Not dead...yet!
Oct. 26th, 2009 10:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
labricoleuseWow, it's been a while since i updated here. Needless to say, things are extremely busy right now with Nicholas Nickleby in-house!
I did grab a scrap of time last week to blog over at Nickleby Page 2 Stage about the dyeshop calendar, but beyond that, i've been in nonstop fittings for what feels like a dog's age. I'm probably going to have another post going up soon over there, too--the conclusion to the hat construction chronicled in "Bespoke Millinery, Part One"--so look for that.
Just to give you an idea of the scope of this production, check out this photo:
That is the main table and one of the hat racks in the millinery studio. Every hat you see in this photo had a note to be done on it--from simple ones like sewing in labels/grosgrains/horsehair to retrimming or resizing. There were 33 in all (which is less than half the number of hats in the show), and my assistant, Candy McClernan, and i managed to get 19 of them stage-ready by the end of the day Friday. Today we're pushing through the remaining 14 and hopefully five more new ones! [Longtime readers will remember Candy as the millinery student from last year who did the Egyptian double crown for her final project.]
I do have FOUR posts brewing that i've been collecting photos for and percolating on while madly millining, so once i hit a lull (probably post-Halloween) i promise lots of cool new content on topics like 1950s afternoon hats, corsetry sourcing for odd sizes, and the conclusion of the blue-foam bonnet block project!
For now though, please enjoy these photos of first-year Claire Fleming's parasol project. Claire was delayed in completing hers due to a multi-day migraine (definitely not conducive to fine handwork), so i only just got the photos up for this one. Her parasol is based on an image from a ladies magazine from the mid-Victorian period of a tiered ruffled parasol canopy design. Claire chose to employ several design elements to modernize the general look of it though!
The 16-panel canopy is ombre-dyed silk taffeta with ombre-dyed silk organza ruffles.
Another view of the top.
Interior shot of canopy--this shows the ombre effect of the base fabric.
Claire used this drapery rod and finial to replace the missing handle of her frame.
Doesn't it look kind of like a sea creature when closed?
I did grab a scrap of time last week to blog over at Nickleby Page 2 Stage about the dyeshop calendar, but beyond that, i've been in nonstop fittings for what feels like a dog's age. I'm probably going to have another post going up soon over there, too--the conclusion to the hat construction chronicled in "Bespoke Millinery, Part One"--so look for that.
Just to give you an idea of the scope of this production, check out this photo:
That is the main table and one of the hat racks in the millinery studio. Every hat you see in this photo had a note to be done on it--from simple ones like sewing in labels/grosgrains/horsehair to retrimming or resizing. There were 33 in all (which is less than half the number of hats in the show), and my assistant, Candy McClernan, and i managed to get 19 of them stage-ready by the end of the day Friday. Today we're pushing through the remaining 14 and hopefully five more new ones! [Longtime readers will remember Candy as the millinery student from last year who did the Egyptian double crown for her final project.]
I do have FOUR posts brewing that i've been collecting photos for and percolating on while madly millining, so once i hit a lull (probably post-Halloween) i promise lots of cool new content on topics like 1950s afternoon hats, corsetry sourcing for odd sizes, and the conclusion of the blue-foam bonnet block project!
For now though, please enjoy these photos of first-year Claire Fleming's parasol project. Claire was delayed in completing hers due to a multi-day migraine (definitely not conducive to fine handwork), so i only just got the photos up for this one. Her parasol is based on an image from a ladies magazine from the mid-Victorian period of a tiered ruffled parasol canopy design. Claire chose to employ several design elements to modernize the general look of it though!
The 16-panel canopy is ombre-dyed silk taffeta with ombre-dyed silk organza ruffles.
Another view of the top.
Interior shot of canopy--this shows the ombre effect of the base fabric.
Claire used this drapery rod and finial to replace the missing handle of her frame.
Doesn't it look kind of like a sea creature when closed?
