Shirt - Research.

The shirt has been an essential undergarment for men throughout history and has slowly developed over time whilst maintaining a couple of main aspects. The sleeves have always remained long and the shirt length no longer than hip length. Around the 18th Century gussetts were added to the shirt sleeves to allow extra movement, and the collar was shortened to touch the jaw line rather than the cheeks to allow a more free movement for the head. A high standing collar (much like my design) would usually have a cravat tied beneath it.

From The History Of Underclothes by C. Willett Cunnington, 1981.

Waistcoat...completed!

So my waistcoat took me once again about 2 weeks to complete. Thanks to my realisation that I have less time that I thought I sis I am now slightly behind schedual...time to pick up the pace!
Constructing my waistcoat felt considerably smoother than the process for making the breeches had been as I had previously make a waistcoat at the beginning of the year in tailoring whereas I had never made a pair of breeches before. I used the notes that I had written for my tailored waistcoat as a rough guide for constructing my military one, for example using it as a reminder on how to put the lining together and apply the facing. As the military design was quite different from the tailored design I sometimes struggled to transfer the instructions across.

I once again used The National Theatre's example to ensure that the quality of my work was up to their standard and that my methods were similar to their own.





After carefully examining all of the details I started work on my own piece, constantly referring back to the sample.


The only major issue that I encountered was that once I had sewn the back pieces to the front pieces and bagged them out I had realised that the drawstring tabs were on the inside of the back piece rather than the front. It was easier and quicker to unpick these and transfer them on to the back of the waistcoat rather than unpicking the entire waistcoat to flip the back pieces round. In future I will need to carefully consider how the waistcoat will turn out in this situation before anything is sewn permanently.


Overall I am extremely satisfied with my waistcoat, I feel that the quality of my making is improving since the breeches I constructed as I am getting into a habit of caring for my fabric, avoiding handeling it too much and ensuring that my stitching is as neat and secure as possible.

Chemise - Research.

The chemise is an undergarment that is tiypically warn underneath all other garments, even under the corset, bodice or stays. The chemise was first about in the late 1400s in a style that was similar to the male shirt - with a collar, opening at the front tied with a drawstring. They later varied from having no sleeves to having long sleeves, and gussets were later added to allow more movement. The garment had no embellishments for the lower classes as it was a garment completly hidden from view, aside from the collar and sleeves if they were chosen to be shown. Only the upper classes used embroidery to represent their wealth.

From The History Of Underclothes by C. Willett Cunnington, 1981.

From The History Of Underclothes by C. Willett Cunnington, 1981

Another late one - Breeches feedback.

Just as a reflective note: I need to keep on top of my blog and up to date!

When I submitted my breeches to my tutor Dexter he had the following points to make for the quality of my breeches improve:

- Button hole stitch underneath the arrow heads of the front fastening to stop any fraying. I completly re-did these arrow heads as they were uneven to begin with and I was able to improve this area.
- Re-sew along the bottom of the cash pocket to conceal any stitching when the pocket is used.
- Get into a habit of trimming any loose threads once you have finished sewing a line.
- To neaten the cash pocket remove my prick stitching, iron under the pocket on the main body of the breeches to reduce bruising then iron the pocket mouth, pin it in place and prick stitch again.
- To neaten the welt pocket baste down the welt, unpick the uprights, straighten them out more and re-sew them.
- For the crotch I needed to unpick the stitching and re-sew it to make sure that the seams are sewn all the way to the edges so that when they are pressed flat they will lay as flat as possible and will be comfortable to wear. Dexter also noted that the sign of a good maker was that the seams for the crotch crossed perfectly, so I aimed to do this as best as I could.
- A point that must be maintained the next time I make a pair of breeches is that the waistband and kneebands must run smoothly and evenly to show professional craftsmanship.

Waistcoat - Research.

The waistcoat at this time has a distinct military look to it - it appears to be tight fitting and formal. It is buttoned all the way up the centre front with a pocket on either side, and is tightened round the back using lacing. The waistcoat in the 18th Century was generally mid-thigh length but eventually shortened to the waist at the beginning of the 19th Century.

Augustus John The Third Of Briston by Thomas Gainsborugh, 1968.

George Lord Vernon by Thomas Gainsborough, 1967.

Time is catching up!

It dawned on me this morning that it is quite unlikely that I will be able to finish all of my garments in time for my hand in. A bit of a downer really!
By Easter I had hoped to have my waistcoat and breeches completly finished and my material for my shirt and chemise cut ready for me to use after Easter. In the first week back I had planned to get as much of my shirt completed as possible, then over my week of work experience I would make my chemise in the mornings before heading off to the Queen's Theatre for 1. After my work experience that would leave me a week to tidy up any loose ends before handing in on the 16th.
I suspect that I am behind with my waistcoat due to a couple of studio days I took off for personal reasons, I would probably be more on target if I hadn't. I will no longer be able to work on my chemise over my week of work experience as the only way I can now to get to my accommodation is by train and I dare not risk taking my mum's aging sewing machine on a trip for a couple of hours!
I am awaiting a little piece of advice from my tutor before I start losing my head over this. My only worry is if I get penalised too much for not completing all of my pieces - I have alot to pick up from my last result from Candide.

Blog Tutorial and PoP!

...and so, I was given feedback on my bloggy blog!
Ideally I am supposed to post daily and to give a weekly reflection. I need to refer to my original time plan and learning agreement, focusing on what I have been learning through my sewing skills and any improvements I have made. I need to do much more research (and yes, reflect on it!). I need to be critical of my work or lack of, recognise these issues and address them.

Another fun addition to my mountain of work was the final decision on my Perceptions of Performance essay. I'll be writing about Alice in Wonderland, and how the story has been adapted to suit a variety of audiences. My initial idea came from the idea of the transition from book to screen to stage with the likes of Phantom of the Opera, but I think my enthusiasm for my last minute idea won my tutor over! One of my points will hopefully look at how the sinisterness of the original illustrations (Tenniel) ranges in its adaptations to a more child-friendly look (Disney) back to a more modern look, but still slightly unnerving (American Mgee). I shall be diving into the world of silent movies, ballet and possibly even porn!
Down the rabbit hole I go...

Breeches...done!

Once again this post comes slightly late, but besides any small tweaks that need to be made to them my breeches are complete! They were an interesting item to begin making as I had never made a pair of breeches before. In order to make the breeches as professional and neat as possible I used the National Theatre's example pair as a reference. The opening for the breeches consisted of a button opening and a front flap to conceal the opening. A cash pocket was on the left side of the breeches and a small welt pocket on the right. Putting the breeches together was relativly straight forward. By avoiding putting any seams together the material was kept as clean and crisp as possible. So as not to spoil my fabric I created a sample for the welt pocket before applying it to my breeches, allowing me to refresh myself on the construction of a pocket and perfect my pocket making skills. This method prooved to be successful, giving me a happy looking pocket! The uprights for the completed pocket need to be straightened and sharpened slightly, which will be completed as part of my 'to tidy' list. The cash pocket seemed to be a simpler make so I went to apply this directly on to the breeches and after a considerable amount of fiddling it was finally completed. The pocket does not lay directly flat on the breeches, another fault that will be rectified at a later date.

Hopefully the breeches should be completly finished tomorrow, allowing an evaluation complete with pretty pictures! Huzzah!

Breeches - Research

The breeches I am making are typical of the 18th Century - they are relativly close fitting with their length finishing at the knee. Alot more attention to detail was given to the breeches at this time as waistcoats and overcoats were shortened.
Please click the image below for a larger view:
1 - Arrow heads - decorative part of the front flap for the breeches. Button fastened closed. Front flap is used to hide fastenings underneath.
2 - Welt pocket on the waistband - used as a ticket pocket.
3 - Larger pocket - used as a cash pocket.
4 - Knee bands - once again arrow heads are used in this design. Button fastened closed.
5 - Inner fastening - used to keep the breeches buttoned up.

John Plampin by Thomas Gainsborough, 1952.

A Fanily Group In A Garden by Alan Evans, 1974.

A Trip To The National Theatre!

This post has been a bit long overdue.

Two weeks ago our crew of SDP makers for the National Theatre visited their hire department for a mooch around, a handful of questions and (of course) a chance to dress up! Not only was it useful to see so many costumes close up to look at construction, any broken down elements and how easily the costume gets worn in, it also gave an insight into how the hire company funtions, their layout and organisation of costumes and their policies when it comes to costume hire.

Every girl's dream...if they worked in TV or Theatre!

I liked the smaller details of the broken down costumes, right down to the subtle mud on the boots.


The armour was interesting too, especially this leather piece and how they've coloured the leather to look older.

Wonderful details on the back of a dress modeled by Emma. We had seen the same dress on a trip to the National Theatre earlier in the year (below).
Myself in a doublet from 'Women Beware Women'. Made from cow hyde, laser cut and dyed pink with hair dye, this was another costume I'd fallen in love with when we saw this before at the National Theatre.
Mandy in Belle's sack-back dress from the National Theatre's production of 'Beauty and the Beast'. We had seen The Beast's costume before at the National Theatre as well, though that time in production! (See below).
So much work seemed to go into this dress, modeled by Lucy, though it had either been loved or neglected too much as the lace and beading was quite fragile.

Hooray, Self Directed! Hooray, Work Experience!

Wonderful news for me - my project for Self Directed is in, and I have been given a week of work experience!
First off is the Self Directed Project. Whilst I would have loved to do my Erte-esque project my tutor pointed out that this was something more suitable for third year. It makes sense to put off that project for now, especially since I have been given the project working for the National Theatre's hire company! Allow me to copy and paste my brief from my tutor's email:

Costume Makers x up to 10 students.

The National Theatre is commissioning the costume course to create a number of costumes pieces for their hire department in North London. This is an exciting opportunity to work for a number of costume makers. Undertaking this role you will work closely in a team with other makers to realise a number of garments for the National Theatre. This project will replicate workroom practice. A cutter from the National Theatre will draft the patterns and you will work as costume maker making the garments chosen by the costume designers and head of the hire department. An example of the garment to be made include Period shirts, Breeches, Victorian Blouses and 18^th military Century Waistcoats. Each person will make approximately 4 garments each but this will be negotiated with your unit tutor.

All materials and patterns will be supplied by the client.

Such exciting stuff! I really need to make a little trip to see if I can have a mooch around the hire department either before or whilst I'm working on the project.

Next up...work experience! First a little story. Another of my tutors sent an email offering work experience on a big London production, not letting on which show it would be for. Working on a big London production? Yes please! Practically leaping for the oppurtunity I said yes, though poking forward my thoughts of my confidence in my sewing though I only considered them 'average', however this experience may boost my confidence and skill a bit further. Lo and behold, hearing back a week later I will now be doing a week of work experience at Les Miserables, coincidently my favourite musical!

Ok, so I haven't seen many musicals...but still, I had to scream and jump around my room before shrieking down the phone to several people. I think I need to get out more.

Both of these projects will offer me so much and will hopefully strengthen my skills as a costume maker. I have been slowly gearing towards working as a part of a show, theatre company or costume department, so the combination of these two at least compliment my dreams for the future! Hold on tight!

More ideas (and mis-ideas) for the future!

...and so I come crawling rather slowly towards the end of Candide. Two weeks to go to until the second fitting (top fabric, huzzah!) and a further two weeks to the dreaded hand-in...well, it's time to make typed promises to make more STUFF. I'm sure this time I should be able to keep to these plans, or I'll give whoever permission to break all of my fingers...or something horrible like that.

First things first, my Self Directed Project! (Huzzah for University!).

What I hope to achieve in SDP is to broaden the skills that I will be needing and using in whatever area of work I will be throwing myself into. There are a couple of options of working under a couple of companies that sound interesting - one making shirts, chemises and whatnot for the hiring department at the National Theatre, another making an entire suit for another production company. I'll probably use these as backup ideas, as I'd really like to make a corset.

The Trapeze by Erte

Thanks to my parents for buying me an Erte calender for Chrimbo. This image really stuck out for me, and reminded me of one of my original inspirations for costume - Burlesque. This would be a perfect oppurtunity to sharpen my corsetry skills and to even have a go at hand embroidery or beading for a more impressive look.
With a tutorial on Wednesday to look forward to I guess it's time to hit the books!

Here ends anything that my tutors may need to read!

A couple of smaller projects are slowly looming for me as well. First up is a friend's 21st birthday with a set theme of general 'Fancy Dress'. With an earlier thought of '1920s' I lept on the chance to hopefully make an outfit from Tracy J. Butler's wonderful Lackadaisy. Being a fan from a while ago I'd fallen in love with her character Ivy so what better chance to make myself into Ivy! Time to dig out Janet Arnold.
Next up will be a fight between making a costume for Jessie from Toy Story for London Expo and an 18th Century Polonaise costume for my own 21st. Hmm...those will probablt run alongside one another. Here's hoping they'll both be successful!

So onwards I will roll. I raise my invisable glass to more making! But for now, back to The Subtle Knife.

New Term - Candide!

Here's the start of a new term and a new project - Candide! It's wonderful to get back into the realm of making, especially since I got round to doing NONE of my 'to do' list! Shame on me.
Unfortunatly it was a bit of a scramble to get our designs. Luckily it was about a half-and-half split on which gender we got as the majority wanted to do the opposite to what they did last year, but due to my politeness and inability to speak up I got stuck with the plainest and simplest design - Cunégonde as an old woman.
While it's all very easy to be immature and sulk about it, I've kicked myself and gotten myself to man up - with a simple design like this I will at least make the entire outfit rather than hiring pieces out, and I will have to force myself to perfect the costume and any small details on it.

Old Cunégonde by Johanna Muessig

Considering she's an old woman this will hopefully allow lots of breaking down, considering she becomes a slave later in the story - hopefully this will give a bit more practicality to a character who just seems a bit rich and a tad spoilt.
Well, good luck to me!

A Little To-Do List...

This is more of a physical notating of what I aim to at least start over Christmas, but it's always good to let others know of your plans as it helps speed you along if you drop behind!

Another Expo is creeping up on me already, though I'd say it's a good thing considering it's not for me! Goal number one is to start a Blood Dupre costume from 'Alice In The Country Of Hearts' for a friend for May. As far as I'm aware it's just the coat and waistcoat I need to take care of, and considering I'm just finishing a waistcoat in tailoring it's a perfect excuse to practise!

Goal number two...make myself a corset! This is probably down to the fact that the corset I'm currently making will go to the costume store at Uni so I'm sure I deserve my own one! The tough part will be choosing the material - green leather or silver fleur-de-lis?

Number three? At least consider making a sack-back dress. Once again for myself. I have plans~~~...

Anything beyond is probably a bonus. I know my Dad and sister's boyfriend both want waistcoats made for them too - more work, more practise...horray!

New Year...and Expo?

First things first, here's to starting second year! (Cheers!).

Second year is BRILLIANT. Wonderful. Awesome. You get the picture. Shooting straight in with corset making (18th Century, one) and tailoring (waistcoat, one). I can at least say that my path towards a job is steadily starting to narrow, which is actually a good thing!
Walking towards more good things, I've had my second lot of work experience! Alterations for Atma Dance...sure, there was alot of unpicking and an impossible lean towards bias binding, but it was a long worth-while process! (Plus I got a new contact out of it...huzzah!).

...and Expo! Things went smoothly, considering I ditched my Alexiel cosplay at the last minute to go as Susan Sto-Helit from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. Whilst I have only watched the TV specials that Sky had to offer I have finally obtained the majority of the series (thanks, Dad, for not selling them!). As an almost tribute to not only a wonderful series but also my Father, I chose Susan. Thankfully, all I needed to do was stick on a corset, get a wig and borrow my sister's clothes!As much as I tried to avoid the Sky version of Susan in The Hogfather, it kinda helped I guess!

Bun- yes. Edwardian- possibly. Smug- ?! What the hell?! Do your skirt up!

Oh well, At least I tried! The highlights stood out more than May's Expo...but still, only a handful caught my eye.Yup, that's a Dalek!

World Of Warcrafters, if I'm not mistaken...
Warhammerers! I think I was most impressed by these guys.