Thursday, October 31, 2013
Halloween 2013
It’s Halloween! Happy dress-up day! (Oh yeah, and Celtic New Year). This year, people in my office were dressing up, and I had the difficult task of choosing what to wear. Originally, I wanted to finish my Pumpkin polonaise – but that didn’t happen. Then, I got it in my mind to make myself a Morrigan costume inspired by the one from Take Back Halloween – but I couldn’t find feathered trim locally and a plain black boa seemed too cheap next to that amazing neck piece. In the end, I decided to finish a costume that had been hanging on my sewing room rack for almost a year and only needed hemming.
C’est l’Halloween! Joyeux jour du déguisement! (Oh oui, et Nouvel An Celte). Cette année, les gens au bureau étaient invités à se costumer, et j’ai eu la difficile tâche de choisir quoi porter. À l’origine, je voulais terminer ma Polonaise Citrouille – mais ça n’est pas arrivé. Puis, je me suis mis en tête de me confectionner un costume de Morrigan inspiré par celui de Take Back Halloween – mais je ne trouvais pas de ruban à plume localement et un simple boa à plumes noir me semblait plus qu’ordinaire à coté de leur magnifique fraise à plumes. Au final, j’ai décidé de terminer un costume qui attendait patiemment depuis bientôt un an sur la tringle de ma salle de couture que ce moment vienne et qui n’avait besoin que d’un bord.
Yes, I finished my Éowyn Green Gown (last night). I think part of me was afraid that once finished, I would find faults with it and not love it. But I do! It is gorgeous, and regal, and comfortable, and amazing, and flattering, and I love it. Honestly, this dress needs a proper photo shoot by a professional photographer. (Friends, any offer?)
A colleague (who clearly does not know me very well) asked if I had rented or bought my costume (I’ll take it as a compliment); when I answered that I had made it, she was shocked, and said something about me taking this whole dressing up for the office too seriously. Me? Nah! *coughing* Another couple of colleague admitted to admiring my dress, but also said they were reassured to learn it was something I already had, not something I had made specifically for the day.
Oui, j’ai fini ma Robe verte d’Éowyn (hier soir). Je crois qu’une part de moi craignait qu’une fois terminée, je lui trouverais des défauts et que je ne l’aimerais pas. Mais je l’aime! Elle est magnifique, et royale, et confortable, et incroyable, et elle tombe bien, et je l’adore. Sérieusement, cette robe mérite une séance de photos digne de ce nom par un/e photographe professionnel/le. (Amis, j’attends vos offres.)
Une collègue (qui ne me connait clairement pas très bien) m’a demandé si j’avais loué ou acheté mon costume (je vais le prendre comme un compliment); quand je lui ai répondu que je l’avais fait, elle a eu l’air surprise, et a mentionné quelque chose à propos de prendre cette journée déguisée au bureau un peu trop au sérieux. Qui moi? Nan! *tousse* Deux autres collègues m’ont admises admirer ma robe, mais elles m’ont aussi dit qu’elles étaient rassurés de savoir que c’était là une robe que j’avais déjà, et non pas quelque chose que j’avais fait spécifiquement pour cette journée.
The one new costume I made this Halloween is my daughter’s: she is a Unicorn. Not just any Unicorn either, she asked to be Fleur Dis Lee from My Little Pony.
Le seul nouveau costume que j’ai fait cet Halloween est celui de ma fille : c’est une licorne. Et pas n’importe quelle licorne, elle a demandé à être Fleur Dis Lee (fleur de lys) de Ma Petite Pouliche.
Of course, I changed into my Dark Maiden dress for the evening.
Bien entendu, j'ai enfilé ma robe de Sombre Demoiselle pour la soirée.
As for my son, I dressed him in the mouse costume I had made his sister 3 years ago. I worked so hard on that costume, and I really wanted it to be worn once again by one of my kids. Of course, the pink bow on the head disappeared and was replaced by an oversized bow-tie (whipped up from scraps of fabric).
Quant à mon fils, je l’ai habillé dans le costume de souris que j’avais fait pour sa sœur il y à 3 ans. J’avais tant travaillé sur ce costume que je voulais qu’il soir porté une fois de plus par un de mes enfants. Bien entendu, la boucle rose qui se trouvait sur le dessus de la tête à fait place à un nœud papillon (fabriqué à partir de retailles de tissu).
How about you? What were you for Halloween?
Et vous, qu’étiez-vous pour Halloween?
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Éowyn's Green Gown Project: Necklace / Robe Verte d'Éowyn: Collier
It's here! It's here! My necklace came in the mail today.
Rewind. I never told you about my necklace. When I started on my Éowyn's Green Gown, I also began to shop for the right necklace to wear with my dress. The Noble Collection version no longer seems available anywhere, and I am no jewellery maker, so I looked for a suitably similar necklace on eBay and then Etsy. In the end, I found one on Etsy that I would be able to customize, and after discussing with the seller, she did the job for me and it is 100 times better than anything I might have done.
Il est ici! Il est ici! Mon collier est arrivé par la poste aujourd'hui.
Une minute. Je n'ai jamais mentionné mon collier. Lorsque j'ai commencé à travailler sur ma Robe Verte d'Éowyn, j'ai aussi débuté mes recherches pour trouver le collier parfait pour cette robe. La version de The Noble Collection ne semble plus être disponible nul part, et je ne suis pas joaillère, alors j'ai concentré mon magasinage sur eBay d'abord et Etsy ensuite. Au final, j'ai trouvé sur Etsy un collier auquel je pourrais ajouter pour le rendre encore plus ressemblant, et après discussion avec la joaillère, elle a fait pour moi les modifications et c'est 100 fois mieux que ce que j'aurais pu faire.
Friday, December 7, 2012
Éowyn's Green Gown Project: Progress Report / Robe Verte d'Éowyn: Rapport de Progrès
I have been working on my Éowyn's Green Gown lately, but with only 2 hours of sewing time a week, I have had very little time to make progress reports. Yesterday, I worked on the collar and took the opportunity to snap a few pictures. I'll just share them all here while I have a minute.
Je travaille en ce moment sur ma Robe Verte d'Éowyn, mais avec en moyenne deux heures de libres pour la couture par semaines, je n'ai pas eu l'occasion de faire beaucoup de rapports de progrès. Hier, comme je travaillais à draper le col de ma robe sur mon mannequin de couture, j'en ai profité pour prendre quelques photos. Je me suis dis que je les partagerais toutes ici tandis que j'en avais l'occasion.
Alors voilà où j'en suis. Je crains toujours un sprint de dernière minute, mais je suis confiante de pouvoir terminer à temps.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Middle-earth project: Éowyn's Green Gown / Projet de la Terre du Milieu: Robe Verte d'Éowyn
The Hobbit, Peter Jackson's latest movie inspired by the works of J.R.R Tolkien, is coming out in a month. On December 14. I have every intentions of seeing that movie in theatre, and in costume. I haven't seen a movie in a movie theatre in years, let alone gone to a screening all dressed up!
The costume I plan on making is Éowyn's Green Gown. I know she is not in that movie, but she is of Middle-earth.
The Hobbit, le tout dernier film de Peter Jackson inspiré de l’œuvre de J.R.R Tolkien, sort en salle dans un mois. Le 14 décembre. J'ai l'intention d'aller voir ce film au cinéma, et en costume. Je n'ai pas vu de film au cinoche depuis des années, et encore moins déguisée!
Le costume que je planifie me faire est la Robe Verte d'Éowyn. Je sais que ce personnage n'apparait pas dans ce film, mais elle appartient au monde de la Terre du Milieu.
Also, I have had all the material to make it for, oh, 8 years, and I need an excuse to make it, so this is it. I have pulled them out of my stash so I can try to start working on my own Green Gown (when Baby Boy lets me).
De plus, ça doit faire au moins, oh, huit ans que j'ai tout ce qu'il me faut pour faire cette robe, et j'ai besoin d'une excuse pour la faire et cette occasion fera très bien l'affaire. J'ai sorti de mon étagère les différents tissus dont j'ai besoin pour ce projet afin de commencer à travailler sur ma propre Robe Verte (quand mon petit garçon m'en donnera l'occasion).
Velours de Nylon vert sombre - pour la majeure partie de la robe
Brocard noir et vert avec motif géométrique pour le panneau de la fausse sous-jupe, la doublure du panneau de jupe ouvert, la doublure des manches et peut-être une sous-manche
Dentelle florale noire et doré pour le col
Up to now, I've managed to cut only the velvet dress pieces, but its a start.
And what will you be wearing for this unexpected journey?
Et vous, que porterez-vous pour ce voyage inattendu?
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
My version of Arwen's Dying Gown or Beach Blond Arwen
The main thing you should know about this dress is that it was my first serious recreation and it is the project that really got me hooked to making quality costumes, whether historical, fantasy or reproductions, on a regular basis. Before then, I had made a couple of good costumes, but nothing like this one.
The first time I saw Arwen's Dying Gown (also known as Blood Red Dress) in picture, I knew I wanted to make it. It was so dramatic, it made a statement. It looked terribly complicated and extremely simple at the same time. Liv Tyler looked regal in it.
"I can feel it in the trees", Costume Photo Shoot at Nancy-Raven's, August 2004
Although the cutting and sewing process only began a few days before the event, material gathering was well underway month before.
For the bodice and sleeves, I used very lovely and expensive Chinese satin brocade. It is red with small gold and black flowers and Chinese characters (I suppose). Now this kind of fabric frays a lot, so I lined the bodice with polyester lining (inexpensive, but very hot!).
The lower sleeves are made of a red stretch velvet that I found on sale in July (and never saw again afterward). As soon as I spotted it I just knew it was THE fabric I needed. The under dress' skirt is made of black satin (the most inexpensive one I could find).
I wanted for the under dress to possibly be worn alone, although I have never done so. The skirt also helps balance the weight of the sleeves (some costumers who have made this dress decided to save on fabric and only make bodice, but apparently, the huge hanging sleeves causes pulling problems).
For the over dress, I used black stretch velveteen. I know the original was a midnight blue silk velvet, but to tell the truth, I didn't think it would look that good with the red fabrics I had. The stretch velveteen has two advantages: I can pull the over dress over my head, so one less zipper, and it is much cheaper than real velvet (I kind of busted my budget on the Chinese brocade, but it was worth it).
The trims I choose were not screen accurate, but I thought they were perfect enough for my taste (besides, they are the best I could find at the time). For the upper sleeve hem, the under dress' neckline and the overdress' shoulder pieces, I used a two inches wide gold Christmas ribbon with tiny red diamonds (the great thing about Christmas ribbon is you can get a whole roll for a very decent price). For the upper sleeves, I also used some leftover gold lace trim from another costume. The over dress' neckline is trimmed with a Christmas ¾ inch brocade ribbon that is red with a gold vine like design.
To achieve the right look, I had to play mix and match and modify with a few patterns. (Simplicity had not yet marketed their version, Simplicity 4940.)
In order to use as little of the Chinese brocade as possible, I decided the under dress would be an empire waist. I used McCall’s 4213, view B as a basis for the bodice and upper sleeves. I then shortened the sleeves and I modified the neckline to suit my needs.
For the under dress' skirt, I used Butterick 5540. It is mid calf in length, because it had to be long enough to balance out the weight of the lower sleeves, yet I did not want it accidentally showing from under the over dress.
The lower sleeves are what defines this dress. After quite a lot of reflexion, I decided I wanted to make them full circles (on the original dress, they are half circles). In order for them to reach my ankles, they would need to be 150 cm in diameter. Unfortunately, the fabric I bought was only 115 cm wide. I did not want a seam in the sleeves, so I ended up making them elliptical in shape. The ellipse is 265 cm in length and 115 cm wide at its largest part. Believe me when I say those sleeves are heavy!
The over dress is made with Simplicity 9103, view B, which I lengthened to make it floor length. I also modified the neckline so it would resemble the original more.
Gwenyver's Arwen Dying Gown, Con*Cept 2004One of the nicest compliment I ever got was while I was wearing this dress. It was as Montréal's La Grande Mascarade (back in 2005) and one of the guys from l'Alliance Impériale said to me: "Seriously, you weren't born in the right time period, because this style just looks too good on you". How sweet is that?
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Portrait of a Costumer: Michaela de Bruce
Michaela de Bruce 1520's Yellow Saxon Gown I thought I might from time to time mention some of my favorite costumers, so since I mentioned Michaela de Bruce in last Saturday's entry, I figured I should start with her.
Michaela's is a highly talented costumer from New Zealand who's costuming interests span from Renaissance (her best work are German Renaissance) to Victorian to Movie recreations, both historical and Sci-Fi. This lucky woman also gets to act in plays and which gives her an excuse to create her own costumes. She unfortunatly has rheumatoid arthritis and so she sometimes has to take things slowly, or make concessions when creating a costume, especially if she's on a tight schedule to finish, but then, haven't we all been there? We all have to make concessions sometimes (granted mine have nothing to do with painfully enflammed joints)!
On to more positive things, let me share with you some of my favorite creations of hers.
The Phantom of th Opera - Christine Daaé as a Slave Girl in Hannibal
LOTR - Galadriel Under the Spell of the One RingMoulin Rouge - Satine's Black Diamond Costume
You can find more of Micheala's gorgeous costumes, as well as articles and costume ressources, on her website Glittersweet.com.





