Tiger Lily's Threads

Happy Holidays everyone!  It's been a few days of hard work but the skirt is finally completed and surprisingly, the cotton fabric I chose in the beginning looked great. When I wore the entire ensemble, I was expecting the skirt to be heavy and cumbersome but surprisingly it held up very well. The only things that I wish I could change about it, was the pattern I should have used (Truly Victorian) instead of Simplicity's steampunk edition pattern, and having more than enough thread and pins. But hey, not bad for a first skirt :D

Now that Christmas is finally over, I can finally get back to work on this project. I have done so much since I first stared on this project. Not too long ago, my friend came over a few times to visit before she left for the holidays, to help me do some pinning, and tailoring, as well as clean up work around the waistline, while I worked on the 5yard long flounce that we put together. The method we first used was a zig zag method with the sewing machine, but things got a little complicated during the process, so I scrapped it, and did it over with by just using knife pleats. The skirt is pretty much 80% done, and as much as I hate doing a rush job the day of an event (it happens), I feel really confident that the skirt will turn out looking perfect. Maybe later on in the next few weeks, I'll add some more flounces to it to make it look more elegant, and possibly start on a new Victorian project (next time using an actual Truly Victorian pattern).

Had a sewing party tonight with my husband and a good friend of mine from work. While we ate spaghetti, and watched Jim Henson's 'Labyrinth', we worked on my Victorian skirt (with train). It took a while; considering this was my first non- 18th century skirt, and I did not have a proper pattern for it, and made a mistake on the back of the skirt (I miscalculated the amount of fabric I'd need to add to the back) but thankfully my friend was a professional and turned my sewing blunder into something that looked just like a victorian skirt.  My reference photos below: The personality of the ensemble just screams challenge  Dresses with a more simpler design (no flounces on the purple, and slight flounces on the tan) My Progress: Simplicity 1558. I had everything cut out, until I put the skirt over top of my underskirt and bustles and realized that I needed to make it longer like a train. Unable to salvage it myself, my friend stepped in and sav

With Christmas coming in a few weeks, I now want to focus on making a 40's vintage skirt for the "40's Holiday Tea. I looked high and low all over the Internet for reference pictures and came across this picture. This really made me stare at it in awe. Not because of the fact of how simple the construction of this skirt is, but because it can also be reversible. The type of plaid that they used, was the traditional "Tartan" pattern. So, while on my search for a Tartan pattern at my local Hobby Lobby, I found this vintage looking fabric instead. It looked absolutely perfect-ish. Lol.  Just to make sure I had more than enough fabric, I bought 3 yards and got to measuring.  I knew that I would need a 28'' waistband and at least a 2'' wide pleat for each knife pleat that I would do, and maybe at least another 2'' hem for the bottom (not entire sure, because it would solely depend on how LxW the fabric will be after I st

Last Saturday, my husband and I were watching One Piece on Toonami, when I came up with a great idea for a costume for next years Katsucon : Nico Robin's Galley La shirt. The shirt was by far the easiest thing to construct. The pink T-shirt was something I already had from this past Summer, and to add the Galley Shipping Company logo I got it done professionally at the mall with vinyl letters (much more durable than silk screening). Other than that, all that's left to add are jeans and my flat shoes for easy walking, and of course the wig. I definitely think that this is a perfect casual cosplay (or for regular wear) any time of the year. 

          Last Night, the Hunt Ball at Gadsby's Tavern went off without a hitch. My friend Stephanie and I had a great time of dancing upstairs in the main ball room; originally it was to be in the smaller parlor, but with the capacity of people exceeding more than 80, towards the second half of the ball, we had to move into the main ballroom which was perfect!             We also enjoyed playing a card game called Whist and dice down on the first floor. I got to meet fresh new faces, as well as attendees that I have met before at the Braddock Day Ball, and chat about history with a reporter who writes for the Alexandria Gazette. I also learned a little more about the famous "Female Stranger", and 2 other individuals who passed on at the Tavern back in the 19th century. While it was pretty cool to learn about the history, it was also very creepy.          By the time the ball ended, the temperature got colder and we all knew that it was time to go home. Next even

Since the ball is this weekend, I worked diligently on getting the Regency hairstyle right. I wanted to do something generic but classical, and I after a few tries, I perfected it! . . . Sort of. Because I have a lot of hair, the curls in the back did not want to stay spiraled. So, what I may have to do the night of the ball is add more spiral curls and splash on some holding spray to keep those little buggers curly though out the entire night.

I love the month of November! In spite of the cold, I enjoy looking at all of the different colors of  leaves, and everything else having to do with fall such as Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and the Gadsby's Tavern's Hunter's Ball. The Hunter's Ball, previously called The Jefferson Ball (sadly Colonial Williamsburg's own Bill Barker, portraying Thomas Jefferson had to cancel), is a ball celebrating everything to do with the hunt: fox hunt, stag hunt, mink hunt... you name it.  Given my limited options (time x money), I had to do some quick thinking on how to make regency ball gown that was related to the theme. I thought about doing something along the lines of a riding ensemble, just like the one pictured below.  It's simplicity is what makes it so elegant :D However, given that I don't have much time to get the materials and the pattern to make a Spencer jacket, I decided to just work with the colors. From my research on British hunting ensembl

Was looking through a blog featuring Ghosts of Colonial Williamsburg, when I came across this awesome temptation. Granted, it's not Halloween themed, but I could definitely see this treat being something for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Now, granted I'll have to change it up just a little bit because of my restrictions to wheat, but gluten free cookies are just as tasty. :D

Hey folks! Iv'e been doing some thinking. Now that its finally "Sweater Weather", I am compelled to finally break out the knitting patterns and get to work on projects that I have been meaning to work on, but ending up putting aside for months (Which is quite a lot, lol). But not this time. Even if that means I do a knit-a-thon so I can finish up the several projects, then let the games begin! : ) First, the Top priorities: As I've mentioned sometime ago, I am selling my steampunk jewelry at a convention next month called "Chessie Con". While working on ideas of what else I could make for the Merchant's Room, I decided that knitting wrist warmers would be a great addition to anyone's steampunk ensemble, plus it'll perfect to keep hands warms since it'll be cold in November. I picked out specific colors that would work for this particular fashion, and made up a generic pattern that involves cable knits, garters, and stockinette. Give

So.. It looks like I have worked myself to exhaustion. After spending more than 109 hours on the flounced petticoat, I am ready to toss it in the basket and work on something else. So, to grab some variety and sanity, I finally cut out the pattern for my husband's long awaited 18th century waistcoat, and did some knitting. Looking at my calendar, I still have plenty of time to finish the petticoat before the convention and the challenge #20 for the Historical Sewing Fortnightly, but as for now, I'm just going to take a long awaited break. 

My goodness, It's been a very busy month for me. Aside from bracing myself for the Christmas rush in October (the "joys" of working retail), I have been doing a lot of sewing and jewelry making for an upcoming convention called "Chessie Con". It's not exactly an anime convention, but a convention for ALL things Geek and Science Fiction and Fantasy . (Think Game o f Thrones, and Lord of the Rings, and Doctor Who.) While I am very inquisitive about this convention, and it's going on's, I'll mostly in the artist alley/dealer's room helping out a good friend of mine sell her jewelry, as well as selling and advertising my Steampunk jewelry and a few other hand-made items. As far as all of the sewing, I have been diligently working on the Victorian Flounced petticoat and over skirt, to go with my steampunk attire. It's been a lot of fun to sew it, but my goodness, keeping track of all of those knife pleats and pinning the lace to everything, I

It's been a while, but after 4 yards of bleached white muslin, and 4 spools of lace I bought from work, and weeks worth of knife pleating, the back part is finally done! While I am glad that the back part is finished, I really enjoyed making the flounces. If anything, I'll add just one more at  the very top of the skirt, for the heck of it. Now to work on the waist band and front of the skirt. 

Just got back from a War of 1812 reenactment this weekend for the Defender's Day battle at North Point. Only, my unit was about a mile away from the main event due to political and personal issues (aka reenactment drama). So we were moved to a farm settlement about a mile away where there was some historical significance to the battle of North Point. The settlement we were patrolling was a place called Todd's Inheritance, a farm that has been in the Todd family for 15 generations. Originally the British burned down the Todd's family home, and they rebuilt in 1815 as well as added on to the house in 1830 (pre-Civil War). Anyway, the whole living history event we did went pretty well. There were drilling demonstrations, a lecture on women's fashion, and lots and lots of answering visitor's questions. When I had some time, I was able to sit down and knit a reticule bag as well as work on some finishing touches on my chemisette that I had made the night before.

So, the progress for my victorian bustle skirt has changed, just a tad. I figured that since I already have a lobster tail bustle and a bustle pad, the next thing I should focus on is an under petticoat to go over it, thus making the overskirt look a lot fuller when I put on. Plus, it would also serve well as just a Steampunk skirt. Well, let's just say that 2 weeks into sewing this project and getting frustrated, I have finally decided to scrap it and redo the front and back pattern pieces, as well as elongating the bottom flounce. Instead of using the online tutorial that I was originally following, I decided to use the steampunk simplicity pattern. The outcome was much more successful. My favorite aspects of making this skirt, would definitely be the ruffles and flounces because of how the lace looks when it's all scrunched up. As soon as I can find my camera, I will show more than enough pictures here. But for now...

Not too long ago, I've been working on making an 1870's bustle gown. So far, I have a lobster tail Imperial tournure, and the waistcoat. As far as the petticoat and bustle skirt, I've been doing some research on how to bustle the skirt to give it it's fullness and silhouette. Sure enough, I came across this awesome resource guide that has given me some pretty neat tips. If you're interested in making a skirt for steampunk or an event, this is a great read!  http://historicalsewing.com/selecting-the-correct-bustle

Just got back from the Battle of Bladensburg, in the town of it's namesake with my 1812 military unit, the Royal Marines. When we arrived around 8:30am, it started to rain…and did not stop raining until 3am Sunday. It rained so much, that I actually caught a cold. So, you could only imagine how wet the  the grounds were. But that did not stop everyone from showing up and continuing on with the festivities and the reenactment; lots of sutlers that were supposed to be there were rained out, and some canceled. The battle did very well, and even had a cool smoke-foggy effect because of the rain. I wish I had pictures of that, but I was trying to get out from the rain and cold mostly. After the event, my unit and I went back to Riversdale Mansion where we were camping and had dinner. My husband finally got to meet everyone and will be going to the next reenactment as an independent sales merchant or organizer, as he prefers to be a civilian interpreter. I'm very excited to get start