Anyone ever make a ren faire style costume?

[TheOtherVillainess]

My neighbor has an old sewing machine she's getting rid of (doesn't want it though it works fine) and I'm contemplating making a ren faire costume. Why? Just because I can!

Anyway..it's going to be a simple costume, nothing overly fancy. A vest with a white off-the-shoulder shirt under neath, long skirt and that's about it. Maybe a headscarf to match the skirt, I dunno yet.

TOV

 

[FantasticDisFamily]

That should be a fairly simple task. You probably want to check out the costume section of several pattern books - Simplicity and McCalls both are relatively easy patterns. That should give you a starting place to put the actual cuts together. At least I'm presuming that's what you're getting at! But perhaps I presume too much.

I've made quite a few things in this style, although most were for the stage so we could work with the 30 foot rule letting us work with some interesting fabrics and trims that would NOT work up close!

Deb

 

[Sarangel]

Speaking as someone who has worked at various Renaissance Faires for years, please don't do an 'off the shoulder' shirt - it's completely wrong for the period.

The rest of the project should be pretty easy, except for the Bodice. There *are* some 'historical' patterns available which are a very good starting place. For the skirt, you can either make a series of rectangles gathered into a waistband, or you can cut triangles (with the point lopped off) for a skirt that is fuller at them & not so bunchy at the waist. The shirt should be a high coller (like a mandarin) tied at the neck with rectangles of fabric gathered into it and regular set-in sleeves with cuffs that tie like the collar. I don't make my shirts fasten up the front because I like to open them to expose cleavege. The bodice will be the most difficult part of this project, as it should be fitted tightly and laced up the front. The first time I made a bodice, I adapted a pattern, made the bodice, and then had to take it in 3 times before it fit right. You'll need boning up the front to keep it stiff and provide support. There's a great book called Elizabethan Costuming by Janet Winter & Carolyn Shultz that can help a beginner adapt modern patterns to Elizabethan Silhouttes.

Good luck & enjoy your faire...

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

I wasn't thinking of going strictly period..maybe a combination of period and fantasy.

I know one thing I DON"T want...a bodice that squishes my ****s so tight they spill out over the top in a gross fashion. I saw waaaay too much of that at this year's Scarborough Faire (which I did attend back in late April). It was totally disgusting.

TOV

 

[Sarangel]

I know one thing I DON"T want...a bodice that squishes my ****s so tight they spill out over the top in a gross fashion.

I agree that when they're done wrong, they are gross. But (again speaking from experience) as a well-endowed individual, when a bodice is done correctly it can be more comfortable than modern undergarments. I can even run in mine (which I have yet to find a sports bra that will allow me the same freedom). The trick is in *where* you cut the top of the bodice - it must be more than 2" above the nipple after everything is squished 'up.' Also, you have to put boning in to keep everything up. I use steel corset bones, since the plastic boning has a tendency to break.

If you're going the 'fantasy' route, try looking at the corset-type tops in the patterns. That way, the sleeveless look looks better and it doesn't look like you were trying for historical accuracy & missing...