2014 Review

In 2014 I made:

Lucy from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

A fantasy gown.

  A Viking outfit.

Ezio’s outfit from Assassin’s Creed II.

Ezio’s outfit from Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood.

Ezio’s outfit from Assassin’s Creed: Revelations.

A cotton petticoat (not pictured).

* * * * *

In the past year I discovered Dorset buttons which I first made for Lucy and then for my AC II costume.

These buttons are inexpensive, light, flat and soft which makes them very useful. The downside is that they take 40 minutes to an hour each to make, but for these costumes I found that manageable.

I used bleach on fabric for the first time ever to decorate the AC: Revelations costume and was very pleased with the outcome. I also discovered the usefulness of string as part of the trimming toolkit.

With the Lucy and Assassin costumes I started to come to terms with myself about not always needing everything to be screen accurate. I’ve often observed that the overall impact of a garment is more important than whether the small details are right but that doesn’t stop me getting worked up about them. However I managed to be satisfied with having the Lucy outfit and the AC II outfit trimmed with a gold pattern rather than trimmed with a screen-identical gold pattern.

 

These are not the same.

Very few people other than me will notice, and if I had adapted or hand-done something for the sake of accuracy but of poorer quality, that would have been noticeable.

While attempting an accurate trim on the AC II outfit I discovered my limits in the field of handsewing which might, if I am very sensible, help me to make more realistic decisions about future garments. I ended up painting the motifs and using braid instead.

While I didn’t develop many new skills making the Assassin outfits I still learned a lot from them. I had to solve many challenges with regard to patterning, fitting, historicity, accuracy and construction, and went through the process with a lot of doubt as to how they would turn out. Happily, I think they eventually turned out well. Of course, in 2015 they will require me to develop a new skill-set as I try to make the armour and weaponry to go with them.

Given that I am largely self-taught and am constantly putting myself in situations where I have no idea what I’m doing, it was kind of odd to take on a mentoring role in the last year. At the beginning of the year I was asked for help by a girl from church who had never sewn before, so I walked her through making a sundress. It was a fairly complicated first project, containing darts, front/sidefront construction and a zip, and required fitting a mock-up. However, I am of the belief that it is better for a beginner to make something they want rather than something simple but dull.

I also spent some time sewing costumes with my young cousin. I have achieved my goal of corrupting the next generation! When we visited in the middle of the year I did some corsetry with her. When she visited us a few weeks ago she made this Victorian-inspired gown (McCall’s pattern 6097).

It’s not completely finished in the picture, but it's pretty good for three days work. I’m very proud of her.

Now, I’m going to stop typing because I have a new project to start.