Machine Embroidered Shirt Cuffs and Friday Favorites 596

One of the funny things about being a historical entertainer is creating three layers of clothing and still be considered unseemly (by historical standards) even though you are not showing any skin because you are still in your underwear.

But one of the fun things about creating historical clothing is the chance to really go to town with the embellishments! For example, I just finished the machine embroidery on the collar and cuffs of my 16th century Danish chemise. The next step is to cut out the pattern (this Easy Noblemans/Noblewoman's Shirt Sewing Pattern by Alter Years
) with a few modifications to make it in the Scandinavian style and sew it together. (I am including affiliate links in this post for your convenience.)

I bought  this exact blackwork collar and cuff file created under inspiration by the portrait of a lady in green, Agnolo Bronzino, ca. 1530 by Art Embroidery Designs on Etsy. Art Embroidery Designs is my go to shop for historical machine embroidery files. She also sells some very cute contemporary designs too!

How to Make a Jester Costume

One of the things I love about sewing costumes is the challenge and I try to do that with every jester dress I make. Normally I cut each piece of my sewing pattern out of a different color fabric to create a color block jester costume, I load it up with jingle bells, and I’m good to go with a costume that’s close to jester’s motley.

I need a new jester costume for renaissance festival and historical performances and when I want to dress to empress on Halloween.

This time, I went for the Crazy Person Challenge of sewing a jester costume with a homemade diamond pattern quilted fabric. I made new everything from the skin out:bloomers, hoop skirt, skirt, bodice, and hat. This project took four months to complete.

Which just goes to show you I don’t just play a fool on weekends, it’s more of a 24/7 lifestyle. I’ve never quilted before and after this project I may never quilt again!

Pin this costume tutorial to your Pinterest boards for later! Share it with your friends! 

Photos by Jay Robinson and Checkmate Photography

How to Make a Female Renaissance Jester Costume

Elizabethan Noble Woman Costume Part 4 – Makeover Reveal

Last year I made an Elizabethan noble dress to wear while performing at renaissance festivals that was an utter train wreck. It was my first machine embroidery project, the fit of the bodice was off, and in an attempt to glam it up  I think my dress looks more like a costume than my goal of period clothing.

No one said anything to me one way or the other about the issues I have with this dress.  I would never, ever point out any of these issues on a patron or fellow performer’s clothing  Many of these things bug me and me alone and I admit I’m shallow enough to let it affect my performance.

Extreme Renaissance Festival Costume Makeover

You could say the Tudors are the originals when it comes to clothing capsule collections because most of their clothing either tied or pinned together so they could mix and match sleeves, foreparts, bodices, stomachers etc.

My costuming focus this summer was making my husband a new embroidered Tudor doublet, breeches, and hat. In the interest of time, I remade and made over the items that didn’t work and kept or tweaked the pieces that do.

Elizabethan Doublet Costume Reveal!

My husband needed a new Elizabethan nobleman costume when he performs at renaissance festivals. It is a tricky business because the history geek in me wants to be as historically accurate as possible.

However unlike a living history museum, what we do is historical entertainment. Being outdoors in all temperatures and weather conditions means there are some liberties I have to take in the clothing design,  construction, and preferences of the guy wearing it. In other words, please don’t yell at me historical clothing purists. I know where I did not follow Elizabethan Sumptuary Laws (dress code.) Thank you.

I gave you a costume project sneak peak in Elizabethan Doublet Costume Work in Progress.  I cut the velvet front of the doublet trim larger than my pattern so I could hoop it and spent a 12 hour day doing nothing but embroidering the border design over and over holding my breath every time hoping everything will line up when I finished. Thank goodness it did!

Gold metallic thread would make the embroidery really sing. After a few frustrating test pieces I learned there is a finesse to machine embroidering with metallic thread that I do not have yet. That is a skill to learn for another day.

Elizabethan Doublet Costume Work in Progress

This time of year most folks are looking forward to their favorite fall holidays and pumpkin spice everything.

As much as I hate to see summer slowly transition into fall, it signals one of my favorite times of the year:

Costume Season!

I gave a tiny sneak peak of my latest costuming project on Instagram (follow me @condoblues on Instagram pretty please?) an Elizabethan doublet, breeches, and hat for my husband.  I'm machine embroidering all of the velvet trim like a crazy person.

Not bad for a beginner! #sewing #embroidery #embroideryart #heraldry #costume #crafts

A post shared by Lisa (@condoblues) on Aug 23, 2017 at 7:33am PDT

This eagle will appear on the back of the jacket, flanked by two embroidered flourishes. I bought the killer machine embroidery files from Urban Threads.

How to Sew Cartridge Pleats the Easy Way!

I’ve made many curtains for past homes but it wasn’t until I started building Elizabethan Renaissance costumes that I learned how to sew cartridge pleats for curtains by using the same technique to make cartridge (also called gauge or gauging) pleat skirts!

Back in merry old Elizabethan England - way before they had central heating - nobility used heavy fabrics similar to our modern upholstery weight fabrics to make clothing. Dresses had voluminous skirts, small waistbands, and the illusion of large child bearing hips were all the rage.

 Pin this sewing tutorial for later!

Cartridge pleats solved the problem because they allow you to attach large amounts of heavy fabric to a small waist band than typical gathering. Gauge pleats also allow the skirt to stand out from the body a bit to create large hips and a booty (with the help of padded bum or hip roll of course.)

How to Make a Renaissance Festival Costume

I need a new 16th century English noble costume when Husband and perform at renaissance festivals. Thank goodness I know how to sew. It’s not like I can hop in the car and pick up a new dress at Nobles R Us!

Besides, it allows me to get my inner history geek, costumer, and creative seamstress on.

 

 Pin this post for later!

First you should decide if you want to make a historically accurate renaissance clothing (or as close as to historically accurate as we can get in the 21st century,) a fantasy type costume, or a little bit of all of the above. There are buckets of different opinions on what you should or should not do, all of which are valid because everyone’s purpose, desire, and budget differs.