A couple of finished projects - and a new project is hatched

I'm on a quest for the perfect shirtdress pattern. I just finished my first attempt, made with McCall's 4769. The fabric is a cotton print from good old Jo-Ann's. I decided to add the black middy braid trim along the facings - the fabric is pretty busy, and the black lines along the seams helps disguise that the pattern doesn't line up. I think I would like a fuller skirt. This dress is nice though, comfortable and the lines of the dress have a 1940s quality to them. I had the buttons and the braid on hand already, so sometimes having a stash can pay off.




I finished the cloak my friend asked me to make her (shown modeling the finished product). She does Ren Faires and the occasional LARP. She selected the material, a heavy printed velvet in old gold; I picked out the lining to match her skirt. It was kind of fun working with fabric that I wouldn't usually pick out if left to my own devices. That velvet is HEAVY! I do like the full hood with its pointy end! She was happy with it, so yay.




So - you know how I've been whining that the costume urge has left me? I think it's starting to come back. I need to return to my costuming roots: Italian Renaissance. I've been thinking about something based on Lodovica Tornabuoni's gown in Domenico Ghirlandaio's Birth of the Virgin (as seen here on the lovely and talented Jen Thompson's website). I love that overgown with the funky heraldic animals - and I have fabric in my stash that would do quite nicely. I'll just work on this at my own pace, documented here, of course. That way when I finally do make it to an SCA event I'll have something to wear. I have to make a new pattern though, my old one is missing. I'd need to redo it anyway, but my bodice back pattern has served me well for YEARS so I'm sad to have to redo it.