Status, shall we?
1. 1940s playsuit
Done! Except for the hem in the skirt, and that I need my mother to mark for me. She hates marking my hems, so that might take a while. ;)
I've also got my eye on some white-frame sunglasses. I like my yellow celluloid ones with blue lenses, but the white ones would be particularly right for this outfit.
And I've got a good straw hat as well. I might replace the much-faded scarf with something else. Anyone got a scrap of white chiffon or an old scarf they want to get rid of?
2. Star dress
- Overskirt (organza) and underskirt (taffeta) cut out and in the assembly process.
- Bodice cut out and ready to begin assembly.
- Sleeve mockup made and approved, with minor modification. Need to make final pattern.
I need to:
* Finish the sleeve mockup
* Order more organza for sleeves; I have a yard left for for the bertha.
* Order Dresden foil stars. That means I need to decide on the final design. I won't attach them until I get to California, though; either at
fancyfrocks's house or later at the hotel itself.
* Make shoe rosettes and wire headdress.
What do you think of the Star wand? I suspect I might find it annoying to carry around, but if it's important to the "look" I can be a big girl. :p
3. 1915 dress
I'm pretty much nowhere with this, except that the base patterns are enlarged and I have a few corset pieces cut out for the first mockup. I had a setback two weeks ago when I discovered that Needle & Thread had sent me 1.5" webbing instead of 2" webbing. At this point I really don't want to deal with cutting and finishing yards of 2" fabric strips, so I found some 2" cotton twill tape from an ebay seller. That arrived Monday. I really really need to get this to work quickly. I'm so nervous!!!
I do have a lot of lawn, and I traced off and added height to the combinations pattern. (3" below the waist and 1" above!) That's the one piece I'm excited about right now. It's a neat design, and looks kind of fun to assemble.
As for the dress itself, I'm pretty much scared about this. I've got a base pattern from PoF that I think will work fairly well, but this is basically the biggest free-handing job I've ever done. I hate uncertainty! I hate to admit it, but I've been running through other options in case this is total fail or I simply run out of time.
I did decide what to do about stockings. My old "traditional" ballet tights are very pale pink with sewn seams, and I think they would look very good with a white dress. They're definitely opaque, and definitely not silk, but I think the look will be better than obvious modern white tights. I hate to ruin them by cutting them up for stockings. But they were used for 3 years, they've been in a VERY hot attic for 10 years since, and they're by no means irreplaceable.
The hat... I know I can do this, and it will be fun. But I've got to get everything else done first, and then I'm afraid I'll have to skimp on the hat. :(
Now, for shoes.
Ironically, the Star dress was the easiest. Blue silk boots done right aren't an option for this. And because 1860s is my Accuracy Home, I won't be happy faking something up with modern boots. I know too much! But I did find white satin ballet slippers that I can approve of. They lack the super-square toe (simply not to be found apart from reproductions), but the material is good and they have full soles of good suede. They'll also look very cute with blue rosettes. Maybe with a gold star in the middle. :)
I've got options for the 1940s playsuit, too. I already have from black Corazon sandals from Remix; they're very cute. And a couple of basic pairs of flat leather-strap sandals that will work. But I found a couple espadrilles options on ebay, too:
Olive green flat canvas espadrilles
Bronze sequins beads espadrilles
Opinions, please!
The 1915 dress is the hardest. Early 20th century shoes are characterized by graceful heels, pointed toes, and high vamps. The heels aren't too hard to find, and pointed toes are possible, but high vamps are vanishingly rare. And since I've always been picky about shoes being right, this is driving me crazy.
"Court shoes" for ballroom dance are actually very close. But maybe it's the searches I've been running, but I'm finding very little that's not discontinued.
These look about the best for now.
These look pretty good, too.
I really like these, although they're a bit low on the sides; but the price scares me.
And if I'm going to spend that much, I go back to this pair from etsy. In MY SIZE.
Edwardian 'Butterscotch Baby' Leather Louis Heel
If I do more Edwardian (which I'd like to) these might be really good to have. White or pink satin shoes won't be too good with anything but light evening wear or really summery dresses, like the one I'm making now. Financially, I'm able to do the etsy ones; but it's a serious decision, and I really want advice on the way to go.
1. 1940s playsuit
Done! Except for the hem in the skirt, and that I need my mother to mark for me. She hates marking my hems, so that might take a while. ;)
I've also got my eye on some white-frame sunglasses. I like my yellow celluloid ones with blue lenses, but the white ones would be particularly right for this outfit.
And I've got a good straw hat as well. I might replace the much-faded scarf with something else. Anyone got a scrap of white chiffon or an old scarf they want to get rid of?
2. Star dress
- Overskirt (organza) and underskirt (taffeta) cut out and in the assembly process.
- Bodice cut out and ready to begin assembly.
- Sleeve mockup made and approved, with minor modification. Need to make final pattern.
I need to:
* Finish the sleeve mockup
* Order more organza for sleeves; I have a yard left for for the bertha.
* Order Dresden foil stars. That means I need to decide on the final design. I won't attach them until I get to California, though; either at
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
* Make shoe rosettes and wire headdress.
What do you think of the Star wand? I suspect I might find it annoying to carry around, but if it's important to the "look" I can be a big girl. :p
3. 1915 dress
I'm pretty much nowhere with this, except that the base patterns are enlarged and I have a few corset pieces cut out for the first mockup. I had a setback two weeks ago when I discovered that Needle & Thread had sent me 1.5" webbing instead of 2" webbing. At this point I really don't want to deal with cutting and finishing yards of 2" fabric strips, so I found some 2" cotton twill tape from an ebay seller. That arrived Monday. I really really need to get this to work quickly. I'm so nervous!!!
I do have a lot of lawn, and I traced off and added height to the combinations pattern. (3" below the waist and 1" above!) That's the one piece I'm excited about right now. It's a neat design, and looks kind of fun to assemble.
As for the dress itself, I'm pretty much scared about this. I've got a base pattern from PoF that I think will work fairly well, but this is basically the biggest free-handing job I've ever done. I hate uncertainty! I hate to admit it, but I've been running through other options in case this is total fail or I simply run out of time.
I did decide what to do about stockings. My old "traditional" ballet tights are very pale pink with sewn seams, and I think they would look very good with a white dress. They're definitely opaque, and definitely not silk, but I think the look will be better than obvious modern white tights. I hate to ruin them by cutting them up for stockings. But they were used for 3 years, they've been in a VERY hot attic for 10 years since, and they're by no means irreplaceable.
The hat... I know I can do this, and it will be fun. But I've got to get everything else done first, and then I'm afraid I'll have to skimp on the hat. :(
Now, for shoes.
Ironically, the Star dress was the easiest. Blue silk boots done right aren't an option for this. And because 1860s is my Accuracy Home, I won't be happy faking something up with modern boots. I know too much! But I did find white satin ballet slippers that I can approve of. They lack the super-square toe (simply not to be found apart from reproductions), but the material is good and they have full soles of good suede. They'll also look very cute with blue rosettes. Maybe with a gold star in the middle. :)
I've got options for the 1940s playsuit, too. I already have from black Corazon sandals from Remix; they're very cute. And a couple of basic pairs of flat leather-strap sandals that will work. But I found a couple espadrilles options on ebay, too:
Olive green flat canvas espadrilles
Bronze sequins beads espadrilles
Opinions, please!
The 1915 dress is the hardest. Early 20th century shoes are characterized by graceful heels, pointed toes, and high vamps. The heels aren't too hard to find, and pointed toes are possible, but high vamps are vanishingly rare. And since I've always been picky about shoes being right, this is driving me crazy.
"Court shoes" for ballroom dance are actually very close. But maybe it's the searches I've been running, but I'm finding very little that's not discontinued.
These look about the best for now.
These look pretty good, too.
I really like these, although they're a bit low on the sides; but the price scares me.
And if I'm going to spend that much, I go back to this pair from etsy. In MY SIZE.
Edwardian 'Butterscotch Baby' Leather Louis Heel
If I do more Edwardian (which I'd like to) these might be really good to have. White or pink satin shoes won't be too good with anything but light evening wear or really summery dresses, like the one I'm making now. Financially, I'm able to do the etsy ones; but it's a serious decision, and I really want advice on the way to go.