Being that wool is stupid expensive (in Ken & Dan speak that means over $6 a yard), we looked for a more financially reasonable solution and found a great one! At a local army/navy surplus store we scored tropic weight wool blankets from the British army for $20 each! I got two of them for my dress and Ken got one to make a cloak. The blankets were originally dull army olive, so we used some Rit to try and dye them black. My two blankets turned out a soft grey, while Ken's unfortunately is an olive-y sort of grey. Since they are priamrily going to be worn at night, we decided they were good enough and off we went.
The lining of the coat is a simple, functional purple cotton flannel. I am allergic to wool and can't have it near my skin, so when JoAnn's had flannel on sale the other week, we stocked up (I even have enough for a red flannel petticoat...but that is a story for another day!).
Having never made a Spanish ropa or Elizabethan loose gown, I looked at lots of pictures and determined that I did not have quite enough material to make a really full gown. That said, since I am not 'nobility' (nor do I play a noble on tv) I figured a less full gown would be more appropriate to my 'station'. While the amount of material I had would do, my immediate problem was the pattern -- that is...not having one!
I am not that great at making up patterns on the fly. While I am perfectly capable of modifying existing patterns, making one up is hard (ohhh...I really want a dress dummy...THEN I could make patterns!!). So, I borrowed a victorian riding coat pattern from Celeste with a view toward modifying it. The pattern had slight curved seams down the front, and a 4 piece back. I cut out the original pattern pieces from the waist up, and sewed them together to make a toile. From this I redrafted a pattern that has two front pieces (a left and right) instead of 4, and 2 pack pieces (L and R) instead of 4.
The next step was cutting out the fabric. I learned an important lesson in this -- I want a BIG dining table when I grow up so that I don't have to crawl around on the floor to cut out material!!!! After playing with the pieces like a gigantic puzzled, I worked out that I could get all of my outer shell cut out of the blankets with enough left over for tie on wool sleeves for another dress! Huzzah!! :)
Next up...the sewing!
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