renna_darling

The Future is Coming!!!

2009-03-02T06:01:19Z

Uggg... So I'm contemplating the future again. I got another vote from a textile conservator in favour of a Masters and I just went over the graduation requirements for my degree. I'm really wishing I had had the big picture view that I have now when I was in first year. I took courses I shouldn't have bothered with and were basically a waste of time. I'll make all my requirements but I thought I'd only have to take 4 courses a term in 4th year since I took 2.0 credits on my summer field school but it turns out that I'll maybe be able to have one term with only 4 courses.

I'm tempted to look into taking a chemistry class this summer just to lessen the work I'd have to do in the term. I almost wish I could stay here for the summer just to fit another term in. *sigh* I'm thinking about going to see one of my profs just to talk things over and get some perspective.

Its really irritating that I just noticed a note in the academic calendar stating that a combination degree is a bad idea for students planning on continuing to grad school just as I decided that was the path I should try to take. Hopefully my interdisciplinary degree is appropriate for an interdisciplinary graduate field of study.

The village and a wig

2009-02-08T22:06:24Z

I recently watched the movie The Village. I really enjoyed it. I'm not usually one for horror movies... ever... but The Village is not your typical horror movie. Sidenote: I would totally run off and found a village where I'd get to wear 1880's style cotton dresses ALL THE TIME. My favourite scene is about 3 seconds long and at the very beginning where there are two girls sweeping a porch and they start spinning around their brooms. The one girl's dress swirls really prettily!

I am done, done, done the 1780's zone-front dress. I tacked the ruffles on to the sleeves a couple of nights ago. I'm really into finishing things lately, hopefully I can hang on to that urge for a little while. Inspired by demode 's post a little while ago about her wig styling I decided to give it a try. It didn't turn out completely horrible! I'll post pictures of the whole look once I get around to taking them.

Reading week is coming up! I have a ton of stuff to do before I leave but clearly lj is much more interesting...

Housing search

2009-01-10T16:36:53Z

So I just got back from looking at a prospective house. uuggg.... It was a basement apartment which the girl on the phone neglected to tell me. It had all the negatives that goes along with being a basement apartment. I seriously think that if I had lived there I would have become clinically depressed. Plus tile bedrooms = cold feet in the mornings. The only positive side would have been that there was only 2 other roommates and from the look of the one girl I met I doubt that would have been a picnic either! So moving on now....

Siiigh...

2008-12-02T18:57:07Z

I want one...

Music? Please?

2008-12-01T23:13:28Z

So I've been holed up in my room for like a week and as a result I'm sick of all my music. Music suggestions anyone? I'll listen to just about anything at this point as long as its new!

noodles!

2008-11-20T15:58:05Z

I think this is pretty awesome! Yay noodles!

Sewing Update

2008-09-28T04:37:16Z

So I've been doing some sewing lately and thought I'd post a few pictures.

The two main projects I've been working on are my Halloween costume, which will be an Edwardian witch, and a middle class 1580's outfit from the Tudor Tailor.

I've been working on the smock for the Elizabethan project lately. It will be made of linen handsewn with silk and with silk blackwork on the collar and cuffs. I've got the body put together. Here's a shot of (i think) one of the side seams.

And here you can see the blackwork. The smaller piece is my test piece. I found it really helpful to try it out this way first because it allowed me to iron out all the little details in the embroidery pattern as well as try out a couple of methods for transferring the pattern. The 'good copy' shown here will be for the collar. I haven't made the pattern reversible because I can't make my brain twist that way but I wanted to add a ruffle at the collar and cuffs so I'd need two layers to sandwich it between anyway.

Here's a shot of the corset pieces for the Edwardian costume laid out on some test fabric. I honestly don't know if I'll get this done in time... I might just use my white Victorian corset instead. Still I'm interested in trying out the laughing moon pattern. It comes pretty highly recommended and is a bit different from the pattern I made up for my other corset.

And finally this is the plan I made up for a court tudor dress that I want to make someday. After watching the Other Boleyn Girl and a couple episodes of The Tudors in quick succession I decided I need a tudor court gown. I scanned a few images from The Tudor Tailor and fiddled with them in Photoshop to get this:

I have a piece of antique silk velvet that my grandmother gave me and its so flowy and light I though it would be perfect for the veil on the french hood. Its kind of coppery and I didn't know how to make it look coppery in photoshop so its just brown... The gray is also supposed to imitate cloth-of-silver, but I don't know if that would go with coppery brown. I need to pick a metallic to use for the settings of the billaments(jewels) on the hood and gown which should also coordinate with whatever fabric I use for the under-sleeves and under-skirt. Thoughts anyone? I'm open to suggestions!

Life seems pretty crazy right now. I don't have as much time for sewing as I'd like so little progress is being made on my projects. But that's the way it goes I guess! Thanksgiving is in two weeks (wooo! get to go home). I'm really looking forward to all the turkey festivities. Plus I get to fly home which is always exciting. Yay for no 7 hour train ride! Anyway I should probably toddle off to bed. stuff to do tomorrow and all that...

More corseting

2008-08-04T04:08:47Z

So I managed to put in all the reed into the boning channels yesterday. It took far longer than I like to think to finish that step. Especially considering my growing fears about fit! I've my fingers crossed that it will all work out! Today I got all the eyelets done on the back and marked the eyelets for one side of the front. All this hand sewing is starting to get to me. It's frustrating because I now have all the materials I need to complete this outfit but my fingers won't sew quickly enough! I also left my camera up at my field school so all I have are crappy phone camera pictures. Oh well!

Oh and I also rediscovered some pictures on my phone that I took of the buckram form I made for my 1860's bonnet

Interior shot

In this image you can also see my lovely basement :)

The finished product!

I really need to finish that essay of mine thats due on Tuesday... Think stock buckles, not sewing!

P.S. I have no idea what I should lace this corset with, anyone have any suggestions?

Polonaise Fabric

2008-07-28T01:45:47Z

Look I bought dome pretty fabric for my polonaise! I'm going to trim it in dark blue satin and make a middling blue petticoat. I also have some lovely blue wool that I'm going to make cloak out of. The two examples I'm using for the cloak are both red but just love the idea of an entirely blue outfit!

New Corset!

2008-07-26T18:54:12Z

I'm making an 18th century corset. Oh and I'm hand sewing the whole thing! It will be three layers of linen: a blue-gray for the outer layer and white for the interlining and lining. I also got my hands on some thin leather to bind the edges with. Its a bit yellow for my taste so I'm going to see if I can bleach it a little.

Here you can see all the pieces laid out. There's ten individual pieces. I'm going to add the boning to each piece and then sew them together. This method should allow me to adjust it once its fully boned. It's going to be both front and back lacing. I haven't made a front-lacing corset before so this is a new endeavor! Hopefully it will work out.

Sewing Update!

2008-06-11T06:10:32Z

Since school ended I've been doing quite a bit of sewing... like A LOT. Today I took a TON of pictures of stuff that you can see

So In chronological order of completion:

RECAP: Victorian Undies - Finished at school

Chemise, corset and drawers

Elliptical hoop

Petticoat over hoop

1) Mid-Nineteenth Century Outfit #1
A two-piece outfit like this was not the norm in the 1860's. It was normally worn by girls or trendy young women. At some point I'm going to make a black "bolero" jacket to go with it. The trim around the hem is some 100-year old trim from my Grandma. The shirt is made of a sheer swiss dot cotton. This outfit is worn over my Victorian undies.

Some detail shots

2) Mid-Nineteenth Century Outfit #2
This Day dress is based on a photo of my great-great-grandmother. I'd post a scan of it but my scanner is broken :( Its not an exact copy but it has pretty much all of the main elements. Most of my birthday gift certificates went into this fabric and I SO do not regret it!

Detail shot of the bodice(sans buttons and buttonholes)

3) Mid-Nineteenth Century Bonnet
I am so proud of this bonnet! I have never done anything like this before. Millinery was an entirely new experience for me and it turned out really well. The hat consists of a buckram form with wired edges covered in silk and my lining fabric. I used the empire version of the Clara Christine pattern from Timely Tresses I used the form pattern the same but I covered the bonnet in a similar fashion to one displayed on the website that they actually don't include instructions for. But i wanted that bonnet and i was gonna have it dammit!

4)Late 16th Century Fitted Gown
This gown is straight out of The Tudor Tailor. I only altered it for fit because I loved the design exactly the way it is. I'm super proud of the sleeves, they came out quite well. It closes with hooks and eyes in the front and is lined in cream linen-look. Normally I would use real linen but this stuff was ridiculously cheap so I couldn't pass it up. I do want to make a new red linen kirtle to wear underneath because my only kirtle is fawn coloured and wool AND laces up in front so it simply CANNOT do! Not that they didn't wear stuff like that in period, I just don't want to. I'm going to make a new linen cap too but not until I'm back in waterloo, I left my nice white linen there.

5) Floral Half-Circle Skirt
I bought this fabric with birthday gift certificate last year and made a retro dress out of it. I bought a whole bunch extra fabric intending to make more stuff out of it and I've finally gotten around to it. I whipped this together one day last week, and it turned out great. Its a little more than a half circle with a small waistband and a zipper at the side. I used my Mom's fancy new machine to do some decorative stitching around the hem jsut for fun and it ended up stiffening the hem a bit which is nice. Look I got new shoes too!

6) Short Floral Jacket(In Progress)
I used this Butterick pattern for a short jacket but lined it in cotton broadcloth. This jacket will forever remind me of spiderman since I watched the first movie while I cut this out and sewed it up.

7)Havana Nights Dress(In Progress)
This dress is the dress I made last spring when I originally bought this jacket. The dress I made out of it then really didn't suit me so I'm remaking it. My inspiration for this dress came straight out of Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights. I <3 this movie. It's so cheesy but I love the music and all the pretty pretty dresses.

8) A Summer Purse(In Progress)
My regular purse is black leather. It sucks when its hot and sticky out so I'm going to make a new one out of leftover scraps of the floral fabric.

Whew! Alot of stuff in there. I'll post pictures of more stuff when I finish it.

Every Summer my Mom battles against critters in her garden. Usually groundhogs are the culprits who actually chow down on her plants. She and I and our neighbour Bill were sitting in our backyard on sunday when this groundhog comes along wandering through our garden. My Mom and Bill manage to corner him and then bait this trap so that they can take the groundhog away and release it far from anyone's garden. Lo an behold the none-to-smart critter is trapped and then released in the wilds off by the ski trail and we all come back to enjoy our critter-free backyard. As we're settling in again, Bill spots ANOTHER groundhog crossing his backyard. It eventually moves into out yard the same way the first one did and we trap it in the same spot as the first one. It to is trapped and set free in the same spot as the first. This is quite the record for my family! I'll never forget the image of my Mom herding groundhogs towards a trap with a spear-like tomato stake. She looked like an African warrior or something!

A hoop skirt and more

2008-04-25T16:35:17Z

So I made a hoop skirt! Its pretty awesome. I also made a bustle pad to go underneath to make it lie nicely. And then I just kept working outwards with a petticoat and a skirt. I have had the hardest time with chemises. For some reason the easiest garment of this outfit has been the hardest for me to make! Finally last night I found a free pattern and managed to make up a comfortable one. So I have left to make:

-a shirt
-a jacket
-a bonnet/headgear of some kind
-a reticule
-arrange for shoes(this might not happen)

Pics under the

My inspiration images

It's a Smock!

2008-04-14T02:14:34Z

So I made a

Its cute and I like it! It's made from McCall's pattern M5313 view B with the straps from view A and C. I had to alter it quite a bit because I used stretch fabric. The bodice is really quite different because I made it pretty fitted. I think its super cute and really comfortable and I love the fabric! I basically made the dress because I found the fabric. Yet another modern piece of clothing finished! Oh and

is a picture of the fabric because the picture is super crappy.

So I made a shirt...

2008-04-05T05:35:54Z

I made this

I really like it. I wasn't sure the ruching would turn out but I'm pleased with the way it did. Its super comfortable too. The fabric is really soft and the shirt fits really well. The strike is finally over so I don't know if I'll have much time in the next little while to sew... Back to my regularly scheduled life I guess...

Blue Coat

2008-03-31T18:11:42Z

I made a coat! Yay for sewing things I can actually wear in real life! And it has pockets!

so this is the pattern I used... yes its a Hilary Duff pattern but its cute right? I edited the skirt quite a bit, the pattern has it as a bubble skirt which totally didn't work for me.

the front

the back

I lined it in white flannel as you can see. Its super cozy.

A full length shot

I really love the colour. I still need to add the buttons and do the buttonholes. I was thinking about using big black buttons. Anyone have another idea? I'm looking forward to wearing this this spring!

A Corset

2008-03-17T00:18:36Z

Hey check out what I made!

Don't I look hot??? Its not finished. You can see the corset bones poking out, especially at the top in the front but that will be fixed when I put seam binding around the edges. I'm really pleased with how it turned out. I've never made a "real"corset before so it turned out really good considering!

Regency costume

2007-05-13T21:07:09Z

So.. I said I would post my sketches but my sketching skills suck so instead I'll post some of my inspiration

So I'm actually making this corset right now. I drafted the pattern yesterday and today and now I'm putting together the 'good copy' out of white cotton twill. My version's cording with be a little more simplistic than the one used here but mine will have a busk(http://www.koshka-the-cat.com/runder/busk.jpg), two gores on the bust line, but straps that will tie in the front right about where the straps of this one connect. I made the front a little extra higher on the front so that I can put in a drawstring like this one.

I'm going to make a cotton chemise cut like this one, probably without the lace.

These re pantelettes, mine will be with pleats instead of tucks, and with different lace of course.

the actual dress with have pleats one bodice like this one and similar short poufy sleeves

the hem of my dress will have pleats like these and I'll be making a short "spencer" jacket like this one, but probably not pink...

I like these shoes... I might try to make them...

My hat will probably be shaped like this one, but not with the fabric... its icky, I might edge the front with ribbon or something.

I'm going to make/get stockings as well. It should turn out nicely ^_^ I went through all the vintage fabrics and stuff that my grandma gave me and I think I'll use some of it in this costume. I have about a yard and a half of a nice sea foam coloured silk which I'd like to use for the spencer but I'm not a huge fan of sea foam... oh well I'll have to see.

renna_darling @ 2007-05-07T12:40:00

2007-05-07T16:41:35Z

So this is a fun thing too. Its an animated version of the bayeux tapestry. If you know what that is chances are you would enjoy watching this... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDaB-NNyM8o

Embroidery!

2007-04-10T04:23:55Z

So I brought back the materials I needed to start an embroidery project that I've been planning for awhile now. I made a practice sampler where I experimented with stitches and such. I've decided on a form so now I"m going to begin on the garment itself. I'll be putting this pattern on the neckline and wrists of the blue gown that I just posted pictures of. It should turn out nicely ^_^

renna_darling @ 2007-04-09T12:49:00

2007-04-09T16:49:50Z

I found this entry on this woman's blog about her experience working at a clinic that offered abortions (among other health care). It was a really interesting personal story so I think you guys should take a look: http://yarnpirate.blogspot.com/2006/01/stories-from-front-lines.html

renna_darling @ 2007-03-26T16:04:00

2007-03-26T20:05:34Z

Soooo I made a
Yeah I know, I know... I have four research essays I could be doing right now... but it's a hood!!!!! Who can deny hoods??? I can't ^_^

15th century housebook

2006-12-17T08:28:56Z

hello all,
So I'm talking to Jon on msn and I figure I'll just post everything here and explain it all so I can show you all! *disclaimer* this post contains gushiness on my part about the loveliness that is 15th century German dresses ^_____^

So I've been working on this dress... its made up of linen fabric and red wool taken from a coat I bought second hand for 8 bucks. Because the main fabric was already cut up pieces salvaged from the coat, I was limited in the way I could cut the pattern pieces (ie I cut it with a waist seam). what it looks like all laid out on my bed. what i did tonight. I attached the sleeves, and finished the resulting seam and sewed 16 eyelets in the two sleeves. The skirt isn't attached yet but I can't do that until I finish the inside of the bodice but I have to put in the stiffening in the front before I do THAT, and my hemp is at home...

a picture of the original image that my dress is loosely based on. an image of what my sleeves will eventually look like.

So I have to:
-put in the hemp cord in the channels sewn in the bodice
-finish the inside of the bodice around the hemp
-pleat and attach the skirt
-put in eyelets in the front
-finish the front seam of the skirt
-hem the skirt

I also need to make a new chemise so that I can have pretty pouffy sleeves ^___^ I actually thought to myself after I had attached the sleeves 'well at least its in two pieces instead of the 2 pieces it was in before!'... I don't know if anyone will understand that but it seemed funny to my fatigued brain o_O

My fingers are quite sore now. I ended up needing to put tape on the tips of a few of my fingers so I wouldn't lose anymore skin... Thanks for reading guys!

Spiffy New Desktop

2006-11-13T07:38:01Z

I was going to go to bed I really was but... then my sis sent me here http://lifehacker.com/software/plain-text/geek-to-live--incorporate-text-files-onto-your-desktop-213280.php with this handy dandy program like the stikies one I had but much less bulky. So that new program combined with my new ability to pull screenshots off of a dvd means a new desktop for Brenna! See

German Hair

2006-11-12T22:33:35Z

So being bored I was doing what I was doing best and looking up old costume stuff. Some of the bookmarks I lost were concerning a certain turn of the 16th century German style. I found this other costumer's instructions for a typical hairstyle of the time. I decide to try it out and am very happy with the results. Imagine my veil padded, pleated, and pinned properly. Pretty similar no? And yes I am aware that I look ridiculous, obviously I am past caring ^_^

renna_darling @ 2006-08-09T22:43:00

2006-08-10T02:46:04Z

Here's the dress as well as the illumination I based it on. FYI the illumination is rom a calendar title "Les Trés Riches Heures du Duc de Berry" and dates from 1412-1416.