One of my friends is getting crowned King of the larp group he plays with, and I'm making a coronation robe for him. He sent me this as inspiration:
After some discussion (and seeing my estimated costs!) He decided to go with a satin lining instead of ermine. He still wanted the cowl/capelet portion to be ermine, and I'm going to trim the edges like the inspiration pic. As luck would have it, I wasn't able to locate any faux ermine (it may not exist judging by how hard I scoured the internet) so I used this tutorial to make my own. It came out pretty well but it was SO labor intensive! We also changed the red velvet to purple and I kept the whole thing ankle length so he can walk without dragging it in the mud. I need to ask him if he want the big satin bows and the gold tassel closure - he's going big with this outfit, but that may be too much for him. I'm using Butterick 4030 View A, but without the collar. I'll be finishing it this weekend and I'll post pics when it's done.
I'm also making him a crown. It's the domed kind with a velvet inset and lots of bling. I found some decorative brass banding intended for antique lamp repair that's just perfect for a crown! I'll do a photo journal while I make that so you can share in my shenanigans. Provided it turns out all right I'm going to count this as my hat entry in Trystan's Accessorizing Head-to-Toe challenge.
In addition to all that, I made six very red robes from Simplicity 5840, View A. These are meant to mimic the red robes of a Catholic cardinal. It's a nod to one of the larp's religious groups, Mithrans, who roleplay similarly to the Catholic church. They'll be worn by six gentleman doing Gregorian chant, the first one swinging a brass censer (with lit incense), who are all leading in the new King. It's going to be a very showy coronation. :) Anyway, I just made the robes from JoAnn's cheapest broadcloth which I happily used 60% off coupons on. It took over 40 yards to make them all. They're completely serged (though I did cheat and set in the sleeves and hood/capelet combo with my 'normal' machine first.) Even the hems are a serged rolled hem. I'm kinda tired of seeing red now!
Next up I'll be sewing something for the new King's girlfriend. I'm thinking a peasant-style shirt, a simple skirt, and a corset/bodice from my favorite OOP fashion bodice pattern. I made her a hat for her birthday, so she'll be pretty set at that point. I also want to sew something for my hubby on the off chance we'll be able to make it to the event, but he's adamant that it stay on the bottom of my to-do list. He may have to be out of town during that time and he doesn't want me to work hard on something he won't be able to wear for a while. :( It figures that his outfit is the one that's loudest in my head right now. I briefly pondered something new for myself too, but I really doubt I'll have enough time and I've got the outfit I wore to the fairy picnic that none of those folks have seen yet. If I do wind up having some extra time, I may sew a longer vest out of the same gray velvet material. In my mind's eye it would be based on the pattern I made my natural form half-mourning bodice from because it gives such a fantastic shape, but yardage constraints and the thickness of the fabric itself may make that impossible. I'll cross that bridge if I even get to it.
In non-larp sewing news, I'm planning to enter the next Historical Sew Fortnightly challenge, Re-Make, Re-Use, and Re-Fashion. I've been haunting my favorite thrift stores lately and I happened across some matelasse (sp?) curtain panels in a light brown color. New petti time!!! You may remember I already have one matelasse petticoat, but it's fitted for my panniers. The new one will be fitted for the false rump I wore to last year's Georgian Picnic. After all, can a lady ever have too many petticoats?
