Autumn Italian Renaissance Gown

 I was waiting to post this gown when it was finished. But I am discovering this gown will never be finished. I can always add more, so I might as well add the photos now.

The kirtle, under sleeves, and chemise patterns are self drafted. The loose gown and drawers are from Janet Arnold's Pattern of Fashion series. Stay tuned for updates on this gown.

We were just playing around in this picture. I had to pull the skirts up to stand up, so you get to see my undies.

1930s Beach Pajamas

I got the pattern for this from http://wearinghistorypatterns.com/ .
VERY easy to put together and oh so comfy!

Steampunk Lolita

I have fallen behind on updating my finished photos so I am going to sum them up in a few blogs.
First up is the Steampunk Lolita. This is version....4... I think. Very happy with how it looks right now. Though it is VERY WARM.

The petticoat is made out of cotton muslin. I choose muslin because 1. It matched the color scheme I had in my head and 2. It's cheap.  I no longer remember how much fabric went into that bottom ruffle but I do know its was yards upon yards. That along with the ruffles on the actual skirt make for a VERY full and fluffy skirt.

I drafted the corset based off my measurements.

For the coat I used the pattern Simplicity 2525. The fashion fabric is a brown tropical weight wool and I used a Burgandy velvet ribbon for trim. The trim unfortunely gets lost in these pictures though. More info on the coat can be found in this post.

The socks I bought from Sock Dreams.

For the hat I bought a standard issue Air Force uniform hat, took it apart, recovered it, and sewed it back together. Better pictures can be found in this post.

I am sure EVERYBODY has heard about these. But just in case....

The Devonshires are a leather 18th century shoe based on museum examples from the 1760s through 1780s.  They're made of top-grade dyable leather, with a beautiful, smooth Italian leather sole for dancing, and are hard-wearing, water- and mud-proof, for even the toughest of outdoor re-enactments.

Pre-Order the Devonshires through August 10, and get the special $100 price.  We're only making 200 of these shoes, so don't miss the chance to own one of only a couple hundred pair on the planet!  Visit www.american-duchess.com to order.

My military style steampunk hat

I know it has been awhile. I have been working on various projects but have finished none...
Finished this little project today. I was going for a WW2 style pilot hat. I like that the trim matches the jacket.
 

Now to figure out how to wear my hair to best show it off. I definitely want the tilt.

A quick quilt for my mom for mother's day.

I don't care for the colors on this one, but they are very much my mother and how she wants to decorate the spare bedroom. I also tried a few new things that I probably won't do again... or do differently, fleece as a backing, and no binding just putting right sides together and flipping it. It definitely needs more quilting done on it but I ran out of time.  I will probably snag it from her in the future to do more quilting or tacking on it.

I finished up a new piece to my Steampunk outfit. I decided I wanted to take a more military turn and added a jacket instead of the planned vest. I always imagined this character to be a lot like Kaylee from 'Firefly'. Working away in an airship but still trying to be cute.  The costume has probably taken a turn where it is neither fully Steampunk nor Lolita like it was intended to be but its mine so I don't care. :)
For this jacket I knew I wanted it to be longer in the back but still show off a lot of the corset. Going through my patterns, I settled with Simplicity 2525. It was really easy to mock up and add a few inches here and there. I knew I didn't want it to be plain, but knew I couldn't make it to girly because this was going to be were the military part came in. I found the black velvet trim in my stash and  it was seriously like a light bulb came on. The collar may be shorter in the back and have the notched collar but with the black trim it reminded me of the male dress uniform in the navy. Instant LOVE. An added bonus is it also look like the school uniforms so it helps tie in the Lolita a bit. It took me a few hours to perfectly line up the trim but I think its well worth it!

The sleeves are... just evil. They bunch weirdly, and I don't know why so I can't fix it. But they do work and they aren't horrible.

 I love how the jacket's bottom cuts off where the corset nips in the most! Very flattering!

And a picture of the back. I am all lopsided, sorry.