Simplicity Steampunk

My favorite of the "Big 3" pattern companies for costumes is Simplicity. I think they consistently have the most on-trend new costumes and have had some great historical costume patterns over the years. I hit up their pattern drawers whenever my local Joanns has a 99 cent sale.

Their recent steampunk patterns caught my eye, particularly Simplicity 2172, because the styling on the cover was great and it seemed like a fun outfit with pieces that could work in various combinations for different styles. I really liked the red taffeta look on the pattern cover, but since the pattern called for a lot of fabric I didn't think I had enough in my stash.

From the Stash:

• 3 yards green suedecloth with embroidery and metal sequins
• 1/2 yard synthetic organza
• 2.5 yards of synthetic brown polyester lining
• Interfacing
• 4 fancy clasps
• 1 yard embroidered rust colored taffeta for bustier (not finished yet)

Bought:

• 4 yards of embroidered brown taffeta (at $3 a yard)

Herjolfsnes Hood

The Herjolfsnes textile finds are a fantastic collection of medieval garments from a Norse Greenland colony. There are two great books on the finds, Woven into the Earth, and Medieval Garments Reconstructed, by Else Ostergard.
Medieval Garments Reconstructed takes a selection of some of the best preserved garments and gives specific instructions about reproducing the garments. I enlarged the pattern of one of the hoods and made it into small, medium and large sizes for use in my SCA collegium class. The pattern is interesting because it has a gusset in the front of the shoulder cape, rather than one the side where a lot of modern hood recreations put the gussets.

Couture techniques class project

This semester I took Couture Techniques taught by Lynda Maynard, who is the author of The Dressmaker's Handbook of Couture Sewing Techniques: Essential Step-by-Step Techniques for Professional Results.  It was a short course, and lecture only, but was filled with great techniques for finishing garments.  The whole class was worth it for the reminders to staystitch curves and steam & stretch bias strips before use.

From the Stash:

• celery silk dupioni (from JoAnns)
• synthetic organza (from my sister)