only 46 hours left to pre-order: 18th Century Hair & Wig Styling

Kendra of Demode is one of the costume bloggers who introduced me to the idea that what I wanted to do - make historical [and other] costumes - was possible.

Before the internet I didn't know where to find the information I needed. Yes, I'd pored over Janet Arnold's earlier volumes in Patterns of Fashion but I always knew that the right underwear was needed. I'm also a visual/doing learner. I can learn abstractly for some things, but when it comes to fabric I need to 'see'.

I started out making things and learned where and how to find more information, and how to simply try it and see.

Hair is tricky for me. Even if I grew my hair long I can't control it. That's the reason I cut it short in the first place. Unless I use rock-set gel to concrete my hair in place pins, perms, they all fall out. So wigs are an essential for me. Despite my broad noggin! A 23cm hat size means hats and wigs rarely fit. I'm hoping with visual learning that I'll learn more of how to alter & style a wig to fit both me and be suitable for the georgian era.

So, what I forgot to post before now is that Kenda is funding through indiegogo a book: 18th Century Hair & Wig Styling.

4 days left to finish the skirt

Despite it being a long weekend, I did the tiniest bit of sewing. Saturday was domestic chores and schlepping across town to get a Hello Kitty mug and black glass bead long necklace. (This is the short version).

Sunday I slept til noon (like a teenager) and then did electronic housekeeping - backing up files, tidying up data folders before that.

Monday I slept til noon (so really must have needed it) and then I put my Big Girl Pants on and folded and [more unlikely] put away all the laundry I washed on Saturday. I put away all the costume books I'd pulled off the shelves, and stacked some library books to return on the way to the bus stop today.

Then I put all the copier-enlarged scale patterns and regency fashion plate printouts that I'd calculated design proportions on, into a bigger bundle than I expected.

And only then did I venture to the storeroom and collect bothy my ufo skirts & pattern pieces. The brown wool I put aside for later on, but the blue one got opened out for evaluation.

1) The 2 cut pieces (L & R fronts) are crumpled and need pressing.

2) The rest of the fabric is neatly folded

3) The back pattern piece needed altering to match the fronts (raising hip 2" cos I'm short with high hip padding).

I got #3 done but decided not to bring it to work to cut out. I've got til Friday night to finish it, and it's 3 seams, hem & waistband. I can do it

If only I could wear citrus colours

I've been looking for a fabric to re-cover a nylon modern parasol so I can use it at the regency festival in April. I found a fashion plate with a checked parasol & matching shawl, so I was searching for plaids or checks on FFC.

Now I know why my heart sang at the sight of a wool fabric there ... and yes I should have narrowed my search to silk. Enough waffle, it was because of this cloak at the Met and FFC's 25510




It's very sad that orange & yellow make me look like liver-failure. I love them but can't wear them so have citrus accents in my kitchen.

MAGAM: February gets a dress

I've already got a plan for February's MAGAM - a superhero themed vintage dress, for a friend's party.

I'm not sure if you'll guess which character it will be, but the pattern I'll be using is the Lilly Rose. I've had it for 18 months, and finally taped the pieces together last year while my knee was in a brace. Sheesh, I finally found something I resented about sewing. I'm hoping Lorna will provide the option to print on A3 paper, not just A4. See ... months later and I'm still whinging about it.





Editing on 16thFeb to add fabric photo:

MAGAM: January gets a skirt from the UFO pile

I've been a little slack since I came back to work. Early in the year I challenged my gluten tolerance, and had what can only be described as a 4-day gluten hangover. Silly me. It seems a tiny bit is ok, and a smallish amount isn't. Good to know, and that's much better than before when I could have zero amount.

Enough about silly innards, what was/is my plan for Make a Garment a Month??

I'm going to finish my UFO skirt this weekend. It's the Decades of Style 3004 shaped seam skirt. I've made it before, but the 'new beginning' is that it's just below knee length. This is shorter than I usually wear and the concept is that it's cooler on a hot day. Except of course that it's [yet again] cool, cloudy & showers with nary a patch of blue sky to be seen. NOT what I moved & stayed in Sydney for!

It's a long weekend here, so I've plenty of time to get a skirt done. It would take less time if I didn't have to press my now crumpled fabric. ooopsie!

not exactly a New Year's resolution

I don't really "do" NY resolutions, though sometimes I set myself a long term goal that's very achievable within a year. As a procrastinator sometimes a deadline is a useful thing to have.

In respect of sewing, I do want to end the year with fewer UFO projects - just as I did this year for the first time in ages. I'd like to tackle some of the historical & complete the real life ones.

I'm also aiming for a stashbusting target to end the year of 'only' 750m. I didn't make it to 800m by end of 2013, but I only missed out by 17m - pretty dang good.  I bought 60m of fabric but used/gave away 120m, and unlike last year where have my reduction was give-aways, this year only about 20m was.

As I've got lots of JAFA plans - 90% from stash, and a new skirt version of Ma Dola to make by August, also now stash fabric, and a wardrobe of Real Life clothing then I shouldn't have a major problem.

Other than JAFA and my stays/corset project I really need to focus on clothing for everyday, especially work.  I've gotten really slack at making them, and given my proportions (short, stout & boobular) it's almost impossible to find them to buy ready made.

I've never joined in Me Made May, because for most of my adult life every month has been Me Made. That gap was when I lived in London, and even then I eventually bought a 2nd hand sewing machine and made some clothing.

my first new fabric for the year

Yes, already I've made my stashbusting task 3m trickier.  I got a length of linen/cotton stripe for a skirt. Currently hanging over the shower rail to dry after pre-shrinking.  If it's dry tomorrow morning I'm taking it to sewing guild and working away at cutting it out.