Now that the Sun has chosen to lay off for a bit, my brain is less melty and we can sit down for a quick catch up!
Silly me, thinking that the school year would bring some semblance of a routine to my life. I’ve been struggling to fit in daily workouts and studio work around keeping our home running smoothly and trudging away at the 9 to 5. I have, however, been catching up on some TV shows with the family and not stressing about huge new costumes.
Over on Instagram, I’ve been playing along with #SewnSeptember, hosted by @SewnStories. Participating in this hand stitching prompt has made me remember why I love making costumes, especially the historically-based projects. Not only have I revisited photos of recent, near & dear gowns, I’ve also gone into the blog archives to appreciate my older work with more experienced eyes. Some days, I just pull out a bit of scrap fabric and quickly practice the stitches in the prompts. Other days, I decide to update my entire sewing kit with beeswax, linen thread, and an extra thimble, then make a whole new travel kit and realize that I was supposed to be working on ren faire garb….
I was compelled to continue cutting into the white embroidered linen that I picked up at Joann’s ages ago. Last month, I made sleeves for Franken-smock, which I wore for our first family outing of the faire season. Then, thinking I’d be wearing the updated Tudor French gown soon, I made cuffs. Then, I made a matching collar to wear with a Weird Sisters closet cosplay. Then, I decided that I really wanted to finish and wear the new green gown next, so I made a partlet, an Elizabethan wired coif with forehead cloth, and an Elizabethan bag-style coif. So much glorious [mostly] handstitching!
For better or worse, the sewing challenge has cemented my choice to alter the robes of the Orko project into a medieval style kit. While I still have the original gown and outer robe mock-ups ready for additional fitting, I believe that challenging myself to do a fitted kirtle was the best creative decision I’ve made in recent months. This will eliminate the yet-to-be-designed custom corset that I’d previously decided was necessary for structure, and now that I have a kirtle block, I can also get started on Medieval Link. I may even attend my first SCA event in the third kirtle mock-up, which is being constructed from a light blue damask, donated from one of my sewing moms. I picked up an indigo linen on special from Burnley & Trowbridge for lining, and I’m going to work out a smock from whatever cotton and linen remnants I can find in the stash.
The rest of the Orko project has been on hold while I worked through these primary bits and pieces. I did eek out time to hand sketch the front armor designs–not in Inkscape, as I’d planned, but working with traditional pencil and paper gets the job done too. The OPP team closed out Scary Stuff submissions and got together to record our second podcast episode, wherein we discuss pizza as inspiration.
Coming up, we have some non-costume family outings planned, and then I’ll have a one-week vacation to pack for Baltimore Comic Con. It looks like we’ll only be out for Saturday and Sunday, and, most importantly, I won’t be making any new costumes! I’m preparing to wear Blink and Livewire, but we know that the odds of plans changing are always high. There’s still no inspiration on the Halloween front, but I’m leaning toward a gown and wings. Out a bit further, OPP will be tabling at a couple of events, including Ocean City Comic Con. This is a pre-Christmas, beach event, and I have no idea where to begin pulling costume options. We’ll see where the next few weeks land me.
Thanks for stopping by, Team!
Green Linen Shirt 