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Well, here it is, finally- the fully constructed dress from 'A Diary of a Work in Progress' The image processing isn't quite up to par, so these may take a while to download. (The sempstress recently changed jobs - I've gained more time for sewing and significantly lower stress levels, but lost access to all the cool graphics utilities I used to have at my disposal. I'm working on it....)
For techinical and construction details, please get ye over to the aforementioned diary. This particular gallery page is mostly a gloating area. (She says, as though the rest of them *aren't*?!)
All in all, I think the whole thing turned out rather nicely. As far as the rather peculiar angle of the hatfeather goes, well, it was windy when my dad took the pictures. Really windy. Windy enough to move the skirts on this thing around. (Note: I estimate the weight of the dress (dry) at 50-60 lbs total. Most of that is in the skirts. Note re: Note: I said dry. The first day I wore this dress to faire, it up and poured in the afternoon. As the dress is not water soluable (unlike some others), I tromped around in it. In case you are wondering, that mch cotton velveteen/heavy cotton interlining holds a *lot* of water.) These are pre-season shots, so I was still working out a few technical bugs in the way the whole thing went together. I have a theory that no dress is ever fitted properly until it's been worn a few times and you have found out how it reacts to heat, movement, sitting for long periods of time, attemts to scratch one's own back, how it resettles after the Great Adventure of the Privy, etc etc etc. It's one thing to get it all right on the dress dummy - but Janey doesn't move! Most people who sew historic garments are not employed in the making of museum replicas. We make clothing. Clothing is a moving, living art, and you have to account for that. That means that if you want the darn thing to look "right" on the first day of faire, then you prolly ought to find an excuse to wear it for at least a few solid hours before opening day. Alrighty. Enought of that rant.
Actually, for the moment, that's enough of the words entirely. The couple people who have mailed me politely requesting that I get off my rump and post pictures were, frankly, more interested in the pictures than the words anyway. And I, obsessive little beastie that I am, have a few hats to whip out and some vague notion of making a new lower middle class dress before saturday (it is thursday today) based off of the utterly charming picture of the spinster on page 716 of my Norris (Tudor Costume and Fashion). I haven't had a new dress to wear to faire in weeks now. ;)
Oh, as a bit of a spoiler, the next set of pictures on this one will show the cpmplete waist skirting (27 $&#*!! tiny little tabs), my new attifet (of the constucted french hood variety, not the 'attacked by a rabid doily' variety), and more beads. "When in doubt, add more beads" is the motto of the noble, and I, my dears, am simply not a very confident person. Lots and lots of beads......
For a large closeup of the paned sleeves and ruff, click here.
