Julie's Dress Diaries

Herein lie my attempts at both blogging and creating period clothing for various locations and times of the Renaissance. Enjoy

Sunday, March 26, 2006

Luxurious....

My new black silk satin:


I thought I was buying almost 7 yards of 54" wide, and had all these grand spanish gown plans.

Sadly, when it came it was only 4 yards at 45" wide....BUT, its still lovely, and I'll no doubt find a use for it. I was reimbursed for the diff in yardage and the inconvenience, and the final price including shipping was $5.55/yd. For silk satin, I couldn't hope to beat that, so i'm thrilled. Disappointed that its not enough to do the black slashed spanish gown, but still thrilled. Its a lovely piece of fabric--lighter weight, so i'll have to back it for support, but heavy enough that it takes slashing/pinking well:

silk slash Posted by Picasa

So now.....what do I use it for?! Surcoat (is 4 yds enough)? Fancy kirtle? Doublet? Convince hubby he wants all black fancy pants (fat chance of that--I already tried)?

Sunday, March 19, 2006

A shade of doubt....

So, the costuming bug has hit me again after a long hiatus. Only, instead of diligently sewing the sleeves on hubby's flemish gear (a terrifying prospect of armscythe frustration), i've been fabric hunting and portrait viewing. I already know what my next dress will be....but shhhh, its a secret (for now). But what about the project after that? A girl must think ahead, afterall.....Then, in a massive explosion, my fabric hunting and portrait viewing collide!!!

Now, I've known I've wanted a spanish for a long time. And I was fairly certain that I wanted a spanish of the dark-somber color variety since they are so overwhelmingly prominent. But then I saw this portrait....


claraeugenia Posted by Picasa

And remembered seeing this fabric:

fabric Posted by Picasa

So, the fabric is a little wrong--its got the background leaf pattern on it, but wow, its *SO* close.... Too bad I realized this AFTER I ordered my swatches!!!! I have not idea if the patterns are similar sizes. But I MUST find out. A white dress at faire....ooh, that sounds scary, indeed. But isn't it gorgeous? Maybe I need TWO---one dark and somber, one gold. ;) Pretty soon I'll have more costumes than real clothes.

The problem is, I really want a black dress. Particularly this one, which i'm in lust with for the slashing:

infanta Posted by Picasa

Oh dear, what to do?

Thursday, March 16, 2006

New Arrival

I ordered tracing paper for all my pattern making and adjusting needs. 20 yards of it, 2 feet wide. The little things excite me. Yay!

paper

Also, updates on the flemish man.

Monday, March 13, 2006

The Web Magician

My lovely husband has given my blog a makeover. I love my new navigation buttons. Thank you, sweetie!!!

Saturday, March 11, 2006

New Project!

I recently had eye surgery and am stuck at home for at least another full week. I decided that one of the best ways to spend my time would be sewing--its been a long time. Lets just hope that lack of depth perception doesn't interfere with sewing too much... ;)

I just started a new diary for a Flemish working man's outfit:
http://juliesflemishman.blogspot.com/