Diary of a Renaissance Seamstress | A Costuming Blog

My fez is cool

2012-01-25T15:58:00.001-05:00

Here’s how I made my fez using the Fez Frenzy! tutorial at Multiculturalism for Steampunk.

I downloaded the pattern image on the tutorial’s website to my computer and enlarged it using PowerPoint. I added a few more inches to make the fez taller, and to add a seam allowance. I tried on the pattern to make sure it fit. Here’s a picture of me being silly. Hey, it’s in the instructions. :)

I wanted a lined fez so I used double-sided Peltex on both pattern pieces. The base was hemmed using Seams Great. I used a coffee can to retrace the circular top piece. The top was machine sewn together first, turned inside-out, then stuffed with the Peltex before ironing it. The top was hand-sewn to the base.

That was a fun project. Thanks Multiculturalism for Steampunk!

Doctor Who Eleven: Collecting the materials

2012-01-21T17:21:00.000-05:00

Thrift Store Jacket Scores

I went to the thrift store today. I now own three close matches to Eleven’s three jackets. The left and right jackets may need a red dye bath. The left and right jackets cost $8 each.

Accessories

I found my Eleven wristwatch. It’s made of cheap goldtone. I have to figure out a way to age it without really ruining it. I’ve got his sonic screwdriver.

Pants and Boots

Five yards of black bottomweight denim, 50% off at Joann Fabrics. No-name granny boots with 2” heels found on Ebay.

The Shirt

The Doctor’s Paul Smith shirt is expensive and extremely difficult to find. I was worried that I wouldn’t find a good substitute. Luckily I came upon this fabric at Spoonflower.com. Someone uploaded the perfect print recreation out of the kindness of their Whovian heart. I’m pretty sure it was Steve Ricks.

I received the quilting weight fabric quickly, which is not a surprise because I live 15 minutes away from their printing facility. I measured the shirt fabric. It’s really 35 3/4” x 41 1/2” of print instead of the advertised 36” x 42”.

Shirt print @ http://www.spoonflower.com/fabric/123107
Cuff print @ http://www.spoonflower.com/fabric/425076

Online Costume Collections and Renaissance Era Portraiture

2012-01-18T17:28:00.001-05:00

Some of my favorite websites offering quality images of costume collections and renaissance era portraiture.

The Kyoto Costume Institute Digital Archives
Beautiful high-quality photographs of costume from the 1750s-1990s.
http://www.kci.or.jp

Kent State University Online Catalogue
Searching for the term “costume” yields more search results than the Gallery of Costume.
http://www.kent.edu

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Collection
These results are from searching for the term “dresses”. Remove this term from the results and you’ll have a listing of all 33,600+ artworks in their collection.
http://www.metmuseum.org

Web Gallery of Art
Large and detailed images of paintings from almost any era. Trim down your results by searching for a particular time-line, school or type. Portrait type paintings are the best examples for historical recreation.
http://www.wga.hu

Philadelphia Museum of Art
The search feature is limited (no date filter) but you can quickly view their entire collection by increasing the amount of images shown per page.
http://www.philamuseum.org

Victoria and Albert Museum
Easy to browse and search image database of 18th century to modern fashion.
http://www.vam.ac.uk

Panopticon Virtual Art Gallery
High quality images of paintings for viewing and download. Most paintings from the 13th - 17th century. Easily searchable by artist name.
http://www.aiwaz.net/panopticon

How to use a gathering foot

2012-01-16T14:18:00.001-05:00

A tutorial on how to gather or shirr fabric using a sewing machine and a specialized low-shank gathering presser foot.

You can buy a gathering foot for your machine for as low as .01. I bought mine on by doing a search for gathering foot on Amazon.
Here’s a great .pdf handout on how to use this presser foot.

“Night with my Sherine”. Free background music download compliments of http://www.jewelbeat.com

Matt Smith Eleven Shetland Tweed Fabric

2012-01-12T11:43:00.001-05:00

I’ve been searching high and low for a close fabric match to Matt Smith’s Doctor Who Series 6 Shetland tweed jacket. Everything I’ve found - from Ebay to fabric stores to custom weaving quotes - didn’t come close to the design nor price I was willing to pay. Well then, nothing better than the original.

I’ve been in contact via email with the infamous Steve Ricks of http://eleventhdoctorcostume.blogspot.com/ for the last two weeks. He found the Shetland tweed fabric - heck, the actual bolt - used in Smith’s jacket. He bought himself several yards of the fabric for commission jackets and is selling the extra yardage.

Steve answered my emails with amazing speed. He was courteous and professional. I purchased 1 1/2 yards of the 59” wide fabric. That should be *just* enough for a proper women’s jacket. You can email Steve for some fabric or commission him to make all or parts of your Eleven costume. His email is tennantcoat@me.com.

I paid for the fabric and had it in my hands the very next day. He even included a pack of Jammie Dodgers. My nerdy spirit is ecstatic. This is better than spending a weekend at a spa with an adonis named Sven who wants nothing more than to feed me peeled grapes from a bowl of spun gold. Hello. My name is Artemisia Moltabocca. I am a Doctor Who fan and a costumer.

Victorian Femme Eleven: Sneak Peek

2012-01-10T16:26:00.001-05:00

Completed

Corset: Truly Victorian TV110
Chemisette: Truly Victorian TV104
Skirt: Truly Victorian TV201
Chemise: Custom draft pattern

The corset back is in a solid burgundy broadcloth. I made a mistake fitting the corset and ended up with a huge inverted V down the back. I cut off the two back pieces and made new panels in a larger size. What this really means is that I have to learn to size and fit a Truly Victorian corset as I did the Simplicity corset. The corset back is laced using these lacing instructions by Lucy's Corsetry.

I didn’t do much to the skirt other than adding some petersham ribbon to the opening as a closure in case of weight gain. There is a hanging pocket at the placket opening that ties around my waist. It serves double duty by covering the white chemise under the placket.

Still to go

jacket
modesty panel for the corset
fez, bowtie, suspenders
TV104 cuffs OR make a new chemise with cuffs sewn on

Things I’ve learned

how to make my own bias strips
french seam a pocket and placket

How to enlarge a pattern using PowerPoint

2012-01-05T11:13:00.001-05:00

I needed to enlarge a sewing pattern for the Bridges on the Body corset sew along. I tried enlarging a pattern the traditional way using a ruler and multiplication. It didn’t work for me as I continued to shift the ruler off its axis, thus skewing the entire pattern.

I don’t own Photoshop nor any fancy art programs. I don’t know what a vector is, even if he came up to me and shook my hand. I own a copier, but the darn thing won’t enlarge an image to a custom percentage. Ugh, what’s a girl to do?

I do own Microsoft PowerPoint 2010. It is a program bundled with Microsoft Office. I use PowerPoint to create the background, header and other graphics on this blog. Turns out, you can use PowerPoint to enlarge a pattern.

It is an easy process if you have a drawn scale on the digital image. If there is no drawn scale, you’ll have go through the entire process for a base measure. You can take a digital picture from a book or download a scaled pattern from the internet.

How to enlarge the pattern

Open a new PowerPoint presentation. Delete the two text boxes by clicking on them and pressing the delete button. Click Design, Page Setup. Set slides for letter sized paper and select the orientation. I’m using landscape. Click OK.

Click Insert, Picture. Find and double-click the image to bring it into PowerPoint.

Arnett, Joanne. Image of post edwardian long line corset. Bridges on the Body. Web. 26 Dec 2011.

Click File, Print. Measure the resulting image. This first print is just a gauge, a print test, and a nice cover page for a pattern envelope or binder. Unless you’re really lucky, this print will be way off.

Time to enlarge the pattern. Double-click on the image. Click the little arrow in the “Size” toolbar box to bring up the Format Picture dialog box. Increase the percentage of the image. I’m going to try 100%.

On the bottom toolbar, decrease the page zoom until you have a small picture. I brought it down to 20%. If you look closely, you’ll see dots on the image. Those dots are the outline of the letter sized paper. You’ll also notice the white box in the background as you shift the image around. Move the image to align a corner of it to a corner of the paper. If you have a scale on the image, have the scale show up in the print area. You’ll know it is in the print area if you see those small dots in the background.

Now let’s print again. Notice how the image became larger? Measure again. I’m not quite there yet.

Try again by increasing or decreasing the image. I’ll up it to 150% this time. Print and measure again.

If needed, try again. And again. And again. Looks like the magic percentage for my image was 161%.

Print the Pattern

Now to print the rest of the pattern. Move the image down over the background dots. The trick to printing is to overlap the images on all sides. This way each sheet of paper can be lined up and taped to each other to make the entire pattern. Increase the zoom to make it easier to see the overlap.

Print the page. Test the overlap. See how the two pages line up perfectly?

Print and tape the rest of the pattern, one page at a time. Cut off the annoying white margins from the pattern with scissors. Alas, there is no real way to completely remove the white margins within the program. No matter, you still have your awesome enlarged pattern. Tape it all together using a bright window as a lightbox. Ah, success!

A note on printers: You may find that the pattern lines don’t quite line up if you use a front-feed printer. That’s because the paper shifts side to side while it’s being fed into the printer. The best printers for steady lines are Brother laser printers, or any printer where the paper is fed from a slide-in cassette tray.

So, did you use this tutorial? What added tricks and tips did you discover?

2011 Costuming Year in Review

2011-12-31T21:49:00.001-05:00

This year was about trying out new styles, and I enjoyed them all. I learned how to fit a Simplicity corset and how not to fit a robe francaise. My Pocket Pirate persona owned only one set of garb, so it was time flesh out her wardrobe.

My costuming list for 2012: everyday vintage clothing, another robe francaise, an Edwardian corset and gown, a new venetian gown, and lots of Doctor Who. I’m also going to try my hand at purses, shoes and a hat or two.

The last photo was taken at Costume Con. This Puerto Rican Maria don’t take lip!

Good Housekeeping August 1954

2011-12-31T10:58:00.001-05:00

It’s the end of another year. Let’s take a look back - way back. I bought a copy of Good Housekeeping magazine published in August 1954. It was a time when housewives were “glad to welcome the Kirby man”. Here are select snapshots for your amusement.

My favorites are advertisements from Firestone Foamex pillows and Nescafe. I didn’t know ‘unchastity’ is a real word. It does have more decorum than other words. :)

Use a thread rack to make small bows

2011-12-28T19:15:00.001-05:00

I needed to make red bows. Lots of them. I found this picture on Pinterest showing how to use a fork to make tiny bows. Great idea, but I needed to make larger bows. Good thing I didn’t throw away my old thread rack.

What new and different uses have you found for old sewing or household tools in your costuming projects?

December 2011 Sewing Pattern Giveaway Winner

2011-12-25T10:40:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas Day to the future owner of two of my sewing patterns. Congratulations,

Hastings Sanderson

Head over to my pattern stash and pick two patterns. I will ship them to you via USPS First Class Mail, free of charge. Email your mailing address to

Pattern stash link: https://picasaweb.google.com/moltabocca/PatternStash

In the spirit of the day…

compliments of ANDY'S ART: DOCTOR WHO

Yes Santa, it’s bigger on the inside.
You understand.

Merry Christmas

November 2011 Sewing Pattern Giveaway Winner

2011-12-24T17:27:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas Eve to the future owner of two of my sewing patterns. Congratulations,

Isabelle Montfort de Bretagne

Head over to my pattern stash and pick two patterns. I will ship them to you via USPS First Class Mail, free of charge. Email your mailing address to

Pattern stash link: https://picasaweb.google.com/moltabocca/PatternStash

Yes, there is still Christmas Day to go. ;)

How to make a simple chemise

2011-12-10T20:28:00.001-05:00

Instructions for a very simple chemise. This pattern uses four pieces of fabric and three body measurements. Includes formulas for three body and sleeve lengths, which are based on your height.

Chemise Body

Width of chemise

Measure around the widest part of your body, usually at the bust or hips.

Your chemise width = _____________

These formulas are an exercise in using the golden ratio to calculate length. You can use a tape measure instead, but you’d miss all the amazing math. :)

Length of chemise

Thigh length: Height / 8 * 2
Knee length: Height / 8 * 4
Floor length: Height / 8 * 6

Example:
I’m 59” tall. I want a floor-length chemise:
59 / 8 = 7.375
7.375 * 6 = 44.25 = 44 1/4”

Your chemise length = _____________

Chemise Sleeves

Width of sleeve

Measure around the top of your shoulder through the armpit.
Add 2 inches. If you want poofy sleeves, add 10 more inches.

Your sleeve width = _____________

Length of sleeve

Short sleeve: Height / 8 + 3
Mid-length sleeve: Height / 8 * 2 + 3
Long sleeve: Height / 8 * 3 + 3

Example:
I want a short sleeve:
59 / 8 = 7.375
7.375 + 3 = 10.125 = 10 1/8”

Your sleeve length = _____________

Yardage requirements

I recommend using either linen, cotton voile or cotton broadcloth.

Body width 38” or less: Add chemise length plus the larger sleeve measurement.
Body width more than 38”: Multiply chemise length x 2. There should be enough left over for sleeves.

Total amount of 45” wide fabric: _____________
One roll of 5/8” wide ribbon
One package of 1/4” wide elastic or ribbon

Cut body fabric

For 38” or less body measure:

Fold fabric lengthwise.
Cut or rip to your chemise length.
Cut or rip on lengthwise fold.

For body widths 39” or more:

Cut or rip fabric in half width-wise.
With the two pieces together, cut or rip to half your chemise width measure plus ten inches.
Cut or rip your chemise length.

Cut sleeve fabric

Cut or rip two rectangular pieces based on your sleeve width and sleeve length measurements.

Construction

Sew sleeves to chemise

Sleeves width may be longer than shown in the diagram. Seam allowance is 1/2” - 5/8”. Can be sewn with french seams.

Right sides together, place each sleeve on opposite top corners of chemise body. Sew a diagonal line of stitching 7 inches in from each corner. Sew the other chemise body to the other side of sleeve in the same manner. Cut inner sleeve seam allowance down to 1/2 inch. Press seam open.

Sew side seams

Fold garment in half, right sides together. Sew from outside bottom corner of sleeve to the bottom of chemise.

Finish neckline and hems

Ribbon casing

Start at center back. Fold up raw edge of ribbon. Sew ribbon to top edge of neckline and around sleeves. Overlap end by 1/4”.
Press seam up and turn ribbon to inside of chemise.
Sew ribbon to chemise close to edge of ribbon.
Insert 1/8” elastic or ribbon.
Put on chemise to determine length of neckline. The neckline opening is based on your aesthetic and comfort. Add an extra 1” to elastic or ribbon length. Overlap elastic or ribbon edges by 1/2” and sew together. Push inside casing.

Press up bottom of chemise 1/4”, then another 1/4”. Sew close to edge.

Sew a narrow hem on sleeve edges. Sew lace on edges. Add a ribbon casing for ribbon or elastic, if desired.

Uniquely You Dressform Measurements

2011-12-06T14:01:00.001-05:00

I own a small size Uniquely You dressform. I took these measurements after I took her out of her cover.

The cover is the key…

My cover measures B36, W29, H36 and my bra size is 32DD. I’m 4’ 11” tall with a misses size upper torso and a short lower torso. This form compressed to my measures widthwise and lengthwise. This form will adapt to almost every body type with a properly fitted cover. See my prior post on making a custom cover.

Corseted or non-corseted?

If you are using your dressform for regular garments, use the Uniquely You sizing chart to select your dressform. If you are using your dressform for corsets, I recommended you either:

go down a size from your natural measures. This is the easy way.
buy based on your natural measures, and make a second custom cover for your corseted body shape. I’m going to try that, and hope I can squeeze Camilla (my dressform’s name) in it.

This dressform has its limits…

It is difficult to compress the form down to the smallest stated size on the size chart. For example, a small form won’t compress smaller than B34.5 W24 H34.5. It was difficult for me to lace a waist size 26 corset on the small form. The smaller the measurements within a form size, the more difficult it will be to get the form in the cover. Make sure the smaller side of the dressform measures aren’t close to your measures. If I knew then what I know now, I would buy a size petite form instead of a small.

Out of the box measurements

I let the form stand for 15 minutes to let the foam expand back to, hopefully, original size. All measurements are approximate. I didn’t include the bust measure because:

the boobs are scary large. I think it’s so the form can accommodate different cup sizes.
I ‘adjusted’ the bust to fit me.

Measurements for a small Uniquely You dressform

Front

Entire form from neck: 30 1/2”
Neck to waist: 13 3/4”
Waist to hips: 5 3/4”
Hips to end of form: 11”
Shoulder to shoulder: 14 1/2”

Back

Entire form from neck: 32”
Neck to waist: 15 1/4
Waist to hips: 6 3/4”
Hips to end of form: 10
Shoulder to shoulder: 13 1/2”
Arm stub to arm stub: 16 1/2”

Side

Underarm to end of form: 24 1/2”
Underarm to waist: 7 1/2”
Waist to hips: 5 3/4”
Hips to end of form: 11 1/4”

Other Measures

Underbust: 34”
Armhole 16”
Neck 15 3/4”
Waist 30 1/2”
Hips 38 1/4”

Remember, the cover is the key. Happy shopping.

I had to cut Camilla’s boobs to lift them up. If you don’t want your dressform to look like my bad hack job, use an electric knife.

How to sew a pocket in a french seam

2011-12-01T16:40:00.001-05:00

You can sew a fully enclosed pocket in a french seam. Start by cutting your pocket openings with an extra 1/4” seam allowance.

Sew pockets to skirt panels

With wrong sides together, sew each pocket 1/8” away from raw edge.

Enclose pocket opening in a french seam

Press up pocket. Wrap the pocket around the skirt edge. This way the skirt edge isn’t distorted and lays flat. Sew the pocket “in the ditch” to enclose the raw edge.

Sew first part of french seam

Press open pocket on both skirt pieces. With wrong sides together, sew 1/4” away from the top of the skirt, around the pocket edge, down to the end of the skirt. Turn pocket inside out. Press.

Enclose and finish french seam

Press skirt pieces right sides together. Sew 1/4” (or 3/8” for a 5/8” seam) away from the top of the skirt, around the pocket edge, down to the end of the skirt. Open skirt and press. You now have a fully enclosed pocket and skirt seam.

Sew a skirt placket in a french seam

2011-11-26T17:41:00.000-05:00

Here is my method of sewing a skirt placket in a french seam, after much trial and error. Skirt plackets are usually on the left-hand side of a skirt.

Attach the strips

Find the difference between your waist and your widest hip measure and add one inch. This is the strip length.

Cut two 1” wide by ‘strip length’ long of fashion fabric. Press short end up half an inch. With right sides together, sew strip to one side of skirt 1/8” from raw edge.

Sew first part of skirt french seam

With skirt pieces facing wrong sides together, sew 1/4” away from edge starting at the bottom of the strip. Press. Fold. Press again. Sew 1/4” (or 3/8” for a 5/8” seam allowance) away from folded edge starting at the bottom of the placket to the skirt edge. Press.

Finish placket

Press strips to inside of skirt. One strip will naturally press on its own seam. The other will naturally fold along with the skirt seam, so that the strip seam is in from the folded edge. The opening edges will overlap. Stitch down strip around three sides, going through the skirt seam.

October 2011 Sewing Pattern Giveaway Winner

2011-11-16T17:45:00.001-05:00

Okay, on with the catching-up! October’s winner is:

Charlie!

Head over over to my pattern stash and pick two patterns. I will ship them to you via USPS First Class Mail, free of charge. Email your mailing address to

Pattern stash link: https://picasaweb.google.com/105662512597582392633/PatternStash

Fantasy Pirate Christmas - Complete

2011-11-14T10:00:00.001-05:00

I wore this outfit to the Carolina Renaissance Faire during Pirate Christmas week. CRF is my new home faire, so expect me to show up more often next season.

Vest - Simplicity 3629

I attached a d-ring lacing strip inside the front edge, along with a strip of boning. I used a size 10 and 12 for the vest. The back pattern pieces are a size 12. The rest of the vest, including the shoulder strap tops, are a size 10. A much better fit for me.

Corset - Simplicity 9769

I dropped the middle front pieces down to a size 6. The front pattern pieces of the corset are a size 10. The back pieces are a size 12.

Center front is buskless. I added extra boning channels to the CF (piece 14), and the middle front (piece 15). Every seam has a boning channel. The extra channels are attached only to the inside lining. This way the fashion fabric keeps a ‘clean’ look.

Things I learned:

The trim, boning, and especially the lacing strip can end at the waist. No need to take it all the way down the vest front.
Yoga or exercise pants make great pirate pants.
Drop the vest back neckline half an inch.
The walking foot edge, with needle to the right, is perfect spacing for boning channels made of 7/8” grosgrain ribbon.
For Jeebus sake, wear the RED jingle scarf!

River Song red heels in “The Time of Angels”

2011-11-11T14:12:00.000-05:00

Those River Song heels…those Christian Louboutin Bianca merlot heels!

http://us.christianlouboutin.com/shoes/platforms/bianca

I can’t find them nor be able to afford them. I found these look-alike River Song red heels while searching for my pair in a size 5.

Bamboo Corina
Better color and style. I tried my luck with the size 5 1/2. Too big for me. http://store.alloy.com/item.do?categoryID=38&itemID=53948

Joan and David Flipp
These are a top runner-up to the originals. Even the price is high at $200 a pair. Size 5 1/2 and up. http://www.endless.com

Type Z Darla
Better color. Size 5 1/2 and up. I ordered the last in a size 5. *Update* They sent me a size 10 instead of a size 5! Bad, bad Zappos! I changed the link below to 6pm.com. http://www.6pm.com/product/7640370/color/306465

Nine West Proudly
Better style. Sizes 5 1/2 and up. http://www.6pm.com/product/7863246/color/1141

Aldo CapeCoral
Better style. Heck, almost identical style. In size 5 and up. http://www.aldoshoes.com/us/trends/moody-nature/women/82972101-capecoral/62

Penthouse Bardot
These were found by Alisa. She has Ebay-Fu. Sizes 5 and up. http://www.ebay.com/itm/PENTHOUSE-4-5-HEEL-SEXY-PLATFORM-PUMPS-SHOES

Jessica Simpson Calie
Better color. Size 5 and up. http://www.jessicasimpsoncollection.com/SHOES/High-Heels/CALIE.html

BCB Generations Tinas
Almost identical. Sizes 5 1/2 and up. http://www.amazon.com/BCBGeneration-Womens-Tinas-Red

Wild Diva Licorice
Better style. Sizes 5 and up. Found by Alisa. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Red-Patent-Platform-Pumps

Gomax Lucky Dog
Better style. Size 5 1/2 and up. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004XV2RPS

Luichiny Loud Lee
Better style. Size 6 and up. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004EE376W

Steven Madden Russhh
Better color. Limited sizes. http://www.zappos.com/steve-madden-russhh-black-patent?utm_source=shopstyle

Jessica Simpson Brook
Better style and color. Shoe has a top peep toe. Sizes 6 and up. http://www.endless.com/dp/B004VQBEIQ

Black Rooster Celie
Better color. Sizes 6 and up. http://www.6pm.com/black-rooster-cecile-black-patent

A no-name Chinese brand on Ebay
Better style. http://www.ebay.com/itm/270754531371

Fantasy Pirate Christmas

2011-11-05T16:45:00.001-04:00

‘Tis the pirate holiday season. Time for a Christmas themed pirate outfit, complete with poinsettia brooch.

September 2011 Sewing Pattern Giveaway Winner

2011-11-04T17:58:00.001-04:00

Whoa, it’s November already? Shiny objects and all that jazz. This month will have three giveway winners so I can catch up!

September’s winner is:

Jennilee Cookman!

Head on over to my pattern stash and pick any two patterns. I will mail them to you free of charge. Email your mailing address to

Congrats!

Dragonfly Designs by Alisa

2011-10-24T18:52:00.001-04:00

Look up the word “inspirational” in the dictionary.
Her picture has to be there.

Not only does Alisa make quality, drool-worthy costumes at breakneck speed, she finds time to:

convince her co-workers to dress up in costume.
make costumes for photo and film.
write a novel.
craft beautiful figurines.
raise chickens. Yes, raise chickens.

I greatly admire this woman for her talent, dedication to her craft, and all around awesomeness. Once you learn more about her, you will too.

I can’t wait to meet you in person Alisa. Keep an ear out for the squealing little Puerto Rican running your way. :)

http://www.freewebs.com/dragonflydesignsbyalisa

Red and Black Pirate - Complete

2011-10-23T09:37:00.001-04:00

Turned out to be more the red and yellow pirate than red and black!

The vest was easy wearing. Sometimes the corset peeked out from the top. I’ll take up the vest shoulders about one inch on future versions.

The shirt was a little too short, but that is easily remedied by lengthening the pattern. The pants are too short - they barely kept in my fabulous boots. Future pirate pants will be ankle length.

The shirt is Simplicity 3677. The pants are self-drafted.

Follow the Diary on Facebook!

2011-10-21T10:40:00.000-04:00

Due to popular demand (67% of a sample of 24 - hey, good enough for me), you can now follow Diary of a Renaissance Seamstress on Facebook. Hooray!

Diary of a Renaissance Seamstress on Facebook.

Simplicity 3629 Vest

2011-10-13T20:29:00.001-04:00

Pattern: Simplicity 3629 Misses Costumes
Pattern sizing: HH (6, 8, 10, 12). I used a combination of sizes 10 and 12.
Fabric used: 100% silk lining fabric, 100% silk organza for interlining, 100% mystery twill fashion fabric.

Pattern review for Simplicity 3629

Simplicity 3629 is a nice full coverage bodice. I’m happy with the results. Recommended with fully enclosed lining.

I cut open the center front, and cut off the front points.To fully encase all the seams, sew the vest to the lining all around, except for the tops of shoulder straps and back neckline.

Turn right side out through center back neck opening and press. Sew the shoulder straps together. Fold down the back neckline, and hand stitched it closed.

I added plastic boning to the center front, and sewed on some pretty gold trim. There is a lacing strip on the inside center front.

Things I learned:

Do not sew up shoulder seams first for a reversible vest. Yep, I did that.
Trim hides bad stitching.
Enclosed lining hides really bad stitching. :)
Premade eyelet tape sucks. Make your own lacing strips, or find a better quality lacing strip.
Plan out trim and closure placement before constructing the garment.