![User Image](https://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y60/Kathleen_A/100_0589.jpg)
This is my Elizabethan, and I made it mostly myself. My friend who is teaching me how to sew wewed the boning channels on my corset for me, because when I started I couldn't sew a straight line and she was concerned I'd have a mental breakdown if I tried sewing that many straight lines- lol.
She also patterned me (its hard to pin material tightly to yourself) and made yp a pattern for the sleeve puffs and the cutting layout for the actaul dress (I only had 3 metres of material, and the scraps left over I can hold in one hand and are too small to make a pouch with! thats how good her layout was! I've learn how to do it myself now)
This dress was my inspiration
![User Image](https://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y60/Kathleen_A/ElisabethvonValois.jpg)
The layers of the dress are this:
Chemise- machine sewn except for the neck and cufs- used about 4 metres of white cotton. I'll make a better one in linen now I can sew straight. I made several mistakes on this one, like sewing the side of the sleeve to the bottom hem instead of the other side of the sleeve, causing my friend and teacher (who was teaching a small group of us) to laugh histerically.
I am doing some blackwork embriodery (counted on evenweave linen) which I'll put on my next one
Next I made the corset. Theres a layer of this stiff stuff that looks like a brown floor mat two layers of calico and a layer of brocade. It is fummy boned with willow dents, and the busk is... alliminium... lol- its cheap
It is machine sewed, but hand binded which took forever. I have hand made and bound the eyelet holes so they are strong. The straps of the corset tie at the front, and it laces up the back. It is based on Queen Elizabeth's Effigy corset http://web.comhem.se/~u31138198/bilder/Effigy corset.jpg but is back lacing because I change size a bit
Next, the farthengale.
my friend has been to a museum in England, where they had 16th century wale bone on display. She asked if she could pick it up, and they said 'yeah! why not' then she asked if she could bend it and they said "ok" and then she asked if she could try to break it and they said "go ahead, we've plenty more in storage". Well, she has found a modern equilivent to walebone, and thats plastic venetial blind slatting- lol.
So thats whats in my farthengale- which is made of calico
Next, the underskirt. 3 metres of mateiral cartrige pleated by hand and sewen by hand onto a waist bant, an that was hand sewn too. Closes with a hook and eye- easy
Next the dress- 3 metres of brocade which wasn't woven straight
We did the bodce first, and made the skirt out of that left over, and the bodice puffs were patched together from the small amount left over after all that.
![User Image](https://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y60/Kathleen_A/DSCN1645.jpg)
Theres two layers of cotton duck, one of calico (which is the lining which you can see in the photo) and of course the brocade
This is the thickness before I put a strip of venetianblind boning down each side.
![User Image](https://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y60/Kathleen_A/DSCN1644.jpg)
Next I did the skirt and cartrige pleated it by hand and hand sewed it on. I'm not happy with the fall, it needs to be wider at the front so I'll take it off and re put it on.
Sleeves, forepart and hat.
This is my hat:
![User Image](https://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y60/Kathleen_A/DSCN1509.jpg)
One of my sleeves:
![User Image](https://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y60/Kathleen_A/DSCN1655.jpg)
and this is my forepart:
![User Image](https://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y60/Kathleen_A/DSCN1640.jpg)
(don't you love the material- $50 a metre, but I got it for $15)
Yeah, not finished. The sleeves will have slashes edged in gold silk, along with finger loop braided tassle things to close them, and I will cover every second gold line with gold couched thread, and I will embrioder red beads and pearls over them. The forepart will recieve the same treatment- but without the slashes.
The hat was to be sewn onto a velvet band as a snood type thing.
Well, the day before I needed to wear this dress (yes, needed, the queen was comming) I got some material to match the underskirt. Well, I wanted to do that, but when I went tothe shop there were three different shades of red, and I picked the wrong one. Oh well. The morning of the event I ran up a pair of sleeves, hand hemed them, and made the hat too (hand attaching it to a woolen band due to having no velvet that didn't cost less than $30 a metre) I also had to make two pairs of sleeves for my sisters....
I was finishing the hemming of my dress at the event- lol.
I never got the partlet or ruff done- I'll do that once I have done the sleeves and forepart. But this is the first incarnation of the dress- and fine for relativly fancy events such as the queen dropping by- though I'd want to get the rest done for a corrination or something.
Oh, and the girdle/belt thingy, I have to find my photos of that. but its made with wire and glass beads and (fake) pearls. I have real ones for around the neckline of this dress (I'm beading the dress itselfwhen I've finished the rest) but I'll use fake for everything else- poor student and all)
![User Image](https://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y60/Kathleen_A/royalvisits.jpg)