Maid to order...

My aunt is a volunteer for the National Trust and, at Christmas was asked to do a cooking demonstration to make mince pies.

 My mother told her that I have made a few hats and things in my time so got in touch with me to make her a mop cap. After getting her head measurement (and scouring local haberdasheries for white cotton - not easy!) I then had a scoot around the Internet and through a stack of books and combined it all to come up with a pattern that was 1) easy to do and2) something I could post and adapt if needed. My biggest thing was trying to find something that was big enough and round enough to draw around so instead had to use the tried and tested compass method I was taught many years ago at primary school... Using a pencil, string and a drawing pin stuck into a mat! I then cut out the template pieces (two circles of equal size) and then drew on two small circles to guide me when it came to elasticating the cap. I then sewed around the outside edge of the circle leaving a gap to turn it inside out. It was then pressed. I then sewed the two lines for the elastic.

I measured the elastic and carefully fed it through the cap. I was surprised how quickly it came together. I then sent it on to my aunt.

 I wish I could show you a photo of my aunt in her full volunteer gab but she is a tad camera shy so you'll have to do with the photos I took of it before sending it to her...

 p.s shameless advert.... I also make these for my etsy shop...

Paid to craft and create!

The usual mixture of family get togethers and then returning to school (as a teacher) always seems to impact the amount of crafting that I try to do.

However, being a school technician (with particular attention to costume and props) it does mean that occasionally I get to do some crafting as part of my job (certainly a perk).

With every new school year comes new school productions and my boss has been thinking about doing Hamlet as part of the School Shakespeare's festival. The festival is in theatres up and down the country and schools rehearse a thirty minute version of a Shakespeare script which is then performed in a local theatre. On the night of performance three other schools perform their plays on the same night as yours. This is my fourth year of doing it and I quite enjoy it. (See link for more info!)

My boss has decided that she wants Hamlet to have a modern vibe to it and wanted the musicians to have birdcage veils... And here lies the project!

After finding out the proper name for them I researched where one could lay their hands upon the french netting that is used in such headpieces and found that I would have to be parting with quite a bit of cash as it is quite a specialised material in millenary circles.

My disappointment quickly disappeared  when attending a fete at the weekend and my daughter won a massive tennis ball and it was contained in some netting that would make a perfect substitute for the french netting I so badly needed.

Back at school I sprayed it black and was impressed how good it looked.

This was then attached to a cheap poundland head piece and then spruced up with some black net that was in stock.

I am pleased with the result and have made two for the show... If only I could be paid to craft everyday!

Black hats and feathers...

It is now high wedding season so it is fascinator time... But I always find that it is better to make your own!

I love hats and head pieces - regular readers of my blog will already know this! And I also thought that my etsy shop needed a few new things on it...

So I created this... The base piece is a small black hat with a ribbon rose on it attached to a hair clip... I loved this but thought it needed some feathers to make it look a little more snazzy!

I did experiment with adding some diamonte to it to see if that made it even better but decided that it perhaps didn't need it!

So... Here it is... It is now available in my etsy shop (see side menu for the link) - I am a little gutted that I am selling it but my house already has many, many head pieces and hats so this one has to go!

Getting shirty with the Stuarts...

The play I am currently doing the costumes for is certainly creating many challenges for me and I am certainly relishing them.

The problem of budget is still looming especially when I realised that we needed some very specific shirts for some of the male actors.

In 1665 in England, male shirts were very tailored and had big lacy collars. But because I was making these for non fault characters I needed to come up with a 'junior' version of this.

I bought a couple of cheap white shirts and cut off the collars and unpicked the pocket from the front.

I then set about pinning the shirt into the shape that I required. The trickiest bit was the sleeves but it got easier with each one that I did.

I found some off cuts from some previous costumes and made a simple collar that was similar to some of those I had seen in John Peacocks book 'Costume from 1066 to the present' and then pinned it in place.

It was then to the sewing machine and sewing everywhere that I had pinned - quite a feat with the mere quantity of them!

I dressed the mannequin again and added the black sash which helped with the sculpting.

I was so so pleased with the result and now can't wait to see it on the actor who will certainly bring the costume to life!

A bump for a World Book Day...

Between the school I work at and the nursery I send my daughter to there is no getting away from World Book Day.

I was informed last week that the children at my daughters nursery would be taking part in this day by reading from their favourite books and dressing up as characters from books... My heat sank. My daughter is only six months old (in fact 6 months today!) and has problems knowing what is edible and what is not so dressing her up in fancy dress was not something that I relished. On top of that is the fact that the show that I am currently working on with my school goes in to crazy week and I felt I really didn't have the time to be faffing over a costume.

While coming home inspiration struck ... What about a decorated baby grow?

My husband is good at copying from pictures so he offered to copy a Mr. man from my daughters bookcase... And he chose Mr. bump.

The character was drawn on a plain white baby grow with sharpie which didn't bleed...

She looked a little cutie!

A head of royalty..

I am still neck deep in school production. But, as I keep reminding myself, I love doing this stuff and I am getting to do lots and lots of crafty type stuff as part of my job and there is simply nothing better than that.

One of the many eras which takes place in this play is 1485 and is a scene which takes place between Elizabeth of York and Cecily which requires Elizabeth to have some regal head wear.

It also needs to look pretty on a stage and match the massive white dress that she already has. And had to be easy to put on and remove. And not take loads of time up.

So I came up with a very simple design.

I measured the actresses head and then used a strip of ribbon to use as the main head band. I then crisscrossed the other strips of ribbon across the head (twiggy was in use again!) and pinned them in place.

Once I was satisfied I sewed the ribbon down until it was sturdy enough to hold its shape without the head.

I added the gems for a bit of sparkle under the theatre lights...

The headdress looks amazing on the actress.

Maid in the nick of time...

The last couple of weeks have been focused on my schools production and after finishing a couple of maid's caps I then needed to finish the dress.

The dress started off with loads of black lace around it and buttons down the front. They were the first thing to go so I had a basic black dress.

I then cut the pieces of the apron from an old white flat bed sheet (boiled at 90o first in the washing machine!) and then sewed them together.

I then pinned on the white lace and then sewed it  on.

I then pinned the apron to the dress.

I used invisible thread to then stitch the apron to the dress.

Voila!

P.s. The picture of the dress is on an awful metal mannequin... I am begging the school to buy a proper one for the department as it would make life so much easier!

Pillow talk...

On the back of the successful make of the maids cap for the school production I was working on I got to try my skills at another type of servants cap from a different era...

After looking at some pictures from John Peacock's wonderful volume  '1066 to present day - a complete guide the English costume design and history' I got an idea of what the hat shape would have been like.

I drew out three pieces from my pillowcase... Two to make up the flat front part and the third to make the back.

The front section was sewn together right sides facing and then turned inside out.

I used my polystrene head (fondly called Twiggy Kaput - long story!) to shape the back and stuck a load of pins in it until I was satisfied that there were not going to be any holes when I got round to sewing it and that it vaguely looked historically correct!

I then sewed it together and then neatened it up... Simple as!

Maid from pillowcases...

After starting back at the school I work at after 6 months maternity leave I was thrown back into the craziness that is a school production.

With my sewing skills I usually end up on costume which gives me the excuse to sew during the work day which is never a bad thing in my book.

One of the many challenges of this production was the fact that we had zero budget to work with. And no materials to speak of...

I discovered in the drama props cupboard (known fondly as 'The Cupboard of Doom') a couple of white pillow cases and a couple of aprons I had thrown together for a previous production so thought that those would make a good base for whatever I needed to come up with.

The play itself moves through many time periods so the costume needed to reflect that. In a couple of scenes there was the requirement for some servant costumes so that is where I started.

In 1880 the maids cap was quite small and perched on the persons head... Using part of the pillow case I had found earlier I started fashioning together some sort of head piece - sewing the fabric carefully on an ancient and clunky sewing machine!

And this was the finished result... I am currently finishing another maids headdress but for a different era ... I will post that one too when I get it done... Who would have thought that a pillowcase would make excellent headwear?
P.s I had to buy a polystrene head for this project but found it quite difficult. I recommend Amazon for this as they are certainly the cheapest by a long way...

Medieval fayre...

My sister in law is attending a sca event in the USA in March and asked me whether I wanted to make her a dress for it from a pattern she had liked on the Internet.

I am always up for a challenge so said yes and that I would have a go.

A couple of days later the pattern landed on my doormat in the form of a cd with PDF pattern. So many printed pages (and a new printer) later I had the pattern and needed to painstakingly tape the sheets together in the correct order. I was thankful that the pattern designer had made this easy for me by printing the number clearly on each page.

Once my sitting room floor was covered (I was grateful that there was nobody around to see just how big this pattern truly was!) I traced out the correct size on some test fabric I was using to make a toile. Generally I don't make toiles but as this was a dress for someone else I thought I'd better get this right on a draft first before cutting the proper fabric!

After the toile was made my sister in law came for a fitting and I breathed a sigh of relief that it did fit and I could continue with the real thing.

As my sister in law was going to be packing this dress in a suitcase I bought velveteen rather than anything heavier in deep purple and in gold. She had told me to think regal and I thought purple and gold are about as regal as it gets!

Helpfully the pattern designer had also included a cutting pattern to help me get the most out of my fabric so it was easy to just lay it out and cut.

The pattern also came with a step by step guide which was clear, simple and easy to follow.

After pinning, basting, learning how to make french loops, making petal sleeves for the first time, hemming and endless hours at my sewing machine I finally finished it. I tried to add up the hours spent doing this project but found it impossible due to a small baby hampering my attempts a couple of times!

However, I have really enjoyed the challenge. I am proud of the work I have done and the hours I have put in. And most of all I have loved the look on my sister in laws face when she tried it on for the first time. Priceless!

Pattern used: http://www.lauramarshdesigns.co.uk