Happy Halloween

Monster Mash.

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Chop chop children

...

Spin spin.

Soooon my precious

Dance dance.

To travel or not to travel.

 

Considering my track record of travelling I seem to have done a 360.. Back when I didn't have much of a home to come back to I loved to travel but now I have the worst of separation anxieties. I guess one does really take the good with the bad at all times.

Can't wait to be back.

Arsenic green dreams.

It was a while ago I realised that making dresses that only fit if I wear corsets just will not be worn all that much..and I don't actually need to with this one either.. but here I sit. Tightly bound into my corset and feeling fabulous! It's just so much prettier with the corset (and by that I mean historically accurate looking). There's something very disturbingly patriarchal about how I feel a rush of power and excitement over not being able to take deep breaths or drink a whole smoothie. That panic-like dizziness for the first 5 minutes before one gets used to it.. It's the extreme of withstanding pain for someone else's pleasure and even if I'm alone I still feel it. 

To be fair, we all do it all the time don't we..

But back to the dress!

I finished it! I must say I'm getting pretty impressed with my own speed sewing and determination. I am going to make the top-part that I actually meant to make as well but that will have to be after Halloween. So far so good though, I really didn't imagine my experiment ball dress top would turn out this well. Considering I got to borrow some vampire bite tattoos from my child I might just wear this for Halloween and say I'm Mina Murray form Dracula. 

Sans corset!

It's Halloween after all.

But yes, I am very happy with my new dress, totally ready to party. Because it's some kind of synthetic (yes I know..) it's much lighter than my cotton dresses and the boning worked out really well! I can see why people put them in. It smooths it all out and makes it look very structured even if its a thin fabric. I also tried another historically accurate thing: fastenings with hooks. I'm actually quite a fan of that when it works. It usually doesnt and ends up lumpy but I think the bones helped with that too, held them in place a bit. 

I'm not sure how often I will actually use the top but the skirt really is my favourite so far. That will go with everything.

Now, time to break out of my steel prison and finish that smoothie.

 

In preparation for the cultural exchange fair at school

Once, when I was a little girl, I walked on the road between my cousins house and grandmothers house and there in the forest next to the road I saw the wolves with their glimmering eyes. I had heard of how they roam the woods in dusk and how I should not let them see I was scared. So I walked calmly down the road while they watched me and I felt as if I had escaped death.  

Half way there

A few days ago I almost finished this test version of a 1870's-80's ball gown. I'm sure you see where my patience ran out. I tend not to be great at handling setbacks so when the front ended up uneven (as it often does.. *sigh*) I decided to leave it until I felt like dealing with it...so far I haven't. 

BUT! actually the important part is the skirt! and the skirt turned out just fine. It's my favourite so far of all of my skirts because it's so very historically accurate looking and that just makes me happy.  I've never made a lining at the hem before but I highly recommend it! it's very easy and makes it look a lot better. Also, no real Victorian skirt would have been without it, or so I hear.. 

After this I'm making the two top parts, the jacket and the apron over-skirt out of dark grey wool. I'm planing to make them look as historically accurate as well. It's almost starting to feel like I've made enough of these outfits now to seem like my practice makes perfect. 

Almost..

It's going to be a very 1880's look in the end (my favourite!) but while I figure some things out I wanted to try a thing I have also never tried before: boning my bodice. That's a very common thing to read about in the context of historical accuracy but I suppose I've never really made anything where it would have been necessary so I never have. So since I had some fabric left over I thought I would try.. and aside for my common mistake of an uneven front I think it went pretty well!

I also like that now I'll have two tops for my skirt, one for walking around in and one for dancing. Also very historically accurate! 

It's not quite done..but so far I like it. It needs some fixing and bustling and buttons before I decide if I want to keep it.

As a contrast to my earlier dress this is much more in my comfort zone. I like the dark, rich colours..the drama..the passion. After all I am a city girl. I feel more at home on dark streets than in the field.

This will be more Bel Amie than Tess of the dUrbervilles, more Dracula and Anna Karenina.. Yes, I do like my film inspirations. Makes a good contrast to fashion plates.

À bientôt.

As always.