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Happy Halloween!

10/31/2013

I imagine there are some wonderful costumes ready to be worn tonight.

Here is a medley of some of my personal costumes ... ones you might not have seen before, mostly from my community theater adventures.

Queen of the Fairies - Gilbert and Sullivan's operetta Iolanthe, performed with the Washington Savoyards

At Costume College 2005 with another attendee. We both used my "Ever After" pattern for our gowns. ps I would love to know who this is, if anyone knows.

Marian the Librarian from the Music Man when I was 21 ... and I designed and made my costume even then.

In my padded underwear playing Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance with the Victorian Lyric Opera Company

Wearing some neat vintage clothes for a concert performance of Gilbert and Sullivan's operetta Grand Duke.

And wearing a thrift store get-up playing Marcellina in an modern dress version of Mozart's Marriage of Figaro.

I'd love to see some of the things you've made.

Send me an email from the contact page and I'll write back with an email address where you can send photos.

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My pants muslin fitting at Simplicity - lessons learned

10/30/2013

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Deborah Kreiling, the head of the pattern making department at Simplicity, offered to fit me in a pants muslin a while back and last week I took her up on that offer.

I have never really been happy with the fit of any pants I have made for my self and am eager to find out what I'm doing wrong.

Deborah told me to choose any of the Amazing Fit pants patterns. I chose one that I thought was really basic, thinking I could make style changes on it later.

Little did I know, but I chose the very first one they made.

So here is what I did and what I learned.

I followed the instructions as exactly as I could. I am a size 14, but my total crotch measurement is slightly longer than the curvy measurement, the longest.

So I used the curvy size 14 pattern.

BUT!!

I found out there is more that one reason you can have a long crotch measurement.

Simplicity's choices of slim, regular and curvy address the most common reason for variations in the crotch measurement, which is how round is your bottom.

The first thing Deborah did was to start pinning out the extra fullness in the back! The curvy pattern has two darts on each side for the back and she said I only need one and should change to the average pattern, which only has one. So, how did I go wrong???

Well ... I actually have a flat bottom, according to Deborah, but have a long rise. So what's the best way to determine this measurement.
Here is a diagram from the PGM dress form website, the brand Simplicity carries. Which, by the way, I would buy a size 10 of, even though I use a size 14 pattern. And I wear a 4 or 6 in store bought clothes!! How confusing is that?

The rise is that measurement being taken sitting down.
But, Deborah said an easier and actually better way to figure out the rise you want is measure a pair of pants you own and really like how they fit. Then compare that to the pattern you are making.

Nicole Tapanes, the customer help person at Simplicity was there, too. She has had the pattern department fit her in pants also. She is really one size in the front and another size in the back. She adds extra width in the crotch on the back pattern piece only. But, another way to address that issue is use two different size patterns. If your measurements don't fit neatly into the options given on the guide sheet consider using two different sizes. And make sure to measure pants you own that fit you well.

The other issue I had was the amount of wearing ease in this pattern. I made the size that I was supposed to make for my measurement. But this gave me 4 extra inches all around which is much, much more than I like. Deborah said these pants are more like formal trousers than jeans. Also it's easier to pin out extra fullness when fitting than take it in, so Simplicity gives a comfortable amount of ease. Pin it out, if you don't like it. But, she also said, we need some wearing ease so we can walk and sit. The rule of thumb for a close fitting garment is 2 inches. But, again, measure a pair of pants you like wearing to find out how much wearing ease is good for you.

So, since there is 4 inches of ease and I only want 2, she said I could use the size 12 lines for my hips, but still need the 14 for my waist.

Which is what she was drawing in red here.

So, I was all ready to go home, make these adjustments, and make a new muslin.

BUT THEN ... they made and printed out a special ... Andrea Schewe special size pattern, just for me!!!!

I felt like Queen for a Day .... anyone remember that show??

She also printed out her favorite "Threads" pants pattern for me that isn't in the catalog anymore. It has some really good sewing techniques that I will show you when I get around to making these up for real.

I started looking for fabric, but haven't found anything special enough yet.

Now I can get to work cleaning my studio ...

It is really bad.

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Chintz - more than just printed cotton

10/29/2013

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As I said yesterday, I was in New York over the weekend. And those of you who have been reading my blog for a while, won't be surprised that I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art where there is a fabulous exhibit about the world textile trade from 1500 - 1800 called Interwoven Globe. It runs through January 5th.

There are a number of neat things I found out visiting that show. The first being how Chintz was actually made.

Since the Met never allows photos to be taken in special exhibits, this photo is from Wikipedia. It is a photo of Chintz made in India from the coromandel Coast, c. 1710 - 25.

It's hard to appreciate how complicated it was to get a print with so many different colors before modern fabric printing techniques were invented.

Ikat was another technique in use at that time and still today to make a complex and colorful print. Here is a link to the blog I wrote about visiting an Ikat factory this summer.

Chintz was a popular fabric for lady's dresses in the 18th C.

As well as men's morning coats called Banyans.

This description of how to make Chintz is from the Innovateus website. My favorite part of the process is bleaching it in cow dung, which usually happened more than once. How DO you get the smell out??? Maybe that's why people wore lots of perfume.

There are many processes that go towards making an elaborately patterned and many colored chintz fabric could take several weeks to complete. First the fabric is seeped with a preparation of fatty milk and extracts of plant which contain tannic acid. The fabric is dried thoroughly. The design outline that is painted on the fabric turns black because of the tannic acid on the fabric. When you want paint red take the mixture of alum and Brazil wood. Then the fabric is dyed in hot water, which contains madder root, or another red dye called chay. The fabric is then cleaned to remove the tanning agent. Usually, it was done with cow dung. After this process, it is again dyed in indigo. The portion, which should not be dyed blue, is covered with wax resist. The fabric is then dipped in hot water to remove wax resist. It is then washed, dried, and sized.

Wikipedia has some very interesting information about the history of Chintz.

Tomorrow ... my pants muslin fitting report!

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In praise of the Sewing Machine

10/28/2013

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Who am I cuddling with here? ... It's Elias Howe, the inventor of the sewing machine!

When in New York this weekend, I went on one of our traditional family urban hikes. This time we visited the original Hall of Fame, which all other halls of fame have been based on such as the Baseball Hall of Fame. This one is on the campus of the Bronx Community College, which used to be the campus of NYU.

It is a long curving walkway with lots and lots of busts of famous people from novelists, to statesmen and scientists.

Since this hall of fame was finished in 1900, most of the statues are of people that were considered important at that time. Although a number of statues were added after that.

As we were reaching the end of all these statues, I ran into a VERY familiar name. But, I'm embarrassed to say it took me a minute to figure out who it was. But, when I did I had to pay my respects.

Think of how this little invention changed the world!

The Wikipedia page on Mr. Howe tells the story really well.

OH ... and since we are praising the sewing machine. If you haven't heard Betty Hutton sing the sewing machine song, you should.

And, yes, I did get my pants muslin fit at Simplicity. I have a lot of great information, but probably won't post that until Wednesday. I still have two more days to finish the rush job from last week.

CHEERS!

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Pants Muslin

10/24/2013

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OK ... I'm going to make my deadline for my current Simplicity project ... phew!

But, ironically, I'm headed up to the Simplicity offices today for a different reason. A while back I told Deborah Kreiling (head of the pattern making department at Simplicity) that I really liked their line of "Amazing Fit" patterns. There is one dress in particular I made twice, I liked it so much. But, I also told her, I've never made a pair of pants that fit very well.

So, she said she would fit me in a muslin some day, if I wanted. So I arranged a few weeks ago to have her fit a pants muslin while I was in New York for other reasons. Anyway, I had to squeeze in sewing a muslin for myself today. It only took an hour. Really, everyone says it's time well spent and really isn't that much time.

This is the one I'm making.

I read the guide sheet and took the measurements recommended, filled in the chart, etc. If I did it right (I'll find out tomorrow), I'm a 14 curvy.

I slapped in a quick zipper so I can get in and out of these pants quickly to make the fitting go faster.

Below are a few photos.

Taking measurements in my yoga clothes!

I cut the right through the tissue for my size. When I make all the corrections I hope to be able to use the patterns a few times.

I put just an ordinary zipper in the muslin. The final pants with have a nice formal fly zipper.

The all important crotch measurement.

The side seams have a 1" seam allowance for fitting.

I just stay stitched the waistline, no facing, hem or folding down. This will make it easier to raise or drop the waistline as needed.

Next week I will report on my fitting with photos, I hope.

I have no idea what fabric I will use to make the "real" pants.

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No time to write

10/24/2013

3 Comments

I knew this day would come ...

As a new blogger, I made a commitment to myself to post a new blog five days a week for the first year and then see how things go.

Many of my friends and family have wondered if I could keep it up.

Well, today I'm cheating ... I'm telling you why I can't write. OR does that count??

This is what my studio looks like this morning.

Serious chaos.

Simplicity gave me a project that I needed to finish in three weeks. And then two days ago that got shorted to two weeks and then yesterday morning two more days were shaved off that!!

This is where I sat from about 7:30 am until after 10 pm, except for brief breaks to cut fabric and eat. Hubby cooked!

I think I'm on track to finish now, but there is a lot of annoying stuff, like checking all the patterns, tracing them out, marking them, listing all the fabrics and notions, taking photos of some of the sewing operations, etc, etc.

I have 2 or 3 more days.

Let's see what I have for you folks tomorrow.

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Last minute costume for Halloween

10/23/2013

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If you don't know what to wear for Halloween this year and you want to impress people how on top of the latest internet craze you are. Then the tutorials for these two projects are for you!!

Click on the photos above or the previous sentence and you will be taken to the Simplicity website where the free tutorials, by me!, are.

And if you don't know what all the fuss is about. Here are a couple links that will explain.

Link #1

Link #2

Link #3

Now you know what I do to keep myself out of trouble!!

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Cool Website

10/22/2013

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I am learning so much writing this blog!

I have learned from people writing in with comments. The big one being the "cool down" time required for fusible interfacing. I am now having success with fusible interfacing and I am currently on a project that absolutely requires it.

I, also, am having to research things when I start writing on a topic and want to give the most accurate information I can. And a couple of weeks ago I was directed to the "Costumer's Manifesto" website. Now this is a site I have used many times in the past. It is filled with lots and lots of great information and links for all periods of costumes. Also, tips for make-up and wigs, etc, etc.

It was founded by Tara Maginnis in 1996. Click on this for info about her.

But, within the last year it has been converted to a wiki like Wikipedia. This means anyone can edit or add information following the rules and guidelines set up on the site.

Here is the list of their basic categories. And I just noticed that when I cut and pasted this list here to my page ALL the subjects listed are hotlinks, so you can click on them and go straight to that page.

History by Era

Jewelry

Makeup

Men With Big Hair: The Costume Movie Site

Accessories

Masks and Makeup -- merge into makeup section

Military Uniforms

Religious Costumes

General Theatre Books and Videos

Galleries 19th Century Fans photographed by Tara Maginnis

In each category there are links to sites with supplies, lessons, costume groups and more.

Much of it is in a jumble and I think they would love to have people edit out the bad links. I ran into several.

Also, some categories are empty. I know there are many of you are so knowledgeable with LOADS of specialized information. So, if you have the time, perhaps you could dive in?

There are links to lots of beautiful paintings.

And links to fun Youtube stuff, like this fashion show from the 1920s

And here IS the Costumer's Manifesto. I really like this.

It is written from a theatrical costumer's point of view, but it is good for all of us who make costumes.

The Costumer's Manifesto: (A statement of Purpose and Ethics for Costumers)"I am a Costumer, I make clothes for imaginary people." ---Celestine Ranney, 1982

I. When I costume, I am not a fashion designer nor a clothing manufacturer, but a builder of character, concept, and physical movement.

II. I, above all, work with Actors: I help them build their character from without, even as they build it from within. I do not complain about the shape of their bodies. I create the shape we need, and/or build a visual representation of the character that suits the existing body. I am aware of their movement needs and I facilitate them.

III. I work under the guidance of Directors: I help them visually represent their conceptual ideas in physical form. I create clothes for the inhabitants of the world they envision.

IV. I am inspired by the words of Playwrights and Scriptwriters: I try to bring alive the script by transforming the words of the text into visual metaphors. Words, especially poetry in the text, need a visual equivalent that supports the mood of the script without distracting from it.

V. I collaborate with the other Designers, seeking to bring our collective vision together so it works in harmony. Costumes do not exist in a vacuum, but on a set, among properties and furniture, sound, and light, as part of a consistent visual representation of an invented world.

VI. Whether I am in the position of stitcher, cutter, dyer, crafts worker or designer, I remember that what I am doing is contributing to the greater whole of the production, and must be done with an aesthetic sense in keeping with the performance, not merely my own whims. Designers, therefore, need to communicate the shows design to all the other costumers involved in the process as clearly as possible, so that when design decisions are made at any level of the process, from buttons to butt padding, they reflect the needs of the show or film as a whole.

VII. I assist the Audience in understanding the story and characters. In performances where spectacle is required, I make the costumes astonish and entertain, but when the audience should be more aware of the other elements of the performance, I will try to make the costumes recede to the background, without personal vanity.

VIII. I study the history of fashion and dress, no matter what my position in a costume studio, so that I can better replicate the styles of clothing of the past when needed. However, I will remember to avoid mindlessly copying old fashion plates, but instead keep in mind the key elements of character and concept, and select or adapt those fashions to suit the individual production.

IX. I am aware that my work consists primarily of adapting and reinventing pre-existing styles to do a functional purpose: cover a body. I know then that what I build is not legally subject to copyright law, and I will not winge and whine if another designer is, in turn, inspired to reuse elements, even a majority of those elements, from one of my designs in their work. I will accept this as flattery if anyone does so.

X. Costuming is a fun profession, and I endeavor at all times to keep it that way by remembering the feelings of all my collaborators. At no time should actors feel their bodies are being criticized in a fitting, nor should a student, worker or volunteer be treated as slave labor, nor should a director or another designer be bullied into an unwanted design decision. A desire for excellence is good, but the desire should never be pursued to any degree that ignores labor law, common courtesy or civilized collaboration.

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