I went the lazy route this year with some sturdy totes and bags:

something for BlackAngel

a YOLO tote for la vivandière (as I know that she likes those birds a lot)

a mildly interested kitty

another YOLO bag for Melwen (done as gym bag, maybe her son will also like to use it when he’s older) filled with a Neil Gaiman book and sweets for the parents

a large bag for my mum (she stays with my sister a lot, so she might like this overnight bag – here’s the tutorial)

and a very goth Advent calendar for Soma and myself (every time you empty a pocket it plays “Fade to Grey”)

As I have lots and lots of UFOs lying around, I found La Vivandière’s suggestion to join the Historical Sewing Fortnight to be a good idea as it sets some milestones for me. I’ll do it unofficially and post my finished projects only on my own blog, as I plan to take some liberties on the challenges (I don’t do pink, for example). Also I will probably not be able to do every of the 24 challenges as I just don’t work that fast. Two challenges per month are due.

#1 Make do: I have this pesky Regency pelisse that refuses to look sophisticated. It is my own fault as I chose a very thick fabric that simply is too stiff to look elegant. Spencer would be a better option for this piece.

#2 Innovation: Cycoco! The skirt is done, now it needs a bodice which I have designed and found fabric for.

 

#3 PinkRed: Red. Yes, red. I have a red Steampunk skirt that is almost finished.

#4 Underthingies: I ought to make Regency stays at some point in 2014. Very baby blue ones.

 

#5 Bodice: making a Rococo jacket totally counts!

#6 Fairytale: I’ll act as if I’d attend Gala Nocturna this year, and create a beautiful beast with dragonflies and demon horns.

 

#7 Tops and toes: redoing my tricorne! and making hair pieces!

#8 UFOs & PHDs: I do have a whole hangar of UFOs. I’ll finally finish my winter bustle (it needs a hat). And my spring and autumn gowns will get their sleeves. And so will the venetian renaissance gown.

 

#9 Black and White: I will finish a wonderful combination.

#10 Art: erm. No idea? maybe recreate a velvet regency gown from a portrait?

 

#11 The Politics of Fashion: reworking my Star Wars Francaise. What can be more political than a battle-inspired outfit :)

#12 Shape & Support: a Tudor bodice needs to be finished :) and it will have a front closure. Sometimes one needs to undress oneself without the help of a maid :)

 

#13 Under $10: translated into Euro, this is about 7.  After la vivandière sent me a link to a horrifying story of a woman inhaling a pin she had put in her mouth whilst draping, I’ll make a pin cushion to wear on my wrist.

#14 Paisley & Plaid: Nooooo, not patterns again! Even  stripes are horrible to work with :) but maybe I’ll finish something black and green and stripey.

 

#15 The Great Outdoors: a coat? I shook hands with the purple-dress fan on a science challenge, and I think I’ll stretch the terms to include science fiction :)

#16 Terminology: I’ll use a joker and do – something :)

 

#17 Yellow: errr, no thank you. But I could do my black Rococo project instead :)

#18 Poetry in Motion: inspired by dance or poetry. Hmmmmmmm. If I picked Lord Byron’s “She walks in beauty”, anything goes, right? On the other hand I might make a tribal-inspired outfit (e.g. Ghawazee coat or a cover-up). We’ll see.

 

#19 HSF Inspiration: another joker card. :)

#20 Alternative Universe: maybe more steampunk to come :)

 

#21 Re-do: maybe a spencer? or a regency dress?

#22 Fort-nightliers Choice: a gift.

 

#23 Modern History: something historical, wearable everyday. A black chemise :) (I need one, and you technically can wear it as nightgown).

#24 All that Glitters: first I was like “are you kidding me :) “, but then I was like “tribal braaaaaaaa“.

 

and I needed new clothes – it is known.

From Melwen I received an adorable pattern for a jersey top with a fake shrug which is really quick to make. The skirt patterns I made up. And now without further ado, 6 work days with new outfits:

Grey wool skirt and shrug shirt with fabulous peacock pattern (the fabric was a gift from Melwen)

a salvaged skirt I bought years ago (and just lined because that wool is itchy as hell) with a patterned shrug shirt and knitted grey leg warmers. And I find it funny that the girl on the shirt wears a skirt very similar to mine. Yes I am easily entertained. Sew me*.

green wool skirt with green shrug shirt

simple grey wool skirt paired with a shirt and knitted leg warmers

black recycled skirt and black/white shrug shirt

and a purple skirt I made long ago, with a pullover.

 

 

Cake – Short skirt/long jacket

 

 

 

 

* I also like bad puns. Punish me.

A friend of mine celebrates a Discworld-themed birthday party, and I want to go sans having to make a new outfit. I love the Discworld series for many reasons, one of them its many cool female characters: Susan Sto-Helit, Adora Belle Dearheart, Angua von Überwald, and of course the witches. Of the Lancre coven, I think Magrat Garlick’s character is closest to my nature (despite her esoteric eccentricities), so the choice has been easy for me:)

She has been depicted as a sweet flower maiden in the animation movies, and as having a bad hair day everyday by Paul Kidby. This illustration on the other hand is far from what I would imagine the Coven to look, but impressive nevertheless.

Magrat is also described as a gentle parody of New Age pagans. I can do that too! I will use this dress as a starting point.

 

 

 

Puscifer – Verde River

Hard to understand how I managed to go so long without a simple black jacket.

Burda 10/2007 has a simple, unlined loden jacket pattern (108), and fabric has been ordered.

I lined the sleeves and the collar.

One year ago I did my first menswear project – a saintly black coat for Soma to accompany me to the religulous Gala Nocturna 2013. Like many other sewing persons out there, I obtained a commercial pattern of _the_ Black Priestly Coat of Geekdom (+40 Dodge [Bullets]). I made a mock-up, but luckily I did not need to change a thing, just cut and sew the (rather expensive) wool fabric, and use up some awesome lining I had lying around for ages.

The coat is closed with black buttons to resemble a priest’s soutane.

 

For the final version, Soma wanted metal clasps – which I have not sewn on yet. This fact turned out to be of advantage, as we can go to a Diskworld-themed party in November as Magrat and Lord Vetinari. In fact he liked the coat as it is, so I don’t need to sew on the clasps, yay!

Some time ago I decided to challenge myself to make a WGT outfit entirely from recycled fabrics.

Soon after, la vivandière  sent me a link to a wonderful blog about fashion recyling: while not all resulting outfits are my style (I am not following fashion trends) I admire the diligence and workmanship that go into each of her pieces. Very inspiring!

Soma and I disappeared for a week and surfaced on Lanzarote, one of the Canary Islands, for swimming, relaxing, reading and, in Soma’s case, scuba diving. I tried it too; breathing underwater is weird :) But the awesome dive guides at Dawn Dives did bring me back unharmed from my visit to the element of fish, sea urchin and octopus.

We also had a first taste of Ron miel, a very sweet lokal rum made with honey.

And we saw the ocean from our balcony. I could have stayed there for some more weeks, I am quite sure.

I’v been to Alwa Petroni’s fashion show Tangram. Gorgeous! This one’s my favourite.

 

 

They were on sale, finally.

A Vogue pattern might be a good starting point for a dress.
This Vivienne Westwood dress is also gorgeous.

To get a “good enough” WGS84 latitude and longitude for a given address, I found a tiny python library called python-omgeo.

 

from omgeo import Geocoder

class OmGeocoder():
def __init__(self):
self.geocoder = Geocoder()

def geocode(self, address):
result = self.geocoder.geocode(address)
best = result[‘candidates’][0]
return best.y, best.x

And you are done.

The things I made for my Neovictorian alter ego, Eleanor Vivian

1. Bustles and Accessories
2. Stripes of Madness  day dress
3. Dragonflies polonaise
4. Silk and velvet ball gown
5. Spring polonaise
6. Autumn polonaise
7. Winter dress
8. Diamond flared skirt
9. Red flared skirt
10. Brown lab wear
11. Winter coat
12. Blue-grey walking skirt
13. Skirt and blouse

 

Note that I used bustle era patterns as well as belle epoque patterns; at the moment I am neither skilled enough nor dedicated enough to reproduce historical clothing. I love Steampunk so authenticity is not a primary concern for me.

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I want to make an outfit inspired by Victorian mourning gowns, like this or this one.

Several meters of diamond-patterned fabric are in my stash. To be started in winter, I think.

Oh, and I found a beautiful mourning comb with strong Jugendstil influences. It should arrive next week, I’ll be sure to post a picture.

Therion – The Beauty in Black

I want to make a Renaissance gown. Because. Here’s some gownspiration to get us in the mood:

Eleanora of Toledo (around 1545) and Catherine Parr

Lady Jane Grey (around 1553) and Lady Elizabeth Tudor (about 1546)

 

Here’s some fabric I want to use.

 

 

I made Renaissance stays.

4 meters of it.

What to do with that? Upholster a chair?

When I buy fabric: I do it properly – read: “a bolt of” instead of “a few meters of”.

That’s why I often end up with enough remains to make another dress :)

It happened yet again with a black-green striped taffeta, which I used for a Victorian gown. I’m making a Rococo gown from the remains. Here is some inspiration, I’ll just use a darker colour scheme, making the white pieces in black taffeta.

The Anglaise is done, but I am a bit stumped as to how and which trimmings I should use.

The jupe will receive black trimmings.

And I bought a pretty choker at Amphi this year.

My first hat :)

 

And somewhere I have a velvet muff lying around:

 

And I plan to make some hair pieces for easier instant styling. This 1875 braided updo is gorgeous.

I bought a swatch of African lace in Antwerp (only one, even if there were so many pretty fabrics…) and had it in my stash since 2012.

Not yet sure what to do with it.

Tim Burton’s recreation of Sleepy Hollow featured a sweet Rococo-inspired outfit, worn by the character Katrina van Tassel.  Costume researchers mention a possible inspiration (from the Kyoto Costume Institute).

I want to make a Pierrot jacket too, to wear with my pirate-y tricorne and jupe. No fabric ideas yet though.

 

Fear Cult – Witch Hunt