The Beginning of the Blue Bustle

I just finished cutting out the pattern for my bustle. I am using the Laughing Moon Mercantile pattern #112 Hoops and Bustles pattern, View E. I am making the bustle as part of a steampunk outfit that I have planned. The bustle will also be able to be worn with a bustle Victorian costume in the future.

I am using a blue sateen cotton for the bustle. The fabric is from my stash and I decided to use it even though I originally bought this fabric for a different costume that has not come to fruition yet. I will take some pictures and post as I actually get some progress made. Hopefully that will be soon as I plan on wearing this costume to the SF Dickens Fair.

Comments

Starting At The Beginning

A wise person once said that in order to tell a story, you start at the beginning, keep going until you get to the end, and then you stop. Pretty good piece of advice to keep in mind as I start my first blog post. When I was young, I learned to sew by watching my mother and my grandmother. For many years I only used those skills to replace missing buttons or fix torn seams. Then I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and was taken to my first Renaissance Faire as part of a guild. I had such a great time that I knew I had to make my own historic costume. I ended up making something new almost every faire for the past 2 or 3 years now. I have become a costume addict! I love making costumes, planning new costumes, and the hunt for that absolutely perfect fabric. It is true that whoever dies with the biggest fabric stash wins. Several friends convinced me to write a blog about my costuming experience and I finally took the plunge. I look forward to sharing my experience with costume of ...

Ottoman Empire Gomlek

I recently started joining the local Society for Creative Anarchism (SCA) group to meet up with like-minded individuals interested in historic costumes and research. There is an upcoming event with a middle eastern theme and I have nothing to wear! So of course that meant frantic research into what middle eastern costume I wanted to make, draft the patterns and begin work. I finally settled on Ottoman Empire (Turkish) costume consisting of shalwar, gomlek, entari and caftan. I did quick and dirty research and The documentation that I found the most helpful are the following: https://serenesabiha.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/aripattern.pdf http://baronyofatenveldt.org/uploads/library/Ottoman%20Coat%20Handout%202011.pdf http://www.katjaorlova.com/FemaleTurkishGarb.pdf Linen gomlek before the added neckline facing. The first link has a great measurement chart that is helpful for keeping documentation of your measurements. I used the gomlek (or women's shirt) pattern and fo...

Elizabethan High Necked Smock Test Samples

I am starting a new smock to wear as the undergarments for a new Elizabethan outfit. I started with the Tudor Tailor 's pattern for the smock. I read through the directions and realized that I was going to need to make a muslin of the smock so that I could make sure it would fit. The Tudor Tailor pattern is drawn for a size 12-14. Here is a quick sketch of what I ended up doing. A mockup is needed for this garment if you are not really close to the measurements of TT. Here is a list of steps that I took to get a pretty awesome fitting garment. Measure your chest, waist, hips, the largest part of your bicep while you are flexing, the length of your arm from shoulder point to your wrist, neck, wrist, and the distance between your shoulders. Write all of these measurements down. I always say I'm going to do this... and I don't always. It's a good habit, I should do it more. Get a cheap fabric like cotton muslin, some rulers, some washable markers, and scissor...

The Costume Maven

Search This Blog