Steampunk-lajv

I helgen hade jag nöjet att arrangera ett steampunklajv. Målet var ett litet pussel/intrig-lajv som skulle vara tillgängligt för både nya och erfarna lajvare, och inte kräva så mycket förberedelser av deltagarna. Jag började planera i augusti, och efter att ägnat de två sista veckorna åt intensivt intrigskrivande var det äntligen dags för mig och 15 andra att ha själva lajvet.

Vi började med att de flesta träffades för att strosa runt lite i Gamla Linköping, innan det var dags för lunch på Wärdshuset. Vi fick en del glada och nyfikna kommentarer när vi kom gående i våra fina kläder :-) Efter en något kort lunch (arrangörskan, dvs jag, hade tydligen en grovt optimistisk uppfattning om hur lång tid det tar att flytta på 10-15 pers, få mat, äta och flytta på oss igen...) var det dags att dra oss mot lokalen för själva lajvet. Efter en kort genomgång där jag lyckades få en nervsitets/stress-hjärnsläpp och glömma att jag ens hade en lista på vad jag ville säga började vi. Lajvet var uppdelat på tre akter om vardera knappa timmen, där varje akt utspelade sig under en dag. Miljön var en kemi-konferens i ett steampunk-alternativt Linköping vid sekelskiftet, men deltagarna var inte bara forskare och uppfinnare utan vi hade bland annat även en hypnotisör, en skådespelerska, en militär och två rika personer som allmänt lade sig i och ville köpa saker :-)

Lite bilder från lunchen:

Huvudintrigen handlade om ett dokument från 1500-talet som beskrev hur man skulle tillreda ett elixir för evigt liv. Eller var det möjligen ett livsfarligt zombie-elixir? För att inte göra det för enkelt för mina kära deltagare var förstås vissa delar skrivna med ett skiffer, som bara en person hade nyckeln till. Vi hade också respresentanter för den tyska Kaisern och svenska Krigsmakten, som var ute efter att lägga beslag på alla spännande uppfinningar - i hård konkurens med dandyn som ville köpa sig ett bättre rykte genom att finansiera forskning... Uppfinningar visades upp, ifrågasattes, stals och köptes. Arkeologen svimmade och blev hypnotiserad, vetenskaplig heder ifrågasattes och köptes, och vi fick till och med ett episkt relations-gräl som slutscen (Tack K och T!). Sammantaget var det ett roligt (ok, jag är arrangören, jag erkänner att jag är partisk!) och mycket intensivt lajv, och det kom upp trådar som gjorde mig som arrangör glatt häpen. (Vanför blev till exempel tolkad som vandöd, vilket blev mycket roligare :-)   )
 

Nästan hela gruppen samlad efter lajvet

Upfinnaren, herr civilingenjör licentiat doktor Otto Nilson från Otto Nilssons Ångkemiska Laboratorium, med sitt fantasktiska super-ång-pulver som rönte stort intresse

En hyfsat representativ bild av undertecknad - kändes som att jag var rätt speedad och sprang runt och körde med folk hela dagen... (Bättre bilder på min nya dräkt kommer i ett eget inlägg senare)

 Bilder från genomgången efteråt där alla fick berätta lite om vad det hållit på med under lajvet:

Är de inte stiliga, mina föräldrar?

Jag är särskilt imponerad över hur bra lajvet gick och hur snygga dräkter alla hade fått till, eftersom några knappt hört talas om steampunk innan jag berättade om lajvet, och många inte hade lajvat förut. Bra jobbat alla!

Sammantaget gav arrangerande mersmak, och jag funderar redan på vad temat ska vara på nästa lajv...

Big 1770's hair at the ball

Last Saturday I attended "Ball of all times" here in Linköping. We started the day with dancing training, with dances from 12th to 19th century. Then we got a few hours to change, and then it was time for eating lots of great historcial food and dancing. I did not take many pictures exept for those I did to document my Big Hair, so this post will be as self-centered as usual even while there was alot of very nice people and a lot of good looking clothing.

I had decided to use my 1770's silk Anglais a la polonaise, as I had only used it once, and I was not that up to making a new ball gown. (As I was all absorbed in making my 4th 1880's day dress. Maybe I should start to have a bit more variation in my projects? No! ) To get something new, I decided to try making a large hairdo. As I have lots of hair, I used no wig, but a lot of padding.

For padding, I bought a "hair donut", meant to be used for making neat hair buns. I got the XXL one, and simply pinned it on top of my head. As it is made of some net-like material, it was very easy to pin in it.  Then I used some of my hair balls as padding at the base of the donut. Then, I spent about one hour and three packets of hairpins on pinning strands of my hair on top of the donut.

Using all this...

... to make this!

I used hair wax instead of 18th century pomade. Then I used maize starch to powder my hair. It worked quite well to make the hair a bit lighter (greyer, in my case. ) In the back, twisted some of the strands before pinning them, to make it a bit more intresting. I had given up on those elegant rolls of hair beforehand, and chosen to make a quite simple hairdo. I had intended to curl the loose lock of hair, but run out of time and decided to leave it.

For once in historical costuming, the blue ends of my hair is not totally anachronistic (just a little bit, being way to bright) as the hair sometimes was powered in colors like blue or pink during this period. Historical or not, I like how the blue strands look. Surprisingly, this hairdo was also very comfortable. As the padding was very lightweight and I only used my own hair, it did not weight more than any modern hairdo. Also, having all the hair on top of my head instead of in for example a bun at the neck meant that the weight did not strain my neck at all.

The dress is still wrinkled at front, but I don't mind as much now that I have a better hairdo to pair it with.

And in soft light you can almost not see the wrinkles!

With some beautiful 18th century ladies :-)

 

Gröntröja for folk costume

For the "Heritage and Heirlooms" theme of Historical Sew Monthly in August, I decided I wanted to make a "gröntröja" for my mother, to wear with her folk costume from Gagnef in Dalecarlia.

The different folk costumes in Sweden have a very varying degree of historical accuracy. Some was recreated or even invented in the 1970's when folk costume went popular, and is only loosely based on some remaining piece of clothing. In other regions "local costume" (as opposed to more generic fashionable dress) lived on very strong, so the folk costumes from these regions are much closer to what someone in say the late 19th century would have worn. The Gagnef costume is an example of this more historical type of folk costume. Therefore, I wanted to make this gröntröja, but more as a piece of historical clothing than as modern folk costume. Gröntröja means something like "green bodice". It was worn when a warmer outer layer was needed, and was worn only for big festive occasions such as weddings.

I based my gröntröja on a gröntröja from one in a museum, from late 19th century. I did try to make it look about right, but I have not tried to recreate it exactly.

 And the heritage? My grandmothers grandmother lived in Gagnef, and she was wearing the traditional dress all her life.

In these pictures, my mother wear the gröntröja with her modern folk costume. I suspect that the length of the skirt is an example of something that was modernized when the traditional dress was made into folk costume, but I still think that it is a beautiful costume.

close up of embroidery

The facts for HSM:

What the item is: a gröntröja ("green bodice") for folk costume from Gagnef, Dalecarlia, Sweden.

The Challenge: #8: Heirlooms and Heritage

Fabric: way too coarse wool, cotton for lining

Pattern: none, based on a standard bodice block and adapted

Year: late 19th century

Notions: Hooks and eyes, poly thread

How historically accurate is it? 80% perhaps? The cut is ok, and the constructions is like what I could see on the photograph of the garment I based this on. Also, machine embroidery is correct for this garment :-) But the polyester thread and the cotton lining is not right, and the fabric is way too coarse (I did not feel like paying something like 800 kr/meter (100 $/meter) for fine quality wool).

Hours to complete: Not less than 10 h.

First worn: for photo session last Saturday.

Total cost: Maybe 150 kr?

Why is it heritage and heirloom? My grandmothers grandmother lived in Gagnef, and she was wearing the traditional dress all her life. 

1888 plans and progress

I have not been making much progress lately. I have been working, slowly, on something for the "Heritage" challenge. That is now finished, but a post will have to wait for proper photos. Therefore, here comes my inspiration for the new project I have started  - something that I intend both for the "secrets" challenge, the "silver screen " challenge and for my steampunk larp in November.

This is the outfit I am basing my on. I have no date for the fashion plate, but I think it has to be something like 1888-1890. At this time there was a "directoire revival ", borrowing from 18th century men's fashion, if I understand it correctly.

I am making this as a bodice with overskirt (the "coat"), an skirt that is visible only in the front, and a separate shirt. I have not decided yet if the vest is a separate vest or a fake front attached to the coat. From what I have seen, both the vest and the shirt could be either separate garments or fake fronts. These pictures shows different combinations.

How am I doing then? Well, I currently am in the "make weird mock-ups" phase. This is me trying on one, on top of some other clothes for shape. Some work left I would say :-)

18th century dress in paper

Last weekend, I got one of those crazy ideas that seems impossible to get rid of. It started when I learned that our grocery store had a competition were first prize was food for ten years (in the form of gift vouchers at their store.). The task in the competition was to photograph yourself with a bag from their store and upload it. Me and Olof started to jokingly discuss if it could be possible to win without having cute children or cats to put in the picture. I suddenly got the idea to make myself a 18th century dress from their paper bags and use for the photo. I managed to resist for a day, but on Monday evening, I could not resist any more (the fact that I had planned to do some workout to strengthen my back that evening and to do some other boring stuff had nothing to do with it, I promise!).

Once decided, I went and bought seven paper bags and started working. I used the same pattern as my previous 18th century dress, so I knew the fit was good. The stiff and conical silhouette of 1760-1770's lended itself quite well to the stiff paper, but I had to give up on the sleeves, they just tore off all the time. At least, it was not a problem to get enough width over the hips - no need for bumroll or multiple petticoats here! The bodice and side seams of the skirt are taped with duct tape, and the skirt are then pleated to a waist band and just pinned in place. After all, it only had to look good enough at one picture, so no need to overdo it.

I got quite fond of the row of bows, I might have to make a proper dress like that some day (yet another thing for the too long wish-list...)

For the competition, I chose the angle "getting time and money left for my hobby", so I dressed up in my paper dress and made a vaguely 18th century looking hairstyle. Then Olof photographed me pretending to work on an already finished 18th century dress. We had to get lamps from all over the apartment to get good enough light. It was all very fun!

I always dress up when finishing my dresses (or not!).

 

The hairdo only looked decent from the front so we tried to have me look straight into the camera at most photos. I will have to figure out to make a proper hairdo before the ball were I intend to wear one of my 18th century ones.

The facts: 
What is it: a 1770's inspired dress in paper for a competition


Material: paper bags from grocery store, duct tape, pins

How historically correct is it? Well, not very... The general shape of the bodice and skirt is ok, but obviously not construction, sleeve-less-ness, material or total look.

Cost? About 20 kr, 3 $, for the bags

Time to make: 1.5 h.

First worn: first and only time, for the photoshot.

Upperclassing the 1905 dress

Last weekend, I went to turn of the century days in Marstrand with a group of friend, and as you all know, for an event you want something new to wear. I had already remade the 1885, but with two weeks left, it was plenty of time to make something more. (Not really, but still...)

 I knew I had to make a hat, so I took my straw hat, drenched it in water and unpicked the crown, and sewed it togheter with a more cylindrical shape. I then added a very sturdy wire to the outside of the brim. That way, I could turn up the sides of the brim a bit. I covered the wire with ruched strip of fabric. Adding lots of tulle around the crown gave it the wide shape of the early 1900's. I also added some flowers.

With still some time left, I decided I wanted a more upper class alternative to the shirt and bow. I made a new dip waist belt, with a pointed front and back. It is made from thin wool. I drafted it, made a mock-up and tried it on, adjusted the shape a bit, and made it up. It is boned with rigilene in front, sides and back, to keep its shape. The closure is of the working-but-wrong sort: I just used two hairpins to keep it closed, in channels at center front. Invisible and fast, and I did not feel like adding buttons and loops for them.

 While I was at it, I also made a simple black faux leather belt, to wear with the shirt. The seam allowances is glued down instead of sewn, it is boned in the front, and it has the same hair pin closure.

Then, I decided to make a bolero. Generally, I do not like boleros, but for this era, they give a nice silouette. I started with the same pattern as the shirt, shorteded it, made a toille and made it a bit more fitted in the back, and made it up in the real fabric. Suprisingly fast, until I saw that the fit was horrible in the back. I had to unpick in, make seams in the side back, and generally fiddle around a lot, before I decided it would have to do. For decoration, I used strips if the selvage, that had contrasting colors, and sewed three rows down the front.

With only one day left, I convinced myself that it was not a good idea to make a lace blouse to go with this. Instead I found a modern blouse in my wardrobe that looked decently Edwardian. In the photos, I wear my big petticoat, a bum pad, corset and bust pad, and a corset cover. (I am very much a fan of using padding rather than tight lacing to get more curves!) I also have thin leather gloves and a small bag I think my grandmothers mother used.

Photos by Olof Tengstrand, from the turn of the century day as Marstrand last weekend. 
Posing at the old fortress, built during 17th-19th century:

 

A stroll with a friend:

 Ladies admiring a beautiful car:

I stuffed a leg from tights with hair rats, and made a circle of it. Then it was quite easy to pin my hair over this, and get the large gibson girl hairdo. 

We got a private tour of a beautiful steam ship. I doubt the engine room had ever seen ladies dressed in lace, velvet and large hats before...

Facts:
What the item is: ca 1903-1906 bolero, belt, hat.

Fabric: Thin wool for bolero and belt. Polyester tulle for hat.

Pattern: none, drafted and tested.

Notions: Polyester thread. Straw hat, paper and fabric flowers.

How historically accurate is it? The look is good. Bolero construction is plausible (machine seamed but lining stiched in by hand). Hat is just made up to look decent. I am not sure a straw hat would be used as a base for a fancy hat like this, it might have been more for everyday or sporting outfits.

Hours to complete: 1.5 h for belt. 3 h for hat. 7-10 h for bolero?
 
First worn: at turn of the century day at Marstrand 22-23 Aug

Total cost: 0, as all fabric was gifts or left over from other projects.

Changing the 1885 bodice

Before...

...and after!

This dress was my first foray into 19th century dress. With time, it became slightly too tight, so I decided to re-design the front of it (I like to be able to eat a good dinner even while corseted...). I had already used all the seam allowance to get some extra millimetres, so I added a fake vest and blouse, making it both a bit bigger and a bit more elaborate.
Inspiration was pictures such as these.

 I used the instructions of how to make a layered vest from Truly Victorian. That instruction assumes you already have a false vest front, so I had to start with deciding how wide my false vest front would be. I decided to keep the edges of the bodice straight, following the stripes. I cut away a few cm at each side of the center front opening, and stiched them down by hand.

I then started on the layered vest part. I put on corset and bodice, and pinned a piece of scrap fabric undeneath to see how wide I wanted it to be.This would become the lining of the front piece.  Then I cut it, and put on hooks and eyes on this front lining. I also experimented  a bit with how high I wanted the "vest" to be.

I then added the soft white fabric that would be the "blouse" part and gathered it.

Then I cut the "vest" part in the same fabric as the skirt, made button holes, and sewed it onto the front part.

When I sewed this front to the bodice, I was not happy with the proportions. The blouse was not wide enough at the top. Fixing that meant redoing the upper part: taking in the bodice at the sides, unpicking the gathered fabric, adding fabric to the sides of the front part lining, and making a new gathered blouse part.

 I then made buttons. I thought that large buttons in a contrasting color would make a nice touch, so I covered some old plastic buttons I found with scraps of a darker blue wool fabric.

 I added the buttons. Just to realize that these large and darker buttons looked just like the buttons of a clown dress. Not quite the impression I was after.

 Trying to see if adding revers to the bodice would help tie it toghehter. It did not!

 Here I am experimenting with smaller buttons. The size is better, and the white ones might work, but I had only four. Time to go button-shopping!

What I really wanted was the kind of buttons that not have holes through them, but a loop at the back instead. These seems to be much more common for this type of dress. I have wanted this nice row of small buttons up the center front since I made this bodice the first time, but then I was to much scared of button holes to make it. Now I had the chance!  These buttons proved to be hard to find, unless you wanted them in gold. I did not want them in gold. I found three different types in gold tones, but none in silver. I did not want gold, as it would look to much marine with blue and gold buttons. In the end, I bought gold ones and a can of spray paint. Ha, I got you, buttons!

Of course, switching to smaller buttons meant re-doing the vest portion, as holes in fabric are quite permanent (that was why I was scared of them in the first place, after all.) I then sewed on all the buttons.

Which left only the collar to be fixed. To keep the statistics of re-doings up, I first made the collar in one way, then unpicked it, tried a lot of other ways to do it, before finally deciding. The final way meant I had to make a blouse collar as well. Just for good measure, I made it too high, so I had to unpick and remake part of that one as well before I was done. Twice. *Argh*

The white under collar fastens at the side. It has two hook and eyes to fasten it to the front of the blouse, and then fastens to the bodice collar at the side with snaps.
 The collar from outside and inside:

 

Maybe you can tell, by the time it was done, I was kind of tired of this project. It was supposed to be a quick and easy remake, but never ended. I knew I had to fiddle with this one until I was really satisfied with the look. "Meh, ok" would not do for this one. Otherwise, I would never wear this one when I am so happy with my other 1880's dress. 

Finally however, I Was Done! After like 97 un-pickings and remakes of remakes. But then I am very happy with it, and with keeping at it until I was happy, not giving up. Photos, as always by Olof Tengstrand:

Facts:
What the item is: Modifying my 1885 outfit by adding a false vest and blouse, in order to both get more room for eating dinner and making a bit more elaborate.

Fabric: Small pieces of cotton from stash.

Pattern: Instructions for construction from Truly Victorian. Drafted the shapes myself.

Year: ca 1883-1885

Notions:  Metal buttons, silver spray paint. Waxed linen thread for the hand sewn parts and polyester thread for the machine sewn parts. Hooks and eyes, snaps.

How historically accurate is it? Construction is plausible but I have not researched it. Using layers and revers to simulate different types of vests and blouses was common but I have not seen this exact look, with a false vest and gathered blouse and a collar belonging to the bodice.

Hours to complete: After a while, I did not want to keep track. Probably not less than 15.

First worn: For turn of the century days at seaside Marstrand 22-23 Aug.

Total cost: 160 kr (about 17 Euro ) for the buttons and spray paint, the rest from stash.