white pelisse

Of  lovely April days, invasion of cat,  white pelisse, and other many distractions. This is the blog as it was meant to be!

Last week-

The making of the white pelisse-

The sun has shone, the grass and weeds are happy. The bees buzz, there are butterflies, the garden is in its purple Spring phase.  I might have been distracted from costuming but I have been refining copies and interpretations of fashion plates to show the latest additions to Gwendoline's wardrobe as well as constructing 18^th Century items for myself, so it has been busy.

I decided to use a clingfilm  base and made Gwendoline a masking tape shell. This was sectioned into pattern parts and then cut and flattened to create templates- and it worked! There is very little gaping, or bowing, or pinching – all without any fiddling, adjusting or cheating in any way. Umm, wow. Don't worry, it won't last.

This of course has lead to unwise decisions, there is no point having patterns that will only fit once, I wanted to find out how flexible this approach would  let me be – 1820s shapes- lower waist, broader shoulders, exaggerated sleeves and decoration. The fabric is curtain offcuts – trying to look like a heavy weave cotton or linen but I'm thinking that the closest this has come to nature was being sat on by an invading cat. ( I yelled, it went from snooze to panic in one move, did a complete circuit of the kitchen tops and windowsills at full pelt before escaping out the backdoor, fled through the hedge and off down the road.... leaving me with hairy fabric and chaos!)

 One idea arising from the gingham frock (last week) was using the smocking as a substitute/sculptural form of gathering, so set out to try a Juliet style sleeve with the repeated gathered bands down the arm. I also wanted to do more with pleating on the bodice. Even my favourite pelisse has gathers above and below the waistline. This fabric is quite stiff, it will bend and flex but goes clumpy and lumpy on curves and bulks up very quickly. The pleats in the back look good but have left the waist heavy, a wider waistband than originally planned might be needed or else the waistline is going to end up the thickest part of the whole garment!

last week's progress

Having faith in the pattern pieces makes such a difference – and saved so much time. No repeat fittings, unpicking and realigning. Getting from 'what shall I do now?' to having a believable bodice took less than an hour. The smocking took about the same. If I had a brain I would have done the smocking before making up and attaching the sleeve. But the sleeve was a bit of a guess, I knew I wanted more fullness at the back rather than the front, and that Pingu arms must be avoided. So I began with a basic gathered sleeve shape and made the curve at the top steeper and off centre . It did take some minor fiddling as the fabric protested about curves but it sits reasonably well, although many sins may be lost in the puffiness. And of course the piece I cut as a pattern is now firmly attached !.

 

This week-

Overall the pelisse has worked quite well- the good times did not last  The collar was a problem, it still tries to stick straight out rather than relaxing on the shoulder. Repeated washing did not help it, the fabric has a great deal of 'boing' - it tries to reset itself to flat each time. The radial  pin tucks have helped  a little and something to experiment with later on. Fears about the waist at the back were well founded, it is thick and seriously needs stiffening. Perhaps come at it from the end - put a bow on the  waistband cb so the bulk becomes deliberate ( see little blue example above).
  I do wish this stuff would make its mind up - it bends when I don't want it to and is too stiff when I want it to bend.

 As a relatively plain pelisse it is fine, the gathers in the sleeves give it more character and style. The gathering on the centre back  should perhaps only be attempted with finer cloth. Poor Gwen does not look terribly happy it. It does nothing for her figure - the extra bulk on the waist is not good , there is nothing voluptuous or even jelly-on-a-plate-ish about her to give definition, she ends up looking like a tree trunk. In the plates above, the waist is so narrow in comparison to the shoulder/ sleeve line, and  Gwen goes in just a little and out not a lot. I do wonder about making her a set of stays /padded bodice-  can't pull her in but might be able to push her out. ( I'm sure I thought this before sometime - a little set of transitions with bust enhancer?)

One moment - repeated washing?  Knowing how much I enjoy domestic chores  you will have realised this had to be an emergency. Well, first the 'sharps' needle I was using was very sharp and I hadn't noticed, second time was due to creating drawings in pastels. The washing has caused problems, now the lining is not happy at the armhole, causing the wrinkling seen above, a bit of unpick and pull  will hopefully sort it but this garment will remain untouched until the pastel phase ends.

Distractions-
1. Pastels- not a medium I usually use but... apart from the dust .....they are quite fun.

2. The fake book. - it started with a charming photo posted on facebook from the Australian Jane Austen Festival in Canberra.  In the general flow of very learned conversation we decided the photo looked like a book cover, couldn't resist it, and....  Last time I caught up it was either Mr D would emerge a la wet shirt, or she had  just shoved him in.  The drawing took  over a morning and then working out the editing  programme took about the same. (Gimp2 - a free download, complex but very good)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Gave up putting it off and set up a website- AARGH.

 

https://sites.google.com/site/franbrammer/home‎

View shared post

  Pastels were easy, Gimp is straightforward. If I had known how to do this it would have been simple! Used Google sites, free, supposed to be an easy site builder, self hosting, and well I'm googled for almost everything else. Looking back, once the mind shift was made, it was straightforward enough.  Over riding the templates was the most frustrating thing - typing in black, size 12 in default font to find it published in blue, boxed in a corner and.......

Hopefully all sorted, hopefully,.... Feeling very exposed at the present.  Be warned - will have to start experimenting with promoting it next....

 

 

And totally recommend

BBCs   "At Home With The Georgians: A Man's Place. 

So much more than important people and oh look at the houses. Well done to Amanda Vickery.

A little sewing, alot of pastels.

So this is not the post I was hoping for - that was even drafted and photos done.... and then.... distraction struck with a vengeance. Here are some tasters/teases for the real blog, construction, more smocking, fashion plate......

 but this is the one you are getting.
Let me explain - Started the new idea on Friday, tried a new way of drafting the pattern - worked well. Using up some fabric stash- brilliant. Went together sweetly, even embellished according to plan. Suspicious? So was I. Only things left to do are finishing the lining, applying the fake waistband (cut, pressed and ready) and fastenings ( set out and waiting). This was obviously too much to cope with. It felt like being a real costumer - even had a cat invade and sleep on the spare fabric. So of course got distracted, by a nose.
 It was too long, like a beak,  it was looking at me, and had been looking at me for most of the week. While the kettle boiled it could be sorted - that was breakfast - it is now lunch. Sorted that nose, done another and sorted that too.
So I'm always doing painting and drawing along side the sewing but this was a pastel work. For anyone who hasn't used chalk/soft pastels they are a rare species of demonic life form. Never get the exact colour, or marks in the right place, and  they conspire and giggle in the box just waiting their chance. Not too bad, until you realise the amount of coloured dust they spread happily over everything, the cutting/work table, the floor, me. It isn't just any old dust, this is friendly dust, wanting to get really close and stay with you for life.  Not the place for a plain white anything. I am actually going to have to WASH UP to get it  off my fingers. This is traumatic.
The new garment is on hold until the table is wiped down and dried, everywhere hoovered  and clean.

What I will share with you is the cause of all the trouble-  a study by Adolph van Menzel.

von Menzel

Watteau

 It has the same informal charm as the Watteau studies and is an unusual, beautifully lit  pose. I can't decide if she is being coy or looking for goldfish.
After a couple of pencil tries out came the evil pastels and battle commenced. They are actually quite fun to work with  and working on a coloured ground was a change - the colours are bolder, the paler tones are more vibrant, but they mix in unexpected ways, sometimes clear layers, sometimes muddy, chalky and opaque.

initial working

Having got this to a reasonable place it was pinned to wall (gently shedding dust) for a few days so that I could evaluate it and plan the next stages. It really was the nose, and elbow, and claw hand, and skirt detail.
It was going to be a quick amendment, no fuss, no mess, no trauma. It was. And then the 'should I do a background to balance the composition?' decision. And then came the 'while the pastels are out....' moment.

The Yellow Dress.

  The dress is the yellow gingham made and posted about last week. I haven't tried to  be pedantic about the gingham pattern, focussing more on the shapes and fall of the skirt. This is a very different outcome to the 1824 fashion plate pose done to previously. I  like the idea of presenting my Regency creations in as Regency a way as I can but I do like the  substance of this- is does make the fashion plate look over precious (but in an entirely charming way. Of course).





The second image is  based on the Scarf/shawl dress from the week before and is the development from the "Regency Wedgie" pose as discussed on facebook and pinterest. It was too good a thing to pass up so I had added a quick sketch to the mix and this grew out of that.. After so many still poses this was meant to be dancing ( just about turned into the 1960s/70s flamenco pose) and she is holding her  over dress rather than adjusting the underwear!

shawl dress with initial illustrations

 

They have turned out better than I expected, the shawl dress needs more attention, but pastels allow for a combination of approaches - the directness of pencil mark making and line, and then the more painterly handling of surface and colour. They have made me work larger, more quickly and to be bold in the use of  the limited choice of colours that I had, forcing me to be more experimental with  mixing and contrasts. The coloured paper puts more emphasis on working with light,  which I have probably enjoyed just a little too much. The water colours are still the choice medium, there is so much still to develop there. ( They look better in the flesh - more subtle, and softer) but these have been fun! And messy! And now to clean up....... or should I have a go at the dancer first...to save cleaning up twice...... how about the far shoulder of the yellow dress- should be puffier.....
It will be tea time soon.

Regency shawl dress, Gwen shall go to the ball!

I claim no responsibility for this. A query was posted about using saris   to make a regency style ball gowns, they are a good source of fabric, richly decorated  and often excellent value. The responses cited the trend for dresses made out of the imported Kashmiri shawls in the early 1800s, something I'd known about but not really considered.
I just happened to be in a charity shop getting my breath back having cycled into town, it just happened to start raining so was reluctant to leave, there just happened to be a silk scarf of a sort of  Indian design, sort of the right size, so I bought it, and this happened......

Context first -  there are many pictorial and extant examples around, the shawls were huge so offered many options from the drapey Greek style chiton approach to using as a standard dress length of fabric.  The fabrics varied as well, from fine cotton and silks to heavier winter weight wool. The first blue dress was the one that began this little episode, from the Snowshill Wade collection dated 1815 and documented by Nancy Bradbury in "Costume in Detail". The second image is merely to show the volume of fabric and the ornate border of a shawl, the third is an 1810 dress from  Museo del Traje and  the blue print ensemble is  Empress Josephine's ( not entirely sure if this was made from shawl lengths or  fabric printed to look like it, one site is sure, another is not! but it has the same feel of using the imported pattern). They all make use of the borders and trims  especially around the hem and neck. The fashion plates show much the same  story but with more accessories, more ornament, layers of detail and pattern.

 

The original shawls were long rectangles with ornate ends but mine was a 30" silk-ish square with a printed border all the way round. A garment for me? No, remarkably draughty. A garment for the faithful Gwen. To the right the scarf is  folded into the centre and pinned at the shoulder to give a very basic drape. The challenge will be to stop it looking like a dressing gown. I like using the border  in the centre of an open dress but Gwen needs much more help and structure to give her shoulders, somewhere between the profiles of the  green and first red fashion plates.

 The dress is fairly simple, the only cutting was to take off the top border, This reduced the length and gave something to make the sleeves out of!

 

There are 2 rows of gathering to create the bodice, on the high waist line all the way round from border to border and at the centre back along the top edge. The front is joined at a point 3" down and the very top of the front border is pleated back onto itself to give the separation at the bodice.   Each sleeve is half of  the sacrificial top border, sewn into a tube for an inch and opened flat along the top of the dress and  attached. They are gathered at shoulder and cuff trying to give that extra breadth  across the top line. I did reserve some of the yellowy border to do the front trim but it has escaped at the moment, so a length of elderly bias binding is playing understudy for the photos. It gives better definition to the bust but is rather clumsy  tied at the back. If I can't find the renegade trim this is all I have left of the fabric to work with - wish me luck!

 

And the most important question of all - Does this make Gwen look less like Juno, athletic and wholesome, and more of a siren, has she achieved cleavage? 

Certainly like the wider shoulder, even if they had to have stuffing shoved (romantically) up the cover to stop the sleeve slipping off. The back is a bit too much, may be lose some gathering to the sides. For such a straight forward idea this has not ben easy. Getting one side to work was simple, getting the other to match was a pain. The fabric was lovely, to look at, but had no substance. It lost all shape and form unless it was on the model so that was how most of the sewing was done. If I was making this for real the seams would be taped and the bodice mounted onto a lining.  I must take a pattern from this and try with a more meaty fabric, with some adjustment this could become another Gwen wardrobe staple. At least it is her very first grown up ball gown. Not bad for £2.49  ( cheap date).

Some useful sites-  There are loads out there, but will there ever be enough time to read them all?
http://historicalclothinganduniforms.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/not-only-shawlshawl-dresses-and-dresses.html
http://thedreamstress.com/2013/01/the-kashmiri-shawl-and-the-dress-made-of-kashmir-shawls/

http://www.fashion-era.com/regency_fashion.htm
http://www.marquise.de/en/index.html

the aftermath

Not a stitch in sight ! - sorry,

Friday - left work on Tuesday!!! - 20 years of got-to-keep clutter has come home with me- not least 4 mannequins plus Gwendoline the Stockman mini figure and Millicent the 1960s milliner's model. Plus countless bags of really interesting books, collections of bits, examples and resources. Can just about move.

 this is the tidy version...

Need to go back to work to earn enough to get a bigger house so that I can leave again...



alien cat invader- claims ownership of best spot in the garden

So what has been achieved – genuine domestic chaos, now on facebook (help!), had blood test, found the local breast cancer ward  would like some bags made (see The Sewing Forum), sent card and pressie, followed more crochet tutorials on youtube- I now know where I'm going wrong, designed and ordered promotional postcards, got very confused by HMRC, got insurance quotes. Add weeding, reading about Caroline of Brunswick and chasing bumble bees out of the house. Add weeding.

Doesn't look too bad a list, but can not compete with the to do one.

Desperate for magic words to undo the curse of marestails, to make my honeylocust tree happy and healthy again, to make all hills downhill when cycling, to stop my sis posting me about hot tubs, sunshine, leisure time.

I hope to be making again soon – first need to get organised  and will not start until the house is sorted, hedge done, understanding of HMRC advice is achieved and at least 2 more venues checked out – I'm intending to run some drawing classes in the Autumn – you are all invited- bit of a major round trip for some!

 Temporary storage, and look! Carpet!!

Thinking ahead -I'm still in love with the detailing on the pelisse or spencer sleeve heads – it makes some of the rouleau decoration on the 1820s dresses seem rather heavy. There are so many ideas out there to be explored. There is the full scale spencer to do of course -  I must book onto some sewing classes to freshen up the skills again. It may not directly help with these costumes but all experience of handling and working with fabric, techniques and approaches would be welcome. I hate making for me. I can blame the parents for not being taller but all the rest is down to happy self indulgence.

met museum

Sunday – I'm winning – still squeezing too much stuff into too little space but the making more mess before tidying away phase might be over. I can see carpet! The wool stash is stowed, the fabric stash is either waiting to be washed or sorted and away. All but a few of the Art bits are behaving, some defy organisation – the watercolour things keep breaking ranks and invade various rooms and cupboards, I think they breed. There is still a handful of bags to go through but the worst is over.

A lot of chucking out, hoovering, even dusting, and final putting away and I'll be back in control.

Next test is to remember where I put everything.

Potential to dos? Or would it be wise to shift garment and have a go at another dress? I will have to sit down to ponder this...... with a coffee.... and something to keep the coffee company.  Just don't find the dresses as exciting at the moment... but it would be a different challenge .... this may be a more than one coffee question.