I have gotten some requests to post the slides that Mike and I used at Dress U 2013 to teach our photography class. You can find them here. I hope they are helpful!
June 16, 2013
June 16, 2013
Thank you Jess for hosting such a lovely picnic yesterday! The weather was perfect, warm but not humid, and Jess put together a great spread of food. It was a small but talkative group, which made for great fun throughout the afternoon. The drinks were flowing, and the conversation was merry. We were 50/50 split between printed anglaises and chemise dresses. Everyone looked great!
All of my photos are here.
June 16, 2013
Catching up on photos, while the RAW files from yesterday are converting. Isabella posted some great pictures of me and the alpacas and me at the fiber arts demonstration at the VA Renaissance Faire last weekend. I have limited photos amongst mine of myself, so I wanted to repost. Thanks for taking these, Isabella!
June 14, 2013
I stenciled Mike’s shirt for his Hawkeye cosplay today. Success!
The primary reference photo was this cover from the ongoing Hawkeye monthly, drawn by David Aja
Step-by-step tutorial below
1) Print a copy of the pdf chevron template that I’ve uploaded here. It should be to scale in landscape mode on an 8.5″x11″ piece of paper, but I’ve also included a measurement that shows how large an inch should be. Cut out the template.
2) Pre-wash a black cotton t-shirt. Place the template on the t-shirt, about 2″-3″ from the neck edge at center front. This template was made for a generic craft store shirt, size adult medium. It’s going to be worn by Mike, who normally wears men’s large t-shirts, but we wanted this to be tighter. The circular thing in this photo is my pattern weight.
3) Trace around the template in light colored tailor’s chalk. Remove the template.
4) Tape around the chalk outline using masking or blue painter’s tape. Make sure to press the tape down firmly on the fabric, to avoid paint seeping underneath.
5) Put a piece of cardboard inside the t-shirt, under where you are going to paint, to keep the paint from bleeding through to the back. Paint inside the taped shape using purple fabric paint and a foam brush. I used standard Speedball fabric screen printing ink, violet (color 4550) mixed with white at about a 2:1 (purple:white) ratio. You could also use fabric paint from the craft store, but I find that the screen printing ink is more durable in the wash. You will probably need two coats.
6) After the paint is dry, carefully remove the tape. Brush off any remaining chalk marks. Heat set the paint using an iron according to the paint manufacturer’s directions. Done!
June 12, 2013
I went to the Virginia Renaissance Faire last weekend with Isabella. My first time! Isabella advised me on making an outfit, which worked out great. I’ve still got a lot to learn, but I felt like I got a good start. We went shopping at the vendor booths, and both Isabella and I bought some jewelry. We got to use a loom, and I tried my hand at bobbin lace making. We watched a few of the organized entertainments, as well. Plus, I got to see a Norwegian Fjord horse who was part of the jousting demonstration. A cutie!
The traffic driving back was a bit heavy, but we stopped at Sonic where I got some vanilla soft serve. Yum! Now I’ll let the pictures do the rest of the talking.
All of my photos are here.
June 7, 2013
It was really neat to see everyone’s curtain-along (link to Festive Attyre) gowns at Dress U. There was not a specific meet-up for these, but people were wearing them throughout the weekend. It was a cool mix of styles and interpretations. Using the magic of the internet, I decided to stage a “meet-up,” posting all my photos at once!
June 6, 2013
June 5, 2013
Sunday was the Mad Hatter Tea and then classes. There were some super cool outfits to be seen at the tea, and I very much enjoyed studying more of Isabella‘s wonderful extant clothing collection. I wore my Victorian Catwoman again, which is still a lot of fun to wear. But I forgot the belt for the second time in a row! I’m just going to pretend this outfit doesn’t have a belt….
June 4, 2013
Saturday night was the Court Dinner. I have to say, everyone really brought their costuming A Game. The level of fabulousness reached a new height! So many different eras were represented, and the workmanship was exceptional. Ah the pretties!!
All of my Friday and Saturday photos are here.
June 4, 2013
Saturday started with classes. First I attended Beth’s dust ruffle class, which was really informative! I’m hoping to work on more bustle outfits this year, so hopefully I can put that new knowledge to work soon. Next I went to Stephanie’s 18th C muff class. I took her class last year, but I wanted to hear her talk about the techniques again and see what people were making this year. Stephanie had some great new pieces that she made recently.
Photos below! This is my new high speed lens, which can shoot with a large aperture (f/1.8). I had so much fun trying it out.
