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GuiseMaker

Alexandra
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So, for the last 7 months I have been living in a party house with some friends. The internet wasn't working in my room---thus, I haven't used it much until now.

I'm still working at the costume shop, fulltime, and its great! I learn so many new things, and I get to work on great things. Downside, we're understaffed, so I serve as the graphic designer/marketing/tech person as well. Tech. Hah! It's interesting though. I have also been hard at work on my art, finishing the Men in Kilts Calendar series (only 1.5 to go!) and other pieces. Starting on February 11th, I will be selling prints and originals of my artwork at Sherwood Forest Faire! It will be 8 weekends, and I hope to make a bit of profit, and get drunk along the way :)

So, until then, I am hard at work on the art and a corset mock-up for my bride customer. BUT, as it is set in the time of the Crusades, I am STOKED-AS-FECK to jump on some new medieval costume pieces. I want a hooded mantle, hooded peliçon, surcote of my own special design, bliaut, and another gown. For the peliçon, I found a fantastic navy/black/grey mixed wool that I will edge in brown fur. I would love to line it in fur, but in this central Texas weather, that might get too hot too fast! But then again...we tend to have sporadic weather, and apparently where this faire is located, it gets chilly. I bought some horn toggles at a Viking Market in Germany last summer, and I plan on using those as well...I only bought two, so I may just have the peliçon open from neck to navel, and use the toggles under the bust. I think it will be easy, and the hood and low neckline will create a nice fold.

First things on the list will be the peliçon, mantle, and gown. :D I plan on making them all in one weekend!
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Hey all! :wave: I was just researching some Victorian costume for work and came across this link. Thought it would be useful for anyone working in or wanting to work in 1850s-1910s. www.tudorlinks.com/treasury/fr…

:D Some belly dance costume uploads to come!
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I posted this on my blog, but I will also post here. I've decided that at TRF this fall I want to force several friends of mine into my fae costumes for the "1001 Dreams" weekend. SO, since that needs to happen, I need to make 3 more faerie costumes that I already have designed (and fabrics attained). Aside from that, I am constantly researching and coming up with fantastic designs for bellydance costumes. I will be adding several pieces to my closet throughout the year, first of which will be a belt adorned with Kuchi components ^_^ (splurged on some I found at bellydance.com . Also, found a FANTASTIC bra there!) Lastly, I shall be adding more and more pieces throughout the year to my medieval closet. We have a new faire here in Texas Sherwood Forest Faire, and my friends and I will be camping out there one weekend. (I will also be sharing a shoppe out there in 2012 with a coworker of mine from the costume shop!) I plan on wearing my favorite white gown, but I would like a bliaut, a white fitted sleeve chemise, mantle and perhaps a surcote to go over it. Just to mix and match. Not to mention, there are two designs from Tom Tierney's Medieval Fashions coloring book I am TOTALLY making (More Frankish I think...man I love the Franks). But those won't come for a while most likely...though medieval garments are SUPER fast and easy to make...>.> We'll see. I should be more on top of my sewing this year. NO MORE COLLEGE WOO!!! :boogie:

So, aside from two commissions I am most likely to get this spring, my list is as follows:

Faeries:
:bulletred: Eventide might alter her design a bit.
:bulletgreen: Woodelf I have some EFFING FANTASTIC SILKS for that bodice. :bounce:
:bulletyellow: Forest Queen from a painting I just finished. She's going to have red satin piping at the seams of the bodice! I was forced to make piping at work recently and am now infatuated with the idea. Though I might not cover cording in the fabric...I might do a flat piping...piping with out cording!!

Bellydance Items:
:bulletpurple: black slitted harem pants w/black-grey faded chiffon kerchief skirt hanging from waistband.
:bulletblack: coin bra
:bulletpink: Turkish vest!!!
:bulletyellow: Kuchi belt!

Medieval Garb:
:bulletorange: Bliaut (most likely of a brown woven)
:bulletblue: Mantle
:bulletblack: Fitted-sleeve chemise/underdress
:bulletpurple: Surcote
:bulletwhite: 2 gowns, one heavily embroidered at neck and sleeves.
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I am slowly but surely coming closer to the completion of my Forrester corset. :D So far, all that is left is attaching the bias tape, as well as adding in all of the eyelets. This thing is going to have at least 60 eyelets, as it laces twice up the front, and once in center back :faint: I made my own bias tape out of some dark brown satin, and almost completed the center front panel...but I think I will have to take it all off and re-do it :'( This design has lots of corners, so to make perfect corners with bias tape, I think my best bet is to do lengths of bias tape for each edge. Yep...fun stuff....Anyways, I'm hoping to finish her today on my day off.
Also, I ran to the store the other day to pick up some fabric for tights. I got a good cotton lycra in forest green. Upon leaving, however, I got the GENIUS idea of doing two-tone tights. Since they were going to be quarter-panel anyhow, I figured it would be easy to do this. Well, I've now upped it to eight-panel tights. Yes, stripes of forest-green and darkest blue. I would like to have those done by the end of the week as well. :nod:

On another note...I just watched Boardwalk Empire last night, and NDA;SGVUBJEWLARHFSKHLDKGFJ I love it. Also looking forward to seeing Game of Thrones when it comes out in 2011. :heart: HBO :heart:


My LiveJournal: guisemaker.livejournal.com/
My Blogspot: theguisemaker.blogspot.com/
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So, after settling into my new apartment with my Tall Dark and Handsome, and settling into my new job, I've finally picked up progress on my Forrester Corset, which is more fantasy design than historical. Anywho, the center-front panel will be flat and stiff, and mostly an upside-down triangle in shape. Each side will lace to the rest of my panels...which are only four panels, two back and two side-front. So, here is the completed embroidery on the front panel, which I finished this week: pics.livejournal.com/guisemake…

In retrospect, I should have laid out the design better, for it comes closer to the left side of the piece than the right. But oh well. I can always even it out when I attach the bias tape around the edges. :P I did the profile of the stag and the antlers without an embroidery frame, and then had the /genius/ idea of USING an embroidery frame, so got some free ones from mom :D It made the process for the more complicated knotwork SO MUCH EASIER.

So, tonight I tried on the mock-up...kind of. I held it up to myself. But, after self-drafting 4 corsets, this recent one FINALLY was mostly perfect, so I will be using my mock-up pieces in the corset. The center front piece will be heavily boned and will consist of two layers of cotton twill, fashion layer which will have interfacing, plus the mock-up piece which will hold the boning with the help of one twill layer. The back and side-front panels will be four layers as well, though not interfaced.

Aaaand due to my lack of organization, I could not find the faux suede that matched the center front panel. So...I spent 1 hour in Hancock Fabrics today trying to match varying shades of brown suede. I found one that is similar enough to where most eyes won't notice :P

So, everything's cut...on to ironing the pieces tomorrow when I can use either the iron at work, or at my parents' house XD And then tomorrow night I plan to stitch all of the layers and plan out my boning channels so I can order boning next week at work! :D This is the beautiful thing about working at a costuming workshop: if I need anything, I order through the store, which means I don't have to pay corsetmaking.com's RIDICULOUS shipping fees.
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