Thrift Store Jewelry
I found this set of matching clip-on earrings and pin at a thrift store. I couldn't see much of the pin and was really only buying it for the earrings. To my happy surprise, the pin turned out to be a cross-shaped affair with three tassels dangling from loops on the bottom edges of the cross. I cut off the tassels, replaced them with fake drop pearls, and replaced the clips on the earrings with pin backs. Not bad for two bucks! The only thing I don't really like is the scarab motif carved on the stones, but you really can't see it very well unless you're up close.
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Brueghel Bits: Miscellaneous Details From Peasant Scenes
While looking for clothes, I've noticed a few other random things that may be of interest to reenactors, but aren't directly related to anything I'm doing right now. This apron has a pocket. Not earth shattering, but something I hadn't seen before. I don't know if I've ever seen a specific image of this: it looks like she's spinning under his arm.
category: /misc | permanent link

Sorry For The Inconvenience
The final move to the new domain is complete. Also, somewhere along the way the timestamp files got screwed up. I didn't notice until today, but everything should be back in order now. Sorry, no actual sewing updates yet. Maybe soon...
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Comments Enabled
I've implemented comments, so feel free to leave some. Let me know if there are any problems with the system.
category: /misc | permanent link

Wayward Headgear And Other News
I actually made this hat back on 7/19, but I forgot to mention it. I had woken up early before an event and had time to kill before hitting the road. I decided I needed a new hat. I had some ideas of what I wanted, but they changed somewhat when I saw this remnant of fire engine red velvet tucked in the midst of my fabric stash. I'm pretty happy with the construction of the hat - organ pleats, wired crown, pad stitched brim - but the materials I ended up using are atrocious. The velvet is shiny acetate, which is very flashy but not the most authentic looking. The main body of the hat is provided by a double layer of coarsely woven polyester (I swear I thought it was wool in the store!). The brim is lined with leftover bits of the acetate lining from the Moroni doublet sleeves. The band is cotton, but that hardly makes up for the mountain of textile sins that is the rest of the hat. I wore the hat with the white doublet and black trunk hose, and I felt like a police car. On an administrative note, my mac.com space will be going away in a couple months, but everything is already available here, so change your bookmarks as appropriate. I may move things again in a few months, but I'll try to keep anyone from getting lost. I know I haven't done much in the way of sewing for the past month or so, but I'm aware of the cyclical nature of my interests and it's always better to let the lull happen. It's hard to work up the desire to make more heavy clothes in the middle of summer anyway. I have recently been informed, however, that the silver gown will be done by October. As this is news to me, I shall have to get my posterior in gear.
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Sock It To Me
I was scanning through the Web Gallery for the Durer self portrait with the black and white doublet, and I found this drawing. At first I didn't see anything very interesting, but then I saw the woman's feet. She's wearing what looks like a buttoned or pointed sock under her shoe. You can see from the other foot that her hose have no feet. It's not something I've seen before, but it seems like a fairly likely peasant innovation. If the feet of your hose wear out, why replace more than you have to?
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This Is The Last Time I'm Making This Dress, I Swear!
I woke up in the middle of the night last night and couldn't get back to sleep, so I got around to implementing this little bit of silliness. I am officially done making this dress now.
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Making A Point
I've been wanting to make some aiglettes for my points, but I wasn't happy with any of the points I had. I had some 1/8" ribbon that was too flimsy, and a lot of black cord that's really stiffer than I'd like. I didn't want to spend much money, so I decided to finally learn how to learn to use a lucet. I experimented with a lucet made from a pair of chopsticks duct taped to an old cordless phone battery with great success. I then made a rough lucet out of a piece of wood I had lying around. It's not pretty, but it does the job. I'll probably make a couple more so I can have a few different colors of cord in progress at the same time. I didn't want to go to the trouble of making cone-shaped aiglettes, both because I'm lazy and because they were really fancier than I wanted. I procured a piece of 1/8" brass tubing and cut off a few 1" lengths. After threading the points through, I crimped one end of the tubing to keep it from sliding back off. The end result can be seen here.
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A Flemish Working Baby
I've finally made some clothes for my daughter that actually fit! The skirts can be let out another six inches, tucks can be taken out of the smock, and panels and gores can be added in various places to keep up with her future growth. It's a tiny bit long still, but by the time she's actually walking it should fit about right, I hope. After taking these pictures I took off the bottom set of rings since they were sitting too low. You can see where one of them popped off already.
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