New Project? An Elizabethan Round Gown (Loose Gown)

As an aside, it turns out that the Steampunk Sultana took 9th Place, out of 22 entrants.  Not high enough to win anything, but I'm pretty pleased.

And now, because I don't have enough things to do, I've decided to make new garb for an upcoming event, Terpsichore at the Tower XX.  I will be 26(?) weeks pregnant and while I can absolutely wear some of the other garb I already have (I made an Italian renaissance dress the first time I was pregnant for Terp), I am auditioning to join a madrigal singing group, and they all wear Elizabethan attire.  So, this is a sort of two-birds-with-one-stone outfit.

The round gown I'd like to make comes in two parts, per Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion 1560-1620, as seen below. The kirtle (underdress) is fitted at the shoulders and shaped a bit down the back, but otherwise falls straight off the bust.  The sleeves and front, which will be visible beneath the overgown, are fancy (either with exciting fabric, embroidery, or other embellishment) while the remainder is of more utilitarian cloth.  The sleeves are laced to the kirtle (hooray!  I hate setting sleeves!) so I could, theoretically, have multiple sets of sleeves (maybe one in pinked satin and the other in brocade?) to match  my mood.

Round kirtle from Patterns of Fashion

 The overgown fastens up the front with frog closures (which I now know how to make myself!) and is short-sleeved.  This also is fitted across the shoulders and back and then falls straight to the floor.

Round gown (short-sleeved) from Patterns of Fashion

In order to get the gown to stand out and look as lovely as it does in these drawings, I would have to wear some underlayers to give it support.  I have seen other re-creations of gowns of this nature that did NOT have appropriate under-wear... and you can tell.  So, I'm trying to decide if I'd like to wear petticoats or a farthingale.  My initial intent is for a farthingale, because hoops give a nice breathability that layers of petticoats do not.  And I will be dancing and teaching dance in a VERY CROWDED event.  Plus, I'll be a little oven for my bun.  ...perhaps I can borrow a farthingale from a friend of mine, rather than making one.  Hmm.

So, my vision for this is the following components:

1. White cotton chemise - I already have this!
2. Farthingale - hopefully I can borrow it!
3. Kirtle - I have some very lovely yellow-gold/magenta shot silk that my husband gave me for my birthday that would look STUNNING with a pinked/slashed embellishment.  Perhaps I can do the front panel and sleeves with this.  (It was originally purchased to make a bliaut, but I only need 5-6 yards for that, and he bought me 8!)
4. Over-gown - Probably in black velveteen. I think that would be a lovely contrast to the brightness of the kirtle, and would give me fine opportunity for some really high-contrast embroidery.
5. Coif - I have one!
6. Small flat cap - Also in black velveteen.  I have one in sage-green brocade, but it just won't match!  :p
7. Ruffs? - I'm not sure if I'd want to do a collar and cuffs, so we'll see!

Next step: measure myself and draft patterns.  Then I'll assess how much fabric I need to see if this is actually feasible!

Last-minute Idea + Infant = Bad Plan

So, I forgot that everything takes longer with Baby. I really wanted to make a whole outfit for my son but ended up making him and myself absolutely crazy trying to get it done. I had to keep chanting to myself, "If I don't make this, it's okay. If I don't make this, it's okay. If I don't make this, it's okay." I WAS able to make a little hood for him, the following morning. That turned out well enough, and it was super adorable. We got lots of compliments. Since then, I have been working on completing the infant outfit so he can wear it to whatever the next event is.

I finished the white cotton under shirt the day after Christmas and held it up for my mother-in-law to see and she (rightly) said, "There's no way his head is going to fit through that!" DRAT! So, I'll need to extend the "keyhole" neckline down probably to his navel in order to get it around his big baby head. I guess, since it will be an UNDERSHIRT, that it won't much matter if it doesn't tie all the way closed - one tie at the neckline should be okay. It's just a bummer I've got to rip off the very nice (home-made!) bias-tape collar that I sewed on by hand. Backstitched by hand.

So, I'm back to working on the Tudor undergarments for my friends' wedding. I had a bit of a scare last week because I couldn't find my notebook that had everybody's measurements in it. Turns out my husband got bit by the, "We're having company and I want this room to be spotless" bug and didn't even take notice of what he was randomly stashing places. Fortunately for me, he was able to find WHERE he stashed things and my notebook was there. Phew!

Since the corsets are already cut out (see previous post) I have started cutting out the farthingales for both bridesmaids. I would start sewing boning channels on the corsets, but my sewing machine is in dire need of a tune-up (as I discovered when trying to sew a tiny outfit for my son - I couldn't get through a whole seam without the thread breaking or getting wound up funny or somesuch frustrating nonesense) so I aim to get all the cutting done in the meantime.

I am using Drea Leed's Making A Period Farthingale using the same 45" canvas used for the sturdy corset fabric.

I'll get photos up of the Little Bud's outfit pieces, cuz this post is kind of boring without any pictures. :p