AkashaZuul

So here's a rare find. . . R. I. Davis' book on Men's Seventeenth and Eighteenth century fashion on eBay. R.I. Davis Men's Costume book on eBay I paid more for my copy than the opening price. . . . Great book. If you're interested in sewing men's pirate coats, this is definitely the one to get (other than Norah Waugh's Cut of Men's Clothes). This even has better photos than Waugh's book. I hope some lucky pirate buys it and makes a whole slew of Barbossa coats. Continuing with the original thread, I still haven't tried out the stays pattern, although I finally finished hand-drafted stays #2 in blue silk dupioni to wear for the Pirate Circus last weekend. . . . I'll post photos when I get some.

I want the "Pirates and Ninjas do not get along" t-shirt. Hahahahahaha.

The sewing gets easier as you go. . . The real problem is that you're probably trying to use modern patterns to build a historically-styled garment. Modern commercial pattern design just doesn't really seem to work with period construction techniques. What's helped me is studying photos and diagrams of how they were really built. For example, there are *no* commercial patterns available for Barbossa's coat from POTC, i.e. nothing with pleated skirts from earlier than 1750. Before you embark on the next coat, buy, borrow, pilfer, plunder or steal a look at these two books: The Cut of Men's Clothes 1600-1900 - Norah Waugh Men's Seventeenth & Eighteenth Century Costume: Cut and Fashion - R. I. Davis I also am loving this book right now, because of all the incredibly detailed photos: Eighteenth Century Clothing at Williamsburg - Linda Baumgarten Fitting a commercial pattern to yourself is the first big challenge. . . is anyone out there ever a perfect pattern size???. . . .learning how to draft your own patterns is the next step up. I'm in that learning curve this year since I'm trying to learn how to draft flat patterns using measurements, and drape directly on a form/person. Learning how stuff is supposed to fit from photos and drawings really helps you fit things . . . no more tight sleeves. :) It does get better. Sometimes I think I haven't learned a damn thing, like yesterday when I spent all day redoing a band collar in a men's shirt by machine(had to yank it out 4 bloody times), and the resorted to spending 4 hours sewing it in by hand. Then I realize that once I got it in, I had added in a 19 1/2" collar ( the guy has a huge neck and can't wear commercial shirts) to a commercial pattern, and all my measurements worked. Now I've got a happy bride, with a totally reconstructed wedding dress that took me a week of 15 hour days, and a groom's shirt that he couldn't ever buy off the rack because of his size. Cool stuff. I have yet to make any reasonable money on anything I have sewed for another person, especially corsets. However, every project I struggle through means I'm just getting better and faster for the next one. And most of the costuming stuff I spend so much time doing really can't be found ready-made. I guess that's why it's worth doing, right? Okay, enough blahblahblah. I got 4 hours of sleep, so I hope at least some of this post is coherent and useful. Happy Sewing!!!!!

You do great work, and I'm glad you took the time to share it with the rest of us! Historically accurate has its place, and knowing what is and isn't period is probably a good thing. That doesn't mean you *have* to stick to that, does it? I'd love to see more of your work, too. I've been posting stuff about patterns and sewing in "patterns", and maybe I'll go as far as creating a Yahoo group for us pirate-type sewers to share info and photos.

Wow that's gorgeous work. I'm trying to learn georgian embroidery to add to my costumes, but have no idea if I'll ever have enough time to do something as lovely as that. Post more photos!!!

If a pirate coat you're makin', buy steal borrow or otherwise plunder yourself a look at Norah Waugh's "The Cut of Men's Clothes". A somewhat thin book considering the wealth of patterns inside for specific men's coats in the late 1600's through 1700's. (The women's version is twice as thick!) Grab one of those revolutionary war patterns like Butterick 3072 (I like this one) and compare the way the pieces are cut to what you want out of the book, and go from there. It's generally how straight the front edge is cut, collar or no collar, and whether or not it has skirts. Butterick 3072 Revolutionary Coat I have yet to find a commercial pattern of any sort for something like Captain Barbossa's coat with the pleated skirts, but once you see how they're made in the book, you'll have one of those "Oh!" moments. When in doubt about fabric, shop online!

You really should go nuts and draft one for yourself from Corsets and Crinolines. It was fun and surprisingly easy once I figured out what the front and back pieces were supposed to look like, and measured myself to make sure the size was right. I made a mock-up in corrugated cardboard first. . . 4 pieces, lace up back and front just to try it out. I made sure to BEND the cardboard first on its corrogated bits to give it a curve, but since I did it on the "long cardboard grain", it didn't bend sideways at all. I quickly learned that having your armholes too high is asking for pain, especially in the back, and also that thick cardboard will give you massive cleavage! The trick was knowing how wide to make the neckline, using enough duct tape to hold the sides together, and cutting the tabs open so that they bent at the waist on the sides. You can imagine that making a muslin mockup, even with bones, isn't going to show you how your figure is going to react to a fully boned stiff pair of stays. Now I'm on round two. This one is going to be in thinner less-rough fabric (sapphire blue silk dupioni) with two inner layers of onasaburg heavy cotton, and a lining of black heavy cotton twill. It's going to have a wider neckline and much thinner straps, as well as not cut into my underarm at the back. It will also be less fully boned. Oh hey and about that Butterick corset pattern, make sure to measure the underarm to waist measurement. I have a feeling that since they didn't take that into account as part of the fitting, it'll be the wrong size for a lot of people. You guys are great. I'm loving this thread. No pun intended.

Hahaha. . . thank you, Capt Grey! Maybe we should continue posting in this forum about costuming techniques, possibly under a new topic heading? I love these discussions. . . I always feel inspired by talking to other people about their work ane experience in sewing. For example, I just came home from my client's house and found "The Costume Technician's Handbook 3rd Ed." by Rosemary Ingham, and "The Art of Crewel Embroidery" by Mildred Davis in my mailbox. The Costume Technician's book was recommended to me by a bunch of people as having a great set of instructions on pattern drafting. This has always been a weak area for me; I can take any commercial pattern and fit it to myself (satisfactorily) or others (much better), but seem to repeatedly fail when creating stuff from scratch. Creating patterns is generally done in one of two methods: 1. Flat drafting, where you design the pattern using math, etc. and create a basic block pattern from a person's measurements to base all other patterns on. 2. Draping, where you pin folds of fabric to create your design on a 3-dimensional person or form. I haven't really spent enough time to develop robust skills in flat drafting since I seem to get regularly confused when converting from block to pattern, and never trust my own measurements. I am pretty good at draping, but again not on myself. My proposed solution is to now use my recent finished corset and pad out a dress form with my measurements in the corset and drape garments on that. I hope it works!! Either that, or bribe someone who knows how to do it to trade fittings. . . .

Rigilene is that boning they sell at most fabric stores that you can actually sew on the garment, through the bone, not the plastic pieces in the fabric casing. It's the stuff we all make fun of that you get in your 1980's Gunnie Sax prom dresses. It seems if you use *lots* of it, as in fully boned like that orange corset, you get strength in numbers. As I said, I was shocked at how stiff my cable tie corset turned out, and even might have liked it a little less stiff. I'll let you know what I find out about the narrower width Rigilene. I suppose it would be better than solid plastic even if you had to use two bones per channel. . . it has holes in it so it would probably breathe better. And I cannot even imagine the hell of unpicking all those handstitches I did to get the stinking 100+ bones out just to wash the dang thing. Costume Close Up is on its way from the store at Williamsburg as of yesterday. Boy was that hard to find, not even on Amazon, but it has come highly recommended by several costume folks I know. Can't wait to read it and compare to Waugh, Hunniset, and Arnold's stuff. I find that fitting patterns to myself would be greatly assisted if I had 2 more arms and eyes on stalks mounted on my derrier. I can fit corsets to anyone else but myself! Did you look through his website and see the front-lacing Fustian stays? Although I like the high-class look of the orange ones the best, the workmanship and fit on the Fustian is unparalleled.

I'm actually using cable ties at the moment to bone stays. They're stiff but flexible, and seemed to work really really well. My usual choice is spiral steel for side seams, and flat steels for extra bust support and front/back closures. I didn't want to try cane since I've heard it falls apart too easily and makes washing the stays impossible. As far as boning is concerned, I love the drawings in Corsets and Crinolines as a blueprint for where the bones go. I just keep trying to study as many extant garments as I can on the web and in books to try and understand the boning logic. My recent pair are the 1770's version that's shown half boned, made from just a front and a back panel. I want to try making the multiple pattern piece fully boned version on the next page of the book, but I'm still not sure about fitting. Now that I have an idea of how your body is supposed to be squished, I think I know what to look for with multiple pieces. I actually got email from my corset idol Ian, who says he uses Rigelene in his historical stays. I emailed him back to ask him where he gets Rigelene in anything other than 12mm width since that's obviously too wide, and we'll see what he says. He swears it works almost as well as real whalebone, which he has also used for museum work. His website is worth checking out since he makes stuff like this: I hope he comes to the US to teach classes someday. His work makes me swoon. The Staymaker

So I have the pattern now, and I'm trying to sort it out. Looks like they did a pretty decent job at putting it together, and they have a great diagram for "Boning by Numbers" i.e. where they all go. Neat! Although they have you sew the top pieces and lining seperately (not period), they do have you bind the edges which is nice. They also have you remove the plastic bones from their fabric casings and insert seperately, instead of the usual method of sewing the casings onto the inside of the lining. Very cool. I'm not certain about fitting, however. There are no special fitting instructions, so I'm curious to see how that will go. I'll make a test garment and get back to y'all.

So I was skeptical when I read your post. . . after all, if you've tried to make real 1700's stays you'll go "oh yeah right. . . a *pattern*. . . sure THAT'LL work. . ." But I just looked at the Butterick website and it's the right shape! I am heading out the door as we speak and adding a trip to Jo-Ann's on my rounds to pick it up. It looks almost 1760's-1770's style, and I'm really curious how they suggest fitting such a garment in the instructions. I'll report back after I crack the pattern open and check it out. This could be way cool, although it figures that I'd find this out just mere days after finally struggling through drafting and making my own pattern from scratch (i.e. Norah Waugh's Corsets and Crinolines). Thank you so much for posting this, Lady Barbossa.

Those leather shoes are wonderful, but I'm still looking for something dressier for a wedding. . . mine, actually. I was hoping for silk to embroider. You know, something out of Dangerous Liasions or what not. I found these, and they're my favorite so far, but they're $280: http://www.peterfoxshoes.com/index.php?sku...310R&nm=Annabel This website has gorgeous shoes, but no prices. If you have to ask. . . http://www.basia-zarzycka.co.uk/s_gallery1.html I'm crazy about these, probably because they're late 1600's, but they're out: http://www.europacouture.com/entire/shoes/...lfrenchies.html I love that Godwin site, but I noticed they aren't selling the most important garment for women. . . the stays! And wooo $850 for that yellow sacque gown.

Someone sent me that link a long time ago, and I still look at it probably once a week, if not every day. The costuming resources and tips are astounding, as well as all of the endless photographs of actual period costumes. Still haven't solved my nagging "where do I find good period shoes that aren't $400" problem with that site, though.

What a party! I rushed back to the hotel after we saw the Royaliste off this morning and caught this one in the lobby. Sad seeing her go, but what a beautiful sight! Thanks to everyone for making this event so terrific, with a special thanks to Claire for putting it all together.

Thanks, Claire. We'll be there and on the dock at 4:30, and I'll follow up with Tim beforehand. I'll email you my celphone #, just in case you are going to arrive early.

Conures definitely talk! Ferdinand, our cherry-head/mitred cross conure talks like crazy. We just had him DNA sexed, and on the day we found out he was a boy, he learned his name, and said: "Fer. . . di.. nand. Ferdinand. Good bird. Ferdinand. Arrrrr! Pirate Pirate!" He says "Who's the conure???", and "Hi!", and "Chicken", and about a dozen or so other phrases. Next is "dead birds tell no tales". It now takes him about 4 days to learn a new phrase if I repeat it often enough to him while we play. The best part is hearing him practice his new words while he thinks we're not listening. Now the problem is getting him to shut up. He's a very special bird that we rescued last year. You can read his whole story on the Mickaboo Cockatiel Rescue site. Ferdinand Good luck with your bird! Green cheeks are the best pets.

I've got a bunch of blank CD-R's and those slim cases. I'll bring a bunch, and I'm happy to do my "Sysadmin thang" after dinner and burn copies. What's the speed on your burner? (Add "hey Baby" to the front of that, and it becomes a bad geek pickup line. )

Question about firearms at Quinn's. . . is it advisable to bring functional weapons (even unloaded) into Quinn's? As land crew, I was considering bringing a firearm to use to "salute" the Royaliste as she came into port, but then worry about stashing it in my car if I cannot bring it inside. What does Quinn's say about it? Advice and comments? Thank you.

Gimme a sexy Pirate Captain a la Johnny Depp any day! I have no disrespect for the American cowboy, in fact I really do see the sex appeal. I just like a bit more polish on my men, and generally a better accent. That midwestern y'all thing ain't sexy. Of course I'm basing this on stereotypes, not individuals. I'm way more of a James Bond gal than a John Wayne one, essentially. :) Vote one for Pirates!

I'd be happy to take a 1/2 hour turn watching the ship, on deck with gun in hand. BBQ sounds grand. I hope the HC and LW can make it.

Now there's a tall ship that can *really* push other tall ships around! Har de har har har. :angry:

Keeping behind Treasure Island for the sea battle may have been a smart move by the Lady's captain, actually. Although we were having a great time heeled over sailing in the wind, the tide and winds were conspiring to push us around a great deal in a way that might have made quick turning and firing off the cannons a bit tricky, especially with that many people aboard in the way. It's also apparently quite hard to light a cannon in the wind! The powder blows everywhere, the matches won't stay lit. . . I know about them tides 'cause I was the one steering, and got to turn left and watch us go right instead. This was rather fun until we kept creeping closer to the rusty metal barges and their huge buoys and chains.

Gorgeous coat. Leave it NICE! Just tell 'em you stole it from a rich bloke after slittin' his throat. . . I'd love to see more photos in brighter light, so we can see more detail. How about a photo of the back? Pretty please?

So I'm one of the Royaliste newbies, learning to sail the ship with only minor previous sailing experience. I am one of a microscopic handful of humans alive on this planet who have been lucky enough to sail on a tall ship, and have Gary and Claire to thank for it. Although my first couple of sails involved engine usage thanks to absolutely no wind on the Bay in January, I can definitely say that last Sunday's battle was an all-sail-up learning experience. We're all damn fortunate to be able to sail on these fine vessels, so please brag away! These are magnificent works of art that deserve a good crew, newbie or otherwise, to rant and rave about how great they are and how everybody else sucks. It's all in good fun. :) Oh and here's a photo of our first approach towards the Lady Washington and the Chieftain. Notice the angle the Royaliste is at, and the fullness of the sails. No engine support needed.