Good evening, sister dear! I thought it might be time to show what I’m working on at the moment. I have decided to finish a costume I began in July 2008 for Great Lakes Medieval Faire. Well, I actually made 7 costumes, but this is one that didn’t get the full treatment, and it I didn’t wear it. We decided that since it was a Medieval Faire, we would dress in the Medieval fashion, even though most of the people that attend this festival typically dress in the Renaissance fashion. I made 2 costumes for Annie, 1 for Katie (as she was planning on wear one I already had in the closet), 2 for my friend Cassi and 2 for myself. The idea for these gowns came from Patterns for Theatrical Costumes by Katherine Strand Holkeboer (aka – The Costume Bible), from the Mid 12th Century sections. For my 2 gowns, I chose to make the bliaut with corsage. Now, most people wonder, “what is a corsage?” As described in the book, it is a “tight-fitting vest, laced up the back, worn over bliaut”. The first time I made this costumes was when Annie was 7 months old. I made the bliaut from forrest green flannel, and the corsage was made with pre-quilted black cotton, lined with the same flannel. I used green braided trim around the neck, and hand beaded it with faux pearls. Well, to save some time last summer, I used the already made corsage, and just made a new bliaut from green broad cloth. For my second gown, I used a deep wine broad cloth for the bliaut, and natural colored, pre-quilted cotton, lined with the deep wine. That was as far as I got. Here are some of the photos I took at the time:

Cutting of the fabric

Corsages and gowns, waiting to be sewn
As for the gown I did wear, here it is:

My attitude shot!
Let me just say, it was hot! I wore this gown the first day we where there, with the intent to wear the wine colored gown the second day. That didn’t happen. I decided that I would be more comfortable in jeans and a t shirt. But, recently I found that I didn’t have a sewing project to work on. Having found the unfinished corsage in the garage while cleaning a few weeks ago, I decided to finish it the way I meant to last year. Here are a few photos of my progress:

Bare corsage

Black, braided trim added to neckline and bottom

Partially finished corsage with bliaut
If you look closely at the photo above, of the partially finished corsage, you can see that I have been beading it in patterns. This way I don’t get bored with it and set it aside. I almost have the front done, and then will be moving on to the back sides. I have also decided to make a belt to go with it. I will be searching the local fabric stores for some embroidered belt/trim material to sew to the center of a belt made in the deep wine color.
Once I have this project finished and tucked away into the costume closet, I will be moving on to an idea the struck me while at work yesterday. I will be using some of the lavender broadcloth that I bought during our trip to Millersburg, and some of the lace fabric that we recently received in our Fabric Stash Enhancement order. Here is a photo:

Fabric for my next costume project
“Whatever will you do with this?” you ask. Let me tell you. I will be designing a Regency Ball gown. I will be using the lace fabric as an overlay. I am still deciding on the neckline and trim. I’ll let you know what I come up with.