Oddly, the best picture of them.
Tuesday, 31 January 2012
Antler Hat Part Three
A front view. You wouldn't believe how many photos I had to take to keep the walls and doors either side of this patch of wallpaper out of the frame, so this picture came out as one of the best in the end!
Antler Hat Part Two
A slightly different angle. By the way, there are two different kinds of blue velvet in them here - the water-effect headband and antlers, and the darker plain blue gathered bases and ties.
Antler Hat Part One
You wouldn't really think these'd stay on, would you? I didn't think they would either, but that's why they're full of wire and un-pair-able knitting needles topped with foam!Also, the highlights in my eyes in this photo look really uneven, but if you click and zoom as usual, they're fine!
Tuesday, 24 January 2012
Tall Fur Hat Part Four
And finally, a picture that came out right - not too serious, properly centred, and fitting everything in!It's hopeless going through doorways with this on, did I mention that?
Tall Fur Hat Part Three
This photo makes me look as though I can't coordinate my eyes at all. That, or I've drawn them on later. But you can't pass up an opportunity to post a photo that fun with a hat this silly.
Tall Fur Hat Part Two
This came out as an unexpectedly funny photo, it's just a shame that you can see the split in my lip from walking in the cold wind the other day.
Tall Fur Hat Part One
Here's another slightly Russian-looking design, albeit very exaggerated. This is a tall pyramid of buckram, with a charity-shopped fur waistcoat over it, blue (that again, you might recognise from the hint of it just above the brim) and black satin pleating under it, and a battered old dressing-up box top hat inside it.
Blue Fur-Trimmed Hat Part Four
Oh, and it might also be good to mention that it both fits well, and is very warm!
Blue Fur-Trimmed Hat Part Three
I couldn't decide which one of these best illustrated the uneven hourglass shape of the hat. Come to think of it, it's a bit Dr Seuss as well, isn't it?
Blue Fur-Trimmed Hat Part Two
I'd been watching Sergei Eisenstein's 'Ivan the Terrible' films, and I reckon that's probably what inspired this design.
Blue Fur-Trimmed Hat Part One
Now onto something more modern (and silly). My idea behind this hat was to make something that would keep my hair out of the way while I was working and that could give it more volume at the same time. I got a little carried away, but you've got to admit it's great fabric.
Blue Dress and Underskirt with Crinoline Part Ten
Again, sorry for the glare, but I thought a nice angled photo of the outfit's main feature - the expansion of the skirts toward the back - was in order to end on.
Blue Dress and Underskirt with Crinoline Part Nine
A nice long shot of the back. Here, neither of the skirts have to be up out of the way for walking, and you get these great little piles of heaped material where it all gathers on the floor.
Blue Dress and Underskirt with Crinoline Part Eight
Sorry for getting so much of the rest of the room in this one (unintentionally), but I think that it gives you a good idea of the scale with a three-seater sofa in the frame.Blue Dress and Underskirt with Crinoline Part Seven
It's a great effect - the seams on the bodice curving away from the centre of the belt here and the pleats all sprayed out at diagonals from the same point - perhaps it's this kind of pattern in the design that makes this silhouette so pleasing to the eye. Or that might just be me reading a little too much into it.
Blue Dress and Underskirt with Crinoline Part Six
A photo showing how the pleats fall open just right over the proper undergarments.
Blue Dress and Underskirt with Crinoline Part Five
And a shot from the side - just look at the highlights on that pleating at the back there. With the light on in this room as well as the sun being so bright outside, you get all kinds of colours coming out in this material.
Blue Dress and Underskirt with Crinoline Part Four
A close-up on the bodice and belt, showing the dramatic expansion from the waist.
Monday, 23 January 2012
Blue Dress and Underskirt with Crinoline Part Three
A view of the same from the front, this time illustrating that with this style of dress, no amount of ironing is enough...
Blue Dress and Underskirt with Crinoline Part Two
A slightly closer picture. Although I had to improvise what could go underneath the blue dress to make up for how far off the floor it is, it's better than you'd think - as you can see, although these two might not have been designed to go together, it does illustrate the idea of having your nicer garments picked up off the floor, and the cheaper material keeping everything safe from dirt if you were to wear this outfit outside.
Blue Dress and Underskirt with Crinoline Part One
Here's the blue dress I posted up a few days ago with one of my old underskirts underneath - the blue dress is just a little too short for such an expansive crinoline. I thought it'd probably look quite imposing, as it does in this picture, but when I put it on, all anyone had to say was how small it made me look! Of course, at the time, that was the idea - with the widest possible skirts, the top part of your body would look deceptively tiny, which was the fashion of the time - the vulnerable look! I'm sorry about the glare from the window here, but this is really the only place in the house with enough floor space to move around and take pictures!
Crinoline Part Six
A closer shot. Here you can see all the markings for the heights to attach the hoops at, which is a bit of a shame, but hey - no one'll ever really have cause to look at it and criticise it for being a Victorian garment with red glitter pen on if they're behaving authentically, will they? You'll never catch a glimpse of it!Crinoline Part Five
Full length view of the back. You'll notice the little crescent shaped piece of cotton that everything attaches to at the top - theoretically it should be at roughly the waistline, but no matter what you do, it always works its way back down!
Crinoline Part Four
A close-up of the front. The edge of the casing for the bottom four hoops, really called, rather less glamorously, the 'bag', is actually machine edged, but it's still the most fray-able cotton I've ever used!
Crinoline Part One
Here's what I made from the kit I asked for as a Christmas present! If I remember right, there's about 29 metres of steel corset boning in the hoops. It looks a little bit wonky on the model here, but that's because the four highest hoops you can see here - the semicircular ones, as it were, have ties attached to the ends either side that tie behind you and keep the whole structure level. Of course, it works much better if you have properly sized legs, unlike my model here...
Black and Blue Edwardian Hat Part Three
Check it out! This is a great photo of it. I always reckon with the right fabric and base, you can just sew round the edges and go through it anyway you want to, gathering into swirls, and it'll look just brilliant. You might also notice here that there's a more creamy white extra on top - well, that's actually another hat that I found in a charity shop for next to nothing and intended to use as a base. Finishes it nicely though, doesn't it?
Black and Blue Edwardian Hat Part Two
Here you can see how much it goes up at the front and down at the sides - you can also get a sort of idea of the scale!
Black and Blue Edwardian Hat Part One
Ok, so after all that serious work, here's something a bit sillier - remember my graveyard hat from so long ago? It's up here on the blog if you're interested. Well here's another Edwardian (-ish, I wouldn't really say the graveyard one was!) triumph! This time it's mushroom-styled underneath and all electric blue swirls on top!
Black and Red Bonnet Part Nine
And another photo at one of those slightly magic angles. Can you tell how pleased I am with this project?Black and Red Bonnet Part Eight
Like with the earlier blue bonnet, here's a picture of the bonnet at an angle where you only get the slightest hint of the face. I reckon there's something really great about this picture... but it's probably just me thinking that!
Black and Red Bonnet Part Seven
Another view of the back, this time straight on. You can see the slight twist in the gathering towards the back here, as well as the 'christmas cracker' / 'toffee wrapper' puffs halfway up and the pleated 'collar' that falls to the shoulders. There must be a special word for that!
Black and Red Bonnet Part Six
Here it is from the back, with another of my additions - I wanted to do something fun with the red ribbon for the back - which might explain why I couldn't get hold of more for the rosettes!Red and Black Bonnet Part Five
A similar picture in set-up, but this time with the head turned slightly away from the window, you can see the shadow cast on the face that defines the jawline, as well as the highlight on the neck and ties. That's when you know you've got the right angle! Slightly less scary levels of paleness here.Red and Black Bonnet Part Four
A closer view at an angle. Here you can see the depth of the lining on the (as you look at the picture) left side. It's thicker than I'd imagined it, so I reckon it's worth mentioning. Oh, and the vampire skin is back!
Red and Black Bonnet Part Three
In this picture you can see the lace border that decorates the side of the bonnet, and a little hint at the back. I must get something to put all my hair up in a flat and manageable way!
Red and Black Bonnet Part Two
The pattern had a section on how to decorate the inside, and they'd used wired ribbon pulled at one side into rosettes, but I couldn't get hold of enough of the right colour, so I did this instead, and actually I reckon it probably has better impact after all. Like the one in the last post, this photo of me isn't too bad, although it does show off my slightly Stephen Fry-ish nose, it being a little angled to one side in a way that's sometimes very noticeable! Red and Black Bonnet Part One
Here's another bonnet - this time mostly from a pattern, with a few of my own adjustments. By the way, it is the bonnet itself that's tied in the big bow under the chin.
Blue Dress With Bonnet Part Five
And a side shot (although you still can't see my face, which gives this picture a nicely ghostly air.) so that you can see the lace closer and better.
Blue Dress With Bonnet Part Three
A picture of the back of the bonnet, with it's black lace detail (that I picked up at a market for £4!).
Blue Dress With Bonnet Part Two
Another, further out picture. I should say really that although you might think I could turn down the exposure on my frighteningly vampiric face, the dress itself is the right colour...Oh, and I'm sure that if I did it, it'd be obvious where I'd lasso-selected to darken.
Blue Dress With Bonnet Part One
As another addition to the blue dress, (and the fourth thing I made with all that great fabric) I came up with my own pattern for a bonnet to go with it. This kind is popularly known as a 'spoon' bonnet. But yes, here's a picture of me wearing it, looking even paler and more windswept than usual for a redhead!
Blue Jacket Close-ups Part Fifteen
The cuffs together, showing the usefully cut fabric and gathering in from the main sleeve body.
Blue Jacket Close-ups Part Thirteen
The detatchable part of the sleeves. One has the cuff turned back so that you can see they are also lined. You can also see the cord used to draw up the end of the sleeve to keep them in place on the upper arms. Note how I've slightly changed the fabric's use again by cutting the cuffs diagonally!
Blue Jacket Close-ups Part Twelve
A photo to illustrate the contrast between the outside and inside.
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