In Commission Land

Current projects:

1. 1560s Venetian
2. 1870s egglplant silk taffeta ballgown. Due November 4! AAARRGGHHH!!!

Tentacles in New Orleans

The finished product! Fancy dyed lace, ruffles, sleeves on the bodice. Packing the stuffed tentacles into a suitcase was less than awesome. It took up half the space. The Lovecraftian masquerade costume was a big hit.

Hurricane Irene and Vinyl Tentacles

Nasty weather and staying in unexpectedly on a Saturday night, I started makin' stuff. I have a fabulous skirt that just needs a little extra something. I got the idea to make an ornament similar to the tentacle tail on the emerald green taffeta 1870s-inspired gown for New Orleans this year, but the thought of turning all of those tiny little tubes inside out and stuffing them with polyfill was in no way appealing. I opted instead to make flat sea snake-like tentacles about one inch wide on an identical base.

I must have watched 5 or 6 episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise while flipping tentacles and stitching them down. (Yes, I am a giant nerd.) Now I need to flip and top-stitch about 10-12 more tentacles for the top layer, and make a wasitband. I think this makes a fine alternative to other more cape-like ideas I had to provide some drape and drama to this costume.

Update 3:50 PM: Just a few photos of my tentacle process and some shots of the (mostly) finished product. Very H.R. Giger.

A near perfect match

My second attempt was much more successful. I filled a chowder pot with just enough water to fully submerge all of my materials, and then added 2.5 teaspoons of Rit Dark Green and Teal. I also added a teaspoon of salt. This seemed to do the trick pretty damned well.

If at first you don't succeed...

...dye, dye again. I know. I know. It's bad, but I couldn't resist. I hunted everywhere on the internet for hunter green venise lace and other trims. I found absolutely nothing, so I turned to dye. My first attempt on a bit of ivory venise lace came out very dark. I used 2 tablespoons of Rit's "dark green" dye, and a tablespoon of salt in very hot water for about 45 minutes. I think with some teal and less cooking time it would be a fine match to my fabric. The second go around I cooked for a lot less time, used 1/2 teaspoon less dye, and cooked for a a quarter of the time. The result was much paler. I guess I'll have to throw it in again.

I tried dyeing a small piece of one of my favorite tassel trims from JoAnn's in white. It took the dye beautifully, except for the threads it was bound together with. Those were still white while the trim itself was almost black. I tried again with an old scrap of sage green, and it took the dye much better.

I knew this would be a process of trial and error, and I hope it yields gorgeous results.

The Corset's Bad Reputation Lecture

I've done some work on the structure of my upcoming program on corsets at the museum. I want to make sure I cover misconceptions and people's major questions.


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Resurrection

I got some fabulous (and cheap) 4 inch venise lace from eBay, and I happened upon a five year old skull brocade 1880s bodice forgotten at the bottom of the fabric trunk. I made it with an old character of mine in mind, but I could never get the buttons to fit right. One day a few weeks ago, I performed some minor outpatient surgery and replaced he buttons with bound boned edges and a row of hooks and eyes. It fits much better, but I decided it needed more embellishment. I still may add some five inch bullion fringe to the back, but I need to track some down. These are not the greatest pictures, but not bad considering the fact that they're cell phone pictures in bad lighting.

I brought several projects to work on for our week at the beach, but neglected to bring thread. Finally today I picked up some thread at a dollar store, and I was able to attach the lace. I just picked up some venise lace just under 2 inches wide for the neckline and the sleeves. I adore venise lace. I see much more in the future of the tentacle dress, but I need to get moving on a commission for a 1560s Venetian gown.