photogenic work to show!  Let's catch up on some older projects anyways.

In July I finished my ultramarine 1960's dress, which I've worn twice to formal events and is always a big hit.  The color!  I don't have any full-length photos of the completed dress, but these will give you an idea.  The cocktail-length dress is fully lined and finished with a matching belt.  I'm having trouble getting photos to upload to this server (I recently switched to using a tablet full time, and don't have a laptop anymore) but I'll figure it out soon!

 

 

The dress with major seams completed, before any finishing work, lining or sleeves

 

First fitting! I absolutely adore the shape of this dress. The waist felt perfectly snug without any lining, so I let it out 1/2" total after this picture to accommodate and leave space for any shapewear- after all, what is 1962 without a girdle? This picture shows the dress with NO waist support underneath: the silk and flat-lining of cotton broadcloth are enough to nip in my waist and hold structure, even before adding the lining.  It looks surprisingly smooth!

 

Neckline is corded, zipper is in, and sleeves are inserted for good!  The only thing missing is the hem, which you can see is thread marked in this picture. I also created a narrow self-fabric belt with a crystal buckle, but haven't photographed that yet (oops! Bad costumer!). This picture is in my combat-sewing setup in the attic guest room, after I was kicked out of the much-more-appropriate dining room.  As you can see, there is 1. No natural light, 2. A thick carpet and 3. Dark burgundy details, which all added to a lighting catastrophe and many pins lost to the carpet gods.  I guess this is what I get for freeloading in the parents house! Someday I'll have a proper studio.

 

Here you can truly see the vibrant color, which is especially effective against my pale skin and red hair.  This is, outrageously, the only picture of me wearing the completed dress.  It was a hot July night, and my date and I were too busy having a wonderful night on the town (champagne and soufflé at an extremely lovely French restaurant in Manhatten with 1960's interiors: perfect!) so I only have this one silly selfie from the train ride in.  

When I look back on the glorious years between school, I think I will always remember the feeling of riding New Jersey Transit dressed in my finery, heading into NYC for some adventure.   So many amazing evenings with my wonderful friends: I'll miss this silly, glamorous, outrageous time in my life. 

 z    

Introducing: The Blue Silk 1960's Dress

Hello world!

After six months of designing, teaching, millinery and art modeling,  I am back in the swing and ready to tackle my next historical sewing project: let's kick this time machine into high gear and power through from the 14th century all the way to 1962!

I'm skipping a few centuries on this journey through historical costume (DON'T PANIC, I'll be back) because this piece was too cute to pass up.  It started off as an unused design idea for Noel Coward's "A Song At Twilight" at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, directed by Paul Mullins and designed by the extremely talented Nikki Delhomme who is always a joy and a pleasure to work with.   Although this particular version of the dress did not appear onstage, I fell in love with the mockup and knew that I had to make it for myself.

The sweetheart neckline, the wide shoulders, the angular darts!  I love the simple design (thanks, Nikki!) and the ladylike, sophisticated feeling of this crisp dress.  Here I'm wearing the original mockup before any alterations, which was draped by Tiffany Lent and put together my Sue Hawley, both of STNJ.  Although the dress was (miraculously) very close to my size, I did alter the pattern to suit my specific proportions, including lowering the waistline, shortening the sleeves and re-shaping the back neckline. 

My shopping list and sketch of the dress

HELL YES, now we get to the fun part! 

 Three yards of crisp, dreamy, ocean-blue silk shantung.  I can't get enough of this color- every time I look at it feels like plunging into a deep, cool Mediterranean lagoon on a hot day.  Or at least what I think that would probably feel like.  I wanted to step out of my usual zone and do something uncharacteristically bold-  although I was severely temped by some gorgeous mossy green silk faille, I thought that this ultra-saturated primary blue would be a bolder look and better fit for the dress, which is simple and understated and deserves a strong color choice. 

Now that my fabric and lining are marked, it's time to cut... Stay tuned for more updates!

New Directions, New Beginnings, and a Midsummer Night's Dream

It's been a busy winter and spring of costuming work, with lots of new challenges and new directions!  With more employment opportunities (thank the Costume Gods!) and new situations, I have been keeping busy and haven't started a historical research project in some time.  But what HAVE you been doing with your time, you say?  I'll tell you.

In January I was honoured and delighted to take on a student, a 12 year-old sixth grader who loves historical costume and recently won a NYC-based grant to pursue a creative passion.  With her prize money she bought a new sewing machine, began a research library, bought fabrics and hired a private tutor- moi.  We worked over the course of 10 weeks to design, research, pattern and create a set of Elizabethan underpinnings, practicing important costuming techniques along the way.  It was very interesting to find out which aspects of costuming do and no NOT come naturally to an adolescent: for instance, her vocabulary is more advanced than mine, but she would do things like lay newly-pressed fabric over a chair and sit on it.  Interesting tactic!  We worked on lots of overall sewing skills such as precise pinning, correct measuring, organizing a sewing space, pressing, and all the little details which most of us who have been sewing for years take for granted.

At the end of January also saw my first professional show as a designer, Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" presented in collaboration between the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, directed by Bonnie Monte.  Inspired by the concert-hall setting and full Mendelssohn score, the design was modern and formal with Greek and whimsical elements.   I was working without a full staff, so the show was largely purchased or altered and no pieces were draped.

It wouldn't be my work without some flower crowns, naturally!

I got VERY excited about metallic spray-paint and created this masculine, laurel-inspired piece for Oberon

Titania's crown is gold and red with teardrop glass silver wire

Puck and Oberon- the theme for the fairies was formalwear with colorful, textured surface details.  Oberon and Puck were in metallics, to visually separate them from the sillier fairies

Titania (Sarah Swift) and Oberon (Ben Stirling) backstage at NJ PAC

This piece was the real labour of love!  Titania's gown is an off-the-rack number from 'David's Bridal' which we tailored to the actress's measurements, and then decorated with hand-placed trim, appliques and velvet flowers. 

The fairies!  (from left: Jon Sprik, Lindsey Kyler, Jesmille Darbouze and Jack Moran) Titania's attendant fairies were wearing ultra-modern, slim-fit tuxedos with whimsical, popping spots of color. Their movements were spazzy and comedic, and we went with an absurd, Mod look to go with it. 

Hermia (Lindsey Kyler), Hippolyta (Sarah Swift) and Helena (Jesmille Darbouze) in their opening looks- modern formalwear with a draped, Grecian feel. 

The mechanicals!!  

These gents were so much fun to work with- our inspiration was "Orchestra Clowns," as though these men were asked to wear tuxedos but, being clueless and ridiculous, all fell somewhat short of the task in different ways.  Peter Quince still wears his carpenter's toolbelt, Flute is missing his sleeves, and so on.  Even Bottom, the most pretentious and serious of the group, couldn't find a pair of pants that were long enough. 

The view from the stage at NJ PAC- what in incredibly inspiring (and daunting!) setting for my first show!  

Designing "Midsummer" was an amazing, amazing experience- as a technician, I didn't expect that I would ever have (or even necessarily want) the opportunity to design a show.  It was a whole different type of collaboration, working with the other designers (lights, set, etc) and directly with the director to creative a functional, cohesive vision which allowed for the restraints of quick-changes, portability, budget, and so on.  I came away with a new appreciation for exactly how many distinct considerations and talents come together to create a show.  It's the Magic of Theatre, and the experience was a beautiful reminder of exactly what I love about show-business. 

There is one other big piece of news: in March I was accepted to the Masters program in Costume Technology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.  After three glorious, painful, eye-opening and productive years in the professional world, I am finally heading back to school to buckle down and pursue my dream in a rigorous, academic setting.  For three years I'll be taking classes in tailoring, mask-making, fabric dyeing, historical patterning, couture sewing techniques and so much more- I can't wait to get my ass kicked (academically speaking) and go through the "trial by fire" to emerge a classically trained, sleep-deprived and majorly well-educated Master of Fine Art!

Fitted Red Medieval Gown

Here are the best of this morning's shoot!  It was freezing cold and overcast, with the snow about to start, so we didn't dither over location and just got as many images as we could in about 7 minutes.  The even, grey outdoor lighting gives the gown a pink cast, which I never noticed indoors!  It was originally a sandy yellow linen, dyed with cherry red, brown, and purple to get the current color.  Many thanks to my patient and business-like photographer, my little sister Molly, for braving the cold with me!  <3

My research suggests that the horizontal 'pull lines' across the torso are historically accurate- I even included them in the rendering!  Without darts or princess seams, all the fitting comes from the center back, center front and side seams.  

Close-up of my bronze coloured glass buttons.  It takes a little while to get into this gown, fastening all 24 of them!

Attempting to look serene and medieval

These were a pain to make, but they feel so satisfying when they go through the button holes with a little 'pop!'

Here you can see where the godets meet the side seams, at hip hight.  I cheated them back a little, with more fullness in the rear, so the gown hangs nice and slim from the front but still has a surprising amount of volume at the hem

Despite being made in such a rush, I call this gown a success!  It's extremely comfortable, and fits nice and snug, though the low shoulders don't allow for a great deal of horizontal mobility.  I'm not despairing over that, as running around with my arms over my head wouldn't look too historical anways.  Not bad, for three weeks of work~

New Year, Old Projects

Whew, life got busy once I was working as a stitcher full-time for a local regional theatre, and I didn't post anything about my most recent project!  Let's take a looksey:

For a trip to the Texas Renaissance Faire in November, I decided to quickly draft and put together a simple cotehardie in the style of the French 1350's.  Nothing says fashionable like the Plague Years:  while the Bubonic was sweeping Europe, fashions temporarily took a turn for the risque and extremely fitted, wide-necked dresses briefly became popular- some were even worn off-the-shoulder.

This fabulous lady is wearing her tight-fitting cotehardie under a fur-trimmed surcoat- note the row of buttons at center front

More inspiration

This classy dame is wearing a wide belt low on her hips, and representing her heraldic colours with her parti-coloured gown.

My sketch, showing the basic shape and button placement

The fabric on the left is the 100% linen that I found on sale at JoAnn's, and the red is was an inspiration for the colour.  I bought the sandy beige fabric, a few bottles of RIT dye, and went to work

Laying out the yardage to press and roll- it turned out very close to what I was picturing, a warm rusty red-brown.  

The sleeves were cut from one piece on the bias, so they fit nice and snug.  They have gussets drafted into the design, which were inspired by an extant dress from the 14th century found preserved in a bog in Greenland

This is what my pattern pieces looked like- long and curvy!  I drafted the body in four pieces, with the center front being mostly on-grain with just a few minor curves.  

My mannequin usually fits on a box, but I had temporarily misplaced it so here she is swimming in hem allowance.  For the picture the front opening is pinned shut and the triangular godet is pinned at the hip

Sleeves basted in, checking on how I liked the button spacing.  Here you can see just how wide the neckline is- the sleeves perch right on the shoulder points.

Historical research for round buttons in the medieval period

Almost done!  The dress is hemmed, the godets are sewn (that had to be done twice, as originally I had placed them a little too high and there was more bulk around my hips than I wanted). 

The neckline and sleeves are finished with piping, which there is Almost Certainly historical research for (though it's a little hard to tell in paintings whether it's piping or trim in the paintings)

My fabric buttons!  They are made out of small squares of fabric folded in on themselves over and over until they become tight little balls. 

That's it for the progress photos!  This dress came together, start to finish, from dyeing to pattern drafting to sewing to detail work, in a total of three weeks.  I was working full-time during the day during that period, so my fingers were awfully sore from sewing for 8 hours, then coming home to sew some more!  The last three days days before our trip I stayed up sewing until 3 am, and on the last day I pulled and all-nighter, just barely finishing the buttons before it was time to head to the airport.  

Tomorrow I'm enlisting my sister to take photos, so those will be up hopefully before too long. Now I'm in the design stages for my next historical project, a Venetian gown in the style of the 1560s.

Tutorial: Flower Crowns

I began making my signature flower crowns / floral wreaths in 2012, as an alternative to wearing the required hats while working for a shop at the Renaissance Faire.  They've become larger and more complicated over the years, but the basic instructions remain the same.  Let's start with some picture

The first one that I ever made!

Second attempt: a small headband with leaves and beads

I wore this naturalistic one with branches to my college graduation

And I made this one for Beltane last year

Let's bust into the tutorial!

Gather your supplies.  This is my current collection of faux flowers.  It's a bit overwhelming.

And here is the hardware.  You are going to need vine wire (to form the base), a glue gun, craft scissors (S.S. stands for Shit Scissors, as this pair is all nicked and dull), wire cutters, and beading wire. 

To create the base, cut a piece of the vine wire and begin to shape it.  I like to use a 3-strand braid, but this can really be whatever you'd like.  Make sure it's long enough to fit comfortably on your head once it's bent!

Tuck the edges in so that it will be safe and relatively respectable looking.  This one is headband style, so the back will be open- hence the line shape rather than a ring.

Once you've bent it into your desired head-like shape, add beading wire at key junctions to keep the vine braid in place and make it nice and strong

Now you get to go crazy with hot glue!

Wheeee!

More pictures!  You can see how much variety one can achieve with the same technique.  Here is a set that I made for a production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream"

Peaseblossom and Moss  (Moth), who were played by women

Titania and Oberon

Mustardseed and Cobweb, they boy fairies

Oberon and Puck

And here are some gratuitous studio-style shots that I took for my portfolio.  The shots on the clear plastic base give you and idea of what the insides of these suckers look like

This was my Halloween project last year- a seriously major autumnal crown!  It's fairly heavy

And a simple little woodland wreath, very maidenly and subdued

Have fun crafting!