MLS Designs

Our first Elizabethan demo was on Saturday, and it was fantastic! We all looked great, the dances went off without a hitch and the museum was filled with punters! We had so many children joining in, and loving every minute of it :)
I've got some great videos of us dancing that I need to edit and get up on youtube, and I took so many photos!



The rest can be found ( under the cut )

Now that the demo is over, I can finally get on to sewing my dress for the Bath Minuet Co Ball at the end of March! I need to get a wriggle on with it though, because I also need to make Titanic evening dresses for both of us for the middle of April ( and I need a full compliment of undies for it too! EEK!!!)

I keep meaning to post about my progress, but I also keep forgetting to take the necessary photos at fittings, so have nothing to show you! I've decided not to let that stop me any more, so you get a photo-less post this time :)
The yellow sack I've been altering for mummy is now done! All I have left to do for her for the Bath ball at the end of March is stitch the trim onto her stomacher (it's pinned ATM) and make some sleeve flounces, both of which I will do when we go to Scotland for a week's holiday in Feb.
More importantly, her Elizabethan is finally almost done! The trunk hose just need points; the sleeves need hemming and buttons for attaching to the doublet; and the doublet shoulder wings are ready to stitch up, trim and attach, then the armholes need finishing, button loops for the sleeves and buttons at the centre front and it's done. I'm going to do the shoulder wings and finish the armholes tomorrow, then the rest (all hand sewing) I will leave till we go away.
All this means I've been much quicker than I expected, so I'll hopefully have time for my Elizabethan stuff too! However, tomorrow, after I've done Mummy's bits, I need to replace the back of my crossbared silk petticoat (that I stole for my pink plaid bustle dress last Summer) because I think I'm going to wear it to our dance group's Georgian ball on Feb 11th.
I also think I might make my new hoops now. I need to make another set anyway, because we can't both wear the same ones in Bath, and Mummy has to wear the blue ones under the yellow because bigger ones won't fit. I rather like the idea of bigger hoops, and the way the crossbared is made, I think they'll fit fine. Then I'll have lovely big hoops for the new sack that I'm making for me for Bath :) These ones will be ruffly too, and made of pale pink organza ribbon that I just happen to have a roll of in the stash :)

I've actually been busy sewing, and not only have I made progress, I've even managed to get picture proof - and I'm posting them!!!!
Our first event this year is a Georgian ball our dance group is holding the weekend of Valentine's day. Mummy has said, that, while she loves wearing boys clothes, (and most of the time prefers them because they're so much more comfy) she does miss being a girl at balls, because she doesn't get to dance with the other boys ;) So I decided to re-fit my old sunflower sack for her. She helped me unpick all the trimming the other day, and the day before yesterday we did a fitting:



I unpicked the back pleats and undid the centre back seam in the lining, adding in a 3" piece at the top, above the eyelets, to let out the back shoulders. I've since re-pleated the back (only lightly pressing out my old pleats, I rather like the idea of the re-model being visible!) it's just waiting for me to sew them down.



She's wearing my hoops and under-petticoat, so I need to make new ones for her, but it's nice to know the petticoat or gown skirts won't need altering. The sleeves are much too tight for her though, and I had to make the arm holes larger. So I cut a sleeve mockup the same size as the old sleeves, with lots of extra seam allowance, and fitted them to her, noting the new seam line. I will unpick the old sleeves and piece in the missing width.

I've not quite decided how I want to trim it yet. I know I need to utilise the old trimming (but not the sunflower braid, that's gone back into the stash) but don't want to do the same style, so I'll have to do some playing to see what I can come up with. What I do know though, is she will be wearing black lace with it! I was thinking of putting black lace on the dress, instead of white, but I haven't found any examples of that, so the sleeve ruffles will be white, and she will have black lace in her hair, and a black lace fichu round her shoulders and woven through her stomacher (like the examples in the Kyoto book)

I'm probably going to wear my cross bared sack because I don't think I'll have time to finish my new sack in time, on top of all the other sewing I have to get done, namely, Elizabethan kit for a demo at the end of February.

I'm probably going to just wear what I made last year for Tolethorp, with a new shirt (I was wearing mummy's) although I do plan to actually get around to making some sleeves for my kirtle! Mummy, however, has nothing. Or rather, she had nothing until this evening ;)

We bought black wool melton and pink and silver silk brocade at the re-enactor's market in the autumn, for a black doublet with brocade sleeves, and some kind of breeches. They mellowed in the stash and I've since decided on paned wool trunkhose lined with plain pink silk taffeta from the stash (which just happens to be the most perfect match!) with wool cannions, and I'm planning to trim the doublet with silver braid and pink thread covered buttons. I think she's going to look pretty splendid!

As of this afternoon I had this:



Now all they need is a waist band, cuffs, and a finished front fly. Who knows, I might even get onto mocking up the doublet tomorrow :)