My mother taught me to sew Barbie dresses from scraps in her rag bin when I was a very young girl. Later I scaled them up for American Girl Doll dresses, then finally I started making historic gowns for myself, long before I had any idea there were places to go and wear these to. Now I sew garb for myself and a few friends for SCA, LARP, Commonwealth Vintage Dancers, and just because I sometimes want a pretty gown.
Major Completed Projects:
1480's Florentine Gown: This Florentine upper-class ensemble was my entry to the Realm of Venus Italian Renaissance Costume Challenge, and a very fun experience.
1410s French Gown and 1410s French Horned Headdress: This was a quick way to recreate the look of the side-laced gowns with swooping sleeves seen in some of the illustrations of the works of Christine de Pizan.
1560s Nobleman's Outfit: This is an Elizabethan kit I made for my lord composed of a doublet, jerkin, and panned trunkhose and mostly based on patterns from Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion vol. 3.
15th Century Burgundian Gown and Butterfly Hennin: While somewhat late period for my persona, I fell in love with the design of the 15th century V-neck gowns. This also my first experiment with hat making, which was very fun.
1860s Ball Gown: Post-SCA period, but it was a very fun project for a Civil War era gown.
14th Century Heraldic Gown: This is a 4-panel bust supportive gown (aka kirtle/cotehardie/gothic-fitted-dress) done in the heraldic colors of the East Kingdom fencing crew The Handsome Boys and appliqued with their symbols.
14th Century Bocksten Tunic: This is a man's mi-parti (two colored) tunic that I made based off of the extant Bocksten man pattern and images from the Romance of Alexander.
14th/15th Century Velvet Surcoat & Purple Gown: I have always loved the classic surcoat look, so this is a surcoat and gown combination that I made for Crown Tourney a few years ago.