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Today was not only my first time at Archon, it was my first time wearing a Victorian dress for longer than a couple of hours. I managed about six or seven hours before my friend and I called it a day. I got tons of compliments and lots of people asked to take my picture, even a few professional photographers, so that was super cool. I didn't get a chance to take many pictures of my own...but I did get a few of myself, courtesy of my friend.

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And me laughing at my friend while we were outside. It was windy, hints the disarray.
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And a couple of others. First, my friend Meghann in her steampunk outfit. It was her first con, so she was just giddy all day, and it was contagious. She didn't make her clothes, but she did make the goggles. She likes the gadget-making aspect of steampunk.
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Second, a couple of girls all decked out in steampunk versions of Snow White and Rose Red. I love their subtle use of gears on their masks and jewelry. Very pretty.
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I had a total blast. I just wanted to thank Heather for making such awesome patterns and helping me with my bodice fitting problems. And I'd like to thank all the people who gave me advice on surviving in my dress (going to the bathroom was...special...but much less awkward if I didn't know to face backwards!)

Andrea! You're so cute in that dress! I've been watching your postings on its progress for so long that it's nice to finally see it all done and furthermore, what you look like! I love the colors of the dress.... very fresh and springlike. Love it

Great job!

Are you going to be starting another one soon? I've got through the base skirt and overskirt of my silk dress and am at an impasse as to where to go next..... guess i need to think about it for a while.

raji

Great job & you look so pretty!

Your dress is beautiful and you look fabulous! I love the colors and your hat is perfect to complete the look!

Thanks everybody! I worked really hard at it, and by the time I finished it, I was so tired of looking at it that it didn't feel special to me anymore. Glad to see that no one else thought that way! Such a great reception of my first Victorian dress only makes me want to make another one!

Rajani, I will be making my red and black dress, but my sewing teacher sprung a surprise project on us for spring. She wants to do a "Project Runway" type of project, like at the end when they do their final collction. We have to make five coordinating seperates and either a hat or a purse (I get to try making a straw Victorian hat!). I'm not required to do it...but you know I'm going to! Right now my mind is set on lavender/pale yellow/white color set, so I'm going with that and making a NF dress with a Victorian-inspired three piece pants suit (I LOVE three piece suits. They're just sexy to me). Not sure if I can Victorian-ify the pants but the jacket and the vest could make up for it. So I'll be working on that after I finish my soutache-decorated talma, which hopefully will be in the next few weeks, depending on how fast I can hand sew the soutache and how complicated the design is. Busy busy!

You looked fab and it sounds like you have had a great time!

Regarding victorian-ifying the pants for the suit, make them high waisted and fishtail the back, in the same way they do for pants which have buttons for braces (are they called braces or suspenders in the US?).

An example of a fishtailed pair of trousers.

http://www.tweed-jacket.com/TROUSERS%20 ... 20back.jpg

Tiffers

You look fabulous!

Andrea, funny you should mention Project Runway. I have been watching that show a lot, not because it's a reality show, but because it's interesting to see what they do on a very short timeline with materials they don't expect to have to use. I've taken to calling my own sewing my "project runway" since a lot of it is uncharted territory for me. I finally figured out what to do with my silk dress.... it's going to be ruffles this time, edged with handmade silk bias tape. I've never made bias tape before so it was a bit of a learning process.... so far so good, though (it's turning out way better than I expected).

Have fun with your new project. Post some pictures. I'm curious to see what you come up with.

You looked fab and it sounds like you have had a great time!

Regarding victorian-ifying the pants for the suit, make them high waisted and fishtail the back, in the same way they do for pants which have buttons for braces (are they called braces or suspenders in the US?).

An example of a fishtailed pair of trousers.

http://www.tweed-jacket.com/TROUSERS%20 ... 20back.jpg

Tiffers

Hm...those could work...especially since I'm going to be making the back taller for, ahem, fitting concerns back there. I started poking around that site...oh my GOD those are pretty suits. And the women's jackets! Oh man, I'd love to have one of those long coats. By the way...does anyone know why there are two pockets on one side and one on the other? I've been seeing that in Vogue suit jacket patterns too. Is it a functional thing or a style thing?

I've always called them suspenders, but I'm not sure if they're just two seperate straps that are called suspendes or if they meet in the back like that if they're called something different. But I've always called them suspenders.

I might do some research on men's Victorian clothing and copy some of their style. I have Folkwear's vintage vest pattern, so I could use the men's pattern and alter it. We'll see.

Andrea, funny you should mention Project Runway. I have been watching that show a lot, not because it's a reality show, but because it's interesting to see what they do on a very short timeline with materials they don't expect to have to use. I've taken to calling my own sewing my "project runway" since a lot of it is uncharted territory for me. I finally figured out what to do with my silk dress.... it's going to be ruffles this time, edged with handmade silk bias tape. I've never made bias tape before so it was a bit of a learning process.... so far so good, though (it's turning out way better than I expected).

Have fun with your new project. Post some pictures. I'm curious to see what you come up with.

I love watching Project Runway, especially when I'm sewing! You feel a sort of solidarity with the designers, working on your stuff while watching them work. I normally hate reality shows, but like you, I like watching them work. It's amazing how much they can come up with in such a short period of time.

Do you have a bias tape maker? Not the mechanical one but a manual one? It still takes a while, but it goes by much faster. I bought it before I had a serger to bind ruffled edges for my petticoat since it would be difficult to turn in and sew down the raw edges, but I almost had to have bought it for my corset.

I don't have anything started yet on my PR project, but I am working on a talma. Just finished cutting out everything last night. I've made a timeline and a file with inspirational pictures, and I've gotten fabric swatches, but other than that, not much. I really REALLY want to make a fully pleated skirt, or at least the front, but it uses up so much fabric...we'll see...

Do you have a bias tape maker? Not the mechanical one but a manual one? It still takes a while, but it goes by much faster. I bought it before I had a serger to bind ruffled edges for my petticoat since it would be difficult to turn in and sew down the raw edges, but I almost had to have bought it for my corset.

Yes, I have several sizes of bias tape makers. One I've had for about 20 years... just never tried to use it! It works pretty well, once I figured out the best way to iron while feeding the fabric through. I've made about 20 yd of it (this dress will use a lot) so far and I am SICK of making it but the way it's turning out on my ruffles is really beautiful The hardest part is ironing the second fold because the tape maker doesn't do that for you.

I don't have a serger yet, but I'm really hoping I can hint my husband into buying me one for Christmas...... (hope hope)

Yes, I have several sizes of bias tape makers. One I've had for about 20 years... just never tried to use it! It works pretty well, once I figured out the best way to iron while feeding the fabric through. I've made about 20 yd of it (this dress will use a lot) so far and I am SICK of making it but the way it's turning out on my ruffles is really beautiful The hardest part is ironing the second fold because the tape maker doesn't do that for you.

I don't have a serger yet, but I'm really hoping I can hint my husband into buying me one for Christmas...... (hope hope)

What's a pain for me, along with folding the bias tape after you make it, is sewing together the strips. Simple, but annoying to me for some reason. Bias tape is a necessary evil, unfortunately.

Sergers are wonderful machines. I don't know how to do rolled hems or some of the other, fancier stuff on mine, but just finishing edges alone makes it worth the money. You can start dropping hints...like leaving sewing ads out with sergers circled. You know, things like that. ^_^

It looks wonderful, Andrea!

And don't worry, I've gotten sick of my long term projects too! I made an 1876 ballgown off a fashion plate that took me 5 months (I couldn't work on it every day of course) that after awhile, I just wanted it done!

You did a great job! I love the bustling!

Thanks! It's strange how the bustling works. You pin it to see how it falls, and it looks like crap. You sew it up , and it looks a little less like crap, but still not the pretty bustled thing in the picture. Then once you put it over the bustle and the overskirt, suddenly it looks the way it's supposed to. It's like magic!

Oh, good, I'm not the only one who gets frustrated and tired out of long projects. I guess that's why I wasn't all wowed by it because I just wanted to get it over with and I was tired of looking at it, pretty as it may be. It was just a big blue and white mass taking over the loveseat. I guess I needed fresh eyes to see what drew me to the fabric and the design in the first place.

I think this one will be the worst of it because I had to make everything, undergarments and all, and doing something entirely new takes up more time and it's more frustrating, so you get tired of it more quickly. But it's kind of the appeal, trying new things, new techniques, picking apart fashion plates or a dress to see how you can replicate it. Even though it's frustrating at the same time. Sounds a bit masochistic, huh?

Sergers are wonderful machines. I don't know how to do rolled hems or some of the other, fancier stuff on mine, but just finishing edges alone makes it worth the money. You can start dropping hints...like leaving sewing ads out with sergers circled. You know, things like that. ^_^

I'm already ahead of you I talked him into giving me $500 towards it. He's happy because he doesn't have to shop for anything for me, I'm happy because I'm a good portion of the way toward something that will be useful to me.

Right in the middle of another 20 yards of bias tape.... I agree with you, sewing the strips together is a PAIN. But, it looks great, so its worth it, I guess.

Have you tried the continuous bias tape method? You sew your edges together once, cut on the bias, and voila! yard after fabulous yard of bias tape, already sewn together. Dread Pirate published the first one, but the one I linked to above has better in progress pics, and my old Dread Pirate link appears to be dead. Good luck!

ETA: Found it! Dread Pirate Roger's version - includes an estimate of how many yards you'll make based on fabric width, yardage, and tape width.

*gasps* Oh man, THANK YOU SO MUCH for this tutorial!

Have you tried the continuous bias tape method? You sew your edges together once, cut on the bias, and voila! yard after fabulous yard of bias tape, already sewn together. Dread Pirate published the first one, but the one I linked to above has better in progress pics, and my old Dread Pirate link appears to be dead. Good luck!

ETA: Found it! Dread Pirate Roger's version - includes an estimate of how many yards you'll make based on fabric width, yardage, and tape width.

I have seen this method elsewhere, but wouldn't using it preclude cutting multiple strips at once using a rotary cutter? So I guess it's trading one chore for the other. Right now, cutting a continuous strip with scissors is hard for me due to carpal tunnel, so sewing each bias seam is probably a better option.

I have seen this method elsewhere, but wouldn't using it preclude cutting multiple strips at once using a rotary cutter? So I guess it's trading one chore for the other. Right now, cutting a continuous strip with scissors is hard for me due to carpal tunnel, so sewing each bias seam is probably a better option.

I actually still use my rotary cutter - I have chronic tendonitis in both wrists so I avoid using scissors as much as possible. It just requires a bit of creative fabric handling - you have to sort of roll the tube of fabric as you cut. It's a bit slower than just lining up your ruler and zipping off strips, but not having to sew each one together makes it up for me. Plus, if you're one of the rare people who has a rotary cutting machine, there's practically zero work involved... this just occured to me, and now I want one

It just requires a bit of creative fabric handling - you have to sort of roll the tube of fabric as you cut.

I do it that way too, sort of:

I have a smallish cutting mat I got for scrapbooking that fits nicely on my ironing board. I make a marked tube of bias big enough to slide over the end of my board and then I can use a ruler and rotary cutter with pauses to move the next section into position. I also cut all the lines that are on the board before moving the tube to the next section.

The first time I thought to try it on the ironing board, I cut just the one continuous line. Too slow! It does take some management with all the loose strips to move around, but it's quick.