Short Comment

 That is a post-series, or columns that born out of the fact, that I just cannot shut up, and always feel the need to explain things, even if it is a picture that supposed to be just a picture and no comment... 

Anyhow, this weeks photo shows a lot about me (and my fabric stash), when a museum asked for a reproduction of a dress off one of their famous painting, I go into said museum, and show them 4 different shades of taffeta to let them choose from. 

Weekly SO

I hate the changes of the clock between summer and winter times.

I never really understood how it is possible to save electricity with it, and as I read, lately it does not even do that, because our lives and the way we use electricity changed so much.

Being the owl type, the one who can hardly function in the mornings, while I hate dark, and the fact that , especially because of this change, it gets so dark so early in winter time, so, if we would ever have the chance to say which time-zone should we stay in, I would definetly vote for the summer (saving) time.

Pink stays

New stays to go with the new dress... and my new sizes. 

The thing is, I made one, when I started this project, and did sized down the last pattern I worked out earlier...

But when I finished it, it was just a tiny bit big. I mean, what I usually say, when I talk about stays and corsets, that sizing down the waist is not their main task. This one was just the size which already gave me the typical 18th century conical silhuett, but did not pull anything in...

So, when the last evening I had a couple of hours left, I thought, what the heck, let's do one that is properly sized...

Rococo, the second time... The Aidah Gown (again)

 At least second time in this year, because rococo is one of my favorite eras (alongside the renaissance), and this is not the second rococo outfit (that was my petrol colored Aidah gown) I made, but it is the second I am showing you... this year. 

And -as most of my stuff- has a story. Back, in 2023, when I applied to be a tester for the Aidah gown, I had their view B in mind, because I was in love with this gown...

The dress is in the MET museum, pictures from Pinterest.

So much so, I had a length of pink and white striped cotton sateen in my stash, for just this dress.

However, it turned out that I either messed up the application, or there were way to many people wanting to do that view, I was chosen to do the one that had the tabs, but without the diagonal cutline on the bodice. I did run out and gotten another fabric, and the result was fab, and looking pretty much like an existing dress, so I did not mind. Here is my blogpost on that dress.

But, I did that at the point when I was almost at my highest weight, and just at the time I started to loose weight. first very slowly, but just enough that by that late spring/early summer the dress was way too big on me, which ended up in some emergency sewing of an other 18th century jacket.

Then, I made my black, "Maria Theresa" francaise gown, and I love it. Not only do i love it, but it is in the style that works well for changing body measurements, its lining can be pulled in with its lacing, and also the "robing" can be pinned in or out on the stomacher a bit more to accomondate for lost (or gained) weight. 

However, one of the biggest event we do in 18th century is the "Baroque wedding" in Győr, wich is in early August, and that means we are out in pretty high temperatures, in blazing sunshine, on teh city's central square that has white, sun reflecting stones... In one word it is HOT there. Which is not going well together with a black taffeta gown. So much last year there was a moment, when I thought I am going to faint from a heatstroke, and at that moment I decised, that there is no way I am going there in that dress again. And since I lost even more weight this summer, I thought, it is high time I actually make that pink striped gown, I've put aside years ago.

I dug out my Aidah pattern (I still have the original test-version), but I only printed out the pages that had the lines for the bodice. 

Of course, I made a mock up, but time was thight and I only did a couple of photos while making it.

As usual, the inner, long seams were done with the machine, but most everything else, by hand... like the tiny stitching of the "zone front".

Pinning the knife pleats for the back, was yet again a feat (done it three times when I finally managed to get the pleats just right...)

Since the fabric came from that I Love Textile chain that sells factory rejects, leftovers and who-knows what, and this fabric was really not expensive, no wonder, it had parts where the printing had faults, though I thought, I had enough to get around those areas, and still have enough for a petticoat... The only thing I did not accounted for, was the fact that the pettocoat supposed to have a wide ruffle at the bottom. I also thought If not the original, wider stripe, but the narrower stripes  I had enough to do the ruffles, but nah, that was only enough for some decorative ruffles. 

I really had to carefully calculate the width of those ruffles to get them working, and since because of that once again instead of a reconstruction piece I ended up with one that was more "inspired by", I went all out of the decorative ruffles, using the bit of light, pinkish purple linen I had in my stash, and some silk ribbon.

And here is the finished piece:

If one really wants to compare it to the one, it was inspired by:

And at the end of the day, during the procession around the city.

Pattern: Aidah gown by Scroop Patterns

Fabric: I Love Textil

Photo: Norbert Varga @Bodeszphoto

Some planet..

must be in some house...

I used to have a friend, who did astrology, who had the surefire answer for everything "You shouldn't be surprised, XX planet is in YYY house...".

Well, I have no idea which planet in which house causes technical problems, but first my much and more loved laptop (named Charlie, and you can find in this blog, how I bought it from the 200 FT coins I collected for years), which was almost exclusively used for my work... kicked the bucket, taking with hm many docmunets, the memories of 12 years of work and 12 years worth of translation memory... and the fact that Charlie was mine, I collected the money for it, I bought it, I had the shop put double RAM into it, I worked with it for 12 years. Yes, he was kinda oldie, he was kinda slow too, but still...

Luckily I got loaned another lapto that is okay for work, and Chris managed to save the most important data (big part of the translation memory and most of the old work-docs), so I did not had to start from ground zero... but still lost several days because of it (among other things.

And then today my phone decided, that will not share the pictures I  took with my computer, so I cannot show you the miles and miles of frothy white ruffles I am sewing. 

Okay, I know it is nothing new, you've seen me doing that...But that is what I have now.

Anyhow, here is to hope that things get back in order, and I can come with normal posts...

Na mindegy, remélem hamarosan rendeződnek a dolgok, és jöhetek rendes bejegyzésekkel... 

Weekly SO

 The thing I hate about fast fashion... aside the obvious environmental reasons, and the fact that it contributes of clothes and clothmakers not being dealt with respect is...

Its speed, and how with that speed it tries to push you spend money...like NOW. Right now, because if you go home and think about it, and you still want it a day or two later... you might... no, not might, you WILL NOT find it. 

I noticed this trend, and how fast merchandise changes in stores a few years ago, thinking that, in the "old times" if I could not afford something at that moment, I could spend... not only a couple of weeks, but even a couple of months to save up for it (a sweater, a coat, a pair of pants, etc), and now (I mean a couple of years ago), if I saw something I could not afford (or did not want to spend on at that time), I cannot find things a couple of weeks later.

By now this speed up so much, that in the last few months it happened more than once, that I've seen something, tried on something, and I needed to think it through, but by the time I went back a day or two later, said thing was not there.

The last case was a pair of denim trousers in Zara. I recently lost weight (more on that in later posts), and I need new stuff that would not fall of my butt, besides, I am really liking the current trend of looser, wide legged pants. Now there was the perfect pair, in a dark unwashed denim, in a size that a couple of size smaller than the one I wore a year ago, fitting like a glove, having a form fitting waist and hip line, but an added fold just below the packets, so the legs are soft flowing and wide. However, it cost about a third more than I usually spend on denim trousers, so I thought, I will sleep on it.

I went back a day or two later, and thee were none of it in the store. None. Not on the website (that had it, when I first tried it on) and not in any Zara store I've been since (Budapest, Prague, Bratislava, Wien)...

Yes, I usually have the thought about stuff, that I am unsure about at the first moment and leave in the store, that if it is not there when I go back for it, it was not "my" stuff. And I can usually let go of said stuff. With a very few exception, when it takes me longer.

Now, I do know that fashion changes a LOT faster these days, and these fast fashion stores are behind that, also, that with these really fast changes they are pushing you to buy-buy-buy, and buy NOW. they are not giving you time to think through your purchases. Just buy it before it is too late. 

And I do resent that.

The Flappy TV-Stealer

 Aaand actual sewing content :-)

As I said, I spent the first half of the year in a rut, wanting to sew, trying to sew, but never really getting much of it actually done...

And the push that helped me to get out of the rut was my friend, Anna, who asked for my help, to put together an 18th century Francaise gown, to do a "historically accurate Belle" cosplay. 

This is the type f dress, which, when I need to narrow down to Norbert just which style of dress I am talking about, I endearingly call "The Flappy TV stealer" referencing the meme (and the flappy back, for zhose big cape like folds, these dresses are known for):

You might remember, I made a dress in this style already, two years ago, when I made my Maria Theresa gown, so I was familiar with its construction. Reading blogs, and watching youtube videos, I feel that the generally thought 18th century clothes are the most difficult of the historical clothes, but I do not think so. Nor the stays are more difficult to make than an 19th century corset, nor the gowns. They do have their own peculiarities, they are diffucult in a different way, but not more.

Unfortunately, (as usual) I forgot to take pictures of the cutting and sewing process, but here are a few, in-between state, as Anna tried on the dress.

Since the yellow taffeta she bought was rather thin, we decided to line the whole thing, with the flatlining method, spending hours and hourst to tacking the layers together (you can see all the big stitches.

We made most of the gown together, which -also as usual- incolved a ton of handsewing:

but it was in a wearable state Anna wanted to wear it for. 

I got these pictures from her from the finished dress:

Having someone here for the cutting and sewing (for most of the time at least), and not having to do all the decisions myself did help, and I did enjoy the work.