Category Archives: Uncategorized


Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/walnacweb07/walnacweb07ak/b1408/hoc.roxelana/new/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4819

The Swabian Gown

Leave a reply

About four years ago I finally finished the Swabian gown. It is a rather heavy cotton velvet and, while the skirt fits great, I was afraid to attach the top to it because it fits rather tightly and I was afraid I’d never be able to get it off again once the top and bottom were attached. So I wore it once, for about an hour, and then I went back to camp to change into something else because I was so over heated. By the time the winter events rolled around it no longer fit me. So I was looking for something in the closet, tried it on, and as long as I had it on, I had some photos snapped of me in it.


Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/walnacweb07/walnacweb07ak/b1408/hoc.roxelana/new/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4819

Smocking

Leave a reply

Last week I was looking for German Dress construction guidance and came across this Katafalk site which is incredible. Specifically I was looking at her dress diary but then I wandered to https://katafalk.wordpress.com/2010/02/20/lattice-smocking/ and based on the instructions realized that I had a plastic grid that was very similar in design. So following the basic instructions – I traced the grid onto the fabric and started sewing. I wish I would have been a bit more careful with my tracing because some of the lines don’t match up and so it caused some irregularities on the finished lattice but overall I’m delighted with the resulting technique. If I do it again: I will make it an integral part of the garment and I will roll the hem on before I start smocking – the current piece is on the salvage and just a scrap of fabric so I will probably have to edge it with trim to get it to look right.

CFZO7668IMG_2896


Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/walnacweb07/walnacweb07ak/b1408/hoc.roxelana/new/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4819

Analyse the Old

This is the Great Pearl Monster, GPM for short, and I’m going to use it as the foundation for the design for the new dress. So what I liked about GPM:

  • It’s all in one piece which is so convenient and once its on there is no fuss and actually comfortable.
  •  The belt sewn into the waistband took all the pressure off the shoulders and put it on the waist.
  • One giant pocket
  • I always got so many compliments on it!

And what I didn’t like about the GPM:

  • The pearls made it so heavy. Also they took a lot of time to sew on (I’ve only had to make two small repairs so they are really sewn on well!)
  • The sleeves are very confining and I don’t want anything that tight again. Also afraid to carry things because of pearls.
  • The unattached bottom of the center section sometime rides up.
  • The belt broke.

There’s one A&S question I hate = If you had to do it all over again what would you do differently? So what am I going to do differently when I remake this dress?

  • Wool lined with linen. The last one was trigger (heavy cotton with some stretch) and while it was comfortable I suspect wool will be more comfortable.
  • Self lined skirt – the last one wasn’t lined but I always wear a skirt under it. I’m just going to pleat the wool with the linen.
  • Get a belt that is actual leather – the last one was pretty wore out when I sewed it in and now I’m going to try replacing it.
  • Big voluminous sleeves – not so big I can’t work but big enough that they will never be tight.

So I took a good look at how I made the last one (and I took some pictures) and I’m ready to dig into this project.

 


Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/walnacweb07/walnacweb07ak/b1408/hoc.roxelana/new/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4819

Clothes

Leave a reply

Anna of Rožmitál by Jacob Seisenegger,1529

I decided I need some clothes because nothing fits right now. I found this dress which really appears to be two versions of the same basic dress so this is the one I’m going to go with. I’d like to be able to just throw it over my head and go so it won’t be very tight. Now to figure out those sleeves.


Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/walnacweb07/walnacweb07ak/b1408/hoc.roxelana/new/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4819

And Then I Moved

Several months ago I moved. I did bring most of my stuff with me because it’s easier to get rid of things after the move when I’m assured that I won’t be needing it at the new house. This line of thought is assisted by the fact that the new house is larger than the old one and we are building a studio/workshop that will also need to be furnished. In that regard I probably won’t be getting rid of much until that is finished.

I don’t think there was much that we changed at the new house either. We built some storage shelves and he’s mapping out all the wiring but we haven’t really changed anything. I did remove all the curtains and wash them and then hang them up in different locations – I don’t think any of them ended where they started! And almost all of the curtains I brought with me have found homes in front of windows.

I had already known we were moving when we remodeled the kitchen two years ago. Because I knew we weren’t staying, I made a conscious decision not to install some light fixtures I had purchased with specific places in mind and instead brought them along with the hope that I could incorporate them here at the new house. I have about four of them – all of the chandelier style. I had thought one would go in the new dining room but now I’m not so sure. I’ve decided to ‘pretty up’ the one that is already there.

And I’m doing that by coving it in beaded flowers!


Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/walnacweb07/walnacweb07ak/b1408/hoc.roxelana/new/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4819

Final Dress Details

So – I made this dress. I made a hat. I did a ton of bead embroidery. I found a good chain that perfectly replicated the one in the picture. It seemed I had totally and completely remade this portrait with one small exception – I had not made my hairnet and had, in fact, had one that was not of a period method. I will fix that – I have nearly completed fixing that over-site. I have learned netting, I have acquired silk suitable for the project, and I have nearly finished the project. Stay tuned.


Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/walnacweb07/walnacweb07ak/b1408/hoc.roxelana/new/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4819

Another New Hobby

In the middle of November two things happened – I taught a class at Fiber Arts and sat in on a class on hairnetting, which I didn’t stay for because it was a bit crowded, and got a bit warm. Being that I couldn’t then concentrate, I left. But then at Boar’s Head the class was offered again and this time I sat through the whole thing. I’m a lefty so I had to get a bit of personal attention but by the end of class I was just flying through it. I came home and made a hairnet. Most of a hairnet because I wasn’t sure how big to make it or how to attach it to the band.

Then in the beginning of January, at 12th Night, an advanced netting class was offered and I sat through that one as well. I learned how to do netting in the round and how to do a more period type increase. The resulting hairnet is in the picture – this one is black silk and probably near completion. I still have to figure out how to get them attached to the band but that should be the end of it.

Hubby is going to retrieve my pearl collection and then I will be able to sew on lots of little pearls so the resulting hairnet will look just like the painting that The German Dress is modelled after. I think that will then make The German Dress totally and completely complete.

Always nice to learn new skills!

Not Much of a Vacation

img_2152

So – back in July we bought a new house. This week we took some excess stuff to the new house so that it wasn’t taking up space when we try to sell our current house in the spring. Because we are only going to be at the new house for a week or two we decided not to have internet installed and I had to take the two weeks off work  as a result.

I packed a billion boxes in recent months – this week I unpacked a lot of boxes – except books because I don’t have bookshelves here yet. I cleaned almost everything, I cut my finger on the food-processor blade, and now I’m trying to relax. Eventually I will get working on the class stuff.


Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/walnacweb07/walnacweb07ak/b1408/hoc.roxelana/new/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4819

Work vs Art

And now it’s the end of May and I’m so far behind in what I wanted to accomplish this year.

I had wanted to complete the statues for the shrine and then fill in with some additional flowers. I was going to get that done in the spring but A&S was held early this year and there just wasn’t enough time after the end-of-year rush at work in order to complete my entries for the competition. So I put it on hold but then didn’t get back to it (yet. I will get back to it eventually!)

Work has been crazy busy and, while I’m supposed to function more as a consultant, I got promoted and am now a team lead. I was hoping to be finished with my work project sometime within the next year but it doesn’t look like that is going to happen either. The company has postponed some of the key things I was there to do and so I’m functionally at a lose.

A good number of the summer plans have been set and the rest of the major ones were (again) put on hold because I never heard back from the contacts. Oh well – I’m not going to sweat it. Not much I can do about it since I don’t have much in the line of vacation time anyway. Then again – without my major work project I guess I could take the time and not worry about the consequences.


Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/walnacweb07/walnacweb07ak/b1408/hoc.roxelana/new/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4819

Another Month Gone

It has been a busy month as most Januarys are for me.

The neighbor has sold her house and moved to Indiana for her new job. I’m optimistic because she sold hers (which is very simular to ours) in three days. And we have found some nice properties in our new target home area.

I’m still working overtime but not as much as I was three weeks ago. We should be getting back to a normal workload in the next week or two.

So yesterday I went to TOC and I wore the big German dress. It hasn’t fit for a few years and it’s on the verge of not fitting again so when I tried it on in the morning before we left, I decided to leave it on. I recieved so many compliments on it and it actually is more comfortable than I remembered it being. I had to fully explain its construction three times for people who were interested in making one. So here it is: I used the Period Pattern #46 for German Slash and Puff. I took the basic sleeve from Seams Like Old Times #8, figure 19 though I will caution that you should add some extra room to the pattern because when you sew it up it’s going to get a lot tighter. I stuffed the sleeve sections with that pastic mesh used in bath scrubbers because it doesn’t loose it’s shape. The base of the dress is a canvas weight cotton with a little stretch in it and it almost has the look of denim – a nice matte black. I used an iron-on stiffner on the lightweight strips before I cut them for the sleeves as this keeps them from unraveling – a washed wool would not have needed the special treatment. The gollar was cut from a single piece of cotton velvet, backed with a lightweight fabric, then sown like a snake and turned. Ironed and then beaded. Then the whole of it was sewn to the top of the dress.

The skirt is done with pleater tape and then sewn to a narrow leather belt. The entire back of the top was then sewn to the skirt. The center section is removable with hooks and eyes and the rings for the laces are sewn to the back of the gollar which pulls it all together. The skirt opens on the side-front, directly below the gollar. The gold and white pannel is stiffened with the eye end of the hooks and eyes and extends about two inches below the waistband but is not attached.

The hat and red band on the bottom of the skirt is a tiny wale cordaroy and the hat is pretty free of patterning, meaning that it looks like a quartered apple and the feathers had to be sewn in or would not stay in place.

 

I had gone to TOC to see a dear friend get elevated to the order of the Pelican. He had some wisdom for me and I found myself all misty eyed. It was a busy but enjoyable day.