Monday, April 28, 2014

New project plans: Italian Renaissance Gown, inspired by the Borgia's

Please let me know what you think. Suggestions and feedback is GREATLY appreciated. I am a learning seamstress so any tips are more than welcome.

Photo from the Borgias.

I've watched The Borgias, a intrigue ridden show about the same named family. Although the story is awesome I fell in love with the costumes. Lavish, silky dresses with braided and jeweled hair. It's all quite lavish and gorgeous. It made me want to make a dress like that.

The Italian gown, or Gamurra doesn't have stays and hoops and is very versatile as it has sleeves tied to the bodice with ribbons. This allows a person to change the sleeves quite easily. It's not uncommon to see the same dress with different sleeves to give it a whole other feel. Therefore it's perfect for a beautiful, comfortable and versatile Shop-outfit for my Festival-Going-ways. An outfit that isn't as big as crinolines which I often wear on the first day so I can do some dancing and shopping. The Fairy Queen or Miss Hartigan dresses wear pretty, but hard to get into a small stand with it.

Since this has a different silhouette than my previous dresses I will need to make the undergarments as well.
So this is what I will make:

Camicia

The light colored under-dress is a sort of shift. It was worn as a layer between the skin and fine dress to absorb most of the body fluids. The Camicia is visible in this type or dress, showing between the sleeves and at the cleavage. 

I'm using pattern Period Patterns™ number 90. It has a wide array of different undergarments. I will be making the chemise of view 3. 

I'm intending to make it in a white slightly sheer fabric for aesthetic reasons, but will also be making a warmer version for colder days. It will be detailed with perhaps a few decorative stitching with gold. 

Gamurra

The dress itself is called the Gamurra. For this I will use Period Patterns™ number 41 I'm not sure about the sleeves I want for this. 
In contrast with previous dresses I mad this one will have lots of trims and ribbons. 

I will use dupion silk in blue/green and gold with golden trims and details. 

Giornea

This is a sleeveless overdress, often worn when going out. For this I will use the same pattern package as the Gamurra since this includes a Giornea. 

I will use dupion silk in either a contrasting Red or a more matching Emerald green. With both colors I will have golden trims and details. 

Please let me know what you think. Suggestions and feedback is GREATLY appreciated. I am a learning seamstress so any tips are more than welcome.




 

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Fairy Queen: Finished!


So I finished the Fairy Queen dress just in time for the Elf Fantasy Fair.

So without further ado some pictures:
Picture by Zita Hisschemöller


The shoulders are a bit long so it didn't fall quite right around my bust.  Perhaps I will change this later.
Also the wings drooped, as you can see on this picture. I will also try to change this for the future. Perhaps even make new wings. I saw some beautiful wings in Elfia which really inspired me.

Monday, April 14, 2014

Fairy Queen: Oooh! Shinie!



Bodice

With the bodice together and the boning inserted it was time to add the Shinies to the bodice.
I've done this on Saturday for the better part of the day. It was more difficult than I thought. Luckily It worked and looks good. (Little bit of a dark picture, because I was losing the light)


All that's left to do on the bodice is adding the biastape/lining and the sleeves. I've wanted to make 2 different interchangeable sleeves for the bodice, but I don't know if I have enough time for that. I will try though.

Wings

Sunday I went to my best friends to make the wings. Unfortunately the decorating of the wings took longer than anticipated. We only had enough time to decorate the wings so they will still need to  be assembled. I will go there later this week to do this.



Accessories

I have the crown and hair and a necklace I can use. Nail polish is all settled. I'm still debating how I want to do my make-up and hoping I have time to test this before the event.
I have some glitter shoes, but I'm hoping to have some time left to go out and see if I can buy new ones. The ones I have are flat shoes and collect a lot of sand in the shoe. Not comfortable for this event.

Friday, April 11, 2014

Fairy Queen: Bodice making


I had already sewn the interlining to the fashion fabric. With only a week left 'till Elf Fantasy Fair time is running out.

Yesterday I moved my sewing machine upstairs so I can sew a few hours after work. I had been using the living room, but I need to vacate those premises when the parents return. With the limited time I have left I needed all the time I can get.

Yesterday I've seen the pieces of the bodices together. I have now 2 halfs of the bodice.

I give you a phone picture of my sewing desk and the 2 halfs of the bodice. Perhaps I can take a better picture tonight of the area. The lighting is bad, so the picture will be grainy.

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Fairy Queen: Finished skirt!


Hi party people,

I finished the skirt for the Fairy Queen dress. I think it looks good. Here's a picture of the skirt with the crinoline underneath it.