It was a complete bedding set, with a comforter, two pillow shams, and a little throw pillow. It's a white silky color with these burgundy and pink and green embroidered flowers on it. And best of all, the whole thing is heavily decorated with yards of matching green and cream-colored trim. The whole thing cost me less than $10. The comforter was only $1. It had a couple of bad stains, and what looked like a cigarette burn, and the thrift store owner had it in a pile meant for dog bedding. I spent about 3 hours one Sunday afternoon with my seem ripper, tearing the whole thing carefully apart, then discarded the stuffing layer and washed everything. I now have several panels of the white silky embroidered stuff, and yards of matching trim. I wasn't quite sure what to do with it at first - I was debating between going Rococo or Elizabethan with it. But then I realized that to make a Rococo, Marie Antoinette-style gown, would require a great deal more lace and a different sort of trim, plus cover up all the embroidery. I had also been watching Elizabeth R, a beautifully made costume drama about the life of Elizabeth I. And I became inspired. So I think I'm going to try to find some burgundy brocade or velvet for the main part of the dress, and use my embroidered panels in underskirts or linings, so they'll just peak through. With a partlet, and one of those fantastic hats. This will, of course, require a whole new smock, corset (though I believe they were called stays, or "a pair of bodies" at the time), petticoats (or farthingales. Look! I'm picking up the lingo!), and a bumroll (these things have such unfortunate names. It's essentially a stuffed tube). For the corset, I think I'll try to make a reproduction of the Effigy Corset (info here: http://www.elizabethancostume.net/effigy.htm ), and stiffen it with reeds, which is a very period method. As whalebone is not readily available.
I seem to spend all my evenings either sewing or researching costumes on the internet, and daydream about it at work. I think I have a new obsession. Which is good - everyone needs an obsession. I seem to be acquiring a lot of them, though...
Well, the bustle support for my Victorian ensemble may happen this weekend, though I'm out of grommets, so I won't be able to finish it. And probably a stuffed bustle pad. I here they're handy to have when you're trying to get a bustle silhouette, and they're very easy to make compared with all this other stuff. More info on the Elizabethan project as it materializes.
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