So I mentioned this fleecy white hooded zip-up I have that I loved and was wearing all the time because it was warm, well-fitting, and went with everything. Unfortunately, because of how often I wore it, it was getting progressively more threadbare and the white wasn't really so white anymore. I hadn't really noticed how ratty it had gotten until my parents saw me in it one day and condemned it in the same manner as a building inspector condemns a delapidated house. Ever since then I have been too embarrassed to wear it in public, but not without much moaning about how much I loved it and its warmth and versatility. This visit, however, my mom told me she'd been checking J. Crew where she'd originally bought it for months now trying to find a replacement for me, and was finally about to present me with two very similar fleecy zip-ups in the colors of cream and olive. I have already worn both of them in the two days since they've left. Don't tell Mom I said this, but these two new ones are not quite as perfect as the original was. They are longer and less form-fitting, giving me a boxier shape, and though still neutral in color they are not quite as versatile to match with things as the white one was. Still, they are warm and almost as nice, so I expect to wear them until they fall apart just as I did their predecessor. Thank you, Mom, for thinking of me.
My parents were looking for an activity for us to do as a family, so, since I had fun there, I suggested I take them to King Richard's Faire. They hadn't been to a Ren Fair in years, and nobody could suggest anything we all liked better, so they agreed. Everyone ended up really enjoying it (perhaps more than they expected to, heh). My dad bought a fox tail that can be worn on a belt, because he and Mom are going to a Halloween party and she will dress up like a foxhunter and he will be a fox. :-) I like that. Also, my mom has set me onto a new project. While we were at the fair, I kept pointing out all these costume pieces I liked but thought were too expensive. Her response was "Why buy them? It wouldn't be hard to teach yourself to make a lot of this stuff." Which intrigued me, because I had never seriously considered it because I didn't think I would do a good job. But she said that she didn't know much about costume making either until she decided to learn, and she got to be a rather capable seamstress. And learning to sew better is something I've always wanted to do. So I have decided to teach myself about costume construction. I am starting small, trying to make a very simple Renaissance chemise and seeing what I learn from that.
I found a patternmaking tutorial on the Internet and bought myself some cheap linen fabric to give things a try. I have already made about six mistakes, the first and most egregious being I did not realize that I was supposed to be making patterns that were folded in half. Thus is my unfamiliarity with patterns. So I ended up cutting out, for example, four quarters of a bodice rather than two halves. This means I had to do twice as many seams as I was supposed to. Ah, well, at least it will help me practice my stitching, and now I have learned. I don't have a sewing machine, though my mom may send me up her old one if I get serious about this, so I am just doing a simple backstitch to put everything together. I was surprised at how easily the thread tangles, so my stitches are very ugly in places, but when I turn the fabric right side out at least the seams are pretty straight. I will work on it more tonight. I don't know if it will come out wearable, but at least I'm learning about how to put this sort of thing together.
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