Annnnnd we hit the tedium...

Somehow this always seems to be my most hated and yet most favorite part of the process. It's that point you realize the devil is in the details but it's no ordinary devil. This one is luring you with shiny things and seductive visions of being hailed as the Queen of Beautiful Details!! And then you spend 12 hours in a heroic battle against the mundane armed with silk and velvet and cord, the battlefield littered with scraps of experiments, shredded threads of ripped out seams, sighs of frustration filling the air, only to walk away with the spoils of...4 little pieces of skirting.

Alright, alright, enough with the dramatics. This is what I did get done today.

 Cutting out the skirting pieces

Lots of futzing and finally settling on this...

which became this...

which became these...

which looks like this up close...

I also started working on the epaulettes and collar before I just got too tired.

Cut and stiffened by zigzagging rattail onto fusible horsehair canvas

Close up of the rattail cording.

Too tired to write anything intelligent or amusing at this point. So thanks again for reading and goodnight! Or good morning. whatever.

Leicester Progress

Hey all!

Happy New Year and I hope everyone had safe and happy holidays. I've been working on the Earl suit in between holidays and flying and making good progress in just the last couple weeks.

Slops are nearly completed, excepting closures

Pre-waistbanded:

 Don't hate me but I built the inner-lining out of a pair of mens briefs. It's the perfect shape, maximum flexibility with near-zero chance of seam blow-out (and trust me, if you know my client you know why this is nothing short of necessary. YOU KNOW WHY!!) It was a conundrum of Phabric Fysics to line up the front seam of the bronze slop lining with the brief structure but I did it dammit!

Narrow-banded legs holes will ride juuuuust under the gluteus maximus for full shorty-slop effect.

 Avec waistband:

Equipped with stealth-pockets!

The lining of the pocket pulled out to reveal super secret zipper in seam of said pocket allowing access to the dark lair of betwixt-lining-and-inner-lining where stuffing/netting/filling/secret-documents resides.

This photo was meant to show said access to filling (in this case a bias-folded length of muslin designed to give weight and shape to the slops) but my camera freaked out I guess and melded one with-flash image with one without-flash image for this frankenphoto...

Ok enough sloppage...

Work has commenced on the doublet!

Flatlined to lightweight canvas

Vertical stripeage on the back...

And everyone's favorite: the Chevron effect on the front!

Adding a touch of texture to the fabric with this teeny gold cord here...

It's hard to see but I tried to get a close up of the fabric with one of the stripes picked out with the gold(left) and one without (right). 

 Then we add a dash of a slightly bigger gold cord on the edges just on the three central stripes on either side.

Next I'll work on epaulettes, skirting, and collar before putting the doublet all together. Then sleeves. Then hat. And maybe a surprise accessory...

That's all for now!

Next project: Earl of Leicester

Jumping back on the project train for the winter with this suit for a friend who plays Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester.

The fabrics were found at S.R. Harris in Minneapolis by these beautiful people

photo by Ivan Phillips

and now it's my charge to give birth to their brain child!

Here are the fabrics:

 A mock up fitting is scheduled soon, after which work in earnest can begin. So far I've been making piping:

And starting the panes:

I'm definitely excited about this one! The colors are so striking I'm already in love.

More updates coming soon!

Caveats to being thrifty: Fabric/Thread rot!

So your grandma has a bunch of fabric you can have since she won't use it anymore? Or there's a bag full of spools of thread for a buck at that garage sale? A couple yards of something hanging there at your local goodwill for dirt cheap?

Buyer Beware!

Well, you're probably not going to be at a great loss at thrift store/relative give-away prices but Sew-er Beware! It only takes a couple years of sitting on a shelf in the basement or in the attic or even in a sewing room for dry rot to set in. You may not even notice the problem until your garment is completed and seams practically melt apart from thread that's disintegrated or fabric in high stress areas just pulls apart like a really tender slow-cooked pot roast.

My grandmother's house was being cleaned out and consolidated when she moved into an assisted living home and I 'inherited' a huge ziplock of thread and some other fabrics that had been sitting around unused in her upstairs un-air-conditioned sewing room in Pennsylvania. The threads I all tested and only a few were sound enough to use. 90% of that huge bag went right into the trash. The fabric appeared okay and I didn't think to test it further. Unfortunately what seemed like a great chunk of black cotton bottomweight turned out to be on the verge of rot and after being used as a doublet lining for a summer at Bristol it completely gave out at seems, under arms, around grommets, etc etc etc. Now, because I forgot where this fabric came from and didn't bother to do some basic tug tests on it, I'm replacing the entire lining for this garment. When I pulled out the existing lining made from said fabric it looked like I was holding an extant piece from the period. All those pictures in Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion? Yeah, it looks just like that.

So learn my lesson the easy way. When you acquire fabric and thread from unknown storage backgrounds make sure the integrity is sound BEFORE you use in your projects. Give thread a firm tug, try breaking the thread from a spool you just bought to compare. Does it snap after a hard pull that probably leaves lines on your hand? Or does it pop apart easily, pulling apart with a moderate or light tug? Cut a medium swatch of the fabric and try pulling it apart (not trying to rip it with a started notch). When it rips what do the threads look like? Rotted thread will be very loose, fuzzy, or frayed and the fabric will tear with very little force.

Prevent your own stash from suffering this fate by making sure fabrics are stored in cool dry places, sealed in containers or zip locks if possible. Use dehumidifiers in basements and store fabrics in an air-conditioned area if you live in a humid environment.

Fully Finished and In Action!

So as promised here are some action shots of the Gresham Suit.

Photo by Ivan Philips 

(with more of my work in the background!)

Photo by Nicole

And a distance group shot:

Photo by Jim Farris

If You Ever Find Yourself In: CHICAGO EDITION!

..and the greater chicago area!

So I've been putting this one off for a while because there's so much I want to cover! Those who live in the area probably know of these already but for those of you who don't live in the area let this be your impetus to PLAN A VISIT! The places I will be reviewing are all ones I have been to and love. In light of that I issue this challenge: introduce me to a NEW favorite Chicago/Chicago area fabric store that I HAVE NEVER BEEN TO BEFORE! A Prize will be given for the person who can :D

Ok, enough of that blah blah blah.

I'll start with the downtown area stores first, starting with the absolute if-you-get-nothing-else-from-this-go-to-this-place-as-soon-as-possible-move-over-disney-this-is-the-happiest-place-on-earth: Textile Discount Outlet aka LZ's Products aka Sol's. If you don't believe me watch this VIDEO! I really can't explain it any better. HUGE selection. I DARE YOU to show me a bigger selection in one place. Go ahead. Do it. I bet you $20 of fabric you can't do it. Anyway, great selection and seriously dirt cheap prices.
The parking is extremely limited. It's located in a mostly residential neighborhood where there's street parking that's almost always packed car to car. Their parking lot holds about 8 cars MAX. If you're taking the El to get there, it's off the Pink Line at 2121 W 21st St. (Damen & Cermak stop).
They are always closed on Saturdays however so plan accordingly.

Seriously. Just go there.

The next rant-able place is Fishman's Fabrics. Located at 1101 S. Desplaines St. They have a lot of beautiful fabrics. The place isn't large as some others but it's packed with quality silks, wools, velvets, designer fabrics, upholstery-weights, and drapery-weights. As well as some stunning trims! Prices are pretty reasonable as well. There's a parking lot and I think the closest El stop is off the Blue line at Clinton (10 min walk from Clinton stop).

While you're there, head across the street to Vogue Fabrics. It's basically what I wish every Joann's was actually like. Well organized, good selection, reasonable prices, includes a remnant room. They don't have very much in the way of upholstery weights but they do carry a large selection of trims and notions.

And before you leave that block, go right across the street from Vogue, around the corner from Fishman's and just pop into New Rainbow Fabrics. It's a very small Indian-family owned store with a bunch of sari and special occasion glittery fabrics. Sometimes you can just find that one oddly perfect thing there and it doesn't take long to look around so always worth a stop in.

Ok, now I'm going to branch out to my two favorites north of the city. The first is just the Vogue Fabrics-Evanston location. They often have a better selection than the downtown location, otherwise it's all the same.

The second is Loomcraft. In Vernon Hills, it's a good bit north of the city but they have a big selection of upholstery and drapery weights, for reasonable prices, always discounted. There's a remnant section and a shelf with silk and silk-blend remnants for dirt cheap. Most of Gresham came from that shelf. So go there if you can.


So get fabric hunting, my friends!

Liking It

Ok,
So I decided I like it. Got mostly positive feedback and there are some who totally LOVE it. Some like it despite being somewhat confused and I've had one comparison to the Milwaukee Art Museum.

photo by Hector Stewart

photo by Nicole (patron of the favoritest kind)

Also by Nicole

The Milwaukee Art Museum

So there's that update. Otherwise July flying has been kicking my ass and I've done absolutely nothing. I finally have a few days off so I might start working on something again.. no guarantees.