The Renn Faire
Aug. 7th, 2005 10:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
velvetpageHamilton now has a very nice little Rennaissance Faire located in the Royal Botanical Gardens. Ourselves, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
nottheterritory, anidada, their daughter who is Elizabeth's age, and danaeris went this afternoon.
I'm not up to a full write-up - it's almost eleven o'clock, and it's been a full day, and Piet still wants to fiddle with pictures. But for me, the most interesting part of the afternoon was the donning of some period garb. I am now seriously considering buying a bodice instead of a corset, primarily because they cost less than half as much and are more comfortable to wear. Also, since they are designed to be worn with a peasant blouse shift underneath, they are easier on my modesty than a corset designed to be worn as the only garment above the waist.
I took a close look at the construction of the peasant blouse and skirt, and concluded that, with a few lessons from Aunt Jeanne and possibly a pattern for the blouse, I could sew my own with little trouble and considerably less expense than the ones they were selling. I might even crochet the lace for my sleeves myself, since that would be a logical use of my favourite handicraft, and would be very period appropriate. The bodice, however, I would have to buy. Dana found the ones there quite expensive at $85, but they had more boning than hers and good workmanship; I think I would be happy to pay $70, if I could then make the rest of the costume for somewhat less than that. (The peasant blouse could be made from cotton sheeting, and the skirt, while more fabric, was still just a cotton batiste - $8 a metre if I'm careful about colour and pattern. They had no underskirts with them, but I think I'd want one, maybe with a bit of flounce at the bottom. Again, though, cotton sheeting is cheap.)
So, what do you all think?
nottheterritory, anidada, their daughter who is Elizabeth's age, and danaeris went this afternoon.I'm not up to a full write-up - it's almost eleven o'clock, and it's been a full day, and Piet still wants to fiddle with pictures. But for me, the most interesting part of the afternoon was the donning of some period garb. I am now seriously considering buying a bodice instead of a corset, primarily because they cost less than half as much and are more comfortable to wear. Also, since they are designed to be worn with a peasant blouse shift underneath, they are easier on my modesty than a corset designed to be worn as the only garment above the waist.
I took a close look at the construction of the peasant blouse and skirt, and concluded that, with a few lessons from Aunt Jeanne and possibly a pattern for the blouse, I could sew my own with little trouble and considerably less expense than the ones they were selling. I might even crochet the lace for my sleeves myself, since that would be a logical use of my favourite handicraft, and would be very period appropriate. The bodice, however, I would have to buy. Dana found the ones there quite expensive at $85, but they had more boning than hers and good workmanship; I think I would be happy to pay $70, if I could then make the rest of the costume for somewhat less than that. (The peasant blouse could be made from cotton sheeting, and the skirt, while more fabric, was still just a cotton batiste - $8 a metre if I'm careful about colour and pattern. They had no underskirts with them, but I think I'd want one, maybe with a bit of flounce at the bottom. Again, though, cotton sheeting is cheap.)
So, what do you all think?
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Re: Not that you asked (blushes)
Date: 2005-08-08 06:12 pm (UTC)I simply don't have enough sewing knowledge to parse what you just wrote in a way that makes sense, so I'm going to put it in my memories, call it up for Aunt Jeanne, and get her help finding patterns and material, as well as cutting (once it's pinned, I know enough to sew it myself, I think.)
I'm going to leave the bodice for the moment, because I can't afford it and I would prefer to purchase that part, and because if I'm going to dramatically change shape over the next year, it makes sense to wait until I'm back to a more normal size for a while. The rest, though, I could start working on very soon.
I'm sitting a few blocks away from one of the best fabric districts in Canada. I don't know if i can get raw silk for that price here, but it's a distinct possibility and I will keep it in mind.
Thanks for your input!