Pair of bodies

Pair of bodies, almost finished

Pair of bodies, almost finished

I have almost finished the definitive pair of bodies. I only have left binding, welting and sewing the lining.

I’ve made a lot of mistakes  with it, I should have changed the pattern so the four back pieces where only two, because I almost hadn’t had space for the lacing holes. Regardless of all, it looks really good! I hope to have it finished by the end of the month (not a lot of time to work on it), so I can begin with the bodice.

No sólo de historia vive la costurera

 

Mekanen

 

Además de la moda histórica, siempre me han fascinado las historias de fantasía, hasta tal punto que en el instituto escribía novelas y las ilustraba. Tengo esa parte creativa bastante abandonada, pero cuando no me apetece otra cosa me dedico a diseñar los trajes de aquellos personajes que aún no tienen uno. En este caso, más que nueva creación es un rediseño de uno de los más antiguos, y me ha gustado tanto que lo voy a añadir a mis proyectos de costura.

Está inspirado en el orientalismo del siglo XIX, con sus odaliscas y harenes idílicos, además de en trajes tradicionales de la zona de oriente medio. Consta de una camisa interior blanca con cuello, unos pantalones bombachos hasta los tobillos con un fajín en morado para sujetarlo y ajustarlo al cuerpo, un chaleco azul bordado con motivos inspirados en las decoraciones de la Alhambra y el palacio de Topkapi , y un velo de gasa blanco.  La construcción va a ser rectangular, sin patronaje moderno, para que sea más sencillo de coser y dé la sensación de tradicional. El bordado también será sencillo, con puntos lineales y sin rellenos, pero en sedas de colores para dar más vida.

¡Ah! Y al contrario que los trajes en los que estoy trabajando ahora, va a estar cosido a máquina 🙂

Petticoat finished

 

Petticoat

Petticoat

 

I just finished the petticoat. It gave me some problems, because I used the pattern for the underpetticoat, but I forgot that it was shorter. Thankfully, it has a flounce and it gives it the length I need.Now I’ll finish the stays before I continue with the bodice, so I can get a perfect fit.

I only have one concern: ¿would the false rump be able to support all the weight of the three layers?

DPP Update!

Underpetticoat

Underpetticoat

I finished the underpetticoat. I can’t believe it looks so good! I had to use powder blue ribbon for the front tie because I ran out of white, and the result is very nice.

In the detail photo you can see how I attached the ribbon to the underpetticoat. The fabric I used unravels like mad, but I didn’t want the extra bulk I’d have with a hem, so I cut it and whip stitched ribbon and fabric together. The detail pic doesn’t look very neat, but in  reality it looks better.

Detail

«Cul de France»

False rump

False rump

I had finished the two front panels of the definitive stays when I began to feel bored and decided to use the mock-up to continue working in the rest of the garment. I’ve already finished the false rump or «cul de France» (that name makes me giggle like a kid) and have well advanced the underpetticoat.
I’m using satin ribbon for the ties in the false rump and underpetticoat to reduce bulk.

I’ve also begun to give some thought to the decorations. I’m thinking about making some braided cords with silver embroidery thread and lilac beads I have in my stash for the shoulders.

Robe à la Polonaise – the stays I

Stays - 1st try

I’m beggining to hate sewing stays. Today I finally finished the mock-up, and tomorrow I’ll begin with the definitive stays.

I’ve used the instructions on Cherry Dawson website, but working only with two layers, so the fashion fabric doesn’t show the boning channels when finished.

I’ve been lucky and only had to adjust the two front pieces from the original pattern (they fit perfect at the bust, but the waist was a little big) and the placement of the boning channels.

More photos in my flickr 🙂

First design – Robe à la Polonaise

First design

This is the first design for my project, it only lacks the decorations. I’m going to use the pattern for the style of polonaise that doesn’t have waist seams, to reduce the bulk there, that will be enough with all the layers this gown has.

Now I’m working on pattern for the stays. I resized the pattern for the half boned stays from the pag.16 of Corsets and Crinolines, printed it, joined the pieces and tried it on, and it fits well, so I’ll do a mock-up with boning (cable ties, they are cheap and easy to find) to be sure before I cut the good fabric.

Kimono para BJD

Kimono forrado en rojo

Tras más de cuatro meses con este proyecto rodando por casa, lo he terminado y he aprendido un montón de cosas con él:

– Un obi, aún para una muñeca, necesita una tela gruesa (no deberían quedarle arrugas)
– Forrar algo no es tan fácil como parece
– Si el traje va a llevar dos capas, las telas han de ser lo más finas posibles.
– Antes de ponerme a cortar y coser algo que usa una técnica diferente de la habitual, buscar la mayor información sobre el tema que pueda encontrar.

Con todo, el resultado final es bonito si bien un poco «tieso».

Robe à la polonaise – Spanish style I

Finally I’ve begun to work on my DPP project. I’ve spent almost two months deciding what I wanted to do for my BJD, as I didn’t have money to buy fabrics for myself and my stash is composed of 1 meter long pieces, and finally I’ve set for a robe à la polonaise, but with Spanish style decorations.

The Gown:

Photo from CDMT - inventary nº11531

In the last quarter of the 18th century in Spain there was a fashion for the wealthy that consisted in imitate the style of dress of the «majos», gypsies that lived in Madrid. There aren’t any extant polonaises that have that style, but I like the polonaise and the «maja» style (you can see an example in the photo), and I decided I wanted to use the two for my project.

The Pieces:

I have some 18th century undergarments for my doll, but for this project I’m only reusing the shift, so this is the list of garments I have to design and sew:

– Stays
– Underpetticoat
– Bumroll
– Petticoat
– Robe à la polonaise

The Final Note:

I’m currently working on the design of the gown and all is still only in my head, so no drawings yet. I hope to have it done in a week or so, but the stays are giving me trouble. Also, please have in mind that English is not my first lenguage and I still have problems writing complicated phrasing.

Edit 8/05/2010: I found one maja styled polonaise! I think I’ve seen it at the Museo del Traje, but I probably forgot about it. The colors are really hideous, but the decorations are interesting.

Eyecandy

Como ahora mismo no tengo nada propio que enseñar (mi cámara está de viaje y además este mes he estado vaga XD), os dejo con una de mis webs favoritas.

Bjarne Drews

Este hombre hace los trajes del siglo XVIII más preciosos que he visto, y sus bordados son una maravilla. Realmente no puedo recomendar un traje sobre otro, pero para aquellos que venís a mi página por las BJD, tiene una «robe a la francaise» completa bajo el nombre de «Doll dress after ‘Les Addieaux'», que me ha inspirado un montón para la polonesa que estoy preparando 🙂