2018 Sewing In Review

I feel like I made almost nothing this year. I honestly think I did too much theatre for one year, and the past few months, I've just felt very worn out. That, combined with working all year (instead of being unemployed for 8 months like I was last year) means very little sewing actually got done. 

But this is what I did actually manage to do:

I completed the green wool bustle gown. Most of this was done in 2016, but I think I did the neckline dickey area and the hem in 2017. I also made an adjustable length quilted petticoat that I used for this dress and my skating dress, and decorated the hat. And apparently I never took any pictures of the quilted petticoat. 


Fur-trimmed skating dress + trimming an old vintage hat


Finished my crewel-work 18th c pocket


Designer Disney Snow White


1860s corset


1860s Giant Turquoise Ballgown, which also included making royal orders and a headpiece. I made this in two parts, completing the base dress by the beginning of April, and then making the train and trimming it in the lead-up to Costume College. 


Belle-inspired jumper dress


Regency Laughing Moon Pattern-test Pelisse


Elizabeth Swann


Rose's Deck Dress from Titanic


Two Halloween skirts


Velvet Regency spencer


Reversible Disney tote bag, Thumper, Dumbo, Dr. Who Scarf


Plus a commission for altering a Zouave jacket and making another Victorian jacket, and 14 little girls playdresses and 2 skirts for etsy orders.




This post has made me realize that I haven't put anything from this year on my website, and I never did a CoCo wrap-up post for Friday through Sunday, either, or completed outfit posts for Elizabeth Swann or the Turquoise Ballgown. Whoops. I should probably do those! 

CoCo Recap 2 - Friday

Okay, I'm going to attempt to do a brief recap five months after Costume College. No idea if I'll remember enough to make these at all worthwhile, so sorry!

Friday during the day, I wore my Mary Poppins outfit I made for Halloween 2016. 



I took the Circular handbags class taught by Catherine and Bunny (pictured below), and then I went to go teach my own class, which was on 1830s sleeve supports vs. 1890s sleeve structure. It seemed to go over well, and it was fun to be able to show an extant bodice with elaborate sleeves to the class. I'd love to do more things where I can show off the pieces in my collection, but it's just too hard to transport them all to CoCo. 


I also went to the Historical Dancing class, where I learned that I really didn't make my Mary Poppins outfit sturdy enough. I'd only worn the bodice 2-3 times before, but during the dancing, both underarms shredded through the seams (and I think I tore one of the arms somewhere else, too). Any tips on repairing silk organza sleeves? I also broke at least one of the elastic arch straps on the spats. So yeah, not great for dancing, and now I have a whole bunch of repairs I need to make if I want to wear Mary Poppins again. 


For the Social, I wore my Elizabeth Swann dress. I was supposed to be part of the Keira Knopely group, which started out as about 15-20 people and ended up with just me. Oh well. I think I still did a good job on the dress, though I didn't really get that many good pictures of it. 




After the social, I attended the historical dance that was going on. I loved that they had that this year, and I wish I had worn an outfit a little more conducive to dancing. But my feet were really killing me not too far into the dance, so I didn't stay long. I made about a 3-min stop at the Pink Princess party, but it was just too crowded and too loud, so I hung out with some quieter friends for a little while instead. (Thanks Sabrina, Katherine, and Elizabeth!)

One of the things I appreciate about both of Friday's costumes is that they both contain a souvenir from when I worked at Disneyworld. Mary Poppin's gloves are actual Mary Poppins character gloves. When I worked in costuming, these came back to us with a couple rips in one of them. They were going to be thrown out, so I asked if I could have them, and they said yes! I fixed the rip, and with the lace, it's hard to tell the repair is even there. The pirate medallion I was given when I worked at the Pirates League. I was one of the first people hired there after the opening crew, and they still had some of the opening crew gifts, so I was given this and a Pirates League backpack. 


Hopefully it won't be another 5 months till I recap Saturday and Sunday!

CoCo 2017 Recap #3 - The Rest of CoCo/The Giant Turquoise Ballgown

Wow, look - Saturday's post already!

I believe I just took two classes on Saturday - Heirloom Sewing Techniques, and Tailor's Canvas. Both were super useful and informative, and taught me a lot of techniques that I had no knowledge of previously. Now I just have to find the patience in my sewing to actually utilize them. 

I wore my Victorian skating dress, which was very warm. It made me really glad I hadn't attempted to pack my green wool winter bustle gown, which is even warmer! I'm going to have to try to remember not to bring winter-wear to CoCo, even if it is air conditioned. Too bad, since I think winter-wear is actually my favorite.



As usual, it seemed like there wasn't enough time to get ready for the gala (why don't I ever learn?!). And like I vaguely remember last year, the gala red carpet line was ginormous, so we had to walk outside to get to the picture area, where our dinner group had planned to meet up. Too bad, as I would have liked walking the red carpet with my giant train. (Also, trying to round up 25 costumers at a gala red carpet line for dinner is like herding cats.) We did make it over to Maggianos, though, which was as tasty as usual. And I didn't spill anything, which was good, since I didn't have time to take pictures before dinner! I liked that everyone seemed to be hanging out in the hallway/CoCo lobby area instead of in the ballroom, since it's always so crowded and loud in there. And I actually put my train down a couple times (though really only if someone was taking a picture). I spent way too much time on that train to let it get dirty or stepped on! Overall, I really enjoyed wearing my gala gown this year. I need to figure out what else I can (safely) wear it for!

And now, picture spam of the finished dress!



Sunday/Monday
I wore my new Laughing Moon pattern-test pelisse on Sunday. (PS, with the new wallpaper, the hallway past the photo studio makes for great daytime photos!) I hit the Bargain Bazaar in the morning, and found a couple gems - namely, 6-7 yards of dark navy wool, and an antique bodice! Not sure how I managed either of those, since there were at least 30 people who were ahead of me in line. No patterns this year, though, which is a little bummer, but I think I also got a couple trims, too. The only classes I remember taking on Sunday were Cynthia and Cathy's corset binding class, and Jenny-Rose's hair class, both of which were great. 



On Monday, I took the bus to the fabric district, and bought way too much silk, especially considering I had bought some on Thursday. But on Sunday, they did have the goldenrod taffeta I was looking for Thurs, so now I have both. Of course, it turns out I'm doing my gala gown out of the butter yellow anyway - oh well, I guess I'll have beautiful fabric for a future project!

Wow! I actually finished all my recapping!