Sewing Diaries
-
Edwardian Jacket and Skirt
'The Importance of Correct Corseting'
-
Other Projects
October
9, 2003: Started the belt.
The
belt was the first thing I tackled while making the dress. It is made of
3/4 of a yard off white linen. I decided to have the belt fasten in
the back with eyelets and lacings, so it was constructed with only two pieces.
I then looked at
original pictures
and decided the gold swag design was made of small gold disks or
sequins.
I was very wary of using sequins- the remind me of Vegas showgirl type costumes- but for the time, effort and price, nothing
would work better.
Plus, I still think the original looks like
sequins! I sewed a long strip of gold sequins all around the
edges of the belt (see first photo) and then
started to measure out the swag design. I
started by counting out
27 sequins
a swag, but that looks too large to me, so I started over with 17-19
sequins in a 3 inch area. The second photo shows the beginning of the
design, before it was sewn down. Third, we have the belt finished before
dyeing, and the last two photos
show the finished belt. In the earlier
pictures you will
see that I left the end of the belt with enough sequins for
two more swags,
if needed- I want the belt to
match with the end of the dress
exactly. I ended up only sewing
one more. The construction and
beading of the belt only took about 2 weeks to finish.
I
should have never started the belt before my fabric
arrived!
Unsurprisingly, it was a much darker and more
yellow color then my belt. I tested a
scrap of linen and sequins in a tea/yellow Rit dye- it worked out perfectly, so I dyed the
entire belt this way. Although the test sequins did not melt in a similar
temperature water, some sequins on the belt did curl slightly and now have a
rainbow cast. This is only noticeable up close, and doesn't look as bad as
I feared- it actually makes them look a lot more natural. However, I still
defiantly learned my lesson in starting too soon.
There are actually two belts overlapping each other, the gold designed one and a small silver, metal belt. This metal belt is also seen in Eowyn's green gown, and an excellent photo of this belt on the White Wool dress is here.
November
1, 2003: I had almost given up hope on finding a decent substitute for the
metal belt when I happened on these belt parts at Joanne fabrics. They
were 2.99 for two and in the fabric section, with lots of other belt making
supplies. I bought all they had but still need more. The disks are actually bronze colored, not silver as
they
appear in the photos. The smaller, flowery shaped disks will be the smaller pieces, the second photo shows
what the centre disk will look like. I carefully spray painted the disks
silver and then buffed them with steel wool so the relief would be gold.
Then I joined them all with jump disks.
November 2, 2003:
After taking a look at the metal belt over the linen belt, I
realized
the spray paint made my disks look
plastic and dull. You can see that in the photo to your left. I am
now in the process of removing the paint...I'll figure out another way to make
them look silver, or simply leave them their original color.
November 20, 2003- Joann's is out of disks and will not be getting any more in (my Joann's is closing for a while and these types of disks are not available online) Sadly, I am putting this part of the belt aside- for now. Hopefully I can come back later and finish it up, but right now it isn't looking too promising. :(
