The Little Things

This is what I did on my first week of IRCC. To save a little on fabric for the skirts of my gowns, I made bias tape to bind the hems. The one in black is for the gamurra, and the one in brown is for the overgown. As some decoration for the overgown, I made blue piping to trim the edges of the bodice, similar to the edging in Gozzoli's Birth of Mary. Lastly, the thing in yellow is lucet cord

A Diversion

My old liene found another purpose, this time to line the embroidered coif. After all the hours I put into the thing, I didn't want to accidentally ear out the hanging threads in back. Once the lining was installed, I began to add loops to the bottom hem so I could thread a ribbon through so I could gather the cap and tie it on. After the third loop or so, I decided that this detail was pretty, and I would add at least a second row to give a lacy feel.

I was and still am a bit leery about making my own lace, as all those bobbins and carefully counting, pulling, and reweaving threads feels a bit intimidating. This feels nice and approachable, so I'm glad.

Now With a Body

I finally got around to completing the body of Serenity. Most of it was made in a day, but I did not like the sensation it caused in my wrists. I shouldn't get careless in the name of speed, I have lots of sewing to do.

One and Done

The beauty of having a mockup from a previous project is being able to re purpose it for later ventures. I took the gamurra bodice pieces from my first outfit and altered it so it closes on the sides instead of the front. I then pinned on some lacing strips, and tried it on after some contorting and scratches.

I am pleased to say that the fit is successful, and the support is excellent. I did a couple of test jumps, but everything stayed in place.

And So It Begins

Today is the first day of the Italian Renaissance costuming competition. I am inaugurating it by cutting out material for the underdress skirt, drawers, and a whole lot of bias tape. Some will become piping, and the rest will be used to bind skirt hems. This means slightly prettier clothes, and having to tangle less with the blind stitch function on my machine. The blind stitch is very handy, but time consuming.

Click below to see my sources for binding and edging

A note for later

Here is a bias tape cheat code.

Huzzah

I signed up for the Realm of Venus Costume Contest.(link) I've been wanting to compete for a while, and now the chance has come, or will come April 14th. Do expect a lot of ramblings between now and mid-August, when the construction deadline is.

My goals are three fold: to a) finish my outfit, b) accrue at least 100 points by the scoring system and c) have a new outfit for Comic Con. Fingers crossed.