gallery

July 6 2007
I have decided that I need another new-to-me costume for Costume College. With the idea that an 18th century something is probably about all that I could get done in the short time remaining, I am quite taken with the idea of something a little over the top for my normal RCHS events. At most I will have to tweak a pattern so it's just a matter of construction, not toileing, which is what usually eats up my time. :>

I have pink taffeta left over from the Cynthia gown that would be perfect for the zone front I adore from the Scarlet Pimpernel musical. I may not get to the shark-tooth trim before CC but I can always add that later. I'm trying to decide if I want a fancy zone-front ruffled jacket or to recreate the full zone-front dress. It's pretty much the same pattern-wise, just a longer skirt.

Jul 11

I started on the Scarlet Pimpernel outfit at quilting fellowship tonight. I ripped the panels for the petticoat and have sewn them together. Next up pleating!

I spent the rest of my evening surfing the web for more/better pics of the outfit. Found a few (mostly from Christine Andreas.com) but dang, it is hard to find pics of older Broadway shows! I did find a nearly identical fashion plate of the outfit in my files though (from costumes.org) - very cool!

As I was cutting/ripping tonight I discovered that I didn't have as much of the pink taffeta as I thought I did. However I do have the old Cynthia dress that I can cut up if need be. I like the Cynthia but it's served it's purpose ... Much better to be used for something that I can actually wear rather than hang in a closet looking pretty, right?

Jul 12
The Pimpernel petticoat is progressing nicely. I have almost all the pleating done, some of it even sewn down. I have pics too but am too lazy this am to post.

I've also been researching appliqué, which has always scared me, as it's the only way I can think of to do the shark-tooth trim. I don't know, how would you do it? *nudgeSuziahemKatherine*

Jul 12
Well I was wrong about almost being done with the petticoat pleating thing. I had pleated it in the wrong direction, like this <--CB--> in the back instead of this -->CB<--

A little thing in the grand scheme of things but I'm particular so I took out all the pins and redid the back pleats. I was able to tweak my pleat size though so both panels ended up the exact right size too. THAT never happens! I usually have to gather up the pleats somewhat to fit.

So the petticoat is all done now, except for the hem. I'm wondering if it shouldn't be fuller now that I have it on Narcissa but I think I need to finish the rest of the frock and see what the fabric status is before I contemplate ripping the back section apart and adding a new panel. Like I'll have the time to do that before CC anyway... lalala

Thanks so much for your responses to the tooth trim query - I'll respond to your comments later... You guys really are the best!

Jul 13

The Pimpernel petticoat - all done but the hem - yay! Oh and check out this perfect fabric for the tooth trim. It's the leftovers of my Fire Costume - how freaky is that?! The color is perfect but I'm just a little hesitant because the fabric is bulky and prone to fraying. I guess I'll have to do some testing and see how bad it looks as appliqué.

I cut out and stitched up the first toile for the pimpernel today. More work than I was thinking, as the pattern I was going to base it on isn't fitted for the new stays. So I'm having to use the pet en l'air as my base, which has quite different seam lines.

I got the basic fit and bodice lower front where I want them plus the "zone" seams marked. The neckline needs some work, the shoulder straps need to be cut down and the back nipped in a bit at the small of the back. The biggest chore will be redoing the side/back seams. The pet en l'air lining was a quick and dirty job with vertical seams at the center back and center side (all covered with the back pleats). The pimpernel needs to have curved seams more towards the back. Shouldn't be too bad really...

Jul 19
I was supposed to go site-seeing with Bridget in DC yesterday (our last fling before she moves) but thanks to a wonky stomach and a headache I stayed home and sewed instead. I got the pimpernel toile apart and cut out version two. Not terribly exciting but progress.

I leave for Dallas in 6 days. I am in SO much denial about how much I have left to sew for CC, it just isn't even funny...

Jul 20

I finished toileing the pimpernel yesterday, sleeve and all. I'm not 100% thrilled with the sleeve but it will work and I'm not in the mood to mess with it further. It's a sleeve after all. :>

Not that you can see from the pic but I cut the back into 3 curved seams. It's quite pretty, hope it shows up in the taffeta after all the work though! I trimmed the back point a bit after taking the pic, so it's even prettier now. I took more pics but they were all un-flattering to myself or the frock so you'll just have to wait to see more. I really love this look - it's so stylish and flattering. I really need to do more 1790s/zone-front type things.

My testing of the orange fabric isn't going well so I've decided to wait on the shark tooth trim and see what I can find while I'm in LA. I'd really like some changeable taffeta. For now I think the application of black velvet trim to accent the zone will be enough. I just found out that for the first year my MK retreat and the RCHS ball are on different weekends so I get to go to the ball this year! *does happy dance* So I'm thinking the pimpernel should be my ball gown this year, although wearing the Bee is tempting too.

Last night after picking apart the pimpernel toile and make note of the changes, I wasn't feeling alert enough to cut out fabric so I worked on the hem to the chemise gown.

Jul 20
Yay! The pimpernel is all cut out. *whew* Turned out to be closer than I though it would be, fabric wise. I had to take apart the Cynthia gown after all, or rather Mom did. I was having a hard time bringing myself to take it apart so when she volunteered I let her. :> Even then the only way it fit was thanks to a large scrap I dug out of the scrap bin. As it is I may have to piece part of the hem - not sure if the side skirt panels will be quite long enough. *crosses*

For the lining of the zone piece I pulled out some pretty cranberry duchess satin from the stash. It should just show under the little zone flap. If I can't find a fabulous orange in LA I may just use this for the shark tooth trim. Less contrast but a pretty effect.

The rest of the lining will be the light pink stripe. I cut the rest of the stripe into pieces for a new under petticoat. There was just enough for a ruffle too. I think the pimpernel in particular will look better with a ruffle petticoat underneath and a second under petticoat will come in handy I'm thinking. I've had that fabric forever, it's nice to get it off the shelf.

Now I'm off to dance to say hi (forgot myself sewing to make class but I'll be in time for coffee) and then off to Walmart to pick up the Harry Potter book I'm not going to read tonight. :>

Aug 1
Yes I have been working, in between my business trip to Dallas and catching up afterwards. Just not posting much, sorry about that!

Today I woke up about 10am and worked steadily on the costumes (ie the pimpernel & chemise dress) all day. My goal was to get all the machine work out of the way and the costumes to a point where I, (the world's slowest hand sewer), could reasonably get things finished up at CC. I think I've accomplished it... still lots to do on the Pimpernel though so I don't have high hopes of debuting it at CC.

Aug 3

Greetings from Costume College! I finished my Pimpernel tonight, or early am or whatever it is. I worked on it a bit last night but once I got down to the GBACG meeting tonight I got a surge of energy and starting humming along quite nicely on the Pimpernel. To be honest my attitude up to that point had been if I get it done great, if not that was fine too. I was just going to work on it until I was bored or it was done. I really didn't think I'd be wearing it at CC and had an alternative in the wings. But I guess you never know.

The GBACG party eventually moved upstairs into a private suite where the frivolity continued unabated. I was still cruising along on my Pimpernel and didn't want to disturb my roommate who had already gone to bed so I sat in a quiet corner with Sara and kept working. I finished attaching the pleated skirt and tried it on so Jonatha could mark the hem for me.

I got back to my room to discover my roomies weren't actually asleep yet so I laid my skirt out on a bed and trimmed up the hem then ironed the frock (which looked pretty bad from being stuffed in a ball and dragged all over Dallas and LA). I hadn't intended to hem the skirt that night, I was just going press it, let it ravel and worry about it when I got home. As I was ironing however I thought, well if I ran huge running stitches it wouldn't take too long, and I wasn't sleepy yet so... Apparently WWKD starts to rub off when you are roomies . :>

Aug 13
Pics are now in the Gallery for your viewing enjoyment. I've also posted a little petticoat tutorial using this Pimpernel petticoat as my example. You will find the page under Study or just click here.

I'm now declaring this project finished for the time being. I had every intention of doing the orange shark-tooth trim but haven't been able to find the exact shade silk taffeta I want. Also the event I was going to finish it for this autumn has been canceled.

There are several things that need work on the frock as well. The lining peeks through the center front, somehow the sleeves ended up too short and the front skirt hem did indeed end up too short. I'm also not thrilled with the fit that I see in the pics but that is my perfectionist side rearing it's ugly head. All can be fixed with piecing and/or fitting but without an event to motivate me I really don't care at the moment. Maybe someday...

Dec 19

Our second night at Stratford I decided to be different and wear the Pimpernel. I paired it with my turquoise necklace and matching bows at the neck and sleeves (pinched from the pet en l'air).

I really don't know what to do with this dress. I love to wear it but I hate the way it looks in pics. It needs some major work, particularly the fit and the sleeves, before I'll be pleased with it. I think I'm just going to throw the original design from the Scarlet Pimpernel musical to the wind and remake the dress as a mid 1780s dancing dress.

I also think next time I wear this frock I need more height and some powder to my hair. No point in being conservative with a screaming fuchsia pink dress, ya know?

Mar 9

My body clock is still way off, which is annoying. In a fit of not being able to sleep but being too tired to do anything productive with the Redingote I completely took apart my Pink Pimpernel dress last night. This was a very last minute dress for Costume College last year and while I had great fun wearing it I wasn't really happy with the fit.

Really, I wasn't happy with it at all until I tweaked it a bit for the Stratford Hall event in December. I shortened the sleeves (just tacked them up), polonaise the skirt and added color in the form of aquamarine bows and jewelry. Suddenly I LIKED the dress and wanted to wear it again. That's when I decided to ditch the original Scarlet Pimpernel design and create a more generic 1780s ballgown from the ashes.

I thought about just making my tweaks permanent but then I thought about all the other things that bugged me about the construction and thought, why not start from scratch and fix everything? So I picked the whole thing apart.

Yes I really am insane.