kimikosews

So, I've gotten about 25" or so, and debating if I want to do a whole yard or more of it, or just end it soonish.

I originally had this idea on edging a linen hankie that I've got in my stash, but that is a nice sized hankie at 11" to a side, which would need 44" of lace to cover. And then I realized that if I put the pretty metal lace onto said hankie, it might not be that easy to wash afterwards. Uhm, no. Hankies get used, and they need to be washable.

Sooooo... then I thought maybe a cup cover would be nice, but same washability factor is required from time to time. So, again a no.

So now I'm not sure what to do with this lace that isn't a full fledged garment or gloves or night cap or ... what to do with the pretty metal lace?

Will this stuff actually wash up decently without distorting or snagging? I may have to make a test piece to find out with one of my sample pieces.

So, anyone have suggestions on small gift like items I could make with it?

For some reason I thought I had posted about the new book I'm using for my metal thread bobbin lace, only looking through my posts I guess I didn't. The new book is called "Gold & Silver Edgings : Sixteenth & Seventeenth Century Lace Book", by Gilian Dye. One of the IKINS students brought several copies for us to buy. The store she got them from was http://www.provolace.com/ . Amazon.com hasn't been much help, and there are other stores to buy it from, mostly in the UK like here where you can see the cover photo and a sample piece of lace.

I love the little book. She covers some of the history, gives basics on the threads and bobbins and how to work them, including the needed differences when working metal threads, and she admits that her earlier book on Elizabethan bobbin lace (which was mentioned in a previous post) was from the perspective of a modern bobbin lace maker, not with the mindset of the Elizabethan bobbin lace maker. I see this as a nice step forward. She also gives kudos to the Rosemary Shepherd, the author of "An Early Lace Workbook" for providing her with greater insight into period laces. You can buy that book here from Ms Shepherd directly, which I plan on doing when I can afford to.

By the way, this is the first book in Gilian Dye's series on 16th & 17th century laces. I got a sneak peek at the laces in the next book, and it looks beautiful. Those were various laces in linen threads. No idea what will come after that, but these are books I look forward to buying.

As to the book I used to relearn bobbin lace, that was "Bobbin Lace Manual" by Geraldine Stott. I'm not sure I'd fully recommend it for beginners since its visuals are a bit lacking for a newcomer, at least with regards to twist & cross. It did get me a little confused at the beginning, but otherwise is pretty good to follow in a logical progression from simple to more complicated patterns. If you are a person who learns from words, already know the basics, or just want some nice patterns it is worth having.

http://gwydir.demon.co.uk/jo/lace/index.htm
I found this online source to be a better primer for very beginners, especially if you need some visual help with twist and cross and other steps. I use it with the books I have to help me out.

And so far, those are the books I'm using, or want to buy. There are more period patterns in the V&A book on 17th century women's clothing, but that's extra. Someday I'll get up to working those, especially as Gillian Dye's book discusses at least one of them in her book, I think.

So, I've not been doing a whole lot lately, as I've not been in the mood to be all that creative. But I've been in the mood to play with the bobbin lace some, which isn't so much creative, as it is simple and kinda zen in the doing. And that's ok.

There isn't a whole lot to share on step by step processes, as it is just cross and twist, pin, repeat a few times, tighten up the tension, and hope it all stays together when the pins are removed. Sometimes it isn't all right, but most times it is fine. Some I think will be fine once it is sewn into place.

So, here are a few photos to share with you what I'm doing. The silver is a test piece. The gold & silver will be my first major length of lace, which I've a small plan for if all goes well.

	Pattern 18, Silver sample A test piece in silver DMC metallic thread. Width ~ 3/8", about 6" long.
( rest of the photos underneath the cut... )

Ok, I'm tired, and this took me longer than expected. But I do have a new web page, and two more albums of photos. One is the gown construction, and the other is photos from MAAS that are courtesy of Claudia Laughter.

MAAS Embroideress

And I'm not sure what I'm going to work on next. I found a cache of Lucas De Heere images that I want to put someplace, and I've got the scans of tapestry images I need to make suitable for internet sharing. But for now, time for bed.

Last September I participated in Much Ado About Sebastapol (MAAS), a renaissance faire held in a quaint wine country town up north from me. I made a lovely outfit for that event, that I've worn a few times since. I even started a series of entries sharing my research and how I was going about making these garments. But in the middle of the work, I found I needed to focus on sewing, and didn't have time to actually write up the process. Thankfully I did take photos of most of the creation process.

Then time passed. And the photos were ignored since there were so many of them. And how would I actually share how I made the outfits since it would bore folks to tears to read about the how-I-did-it in one large chunk of a dress diary, and I didn't have the patience to make smaller entries. So more time passed until recently, when I realized I had nearly forgotten about this outfit, and it really was a very nice outfit and I should just suck it up and do something to post something about how I went and made the outfit. Especially since I've had folks ask me about it when I wear it to various events. To tell you the truth, I'd even forgotten how I'd done a good chunk of it until I looked at the photos again.

So today, while relaxing from yesterday's activities, I spent some time to work on the Red Kirtle photo album, and found I had already posted the Coif album (but not said anything about it). So, here then are two albums of the four planned.

MAAS Red Damask Kirtle

Basic Coif for MAAS

Tomorrow I will work on the Gown album, and a final album of photos showing how I look in the outfit, along with a write-up in my web site to tie it all together.

If there are any problems with the photos or any questions, you know where to comment (or comment on the photo albums if you want.)

I have a headache, but I am tryin to not let it ruin my day.

I did manage to play around with doing more picot stitches in bobbin lace with the old linen threads, just trying to figure them out. I've been having problems with the picot stitch, and have found nothing online that hints at anything to make them work out. I gave up on trying to do the Nine-pin lace pattern, and am just doing braids and picot stitches, in one single line, just to practice and try things out.

My book says to always twist left over right (l/r), ALWAYS. It also states to twist 3 times for the picot stitch before pinning. But I noticed that doing 3 l/r actually untwisted a portion before putting in 1 actual twist, and just would not hold.

Well, I tried a few different things, from doing 4, 5, and 6 twists in that l/r direction, to one attempt just going right over left (r/l) in 3 twists before pinning, then going back to the regular way of doing a braid. The 4-6 stitches looked ok while pinned, but when unpinned none of them held their stitch, some unraveling completely. Obviously something is not locking and holding.

Well, doing what the book said Not to do, I managed to make one picot stitch in 3 twists r/l, and it stayed and looked decent! It was the only one that worked right. I will be practicing this method, maybe with 4 twists, and seeing if it will actually work most, if not all the time for me.

ETA 5-2-12: I re-read the section once I understood bobbin lace better. Crosses are left over right, twists are right over left. I just didn't remember that, and thought the book was wrong, when it was correct. I am much better at picot stitches now. It helps to have larger pins to work those.

ETA: Nevermind. I went into the bedroom to lay down, after I took a quick look at all the little items I had on my to do list, from a proper English bonnet, to the drapes, to other half-finished items in my sewing room, and no, I do not need to do this challenge. I need to focus on finishing those items on my to do list. Like Bella notes in her challenge, it would only be one item a month. So, I will do my own private challenge, and finish one project a month - more if I have the time. I will otherwise keep this post around for future inspirations, or if anyone else wants to use my links as a starting point for their own works.


Ok, I've been in the blahs about costuming lately, not sure what I really want to focus on or work on. I've pondered doing up the Catherine Parr gown that I've long wanted to do. I've pondered doing something steampunk, I've pondered lots of ideas, and now I'm pondering doing Italian, an actual Italian outfit, not a French gown in the Italian fashion as my silk gown was. This would be a first for Italian.

If so, it would be for the Realm of Venus' (RoV) Italian Challenge II that is set to start on the 15th of this month, in little more than a week from now. I'm not allowed to do the Iron Dress challenge as I'm one of the judges, but I want to do something. I'm just not sure I'm up for doing Italians on this short a notice, when I've not really done anything truly Italian before, or much research beyond looking at pretty pictures. And if I did the challenge, it would be 4 complete items. ( more thoughts including pic links behind here... )

One of the items I will be learning how to create at the upcoming IKINS will be bobbin lace, specifically for an Elizabethan glove.

I've wanted to make such a glove for a long time, and while I'm not one that wants to add yet another hobby of bobbin lace, well, I may as well learn how and get some made for my costuming needs.

However, I also don't want to spend lots of money on a pillow I might only use a few times. But I did get a foam pillow thing some years ago when I first took a class on bobbin lace making (at Costume College, iirc). It is still around, but... it isn't very period looking, and it is rather large and unwieldy, and it is very lightweight. It would do for another class, but... I've wanted a bobbin bolster for awhile, since I saw a friend using one at a small renfaire years ago. And I wanted to make it on the cheap if possible. ( info under the cut and a photo, with link to album. )

Yes, it has been awhile since I posted here last. No, I've not been doing much of anything on my usual creative ideas, other than to think about what I want to do next.

I did finish the pjs for Relle, although it is rather large on her. She loves it, and it should last her for at least another year, maybe two or three with all the extra stuff I added to the seam allowances and hems.

I also will be working with a few members of our Barony on a Baronial regalia project, which I will be offering up some fabrics, and working on an embroidered phoenix for it. Once we get started on things I will do some posting on it.

Margo's Patterns has just started an Iron Dress competition (starting today), and I will be one of the judges. So I will not be reading any Iron Dress entries for the next few months in order to remain as impartial as possible.

But since I'm not involved in that, I may take up Bella's Italian Costume Challenge instead, but only if I can find something Italian that inspires me. I've been pondering what costume project will be next. I am not currently inspired, so I am looking for inspirations. I've not done anything Italian, and the ones that I've been drawn to are rather on the simpler side - and I don't want to do simple right now, I want something with more bling, or visual interest, or something that will be worth putting time into.

Before Bella made her announcement, I'd been pondering another Tudor, of the 1540s farthingale time frame. This has some bling, but only in limited areas - mainly the forepart, the foresleeves, and the square around the neck area. I want to do embroidery more than jewels, so I am trying to come up with period images that support this idea. There are some for women, but not a whole lot. They really do seem to either be plain, or heavy on the gold and jeweled ouches. But I am still working on the ideas for this.

Meanwhile I've got other simpler projects I need to work on in the next couple of weeks, mostly for other people. I just got to get off my rear and do them. I also have a couple of items I need to practice with, or get the basics cut out for, so that I can be ready for my Kingdom's Collegium Caidis/IKINS in a couple of weeks. One is bobbin lace, the other is an Elizabethan glove. I will talk more about the bobbin lace in the next post, and the glove... well I've made one hand of a pair several years ago, so I plan on doing up the basic glove stuff in another week.

And that's about it on what my left brain has been doing for the past few weeks. I hope to post more on actual creations soon. I just need to kick things into gear.

I've got lots to do really, but I really want to embroider. I've actually got a few embroidery plans for small items, including a piece needed for our Baronial regalia that we haven't started yet (or I'd be working on it now). I've ideas for a blackwork smock that needs to be started. But why is it that among all these projects, I'd rather ponder about doing another large piece of embroidery - a garment with embroidery ( Read more... )