Foray into the World of Sewing

In a previous post I had some pictures from the Bristol Renaissance Fair that my friends & I go to every year.  My outfits have consisted of items I purchased at Goodwill; a couple blouses, a couple skirts, and a "bodice" that was originally part of a two-piece suit coat combination by Bisou Bisou.

Nothing handmade.  Until now...

Me & Adam Crack, the whip artist

Everything of the above outfit except for the belt and pouch came from Goodwill - the belt was one of my mother's, and she made the drawstring pouch for me.  It's great for carrying a water bottle in, and I store my camera in the basket on the way from the parking lot.  The bodice is a stretchy fabric with a series of hook-and-eye closures down the front.  The skirt had a ton of clear plastic...scales sewn all over it, intended to catch the light and add sparkle I guess.  They were a pain to get off!  They were sewn on in the craziest manner.

Me and Sir Maxmillian, one of the royal jousters

Same bodice as above, with a lighter-weight cotton blouse, and another skirt I had to remove embellishments from; this time brown sequins.  The shawl tied around my waist is because it was pouring rain when my friend & I drove down from her place in Oshkosh, and rather chilly.  Thankfully the rain broke and it warmed up about an hour after we got there.  The feather pin on my bodice is actually carved from wood and hand-painted.  The rainbow ribbon tied to the handle of my basket was because it was Rainbow Weekend.

I asked Sir Max if I could have a picture with him, and he immediately threw his arm around my waist and pulled me close.  Our friend Shelly didn't know how to use my camera, so my friend Sue took the picture.  After she was done she said "You're good," and he said "Thank you," turned around and started to walk off with me.  Not that I struggled...

Even though we only go one weekend out of the summer (Well, I do.  My friends generally go opening and closing weekends, plus one more in the middle with me)  and don't really go in character, I do like to have a different outfit to wear.  But coming across that bodice was a pure stroke of luck.  And buying one at the fair would be far beyond my monetary means.

Over the years I've started picking up material remnants from Wal-Mart and other places.  I found a really lovely dark blue cotton brocade, and some time later came across another goodly amount of the same material.  I'd also at one time picked up a couple scraps of an ecru brocade; my intention was to use it to try making barding (medieval tack) for my Breyers.

Sue just happened to have gotten a McCall's pattern for making bodices that was on discount at a local fabric store, and she gave it to me a couple years ago.  I never really got the hang of sewing; back in high school I made a pair of shorts in Home Ec, but that was pretty much the extent of my experience, other than some hand sewing on little things.

But a couple weeks ago I finally decided "I'm gonna make my own bodice."  I had plenty of the blue material, and Mom had bought me a cute little portable sewing machine for fifteen dollars.  With Sue's help when she was up on vacation last month I even had a duct-tape dummy (Long story for another blog).  I was set.

Well, except for that whole not having a bloody clue what I was doing thing.  But I haven't let that stop me in the past.  Fortunately, Mom offered to help me.

It's actually coming along quite well, as you can see by the pictures.  I have to finish sewing in the lining (Funny story, there - the pattern calls for boning and lining.  Since I wasn't going to be using the boning I didn't think I'd need the lining.  Until Mom pointed out that the lacing would be pulling the material, and lining would provide extra strength.  So we cobbled together a lining after the fact) and create the eyelets, then run the lacing, and it's done!

The front of the bodice; taken 7-15 after 6 hours of sewing

The back, showing the loops for the back lacing

Close-up of the lacing loops; you can see the subtle pattern of the fabric

The impromptu lining.  Next time - follow the directions!

Lining sewn in and peplum attached; 7-18

I decided to use the ecru material for the peplum (the "skirt" around the bottom); I like the contrast of the colors, and it has a similar pattern to the blue brocade.  I think it will look nice with either of my skirts, and both blouses, so I'll have six different outfits when this is done.

Stay tuned for the finished product!