aka Chesty LaRue

Project Tudor: A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Give-a-way Folks:  The entry is now closed.  Thanks for those who participated!  Winners to be announced tomorrow.

The Chick and I have had a very productive week.  We made 3 corsets in just as many days, those 6 farthingales, and yesterday I got 3 square-necked chemises done and 2 attached-sleeve partletts completed.  Not to mention other paid work.  As Marti Potter commented previously, it has been a sweatshop here at Chez Larue.

But you must also take time to play.  And last night we did just that, in our period underwear, with chocolate, occasionally on my front lawn.  We got lots of car honks and whistles, and had a splendid time.  We also got measurements, but that's the dull part.  Let's look at the photographic evidence, shall we?

 

Our Bloody Mary in her pretty princess farthingale with pink ribbons.  (All farthingales wound up being slightly different, so as to tell them apart.)

 

The Chick, aka Katherine Howard, aka "She hath done wondrous naughty" showing off her sultry side.  (I ran out of cream ribbon on her farthingale and had to put in some blue.)

 

Marti Potter, wearing my old hoop, looking very queenly as QE1.  The tank top is very period appropriate.

 

The excellent Mechanical Man, husband of Ms. Potter, who came to our aid and fixed a piece of jewelry for the Chick's girdle. 

Yes, he really did use a hacksaw. 

 

Miss George, aka Katherine Parr, sans corset, in her rainbow farthingale.  It is my favorite one.  Needs to be shortened, though.  And somehow TraynerShayne missed having her own individual picture taken.  Hmm.

 

Gluten-Free C, aka Jane Seymour, rocking the square neck chemise and corset combo.  She arrived late from a wedding reception and missed out on the group photos. 

Speaking of group photos, it all started innocently enough:

 

Note the jewelry that matches the portraits being worn by the correct Queen.  Sniff.  It looks so nice.

However, things quickly went awry:

 

Because nothing says historically accurate Renaissance like the RAWK sign.

Then it all just went downhill.

 

Showing off their bloomers.  Then TraynerShayne got into the act, and they did the "Wench Posse" gang sign, which is one hand pretending to hold a needle, and the other as a pair of scissors. 

Because we are nerdy that way.

 

I don't know what the Chick is doing to poor George there.  Its just better to not know, I think.  Also?  Trayner did not have her bloomers with her, and instead chose to show off her smashing yoga pants. 

This might be the part where we got honked at by passersby.

All in all an excellent evening of fun, (historically accurate) fashion, and friends.  Now the Chick and I just need to get down to making the dresses.

Don't worry, we have a spreadsheet. 

 

GO WENCH POSSE!  WOO!

Project Tudor: Underwear? Under there!

All you Give-a-Way Folks should check the next post down from this one.  There is FREE FABRIC there. 

Sorry for the lame title, but it is late and I am tired.  I have been battling hoop steel all day.

Final tally:  Larue 6, Hoop Steel 0.

 

No, the Lovely Princess A hasn't suddenly morphed into some odd Doctor Who creature made from styrofoam and tubing, she is simply modeling ALL of the hoop skirts/farthingales I have made lately.  All 6 of them to be exact.  5 were made using regular old hoop steel and 1 was made using the plumber's piping from the hardware store.  Although the piping holds it's shape beautifully, it is heavier than heck and is difficult to cut and bend.  Despite the cost, I recommend the hoop steel.  Princess A is wearing the farthingale made of piping, for those wishing to compare.

Tomorrow is chemise day.  Wish me luck.  The Chick is just pleased I didn't cut off any appendages this time.  To be truthful, so am I.

Give-a-Way Day CLOSED TO NEW COMMENTS

I have decided to give away two pieces of fabric instead of just the one.  This is Fabric #1.

This is Fabric #2.

They are lovely cotton quilting fabric from Japan.  Each piece is roughly 2 yards.

In order to win the Give-a-Way you need to post what you plan on doing with the fabric.  I will then  have my "Wench Posse" of costuming addicts choose the winner on Saturday.  Please don't just post "Pick me!"  I am looking for creativity here, folks.  I am also willing to ship Internationally. 

You all are lucky I have given up most of my quilting endeavors for costuming.  I have quite the hoard of fabric waiting to find a good home....  I also have a lovely SIL in Japan who sends me beautiful fabric...

Please check out the blog - we're happy to have you here!

Bristol Preview and Gettin' Down With the Ladies

 

Yes, the Chick is wearing a bodice made of Green Bay Packer fabric.  Yes, she does have a ginormously large foam cheese hat on her head.  Yes, there is a purpose to it. 

And wait till you see what the rest of us are wearing.  Although we may not be sporting the Crazy Eye, as the Chick is doing.  (Hee.)

Me?  What was I doing while all this festiveness was taking place?  Oh, just hanging out with my foam friends.

 

From left to right:  Matilda, Larue, Sophia and Bettie.  Just us girls.

In other notes, that shirt looks huge on me.  Jewelry by TraynerShayne.

More fun tomorrow.

Project Update: In Which I Apparently Have Learned to Use My Computer

SUCCESS!  I have successfully imported all of the blog posts from the Accidental Seamstress blog (my old work blog) onto this blog, to include the pictures and everything.  Don't ask me how it happened, because I am not quite sure.  But the upside is that I now have just the one blog, and there is new old content should anyone choose to go through the old archives.  It also means the Project Tudor stuff is all in one place and I am VERY relieved.

Because this is life and death, you know.  Costuming is serious business.

Also - I recently joined LiveJournal as the vast majority of costuming folks are on there.  So if anyone has found me through LJ, welcome!  Hello! Nice to see ya.  This blog was originally a mostly personal blog with the occasional work related posting, and has since turned into mostly All Costuming, All The Time, with occasional bits about my children G and S, husband El Jefe, and the dog.  So if you go back into the archives, you will find posts on Wham!, how much I hate "Do They Know Its Christmastime?" and my Secret Boyfriends from Law & Order.  (For the record, Chris Meloni is the hotness.)  You will also discover I have no personal fortitude when it comes to New Year's Resolutions, my camera breaks constantly, and I have a Dreaded Disease (Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, formerly misdiagnosed MS) which makes me a very bendy person indeed. 

Actually, you might want to skip the archives if you are new...

I have updated the links over on the left, adding some of my favorite and inspirational costumers to the list, as well as my personal friends and buddies with fun blogs.  Someday I might separate the two, but consolidating two blogs was more than enough for today.

And I am supposed to go to S's art classroom tomorrow morning (or soonish) and give a demonstration on Renaissance costuming.  I am hoping to take Marti Potter with me as a model, and use Princess A's costumes. 

It'll be a group activity.  We'll see how the 6th graders like it.  I'll be sure to take pictures.

As for the Six Wives Project, it is coming along swimmingly, and undergarments are being finished left and right.  So no one should be naked, at least.  Cross your fingers, anyway.  And because I am Anal Like That, I made a new category on the right simply for Project Tudor, so people who just want to get the updates on that can click over there. 

I'm off to go knock on some wood, throw salt over my shoulder and avoid black cats.  Because at the rate my year is going, I REALLY need the luck.

Project Tudor: At least the bottom half is covered

 

Why yes, those are 9 pairs of bloomers.  They are, from left to right:  Black Dragons - Larue, Pink flannel with lace - Larue, Rainbow - G, Lavender with lace - Larue, Shamrocks - Chick, Sparkle Fairies - George, Strawberry Shortcake's Nightmare - Chick, Democrats - Kyle, Shamrocks with lace AND ruffles - Princess A.

We were rather busy yesterday.

We also got 6 partletts cut out, a second farthingale cut out, and after much trial and error I have completed my first farthingale per Margo Anderson's pattern and in the words of the Chick, "It doth rock."

Pictures coming soon.  I do recommend if you are cutting through hoop steel to buy these super heavy snips from Wicks - they are much better than A) Jewelry cutters, B) The Seen on TV cutters, C) pliers, D) pruning shears or E) your teeth. 

I am beyond happy to be putting an actual dent in my spreadsheet.

Also, dress form name reveal!  And the name of the form is:

BETTIE AND SOPHIA.

What?  Well, this weekend I happened upon ANOTHER Uniquely You dress form on Craigslist and am now the happy owner of a ML and a S form.  Sophia is the ML and Bettie is the S.  My good buddy Danger Kitty has adopted the name Blanche for hers. 

I may take a picture of me surrounded by Mannequins wielding some scissors.  I think it would be amusing.  Like a dressmaker's nightmare.  Or not.

More pictures later!

What's in a name? and some Terribly Exciting News (in other news my grammar skills go completely out the window)

Ok, it would appear that adding in Facebook, the blog, and those who have e-mailed me or called me, that we are down to 2 options for the name of my Foamy Twin:  Sophia ("Picture this!  Sicily, 1942.") or Bettie (a la Page, the pin-up girl).

Check out the handy poll box over there on the right.  It expires on Sunday so vote now, vote often! 

Also, I am to be the featured costumer for June 1st's showcase on Realm of Venus!  I am terribly excited.  If you go there on the 1st (I will surely have a link) you can also see a picture of the monstrosity that was the cobbled together Elizabethan/Italian dress.  In the interests of honesty and accountability, I decided it had to be included.  It's not pretty.  Don't say I didn't warn you.

Thanks everyone!  The final name will be announced on Monday.  I'm sure you will all be anxiously waiting over the weekend.  Hee.

Project Tudor: Body Double

I was very excited today to find that my Uniquely You dress form had arrived in the mail.  Here we are together, in our double-chinned wet hair glory:

 

In comparing her Medium Large Size 11 Cover to myself, I did discover that in spite of the fact that I have nursed 2 babies, my chest is higher than hers.  And she has very Madonna cone-like breasts, which I don't believe are really found in nature.  They also gape underneath, which mine do not.  Of course I am also wearing a supportive bra and she is hanging in the wind.

Her rib cage is 4 inches bigger than mine, but my butt is 7 inches bigger than hers.  Mainly because some of us are built as per Sir Mix-a-lot and some of us (of the foam variety) are not.  My waist is smaller, but we are roughly the same body length.  Consequently, she should be able to be altered accordingly.  It might involve surgery (many costumers have had to give their dress forms mastectomies to get the breasts in the right spots - particularly when using a corset) and I believe the tool of choice is the turkey slicer. 

Its like we're twins!  Or not.

Also, I was beyond excited to discover that Simplicity had come out with this pattern:

I have been working on the QE1 costume and the Queen Mary I costumes, both of which I am making using Margo Anderson's patterns.  However, Margo's Tudor pattern is delayed in printing, and its getting down to the wire for me in terms of getting the other outfits made. 

I would prefer (of course) to be historically accurate.  However, it really only has to LOOK historically accurate in terms of matching the portrait.  Thus, I could use these Simplicity patterns.

I have been making the Chick's out of the Tudor Tailor book, mainly because their default size is her size.  However, drafting those patterns up and down on the 1-inch grid squares would likely cause the Chick and I to lose our minds, so that is out of the question.  I could buy the Tudor Tailor patterns, but with shipping from the UK they are around $50.  And not for all the sizes I need. 

My other option was the Reconstructing History patterns.  Which come all sizes to one envelope, and are $30 + shipping.  Once again, in an effort to conserve time, rather than having to trace all the pieces over and over again as to changes in sizing, I would rather go to Joann's during their 5 for $5.00 Simplicity pattern sales and buy one pattern per Queen and be done with it.  I think the Simplicity pattern should be able to be modified to make them appear more historically accurate.

I am using Margo's underpinnings patterns for the farthingales, chemises, and partletts.  I am also using Margo's comfort gown pattern for Katherine Parr's red gown.

I do want to buy her Tudor patterns when they come out, as I would like to have a historically accurate Tudor outfit that fits my Sir Mix-a-lot booty, and I have had nothing but success so far with her patterns.  At this point, though, Simplicity looks to be winning, merely in terms of timing and cost. 

Finally, we need to get a name for my Foamy Double.  All of my mannequins/dress forms have always had names.  Initially this was for convenience when I was doing the Highland Festival circuit.  If someone fell over we could say, "Oh, Susan fell over."  or "Angus is getting ready to take a header."  Other than "The mannequin wearing the wedding dress and corset has tipped over."

My prior mannequins were:  Susan (plus size), Tiffany (petite and tiny and often referred to as "Tiffany, that bitch"), Matilda (currently residing in the basement with me), Angus (the actual man-nequin), Lillian 1 & 2 (child size), David (toddler size) and the large plastic plus size mannequin whom I believe was named Felicity. 

Current suggestions for names are:  Joan (The Chick), Sabrina (Princess A), Beatrice (G's idea, although my Grandmother was named Beatrice).  I could be partial to Bea (a la Bea Arthur), Rose, Dorothy, Sophia or Blanche, all excellent "Golden Girls" references.  Any ideas?  Votes?  I'm leaning right now towards Blanche or Sophia.  Just because I want to periodically look at people and say, "Picture this.  Sicily, 1942."

As for the picture session with The Unnamed Foamy Thing and I, G was terribly helpful.  There were several, "Oh that's a good picture!" to "We're just going to delete that one right now," to "I think this is the best we are going to get," to "Oh no, you've got the Crazy Eye happening here, Mom."

It was loads of fun.  I highly recommend letting your 14-year-old take pictures of you.  Especially when they are correct about the Crazy Eye.

That's all.  Hopefully more updates tomorrow, and be sure to let me know your vote for new Mannequin name. 

If it's nay Scottish, it's crap!

So the Chick and I went to the Scottish Faire in Farmington this past Saturday and I am not exaggerating at all when I say that it was FARKING COLD.  For some reason our booth was at the end of this long field and the wind just whipped right through there.  Even our little cloaks were not enough to keep us warm.  God Bless the "All the Tea you can drink for $1.00" people.  I don't actually like tea, per se, but it is warm when I hold it.  So I paid $1.00 to hold warm flavored water for hours, and it was WORTH IT.

Plus there were lots of men in kilts, and that was worth the price of admission.

We saw lots of folks from Fest Friends, and took many charming pictures of the Chick, such as this:

She is rather photogenic, even with a cold nose.

I, on the other hand, looked like hell.  I had to wear the cloak closing up the front of the doublet I made, and I simply looked like the prow of a ship.  Horrific, I tell you.  I also had my hat too far down on my head so I had to constantly look up to see people, which brought about the Dreaded Double-Chin.  Plus I had a red nose and bloodshot eyes (due to the wrong color mascara) and I looked A Sight.

Here is the only picture I deem worthy of sharing with the Interwebs:

To change for next time:

1.  Finish my new farthingale.  This one has clearly shrunk in the wash and is too high off the ground.

2.  Use different fabric if I decide to make another doublet.  This stuff wrinkled like nothing.

3.  Use more hooks and eyes to close the front of the doublet.

4.  Use more fabric in the skirt.  It needed to be fuller.

5.  Figure out a lower hairstyle to wear with that hat so I am not constantly squinting up at people.

6.  Make a warmer cloak.

7.  Make the opening in the doublet lower.

I am not totally sold on the doublet idea for myself.  I think I am too busty for it to look good.  Might as well just expose the cleavage to the elements. 

Next up is 6 new gowns that were cut this weekend to go onto eBay, and LOTS of work to be done on the undergarments for the 6 Wives.  Then the kirtle for Ms. Cheap Chick's Tudor. 

For now?  More resting.  And the offending doublet and skirt you see above will be off to an eBay auction near you soon.  Like today maybe. 

I'm keeping that linen partlett though.  LOVED it.  Never hand-pleating a collar again, though.  The pre-pleated cotton at Joann's is just fine for me.

A Tale of Two Costumes (and Ren Faire Season Begins! Woot!)

I had this fabric I bought at Joann's.  I decided to cobble together two distinct styles and make one outfit - a Venetian inspired Elizabethan.  And I thought that the excessive boning in the bodice would be enough to hold me in.

It was really not good.  It failed miserably.  I refuse to share the photographic evidence with the blogosphere. 

So I took it apart and made 2 outfits.  The first was this one, the Elizabethan:

The second was this one, the Venetian, that I wore to the New Ulm Ren Faire this weekend, which I attended with the Chick and TraynerShayne:

Ah, the importance of wearing a corset when you are well endowed.  Note the perfectly straight V? And the lovely girdle made of jewelry from Kohl's and JCPenney's clearance sections by the excellent Princess A.

And here is the back:

Can you believe that ponytail is fake?  It matches so well.  I wore it for most of the day.

But the fact is that I used the same fabric to make two very distinct and different gowns.  You really can do a lot with the same material.

 

It is important in costuming to not take yourself too seriously. 

And yes, of course, I will be selling this one too.  I like it, but I like the green version of this fabric even better, and I can work out the kinks in the design by making a second one.

The Chick was there, and we started out 2009 with pictures of her again posing with random men:

Doesn't she look fab?  Let's get a close-up:

The bodice is made from a cotton towel woven in the MacDonald of Glencoe tartan by the St. Croix Weavers.  The sash is a cotton table runner, also woven by St. Croix Weavers.  The skirt is a wind-proof fabric.  The silver brooch is from Nagle Pewter Jewelry.

TraynerShayne was in the enviable position of needing a smaller garment, so we made her the 1 hour bodice, and threw some of my pirate accessories on her.  This was the result:

Except she is really too sweet to be a mean pirate, so we nicknamed her Hummie the Happy Pirate (she likes to hum) with her catchphrase, "Turn that ARR upside-down!"

 

She hand-beaded the entire piece of trim on her black skirt.  Pretty amazing.

We also ran into some court members from Siouxland and their charming red haired baby:

We had a splendid time chatting them up (Mr. Robert is married to the Queen, who was off doing her queenly duties) and are considering making a road-trip in the fall to Kansas City for their faire. 

We shopped, bought nifty gadgets like a leather buckle you put on your belt and it holds up one of your wench skirts, and jewelry for teenagers living in my home.  The Chick bought a leather choker.  Then we went to Emma Krumbees and ate our body weight in baked goods.  (Or ice cream, in my case.)

First though, a group shot:

And the obligatory cleavage shot:

Sadly, I think I win.  I also didn't bend over very far - this is, after all, a PG-13 rated blog.  I think.

All in all an excellent outing for our first faire of the year, in spite of the cleavage sunburn I am currently sporting. 

Yes, I really am this short.

Huzzah and all that jazz.