Couture Sari

As I was talking about the bridal corset I’d recently made a friend who normally wouldn’t be terribly interested in fashion or historical clothing piped up to inquire about my sewing. It seems that when an Indian woman, his wife in this case, buys a sari she is only purchasing the beautiful sari skirt (I’m sure there must be another name for it, but I don’t know it yet). The matching or contrasting, midriff baring blouse does not come ready-made, but as a piece of fabric to go with the sari. Now clearly if I don’t even know what the different pieces are called, I’ve never made a sari blouse (Wikipedia’s sari page informs me that the blouse is called a choli or ravika). I’m sure someone provides ready-made choli, but this is not the standard practice.

I would love to get some beautiful sari fabrics and I’m always interested to learn about new aspects of clothing, whether that is historical, cultural or technical. Not only do choli not come ready-made, but neither do the patterns. Each woman has her own pattern(s) made custom. I’m intrigued. Further reading shows that there are many, many ways to drape a sari (great image here), depending on region and personal preference, and in a way, dressing in a sari has quite a bit in common with the wearing of a great kilt (today is National Tartan Day in the U.S., by the way). Obviously they are of very different origins and function, but I’ll leave that to you for pondering…

What I wanted to share was a site that has some stunning couture sari. The site is called Couture Rani. Check out  their blog page and particularly the images from India Fashion week 2013 for a different take on high fashion. The fabrics! The shape and movement of the clothing! The embroidery! Want! Hmmm… I think I need to start by mocking up a choli pattern…

All images are from the Couture Rani website.

 

Bridal Corset Wrap-up with Bonus Gown

It’s nice to see a project like this finished and someone very happy with their custom garment. I’m quite pleased with the way it turned out. It is pretty, while being very sturdy. She’ll be able to get wear out of it for some time. We sized it so that it will still be wearable after some weight reduction.

Dress pics after the jump.

 

Some Beginning Basics

I first learned to sew about 18 years ago. The Peasant Guild had up to then only done Renaissance Faires, and we were branching out into the Golden Age of Piracy. I needed a new costume. This then led into my love affair with fabric and thread, needles and trim.

It was my mother-in-law who first taught me to sew with a sewing machine. My high school did not have a Home Ec. class, and I never learned from my mother, though she did make costumes and clothing for my sister and I as children.

My first foray into sewing with a machine taught me to put the foot down, or the fabric won’t go .

My with my current peasant costume, made seven or eight years ago, I found that the serger is a beautiful tool that makes my cuts look straight , and the edges don’t fray.

On my first co-operative project, the costumes for Our Captain and First Mate  that A. and I made several years ago; I learned  patience and how to walk away before I lit something on fire. (Those Pirate pants were very frustrating.)

 This brings me to one of my current projects, a Spanish Surcoat and Kirtle  for the mistress of our Blue Boar Inn. I will post about it in the near future.  I have learned some tips that are new to me. That I have tried today.

The first photograph to the is the cover of the surcoat pattern I will be using. The designer, Margo Anderson, is an expert  in reconstructing historical patterns of the Renaissance Period. This pattern includes a manual, which at first horrified me. I don’t want to read that much to make a costume. However, I have found some very interesting information from its pages.

Most of us know that once you have purchased fabric for a project, it must be washed in hot water prior to cutting. There are a number of reasons for this. It removes the sizing which gives the fabrics that nice crisp finish. It also  pre-shrinks the fabric to minimize the shrinking of the finished product.

I usually surge or use a zig-zag stitch on both of  the ends. I do not like loosing any more fabric then absolutely necessary, nor do I like having to trim off the frayed edges. I then wash the fabric. Once the fabric was clean, the battle would begin. First I would have to search for one of the ends. Once an end was found I would have to systematically pull out some of the fabric and untwist, then  pull more fabric and untwist some more, until all of it could be placed into the drier. This is a lot of work. Although I could use more exercise, this is not how I want to go about it.

What Margo recommends is to surge or zig-zag the two edges together. This minimizes the amount of twisting that goes on in the washer and dryer.

I have tried this twice today. The first was a 2 yard piece of brown linen, That I will be making into a Peasants Jerkin or vest for our Assistant Guild Master, D. When it came out to the wash it was not twisted at all. I then put it in the drier. Once again there was no twisting. Then again it was only 2 yards.

The second trial was a 90 inch wide cream-colored  linen cut of 15 yards long. This will become one or two table cloths for our Lord Mayor’s Pavilion. This piece was folded length-wise, twice and left on a bolt. One edge was not an even cut, so I zig-zagged that edge once, and again with the two edges together.

I washed the fabric. Once it was done I found that, although it had twisted, it was not nearly as bad as usual. It was much easier to pull out with minimum effort needed to untwist and stack to go into the drier. It took me about fifteen minutes. Previous efforts could last half an hour with only ten yards.

 

A Victorian Bridal Corset (aka Vic. Women’s Body Armor)

Measuring, cutting, tipping and adding bones

You may be wondering why this bridal corset is turquoise. It’s a unique corset for a unique bride! C has a beloved pair of boots, which she plans to wear with her wedding dress – a frothy, bustled, strapless gown, bustle, corset and boots!

After talking with her and her mom, taking measurements and doing a couple fittings we determined the right sizing and that this corset will see additional wear as part of a costume. Everyone has a unique shape and squish factor and how tightly you want to lace must be taken into consideration. This is not to be confused with “tight lacing” or “waist training”. Should that be your desire, research, research, research and consult your doctor before you begin.

Pattern weights save the day!

More pics and info after the jump.

 

SLO Tweed Ride 2013

I’m happy to say that I’ve found out the date for the SLO Tweed Ride before it happens this year. It will be happening May 5, 2013 at Triangle park, 1pm.

You can view the group’s blog here and their facebook page here. Unfortunately, there isn’t much detail on exactly what will be happening, but you can view their previous years’ photos to get an idea. I don’t know if the Rogues will be in attendance, but it sure does look fun!

 

Liquid Stitch

I haven’t done a post on tools in quite a while.

I’ve just discovered a new one that is in a similar vein to one of my favorites (temporary spray adhesive) – Liquid Stitch. It’s not for everyone, of course, but is another tool to add to your bag of tricks, particularly for those who hate, but need to, pin and need more control than temporary spray adhesive allows. Be sure to test on your fabric in a hidden place or on a scrap as the product may seep through and/or leave marks. As I said – it’s not for everyone.

 

365 Day Challenge Mini-Collections 1 & 2

 

I’ve just completed the 49th design for my 365-day creative challenge. So far I’ve come up with 2 sets (5 each) that could be coordinating designs, or as I like to think of them, coordinating fabric designs. So far I’ve gotten some pretty cool designs, even one or two that might prove useful. Come take a look at all my designs at The Daily Pattern!