Frock Chick

I have foam core board to make a test run of the McDowll cutting system 🙂 So I may be able to get a third tool printed off tonight too 🙂

Oky, since posting that I actually have. My firt prints were twice the size, then 1/4.. now I think I have it. It looks right. I have them in light card and paper for cardstock so I’ll cut the card tonight and see if it looks right!

This system is mentioned in Cutting a Fashionable Fit and there have been a few examples up for sale:

OMG!!!!! $US80?!?!?! That’s less than my ink. So and an ebay search…..

Well, 44 psd files later… I have the pieces ready to cut. I have not, i repeat not tidied these ready for use! But I am going to do so 🙂 SO that means hunting down a Illustrator clone.

Oh here I get to complain about my printer.

It will not print in monochome if any colour ink is out. Oh, some versions of this model can do monochrome (ie it won’t attempt to use colour ink) but not this one. And those inks are of course not actually empty either. I mean I have to assume this troubleshooting page actually isn’t specifically for my model but instead a generic in disguise.

Not only that, you cannot turn it off using.. you know.. the power button. But I have been able to get it to work when turning the wall switch on and off. You know. A hard boot.

So, no. I do not recommend it. Two major issues that affect nearly every print job?

And the price of those inks!!! oh no you can’t buy them individually either.. It’s a feature.

So my cunning plan to have the cutting machine ready for my workshop has failed. No way I can run out get the ink and then print and then cut out before midday tomorrow :/

While working on Padme and All Those Stamps and teaching Victorian patterning workshops and interpreting a portrait of Anne of Cleves I’ve been really able to think about the phenomenon of Accuracy again.

I am not sure how many people have pondered the inner workings of my mind but as a laurel, as a very long cosplay judge, and currently learning the Legion Costume Judging ropes for the Rebel Legion I’ve very definitely had lots of opportunity to take what feels intuitive and apply to the work of others- in a way that is not Judgey(tm).

I have seen a perfect description of reproduction vs replica but it’s been a while so to summaraise: you can try top reproduce an item as it was made, with exact dimensions and exact materials but is that actually accurate?

Extant objects (and character design) are specific objects for specific people.

So for anyone who is not an exact match there is always going to be interpretation.

What makes something more or less accurate is really down to understanding what the original creator thought was most important. Even if that goes against what current thinking is. It can be very hard to go against What Everyone Knows.

So I hoard patterns and tailors manuals not just because I like them but because they tell me what craftspeople in a region or time would know. So that I know what the ideal is. I look at how objects are manufactured (fabric widths, twists of yarn for sewing by hand versus machine, loom types.)

And then I go looking for extant items to see the reality.

And the reality shows where shortcuts are taken universally, Where the most mistakes are made, and where the most care is taken.

I want to think like a professional not as a modern person with the advantages and limitations I have in a workshop. Most of what I make has been the result of dozens of people. I am one person.

So to this end I have not just learned how individual objects that interest me have been made but I have an idea of what people wanted and expected and actually experienced.

One of the complaints of tailors in the 16thC was that fabric merchants sold fabric folded- because of the folds you expect there to be more fabric than there is so the client would buy the wrong length (due to the inner curve of the folds, I think.) This is super important when you are butting pattern pieces next to each other to use every scrap. A few inches shy and you can wind up way out.

Dressmakers of the 19thC flipped skirt pieces so often you see enough to think it was a fashion option not a common error- unless you read the manuals they were supposed to work from.

So accuracy or ideal, and what compromises need to be made now.

In deciding some scale or texture or fabric options I tend to prefer to use what I know a designer would do.

So for my Marie Antoinette gown I am basically only using historic patterns for my panniers. Everything else is from early costume history books and pattern books from the 1930s. My wig will be pale blonde vs powdered and I have to make concessions with the lace to be able to afford it. A few kilos of actual silver? Not really possible!)

I have two massive research projects to share (Spanish tailoring and Westfalen clothing) but kind of fell into a trap of trying to do it all at once because this one little thing here has huge consequences here, and another over here, and then I got super bogged down in trying to support information when I have the support documents in hand so it’s not like I’m citing anything I haven’t actually read. I can use footnotes and quote!

So now I am happy shifting the focus of both to be really easily published and shared.

I’ve taken 10 years after first making gear to make sure everything I have read in English is backed up. In part due to books being published and not digitised so I had to have used book searches. Not easy from NZ until the last few years!

BUT I HAVE SO MUCH EXCITEMENT!

Teaching my Victorian workshops has really helped me figure out how I want to share all my research. So far yes, skirts then sleeves has been a big help in understanding the principles of fabric engineering (I am an engineer at heart- I don’t just see in 3D I can visualise forces and densities and I just don’t have the jargon to really explain. But I do read papers on textiles and even found one trying to predict properties of bias for different fabrics.) We’re just going a little faster and in shorter bursts than I’d like. But I also now have sliding galleries to be able to use in my online tutorials so those big blocks of images can be made easier to follow.

So I’ll try the same thing for the Spanish stuff as it’s really about the use of the pattern elements. Much easier, and I’m just rethinking from resources every could have access too. The other stuff is a mix. So really need my academic hat put on.

Over the years I’ve had a few misunderstandings about what I mean when I say I’m tired.

For most people being sick or tired means staying at home and watching tv, probably playing a game on their phone or console.

I often read about these activities as part of the resting and recovery process. And I used to experience that too. It’s a good thing.

Those are things I can do when I wake up, usually, but am too tired to do by the late afternoon.

On a reasonable day.

A lot of days I start the day that tired already and simply cannot shake it. It physically like wearing a full body weight belt that I can’t take off, so over time it’s draining and very hard to re-energise.

Today is proving to be one of those days. So I am sneaking in a post before I have to go to bed. Maybe. Sometimes I recover but it’s very hard to predict.

Once I am in bed, there is no browsing on the computer. I am so tired moving my blankets away to reach a keyboard is so draining and so painful that I avoid it as much as possible. I will play an entire series on a streaming service. I don’t have to watch I can just listen.

But it is not restful. My body fights this tiredness, it is not welcome, it is not a relief to lie in bed. It is stressful as it means a day that feels wasted. My brain and my body don’t care that it is needed, they still operate at odds to what I am experiencing. There is no energy to spare but they remember the time when it was possible to dip into reserves or they are expecting the adrenaline to kick in.

It doesn’t.

If I try to ignore what I need and do what  want I wind up confused, unable to complete tasks and so make messes or if working on a project I wind up having to undo all that work later. And I have repeated that cycle numerous times in the past.

No matter how much sleep I had the night before it feels like I have been awake for 20 hours.

Much as my body fights sleep it is needed. Which is very hard for friends to understand. When I need to be in bed by 9pm it means in bed. Not leaving a venue. And I understand it is hard to remember. And communication can be difficult when you have people trying to be kind on the one hand and on the other trying to be polite and not a burden. And everyone having their own lives that operate at different paces to each other.

So my first workshop went really well. I need to make getting the follow up notes a priority oer the next few days. I may do that today even though i am a day behind in general.

I’ve also decided I have enough lovely projects finished that I can concentrate on the ones I want to, not feel obliged to.

Early Historic:

Immediately

Cleves Gown– actual Anne of Cleves gown. I basically need to finish the sleeves (all the sleeves) and then she is finished.

Cleves research– I thought I just had a confusing mess of information, but I have the hook to work from. It’s time to get that just published.

As time permits

Silver Spanish Frock of Doom- I really need some good silver ribbon to isolate the braid in place and I need to get lining and other aspects sorted.

Spanish research– while tidying I realised I have gotten so far along with this as to be ready to edit. So again really just getting that hook to getting it in publishable format.

Late historic

immediately

Workshop guides– follow up material for the skirts, and get the sleeves guide up asap. I have a lot of graphic creation to do for these. And while the skirt diagrams were all paths I will have to draw arms for this and also torsos for the next. Then use paths to make them nice graphics for the web.

As Time Permits:

The Mina– I am still so much in pain with my separated rib that a corset or corset like support is out of the question for a while. And the silk is unforgiving. I need a perfectly fitted bodice not just through the narrow part but over the bust and shoulders. I cna’t just hazard a guess.

Gored stays– I really need a nice corset again. I have had epic fail with patterns and fabric so this is very much a case of holding fire until I get the right fabric. Also as per Mina my rib is still healing- it could take a year!

The Sunburst– I knew I’d known of this dress for a ridiculous length of time but yes. She is in Payne’s 1st edition! So literally one of the very first books I read as a teen. I so wish she’s been able to have taken a pattern as I suspect the gown is much too fragile now.

Sheer princess– it’s the middle of winter so this can be put off to summer 🙂 But there is a manual that is just the go to for these so I can take my time

Blue managers dress– I need the waterfall drape made lighter- the only fabric that will suit the cotton is a cotton sateen or very very very light velveteen.

Mantua- I could do this with the wool of 12m. There is more than enough and the Kimberly gown is one of my faves. Also two patterns for it 🙂 But there is one I have a pattern for that I keep hoping to do with my pale plue taffeta. It is 100% dead dino though.

Francaise– this is the other thing I could do with my taffeta. With smocked robings as per the Kyoto one.

Black and white day dress overhaul– literally washing and restoring. It has been washed but I should really wash again to remove every last trace of dye transfer and soot.

Garment drafting tools- I have a card copy of one, but I really want a Thompsons. So that means a lot of work in graphics to separate out the elements. I’d like to eventually get them milled in acrylic so if one of them works I’ll be doing just that 🙂

Recreations:

Immediately:

 Padme light blue- Currently plotting the placement of the stamped design on the cape. Two stamps (mirrored) and then said stamps used reversed. So. A bit fun.

Amazon references- I really am so excited by how many people want to be amazons so I will keep doing collections of elements. But it is also graphic work intensive so each one takes a day.

Ahsoka– Totally stalled because it was such an expensive process of casting. Those sharp angles and my shoulders do not match up easily!

As time permits:

Maleficent– horns. I really want my horns to be just so. So 3d modelling as well as sculpting clay. The texture is still difficult to do with free tools so it may be a case of finding a new program.

Hippolyta– I’m taking time. I know she is going to appear in other movies and I suspect this version is still going to be The One.

Freya silver robe– this is very much of the I know exactly how to make it but I really need tools outside of my access but also found a solution to other issues so as soon as enough material appears it’s all go 🙂

Marie Antoinette– I am totally buying all the silver work versus making them because I am not a team of 20 stitchers 😉

Missy– I have the wool and I know what i need and it should be a nice project with lovely materials.

I may wind up being able to do more of these. But for now I have to get on to those immediate project. Like today 🙂 Today shall be writing and graphic. I need the heater on for my hands so staying in one room is most cost effective.

There was a little query as to whether the costumes really were leather and these insane hi res images confirm it 🙂 I’ve seen most of these promos before but these are in such high quality they need to be seen in full 🙂 No new images for other amazons but for the royal family it’s fantastic!

http://getyourcomicon.co.uk/news/45-new-wonder-woman-photos-released/

So for Hippolyta I grabbed a few details to explore the cutting of the leather.

First here are two egde treatments. The gold painted leather has been cleanly cut with potentially a swivel knife. The inner bronze toned edge has been cut and then an edge beveler used to cut the edge on a 45 degree angle. This appears to have had no further treatment before the paint and sealer. It also appears to cut into a tooled design right on the edge. This tooling can be seen on the edges of the gold as well.

There is also a fantatsic use of texture tools! The body of each piece has a scattered stone texture. It could even be replicated using a piece of scoria in place of a standard tool (especially on a foam based project.) For my Leia Barge Bikini I made my own texture tool for clay by taking impressions of different rocks in polymer clay and baking them. I still have them and used them on my Turian sculpt!

For leather metal tools offer best practice and safety. While damp (not soaking) tooling leather will take an impression even of fingernails but can be unpredictable based on individuals. It may even be possible to lay the damp leather over a rocky surface face down and a small amount of pressure from behind will suffice.

There are so many different edge treatments in this small section that I had to number them.

1- clean cut edge, possibly a little  sanding once painted and sealed- not the slightly paler section towards the bottom left of that same piece.

2- clean cut then very lightly edge beveled. This is much more subtle than the waist section in the previous photo. This was done before dyeing and sealing as the colour is rich right through the edge.

3- clean cut edge with a tool mark! As mentioned the leather is very easy mark when tooling and this looks like the edge of the swivel knife went beyond the cut. But there are a few other similar marks further up the edge so it may be intentional to match the hand creafted effect.

4- clean cut then another use of the edge beveler. Slightly heavier and definitely done before the gold paint and sealer. The tooled edge also looks like a simple stop or border stamp but I haven’t been able to identify which.

5- zig zag join! The skirt panels are so long as to need to be pieced. This appears to be a waxed/coated thread.

6- the skirt leather is laminated to what looks like the same textured leather. The cut edges go right through the pattern so it is likely these were hides that had been textured and treated before they were used. It is possible to find hide with a pattern like this with belly scale patterns, it will be difficult to get an exact match (working backwards through makers for the production can often lead back to suppliers of materials.)

7- the lamination continues on the belt hanging panel. The designs are tiled on a support leather that is of similar density.

8- the belt appears to be a mix of leather with a cast centre design. It is possible the belt and the chest plate are cast from originals that were made from leather. It seems unlikely that the department responsible for working the leather would share tools with the props department but it is possible to treat and cast from an existing piece. This is all speculation on my part based on having worked on long running tv series here and straight up being nosey! And I was very lucky to have been allowed to see behind the scenes at Weta when they had a quiet moment many years ago.

I would suggest that if the same tools used for leather were to be used on clay for sculpting that a layer of plastic such as used for sandwhich bags is used between to soften the edges. Or careful use of a primer and buffing to soften edges before molding.

Final note, her battle cloak is a suede or faux swede as opposed to the boiled wool of her cloak used elsewhere.

Now this I am going to make. I have the boot base…

Meanwhile there are 54 Amazons aside from the royal family to organise into folders (some with character names some I need to watch carefully for in the end credits) so I am going to take a break and make some skirt diagrams for different measurements for handouts on Saturday.

My workshop this weekend is on skirts. And drapery. Two polar opposites in terms of making but work together.

So I can do a conservative skirt, fully gathered/pleated (to waistband/yoke), very gored. And work through the waterfall drapery and then basically quote from resources at the time- you can’t work out a drapery pattern by looking at the finished garment in the 1880s. And it’s fairly true. So I’m collecting all the extant and contemporary ones I can find to put them into some sort of easy to visualise system.

Currently though printing All The Patterns so as to have them ready for the other workshops too 🙂

My sincerest thanks to all the amazons who have shared their photos of their experiences on set. It is truly inspiring and very much appreciated The Amazons mean so much to so many, so thank you.

(My next post will break down the various elements and how they are made and worn.)

Type 1 | Type 2 | Type 3

  

@joliestanford | @gingersophie😐 @jacquileepryce

Type 1

Chest plate: metallic yellow to silvery gold, occasionally darkened silver. Left bust only, two short darts to define the bust. Leather strapping at neck and lower bust.

Torso: bronze-green tinted leather look, multiple vertical panels, over bust shape where exposed.

Skirts: Woven strips in varigated colour from tan to nearly maroon.

Centre skirt piece: woven in a WW formation, occasionally sold with a series of thin concentric rings woven through. All supported by a wider solid piece.

Shoulder: left side only, series of four connected leather look pieces.

Belts: standard belt with silver plaques, solid leather and segmented/scaled silver straps form v shapes over hips- varied.

Headpieces: standard silver tiara, optional helmet (captains)

Greaves: standard segmented gold tinted pieces on rigid leaher half greaves.

Boots: riders wear additional thigh high covering, otherwise below the knee. Standard diamond style plates on the arches. Wedge heels. Plates on back of heels.

via @andreavalilou:

Via @jadelye:

Via @erin.bostock  and @brookeence:

(note: Brooke Ence appears to have a golden toned belt.)

Via @samanthawjo and @joliestanford:

Via @maylingng:

Type 2

Chest plate:  metallic yellow to silvery gold, occasionally darkened silver. Full upper torso covered. Front plate with deep >< shapes cut into the upper side. Leather straps vertically span the space of the cut outs. Single sharply curved darts to define bust. Front overlaps back plate at side back. Round neck. Back plate matches.

Torso: green tinted leather look, tiled pattern to form a long W at centre front. Thin vertical gold toned segments at centre front.

Skirts: Woven strips in variegated colour from tan to nearly maroon.

Centre skirt piece: woven in a WW formation, occasionally sold with a series of thin concentric rings woven through.  All supported by a wider solid piece.

Shoulder: copped shapes, double layered attacked to chest plate via metal strap at top of shoulder. Right shoulder absent in archers.

Belts: standard belt with silver plaques, solid leather and segmented/scaled silver straps form v shapes over hips- varied.

Headpieces: standard silver tiara, optional helmet (captains)

Greaves: standard segmented gold tinted pieces on rigid leaher half greaves.

Boots: riders wear additional thigh high covering, otherwise below the knee. Standard diamond style plates on the arches. Wedge heels.

Via @aliciavelabailey:

Via @charliefye (account is now private)

Via @gingersophie:

Via @jadevlewis and @yoga_ballroomgirl

Type 3

Chest plate: metallic yellow to silvery gold, occasionally darkened silver. Full upper torso covered. Sectioned at neck-arm, neck to centre front, center front angling down over busts to side back. Front overlaps back plate at side back. Square neck. Back plate matches.

Torso: dark reddish brown, variegated leather look, narrow inverted V chevron strips. Segmented metallic decoration down centre front.

Skirts: woven strips in variegated colour from tan to nearly maroon.

Centre skirt piece: woven in a WW formation, occasionally sold with a series of thin concentric rings woven through.  All supported by a wider solid piece.

Shoulder: left side only, series of four connected leather look pieces.

Belts: standard belt with silver plaques, solid leather and segmented/scaled silver straps form v shapes over hips- varied.

Headpieces: standard silver tiara, optional helmet (captains)

Greaves: standard segmented gold tinted pieces on rigid leaher half greaves.

Boots: riders wear additional thigh high covering, otherwise below the knee. Standard diamond style plates on the arches. Wedge heels.

Via @caitlendechelle

Via @harijamespt:

Via @jacquileepryce and @tpowellstunts:

(note Jacqui-Lee Pryce appears to have a wider tiara with deeper cheek pieces, Tilly Powell appears to have a golden tinted belt)

Via @sofit_morgenjacobsen and @moeshash

Via @jennypacey:

Trying to @swtorofficial on Rishi but someone keeps stepping on the keys.

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