Elizabethan Burgundy Gown: A few finishing touches, plus an extra project

My poor blog, I neglect you shamefully.

I spent a few hours this weekend with an old pair of shoes that I don't wear anymore and some shoe glue, trying to make some shoes that would go with my Elizabethan gown. They came out looking a little too much like velvet house shoes for my taste. I wanted some slip-on court shoes with a very low heel. I probably should have opted for something more like Mary Jane's. But here are the before and after pictures: I just glued a strip of the velvet around the back of the heel, then glued a piece of velvet covered vinyl across the top. Then sewed on the pearls, because they looked too much like velvet house shoes. They still look like velvet house shoes with pearls sewn onto them.





I also made a pair of linen hose from the instructions found on this page: (http://www.faucet.net/costume/research/hose.html). Though mine came out a bit rougher than these. They're very comfortable- no seams going across the bottom of your foot. Though with this pattern, you do have to be very careful to keep track of which is the left hose and which is the right. Otherwise they feel kind of funny. And I didn't take the time to iron my linen before I started, so my hose are all wrinkle-y. They come to right below my knee, and the ribbon around the top is to keep them from sliding down, as elastic didn't so much exist at the time.



I also finished my new forepart and sleeves last week. These are a gray-silver color with burgundy dots at the intersections of a diamond pattern. I like this color a lot better than the green. However, I don't have my trim on yet, and I'm not sure the silver-gray will look good with the gold-edged and beaded trim. We'll see. (I also have some gold-ish fabric for another set of forepart and sleeves, but I have bigger plans for that, in the form of hanging sleeves, and I haven't got those made up yet. As it will also require another smock or some sort of white undersleeves.)



Also, one of the reasons I haven't been working on this project as much in the last couple of weeks is that I had another project going on:






A few of the people I met while volunteering with the community theater were kind enough to let me dress them up and go to the Big Bear Ren Faire with me. Their three costumes were done in a week with fabric from my closet fabric stash (with significant help from the costumees in sewing and setting all those grommets) - mine is the same one that I wore to the Maryland Ren Faire last year. I was very pleased with how they turned out. Not a terribly historically accurate style, but it goes together well and quickly.

Elizabethan Burgundy Gown: Headwear and jewels

The Elizabethan project is coming along. Today, I finally completed my headwear. I have made a toque (or Italian bonnet), and a fairly simple caul to wear it over. I used the instructions on the Sempstress blog, which are excellent (http://www.sempstress.org/2009/the-toque/). The cartridge pleats took a couple of tries. The first time, I stitched the pleats with some decorative, but not very sturdy gold thread. When I tried to pull the threads to gather the hat, they broke. The second time, I used a sturdy burgundy upholstery thread, and that worked very well. I also added beads as spacers between the cartridge pleats. I'm mostly pleased with it. The only thing I would do differently if I did it again would be to make the crown slightly smaller. It feels very tall on my head.



The caul is just a small circle gathered into a band. I made it from the same white-on-white embroidered fabric that I used for my partlet and ruff. I need to sew some little combs or something into the band to keep it on my head better. Bobby pins may not cut it.



And here's how everything goes together:




Also, I've made a necklace and earrings set to match the gown with some of the beads that will also be used on the gown's trim. The pendant is a peacock, and all the beads came from Joann's Fabric.



The ensemble is almost done. I think all I have left are the new sleeves and forepart (which are almost completed), and the wrist ruffs and stockings. And I may re-do the partlet, as I made the first one a little too small. And the trim. Which I seem to be trying to avoid.

Elizabethan Burgundy Gown: Sleeves, forepart, and parlet

I've been busy last night and today, and have gotten a few more pieces completed. The sleeves and forepart are made from upholstery brocade that I found on sale. It's dark green with a lighter green scale pattern, and alternating dots of burgundy and gold. When I found it in the fabric store, I thought the color and pattern would go well with the burgundy velvet of the gown, but now that I see the entire thing put together, I'm not sure that I like it. And, it looks a little Christmas-y. But luckily, everything's detachable, so I can mix and match.

The sleeves are made to be a little roomy the upper arm, and become more fitted toward the wrist. They're lined with the rest of the natural-colored denim that I used in the bodice, to stiffen the fabric and make it stand out more. Seven ribbons are sewn into the top of the sleeve to tie directly in to the seven ribbons around the arm of the bodice.




The forepart will eventually be stitched to the front of a kirtle or petticoat, but for the moment I just have it pinned to the farthingale, as the fabric I was intending to use for the kirtle is too small. Elizabethan clothes have so much fabric in them.

I've also finished my ruff and partlet today. They're both made from a white-on-white embroidered thrift store curtain. The ruff is about three inches wide, and is sewn into a one-inch wide piece of grossgrain ribbon. I made alternating marks on either side of the ribbon every 1/4 inch, and marks on the ruff material every inch. Then I started folding the ruff fabric accordion style, lined up the marks, and attached the ruff material to the ribbon with a couple of whip-stitches at every mark.



Once I got the fabric pleated into the ribbon, I added two hooks and eyes to close it, made a partlet and tacked the ruff to the partlet. It's pretty awesome, and gives you that nice head-on-a-plate look.




But here's the whole ensemble thus far. The gown still needs to be trimmed, and the hat is still to come as well. And I may ditch the current sleeves and forepart and come up with something in a color I like better. But I still like the whole effect.