AkashaZuul

I liked the Simplicity pattern, but the cuffs are nuts! And also make the coat very late 1600-early 1700's style. They're also terribly impractical if you need to use your arms for anything other than dancing. I'm planning on testing out J. P. Ryan's 1750's men's coat here shortly, which seems to have more period construction techniques. Has anyone tried this pattern? I'd love to see photos of anyone's coat from that pattern. You can see my previous posts for photos of the Simplicity coat. . .

Cheryl, I would like to suggest that (if you haven't done so already) you contact your local SPCA and Humane Society, and also put an ad in the newspaper in your area. In my experience, folks don't seem to call the pet hospitals when they lose pets, they always check the shelters instead. Although it's great that you have a new family member, there is always the possibility that some little kid is without his favorite pet for the holidays, and is still desperately looking out there in hopes of finding it. Wouldn't that be awfully sad? There are folks out here who post every single day on Craig's List about their lost parrot, and have been doing so for over 15 months, so I know some people never give up hope. Unfortunately, cockatiels are generally seen as "disposable" pets, so more likely than not, your friend is there to stay. You can also post information here: http://www.mickaboo.com/lostandfound.html I volunteer with Mickaboo, and their website is also a good place to get information on diet, especially about converting to pellets. I am one of the teachers for Mickaboo's bird care classes, so if you have any questions about your new friend, please let me know. Yes, cockatiels can be trained to talk!

*removes hat* That is very sad news for all of us out here on the West Coast. I hope the new owners love her as much as we all do. I will definitely miss seeing her on the Bay.

Good luck with your sale! Although the items you are selling are fantastic, I can understand why you are making the sacrifice. . . Will you post a photo of the Batmobile when you get it? I wish I had the cash to give that Mustang a loving home. . .

Pretty much as I thought. . . just for the cost of buying sails alone, you could probably find a lovely boat that needed only reasonable work. Just looked for a nice Rosborough, but can't find one. Last one I saw was about $70K, in great shape.

I'm hoping the Royaliste will post and give some insight on how much $$$ it would take to remast and rig for sails. If those aren't working masts, I'd imagine quite a cost to get just the lumber itself. . . I can't tell from the photos what they really are. They look like telephone poles, actually. : ) It's still pretty cool, though.

Cute, but no rigging! I am not even certain that the masts are even real masts. . .

Well, finally, here are some pics of the coat and gown . . . .haven't been doing much computing since I fell and have my arm in a cast! Just a dislocated thumb.

Scott and I will definitely be there!

Gosh, what a wonderful night that was. Jack, Jill, and everyone who helped put the Buccaneer's Ball together did a fantastic job. I am crazy about that Revenge model in the corner. What an amazing job on the decor! The entertainment was great, the food was delicious, and I can't wait to go back for more! See you guys tonight. . . .

Awww. *blush* Thank you! I had a lot of fun making that stuff. I only wish I'd had more time to add trim to everything, but c'est la vie. Stuff like that is always a "work in progress", right? : ) Scott looked great in his coat, though. I hadn't seen the whole ensemble together until he changed mid-night and scared everybody with his wig! We've been together for three years now, and this is the first time I've ever seen him with hair. The dress with panniers was a riot to dance in, and my first attempt at a saque dress. I've never worn hoops that big before! However, I now understand why noble ladies had servants. . . I would probably have been in the bathroom all night trying to get into the dress if it hadn't been for a very helpful mermaid who was extremely handy with corsets and pins. No photos *yet*. I'm bringing my camera tonight, so hopefully I can post some soon. What a terrific party; I only wish there were more occasions during the year to dress up for!

Hmm. . .That sleeve thing has me stymied. I eased in the sleeve ease by hand and pin, no gathering threads necessary. After I spent the time pinning it in place, I machine sewed it in instead of hand sewing it like I planned because it just fit. How odd. Not that I'm complaining, really, but I was hoping to glean insight into where other people were having problems. : ( Cool pattern, though, if anyone has considered trying it and not done it yet. Remember to measure that sleeve length though, since it is supposed to come out a bit short, and some folks may not like that look. See Barbossa's short sleeves as an example.

So what are the problems people have been having with this pattern? I am almost finished with the one I'm making for Scott, and so far had no trouble with it at all. The size Large fit him just fine, and all I had to do was add 2" to the bottom and sleeves. The sleeves fit in the sleeve holes perfectly the first time, which I was surprised about since I'd heard that folks were having trouble with that. My only complaints about the pattern are that it doesn't have a lining (which I added), and that the godets aren't really period without proper pleats and an opening in the middle. However, it really turned out nice. Oh and also that the cuffs attach funny if you follow the directions. I'll post pics when we get the buttons attached. Anybody going to the Buccaneer's Ball will get to see it in person!

Scott also got a pirate shot glass at Faire and loves it so far. They do great work. . . I've got goblets and tankards from them that I've collected since 1994. The patina they acquire after years of use is beautiful! Happy Drinking. . . .

But I want my butt to be <------------------------THIS BIG!!!------------------------------> Like this: Actually, I think this dress is in fact a 1780's saque gown with the sides pulled up, no? I have photos in a couple of books showing the train being pulled up through the pocket holes. I'm still trying to figure out how to do it, and if it looks stupid or not. : ) I'm crazy about this dress, and just won the fabric on eBay to make it!

You look so cute in that white wig! Not a bad idea for Halloween, either. I didn't even think about wigs. . . Nope, it's never too late for helpful advice. Well that, and I haven't actually started cutting fabric yet since this project isn't "due" until the end of October. Still working on making style choices and what not. I'm still torn between using panniers (because they'd look cool) or using pocket hoops (because they're easy). I got brave and bought a pre-made hoop skirt that has exactly the right shape of panniers when you squish it in the center. All it needs is the tiniest bit of adjustment at the top to make it have the right shape, and voila! They're particularly nice because they have real hoop steel in them and can be bent a bit, but still collapse easy for movement. We'll see if that applies when I wear them in the car. I'm just happy I won't have to add the additional pain in the **** of making them from scratch. Thank you, Lacis! I am still a bit concerned about fitting the petticoat over the panniers because of center sag. I was going to get my dress form out and use it with the panniers attached to fit the dress, but I'm not really sure how the pleating should change (if at all) since it's not a terribly big pannier. More research in books required. I've most blissfully recruited another pair of costuming-trained hands to help me on the fitting on this project, so at least I have someone to double-check my measurements and fit. Yay! I'm still waiting for Santa to get back to me on those "eyes on stalks" and "third pair of hands" I asked for. My current pair of pocket hoops are nice, but they sag a bit when you put heavy things on them or in them. They look awful when your hips look like they're 10 inches below your waist. I am going to make the next pair a bit different, with heavier fabric and boning, and hopefully they won't sag. I used the pattern from Jean Hunnisett's book for them. Here's another question for you, Kass. Do you prefer a bumroll or pocket hoops with your polonaise gowns? I like the bumroll look, but I made one and it came out too big and oooh hahahah hee hee hoo bahahahah I hope my butt never gets that huge and lumpy for real. So I plan on posting photos as the project progresses.

You are lucky! That's the only one they had for sale! Oooh that is going to be a fine set of clothing.

So here's a costuming noodle twister. I've decide to make a saque-back gown (Robe a la Francaise) for Halloween. I've chosen approximately 1755 as my target date for style, but I'm having a problem choosing appropriately-shaped gown supports. None of the books I've been looking through are consistent on what was really used mid-century. Some folks say wide panniers. Some folks say those were passé, and were on to pocket hoops. I'm still woefully confused as to what the best choice is, and would love to hear people's opinions. My choices so far are: -Full panniers. This sort of scares me because they're always too wide, and hard to maneuver around. I really don't like them when they are square, either, like an upside down U. I'm also going to need to get into a car at some point when fully dressed, you know? They're also a pain to make from scratch, and I'm short on time. -Side hoops, aka pocket hoops. This sounds like a great idea, but from what I've read recently, they have a tendency to be droopy and unstable with heavier fabrics. Also, if I decorate the front of the dress heavily, they won't keep the fabric from sliding forward and dragging on the ground in front. -Round hoops. Round hoops, you say? Apparently those were worn too at some point in the century, just like the round hoops from the mid 1800's, but smaller. Hooped petticoat, actually. Sort of like a less squished pannier. If you can think of anything I missed, or help enlighten me as to what would look best under a red moiré taffeta saque dress, I'd appreciate it. My most recent idea was to take a pre-made 1850's hoop skirt and somehow squish it and alter it to make it more period. It's cheating, but it might work. ?????????????? Thanks for your brainstorms.

Oh! I thought you used the new Simplicity Jack Sparrow pattern! It has gores. . . . Which pattern did you use? I love the blue fabric, by the way.

Wow that turned out really cool! Can you get a photo of the back so I can see how the gores came out?

Hmmm. . . those boots were quite nice. Only one problem though. . . 3 inch heels?!?!?! Good gosh. Sexy for costuming, really *bad* for a full day of hiking around at a faire event or on a boat. I'm looking at getting a pair of something like this. . . http://www.scaboots.com/Merchant2/merchant...Category_Code=1

Go to Jo-Ann's fabrics during their next pattern sale. $0.99 per pattern! Try this pattern from Simplicity. . . . it's the best pirate coat commercial pattern out there so far. http://www.simplicity.com/designFrame.cfm?...806&design=4923

Ahhh M'Lady.. they cannot all be Johnny Depp now can they ? Sigh, what a wonderful world that would be... makes me want to write a song ... oh wait, that ALREADY is a song hehehe I beg to differ. Check out Ace's avatar. Proof that *some* men can be like Johnny Depp. . . . Silly Simplicity. They should have gotten Ace to pose. Would have sold a lot more patterns with people thinking it really was Johnny Depp. That's a lovely coat, by the way, Captain Grey. I love the fabric you chose! How long did it take you to make?

is that a hint akasha?????? Make thyself a pink garment of the finest polyester, and wear it proudly with style and grace! Hmm. Upon further consideration, I guess it comes down to this. . . if you're going to represent yourself and your attire as "period correct" for reenactment or educational purposes, you owe it to yourself and those you educate to make an effort to get as accurate as possible. If you screw up, be prepared to be viciously corrected by other stitch nazis. If you are not going around saying "I'm too sexy for my period clothes", wear what the heck makes you happy, accurate or not. Like pink! Sort of what Gentleman of Fortune said. Yeah! I'd check up on the sources of the fabric usage, though, Gentleman. I was surprised to read that myself. What I also found interesting was that most silk dresses in museum collections have been redone a number of times, and often have to be "repaired" to their original style because the silk was changed over periods of decades to reflect current styles. Why would they do that if fabric wasn't rare and expensive? The book on the collection from Colonial Williamsburg talks about this phenomenon, I believe.

I've just always believed that any real person from history would have been so damn excited to have even a scrap of the amazing fabric we have around today (microfiber nylon and ultrasuede, anyone?), they'd have used it too! Good gosh, what self respecting peasant *wouldn't* have loved a nice stretchy t-shirt? No more embarrassing "rear" accidents at court when you bend over in those snug 1770's court pants, now with 5% Lycra! I applaud anyone who takes the time to make their own clothing and costumes, even if it's hot pink and fits into no real time period imaginable. After trying to attain perfection myself for a while, I read that 1700's seamstresses would have never even considered cutting strips on the bias. . . it would have been considered a terrible waste of fabric that was so expensive back then. Hacking away in my basement at fabric that I bought 3 yards extra of "just in case" makes me realize how lucky I am to have Jo-Ann's 50% off coupons, and access to such great (if not totally 100% accurate) fabrics.