date:20060522

 
In a message dated 5/22/2006 5:13:19 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:

Both of  them had started very early, making clothes for 
themselves and for dolls.  And they did it for pleasure! 


I first started sewing when I got a Babette (cheap imitation Barbie) in 4th  
grade.  Before that, my mom sewed for me and my dolls.  My first  efforts were 
trying to copy what the commercial Barbies had, but then I started  getting 
creative.  It was great when the first commercial patterns for  these dolls 
came out.
 
I graduated to sewing for myself when I took home ec. in 7th grade.  I  made 
most of my clothes in high school, and my family had limited funds.
 
Majored in home ec. ed in college, where I took two very rigorous clothing  
construction classes.  Flat pattern was only offered in summer school,  which I 
couldn't afford, so I bought the text and tried to learn on my  own--later 
took that in graduate school.
 
But I know what you mean about sewing.  The design, fabric selection,  and 
figuring out how to do the project are what I enjoy most.  The actual  sewing, 
only if I'm doing something new.  That is one reason I didn't last  in 
theatre--I was only a stitcher, and too old to wait to work my up in the  
hierarchy to 
get to the design part.
 
As a reenactor, I get to do the fun part--designing!  Before I took up  
reenacting, 10 years ago, I went through other sewing phases.  Made active  
wear 
for a while--leotards and swimsuits, mostly.  And I did some lingerie.  The 
occasional formal dress.  And then my husband and I started  square dancing, 
and I 
made outfits for that--another way to indulge a fondness  for fun fabrics and 
trims.
 
I almost never make daywear anymore, but now I have two granddaughters, and  
I make some things for them.  I had forgotten, though, how tedious it is to  
manipulate size 3 parts!
 
Sometimes wish I had mice, like the Tailor of Gloucester, to do some  of the 
stitching.  Or, as someone said, we have these high tech sewing  machines.  
Why can't we just put the fabric on and they do the rest?
 
Ann Wass
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Re: [h-cost] When and how did you start making costume?

2006-05-22 Thread Dianne Greg Stucki

- Original Message - 
From: Suzi Clarke [EMAIL PROTECTED]

To: Historical Costume [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Monday, May 22, 2006 5:12 AM
Subject: [h-cost] When and how did you start making costume?

In discussion with a couple of friends at the weekend, we fell to talking 
about when we started sewing.  One friend is a re-enactor, the other a 
former wardrobe mistress for the National Theatre among other things. Both 
of them had started very early, making clothes for themselves and for 
dolls. And they did it for pleasure! (And I am a professional costume 
maker.)

Now I never made clothes for dolls that I remember. As a teenager I 
occasionally, and very badly, made the odd skirt or blouse for myself.

I, too, started out making Barbie clothes. And I loved Madame Alexander 
dolls for their exquisite costumes.

But I still hate sewing up the costumes! I love the working out of what 
the customer wants, the choosing of the fabrics, the making of the 
patterns and cutting them out, (skip the next bit - the sewing up) love 
hand finishing, trimming, and fitting. But please could someone tell me 
where to get a magic wand to sew everything together?

The only part of the above that I DON'T love is the fitting. I truly, truly 
enjoy sewing. I do get impatient toward the end of the finishing up stage 
first. For my own costumes, I've started sewing by hand , mostly for 
authenticity, partly because it forces me to slow down and really savor the 
process.

coincidentally to the sewing conversation, we wondered if it
was a given that costume makers, whether professional, gifted amateur, or 
occasional maker, have cats? All the ones I know do.

Nope. I rent my house, and my husband hates cats. Besides, I have a 
cockatiel and an  African grey parrot, and I would really prefer that they 
not become kitty kibble.

Dianne

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Re: [h-cost] When and how did you start making costume?

 
In a message dated 5/22/2006 5:13:19 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:

we  wondered if it 
was a given that costume makers, whether professional,  gifted 
amateur, or occasional maker, have cats? All the ones I know  do.



Oh, and I have a cat now, but did not always have one.  Just the last  15 
years or so.
 
Ann Wass
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[h-cost] Re: Current projects

2006-05-22 Thread Dianne Greg Stucki

- Original Message - 
From: Catherine Olanich Raymond [EMAIL PROTECTED]

To: Historical Costume [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Sunday, May 21, 2006 12:15 AM
Subject: Current projects (was Re: [h-cost] hello out there??)

Since nothing else is going on here, this may be a good time for people to
talk about their current costume/textile-related projects.

Currently working on:

2 wedding dresses--one a simple Irish Dress in cotton, the other is an 
Italian gown, with chemise, undergown, and open-front overgown. The two 
bottom layers are linen (white and a gorgeous dark green), the overgown is a 
pretty burgundy that the bride purchased.

For myself- restitching a few of the pearls on my velvet Gown of Doom so I 
can wear it to an event next Sunday, and I'm in the planning stages of a new 
dress for Pennsic. I have eight yards of ivory tropical weight wool, and I'm 
considering sleeves and forepart in either gold or navy silk. And the Evil 
Mentor to whom I am Minion showed me Saturday how to make spangles out of 
gold wire!

I also have 25 yards of 3.5 oz linen to make underwear for Pennsic. The 
ultimate goal is underwear equaling number of days at event +1, but I won't 
quite be there by Pennsic. I promised my husband I would reduce what I'm 
taking thyis year, and I'm thinking along the lines of all my underwear and 
four-five gowns. I also need hats and veils. Busy busy busy!

Dianne

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Re: [h-cost] Re: Current projects

2006-05-22 Thread Katy Bishop


My current project is an 1880's ball dress.  I've wanted to make one
for years, and finally there is an 1880's ball on the schedule.  I
have been trying to decide what year of the 1880's I want to emulate.
I only have two weeks until the ball so I need to get working this
week.  I will probably use a pattern from Janet Arnold to start with.
 I've made a webpage with inspiration for the ball-goers:

http://www.vintagevictorian.com/costume_1880e.html

I am leaning towards something like the first big color picture.
Probably in pink because I just can't find a blue I like in the right
weave.  A friend sent me the cutest wire bustle:

http://rivercrossinginc.tripod.com/corset.html

It looks really close to the original.  I will probably make the gown
to fit over this bustle so will emulate an 1883-84 line.  Petticoats
and chemise are on the schedule for this week.  And one last fabric
foray to the local home dec store with silks to-die-for.

Katy

On 5/22/06, Althea Turner [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

I'm working on a new gown to go under my surcoat.  It's at the bottom
of the page.
http://www.alfalfapress.com/sca/costume_projects.html

I'm almost done finishing the seams on the inside and will move to
embroidering over the seams on the outside, then I can start
embroidering the collar band.

Althea Turner
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

Ignorant themselves of the forces of nature and wanting to have
company in their ignorance, they don't want people to look into
anything; they want us to believe like peasants and not ask the
reasons behind things.
William of Conches, 12th century


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--
Katy Bishop, Vintage Victorian
[EMAIL PROTECTED]www.VintageVictorian.com
Custom reproduction gowns of the Victorian Era.
 Publisher of the Vintage Dress Series books.

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[h-cost] Re: When and how did you start making costumes?

2006-05-22 Thread Jayne Thomas

Hi!
   
  I learnt to sew when I was twenty-ish, by going to Adult Education classes, 
because I was unemployed, and wanted to fill a bit of the void (plus Employment 
Services paid for the course!).  I started costuming a couple of years ago, as 
it was more fun than making everyday clothes for my daughter.  My current 
project is my first serious attempt at making costumes. You can see what the 
mess I am making on-line at 
  http://photos.yahoo.com/dresspattern.  Only the muslin of the bodice at the 
moment (skirt is in progress!), but I hope to get on with it soon - small child 
permitting!!
   
  All the best!
  Jayne 

Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com 
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Re: [h-cost] When and how did you start making costume?

2006-05-22 Thread Sue Clemenger

Hmm...interesting topic!
My mom used to say that I was trying to make things when I was a toddler.  I
know that by the time I was 5 or so, I was only really happy if I was
making, as we called it, or reading.  But it wasn't sewing or embroidery
until I was 9 or so.  Started embroidery in Girl Scouts, and a couple of
years later, learned to sew in 4-H (which is a club for farm kids, or was,
when I was growing up).  I got very ambitious right away with what I thought
I could do, and normally did do--green velvet miniskirt that first year, and
not a bad job. g  Did ordinary clothes sewing for myself throughout high
school, and played with embroidery (mostly needlepoint and crewel work) and
quilting.  I don't know that I made many clothes for dolls for my own
purposes, but for a few years, I did churn out a LOT of clothes for my
little sister's Cabbage Patch dolls.  I was pretty much all self-taught, as
my mom was *not* a sewer, and the nearest relative who had done things like
that lived 2000 miles away and had died in 1971 (my grandfather).
It wasn't until I was looking for a job during college that I ever made a
costume, let alone, a historical one.  Got a job in the costume shop of
the drama/dance department.  Graduated.  Ended up with a job as an
alterations and repair person at a dry-cleaners.  Went back to school after
a couple of years of that.  Worked in the costume shop, and while there, got
introduced to the SCA, finished school and then spent 7 years wrecking my
hands as a professional tent/tipi/awning/outfitters' products sewer.  The
rest is history;o)
I think that last job did a fair bit towards eventually ruining my fondness
for working with a sewing machine.  As it is now, the actual sewing bit is
my least favorite part of making garb.  I'd much rather do the research and
planning
Of course, I still gotta read and still gotta keep my hands busy to be
happy, but these days, it's fine sewing/embroidery (I have a passion for
various kinds of monochrome embroidery), or other textile arts (spinning,
knitting, weaving).
--Sue in Montana, who does have 4 cats

- Original Message -
From: Suzi Clarke [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: Historical Costume [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Monday, May 22, 2006 3:12 AM
Subject: [h-cost] When and how did you start making costume?



 In discussion with a couple of friends at the weekend, we fell to
 talking about when we started sewing.  One friend is a re-enactor,
 the other a former wardrobe mistress for the National Theatre among
 other things. Both of them had started very early, making clothes for
 themselves and for dolls. And they did it for pleasure! (And I am a
 professional costume maker.)

 Now I never made clothes for dolls that I remember. As a teenager I
 occasionally, and very badly, made the odd skirt or blouse for
 myself. I started work in the maintenance wardrobe of the RSC at 24,
 and the first serious making I did was in a rep company a couple of
 years later when I found it was part of my job as a wardrobe mistress
 to make the pantomime costumes. (I hate pantomime!) I got out of that
 very quickly, and went back to maintenance, eventually got married,
 had a son, and went to college as a mature student of 40 to learn to
 cut and make costumes. I discovered I was good enough never to have
 been out of work since I left college 20 mumble years ago.

 But I still hate sewing up the costumes! I love the working out of
 what the customer wants, the choosing of the fabrics, the making of
 the patterns and cutting them out, (skip the next bit - the sewing
 up) love hand finishing, trimming, and fitting. But please could
 someone tell me where to get a magic wand to sew everything together?

 Oh, and coincidentally to the sewing conversation, we wondered if it
 was a given that costume makers, whether professional, gifted
 amateur, or occasional maker, have cats? All the ones I know do.

 Suzi (about to sew the 5th Mary Queen of Scots costume, and putting it
off!)


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Re: [h-cost] When and how did you start making costume?

I come from a family of sewers.  My paternal great-grandmother was a 
dressmaker.  She literally could copy anything she saw, including most types 
of lace.  I inherited many of her tools and a ton of handmade lace and lace 
samples, which I used on my own wedding dress, and my niece's christening 
dress.  My maternal great-grandmother was the one who first taught me to 
sew, when I was 4.  I learned to machine sew by sitting on her lap while she 
ran the pedal of the treadle sewing machine and helped me learn to 
manipulate the fabric.  I made doll clothes all through my childhood, 
preferring to dress the dolls rather than actually playing with them.  My 
mother made all my school clothes until I was about 12 or so, and I helped 
her with many of them, which is probably why to this day I hate stroking 
gathers.


When I was 13 I was signed out of the manditory sewing class because my 
mother refused to have me make the required projects (a gathered half-apron 
and a tote bag) since they had to be done at the pace of the rest of the 
class, and she considered that a waste of my time.  The summer I was 14 I 
had my first real paying job sewing costumes for a summer stock production 
of Pirates of Penzance.  I worked for that theater company for the next 7 
summers, and also did high school drama productions.  I worked just about 
every tech job there was, and acted a bit, usually as a singer/dancer, but I 
always worked on the costumes.  I started historical reenactment when I was 
17, and of course costuming was a big draw.


As an adult, I've worked as an alterations seamstress (yuk!), had my own 
business producing accessories and children's clothes, line production 
sewing for a ski clothing manufacturer, sewing instructor, patternmaking and 
production sewing for an airplane manufacturer, and currently I'm making 
costumes, mostly reenactment costumes, free-lance.  I do costumes for a 
community theater group when they have a period piece and can afford me, but 
I'm mostly working for 2 private clients with seemingly inexhaustable 
costuming needs.


I'm entirely self-taught, with my grandmothers and my first theater director 
being my greatest mentors.  I would like to take a few classes, fashion 
drawing and some advanced patternmaking would be good, but I can't find any 
locally that won't require me to take an entire course, which I can't afford 
and don't have time for.


Oh, and I do have a cat, but I haven't always, and have had dogs in the 
past, and will again when we find the right puppy.  My current cat has a 
silk fetish, and so is banished from the sewing room, since he insists on 
dragging any silk fabric around the house with his teeth.


Melusine 


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RE: [h-cost] When and how did you start making costume?

2006-05-22 Thread monica spence

Wow-- someone else had a Babette doll. Cool.

I started sewing when I inherited my great aunt's sewing machine. No one
else wanted it, but I sure did! I started making clothes for my Babette doll
by hand, and graduated  when I got the machine to using the sewing
machine. I found a length of cloth in the seat of the bench and decided to
make a dress of an old fashioned girl-- a bustle style dress. It was a
disaster, but I kept going, undiscouraged by the failure.

I made dresses for my mom and myself. I still get teased about using
ric-rack as trim down the length of a sleeve. (I cut the sleeve wrong and
needed to cover it up.)

Then I decided to give a Halloween party and decided to do as Scarlett
O'Hara, because the movie had been re-released and it had impressed me a
lot. The costume was pretty elaborate and was the duplicate of the sketch in
the pattern envelope. I think I was 16 at the time.

I continued to make costumes and clothes through high school and became a
Theatre major. Ended up loving the Technical stuff because I HATED learning
lines. In Grad school I also majored in Theatre/ Costume. I did theatre
costumes for 6 years, moved to Long Island and needed a real job, so I got
hired to design swimwear. Twenty four years later, my design job went off
shore and I got a job teaching fashion in a college where I teach sewing,
among other things.

Belonging to the SCA fills my costuming need -- Elizabethan and Florentine
clothing of the 16th C. are my specialties.

My husband and I have dogs (Westies) at our house, who like to butt test
the fabric when it gets laid on the floor.

Regards to all-
Monica Spence




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[h-cost] 1844 Corset Again-Busk Questions

2006-05-22 Thread Anne


Hello all!
   I am glad to see some discussion going again. To add to it I am 
still (very slowly) working on this corset. My next question for those 
who have made it before is about the busk. Based on the recent 
discussion of the split busk being invented in 1853, it seems I should 
use a wooden busk for this transitional corset. However, given the curve 
along CF, how is that going to work? Following the seam line exactly, 
the corset front is quite straight until just below the waist, where it 
suddenly curves inward ending just above my pubic bone (I hope that 
makes sense). Do you suppose you need a specially made curved busk? Can 
you short cut around this and either have the busk end before the lower 
curve or straighten out the seam line? Obviously that is going to change 
the line of the corset. The pattern indicates the busk runs entirely top 
to bottom--16.5 inches on me. I am concerned that if I get a busk that 
long that I am going to have it poking me in the pubic bone when I sit 
down. I already have this problem on my existing 1830s corset when I 
bend over to tie my shoe or cook.

   Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated and thanks in advance!
Anne
--
Anne Dealy
adelaideatgenevahistoricalsociety.com
(be sure to change at to @)
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Re: [h-cost] quick info needed

2006-05-22 Thread Melanie Schuessler


REBECCA BURCH wrote:

Can anybody tell me how many yards it will take to
make a ruff for a man with a 16 neck?


It depends on how wide and deep the ruff will be.  For a relatively 
narrow ruff (say 2-3 wide from neck to outer edge) that will be 2 or 
less from top to bottom, you probably won't need more than 5 yards.  I 
never use more than 4 yards for mine, and they're about that size 
(though my neck of course is more like 14 or 14 1/2).  Wrist ruffs take 
much less, of course, so I think 25 yards is a gracious plenty unless 
you mean to make really large ruffs.


Melanie Schuessler
http://www.faucet.net/costume


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Re: [h-cost] When and how did you start making costume?

2006-05-22 Thread Dawn

My story is much like everyone else's. Mom sewed, came from a large farm 
family where grandma made everything from the underwear out. I learned 
to sew around the time I stopped putting things into my mouth. By 6 or 7 
I was making doll clothes and quilts for them. Did home ec and high 
school theatre, but not the clothing or costuming.  Didn't have much use 
for sewing as I got older, until the college theatre group made us 
responsible for our own costumes and I made a dress from a 1959 thrift 
shop pattern. Then there was the SCA. Quilted for a long time, too, 
until that got to be too trendy. Took up dance so I could play with 
sequins. The last ten years or so I've been experimenting with a wide 
variety of historical and fantasy costumes. Lately the research has 
interested me more than the design or the sewing or the wearing.


I'm currently working on a ren-fest rush job for this weekend. I 
discovered a few years ago that the same people who laughed at my sewing 
hobby in school are now willing to pay me




Dawn

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Re: [h-cost] When and how did you start making costume?

2006-05-22 Thread Kate M Bunting

I hate sewing, though I quite enjoy embroidery and knitting. My Mum hated it 
too, and I got little help or encouragement from needlework classes at school. 
I used to make clothes for teenage dolls, but they were very crude and 
amateurish.

I've made a few garments for myself, but mostly on odd occasions that I've 
really wanted a particular style that I couldn't buy ready-made. I love 
reenactment, but I make the costumes in order to pursue the hobby rather than 
the other way round, and because I want something  better than the 
mass-produced kit sold by traders at events.

I've never had a cat; I keep dwarf hamsters because (apart from being cute) 
they can look after themselves for a night or two when I'm away at weekend 
events. I hope to get a dog when I have more spare time!

Kate Bunting
Librarian and 17th century reenactor


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Re: [h-cost] hello out there??

2006-05-22 Thread Katy Bishop


I did a google search (acid free tissue uk) and came up with this UK
supplier among others:

http://www.conservation-by-design.co.uk/papers/papers26.html

Katy

On 5/22/06, Kate M Bunting [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

You're lucky. It's cold and very wet in the UK (and I have my first camping 
event of the season next weekend!)
I've been too busy with domestic problems to do any dressmaking this year. I 
have a query, though.

I've been clearing my mother's house (she is now in a nursing home) and have 
found some vintage garments. I know you are supposed to store such things in 
acid-free tissue paper, but have no idea what kind of shops sell such paper. 
Any suggestions?

Kate Bunting
Librarian and 17th century reenactor

 [EMAIL PROTECTED] 20/05/2006 20:31 

No, but I can just imagine.  Heck, I have a hard time working up the interest
to do my *own* hemming when the weather is this good.  :-)


--
Cathy heading to a cookout tonight  Raymond [EMAIL PROTECTED]




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--
Katy Bishop, Vintage Victorian
[EMAIL PROTECTED]www.VintageVictorian.com
Custom reproduction gowns of the Victorian Era.
 Publisher of the Vintage Dress Series books.

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RE: [h-cost] When and how did you start making costume?

2006-05-22 Thread Anne Moeller

The magic wand is called a sewing machine (evil grin)

Oh, and coincidentally to the sewing conversation, we wondered if it 
was a given that costume makers, whether professional, gifted 
amateur, or occasional maker, have cats? All the ones I know do.

Ah, yes! They provide quality control, doncha know!

Suzi (about to sew the 5th Mary Queen of Scots costume, and putting it
off!)

Now, get back to work!! (snap of virtual whip).  You have LESS than five
weeks!!

Anne

-- 
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.392 / Virus Database: 268.6.1/344 - Release Date: 5/19/2006
 


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Re: [h-cost] When and how did you start making costume?

2006-05-22 Thread Natalie

Oh, and coincidentally to the sewing conversation, we wondered if it 
was a given that costume makers, whether professional, gifted 
amateur, or occasional maker, have cats? All the ones I know do.

Suzi (about to sew the 5th Mary Queen of Scots costume, and putting it off!)



Sadly, I don't have cats due to the hubby being deathly allergic. But I wish I 
did!

Natalie





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Re: [h-cost] When and how did you start making costume?

2006-05-22 Thread Lalah

I have a 
cockatiel and an  African grey parrot, and I would really prefer that they 
not become kitty kibble.

I grew up in a home with a parrot and cats.  Trust me, the cats are the ones 
most likely to become kibble.  

Sorry about your husband - he doesn't know what great pets cats can be.

Lalah, Never give up, Never surrender

--- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

From: Dianne  Greg Stucki [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: Historical Costume [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cc:
Subject: Re: [h-cost] When and how did you start making costume?
Date: Mon, 22 May 2006 06:53:21 -0400



_
Netscape.  Just the Net You Need.
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Re: [h-cost] When and how did you start making costume?

2006-05-22 Thread Lalah

I started sewing when I was about five. My mother made handkerchiefs for my 
father and she would give me one to hem. I remember sitting there trying to 
make tiny little stitches, and failing. However, my father was a love and used 
them anyhow. Mother had a treadle Singer (we didn't have electricity at the 
time), and as soon as I could reach the treadle I started sewing doll clothes 
on it. I quickly found they were easier to do by hand. My first dress was 
actually a pinafore of white pique with little blue flowers. It had a ruffle 
around the hem and ruffles on the straps over the shoulders. And I was sooo 
proud of it.

I loved to sew until I took home ec in the 10th grade. After that horrible 
experience I didn't sew for several years. In college I went back to it because 
I couldn't afford to buy formals. And I have been sewing ever since. I even 
made a living being a seamstress for several years, but hated the alterations 
and finally quit that.

Costumes - ah yes, I made costumes for Halloween and then did the entire cast 
of a period play in college. That was a blast! I made costumes for friends and 
their kids off and on for years. Then I joined a Star Trek group and made Star 
Trek uniforms for most of the crew. Science Fiction conventions required 
costumes for me and for friends. Then I joined SCA and really got into some 
serious research. Most of my period costumes are made by hand for authenticity 
and because I have learned to enjoy doing the hand work now that I am retired 
and have the time. 

I enjoy the research, design, finding just the right fabric and trim, and the 
sewing. I don't really like the cutting out because it is boring and makes my 
hands hurt. I have a closet full of hand made costumes, and ended up buying 
three pairs of slacks to take on a trip last month. I must get around to making 
myself some modern clothes one of these days. 

Cats - oh yes! Somewhere in the neighborhood of twenty or so. I seem to be the 
favorite place for everyone to palm off their unwanted cats and kittens (or 
cats about to have kittens). But I love them and they have an acre of land (and 
the woods on three sides) to wander in. I have them spayed or neutered so they 
don't continue to reproduce unwanted kittens, and they get their shots 
annually.  Every month I take two or three to the vet for check-ups and shots.  
They also have their own door so the can come and go as they please. The only 
rooms off limits are the guest room and the sewing room. They can get in way 
too much trouble in the sewing room, and I like to keep the guest room for 
guests who may or may not be in love with cats.

Lalah, Never give up, Never surrender
--- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
From: Suzi Clarke [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: Historical Costume [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cc:
Subject: [h-cost] When and how did you start making costume?
Date: Mon, 22 May 2006 10:12:04 +0100
In discussion with a couple of friends at the weekend, we fell
to
talking about when we started sewing. One friend is a
re-enactor,
the other a former wardrobe mistress for the National Theatre
among
other things. Both of them had started very early, making
clothes for
themselves and for dolls. And they did it for pleasure! (And I
am a
professional costume maker.)
Now I never made clothes for dolls that I remember. As a
teenager I
occasionally, and very badly, made the odd skirt or blouse for
myself. I started work in the maintenance wardrobe of the RSC
at 24,
and the first serious making I did was in a rep company a
couple of
years later when I found it was part of my job as a wardrobe
mistress
to make the pantomime costumes. (I hate pantomime!) I got out
of that
very quickly, and went back to maintenance, eventually got
married,
had a son, and went to college as a mature student of 40 to
learn to
cut and make costumes. I discovered I was good enough never to
have
been out of work since I left college 20 mumble years ago.
But I still hate sewing up the costumes! I love the working out
of
what the customer wants, the choosing of the fabrics, the
making of
the patterns and cutting them out, (skip the next bit - the
sewing
up) love hand finishing, trimming, and fitting. But please
could
someone tell me where to get a magic wand to sew everything
together?
Oh, and coincidentally to the sewing conversation, we wondered
if it
was a given that costume makers, whether professional, gifted
amateur, or occasional maker, have cats? All the ones I know
do.
Suzi (about to sew the 5th Mary Queen of Scots costume, and
putting it off!)
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Re: [h-cost] When and how did you start making costume?

2006-05-22 Thread Cynthia J Ley

  In discussion with a couple of friends at the weekend, we fell to 
 talking 
  about when we started sewing.  

When I first joined the SCA, I made some rudimentary costumes but never
particularly enjoyed it. What I enjoy tremendously is embroidery and
embellishment, which started when I was looking to learn  a handcraft
that wasn't hard on my arthritic hands. A friend taught me blackwork,
which rocks!

Since then, the arthritis has gotten a lot better with treatment, and I
keep learning more medieval forms of embroidery. I also create the vast
majority of my designs.

Plus I have pals who love to costume, and are darned good at it.

And two cats who have learned that Mama's silk threads are nothing to
tamper with.

Arlys

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[h-cost] Re: Re: Current projects

2006-05-22 Thread cahuff


Hi
I too have this bundle of 25 yds of linen staring at me...I'm 
starting small with an 18th cent cap while carefully figguring and 
measuring cuts for the underclothes--2 sets per weekend x 2 people x 
3-4 Eras...
Hey at least I'll be savin on gas by being home and sewing like a mad 
monkey! And then the stays construction resumes...
Oh and this is also a cat free household--large Psittacines = cats, 
yum! (and that is the evil Cockatoo talking!) and then there are the 
whippets.

Ta
Carol, hey do the neighbors strays that live in the barn count? They 
bring new meaning to the term wild cat!

--
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Re: [h-cost] When and how did you start making costume?

2006-05-22 Thread Chiara Francesca

I started sewing around age 4, well, actually, that is not entirely
true. I was knitting at age 4. Not my idea, it was Mom actually. She
was pregnant with my baby sister and was exasperated with my energy
level one day and handed me her knitting. Not only did I stop
talking and moving, which pleased her to no end, I sat down and
tried to knit. This is her story, she is sticking to it. I do have a
memory of this but in my memory I sat down on a chair and pretended
to do what she was doing. I would not call it knitting. She did
teach me how to do it and I did help her finish my baby sister's
blanket.

After that she started to tell everyone what I was doing and
Grandmother got into the gig. She started me on sewing together
quilt squares for her when I was over at her place.

Next sewing gig, Kindergarten. The nuns were from France and made us
make our own little white gloves. I finished mine first while the
other struggled to thread the needles. Shakes head. God would they
ever get in trouble today if they handed kindergartners needles.
These are not the gloves that we use with fourchettes and bolton
thumbs. We cut a long strip and went from the outside of the glove,
over the thumb, between the fingers, and terminated it at the pinky.
We basically traced our hands on paper and like a cartoon looking
hand and cut that out of that strange knit fabric you do not see
around anymore. They were stretchy.

That hooked me on to gloves and I still make them today. I am pair
number 3 on my list this week and hope to be done by thursday. I
have to ship one pair off and hand the other two off this weekend to
a couple of really cool buddies.

When I was home with Grandma I had dogs and cats. When I went off to
college I have always had cats. After I got married we had a dog for
a day. He eat a hole in the fence and we gave him back the next day.

I like making elizabethan costumes on occasion, Italians however are
my passion and when I find a really good one specifically from
Sienna I make it. Flemish intreges me and I may try that some day
... when I am caught up on gloves that is. ;)

Chiara

On Mon, May 22, 2006 4:12 am, Suzi Clarke said:

 In discussion with a couple of friends at the weekend, we fell to
 talking about when we started sewing.

 Oh, and coincidentally to the sewing conversation, we wondered if it
 was a given that costume makers, whether professional, gifted
 amateur, or occasional maker, have cats? All the ones I know do.

 Suzi (about to sew the 5th Mary Queen of Scots costume, and putting
 it off!)


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[h-cost] Re: When and how did you start making costume?

2006-05-22 Thread Kahlara

I remember from a young age having a dress-up closet made up of less than 
perfect vintage clothes my mother had picked up at the second hand store. There 
was one very yellow gown made of either silk or satin with a tulle overskirt 
and lace over the bodice that I remember well. So I guess I was interested in 
costume early on.
   
  My mother also made my costumes for ballet recitals, horse shows and 
halloween as well as some every day clothes, so she helped start my interest in 
sewing and making costumes.
   
  I used to make crude doll clothes, and as it was the fashion at the time, 
crochet ponchos for my barbie dolls out of doilies.
   
  My mom was just beginning to teach me to machine sew when she died so I am 
mostly self taught, scorning Home-Ec class to take drafting, and wood and metal 
shop.
   
  I've dabble in costume somewhat, even had a load of fun designing the set and 
costumes for a theoretical production of Much Ado About Nothing for a class 
in college, but it is only recently that I have gotten really interested in 
doing truely accurate period costume.
   
  And I have 4 cats, 2 horses, 2 gold fish and 1 dog. The cats provide way too 
much supervision and quality control.
   
  Annette M


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Re: [h-cost] When and how did you start making costume?

 
In a message dated 5/22/2006 10:03:39 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:

I  started making clothes for my Babette doll



I dressed Babette as the Empress Josephine in her coronation gown for a  high 
school class and she still wears that to this day,  35 years  later.
 
For the record, I think Babette has a prettier face than the original  Barbie.
 
Ann Wass
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Re: [h-cost] When and how did you start making costume?

2006-05-22 Thread Ailith Mackintosh

I started sewing when I was 5. My gran sewed clothing and made quilts. I 
remember sitting on the floor watching the wheel spin on her treadle sewing 
machine. I kept on sewing, making my own halloween costumes. I, too, became 
interested in Star Trek and made several costumes for aliens to wear. :-)


I made my wedding gown on a treadle machine. It was the only one that I had 
at the time. Unfortunately, it wasn't my gran's machine. It apparently went 
to charity when they moved to a smaller house in 1970.


In addition to the beautiful treadle that I bought at a yard sale, I have a 
very old Viking (the first computerized machine), an old JC Penney 
machine, an old Singer in a bent wood case, a Euro-Pro basic machine and a 
little battery operated machine that goes with me to events (in case of a 
major clothing malfunction!).


In 1990 I attended my first SCA event and the costume bug bit hard! 
Sixteenth century Florentine is my passion. I love how I feel when I wear 
one of my gowns. Lately, though, I've taken to wearing the Greenland-style 
gowns. They're easier for me to maneuver around in.


Oh - I do have cats and have had since I was 6. :-)

kate 



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Re: [h-cost] Re: When and how did you start making costume?

2006-05-22 Thread Kristin


Hmmm... the first memory I have is with one of those little plastic
child-size Singer machines with a real needle, and playing with that.  I
must have been about 6 at that point.  As a child, my parents were convinced
that I'd become a fashion designer, as I'd take old shower curtains and
other fabrics and turn them into costumes.

My grandmother would help me out as a child, when I spent summers with her
in the Midwest.

In middle school and high school I did make a number of my own outfits...
skirts and dresses that I actually wore.  In my early 20's I took a design
course at Wash. U. where I learned how to create a flat pattern from a
sloper.  I made a French Maid's costume one year for Halloween... I used a
pattern, but did all the sewing entirely by hand.  When I got married, I
made my own wedding dress, since I wanted silk, and simple, and didn't see
anything I liked that I could afford.

My sewing has been a bit sporadic over the years, as I like to do a number
of different things with my hands.  I like ceramics, painting, gardening,
and sewing (both machine and hand).

At the moment, I'm working on an 18th century pair of stays.  This past fall
I found some fabric at a church flea market, that I thought would make a
nice 18th century outfit, which I've wanted to do for a long time. I'm still
working on the quilted petticoat, but have the gown done.  I know it's not
totally accurate, but I figure it's a first try and I can learn from what's
wrong with it.  I'm thinking that I may have to get into re-enacting just to
have an excuse to wear all the stuff I'm making and want to make!  Anyone
know of any good groups in the Philadelphia area?

Oh... I don't have any cats at the moment, but I'm definitely a cat person
(and may end up adopting two stray kittens that have found a home in my
mother's garage).

Kristin


On 5/22/06, Kahlara [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:


I remember from a young age having a dress-up closet made up of less
than perfect vintage clothes my mother had picked up at the second hand
store. There was one very yellow gown made of either silk or satin with a
tulle overskirt and lace over the bodice that I remember well. So I guess I
was interested in costume early on.

My mother also made my costumes for ballet recitals, horse shows and
halloween as well as some every day clothes, so she helped start my interest
in sewing and making costumes.

I used to make crude doll clothes, and as it was the fashion at the time,
crochet ponchos for my barbie dolls out of doilies.

My mom was just beginning to teach me to machine sew when she died so I am
mostly self taught, scorning Home-Ec class to take drafting, and wood and
metal shop.

I've dabble in costume somewhat, even had a load of fun designing the set
and costumes for a theoretical production of Much Ado About Nothing for a
class in college, but it is only recently that I have gotten really
interested in doing truely accurate period costume.

And I have 4 cats, 2 horses, 2 gold fish and 1 dog. The cats provide way
too much supervision and quality control.

Annette M


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[h-cost] Re: Where did you learn to sew and what is your dress form wearing?

2006-05-22 Thread Lavolta Press

I started sewing as a child, doing my father's mending and alterations. 
(My mother didn't sew much.) My father bought me an antique treadle 
machine because it was cheap, simple to operate, and hard to break. He 
also taught me what I knew about sewing at that point in my life.


I took Home Ec for two years in junior high, which taught me nothing, 
and almost turned me off sewing for life.


I started collecting vintage clothes when I was in my teens. My parents 
were always going to country estate auctions--they collected Victorian 
furniture (and all kinds of other things). They encouraged me to have an 
interest in something antique, and were happy to buy me box lots of 
Victorian and Edwardian clothes, which were going cheap at the time. I 
taught myself how to clean, mend, and alter the clothes, though I read a 
lot more about those techniques starting a few years later.


I really got interested in sewing in my last two years of high school. I 
wanted to make clothes that were interesting and different (also ones 
that fit, since I'm 4'9). I designed my own clothes by drawing around 
basic ones I owned and winging it from there. Sometimes my designs 
worked, but often they didn't.


Which was frustrating, and made me realize I needed some formal 
training. I wasn't contemplating a career in clothing design--my parents 
wanted me to be an academic--but I managed to fit in almost all of both 
the clothing design and textile courses around my requirements as a 
history major. I took several beginning to advanced sewing courses, 
couture sewing and design, flat pattern work, drafting, weaving, and 
crochet. (My father bought me my first electric machine, a Sears 
Kenmore.) I did a lot of reading on clothing history--I'd done some when 
I was in high school, but got really serious about it when I was in 
college. I made a lot of my daily clothes, and they were as historically 
inspired as I could wear in modern life. But I wanted to make the real 
thing; which is how I got involved in reenactment type activities. First 
I wanted a place to wear the clothes, but husband and I soon took up 
historic dance (we'd previously been doing other types of dance).


The other thing I'd been doing since childhood was writing. After I got 
my history degree I ended up with a career in publishing. (Although 
early in it I also completed a publishing program at another college, 
spending several years in night school.) I worked my way up from being 
an editorial assistant through being a project manager/senior editor, at 
various book and magazine publishers. I also wrote software manuals in 
Silicon Valley. Eventually I decided to start my own business. It was 
obvious that I should publish books on costuming, considering I'd been 
studying it almost all my life.


Right now I'm doing something I haven't done in years--designing my 
daily clothes. I was only interested in accurate historic ones for a 
long time. Historic clothes got too outré for daily life as styles 
changed (although I remember when I could go into work as an editor 
wearing Ralph Lauren skirts with vintage Edwardian blouses and boots and 
huge repro hats). New petites lines made it easier to buy modern clothes 
RTW, and I wasn't interested in spending my time making simple things I 
could buy off the rack.


But now, it's possible to look more interesting. So I've been working on 
a series of skirts made from vintage embroidered tablecloths. (More than 
I really need of course, but with me, the practical need for an item of 
clothing has never been the point.) I buy them on eBay, colored when I 
can, but I've bought a lot of sturdier ones white and dyed them. I'm 
doing draped and layered effects inspired by bustle dress styles, but 
updated, things I can wear in daily life. (At least, since I'm willing 
to be a little different.) I'm doing the designs by draping the 
tablecloth on a dress form till it looks good. There are a lot of 
interesting things you can do with a fancy tablecloth. I've also been 
making tops to go with them. Some are made from embroidered placemats or 
napkins that came with the tablecloths.


The other thing I'm doing is, I bought dozens of T-shirts and tops in 
various styles from Dharma Trading. I've been doing a load of machine 
dyeing every week for months. I'm leaving a lot of them as is--my goal 
was partly to have one long-sleeved shirt, one short-sleeved shirt, one 
camisole or tank, and one pair of socks  in every one of my favorite 
colors and shades. But some I'm decorating with bits of vintage lace and 
crochet, small yardage, medallions, doilies, collars and cuffs, in 
various more or less Victorian/Edwardian ways. I'm trying to use up 
things I've accumulated for years, which are otherwise not very usable, 
and not buy new. I try not to cut up the shirts, but sometimes I have 
to. I'm almost done with the dye lots, I have only five or six more 
loads/weeks to go. Three of those will be very light shades, so

Re: [h-cost] When and how did you start making costume?

2006-05-22 Thread Alexandria Doyle


I starting hand sewing things when I was pretty young, pretty much taking
fabric scraps from my mother's sewing room and making doll clothes, which
lead to making dolls too because I didn't think I had enough.  I didn't
start regular sewing until I was nearly a teenager.  What I remember most
about the first thing I made was that I was working with left over's from
one of my mom's projects, so I dodn't have quite enough to make the sleeves,
unless I pieces the fabric together.  My mom's comment when she saw what I'd
done was Good work  She had been taught to sew as a child from an aunt and
had been sewing for all eight of her kids.  She'd also spent a year or so
working at a fabric store and was always put out with the people that
believed that if the pattern said you had to have 5/8 inch buttons, you
couldn't use 1/2 inch buttons instead.  So my first solo project pleased her
in that I didn't worry too much about what the pattern said, if I got a
function top out of the process.

I had gone on to sew mundane clothing through high school, did some sewing
for my children when they were young.  for a year or two I had taken up hand
quilting, when I lived in Germany and didn't have a sewing machine
available.  Over the years I've sewed less and less mudane stuff, doing more
costumes until I found the SCA, a reason to make lots and lots of costumes
of different types.  As I've gone on I sometimes sew for my granddaughter
little dresses, more things for her to dress up in- like the baby blue satin
and gold lame elizabethan last Christmas, when great with her roller
blades...
As to costume sewing I regularlly look for garbie dolls, people who need
costumes, but don't sew for whatever reason.  Since they pay for the fabric,
and sometimes for labor, I get to feed my habit without cost to myself.

The last couple of years I've been researching 16th century dolls, so I have
been making them and dressing them, which brings together many of the skills
I've worked to delevop up to this point, since their clothing require the
same forms and layers as regular people.  And now I have my granddaughter
for the summer, and I get to dress her for events too.  She's a lot of fun
in that she loves to dress up and play with dolls where her mother only did
if other kids wanted to but it was never her favorite game.

And I've only had cats inside with me the last five years or so, before that
it was always dogs.  I still have a dog, but the cats have taken over my
house.  I have a long hair black cat that believes silk is for her,
especially the red-black shot I had draped on the sewing table, that showed
her off beautifully.  Then there's Quasimoto who not only lays on whatever
I'm working on, he grabs at the cloth as it moves around.  I swear he keeps
it up, he's going to get his whiskers clipped, and it won't be intentional.

As to the sewing itself, I guess I do live to sew at the machine, but after
a car accident years ago I developed calcium on the spine and I can only do
a couple of hours before it becomes extremely painful.  So I've been doing
more handsewing and embroidery in my nicy comfy lazy boy with my feet
propped up.

alex
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[h-cost] re:1844 Corset Again-Busk Questions

2006-05-22 Thread Dawn Luckham

Anne wrote:  Based on the recent discussion of the split busk being 
invented in 1853, it seems I should use a wooden busk for this transitional 
corset. However, given the curve along CF, how is that going to work? (snip)


Do you suppose you need a specially made curved busk? The pattern indicates 
the busk runs entirely top to bottom--16.5 inches on me. I am concerned 
that if I get a busk that long that I am going to have it poking me in the 
pubic bone when I sit down. (snip)


Anne, I'm going to disagree with the earlier discussion you 
mentioned.  Valerie Steele in her book The Corset, A Cultural History 
shows a fashion plate dated 1837 (page 42) which clearly shows a front 
separating busk.  To my eyes and given the size the image is shown (about 
half size) it looks very, very much like the type of separating busks 
available to us today.  In the The History of Underclothes Phillis and C. 
Willett Cunnington mention that by 1847 front fastening corsets are 
commonly advertised.  That is not to say 1844 is still not a transitional 
period. It is and the wooden busk is also very common.  The wooden busks 
can be carved and curved somewhat.


I don't know about a busk that runs 16.5 inches!  I was taught that the 
busk must fit the individual body - and I can't imagine a body that needs a 
busk that long unless the individual is over 6 feet tall (an average busk 
length is 12 inches - but this of course varies on short waisted or long 
waisted proportions).  I was taught that the busk runs from the top of the 
corset to a spot that is comfortable when sitting on a hard flat chair or 
stool (at pubic bone area).  If the corset busk is longer than that, 
sitting becomes very difficult and when you do sit, it pushes the bust 
upward in the extreme.  Your bust should not be under your chin when you 
sit down.  If the corset is to be longer than the busk, the lower portion 
of the corset is fastened with hooks and eyes, allowing it to be flexible 
for sitting.


I hope this helps with your project somewhat.
Dawn


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Re: [h-cost] When and how did you start making costume?

2006-05-22 Thread Lalah

I made a fashion doll (pre Barbie) a Marie Antoinett gown, complete with a wig 
made from cotton balls when I was in the ninth grade for a history project.  
Don't have a clue what happened to her though.  We moved a lot.
Lalah, Never give up, Never surrender

--- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cc:
Subject: Re: [h-cost] When and how did you start making costume?
Date: Mon, 22 May 2006 13:25:40 EDT

In a message dated 5/22/2006 10:03:39 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:

I  started making clothes for my Babette doll

I dressed Babette as the Empress Josephine in her coronation gown for a  high 
school class and she still wears that to this day,  35 years  later.

For the record, I think Babette has a prettier face than the original  Barbie.

Ann Wass
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Re: [h-cost] When and how did you start making costume?

 
In a message dated 5/22/2006 11:19:24 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:

ended up  buying three pairs of slacks to take on a trip last month. I must 
get around  to making myself some modern clothes one of these days.  




But why waste your precious sewing time making what you can buy?  And  no way 
could I make a pair of lined wool slacks with fly front zipper as cheaply  as 
I can buy them.  Materials alone would probably be almost as much, and  my 
time is worth SOMETHING!  (As I'm not retired yet, I have to ration  my sewing 
time!)
 
Ann Wass
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Re: [h-cost] Re: When and how did you start making costume?

2006-05-22 Thread Susan Data-Samtak


Annette,

We have 2 Paso Fino horses.  I sew Parade stuff for them and us.  I got 
into some historically oriented activities- volunteering at local 
sites- one is Rev War and  one is Victorian. When possible, I ride 
sidesaddle in costume.


What type of horses do you have?

Susan

Slow down. The trail is the thing, not the end of the trail. Travel
too fast and you miss all you are traveling for.  - Ride the Dark
Trail by Louis L'Amour

On May 22, 2006, at 12:04 PM, Kahlara wrote:

I remember from a young age having a dress-up closet made up of less 
than perfect vintage clothes my mother had picked up at the second 
hand store. There was one very yellow gown made of either silk or 
satin with a tulle overskirt and lace over the bodice that I remember 
well. So I guess I was interested in costume early on.


  My mother also made my costumes for ballet recitals, horse shows and 
halloween as well as some every day clothes, so she helped start my 
interest in sewing and making costumes.


  I used to make crude doll clothes, and as it was the fashion at the 
time, crochet ponchos for my barbie dolls out of doilies.


  My mom was just beginning to teach me to machine sew when she died 
so I am mostly self taught, scorning Home-Ec class to take drafting, 
and wood and metal shop.


  I've dabble in costume somewhat, even had a load of fun designing 
the set and costumes for a theoretical production of Much Ado About 
Nothing for a class in college, but it is only recently that I have 
gotten really interested in doing truely accurate period costume.


  And I have 4 cats, 2 horses, 2 gold fish and 1 dog. The cats provide 
way too much supervision and quality control.


  Annette M


-
Love cheap thrills? Enjoy PC-to-Phone  calls to 30+ countries for just 
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Re: [h-cost] When and how did you start making costume?

2006-05-22 Thread Marie Schnoor


Alexandria Doyle wrote:

...As to costume sewing I regularlly look for garbie dolls, people 
who need
costumes, but don't sew for whatever reason.  Since they pay for the 
fabric,

and sometimes for labor, I get to feed my habit without cost to myself.


*snicker* I love it! Garbie dolls. I'll remember that one. :)

I started sewing as a kind as well, don't remember how young. My 
birthday is Halloween, so, obviously, I was born with the costume bug. 
My mom would sew at the table and she taught me how to do hand stitches 
and work the machine. I don't have a machine these days; I do my work by 
hand because it always looks better and gets me in a Sewing-Zen sort of 
state. But I think I still have barbies with costumes on them. I vividly 
remember reading about Elizabethan corsets and using cardbord and 
masking tape to make poor barbie into the proper shape. I think my first 
real complete costume was a Jedi outfit. :D


Marie
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Re: [h-cost] re:1844 Corset Again-Busk Questions

2006-05-22 Thread E House

Without going downstairs to look at CC for the exact date, the modern style 
of busk was invented in the late 1820s; 1828 sticks in my head.  They didn't 
come into widespread use until the 1840s, but it's definitely not impossible 
to find them earlier.


-E House 


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[h-cost] acid free tissue paper

2006-05-22 Thread Bjarne og Leif Drews

I've been clearing my mother's house (she is now in a nursing home) and have 
found some vintage garments. I know you are supposed to store such things in 
acid-free tissue paper, but have no idea what kind of shops sell such paper. 
Any suggestions?


Kate Bunting
Librarian and 17th century reenactor

Hi Kate.
Here in Denmark we have a nice shop that sells all kinds of papers for 
offices, and also arts papers. They carry the acid free tissue paper, so if 
you have a shop like that, try and ask them!

You could also try some bookshops, perhaps?
Bjarne






Leif og Bjarne Drews
www.my-drewscostumes.dk

http://home0.inet.tele.dk/drewscph/ 



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[h-cost] In an ideal sewing world..............

2006-05-22 Thread Suzi Clarke



The discussion about when and where you all started sewing seems to 
show me that I am, so far, the only one who has no childhood 
background of sewing. (I think this was because my mother, a 
brilliant seamstress, had no patience with my clumsy efforts, and as 
she was left handed, had problems teaching me. This is only a guess.)


However, it leads me on to thinking about my ideal sewing (remember 
I hate making up clothes) situation. For a start I wish I had met my 
tutors twenty years later, and set up my business twenty years 
sooner. I would then have had a small workroom, with ladies who like 
making up to do the bits I don't enjoy. Then I could research, and 
make patterns and cut, and decide on fabrics to my heart's content. I 
might have to allow others to do some of the bits, but as the boss 
I get to choose what to do. (And I don't get to do the making up - oh 
dream on!!)


Interestingly, I would still do what I do, only more so if I had a 
workroom, only I might have been sufficiently experienced to work in 
movies, or theatre, and not been dogged by deadlines if there was help.


Any other daydreams?

Suzi


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Re: [h-cost] When and how did you start making costume?

2006-05-22 Thread Suzi Clarke


At 19:15 22/05/2006, you wrote:


In a message dated 5/22/2006 11:19:24 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:

ended up  buying three pairs of slacks to take on a trip last month. I must
get around  to making myself some modern clothes one of these days.




But why waste your precious sewing time making what you can buy?  And  no way
could I make a pair of lined wool slacks with fly front zipper as cheaply  as
I can buy them.  Materials alone would probably be almost as much, and  my
time is worth SOMETHING!  (As I'm not retired yet, I have to 
ration  my sewing

time!)



I almost never make for myself - 1. because I don't like to, and 2. 
as Ann says - why waste time sewing for yourself when you can buy 
cheaper (and in my case, probably better!) Also if I am making for 
myself, I am not making for other people, therefore I am not earning 
money. (And to anyone who suggests evenings or weekends - would you 
do your weekday job in the evenings and weekend as well as in the 
day? No way thank you!)


Suzi


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Re: [h-cost] When and how did you start making costume?

2006-05-22 Thread Audrey Bergeron-Morin


I started sewing when I joined the SCA. Before that, my mother would
make me wonderful Halloween costumes, and I'd help her by sewing the
straight seams on the machine, but that's about it. I never even made
doll clothes, or anything of the kind before. But I LOVED historical
clothing. Ever since I was a child I've loved dressing up, not in
funny clothes, but in clothes of other cultures or of eras past.

So, when I joined the SCA, sewing became the way to obtain the
costumes I wanted. I think to this day I like having made something
more than I like making it. I had to learn to make clothes without a
pattern (thanks Kass - and her reconstructinghistory website),
something my mother wouldn't do. I learned mostly by reading mailing
lists and websites.

I love thinking about projects, planning, researching, buying fabric
and accessories, washing, preparing and ironing the fabric, but then I
get stuck because I HATE HATE HATE marking, pinning and cutting.
Sometimes a project will sit in a box for years before I start because
I just can't bring myself to lay it out and cut. The sewing stage
itself doesn't bother me. It's not something I enjoy doing, but I
don't hate it either. Fitting doesn't bother me either, but fitting
myself is kind of a hassle - I really have to get a dress dummy at
some point. Then I get to the other part I love - hand-finishing.
Hemming, finishing the inside seams, all of that.

I also love cats, and used to have one (he'd find a squishy spot
somewhere close by and sleep there while I worked - wonderful to have
that kind of company) but I'm allergic and doubt I'll ever have
another one. You're right though - when I think of it, all (or almost
all) costumers I know have cats.

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Re: [h-cost] When and how did you start making costume?

2006-05-22 Thread Elizabeth Young


Suzi Clarke wrote:
In discussion with a couple of friends at the weekend, we fell to 
talking about when we started sewing.  
(snipped) 
Oh, and coincidentally to the sewing conversation, we wondered if it was 
a given that costume makers, whether professional, gifted amateur, or 
occasional maker, have cats? All the ones I know do.


I've been sewing since I was a little girl. My mom would let me sit on 
her lap in front of the sewing machine and move the fabric. I started 
making clothes for a teddy bear once I could use the machine (it had a 
knee-lever for power, so I did not have to reach the floor). I don't 
know how old I was, probably 7?
I progressed to Barbie clothes and then clothes for a fancy 
European-made doll Mom got me (I think she got tired of finding 
dismembered Barbies around (the only way to get a regular blouse on a 
Barbie is to remove her head and her arms, stuff the arms in the sleeves 
(from the inside) pull the blouse and arms over her neck, and then 
reattach her head). Putting the arms back in the sockets was always 
annoying)).
Dolls and teddybear alike had lots of costumes. Mom gave me a battered 
long pink floral silk scarf which I turned into a sari for Barbie. There 
was a contest at a local bank to make international costumes for 
dolls. I made several costumes for those dolls.
The first garment I made for myself was a gathered-at-the-waist skirt, 
with a button, buttonhole, and zipper, and an interfaced waistband.
I found Folkwear patterns after that and had fun making unusual clothes 
to wear.
I made a Darth Vader costume in highschool (my friends and I were all 
'under the influence' of Star wars). It was pretty cool.
Then I got into science fiction fandom in college and started making 
lots of costumes. Most of them were from novels I had read and enjoyed.
I would make historical costumes to wear for halloween. They were not 
very 'authentic' but people could mostly figure out who I was supposed 
to be.
Now most of the costume sewing I do is for use in the SCA or to wear to 
work/school (I consider, for the purposes of this email, that any pre 
1990 clothes or fantasy clothes I make to be costume).
I did own cats, but that was only because I was not supposed to have ANY 
pets in the apartment and me and all my neighbors figured cats were 
easier to hide than dogs.

Now I have a dog. Totally a dog person.
Note: I do not dress my dog in costumes.

liz young

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[h-cost] Yippee!!

2006-05-22 Thread Ailith Mackintosh


My copy of Moda a Firenze arrived in today's mail!!!

I'm so excited!! There are portraits that I've never seen in it AND there's 
a page-sized image of the portrait of Laudomia de Medici as well.


Hurrah!!

kate 



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Re: [h-cost] When and how did you start making costume?

2006-05-22 Thread Jean Waddie

I don't remember voluntarily sewing articles as a child.  I remember 
making a toy rabbit at Brownies, and Binker embroidered mats at primary 
school, but I never made clothes for dolls or anything like that.  My 
mother was a needlework teacher, so I learned the basics, and we had to 
do needlework for a year in high school.  I think my mother did most of 
the dressmaking because she was quicker and better at it.  It was only 
when I got into re-enactment that I saw a reason to sew for myself, and 
all that I had absorbed without noticing came out - and Mother was quite 
stunned at my readiness to make garments without a pattern! (only 
t-tunics etc, but it's a start.)


I enjoy the making, and the wearing.  Research is not really my scene. 
I hate cutting out, but once I get going on putting it together, and 
sitting gently hemming, I'm very happy.  I wish I lived closer to 
someone who liked the other parts, and we coud share.


Jean
--
Jean Waddie
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Costumers helpers (was Re: [h-cost] When and how did you start making costume?

2006-05-22 Thread Susan B. Farmer


Quoting [EMAIL PROTECTED]:



In a message dated 5/22/2006 5:13:19 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:

we  wondered if it
was a given that costume makers, whether professional,  gifted
amateur, or occasional maker, have cats? All the ones I know  do.



3.  As to my Current Project?  Finishing this Dissertation.  *then* 
I'll get to the sewing 


Susan
-
Susan Farmer
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
University of Tennessee
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
http://www.goldsword.com/sfarmer/Trillium/


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Re: [h-cost] 1844 Corset Again-Busk Questions

2006-05-22 Thread AlbertCat

 
In a message dated 5/22/2006 10:42:40 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:

I  already have this problem on my existing 1830s corset when I 
bend over to  tie my shoe or cook.




 
Put your shoes on first...then the corset. ...:-P
 
 
Ok ok, I'm teasing. But remember, many corset wearers, in their period, had  
a fleet of servants. [There's a wonderful scene in Little Dorrit where, 
after  having been in Debtor's Prison, but now out and with a fortune, Mr. 
Dorrit's  coffee is cold. Amy, his daughter born in the prison and only knowing 
that  
life, picks up the tray to get more. No no no! says Mr. Dorrit, Call 
someone!  It is highly improper to do the servants work for them and make them 
feel 
we can  dispense with any of their services at any time. ]
 
Anyway, corsets restrict movement. As for sitting, it shouldn't bother you  
if you sit up straight. Ladies often just perch on the edge of the  chair.
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Re: [h-cost] quick info needed

2006-05-22 Thread Adele de Maisieres


REBECCA BURCH wrote:


Can anybody tell me how many yards it will take to
make a ruff for a man with a 16 neck?

I think I found a deal on some lace trim, but I'm not
sure there will be enough for two ruff sets.  There is
25 yds on the spool.  Will that be enough for two ruff
and cuff sets?
 

There's no quick answer to that.  It depends on the style of ruff. 


--
Adele de Maisieres

-
Habeo metrum - musicamque,
hominem meam. Expectat alium quid?
-Georgeus Gershwinus
- 



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[h-cost] Biblical weaving

2006-05-22 Thread Kathy Bone

Does anyone here have information on the type of material and weave that was 
used during the ministry of Christ?
I am particularly interested in finding out more about the robe of Jesus that 
is mentioned in John 19:23.  I know one type article of clothing worn then was 
a khiton. However, this was Roman garb and I don't know if a Jewish peasant 
would have wore the same thing.
If anyone has any info or references for finding out that you would like to 
share, I'd really appreciate it. 
TIA - Kathy
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Mountaineers Are Always Free
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Re: [h-cost] Re: Current projects

2006-05-22 Thread E House

I'm about to start teaching myself goldwork.  I've been doing embroidery 
since I was 7 or 8, so I'm hoping some of that will carry over, but it's a 
different enough technique that it all feels very new at the moment.  Right 
now, I'm trying to figure out what widths and lengths I need for the project 
I have in mind... sigh.  (One of those early 16thC Flemish hoods, which look 
like black half-circle veils with a gold edging along the front.) I _think_ 
I've at least managed to figure out which kinds of bullion, pearl purl, etc 
that I need, but despite my hoard of samples I'll probably only know for 
sure after I've wasted money on the wrong thing!  Once I've gotten the hang 
of it with that, I'm going to work on decorating a gown in goldwork, using 
designs from some of the early 16thC pattern/modelbuchs, or possibly copying 
from Holbein paintings.


I've just had my first MS attack, and am supposed to avoid physical and 
mental stress.  Luckily, it's very easy on me physically and mentally to lie 
on the couch and sew by hand! =}


-E the glass is half full House 


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Re: [h-cost] When and how did you start making costume?


snip
My first serious attempts came my first year in grad school, when I joined 
the SCA.  Although my first garment was something I now refer to as the 
Ostrogothic prom dress (green taffeta bog-style gown), I got better 
fairly quickly, since being a history grad student did make me start 
glomming on to what was a good source and what wasn't fairly quickly. (The 
design of that first dress wasn't the issue--I just had no clue about 
fabric at the time)

snip

Susan


Oh, I love this description-can I steal it?  My first SCA dress was made 
of stretch panne velvet, in a fitted coathardie style.  Again, the design 
wasn't half bad, I just didn't have the fabric sense I quickly gained. 
Strangely enough, that first dress, made 30 years ago, bore a strange 
resemblance to some of the costumes seen in the Lord of the Rings movies.


Melusine 


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Re: [h-cost] Re: Current projects


My current projects are:

2 17th cen. shirts, a turkish coat, and a doublet, all for a customer. The 
shirts need to be finished by Weds., I'd like to have the rest done by next 
week.


A pair of goat leggings out of a microfibre fur that really does look 
like goat hair, and a pirate coat.  These are for a second customer and 
need to be finished by June 1st.


I have a late renaissance loose coat cut out for myself, that I'd like to 
have done by the first weekend in June, since I'm going to a SCA event by 
myself and only have back lacing corsets.


I have also just recieved 5 yards of the fabric I want to use to decorate my 
studio.   http://zandsfabrics.com/item.asp?cID=155scID=233PID=2359 , only 
with pink corsets.  I'm also getting a pink and white, or pink, black and 
white stripe to go with it.  My husband is rolling his eyes over the pink, 
but he's relieved that it's only going to be in the studio, not all over the 
house.


Melusine

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Re: [h-cost] In an ideal sewing world..............

My biggest daydream is to have someone to do the plain sewing.  I love the 
designing, the research, the patterning and even the initial cutting and 
testing a garment.  After I have it figured out, I don't want to do the 
sewing.  I love the finishing, especially fine details, but I'd love to have 
someone to do the boring parts.


I am actually looking into working with one of the local trade schools to 
have a student on an internship to do this.  There are certain tax breaks 
for their wages, and some other benefits, as well as getting the work done. 
I think I might be able to swing this next year.


Other than that, I want a bigger studio, or perhaps a separate room for the 
cutting, since my current studio handles the rest just fine.


Oh, and the fibromyalgia and arthritis could go away, too.

Melusine


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[h-cost] Re: In an ideal sewing world..............

2006-05-22 Thread Galadriel Lothlorien

 The discussion about when and where you all started
 sewing seems to 
 show me that I am, so far, the only one who has no
 childhood 
 background of sewing.

Add me into that figure.  I was self-taught and
started at about 19 years old when I wanted a Star
Wars costume that wasn't crap, and didn't want to pay
a lot of money because I didn't have it, so I made my
own Lady Han Solo costume.  That year I ended up
making 4 Star Wars costumes, and after that, more Star
Wars and Lord of the Rings and Jane Austen events just
kept me going and going!  Now I'm working on my
graduate degree in costume technology.  Go figure!  I
always wanted to be a scientist.  You never know where
you're going to end up.

--Rachel

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[h-cost] When and how did you start making costume?

2006-05-22 Thread Janette Humphrey

--

Message: 10
Date: Mon, 22 May 2006 10:12:04 +0100
From: Suzi Clarke [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: [h-cost] When and how did you start making costume?
To: Historical Costume [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED]

Oh, and coincidentally to the sewing conversation, we wondered if it 
was a given that costume makers, whether professional, gifted 
amateur, or occasional maker, have cats? All the ones I know do.

Suzi

I have to come out of lurkdom to admit to being a costume designer and maker for
Theatre companies here and also having 2 cats. (I always have my fingers
crossed that no one in the cast is allergic!)

Janette in a chilly Canberra Australia

-- 
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.392 / Virus Database: 268.6.1/344 - Release Date: 19/05/2006

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RE: [h-cost] When and how did you start making costume?

2006-05-22 Thread Megan M.

I started sewing by age 9 or 10 - I remember begging my mother to let me
take a class at Sears in the summer when I was 12.  She made many of our
clothes when I was under age 8 or so.  I made all my long dresses for
whatever I needed them for in high school and college, but at that point my
costuming was only for Halloween parties.  I did not branch out of Halloween
costumes and regular clothing until I was about 30, when I found my first
Renaissance Festival, and discovered a need for more costumes.  Then I found
the SCA and a need for more costumes, and then started learning about
historical costume and another world opened up.  I also learned
crochet/knitting/embroidery/macramé about the same time as I learned sewing
(as a kid).  Now I'm back to some mundane clothing as well, and
incorporating some features of historic clothing into my mundane wear.
-Megan




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Re: Current projects (was Re: [h-cost] hello out there??)

2006-05-22 Thread Kristin

Well, I haven't had a chance to upload recent pictures until this evening,
but here's a link to the late 1700's outfit I've been working on since the
fall:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=jq8t100.nqqmx58x=0y=-tik0qhttp://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=jq8t100.nqqmx58x=0y=-tik0q

I'm procrastinating on the quilted petticoat again, by making a pair of
stays. I guess I'll be finished with the binding within the next week and
will have to go back to quilting for a while. My next procrastination
project is to make pockets... and then maybe start making another shift, but
of linen this time around... and then...

I'm so very happy to see that I'm not the only one who works on multiple
projects simultaneously. It used to drive my ex nuts... but I guess he was
never around anyone else who had a creative streak in them!

Kristin

On 5/22/06, Catherine Olanich Raymond [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

On Sunday 21 May 2006 11:48 pm, Sue Clemenger wrote:
I think I'm right about where you are, garb-wise, Cathy. My laundry
list
wasn't really an indication of my Extreme Expertise and Skills, but more
like the results of being consitutionally incapable of project monogamy.

Same here, which was part of my point. However, you have attempted a
wider
variety of projects than I have (see below).

Deity help me, a couple of weeks ago, I was encountering my first power
tool (a drill press) in a friend's garage, learning to register
soapstone
molds so I can carve the molds and make my own pewter buttons for fitted
gowns.

Now anything that requires power tools is a bit farther than I've cared to
go!
I'm still waffling about using that sheet copper I bought to try to make a
Viking style needlecase-and I can do that with only a dowel and a pair of
pliers (and maybe crazy glue).

I'd love to hear more about you Lithuanian shawl!

One of the things the lands along the Baltic seem to have in common
(Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, parts of Finland, even Novogorod) is that the
rich tended to ornament their clothes by working bronze coils and rings
into
them. (Most of the 1st-10th c textile finds in those areas have survived
because the bronze ornaments preserve a fair amount of the cloth. Since
most
of the ornamentation was at the edges, you get a good idea of the size of
the
ornamented items.)

Based on where the metal ornaments were found, it appears that there was a
standard shawl size (roughly 30 inches by 40 inches). The proper way to
do
the ornamentation would be to weave the shawl to order, and wrap strips of
sheet bronze or bits of bronze wire around certain warp threads as I
worked,
but I'm not likely to learn how to weave anything bigger than a
tablet-woven
belt anytime soon. So what I'll probably do is kind of corkscrew pieces
of
copper wire into already woven wool (I have some nice wool melton cut and
fringed for the purpose). Then, I will make smaller coils of copper wire,
string them onto a cord, and couch them onto each short end.

Raymond's Quiet Press started making the kind of stick pins that (it has
been
theorized) were used to fasten these shawls. There's a picture of the
design
here:

http://www.quietpress.com/New2004.html

(look under new in October 2004; it's the left-hand picture, the item on
the
far right).

They were used in pairs, fastened together with bronze chains. The pins
attached to them are huge--as big as knitting needles (the same is true of
the actual survivals Raymond's model is based upon).

Having finally bought myself a pair from Raymond as a birthday present, my
theory is that the pins were never meant to go through anything other than
the shawl. Once you fasten them to the shawl (I've already tried this)
you
can take the shawl off and on over your head (really, really carefully,
to
make sure you don't gouge out your eyes) as a unit, without risking damage
to
the rest of your body or clothes.

I have already finished most of the rest of the costume the shawl is to be
worn with. When I finally finish the shawl, I'll put a picture in the
MedCos
gallery and post the URL to it here.

--
Cathy Raymond [EMAIL PROTECTED]

I'm starting to like the cut of this man's gibberish.
--General Fillmore (from The Tick, episode 2)

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OT--the Weather (was Re: [h-cost] hello out there??)

On Monday 22 May 2006 4:13 am, Kate M Bunting wrote:
 You're lucky. It's cold and very wet in the UK (and I have my first camping
 event of the season next weekend!) 

It's been drier than usual here in Pennsylvania, but also colder than 
usual--it barely stayed warm enough for us to finish eating on Saturday.



-- 
Cathy Raymond [EMAIL PROTECTED]

I'm starting to like the cut of this man's gibberish.
--General Fillmore (from The Tick, episode 2)

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Re: [h-cost] Re: When and how did you start making costume?

I made dresses for my Barbie dolls largely because my parents couldn't afford 
to buy lots of doll clothes for me, but my interest in historic costume dates 
to my adolescence, when I saw the Masterpiece Theater series Six Wives of 
Henry VIII on television.  I dove into histories of the period, to see how 
much of the series was based on fact, and branched out from there into 
costume history.

My mother sewed in a dress factory.  Her specialty was sewing on buttons, but 
she knew the basics of how to use a sewing machine and how to follow a simple 
pattern, and she helped me out with my first projects.


-- 
Cathy Raymond [EMAIL PROTECTED]

I'm starting to like the cut of this man's gibberish.
--General Fillmore (from The Tick, episode 2)

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Re: [h-cost] When and how did you start making costume?

[snip]
 I've never had a cat; I keep dwarf hamsters because (apart from being cute)
 they can look after themselves for a night or two when I'm away at weekend
 events. I hope to get a dog when I have more spare time!

P.S.  My father hated cats, and wouldn't allow us to have one; all of our pets 
when I was growing up were dogs.  Big dogs, like Labradors and Weimaraners.

But my mother liked all kinds of animals, and so did her second husband.  The 
pet they had the year they both died was a charming gray and white tabby, who 
is now my costuming companion.  :-)

-- 
Cathy Raymond [EMAIL PROTECTED]

I'm starting to like the cut of this man's gibberish.
--General Fillmore (from The Tick, episode 2)

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Re: [h-cost] When and how did you start making costume?

On Monday 22 May 2006 3:42 pm, Audrey Bergeron-Morin wrote:
[snip]

 So, when I joined the SCA, sewing became the way to obtain the
 costumes I wanted. I think to this day I like having made something
 more than I like making it.

I am *so* with you there.  That is *exactly* why I sew, and if I could get 
exactly what I want without sewing it myself (and could afford to pay for it, 
of course) I would.  When I can, I do.

 I had to learn to make clothes without a 
 pattern (thanks Kass - and her reconstructinghistory website),
 something my mother wouldn't do. 

Something my mother *couldn't* do.  She sewed in a sweatshop for a living, 
and didn't really enjoy it.


 I learned mostly by reading mailing 
 lists and websites.

Ditto.


 I love thinking about projects, planning, researching, buying fabric
 and accessories, 

In agreement with you so far!

 washing, preparing and ironing the fabric, 

This part I can live without.

 but then I  
 get stuck because I HATE HATE HATE marking, pinning and cutting.
 Sometimes a project will sit in a box for years before I start because
 I just can't bring myself to lay it out and cut. 

Me too.  Though hate isn't quite the right word for the way I feel.  Dread 
is more like it.

 The sewing stage 
 itself doesn't bother me. It's not something I enjoy doing, but I
 don't hate it either. 

Ditto.

 Fitting doesn't bother me either, but fitting 
 myself is kind of a hassle - I really have to get a dress dummy at
 some point. 

There's a reason I seldom make styles that require any significant amounts of 
fitting

 Then I get to the other part I love - hand-finishing. 
 Hemming, finishing the inside seams, all of that.

I don't mind doing hand-finishing--so long as there isn't too much of it, but 
I'm not wild about it either.  It's refreshing, hearing somebody else give 
vent to my pet peeves about costuming, for a change!


-- 
Cathy Raymond [EMAIL PROTECTED]

I'm starting to like the cut of this man's gibberish.
--General Fillmore (from The Tick, episode 2)

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RE: [h-cost] When and how did you start making costume?

2006-05-22 Thread Simone A. Bryan

When? 1994 or A.S. XXVIII, I was married and I wanted to be Elizabethan and
I did not know how to sew.  I priced some gowns in the marketplace, but they
were not authentic enough to please me nor was their price in my range of
life. 

I was living in An Tir, in Adiantum.  I was approached by a lady there, and
she said she would 'help' me to learn how to sewand so I purchased a
Bernina older sewing machine for $75.00, but did not know how to use it! As
time went on I found out I was on this journey by myself, and I made a lot
of mistakes and tragic outfits.  My poor Hubby and kid looked pretty badly
most of the time! But I hung in there. I own a Husqvarna Designer SE now,
and I have had compliments on what comes from my sewing roomno longer
Well it was a good effort LOL!!!

I still want to do better, and I shall continue to strive!!!


Cilean

-Original Message-
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On
Behalf Of Janette Humphrey
Sent: Monday, May 22, 2006 5:32 PM
To: '[EMAIL PROTECTED]'
Subject: [h-cost] When and how did you start making costume?


--

Message: 10
Date: Mon, 22 May 2006 10:12:04 +0100
From: Suzi Clarke [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: [h-cost] When and how did you start making costume?
To: Historical Costume [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED]


Oh, and coincidentally to the sewing conversation, we wondered if it was a
given that costume makers, whether professional, gifted amateur, or
occasional maker, have cats? All the ones I know do.

Suzi


  
I have to come out of lurkdom to admit to being a costume designer and maker
for Theatre companies here and also having 2 cats. (I always have my fingers
crossed that no one in the cast is allergic!)

Janette in a chilly Canberra Australia







--
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
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Re: Current projects (was Re: [h-cost] hello out there??)

On Monday 22 May 2006 9:21 pm, Kristin wrote:
 Well, I haven't had a chance to upload recent pictures until this evening,
 but here's a link to the late 1700's outfit I've been working on since the
 fall:

 
 http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=jq8t100.nqqmx58x=0y=-tik0qhttp://www
.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=jq8t100.nqqmx58x=0y=-tik0q

Really neat.  I agree that the print may not be quite in the right scale for 
18th c, but the color scheme is beautiful and dead on.  Thanks for sharing!

-- 
Cathy Raymond [EMAIL PROTECTED]

I'm starting to like the cut of this man's gibberish.
--General Fillmore (from The Tick, episode 2)

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Re: Current projects (was Re: [h-cost] hello out there??)

2006-05-22 Thread Susan Data-Samtak


Beautiful !  Thanks for sharing.

Susan

Slow down. The trail is the thing, not the end of the trail. Travel
too fast and you miss all you are traveling for.  - Ride the Dark
Trail by Louis L'Amour

On May 22, 2006, at 9:21 PM, Kristin wrote:

Well, I haven't had a chance to upload recent pictures until this  
evening,
but here's a link to the late 1700's outfit I've been working on since  
the

fall:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=jq8t100.nqqmx58x=0y=-tik0qhttp: 
//www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=jq8t100.nqqmx58x=0y=-tik0q


I'm procrastinating on the quilted petticoat again, by making a pair of
stays.  I guess I'll be finished with the binding within the next week  
and

will have to go back to quilting for a while.  My next procrastination
project is to make pockets... and then maybe start making another  
shift, but

of linen this time around... and then...

I'm so very happy to see that I'm not the only one who works on  
multiple
projects simultaneously.  It used to drive my ex nuts... but I guess  
he was

never around anyone else who had a creative streak in them!

Kristin



On 5/22/06, Catherine Olanich Raymond [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:


On Sunday 21 May 2006 11:48 pm, Sue Clemenger wrote:
 I think I'm right about where you are, garb-wise, Cathy.  My  
laundry

list
 wasn't really an indication of my Extreme Expertise and Skills, but  
more
 like the results of being consitutionally incapable of project  
monogamy.


Same here, which was part of my point.  However, you have attempted a
wider
variety of projects than I have (see below).

 Deity help me, a couple of weeks ago, I was encountering my first  
power

 tool (a drill press) in a friend's garage, learning to register
soapstone
 molds so I can carve the molds and make my own pewter buttons for  
fitted

 gowns.

Now anything that requires power tools is a bit farther than I've  
cared to

go!
I'm still waffling about using that sheet copper I bought to try to  
make a
Viking style needlecase-and I can do that with only a dowel and a  
pair of

pliers (and maybe crazy glue).


 I'd love to hear more about you Lithuanian shawl!

One of the things the lands along the Baltic seem to have in common
(Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, parts of Finland, even Novogorod) is  
that the
rich tended to ornament their clothes by working bronze coils and  
rings

into
them.  (Most of the 1st-10th c textile finds in those areas have  
survived
because the bronze ornaments preserve a fair amount of the cloth.   
Since

most
of the ornamentation was at the edges, you get a good idea of the  
size of

the
ornamented items.)

Based on where the metal ornaments were found, it appears that there  
was a
standard shawl size (roughly 30 inches by 40 inches).  The proper way  
to

do
the ornamentation would be to weave the shawl to order, and wrap  
strips of

sheet bronze or bits of bronze wire around certain warp threads as I
worked,
but I'm not likely to learn how to weave  anything bigger than a
tablet-woven
belt anytime soon.  So what I'll probably do is kind of corkscrew  
pieces

of
copper wire into already woven wool (I have some nice wool melton cut  
and
fringed for the purpose).  Then, I will make smaller coils of copper  
wire,

string them onto a cord, and couch them onto each short end.

Raymond's Quiet Press started making the kind of stick pins that (it  
has

been
theorized) were used to fasten these shawls.  There's a picture of the
design
here:

http://www.quietpress.com/New2004.html

(look under new in October 2004; it's the left-hand picture, the  
item on

the
far right).

They were used in pairs, fastened together with bronze chains.  The  
pins
attached to them are huge--as big as knitting needles (the same is  
true of

the actual survivals Raymond's model is based upon).

Having finally bought myself a pair from Raymond as a birthday  
present, my
theory is that the pins were never meant to go through anything other  
than
the shawl.  Once you fasten them to the shawl (I've already tried  
this)

you
can take the shawl off and on over your head  (really, really  
carefully,

to
make sure you don't gouge out your eyes) as a unit, without risking  
damage

to
the rest of your body or clothes.

I have already finished most of the rest of the costume the shawl is  
to be

worn with.  When I finally finish the shawl, I'll put a picture in the
MedCos
gallery and post the URL to it here.


--
Cathy Raymond [EMAIL PROTECTED]

I'm starting to like the cut of this man's gibberish.
--General Fillmore (from The Tick, episode 2)

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Re: [h-cost] When and how did you start making costume?

2006-05-22 Thread margaret

In about 1948 or 1949. I wanted to be a princess like the pictures in one of 
our books. Probably very styalised but thaniks to 4H training the costume 
passed mustard.
Margaret 



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Re: [h-cost] Biblical weaving