Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Feeling Covered.

Continuing on working on updating my 1863 underclothes.
A New Corset cover.
My old one... Had to many *cough* plastic buttons to try and do at 6:30 in the morning while teeth are chattering thinking of when you can get the fire started to get warm.
plus the pattern is a bit to late for that era.
~
So to design my own pattern.
I had a picture to go off from my Godeys lady's book.
I figured out that all
I really needed to do was make a basic bodice then lengthen the bottom.
Plus make the neck rounded.


This was one of the first things that I did all on my new machine,
plus I was able to do button holes by myself!!!!!
(No plastic buttons.)


Another thing to cross off the list!
Happy Sewing~
Kacie

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Early Birthday gift.

One morning during breakfast my Mother scared me by asking
"I have a question to ask you and I want you to keep an open mind..What would you think if we got you a new sewing machine for your birthday?"
~
For years now I have used my Mom's old Kenmore sewing machine.
It doesn't do button holes any more and the tension is all off.
For that past few months it has not exactly been a joy to sew on.
At the same time, I never really wanted a new one, mostly because I never saw one that I really liked.
So when my Mom said this I "kept an open mind." She told me that at work (she works at JoAnn's Fabrics)
she had seen that Singer was coming out with a limited edition machine to celebrate their 160th anniversary.  She showed me a picture online....
It was Love at first sight.


When I saw it I knew.
This is why I had never wanted any other machine, I was waiting for the right one to come along and change my life.
Just look at this sexy beast!


I love all the gold gilding on it.




It's so very shiny! Down side to this is that it shows dust and finger prints...




it's so fabulous, I am enjoying sewing on this Beautiful baby.


My Birthday is not till May. But when we saw it, we knew that we needed to order it as soon as possible as this is a limited edition.
HappyHappyHappy Sewing~
Kacie

Thursday, February 23, 2012

HEAR YE, HEAR YE!!

I am announcing that I am starting up an etsy shop!
But I need your help.

I am having trouble coming up with a name that I like, so I thought that maybe you could help me!
~
If I choose the name that you submit, then you will get $20 store credit!
So, leave a comment with your suggestion!!!!

Please help me~
Kacie


Sunday, February 19, 2012

"I must break you". A.K.A. 1902 corset part #1.

If you are wondering what the title means, it is a quote form from Rocky IV
It was the only thing that I could think of that captured the moment that at this present time I happen to going through.
I have a challenge that I must concur.
~
A few week's ago the local Library had a lecture series on the Civil War and had invited living history people from the surrounding area to come and be "eye candy" for the day.
While being "eye candy" we happened to meet the director of living history at the high desert Museum.
Got to talking, and found that we all had the same basic concept when it comes to living history. So we where invited to the Museum to have a meeting with her to talk about the possibilities of having a mini reenactment.
During the course of this meeting we found that we might want to start volunteering for the living history.
~
The year that the museum portrays is 1904, this is far different from 1863...
But being happy to have a excuse to sew any type of new costume I am jumping in head first.
When thinking about what all I need to sew I knew that to get the right 'S' curve shape so famous from the early 1900's I knew that my current corset would NOT work...
~
So to find a pattern that I like.
~
Ageless patterns
#1339 1902 modern corset.
size- 35'' bust, 24'' waist.


When looking for a pattern there times when you see a pattern and you know that it IS the one, so it was with this pattern.
When I got it I was very excited, until I took out and looked at the instructions....
This picture shows the original instructions translated from French...


This page is the more "modern" instructions...
They aren't that much better..
I have never been good at following instructions. I have only of late been able to decipher the most simple ones, so when faced with something like this, I get just a little intimidated.
Then I remember that I LOVE challenges of this sort! I relish at figuring out things that seem at first, second, and third glance to be completely stupid.
I have brains, this doesn't, prepare to be conqered!!!

The sheet with the pattern pieces.


After a few minutes of grumbling about how stupid this pattern is, I decided that I need to get to work and see what I was really up against.
So I set up my machine in my room so I could have complete concentration on what I was doing and got busy.


First figuring out in what order the pieces go.


Then cutting out and carefully labeling each of the pieces.
So I wouldn't get lost.

Sewing.


More sewing.


Finally after getting the pieces all put together, seeing what need to be done about fitting.
After trying it on, I realised that it didn't seem that long... In the description it said it "rides low on the hips" when this barely came to the top of my hips.
I got out my 1863 corset to compare, and sure enough, it was almost the same size!


When seeing this, I had to stop and think.
I Finelly figured out the problem.
This pattern is a reproduction of a real one that came out in 1902,
Back then people where a lot shorter.
I, coming form good old eastern European farm stock and being tall in the first place. Let alone the fact that in the 19th and 20th century the average height for a women was 5'
and I am 5' 8''...with a long torso to boot..

I needed to lengthen it!!
(Just look and see how short this thing is!)


The next day I started the process of my second mock up.
First, tracing the pattern peices onto paper.


Cut a straight line in the middle of the peice,


Put a piece of paper 4'' long, glue it back together, reshaping the curve to make it look right.
poof presto, a longer pattern piece!





Repeat for all pieces.
Making sure that the line you cut on is even through out the finshed piece...
you don't want to just cut a line across, for it to work right you need to KEEP THAT LINE EVEN!





Cut out the new and improoved pieces.

Sew.
compare to first mock up and 1863 corset.

YAY!
It fits, it fits, itfits!
well, mostly. The length is fixed.

The hips where a bit to big, but this can be fixed with a snap of the fingers.


The next step was to figure out what size and how meny boning I needed.
The original pattern had about 38 boning all together..
This is about 40 some-odd doller's worth. I was able to comprumise to 30, with out destroying the structure that is created BY the boning.


I still need to order the boning but I will be doing that as soon as my Mom figures out what boning she needs.
~
At first I thought that this project would be the most defficult project that I have had for a long time but it seems that it didn't take that much to break it to my submission.
Happy Corseting~
Kacie

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Back Tracking a bit.

I keep forgeting to post pic's of a baby gift that I made for one of my good friends this last month.
They are little knitted bloomers!


She is having a little girl so I was able to have fun with color :)
They are big Oregen Duck fans so I made one of the bloomers in "duck" colors.
and the other, you can't go wrong with purple!!
(I love the butt ruffles, thay make me smile.)


I also made a flower head band to match the purple bloomers.


Thay look so warm and comfy, I wish I had some in my size..
Happy Knitting~
Kacie

Friday, February 17, 2012

Seeing double!

Sam.
For Christmas My Dad got me a gift card to Juniper fiber works.
mmmmfreeyarnmmmm
I decided that it would go towerds the purches of yarn for Sam.
I got five skiens of Jamison wool.
itchy, but wonderful to work with, plus it comes in BEUATIFUL colors!







Here are Sam's pants. Showing that he IS fatter and, shorter then Frodo.


I had a lot of fun with Sam's sweater, I may have over thought it a bit, but that's ok :)
There are two cables representing Frodo and Sam, they form two rings that intertwine with one another, representing that they both carried the rings and there fate was intertwined.
 ( I told you I over thought it...)
plus the color is umber, because Sam never really gives up hope and always stays true.

Each of the sleeves has a cable and ring.




Seeming the sleeve seems.


The sweater complet.
I LOVE making mini sweaters, when ever I finish one I always feel like making a whole lot for Christmas tree decorations or something.


His pants, again.
 I love the yarn! it's not just brown, it has specks of red and green on a backround of...Brown? Burgandy? who knows.


Now, in the book it describs Sam as having a felted sack like, hat.
I knew I wanted him to have it but I had never felted any of my knitting befor. I have wanted to, just never got the right chance. Thankfully the Jamisons yarn Felts wonderfuly.
The "hat" befor felting.


The hat after felting.
                                 I did end up making it to big so I had to take seem in the back.
The great thing about felting is that you can cut it! yay for cutting!....






                                                 I just tacked the top for that "sack like" shape.



Moving onto his elven cloak.
 I had to make it a bit bigger then Frodo's. Sam is after all a fat Hobbit.




Both the Hobbits together!
                                              It's so exciting to see them both together finnaly!!!

Working on Sam's Ruck-sack.







And there you have an udate on Sam.
More to follow, it maybe after a few other post's but there will be more updates!
Happy Knitting~
Kacie