I hemmed the 12th nite gown on New Year’s Eve before the obligatory visit to a party (followed by champagne in the hot tub at home ;-). However, I took the cheater’s way out on that hem — my pal, Steam-a-Seam. Aw yeah. Because done is better than perfect.
corded petticoat
Which also left me time on New Year’s Day to make the rather essential corded petticoat to hold out the petticoat-that-shows (which I’d made earlier on NYE day from that black & white embroidered silk). I scrounged some cherry-colored faille from The Stash & used the Spanish farthingale pattern from The Tudor Tailor. I’d already scaled this up to make an actual farthingale for my 1580s gown years ago — the pattern works pretty well, although it’s came out a touch long on me (bad math), so I fixed that in this rev.
Otherwise, I made it up the same way, just using cotton rope from Orchard Supply Hardware instead of the heavy steel cables I used in the farthingale. And somehow I ended up with three rows of cording instead of four, but whatever, it works. I used black grosgrain ribbon for the casings instead of pleating the cord into the skirt, as is often done on Victorian corded petticoats — this went a hell of a lot faster & looks kinda cool, imo. A few pleats in the front & back of the waistband, ribbon waist ties, & she is done. This item should come in handy for other outfits too, so I’m glad I had time to make it.
I also made some random braided hairpieces decorated with pearls. I’m still not sure how I’ll do my hair for 12th Night, but I figure braids will help. I know English 16th-century hair, but not Italian, so I’ll throw myself on Kendra’s mercy. And bring my pornstar hair as backup!
Hmm… wonder if I’ll have time / inclination tonight to make a new girdle? Let’s not get carried away…
Hi,
I just discovered your blog the other day, love it, you make such beautiful stuff.
If your looking for some italian renaissance hair inspiration, I found a great book called “Fashions In Hair, the first 5000 years” by Richard Corson. It doesn’t give how-to instructions, but the drawings give a great idea of the various hairstyles from each period. The book is expensive though (and probably wouldn’t arrive on time), I lucked out though, the book sells for like $90, I stuck it on my amazon wish list anyway and a few months later someone was selling a used copy for $15. But if you have Netflix, watch Borgia (not the borgias, the showtime version, this one is just called borgia), it’s available for instant streaming. I just happoened to catch the show right after I finished the chapters in the book on 15th and 16th century hair, and I have to say that I was very impressed by the women’s hair, the styles were the same as many of the styles in the book. Worth checking out.
Have fun at 12th night
Lynn Brooks
Thanks! I did see one episode of the Showtime Borgias, but it didn’t have many females (tho’ Jeremy Irons is my fave 😉 — I should look for that other one. Wish I had time to get to the library for that book, I really need more hair resources. Hopefully the next weekend, since I hope to wear this gown again at a ball later in January.