1/12/07

Well, the costme was finished in time for West Kingdom 12th Night.

There were a few issues with some small details (size of the glass pearls I used, vs. the ones in the portrait, mostly. But I'm not going to dwell on it) but I'm still pretty happy with how it turned out.

The sleeves are slashed without any finishing on the edges- they're allowed to fray a bit since they're mostly on the bias. Documentation says that slashes weren't commonly finished, and I'm all for less fiddly work. The puffings were made from scraps of white silk taffeta (same as what was used in the wrist & neck ruffs and the partlet) and secured using a small spaced backstitch around the slashes. I was once snarked for "faking" the puffings, but anyone who wants to fiddle with pulling out a chemise sleeve is more than welcome to do so... I just don't believe it is worth the trouble (and neither did our 16th century ancestors). As you can see if you compare the portrait and my gown side by side, my sleeves are still lacking the pearls... I made the executive decision not to push it two days before 12th Night and finished the sleeves without the pearls. They will be added by the next planned wearing of the outfit, though.

The pearls are 8mm "glass based" pearls from Firemountain Gems ("glass based" just means they're glass, not natural pearls seeded with glass), and each and every one of 'em were stitched down with burgundy silk thread during a three day marathon sewing spree. If someone held a gun to my head and forced me to redo the pearling, I'd chose 6mm pearls, because as it turned out, 8mm is too big. Likewise, the groupings of the five pearls are too big, and so the pattern is less distinct on the finished garment than in the portrait. It bugs me, but I'm learning to live with it.

In-Progress Photos:

The bodice pattern is based largely on the Norris Gown, which was actually intended to be a test run of the Eleanor Benlowes gown. The decision to use pieced construction (we will avoid the Victorian term "princess seams" since this method of fitting procedes the 19th century by a few hundred years) was motivated in large part by the fact that taffeta is not a very forgiving fabric and will not stretch nicely over curved body parts without being seamed. The collar is cut in one with the bodice, which is a nice method to achieve a falling or open collar. I interlined the bodice in silk organza to give it structure without additional bulk, and then lined the entire thing in the same red/black shot taffeta. It fastens up the center front with hook and eyes.

Contined in Accessories...

12/06/06

Long time followers of this website may remember the sporadic first attempt of mine to recreate the Eleanor Benlowes gown, circa 2002 or so. Well, I gave up on it after issues with the sleeves and pushed it far back in the darkest, remotest corner of the basement and moved on to other projects. But all the while, I've wanted to go back to this gown. Finally, it came down to wanting something stunning for the West Kingdom's Twelfth Night (which I am totally going to. My room is booked and everything, and I'm dragging along Kendra and Trystan for good measure), and of course the Eleanor gown popped immediately to mind. Now, search as hard as I might, I still have not found either a high quality photo of the portrait, or a color version of the portrait, so I've given myself permission to use whatever fabric I want. And I just happened to have 7 yards of black & red shot silk taffeta hanging out in my stash!

The gown is a straight forward early Elizabethan high-necked bodice and skirt, territory I know by heart, so I'm anticipating it will go pretty fast once I get started. I'm so sure about it not taking me a long time to complete that this gown is also my National Costume Finishing Month project. I need it wearable a full week before the end of NaCoFiMo, though. I hope I'm not jinxing myself!

Stay Tuned...