As I said before, I had many good resolutions and the most important one was not to stress anymore on making a costume.
I finished my new complete 1790 suit without stress, I'm really proud of me.
I need to find another wig, this one is falling off my head all the time and something more "curly" or "wavy" would be more elegant I think.
The patterns I used for the coat and breeches are from Nora Waugh's the cut of men's clothes.
The breeches are cut in one, without inner leg seams.
At first I thought it would be quite difficult to adjust this on myself and that it would be quite uncomfortable when sitting down.
I was wrong, this is quite comfortable and because it's cut on the bias at the back, there's a lot of stretching. Nice!
I changed the front of the coat, instead of a "habit dégagé", I prefered this model.
So here's the result:
   

First of all, congratulations to everyone for your outings at Costume Con and Willamsburg! this has been certainly a lot of fun!
Second,I managed to do a few things from my to-do list.
-Blinds almost finished (what a relief....)
- new outfit for Breteuil in June: toile finished, pattern corrected, and underlining completely finished, ready to cut fabric.
- slept a little better
-watched Supernatural and Ghost whisperer
- did sport every day!!!!!!! longlife to Pilates method, that's fun and efficient.
Good Phil, very good, let's continue like this.
I found out that sewing just an hour a day is more rewarding and relaxing than sewing madly for 3 days in a row.... and that using wax for hand sewing is much more easier than sewing with unwaxed thread....muh.....better late than never...

First of all my 'to do' list:
- covers for the bed and cushions
- covers for diningroom chairs and table cloth, paint the chairs
- blinds for the bedroom
- finish a new 1785 outfit (waistcoat, coat and breeches)
- start a 1795 outfit (again 3 items, luckily I don't have to construct the hat, I just bought it and it's perfect).
- make the crinoline dress (?)  (this is in fact to experiment with Hunnisett's crinoline)
- finish a few unfinished dresses, so lisotchka can become a fashion model for new pictures ;-)
- sleep well
- no pressure for the sewing part of my life, means if I don't make something, I'll try not to worry AT ALL.
- post more often
-play harpsichord
-watch Ghost Whisperer and Supernatural
-do some sport, this is alarmingly urgent, why not on top of the list?
- feel happy because it's the case and I'm not aware of it most of the time, why?
-that's it.

let's hibernate again.

It's been a long time I posted something over here, well maybe it's going to be more frequently.
My blog is nearly set from public to private andlisotchka and I created a blog in common "Au Temple des Modes", but I'm sure you know it already of course.
I'm slow ^^.......
I received my copy of the new Janet Arnold and it's strange I haven't seen any comments about it in LJ.
Did someone else buy it?
But I just made a review about it on ATdM (Au Temple d....) and I think it's really great.
Well, if I had the time to sew, I would make myself a very pretty standing ruff and a new outfit like this one.

( click )

One can dream ^^  

I just receveid my new book about corsets by Jill Salen and I must say it's really good! a lot of good examples of 1790's corsets, and that's very rare to find nowadays, even in Nora Waugh's. But if I didn't learn much about the making, I don't regret I bought it.
So as usual, as we all of us do, my intuition will guide me to go deeper in my research....
Although I'm more and more interested in making men's clothing, it's more rewarding for me as I can wear it!!!
(No sorry but I don't wear dresses, just in case you were thinking ^^)
So cross-posting with lisotchka, for the Arcelot event, I managed to finish completely my 1789 redingote, and made another one for a friend.
As always, I was in a hurry and didn't take pictures of the making, but I'll try to do it one day, as there are no instructions for such a difficult project.
Yes, this is more complicated than you think and as time consuming as all your dresses, girls!!!!!  :D
Ok some pictures, not so clear as we had no time (or were too excited) to take pictures ;-)
 

Happy Birthday to you!!!! (add some music here!)  jennylafleur 

The cover of the new "patterns of fashion 4" is online!
Time to pre-order if not done yet...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Patterns-Fashion-Construction-Headwear-1540-1665/dp/0333570820/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211385839&sr=8-11
I really wonder what's in it............

A very happy birthday, fiofiorina!!!!
cheers!!!

lisotchka  already explained in her LJ, we went to Vaux on Saturday and had great fun.
I managed to finish my costume which is a great thing and the weather was lovely (not the case anymore.....)
The link to all the pictures on photobucket.
And the video I made and posted on youtube:

Happy Birthday, padawansguide!

Happy Birthday, lisotchka!!!

Happy Birthday mme_du_jard!

Well, what else can I say about this fabulous week-end while lisotchka,green_martha, heileen,and fiofiorina, have already explained all the events in detail and posted all the pictures, including mine? :-)
I was so pleased to have met you all, and I really want to sew more for me, so I can have a proper redingote next time!!!!!

I suppose everyone knows the costumier but I found this article talking a tiny bit more on the woman and sadly about her death in 2003, so no more books....
http://archive.thisislancashire.co.uk/2003/6/7/548495.html

And i found this interesting and careful inventory of her work in Elizabeth R
http://www.naergilien.info/movies/Elizabeth_R/index.htm#Armada

And this visit to the London Museum to see the Phoenix dress made by her also.
http://www.naergilien.info/research/london1/Phoenix/index.htm

Here it is, the new man's cloak from 'costume close-up'.
I'm quite glad with the result, the fabric is difficult to manage as it is a kind of synthetic fabric wich looks like taffeta on one side and plastic on the other side! so, perfect for the rain!
I will finish the hem and collar tonight.
Next step is the woman's cloak but this time from Jean Hunnisett's book about cloaks.

Yesterday I went to see "Becoming Jane".
Result: Dull dull dull......
Well of course if you compare with "Sense and Sensibility", "Jane" is visually uninteresting.
I found Anne Hathaway not at all in the character, as if she just said "hi, it's beautiful this countryside, I will come again to visit...."
She can act, yes but let's imagine for a moment what a younger Emma Thompson could have done in the title role....
James MacAvoy on the contratry tries his best but it doesn't work at all with Miss J. Poor James...
Hum, so very disappointing. The male costumes were well cut, it wasn't the case of the women's .
I 'm going to watch "S&S" again......

So I revamped the terracotta court dress I made one year ago for New Year's Eve for a friend and here I am again working on it at the same period! weird... It's going well I think, I added the pleats at the back, difficult because this is not the right order in the construction of a sack dress, the sleeves are still on, they fit, so let's save time.
I have to remake the pleats on the panier and then maybe redo the sleeves cuffs.
I watched Dangerous liaisons for the 50th time and it seems Glenn Close's dresses have cuffs cut in the round as in "the evolution of fashion", I have to do a mock-up of that.
And I bought safran yellow fabric to make the riding habit.
So lot of sewing but that's fun!
The friends also asked for cloaks, hum maybe that's too much to do in a month..
Anyway I'm happy, all this will see Venezia........

Among other things, I went to see Elizabeth the Golden Age yesterday and I found it incredibly powerful, the costumes are amazing, even if the cut if sometimes not so period but who cares? the fabrics are gorgeous, so are the colors, the clothes live, that's important.
So go and see it if not yet done, breathtaking.
And I looked into Hunnisett's book when I came home to see how to cut such dresses.... no time no time, snif.......

    I'm back from Japan, amazing country in many ways, too long to explain, I could write a book after only 10 days.
BUT I went in Kyoto to the KCI costume institute,the proof here
I bought the "revolution in fashion "catalogue (for 8 euros!), there are the same pictures as in Fashion but more detailed and this time not between 2 pages....
There was only one exhibition room (it was on the 5th floor of a lonely building in a remote area of Kyoto, weird...)with 7 costumes. Unfortunately I wasn't allowed to take pictures. There were:
1) a pink linen 1850's dress with 2 flounces, the waist must have been something like 45 cm or ...less.
2) a 1868's flat fronted crinoline dress , a very beautiful dark purple brocade , with bell sleeves and a tail, almost as this ball dress, amazing, again an extra small waist and the skirt was 5 m in circumference!
3,4,5,6,7) 5 dresses representing an overview of the evolution of the bustle, from 1870 to 1889, all with these tiny waists. Number 4 gave me an idea to make huge cartridge pleats for the 1887 skirt. These pleats are really beautiful in reality.
Well, this exhibition was a bit short but one is impressed by the quality of the costumes and above all it was something to be there and think there were a bazilion amazing costumes sleeping in this ugly building.... Japanese contrast......
So among other things I bought a new camera, a blue 2 pieces Kimono and a long Kimono with a sash belt, almost for nothing as usual there. And I bought 4 m of 70 cm wide brocade which will be perfect for a 18th century caraco, for 25 euros!
Let me dream.

Progress in the redingote construction.
I just cut the sleeves and ironed them, I hope I can sew tomorrow to add them to the body of the coat.
I need now a pair of cuffs, a pair of flaps for the pockets, and cut a silky lining.
Let's hope this will be finished at the end of the month (I know it's a long time but I'm going abroad next week, in Japan, if you want to know!)


and other pictures here