A cap kit review....

Post #  10                                         Sunday, March 29th, 2015

favorite sewing shirt right now.

If you're like me....you are forever on the look out for THE cap. The most awesome cap in the world, that will highlight your best features, bring ooohs and aaaaahhhhs whenever you wear it, stay on your head....and cover up your "hair sins"....i.e. bed head, short hair....or just plain greasy second event day hair. (add to that the hot flashes from being perimenopausal....and you have a whole other ick factor that the perfect cap can assist in hiding). In other words....you are on the same quest as myself....in search of the PERFECT big ass cap.

This is not it.   

It's not a bad cap....it's just not THE big ass cap. What it IS....is a cap that is awesome in itself. A cap that will stay on your head, thanks to the drawstring in back....and maybe a couple of strategically placed pins.  A cap that will cover ick hair....and a cap that will give you a very "period correct " look.

Full confession. I HATE sewing. GASP!!! right????? I do...I hate the whole process....I ESPECIALLY hate cutting out. Terry has learned, if he wants something made by me....he has to cut it out. He does very well. He lays out the pattern pieces, calls me in to check to make sure the grain is correct (it always is...he's anal that way) and then give him the okay to cut out. Makes the process a LITTLE easier to take. What I DO love is the end result. I love seeing the finished product.
This is why, the new Larkin and Smith patterns/kits offered through At the Sign of the Golden Scissors (yes...I still need to learn how to link) are all sorts of awesomeness!!!!! Not only are the pattern pieces already cut out....but you are given a kit that has everything you will need to put it together, less the sewing needle. You even get beeswax!!! You will get a kit that has a booklet, with step by step instructions on how to put it together.

with the instructions

comes with the wax and the thread needed

Separate pattern pieces being hemmed

Hallie told me it takes her about six hours to put one together. It is all hand stitched...there really isn't any point at which you can machine stitch....but you really don't want to do machine work on this. It sits right next to your face....so while your lover is staring deep into your eyes....he can see all the hand work you put into your cap. (yeah....right. You'll be lucky if they notice your hair is on fire, right?)  BUT....other women will notice.   And knowing you did it all by hand will put that extra lift into your step. You will feel more confident, more beautiful....well....it comes with a really pretty colored silk ribbon....that makes any woman feel pretty, right?

close up of the whip gathers. Not bad for my first time

pinning the pleated ruffle

pleated ruffle attached to the band with a butt stitch (heeeheee...she  said "butt")

I took about 2 or 3 evenings to finish this. I took my time,  and sewed while watching TV. It's a really great hand project. It's great in that it's almost an instant gratification project. Something pretty that you can see forming in a relatively short period of time.  Hallie includes the different weight threads needed to work on these caps. I ordered this one in the organdy and was VERY happy with the weight and the look it gives. Terry looked at it when we took pictures and even he noticed that the weight/type of fabric makes a huge difference in the appearance. This really does have a middling to upper class appeal to it. The kit I ordered was the "Spring" cap. I was so hapy with the results, I ordered the Wheatley cap kit in the fine linen. I'll post that when I'm finished.Here are some photos of it on my head.

glasses sort of detract from the  cap

Better

top view....showing my "bumpit" of hair

, with a quick fake bun added to fill out the back

side view

I highly recommend getting a kit from Larkin and Smith....I hear that they are also producing a shift kit and a covered hat kit as well. I'll definitely have to look into these items as well. I hope this inspires you to try something new! Can't go wrong with a kit! Half the work is already done!!  Good luck, and let me know how your experiences are with the cap kits!!

One cool part about the caps? I have short hair. I used two hair pieces to fill out the cap. It will definitely be cooler than wearing a wig

showing how short my hair is

Breastknots...or....the world of boobieblossoms.

post #9                                                      Saturday, March  28th, 2015


As you may have noticed in my heading picture, I'm wearing a bow and flowers at the center of my gown. This is known as a breastknot. I have seen reference to these....but I can't recall where at the moment.    If you google "breastknot"....you're in for some shocking...and informative....images and descriptions.   NOT the ones I am talking about!!
Simply put, in the 18th and 19th century, breastknots were worn to add color and decoration to an outfit. They could be made of fresh flowers as well as from paper or silk flowers. You may also find breastknots made of  ribbon and tied into a simple bow. Once you start scanning images and paintings from the 18th and early 19th centuries, you'll be surprised to find quite a few examples, and quite a few variations.
It's a very simple item that can enhance an outfit....giving a different focal point, and dressing up a simple gown or outfit. By changing the colors of the breastknot, if using a neutral colored base gown, you can get an entirely different look.
Below are a few images I found and have on my pinterest page:

Sarah Cook 1775

Mrs. Mary Orange Rothery 1773

Rose Bertin

As you can see...the breastknots can be worn as a center front item, or even as a corsage.  You see a variation in placement also in the early 19th century, with the higher bust line. Not only can you place it center front cleavage or to the side as a corsage, but also, at the high waist to delineate the waistline.

1809 fashion plate

 Below are some samples of breastknots that have been made in different workshops that I have given.

I Hope these inspire you to start searching for your own ideas for breastknots. Please feel free to share yours on the Fat Reenactress face book Page!!! Enjoy!

the ultimate Fabu 18th century hat

Post # 8                                          Friday March 27,  2015


It  occurred to me after my post yesterday, that I showed pictures of my new 18th century hat/bonnet, but did not give any information on it. So, before anyone thinks I made this awesome piece of eye candy, I want to make it clear, I DO NOT MAKE HATS/BONNETS. Well....unless a gun is held to my head (which came close a couple of times at the Lydia Fast bonnet workshops I've attended, in making a regency bonnet....I'll post that one later....you can look for the tear stains on the fabric).

This piece of awesomeness was made for me by the VERY talented A Fashionable Frolick....and some day, I will learn how to link things to my blog. They have an etsy shop and a facebook page. I would HIGHLY recommend them! We can't be talented in all things, but we CAN be talented enough to know what looks right for our face/shape, and be able to save up and pay someone else for their endless talent!!!

I was scanning Etsy one day, and found the Fashionable Frolick site. They had black bonnets for sale, with a listing that they could also make white. I had been SUPER envious of the awesome hats/bonnets that both Alicia Schult of LBCC Historical wore during our trip....and even more envious of Amber Mendenhall's (of Lady of the Wilderness Blog) black pouff of fabulousness.  (I REALLY need to learn how to link you all to these awesome people) I contacted and messaged with Rebecca....one of the awesome owners. All I did was send an inspiration photo....and said white with pink....her choice on decoration and fabulousness. She sent me I think 3 photos of different pink taffetas she had...and I picked one. She told me how much up front (extra  $$ for some extra foufiness...but TOTALLY worth it) and how long it would take. About a month before Christmas...and voila!!! I even kept it in the box without looking at it until Christmas, since it was a gift from my hubby.(and I already saw the two following photos)  I have NOT been disappointed. I would HIGHLY recommend anything that A Fashionable Frolick makes.

Top two photos are courtesy of A Fashionable Frolick. The two following are from Reenactorfest in Chicago, IL. 

Finally finished!!!

Post #7                                                                             Thursday, March 26, 2015

WAYYYYYYY back in June, I started a caraco jacket to wear in Colonial Williamsburg for our day of 18th century, after the ladies and I took a gown workshop with Burnley and Trowbridge.  As the new year started, I finally decided to finish some of those UFO's in my sewing room...one of them being the caraco. All that needed done was to finish off the front closure....I had just folded it back and pinned it shut...and to add the trim.

Ahhh....trim. Finishes off the look, and really makes the outfit. BUT GAD DANG!!!! IT TAKES FOREVER!!!!!

                                                     Here's the jacket before any trim.


I ended up doing a gathered strip of self fabric....which meant....for each strip of fabric, I would stitch the edging a total of 6 times....2 sides hemmed, 2 sides gathered, then 2 sides stitched down onto the garment. UGH. HATE doing trim....but I have to admit. It DOES make all the difference.

Not only did I add the self fabric trim to the neckline, I brought it down the front, and around the sleeve cuffs. The cuffs have a larger piece of ruffled fabric. Something I was experimenting with. I also finished a red silk taffetta petticoat to go with the jacket. And I thought I hated gathering ruffles for the jacket!!! the ruffle on the bottom of the petticoat was a BEAST. I am MUCH better matched to pleating instead of gathering, but sometimes, gathers are what is needed.

I'm hoping this blog post will break my silence, and I look forward to posting quite a few more in the near future.
Not only am I "kind of" following along with the Sew Forenightly, but I've also convinced myself that 2015 is the year of finishing unfinished projects, and doing for others. So, each month, I have promised myself that I will make one thing for myself and one thing for someone else, whether it's a friend, or for my husband, or something I have promised to do but have taken forever and a day to finish.
So far so good! These two projects were for my month of January. Febuary and March will be posted in the next couple of days!

So....in a nutshell....go the extra mile and add trim. It may take something that seems uniform and "seen before" to a new level.

Post #6                              Monday, July 7th, 2014



STEAMPUNK AND FLUFF  


At the end of April, Terry and I were lucky enough to attend a steampunk event before the shite really hit the fan with his lung and cancer issues. We were both really glad we were able to attend this event this year. The event was the Cincinnati Steampunk Symposium....and it was held the last weekend of April this year. Like a doofus, I didn't realize until 2 days before the event that it was a themed event....not just Steampunk, but more like "Star Wars meets Steampunk". Oh well....we're still new to this hobby and we're learning quickly that most steampunk events have a theme to them.  It doesn't mean that we can't go if we don't dress the theme, it just gives it another twist of fun. We'll know better next year, since their theme next year is "Around the World in 80 Days". We are REALLY looking forward to that one!

Like all steampunk functions we've been to (all 4 of them....ergh.) we found it hard to see everything. We're learning to pick and choose what speakers and events we want to see. For Friday night, we were lucky enough to happen upon the lecture pertaining to women's unmentionables....and the change that occurred in the last 200 years. It was very well laid out, starting with stays and hoops, and actually went thru the regency and romantic eras up thru early 20th c. (I was kind of flabbergasted to find out....I owned pretty much most of the undergarments used up until the early 20th c. !)

A good under structure helps get the period silhouette.

what I found while walking around that weekend was a number of larger ladies....and all of them looked STUNNING.

this was her rendition of a female steampunk Hans Solo.

I loved her skirt and accessories! she really did play up her....assets. :) 

By Saturday evening, I found that there was going to be a discussion on how to dress the larger lady in steampunk/victoriana. I attended in hopes of getting some ideas. I was pleasantly surprised and pleased that they addressed the different style of corsets to play up or play down your good and bad areas. They discussed the use of trim to draw the eye to where you wanted it (ex. if you had a larger bottom, you put more trim up top on the bodice to attract the eye) This discussion was backed up with some very good images of original garments that did JUST that! Lets just say the Victorians LOVED their trims!  All in all, a very good discussion, and I was VERY happy to see it! They ended the discussion with how to help the larger man find some items they could use in thrift stores for clothes. What I'm learning is that Steampunk people are VERY crafty and ingenious!!! My mom would call it foxy shopping!

When I asked this lady to take her picture, I found out that this was not only her first Steampunk event, but her FIRST OUTFIT!  KUDOS!!!

This young lady definitely knows what colors look stunning on her!

Terry and I decided to change for the dance on Saturday evening. We put on our more formal wear. I call this my "Mad Duchess" look. I was given a compliment by a gentleman friend of ours that we were talking with. He just kept staring at me...and finally he said "I'm not being rude, but looking at you, I can only imagine my grandmother looking like you. I never got to meet the woman, I just imagine that she wore her clothes like you". I took it as a great compliment.

the sash on the gown really made all the difference.

I used the Sense and Sensability 1910 teagown pattern for this. I was doubtful as I was making it up, but found it to be wonderfully easy, and actually kinda flattering on me.

I lastly want to share a picture of two ladies who wore similar gowns, but they made them their own in stunning ways. I felt that they both looked amazing....and I would KILL to look like either of them!!!

Thanks to Rachel Turner for this photo. She's the one on the right. they BOTH looked amazing!

I hope you all enjoy my tiny glimpse into the steampunk world, with hopes to keep adding to this. I didn't think I would like this era....but it's kinda rocking it for me right now.

Enjoy!

Post #5                                               Friday, July 4th, 2014


Accessorizing a quick garment


So, last week I went to a Burnley and Trowbridge gown making workshop (subject for another post) and spent a week with 3 other ladies in Williamsburg, Va. not only attending the workshop, but also spending a whirlwind trip visiting in the Colonial area.

Now, these 3 ladies are considerably younger than myself, and MUCH skinnier. There's nothing like traveling with skinny women who can put away the carbs. I did warn them that one day, Mother Nature WILL catch up with them, and start to slow their metabolisms....and I'll have a seat on the fluffy couch waiting for them. (alas....I don't think they'll be joining me for quite awhile though).

All 3 of these ladies already had planned to do "big" hair and gowns (although one girl did do a sweet little silk jacket that would have fit my thigh....) so I had planned to do something different....to not feel like I was competing with them (because my inner dialogue would TOTALLY have been comparing me with them the entire time)

I had just previously sold all my "pretty" outfits (except the silks) because they were snug enough on me to make me feel uncomfortable wearing them....and lets face it, I have a fabric stash that could choke a horse....so I sold them in order to motivate myself into making  new garments. That pretty much came back to bite me on the ass.  I had the fabric....just not the motivation.

I ended up using a reproduction Colonial Williamsburg cotton print I bought on sale a month or two ago.I went with a cotton because....well, CW in June/July. You feel like you're 10 feet from the sun. No silk for me, thank you.  The pattern I ended up using was the Janice Ryan's Caraco pattern, for 2 reasons.  1) I had made it up before and knew it went together pretty quick and  2) it came in my size, and I had already worked out the bugs and tweaked it to my size the  previous time I had made it.

So, as of 2 days before I had to leave to head east, I had nothing made. Score one for me! Even not working, I can't seem to get things done before hand!!! The night before I had to leave, my hubby, Terry, helped me cut out the jacket. I used a REALLY heavy linen for the lining, to give the garment shape....but instead of lining the entire jacket, I just lined the body. By midnight, I was tired, so I went to bed. Wednesday morning, I woke early, packed my stuff, and actually sat at the sewing machine and did the main seams by machine. I even had a chance to set the sleeves. All the while, my loving husband used my scalloping shears to cut strips of trim for me.

Over the next 3-4 days, we were TERRIBLY busy doing these gowns at the workshop totally by hand. So much so....that the caraco sat to the side. By Sunday, if I didn't get this thing wearable, I would not have anything to wear for our 18th c. dinner that evening.  With about 2-3 hours of handwork, I did do the hem of the skirting, and basted the sleeve ends. I folded the unfinished front ends back and just pinned it closed. I am hoping to finish this garment by the end of summer (yeah....right) but it was wearable for the evening and next day....as long as I accessorized it nicely.

Full ensemble.

I paired the jacket with a light weight blue wool skirt (the only one I could find that I actually hemmed to the butt pad I was using) and my red 18th c. shoes from Smiling Fox Forge.  To make it my own, I topped the ensemble off with a very fine ruffled apron that Nicole Rudolph had made and I bought off her, a white spotted neckcloth I got from Turkey Roost Traders, and a wired pleated cap made by Hallie Larkin. I finished everything off with a breastknot I made with pink silk ribbon and deep red cherries (my favorite breastknot to date) not only does it help close the jacket at the top, but it adds a pop of color.

evening wear. No black bonnet, can see my pink bow.

yes, I have a huge head.

Close up of cap, bonnet and neck cloth.

Lastly, the jewelry I chose to wear was a newly purchased pearl and gold bead necklace from Lauren Roosien and her company FleurdeLys Originals, and pink earrings with gold bows and a hand painted bracelet both from Amey's Adornments. Awesome stuff all!!!  My black chip hat was decorated by April Thomas of Fashions Revisited (THIS chick don't do hat decorating :(   )  and my cap had a very sheer gold/pink pouffy  ribbon to finish it all.

So, I took an unfinished garment, and camouflaged it with awesome accessories. I felt I held my own with the 3 other ladies. We each had our own distinct look.

when I do finish the jacket, it will have trim around the neckline, and around the the sleeves in lieu of cuffs. I'll post pics of that when finished. (to MAKE me finish it!!!)

Enjoy!

Post   #4                                                     Wednesday, May 28th


My Best Accessory Ever....

I know it's been awhile since my last post. Now that things have calmed down somewhat...I will be able to post more, and share more photos of accessories and events and such. I'd like to use this post to explain what's been going on, and what my best accessory I have is.  If you hate sappiness, and sentimentality, I'll let you know now....you may want to skip this post.

My husband, Terry, and I have been married for 14 years this coming November. Before that, we dated for 5 years (yeah....we wanted to be sure.) so it came to my attention that I'd been dealing with the same goofy man for almost 19 years. HOLY CRAP!!!! How can that be possible???? I'm only in my mid 20's!!!!! ( my brain says....my butt says different...)

We met through a personal ad in the Smoke and Fire News, a newspaper dedicated to reenactors. (Cue up sappiness). We started off by writing to each other...then talked on the phone (this was the 90's folks....things were rustic back then...) Terry had put an ad in "looking for correspondence" in period correct style. He just wanted someone to write to. He had just gotten divorced after a 15 year marriage, and wanted to find women who actually LIKED this sort of hobby. Having had worked for Smoke and Fire before, I had been given a personal ad from the owner as a "christmas gift" a few years earlier (that's a WHOLE other story!!!) and although I had lost some AWESOME photos of myself from these earlier encounters (send a pic, they see you're fluffy, they never write again....like they were Brad Pitt themselves...ugh) I figured "what the hell"....I'd give him a shot.
We started writing. He started asking for pictures. Ugh. I finally wrote and said "look, I'm fluffy...if you have a problem with that, let me know right now before either of us invest more time or effort (or emotions) into this thing....plus, I don't want to lose another picture".

His response?

"I have found that very seldom does a person's outer beauty match their inner beauty. And with that, I want to be so bold as to say, that I am very much attracted to your inner beauty".

Yeah, he played me like a guitar.

How could I NOT meet him?

When I met him, I thought "meh, he's skinny, has a pencil thin mustache (what's up with THAT?) and smokes....guess I'll give him a shot".

Nineteen years later, he's my best accessory. If you don't believe me, check out all the photos I'm adding at the end of this post. I literally had to "upgrade" my impression....to keep up with him. Dude had me on my toes. I learned to sew more men's clothing  (still HATE it) but have learned alot about sewing and fitting techniques because of his "18th c.body".

We had an 18th century wedding in 2000. I would do that again in a heart beat. All he wanted for the wedding was 1) garlic mashed potatoes (done!) and 2) a harpsichord for the wedding (not an easy task)

So why the quietness of late from my blog?

Terry had become diabetic in 1976 while serving in the Air Force.   Thirty six years later, this came back to bite him on the ass.  When we first started dating, and in our early years of marriage, the diabetic specialist said his kidneys would "eventually fail". Eventually. Sounds like a long time from now.  15 years IS a long time....eventually came for us in 2012. That fall, Terry was diagnosed with renal failure. "Thirty six years of diabetes works hard on your kidneys." He would eventually need dialysis....but they said  it could be in a month, could be in 6 months. Yeah....we got rid of that doctor pretty quick.

In March of 2013, after routine testing, Terry was called by the doctor. "we need you in here to get a dialysis stent put in....but lets not ruin the rest of the day....come into the hospital tomorrow". So with that, we went in March of 2013 and Terry had a stent put in for hemo (blood) dialysis as well as a catheter tube so he could do peritoneal (solution in the abdomen) dialysis at home eventually. It would make him more mobile, and he would still be able to do some reenacting events....just using a hotel from now on. Terry now does home dialysis every night while he sleeps.

In May of that same year, tests on his left kidney were showing cysts of some sort. They decided it needed to come out, since hey, it really wasn't doing anything anyway. Turned out to be kidney cancer, but it was completely contained in the kidney....so it was totally taken out, and we could still get geared up for a kidney transplant.

I wanted to donate my kidney to Terry, or to be put into the "pool" so someone else could trade out for mine if their donor matched Terry. This was where the doctor looked at me and said..."'''ummm....". I said "you calling me FAT???"  Basically....I am too heavy to donate (even though my bp and heart and everything is fine).  this is another blog post...dealing with being fat in the "real world".

After the success of his kidney removal, they found a small spot on Terry's lung that we had to wait 6 months to have checked again. If it hadn't grown, we were good to go onto a kidney donor list.

Earlier this year, Terry was having difficulties breathing. He thought it was a cold, asthma, whatever. When he finally had a CT scan of his lungs done (4 months after he could have/should have for the okay) they found that his lower right lung lobe had collapsed. We figured he aspirated something.

This was the second week of April. A quick trip to the pulmonary specialist showed a blockage with the biopsy. It was cancer in his bronchial tube, and it had blocked his lower lobe so that no air could go in, hence the collapsed lung.  Within the next two weeks, biopsies were done on his lung lobe, his lymph nodes nearest that lung (they were swollen) a full body CT scan occurred and another biopsy of another section of his upper right lobe (that was proven non cancerous, but merely scar tissue).  With all these tests and results, it was found that removal of his lower and middle right lung lobes was the way to go. That surgery occurred on May 12, 2014 (his left kidney was removed on May 10, 2013)....we jokingly say he's worried about his limbs for 2015 (or anything he has two of...)

So that, folks, is what I've been up to and why the Fat Reenactress has NOT been up to much. Although, just before his surgery, we DID get to go to an AMAZING steampunk convention in Cincinnati, which I'll post about in the next few days, now that Terry's home and healthy enough to complain about hurting.  (thank goodness...it's better than the alternative).

But in all honesty....Terry IS my best accessory. No matter how good I look, I know I always look better on his arm. He has ALWAYS told me "yes or no" with great honesty.  I truly believe he wouldn't let me go out of the house looking like a fool. He always says he loves me, and he always compliments me when something turns out extra nice. This all adds to the one thing that makes each of us beautiful....our self esteem.  Not saying Terry makes me or breaks me....but dang, I was smart to give that skinny dude a chance.   Enjoy the photos.