Pockets, and Jackets, and Stays, Oh My!

     So my embroidered pockets are coming along!!! I'm actually a little impressed with myself for having stuck with a project that I didn't need to complete the day before I had to wear it. Yay me.

   I used graphite paper (which was the only thing I had on hand but will never use again for embroidery because it doesn't wash out) to trace the pattern, and started the vines with a stem stitch. I've noticed that most extant pockets were done with chain stitches as opposed to stem stitches, but I don't like the chain stitch, so I'm going rogue. I filled in the flowers and the center design with a satin stitch.

   I usually embroider while watching "Vampire Secrets" with my friends. They get a little annoyed when I ask what Elena did to ruin the plan to kill so-and-so because I had an embroidery hoop in front of my face (trust me, Elena ruins all of the plans, all the time, always).

    But now that History-Con is coming up, I really need to set my pockets aside for a bit and get the ball rolling on my costume...and costumes for the rest of our group. We're all going as a cohesive group this year, and I couldn't be more thrilled. We're going as a rag-tag group of French Revolutionaries!!!!! Not the Les Mis kind, the cool, slightly creepy 18th century kind. Like these guys:

And:

See? Super creepy.

The dates for the Revolution land in my fave fashion period, and the 1790's are probably my favorite because of the dramatic change in silhouette due to the Revolution. Funny how that works :)

We have a wide range of social classes in our group: some wealthy women, some starving yeomen farmers, and some (still starving) classes in between. It'll be fun. 

Of course, as a lower-middle class woman (aka Citoyenne Starving Proletariat), I will be Behind the Fashionable Times, so my clothing will be closer to the mid- to late- 1780's. My costume is inspired by the Kyoto Costume Institute's Revolutionary costume:

http://www.kci.or.jp/archives/digital_archives/detail_230_e.html

I love the red jacket, but my own ensemble will differ a little bit; I'm going to be wearing a straw hat festooned with cockades, a linen or muslin apron, a striped linen petticoat and some super fetch Fugawee shoes:

I squee(!!!) a little every time I see them.

We're also going to be making a ton of these little guys (cockades) in all shapes and colors (three, to be exact) and sizes:

Scarletscarab.com has some super cool cockades for tams.

But here's the thing... I have a ton of stuff to do before I can look Rev-chic. My friends are going, so I'm helping out on their costumes, as well. Not that I mind, I'm super excited that other people are excited, but it is a lot....

Here's my own personal To-Do List: ( Citoyenne Starving Proletariat)

• 1780's Handsewn Stays ( My friends are borrowing my other two and looked a little daunted at the thought of making their own)
• Hand-dyed Scarlet Jacket with a super awesome Peplum
• Striped Linen Petticoat
• Apron
• A million cockades
• A fetch little cap
• An plain set of pockets (because I'm not crazy)
• False undersleeves (my chemise is short-sleeved)

My Best Friend's List: ( Citoyenne Starving Wandering Peasant [the Starving-er, the better in her opinion])

• Striped linen jacket with attached undersleeves
• Linen/Muslin Petticoat (she's borrowing an under petti from me)
• Apron
• Plain Pockets
• A portion of the million cockades
• Kerchief

My Brother's Best Friend's List: (Citoyenne Peckish Fashionable Lady Looking for a Cause)

• Chemise
• Chemise a la Reine 
• Ridiculous Hat
• A large portion of the million cockades (because she's super skilled at making these)
• Fichu
• Sash

I'll be posting my progress, and the pic-by-pic of the pair of stays my friend will be wearing: the Two Day Stays.

We have a month and a half. Let's see what we can do!

Halloween is My Favorite.

One of my favorite movies of all time.

You get to dress up, scare trick-or-treaters, bob for apples . . .

This looks like so much fun. 

And the weather is nice. . . ish. In Southern California, Halloween can be blisteringly hot, and there are usually a few brush fires, so it's kinda hard to breathe. But never mind all that.

How can you not be happy on Halloween?

I'm going to make a Halloween costume. I haven't done that in forever. I mean, literally three years. We have a Las Vegas (Spring Mountain Ranch) reenactment every year on the last weekend of October. Which is fun, since I technically have a "costume". But since the 31st is a Wednesday, I can celebrate it day of, or even the weekend after. My dad has a thing about celebrating things after they've happened. "The anticipation is gone," he says. But my pent-up Halloween exuberance could probably have its own party. So either way, I'm making a costume.
"What are you going to make, Megan?" you ask.
"Um, the best Halloween costume ever," I reply.
That's how dialogue works, you see. Questions and answers, questions and answers.
I'm really excited.

Presenting (drumroll, please):

Idris!!!!!!!
If you don't know who this is, you should probably become awesome and look her up.
She's from the Doctor Who episode "The Doctor's Wife". She's not really his wife, but she kinda is. She's the human form of the TARDIS, his flying Police Box Time Machine, the one thing he loves the most in the entire universe (If David Tennant had to choose between Rose and the TARDIS, would it really be a competition?). You should watch the episode. It's one of my favorites.

Not many of the Doctor's new companions are brunette. There's Sarah Jane Smith, Martha Jones, and Lady Catherine de Souza. I was Catherine when I went to the Matt Smith/ Karen Gillan signing in LA, but not many people recognized me (and they call themselves Whovians, psh). I'm not exotic enough to pull off Doctor Jones, and I'm too exotic to pull off Sarah Jane Smith.
But Idris is way more awesome than all of these companions (although Sarah Jane comes close). She's the one person/Police Box Time Machine who could steal a Time Lord!!!!

So I'm starting my research.
Neil Gaiman, the writer of the episode, describes Idris' gown as a "wrecked Victorian party dress", and while combing through my stash ( I nearly wrote stache, lol) of patterns, I came upon this little beauty:

Now, the neckline is all wrong, but the bodice shaping and the petticoats seem like a great starting pattern. So I'll lift and round out the front and back neckline, and make the skirts a sort of high-low style. Of course I'll want to add more volume to the skirts, and make a half bustle. And sleeves. Sleeves would be a good thing.
Wish me luck!