There are no strings on me... but cats and chocolate

I'm very happy tonight. It's been a long time I haven't been that crafty : today I

- make self-fabric bias for my 1928 dress,
- begin making the related self-fabric pipping,
- sew together the parts of the overskirt of said costume,

- then I try to make a pattern for a 1880 poke bonnet (you can see here, here, here, here, here, here and here -- the first hat -- that poke bonnet was indeed very fashionnable in the first years of the 1880s), with so-so results, but it's only my first attempt,

- and I'm also hoping to finish my crocheted so-called 1928 cap tonight, while lazily surfing on internet.

A good day, really.

My favorites of the moment :

- Japanese fabric, I'm loving it :


Too modern for what I want to do, but I still try to photoshop it. Weird, isn't it ? Well the dress itself is already weird...


- Japanese patterns books and magazines : I want to make all of this stuff, it's insane :)


Special hints of "Pattern magic" : very modern and graphic and weird.


- My new shoes : deliciously vintage. But fake vintage. At H&M.


- Julien : french future pop idol.


I don't care the fuck up about pop idol, but that guy just gives me goose pump... of pure pleasure. In real life he's a conceptual artist, and while I don't like conceptual art, I like what he did in term of conceptual music and starisation : he doesn't care about winning, he doesn't care about singing always in a right tune, his main goal is to transform every song he's given (he changes the silly lyrics into dadaistes tracts, turns a stupid pop song about a lolita into a very troubling song that suggest rape), each of his interpretation is overacted and second degree, and he never get out without his ukulele and his girly hair-clip.

And he's outrageously cuuuute !!
And the french Elle says that he's the hottest guy of the moment, before brad pitt and justin Timberlake.

I recieve today some La Mode Illustrée that I bought on Ebay, and of course, because it's me, because this kind of thing always happened to me, one of them is not the good one. Wrong year. I could have let go if 1) this one was not still on sale on Ebay. Stupide seller... 2) it's one of this LMI which content is merely "What if we talk about chairs ?". Booooring.

Now I have to send it back, wait for the other one, bla bla bla. I don't have time and money to spend in all this sh*t.


On a most cheerfull side, I have a back up plan for Vault le Vicomte : as my dress-in-Think-in-Progress will be complicated (lot of pattern to improvise), I decided that I needed a quick back-up plan. and fortunately, while searching the stash, I found a lovely striped cotton fabric that I had forgotten, out of which I should be able to make the Pattern of Fashion 1780-90 Round Gown. It would make a lovely summer dress.

Box-pleating is a method weirdly placed between pain and fun. To resume, I would point how fascinating it is to watch oneself sweat blood and water to press correct mathematical idiot box-pleats. Speaking of someone allergic to anything related to numbers, it's surrealist. I count : it needs 30 minutes to make two good box-pleats. A least, I making large ones.

This pleats are for the underskirt by the way : my insipration is this KCI dress. It's maybe not obvious (nothing is obvious with moire), but I think the underskirt has large box-pleats.

Foundation is cut and half sewn. The last seams are to be made with the silk taffetas parts. The apron of the skirt is half sewn. And the good news is that my taffetas is of middle quality. Having bought silk taffetas on sale, I was afraid to have real bad quality silk, but it could have been worse. It could also have been a lot better !! The problem being that the color is very clear, an almond green, and the defects are then more obvious. Anyway. It's silk. Shut up. Enjoy. You're not going to be able to have cheap silk for a long time now.


More randomn, I realise I have made plans too have a green dress for every period. I mean, I love green, it is not a secret, but will looking trough my books, I realise I have mentally mark absolutly all the green gowns with a "I'm going to make something similar". Nearly one dress, or costume, for each period. The only period for wich I just can't see dress in green is Regency. It just dont work for me. But pine forest green redingote like the one in the movie Monsieur N ? Mmmh yummy !