Comments for MyFaireLady

Comment on V2.0 Wordless Pictures by admin

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 03:02:23 +0000

LOL!!!

Great idea with the hula-hoop! You basically made the “spokes” out of rope and used the stiffness of the hula to get a nice rigid outer hoop that could keep it’s shape under your gown. What an ingenious solution. I LOVE it!!!
Thanks for sharing, Steffauri!

Comment on V2.0 Wordless Pictures by Steffauri Vo'Naaia

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 06:13:58 +0000

wow! this is just beautiful work I do a lot of costume design and layout myself, but unfortunately I’m not so talented behind a sewing machine! XP

I recently (maybe about a year or so back) constructed a very large cartwheel farthingale to emulate the Spanish court dress of the 1660s, but you couldn’t really call it a “legit” piece; since I cannot sew, I made it from everyday items, but it held up beautifully!

I used a basic hula hoop from a local Walmart and bought a cheap belt. I poked 12-holes into the belt where I wanted fasteners to go, and I just tied moderately durable pieces of thin rope to the hoop and fastened them with rivets into the holes I made in the belt. Surprisingly, it held up for the Renn Faire and even later for several conventions I attended that summer

Comment on Elizabethan Blackwork by MyFaireLady » Updates!

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 14:23:24 +0000

[...] 01/01/2010: Happy New Year! Happy New Decade! Happy, happy all around!!! I thought I’d start out 2010 by updating y’all on what I’ve been up to: BLACKWORK EMBROIDERY! I know, I know…I’ve been posting all along about how I don’t like hand sewing, but this is different. Really, it IS. You see, I’ve finally gotten a chance to become fairly adept at digitizing the designs I create, so now I can let my embroidery machine do the embroidering, and my time is freed up to do the creating! I’m just pleased as punch with the results. Check out my progress in the special section on Blackwork Embroidery. [...]

Comment on Tudor Madness by admin

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:13:27 +0000

Hi, Amelia!

The dress was made over the span of a marathon sewing weekend plus a few after-work evenings. I have the exact number of work hours cataloged somewhere, but IIRC I think it was around 40 hours roughly from start to finish including pattern drafting (but excluding the beaded forepart and matching undersleeves which were re-used from an older gown).

The pattern I used for the over-gown was adapted from a basic bodice pattern that fits me well with some adjustments to achieve the desired “look” which were derived from suggestions in The Tudor Tailor. This book has small-scale patterns that you can enlarge for your own use & it can be purchased online from the authors’ website.
Once you’ve started working on the gown, you’ll probably find that you’ll need to make some adjustments in order to tailor the gown to your specific body type, and the folks at the Tudor Tailor discussion group found in Yahoo Groups are another good resource for advice and support.

I hope the info helps. Thanks for posting your comments (and compliments!) and *DO* send an update on your own project, OK?

Comment on Tudor Madness by Amelia

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 23:47:00 +0000

I’ve been looking all over to find a good pattern for an Anne Boleyn costume. I’ve been sewing my own costumes for the past few years. I’ve always had a love of this era and it only seemed to fit to be Anne Boleyn. Where did you look for your pattern? How long did it take to sew the entire thing and how could I make the skirt and sleeves a bit bigger (fluffier?) Thank you so much. Your dress is gorgeous and so are you.

~Amelia.

Comment on Temporary Stuff: Headware, Fitting a bodice and Lacing Strips by admin

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 02:43:16 +0000

Thanks for the tip, Terri! Do you know it NEVER occurred to me to use safety pins?!!!

DUH!!!

…and I even have some extra-sturdy ones, too…wish *I’d* thought of that…

Comment on Temporary Stuff: Headware, Fitting a bodice and Lacing Strips by Terri Moore

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 04:05:43 +0000

Love your tips on all your diaries! You are amazing. I also pin and fit I only hand sew when there is no other option. I did learn from a former sewing teacher that safety pins are great for fitting.

Comment on Tudor Madness by admin

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 20:10:45 +0000

Thanks for the compliments, Sara! I’ll email you privately on some ideas as to folk who do custom work. Depending on what part of the country you live in, it may not be so hard to find. Let me see what I can come up with for you.

Comment on Update! 3-26-09: Dorothea Corset (Pair of Bodies) by admin

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 20:07:21 +0000

Thanks for compliments and the tip on making a busk out of a paint stirrer, Deborah! I’d thought about that myself –great minds think alike –but I still haven’t gotten around to working on one.

And it’s too bad about your luck with the commercial pattern…I imagine you read about my own woes with the TT’s Effigy Corset pattern…I think it must have to do with the impossibility of creating BOTH a pattern that will fit most people AND a pattern that will fit each of our bodies’ particular quirks. That’s why I opted to create my own hybrid pattern.

Good luck with your projects and thanks for posting!

Comment on Update! 3-26-09: Dorothea Corset (Pair of Bodies) by Deborah Charlow

Tue, 19 May 2009 23:14:28 +0000

I’ve been researching bodies and I bought the Reconstructing History effigy pattern which was a total waste of money. Long story. I’m on hold with this project but I have made a busk from a wooden paint stirer. Sand off the advertising, round off the bottom, drill lacing holes and voila. They come in two lengths, 1 gal. & 5 gal. Before I knew much, I made one for a stiffening a stomacher for a 1632 gown. Still don’t know if it was correct but it sure worked. I have worn for it for hours at a time. Just can’t drive in it. Love your Dorothea bodies. Love the sparkle.