Sunday, July 13, 2014

A Liebster!

This is long overdue, but Mouse Borg nominated me for a Liebster! :D Many, many thanks to her!


Upon receiving this award you must:
1. Thank the person who gave you the award.
2. Nominate other blogs, preferably ones with less than 200 followers. (All the blogs I follow have already been nominated! XP)
3. Answer the questions asked by the one(s) who gave you the award.
4. Make a list of questions for the other nominees to answer.

1. What first got you interested in costuming?
 
When I was a kid, I really really wanted one of those big, fancy Marie Antoinette dresses. I took a few lessons at a fabric shop, but the pace was way too slow for my liking, so I asked a friend's mom to teach me instead. 
 
2. How old were you when you began sewing? How long ago was that?
 
I started sewing lessons when I was 12, but I had cobbled together a "Cleopatra" costume on a toy sewing machine a few years earlier. 
 
4. Do you have any bad sewing habits? If so, what are they?
 
I'm slowly starting to break my bad sewing habits. For the longest time, I didn't press my projects as I worked on them.(I do this religiously now, though.) I tend to not pin things like hems or long straight seams before sewing them together, which I really should, but seems like a big waste of time to me. 
 
5. Name one piece of sewing related equipment that you wish you owned.
 
This is a recent discovery, and I really want one now - a bias tape maker. You just cut the fabric to the right width, wind it onto the machine, and it sends it through a little folder and ironer that creates perfectly sized bias tape! I suck at making tape, it always turns out being different widths along the length of it (there's another bad habit - I eyeball when I'm cutting fabric for tape instead of measuring it, which means my tape always turns out funky). But yeah, bias tape maker.
 
6. What is your favourite thing about costuming?
 
I love doing detail work, like cording, embroidery, beading, stuff like that. I like folding kanzashi a lot. There's something very zen in working on things like that. I also am really starting to enjoy pattern making. It's very technical and precise, and there are few things more satisfying than putting together a mock-up of the pattern you've drafted and finding that it fits perfectly. ^^
 
7. Which part of costuming do you most dread?
 
 Sleeves. Hands down, sleeves. I can't tell you how many unfinished projects I have hanging around because I didn't want to work on the sleeves, so I just abandoned the project. XP

8. Do you sew many everyday garments, or do you only do costumes?
 
Right now, it's only costumes, but I really do want to get into making more day-to-day fashion. This is mostly because I want to incorporate some 19-teens fashion into my daily wardrobe, and I can't bring myself to buy something that I could so easily make, and for much less money. So, hopefully, there will be some shirtwaists and corselet skirts in my future.
 
9. How has costuming affected your life?
 
It's taken over. lol But really, all my of my dearest friends I've met through costuming events. I've learned so much about history, not only fashion history but otherwise, just through researching certain garments.
 
10. If you had unlimited time and money, what would you sew?
 
Hmm...that's a tough one. No, wait...it's not. Velociraptor. 
 
 
I have no nominations to give out, so I'm not going to make a list of questions, but if you are so inclined, feel free to answer the questions yourself, either here in the comments, or on your own blog! :)  

3 comments:

  1. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I love it! I am too sewing some hsitorical stuff, maybe you want to visit my blog as well?

    As for the bias tape maker, there is also the option of using a needle pinned to the ironing board which I'm using for my bias tape: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPrFfg9rtmM

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    Replies
    1. Hello! :D I'm so glad you enjoy my blog, I always love meeting new historical costumers! ^^ I'll definitely follow your blog. :D

      That needle trick is so cool! I would never have thought of that. Thank you for sharing!

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  2. Bias tape is so frustrating to make without a bias tape maker, but I'm puzzled by the winding and ironing parts you describe. I have never heard of such a fancy bias tape machine. It sounds awfully expensive. The kind I have looks a bit like a whistle and you just run the strips through it on your ironing board and press it as it comes out. There's a picture in this post:

    http://mouseborgdesigns.blogspot.ca/2013/02/the-1790s-stays-are-done.html

    It works very well and was only a few dollars. I marked the width of the strips on a quilting square with masking tape, so bias tape is nice and easy to make now.
    Thank you or answering my questions, and for having such an awesome blog!

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