Q&A on sewing and design...give and get!

[Lessien Elensar]

Hey guys, wasn't sure where to put this so if u know of somewhere better it might be a good idea for the mods to move it...........

anyway, wat this is about is, that - i have a formal coming up and i was hoping that i could have a kind of elvish inspired dress if u know wat i mean, and i was wondering if anyone could direct me in the direction of maybe some good pictures of any type of elvish dress or anything that i could use....... if anyone has any ideas or info it would be much appreciated, thanks :) :thumbs:

[Bonos-Girl]

theres a site focused on the films costumes here:
http://www.alleycatscratch.com/lotr/

try looking round there...they have quite a lot on galadriels dresses.

[Arwen Elf]

You have helped more than one person, oh wise and mighty. . . .:elfqueen:

[Bonos-Girl]

wise and mighty...hmm....well.....i'll accept it even if it isn't true! lol

i love that site...i spent over an hour on it just looking at all the elf costumes in detail...i didn't realise i'd spent that long and i missed the bus though...nevermind! lol

[Winyaél Greenleaf]

I've visited this website b4 but never looked into it in detail. It's great! Found some nice, new leggy pics. haha. lol :thumbs:

[Lessien Elensar]

thank you so much!!! :grin:

[Black Rider]

that's great, it's actually going to help me too. see what happens when someone asks a question lol

[Elleth]

If you actually wanted to buy an elvish dress from the movies, I found a good website. (Though it is kind of expensive...)
http://www.moviecostumes.com/lordof-elven.htm

[Bonos-Girl]

i found a site once that had galadriels dress...it was beautiful...but it cost so much....

[Nessa Isilra]

thats a cool site, I liked Galadriels crown its pretty

[Bonos-Girl]

i love that site...i wish i had more money that i could spend on random dresses....lol

[Arwen, Elven Princes]

This weekened I actuall did my hair EXACTLY like Arwen during Fight to the Ford. I was elated, and then I did my sisters hair Like Legolas. I got most of my info from that ally cat scratch site or whatever it's called. That is one of my favorite sites.

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Are you planning on making an M:E. costume? Need inspiration...piccies...web- addies...patterns....help picking a design, the right fabric or colour...altering a pattern or sewing tips? Is your sewing machine not behaving? This is the place to ask!

Any opinion or experience will be welcomed, so answere at will, guys! :thumbs:

I'm starting my own costume this summer, the progress of which I will post some other place . I have many years of sewing experience, and I've been working as a decorator for the past 17 years , so take advantage of me folks!:)

[Bonos-Girl]

you wouldn't possibly be able to give me any advice about what material to make a galadriel dress out of...like the top layer...the kinda filmy bit......

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Is it this dress...?

http://www.alleycatscratch.com/lotr/Elf/Galadriel/Prolog/gladProl_sj.jpg

[Bonos-Girl]

yep....i think...the picture isnt too clear...i mena the one she wears when she shows frodo her mirror in lothlorien

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Sorry, that was the prologe dress, here's the right piccie...very good detail of the fabric too!

http://www.fantasyplanet.cz/lotr/picture_show.asp?id=490&obr_url=../gfx%2Fpictures%5Fclanky%2Flotr%5Fgal%5Fvelky%5F200 1%5F8%5F18%5F15%5F40%5F8%2Ejpg

This kind of embroidered and beaded fabric will be very hard to get your hands on, not to mention very expensive! I would look in curtain- shops, printed voiles and embroidered chiffons are popular nowadays. I actually saw an embroidered polyester chiffon the other day that made me think of exactly this dress! Chiffons have the right transparency, and are more affordable than organzas, which by the way also would look good. You could also consider a transparent lace curtain- fabric with a small pattern.

If you, like me, tend to get clammy in polyesters, don't worry, cuz these are so thin it won't be a prob...especially if you use a viscose- satin for the underdress. Those might also be available in a curtain- store...or look for bed- linens!

Be aware of that chiffons and similar fabrics are difficoult to sew with machine...threads are very easily pulled out when sewing, and the fabric is extreemly slippery...lives its own life! From the experience of sewing only a chiffon scarf, I would sew the overdress by hand!

Hope this was helpful, hollar if you need more help!

edit: The link to the piccie doesn't seem to work...I've been having some issues with my pc this afternoon, so I was hoping someone else can try it and post whether it works or not?

[Bonos-Girl]

the link seems to work but not the pic on my computer....hmm..weird

thanks loads! that was really useful....now all i have to do is search curtain shops and linen shops! lol lol

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Yea...weird... I'll upload the piccie to the photoforum tomorrow, dunno whats wrong.

[Winyaél Greenleaf]

Heh... I'll pin up this thread so it won't go 'missing'. I think it's really useful for all aspiring costume makers. Thanks Cuiel! And all who are going to share their knowledge here regarding this topic too. :thumbs:

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Thanx for sticking it...I'm also sure a lot of useful tips will be posted as we go along!:)

Ok, BG, here's another link, hope it works!

http://www.warofthering.net/pp321/showphoto.php?photo=324&papass=&sort=1&thecat=3013

[Bonos-Girl]

thanks Cuiel! thats a greta picture for the material!

[Catz]

actually......from years of doing costumes for stage on a budget ;) can i also suggest that if you live near an upholsterers that you have a look at furnishing fabrics also(maybe not so much for Galadriels dress, but for the heavier items and particularly the Hobbits gear).....you can sometimes get bargains from ends of bolts, and unusual textures and colours that you cant get elsewhere.....they often also have bits and pieces of trim that can be used to good effect with a bit of imagination ;)
:catz:

[Bonos-Girl]

thans catz! i'll have a look next time i'm in town!

[Winyaél Greenleaf]

That's a fine idea Catz! I think curtain materials are pretty good for costume-making. velvet curtains might do nicely for Frodo's outfit :grin:

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Oh yea, there are lots of great furniture fabric...wonderful patterns and colors...I got my velvet from exactly such a place! And not only for hobbit- clothes, but for borders on hems and sleeves...even some necklines...any place where these materials texture and wheight doesn't work against a flowing dress or trailing sleeve.:)

[Arwen of Imladris]

Hi I had a question do you have like the info on how to make arwens blood red dress? (the one with red sleeves and the rest is black)

[Cuiel Rilwen]

That dress is my absolute fav of all! And I'm aiming at something similar with my own dress...well not quite but the shape and colors at least!

There are a lot of research done at Allycatscratch for this dress, and since I'm looking at it myself, I have it all at hand. But since I don't know you it would be great to know if you've sewn something similar before, or in case you're a beginner at sewing, if someone's assisting you? I'm asking this because I know that nothing takes away the joy of creating like taking on too complicated a task, and there are many ways of doing this dress. So I need to know if you want it easy or complicated, or something inbetween!

Some of the fabrics will be hard to find, but there are ways to work around that too. So just let me know, and I'll post links to piccies, patterns and the lot!:)

[Arwen of Imladris]

well my mom works at a sewing factory so she is going to help me make it
but please can you tell me what you can about the dress :)

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Thats great...in that case I suggest that you look at this page with your mum:
http://www.alleycatscratch.com/lotr/Elf/Arwen/BloodRed.htm

These folks have everything figured out. Now since I've been digging into this already, I can tip you somewhat on what choices to make when it comes to patterns and fabric. First look at the pattern sketches. You'll se that there's a sleeveless overdress and an underdress with trailing sleeves.

Allycatscratch have pattern suggestions at this link:
http://www.alleycatscratch.com/lotr/makingem/Patterns/Elves.htm#Arwen

I find that these two are adaptable if you want a tailored dress:
http://www.simplicity.com/assets/9891/9891.jpg
http://www.simplicity.com/assets/5843/5843.jpg

and these two are easy patterns:
http://store.sewingtoday.com/cgi-bin/butterick/shop.cgi?s.item.5627=x&TI=%275627%27&pageNum=1&M=&UK=30169149
http://www.1sewingpatterns.com/images/9103bsim.jpg

You can order patterns online, but I'm sure you can find them in your local fabric shop.

The overdress is a little wider that the underdress. Its easy to adapt the pattern, just trace it on transparent paper, but make the skirt a little wider than the original pattern. The neckline can be cut to your choice, you can scope it, or make spaghettistraps for easy sowing. The original dress has a shaped biaz sown to the neckline, continuing over the shoulders and all around. Remember, the underdress will be cut higher round the neckline, its gonna show above the neckline of the overdress. If you choose an easy- pattern, cut the sleevepattern appr. 1/2 inch above your elbow. Have your mum help you draw a pattern for the long sleeves, it should be half a circle. The pattern drawn here has gores, they're optonal and in my opinion not necessary. See this link for tips:
http://www.alleycatscratch.com/lotr/PatternMod/Neckline.htm

This dress isn't very tight fitted, but the skirt is long and pooling. Think about how this will work practically, this is also important when you make the pattern for the trailing sleeves. If this is gonna look good, don't make too small hems. Add 10 cm for the skirt and sleeve hems, they will drape sooo much better!

Here's some picture links, closeup sleeve and neck:
http://www.fantasyplanet.cz/lotr/picture_show.asp?id=3646&obr_url=../gfx/pictures_clanky/lotr_gal_velky_20021231144226358.jpg
See the slevee caps, they're also optional.

and full figure:
http://www.fantasyplanet.cz/lotr/picture_show.asp?id=3645&obr_url=../gfx/pictures_clanky/lotr_gal_velky_20021231142189012.jpg

Fabrics: I've been lucky enough to find a wonderful red velvet at a furniture manufactorer, and today I found a wonderful patterned fabric that will work well instead of the paisley which is used on the top sleeves on the original, also at a furniture store. If you have any such stores near you, go there!

Otherwise there will be crushed velours for the overdress at very reasonable prices in you local shop. If you can't find a paisley or similar for the upper sleeves and neckline, consider making the underdress sleeve from the velour, with a gold lace on top, and lace the necklines on both the dresses with it as well. If you make the biazed neck, be sure to strenghten the fabric with an interlining as it will hold all the heavy fabric of the dress! The underdress can be made in a silk or satin, the color is speculated to be dark midnight blue as the overdress. Noone has really seen it, it hasnt been on any exhibitions yet, but its only gonna show under you arms and ofcourse if you lift your skirt! Oh and remember to get a matching lining for your sleeves, so the inside will show as beautiful as the rest!

Making it:
http://www.alleycatscratch.com/lotr/Elf/Arwen/BloodRed/BRMaking.htm

This last link shows all the tricks! Be sure to tell us about you progress, and get in here if something in this looong post is unclear or you're having troubble!:) :thumbs:

[Arwen of Imladris]

OMG... WOW *looking in amazment*
you got this down THANX alot :)

[Cuiel Rilwen]

You're very welcome, sharing is fun!:)

[Catz]

are you looking at making that dress yourself Cuiel?
that sounds excellent.......but a lot of hard work ;) youll have to show us when youre done:thumbs:
:catz:

[Cuiel Rilwen]

I've actually started already! Tho I'm not aiming at making it completely like it; I'm using the same patterns so the outlines will be the same, but the overall style will be more Rohan-ish since I'm using linen and cotton velvet rather than those shiny silks. I'm spliting the sides on the overdress up to my hips.

I'll post piccies, sure!

[Catz]

excellent:thumbs: ill be very keen to see them once your done........and id imagine that your fabric choices would be a bit more wearable than the ones in the movie too ;)
and that brings up a good point too..........that it is possible to substitute fabrics in these outfits, to get round issues of cost, weight and durability............it has to be remembered that the costumes on screen are designed for screen, not for actual wear
:catz:

[Ilmarë]

Cuiel,sweetie... if you need any Celtic knotwork or embroidery patterns... just let me know. I think i can probably get some for u:grin:

[Cuiel Rilwen]

YES thats exactly what I need!!! How could you know, Ilm! I've actually been planning on doing some celtic embroidery on the underdress...a quite broad band on the hem and a narrow around the neckline...and I've got this lovely linen yarn in a slightly darker tone than the linen I'm using for the dress! My overdress will be shorter than the underdress, so the embroidery will show, also the neckline on the underdress higher than the overdress. Oh I wish my scanner was working cuz I made a drawing! Pretty pliiis if you have any....I'll send ya some gifs so you'll know what I'm after...but bear in mind that I'm VERY open for suggestions!:whoohoo: :hyper:

Making the dress wearable is very important to me, AND I have to be able to move in it, as I will use it for formal occations in the future. Tho the first one will be the RotK premiere! :)

[Catz]

there are several good sites that i use for knotwork and celtic patterns that can be adapted for many uses..........this (http://www.aon-celtic.com/) is a good one......this (http://celticonedesign.bravepages.com/) one ive not used much at all.........this (http://www.fockburystencils.co.uk/kells.htm) one has downloadable stencils.........this (http://www.geocities.com/keltikwarriorwoman/celticdesigns.html) one has some nice motifs as does this (http://www.davehall.force9.co.uk/knotwork/knotwork.htm) one ;) if you can get the page to load lol and this (http://www.decalzone.com/cutout/celtic.shtml) one has some nice animorphic knotwork
theres heaps more.......and i also have a selection of medallions and knotwork designs on my own PC that i can give anyone whos interested......just PM me with your email
:catz:

[Ilmarë]

Cuiel, hon... no problem. There's a fantastic little embroidery shop in town that i'm sure i can get the patterns etc for the knotwork... just send me the gifs and i'll do my best for you sweetie.:grin:
How could i know??? Heh.. buds just do;) lol

[Catz]

are you thinking of using counted cross stitch for your embroidery Cuiel? thats very effective for the more angular forms of celtic bands.........but if youre going for a more curvilinear style, have you considered chain stitch? running chain stitch is very quick to work, and holds curves beautifully.......this dress sounds like its going to be lovely, and im sure it will look wonderful:grin:
:catz:

[Arwen of Imladris]

I had a question my mom said that we should start on the dress
so she said that why not may the over dress only and make the under dress a shirt but a little longer so that we won't have to make two dresses what do you think?

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Making the underdress like a shirt will do several things for ya: it will make it easier and faster to sew, and also cooler, (as in colder), to wear.

If you want this to be more than a premiere costume, but still a bit easier, skip the lining on the overdress, but make the underdress, thus making it a combined underdress/ lining. A shirt might slide upwards while you move about in it, being a nuisance that needs correcting all the time....which be very difficoult to accomplish and not very elvish!

Don't get me wrong, I know everyone doesn't want to put all that work into making such an outfit, and I both respect and understand that! If you want it as easy as possible, while your mum has limited time to spend on the project, you can skip the lining and make the shirt, but make it long enough to reach your hips, and then stitch its sideseams by hand to the inside of sideseams of the overdress, so it will stay put!

:)

[Arwen of Imladris]

I'm telling my mom that it would be better to make both over and under dress but she wanted to see what you said :) and i told her the same thing about the shirt idea but told me to ask you anyways thanx alot i'll ask you more quetions if i need help thanx again :)

[Cuiel Rilwen]

:grin: well then you tell her girl! Hope she agrees with us and you get what you want!lol

That first link to celtic design was esp nice. I haven't really decided on what to do yet, but chain stiches was my first thought. Hm...I'll have to start thinking about that!

[Arwen of Imladris]

yeah hope it doesn't get me in trouble ;)

[Catz]

mmm you could also use one of the celtic knotwork medallions as a beaded motif for emphasis......done in lazy stitch they wouldnt take long at all and it would add a subtle sparkle and richness
i dont know if youve ever done any beading, but its pretty straightforward
lol just a thought ;)
and yeah Arwen.......its important that youre happy with what youre making....im sure your mother will understand
:catz:

[Black Rider]

hi Cuiel. this is a great idea for a forum! i've done some sewing and costuming but it's always been relatively easy and simple. none of the members of my family or my friends like or are able to sew so i've made them things like drapes and pillows etc. but i'm looking to do something more ambitious for this years' haloween costume for myself. last year i made a simple costume inspired by Galadriel's movie costume. this year i'm planning on doing something fantasy-oriented taking different aspects from different costumes and putting them into one costume. of course still keeping it simple but trying different techniques.
anyways, i was wondering if you had any idea or advice on how to go about creating the neckline ornament piece on this Arwen costume:
http://www.alleycatscratch.com/lotr/Elf/Arwen/Hope/Hope_mz_cal.jpg
the fabricy thing that drapes down. i don't even know what it's called or if it has a name, but it looks like an intermediate sort of thing and that's perfect for my skills or lack thereof.
anyway, thans in advance for any advice you may have whatsoever. otherwise i'd just probably go ahead and do it blindly... which might not turn out so well. lol no pressure... ;) j/k
~BR

[Cuiel Rilwen]

This is actually a dress that I couldn't remember seing before! It's obviously from TTT, for which I still must wait several months mecry decided to wait for the ext. Allycatscratch have two easy patterns suggested for this dress. You mention only making curtains and similar items, so I'm gonna explain some things thorroughly. This first one is particularly aimed at people with little sewing experience:

http://www.1sewingpatterns.com/images/9103bsim.jpg

It has no darts, (thingies that make the dress shape to your figure at the breast and waist), and will fit women with so called rectangular figures best; that means that hips, waist and breast are rather equal in meassurements. It's possible to make darts both in front and back if its needed, I can draw a piccie and post in my photoforum if you don't know how to do it.

This pattern is shaped, a little more complicated but not much.

http://store.sewingtoday.com/cgi-bin/butterick/shop.cgi?s.item.5627=x&TI=%275627%27&pageNum=1&M=&UK=30169149

Both patterns need to be altered on the neckline, it should be quite wide and "boat" shaped. The next pattern is suggested only to show how the neck is made; the fabric used here is rather thin and looks different than on the Hope Dress, but its basically the same.

collar:
http://store.sewingtoday.com/cgi-bin/butterick/shop.cgi?s.item.3663=x&TI=%273663%27&pageNum=1&M=&UK=30169149

The girls at Allycatscratch figure this dress to be of the same shape as Galadriels Prologue Dress. You can look at the research they've done for that dress here:

http://www.alleycatscratch.com/lotr/Elf/Galadriel/Prolog.htm

and even if you've probably seen what little they have on the Hope Dress, the research for it can be found here:

http://www.alleycatscratch.com/lotr/Elf/Arwen/Hope.htm

To make sure the collar fits the dress pattern of your choice, make a mock-up of the dress without the sleeves first; use an old sheet or something. Cut the parts from the pattern as it is, sew the sideseams, (and front/ backseams if you're using the shaped pattern), put the mock-up on and have someone draw the neckline with a soft pensil while you're wearing it. DRAW ONLY ON ONE HALF OF THE FRONT AND BACK; when the neckline is shaped the way you want it, you will fold the mock- up front and back on the center to mirror your draft. You can now cut the neckline down, but leave two inches above the drawn line. Try it on; if the neckline still is too high, cut notches with appr. one inch between them all the way around, down to the drawn line. This way you can adjust the neckline without cutting any fabric away, and tape the fabric notches together if you make a mistake.

When you've mirrored your draft to the other half of the mock-up, you can start making a pattern/ mock-up for the big collar. Copy the new neckline on a piece of muslin or scrap fabric, 1 half front on fabric fold and 2 half backs with seam allowance on all sides. If you're using the shaped pattern this can prove difficoult, but not if you take the mock-up seams apart again. Draw a new line on the collar pattern 2 inches down form the neckline; this is the pattern for the dress facing. (The facing is needed to prevent the dress lining from showing at the neckline, and stabilizes the collars attachement.) Meassure at what width you want the collar to lie over your chest, and draw a new line at that point all along the shape of the neckline. Add 1 ½ inch to the width so you can wrincle it a little in the seams. Make the sides of the collar biased, you need room to move your arms. It's wise to make large seam allowances here, you will adjust the angle of the bias before lining and attaching the collar to the dress.

If you are happy with the dress mock-up, transfer the alterations to the pattern and cut the dress from the main fabric. Sew all the seams like on the mock-up. Put in the zipper; remember to start from the same point on both sides of the zipper or the two parts will not be attached proportionally correct. Sew the sleeves and attach them to the dress. Sew the dress lining if you are making one.

Of the main fabric, cut one front collar on fabric fold, 2 back collars; cut the same parts of lining. Cut one front facing on fabric fold of the main fabric, 2 backs. Iron vlieseline to all facing parts, leave flat to dry for 20 minutes to harden the vlieseline. Sew the facing together at the shoulders. Pin the shoulder seams of the collar main fabric together and put the dress on. Adjust the bias of the collar shoulderseams, mark your alterations with chalk or similar. Remove pins from shoulderseams. Transfer your alterations to the collar lining. Sew a seam with very large stitches along the shoulder seams on all main fabric parts. Pull the thread so the fabric wrincles a little. Sew the main fabric front and back collar together at the shoulders. Pull the wrincle-thread carefully out. Pin the collar main fabric and lining together right sides facing. Adjust the lining width, it doesn't have to be wrincked. Sew the main fabric and lining together at the centre back and around the bottom; leave 1/3 inch open at the top of the centre back seams .

Sew the collar lining to the dress main fabric, front collar to front dress, back collar to back dress. Make the shoulder seams of the dress and collar match. The seam allowance should follow the 1/3 inch you left open at the centre back seams. Sew the dress facing to the collar main fabric. Cut seam allowances back to 1/4 inch. Fold the facing over to the wrong side of the dress, pin and sew either by hand to the dress with invisible stitches, or on machine to the dress lining, right sides facing, if you have made one. In order to be able to open the dress in the back, the two back collar parts are not joined. If you want them to be joined, sew small hooks to the lining edges by hand. Close the hooks before sewing them on, it will be better to know where to position them that way.

Need any other tricks or advice, hollar!

[Black Rider]

well... that certainly answers my question! that was wonderful, i deffinitely printed that out, i owe you! i've made garments with darts before so perhaps i'll try my hand at that one pattern... (i made my prom dress and got lots of compliments:grin: ) anyways, it sounds easy enough, i'm going to try it, thanks a million! :thumbs:

oh: and the dress is from the elrond/arwen scene when arwen is crying... :-)

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Good! The darts are gonna look great, I used a similar pattern for my dress, and it shapes perfectly! Be sure to take piccies, we can post links in here when we're done with our projects!

I was thinking it might be good also to post about obstacles we tackle underways...could be good for others who are planning on doing something similar!:cool:

[Black Rider]

oh i'll deffinitely try to get some pix when i finish. not sure when i'll start i've got some work for school "and that takes priority over everything" alas... heh heh. anyways i'll try to explain through my obstacles as there's bound to be some!

[Radagast]

I made a Lord of the rings T-shirt.. in art class... with a Velchro Back...

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Now I'm curious to what motif it has...and to what you're hoping will stick to your velchro...?roflmao

[Radagast]

I just printed with a special printer this image follow the link

http://www.lordoftherings.net/index_202a_le_down_desk.html and its the one were it says Hobbiton...

And the velchro is just for fun...

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Can't find it....no Hobbiton...you did an iron-on thing? Velchro for fun...very artistic! I tried iron-on for a x-mas gift last year, looked good, but didn't stay good. Think it might hold better on woven fabrics instead of knits, how did yours hold up through washing?

[Radagast]

Mine was "Printed" on... a friend at school runs a "T-Shirt Logo" company called Point Blank... and its still on so.. very positive...

First follow the link..

http://www.lordoftherings.net/index_202a_le_down_desk.html

then The Desktop called - Touring Middle Earth -You pick that one and then you pick - Hobbiton and when you pick that one... voila! Its underneath the Rivendell section.

:ring:lol roflmao

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Now I got it...that particular desktop didnt even show on my pc the last time. Cool with the T-shirt Logo company...sure beats my home made stuff! Fun trying out new stuff tho. Got a piccie?

[Radagast]

Now.. and my Digital Cam. was just broken... det var nogle dumme unger der tabte det på gulvet..... a little danish he he....

[Radagast]

Home made stuff?..

Is it good?.... got a Piccie?../Picture?

[Elfdaughter]

Got any ideas how to make a simple dress, yet still have it look Elvish?

[Bonos-Girl]

you could try the sticky at the top of the page for design tips and ask any specific questions there...

[Elfdaughter]

Thanks!

[Elfdaughter]

Got any ideas how to make a simple dress, yet still have it look Elvish?

[Cuiel Rilwen]

You could use either of these patterns...print the piccies and bring them to the store in case they don't carry the brand of pattern. They're both easy to sew. Make sure you get the right fabric cuz some patterns are only made up to use on stretch fabrics.

http://www.simplicity.com/assets/7964/7964.jpg

http://www.1sewingpatterns.com/images/3763b.jpg

...or look at this page

http://www.alleycatscratch.com/lotr/makingem/Patterns/Elves.htm#Arwen

for more pattern suggestions, I don't know how experienced you are, so maybe there are some you'd prefer to the ones mentioned above!

Do you have a plan on how it should look?

[Arwen of Imladris]

thanx Cuiel Rilwen i still haven't finished my dress but i'm starting my elvish cloak i have everythhing ready to start hopefuly i finish by hollween :)

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Thats great Arwen, and cloaks are pretty easy to make so should be good! I'm almost done with my underdress, only hemming left...and the embroidery but I'm saving that for last. Maybe I should make a cloak too hmmm....

[Arwen of Imladris]

yeah the are easy so lets see how easy it is ;)

[Elfdaughter]

YAY!! Just finished my cloak!! It's white crushed velvet (well, like a velour type of material, kind of shiny) Gathered at the neck, with a hood...just have to hem the bottom, and take it up a bit, because I overestimated how long I'd need it. The hood was quite hard to do, because I was really just guessing how to do it...but it looks really cool! Thanks for your help...I've found some patterns for my dress now....

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Thats great! Are you gonna put up any pics in Creations so we can all go see it? The hood can be tricky I guess...one way of doing it is making the neckline 1 1/2 times the neckline of the cape, so you can gather it...or 1 /1/2 times the size you want the neckline to be if you're gathering the neckline of the cape as well. I actually think that was done on Arwen's greyish blue cape, the one she wore after disgussing her departure for the Gray Havens with Elrond. Wonderful color that cape!

Do you have any other tips on the cape?

[Elfdaughter]

I've actually done it a bit strangely...I've made the base of the hood smaller than the neckline of the cape, so the folds at the front hang down and rest on my shoulders - I have the hood attached to the cape at the back of the neck, and 3/4 of the way around the side of the neck. The hood is really long, so it covers my shoulders also. I've found that was the only way I would get it to lie properly, and give the natural folds of the material in the hood. This way the cape can gather at my shoulders, without distorting the lie of the hood.

There's no way I can put it up onto Creations, unfortunately, because I don't have a scanner of camera at uni. I might be able to put it up at Christmas though, when I get home.

[Black Rider]

that sounds really good Elfdaughter. i was just working on a cloak last night, until like 1 lol. it's made of satin and there's nothing really special about it, i would have LOVED to use velvet of any kind but it is very expensive, and a got a huge huge huge deal on this satin. so the whole thing, which is fully lined, weighs a ton! heh. i'd love to see a picture of yours.

[Bonos-Girl]

what colour is is BR?

i have a cloak....i cheated and bought one though.....its black crushed velvet....but i might try amking one at some point. as well as the hood is it hard to gte it even length all the way round...cos surely when the hood is attached it draws part of the bottom hem up slightly? :huh: i dunno...just trying to figure out logistical problems before i attempt it! lol

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Both sound lovely, guys! Cloakes look esp. good in heavy fabric. Makes it all more important to secure the seam between the neck and hood, maybe with double seams, cuz it will carry all that weight!

I made a cloak for my son last year, which I now have had to pick up and resew cuz he wore it to pieces! I made it out of some cheap black velvet I got on sale, out of 8 long triangles....cut the hood from a jacket pattern and added an long well kinda tube in the end like those that were usual in medeaval (sp?) times. I guess I'll use a similar hood as EG on my own tho, it sounds nice with the hood falling out over your shoulders!

BG...sow the hood on your cloak before adjusting the hem...then put it on and stand on a footstool while someone pins the hem for ya. That will make it even!

[Bonos-Girl]

lol...thats a great idea Cuiel....i'm so stupid :blush: lol

[Black Rider]

mine's black with a greyish blue lining. it's a pain in the butt to iron though - i want to get everything including the edges and seams all clean and crisp, but it just doesn't work, any ideas?

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Here to serve and protect you from sewing distress and frustration, BG!:grin:

But ironing is another matterpfbbt I HATE ironing! Anyone else with good ironing tricks?

[Bonos-Girl]

nope....i can iron simple things like tops...oh and hankerchiefs...lol...shirts...now thats another matter....it takes so so long...lol lol

[Black Rider]

i know, it does take so long, and it's so monotonous. i figure if i give it enough time all the stuff will fall into place. patience..................... lol

[Elfdaughter]

Shirts are the worst...I start with the neck, then the sleeves and shoulders, then then the sides...It's the only way I can do it!! (especially since I'm a student and can't get my parents to do it for me.............lol)

[Cuiel Rilwen]

pfbbt to ironing...at my age it's no use imagining that my mum is gonna come over to do it!

[Arwen, Elven Princes]

What's a good pattern for making the Fellowship cloaks?

[Amithrellas]

http://www.alleycatscratch.com/lotr/Things/FCloak.htm
Found this in my Halloween costume search. I haven't made it yet – waiting for the fabric I ordered online. They have quite a nice selection http://store.yahoo.com/phoenixtextiles/fabric.html (http://)
:grin:

040828:Edited broken link.

[Arwen, Elven Princes]

Your links are broken, but I go to Alleycatscratch all the time. So I know what your talking about.

[Elfdaughter]

Just click on the links so they open in a new window, highlight the name on the links, copy, then paste it into the toolbar.

[Black Rider]

oh just saying this in case anyone else has the same problem: for my ironing issues, all i did to get the edges clean and crisp on my cape was sew all the wat around it using a black bobbin which would show on the front, and grey thread which would show in the lining. now all the edges are crisp and it looks amazing.

[Polly Sandybanks]

Oh my God.. not much time left now until the premiere. I'm late as usual. I was going to buy a dress off the Internet or some other place, but I never found a good one. Then I did, but I waited too long and now it's not available anymore. And even if it was I wouldn't be able to afford it. So what I'm thinking now is to buy some cheap enough dress in some shop and then fix it up a bit.. make the sleeves longer and sort of wider (sp?) like elf-sleeves usually are, and some other things. I wonder if that could work. I've never tried it before, but since I really don't have any other options I guess I'll have to give it a try.

Does anyone know how to make those sleeves look good? How much fabric do you need and what sort of pattern should I use? I know I have to find the dress and the extra fabric first and then see... but .. hmm. It could be fun anyway. :)

I can't wait for the premiere. Now really the most important thing is to get tickets!

[Bonos-Girl]

it depends what typeof sleeves you want...i made a top with huge sleeves by kinda cheating and buying a length of fabric, cutting it in half and then sewing part of a side of the fabric to the top of a strap on a white top of mine...its hard to explain but its just basically got two pieces of material draped over my arms and sewn onto the top and side of the strap but not the bottom.....i know what i'm trying to say...please let me know if anyone else does and can explain better! lol

[Cuiel Rilwen]

I don't have the exact image in my mind of what you mean BG...but I thought I'd share what method I used, which wasn't very difficoult.

If you have a dress or top with a normal narrow sleeve, cut just above the elbow, its a good starting point. Get some fabric that fits color- and/ or patternwise, get something which is 140 cm wide, that way you will have only one seam. Buy 140 cm of it. Fold it right sides facing on centre, pin it so it stays like that. Cut the fabric into 2 equal parts, that makes appr. 70 cm each.

Have someone help you with this; stick a pin through the end of a meassuringtape, and ask your assistant to hold it in place at one of the corners of the fabric fold. Now meassure appr. 70 cm from this corner down on the fold and make marks with chalk or pins or whatever, while you move the tape in a quarter circle until you have passed both edges. Do the same on both pieces of fabric. When you cut after your markings you will have two half circles, but don't unfold the fabric yet.

Put the elbow-end of the upper dress sleeve diagonally across the centre of the quarter circle, make marks. Cut appr.2 cm ABOVE this line, (closer to the centre), this is for seam allowance. Sow the straight edges of the bell sleeves right sides facing. This is the bottom side of the sleeve. The fold will go on top. Sew the narrow hole on your bell sleeve to the the upper dress sleeve, right sides facing, and make sure the seam on the bell sleeve fits the underside of the upper sleeve. Hem the bell sleeve, appr. 2 cm. And voila!

This will make a sleeve that will fall nicely and also you will have to wear it folded on top of your arms. If you want to avoid the folds, you can cut an oval shape and match the length on fold to the length from elbow to wrist, + 15 cm.

I can explain it in norwegian/swedish if needed so PM me if you need me to.:)

[Polly Sandybanks]

Thanks a lot for your help. :) I think I'll have to print this and ask my mum or someone to help me out a bit. But first of all I'll need to find a dress and some fabric.
I think I got most of it in English, but an explanation in Norweigan/Swedish could be good as well, just to make sure that I understood it all correctly. If it's not a problem. I'll send you a PM. Thanks a lot! :)

[Celebriel]

The dresses at the movie costume sight are just to die for. I wish I had the money for one...would dress up and walk around in the house feeling like Arwen.

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Only happy to help! Be sure to take piccies!

[Polly Sandybanks]

I will. :) I just hope I'll manage to make it look ok. I'll go look for a dress next week.

Thanks for your help again. :)

[ElFLaDy]

Thank you everyone for welcoming me! ;) I realy apreshiate this!
Hey I need your advise: I am making a dress and what dress should i make Arwen's from ROTK ( the red one) or Eowen's the white one that she was wearing when Gndalf, Aragorn, LEgolas & Gimli came to Rohan? I realy preshiate your oppineon. :ring:

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Hello there, and welcome to this fab place!

For info on our request, go to "Behind the Scenes", there are a lot of tips gathered for costume making!:)

[Bonos-Girl]

ok..moved....lol

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Hehehehe...mod almighty on her post...thanks BG!:grin:

[Bonos-Girl]

anyways....i really love both dresses...i think i prefer the white one though....but its really your choice as to which to make! lol

[Hobbit]

Thanks for moving it here BG.
Eventhough I really like both dresses, I prefer Eowyn's white dress. But BG is right, it's really your choise to make, but we'll be happy to help with tips and advice, if needed.

[Cuiel Rilwen]

I also love'em both...I'd say pick the one that becomes you best...the one that flatters your figure and colors better!:thumbs:

[Striderfan]

Wow, those are both gorgeous dresses, so it really ends up in what your reasorces are, how long you have to make it, and what experiance you have in sewing. The Arwen dress looks pretty simple, although if it's the one i'm thinking of (the red one with the black sorta shift over it?) then it may be a bit difficult to find the right black velvet fabric....the eowyn dress is also beautiful, but again the only difficulty might be in finding the gold and siver brocade for the waist...I'm thinking that you may be able to find some really nice wide gold/silver ribbon and just use that instead if you can't find exactly the rights stuff...either way, I recomend you check out this really AMAZING site: http://www.alleycatscratch.com/lotr/ it has really detailed descriptions and tips on almost every costume in lotr and also has lots of suggestions for normal patterns you can buy but then just modify a bit to make them look exactly right ;)....I'm using it right now to make my own Eowyn costume, the brown shift with the blue blouse she wears at Helm's deep, and it's turning out pretty well....anyways, which ever one you make, they are both beautiful, so GOOD LUCK!! :grin:

[Altáriel]

arwen's coronation gown:
http://store.museumreplicas.com/cgi-bin/www11650.storefront/3fae3a400123fc0427454200c14805bf/Catalog/1065
:elfeek: :thumbs: :grin: ;)

[ElFLaDy]

wow tanx 4 ur help!!!! XD

[Elfdaughter]

Er....It's LIME GREEN!!!! Please tell me she's not wearing that!! It's LIME GREEN!!!! Any other shade of green would be nice...but not LIME!!!!

[Bonos-Girl]

yeah....its a beautiful dress apart from the colour....it would be lovely in a deep green rather than that horribe shade..

[Elfdaughter]

I agree. Actually, the design is very similar to the reddish/purple one she's wearing in the calendar...

This image shows them all:

http://www.moviecostumes.com/Lordof/Arwen/redblackweddingbluecollage.jpg

[Altáriel]

would it be really lime green or is it just some effect of the pic?it would be better in white!!!:o

[Elfdaughter]

I think it actually is lime green. If you look at the pic I posted, it shos the bodice in detail. That is definately lime!

[Bonos-Girl]

it's more kinda pale over-cooked pea green i think.....but its still bad whatever colour it is! lol

[Hobbit]

Altáriel, I'm afraid the lime green is really the colour of the dress and not an effect on the pic. I myself would prefer to see this dress in white or a deep green too. The dress itself is beautiful but the green is just too light for my taste.

[Striderfan]

Any time! ;)

[HobbitFriend]

ew, lime green? What are they thinking? :o

[Arwen of Imladris]

i made a fellowship cloak for holloween it was as close as i could get but it was ok

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Piccie! Piccie!:thumbs:

[Arwen of Imladris]

it was great :)

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Go look in "your creations" for a piccie of Arwens great cloak!:)

[Arwen of Imladris]

yeah that pic was taken on holloween
i look funny but its a nice pic :)

[Polly Sandybanks]

You can also search for medieval dresses on Ebay. That's what I did and I got it today! :whoohoo: Some medieval dresses look really elvish and they don't have to cost a fortune either. And you can always make some changes to them yourself if you want and are able to. :)

[Cuiel Rilwen]

True, Polly...found a number of links myself when I was looking for a pattern. And by the way, if anyone finds any good links for anything concerning accessories or other BTS- stuff don't forget to post them in "Places to get stuff" for us others to enjoy!:thumbs:

[Polly Sandybanks]

Hello! :) I need help again.

I managed to find a dress on Ebay that wasn't too expensive, so that's all taken care of. But now my next "problem" is a cloak! It will be cold, so I'll need something more than just my dress going to and from the Cinema, and I'd really like a cloak as it would complete the look, sort of. :)
I found a pattern (the instructions is in Swedish, but you can watch the pictures if you don't understand that language :)), but I don't have a sewing machine and my mum is far away. I won't be going home to my parents until Christmas, so by that time it'll be too late. So.. now my question. Would it be possible to make this cloak by hand? Without a sewing machine? I mean, people must have done that before, when there were no sewing machines. :) Anyways.. I could also need some tips, if there's anything special that I have to think about when I'm sewing by hand rather than by using a sewingmachine for example? And what sort of material would be best? Both the cloak itself and the sewing material.

Oh dear.. almost forgot the link :p
http://hem.passagen.se/mrblues/mantlar.htm

Oh.. and I was thinking of making the one with the hood. That is the second one.

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Anything can be done by hand, I'm sure you've seen the beautiful gowns made way before the sewingmachine was invented! I actually used a pattern from this particular website when I made a cloak for my son last winter!

On the patterns...the the first and the second one looks easier...incredibly long seams tho! Tips on sewing by hand...not many available I'm afraid, tho I started out like that when I was little making my dolls clothes!:p Three things tho...get a needle and thread that fits the fabric...thick for thick fabrics and so on...get a thimble so your fingertips don't get sore...and don't cut your threads too long! It's very tempting to cut long threads to avoid fastening them too often...but believe me long threads will jam into unsolvable knots so often it's not worth it! If I have to sow by hand I cut threads appr. 40-50 cm....that would be 15-20 inches for any non- scandinavian reading this!

If you want a real warm cloak a coupple of wool blankets would be a good idea. Look in on an army surplus shop if you can find one...they might have rather large blankets at low costs...grey, dark blue or moss green. Which would be very nice for a winter cloak!

Good luck!:thumbs:

[Arwen, Elven Princes]

I'm thinking about making Arwen's blood red dress, the most similer pattern I found for the overdress is http://www.smartcart.com/1sew/cgi/searchindex.cgi
But it's maternity/plus size, I wear a very small size and it won't work, but the way the neckline is and how it hangs from the straps is perfect! I did come aross this and wondered that if it was altered it might work as a subtatute. (it's simplicity 6180) http://www.simplicity.com/s2c.htm view A.

[Cuiel Rilwen]

I'm sorry but I'm not getting anything on your first link, so I can't say. But go to the thread "Do you need Sewing or design tips", bottom of page one. Arwen of Imladris asked the same question a while ago, and I posted a lot of tips there following her initial post, including pattern tips.

Good luck!:thumbs: :)

[doleniel]

I do alot of sewing myself, and I made an elf costume (will try to post pics) but the pattern that I modified is off the market. Most medieval style costumes will do, if you have the skill and time to add modifications. BTW, most of the links I'm getting don't work

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Oh we'd love to see your creation...would be real grand!:)

Are those links in this forum, or did you just mean in general? I sure would like to know if some in our stickies don't work so they can be fixed...so please do tell if you find any broken links! Surely that goes for all forums in here anyways!

[doleniel]

I mean to stuff outside the site. Like the Museum Replicas link. I'm not getting anything from that.

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Oh I see...wonder why that is tho...:mmmm:

[Sil]

Wow, check out these pics:
http://www.theonering.net/scrapbook/group/1267
These are very large close-ups of the original costumes, with some amazing details...

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Those are so wonderful...I visited the exhibition just before x-mas and it was absolutely stunning! This person must have smuggled a cellphone with a camera into it, we weren't allowed to take them in.:(

[caitlinf01]

I'm either going to make or have made the 'dream gown' from TTT for my prom. It is periwinkle and appears during the flashback to the night before Aragorn leaves for the Fellowship. I've seen all the pictures of this dress but they aren't very telling and I can't see all the dress. Also the dress is unlike the other elven dresses so I can't use them for reference. I've looked at the alleycatscratch site on the dress but it is one of the sites that doesn't give very much information. It says that there is more info coming but I'm on a schedule. Can you help?

[Cuiel Rilwen]

I'll have a look...can you perhaps post a link to a piccie no matter if it's not very informative?:)

[caitlinf01]

Here is a url to a pic http://www.warofthering.net/photos/tttarwen/imagepages/image6.shtml

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Ah that one...I'l look if I can find some pattern fitting somewhere...:) Beautiful gown...looks a wee bit like the ancient greek ladies...might prob see more of these types in Troy I suspect!

Long working day tomorrow but will look around in the evening...has anyone of you other guys done any research on this one?

[Black Rider]

Originally posted by caitlinf01
I'm either going to make or have made the 'dream gown' from TTT for my prom.

i'm going to make an elven-ish gown for my prom too! glad i'm not the only one i know. the dream gown is gorgeous and unlike the other elven gowns so you could easily pull it off as non-geeky lol. for mine, i am using it as inspiration, especially the neckline, but not making it an exact copy. when i was researching Greek costumes for a school project, i was reminded of arwen's dream gown quite a lot in the women's clothing. you might want to do some research into greek women's clothing, especially either the ionic or doric chitons, for patterns and tips, they've got TONS of info all over the web.

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Good...any tips on where to look or links to patterns?

[Arwen, Elven Princes]

Does anyone have any tips on working with Chiffon?

[Black Rider]

it is the doric chiton that you want to search.
here are some places that you might want to look...

http://classics.furman.edu/Classics/GreekFashion/page21.htm

http://www.greyhawkes.com/blacksword/Spartan%20Combat%20Arts%202001/1-Pages/HowTo/Clothing/Chiton.htm

http://www.annaswebart.com/culture/costhistory/ancient/ - scroll to around the middle of the page and there is a really good little diagram accompanying the picture.

http://www.abc.net.au/arts/wingedsandals/history3.htm - great explanation of the different styles but without a picture, use your imagination :)

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Chiffon is real tricky...I'd do it by hand! No matter what sewing needles I've tried they always pull out lots of threads from the fabric, making it look wrinkly and ugly, not to mention that the fabric slips out of place all the time...very annoying!

Here are the patterns Allycatscratch recommend for this dress. It seems to be two dresses, the top one has the flaired, open sleeves...if you can call them that! The drawings in BR's post really show quite good how it should look..tho with out the doubble neckline. There is some conflict between assuming that the dress is fitted and the original patterns of the greek dresses...the latter would be two big squares joined at the shoulders and hanging loose. I think in order to make the dress fitted I would cut the sleeves and body in one piece, like two big T's. That way the body can remain fitted and the sleves can stay open.

The first pattern is fitted, and has only one seam under the busom. Which is good for both the design and the sewer! Needs some adaption on the arms...draw the shoulderline further out over the arm to make them drape nicely...the tip of the sleeve should hang on calf level or a bit lower...and ofcourse extend the skirt length.

http://www.simplicity.com/assets/7156/7156.jpg

This one is just a top, neckline and bodice are good. Same adaptions as above.

http://www.simplicity.com/assets/9833/9833.jpg

This third looks very good...needs only the sleeve adaption.

http://store.sewingtoday.com/cgi-bin/butterick/shop.cgi?s.item.3195=x&TI=%273195%27&pageNum=1&M=&UK=20368146

and this is also a top, really shows how two big squares would look.

http://store.sewingtoday.com/cat/itm_img/7827.jpg

When making the underdress leave out the sleeve extentions. I would think the underdress is cut quite much lower than the overdress, and probably fitted over the chest, not hanging loose like the overdress. You can make the underdress from something more solid than chifon if you like, and even avoid the dread of sewing two chifon dresses, but you shoud still pick someting soft and not too shiny! The overdress is supposed to have as few seems as possible, something that also sounds good to me. I think if your choices of fabric are real similar in color, you can leave the sideseams open except for two or three places positioned evenly from your waist and up to the sleeves, where the sides can be joined with very small decorative buttons. As I doubt we'll ever se more of this dress, we'll have to guess how it looks from that angle...but I think that can work. AND leaves you with even less seams!:)

Good luck guys and don't forget the picces!

[Arwen, Elven Princes]

This sounds a bit crazy, but since the blood red and ceremonial dress sleeves are so big, what if you used a skirt pattern to make them? It would be 100 percent full and probably mid-calf length and altered a bit, but it might work. I'm only suggesting this because all of the medevil sleeve patterns i've seen aren't the right shape/size. This is probably only for people who want their sleeves to be as close as possible to the original.

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Not crazy at all...afterall they have the same shape!

Tho if you don't actually have a pattern for a skirt lying around it's very simple to draw a circle on the fabric...just fold it in half twice, pin it so it doesn't move...cut a cord or thread of some sort equal to the length of the length from elbow to wrist + 20-40 cm...depends on how much you want the sleeve to trail....pin the cord to the centre fold of the fabric...then mark the length with chalk while you move the cord from edge to fold in a quarter circle. I wonder if I've said this before somewhere cuz I get this weird deja vu feeling lol!

[Shieldmaiden]

Hey guys, do you have some advice on how to make Eowyn's armor...you know, leather cuirass, tassets, chain mail, helmet, the like? I looked on alleycat, and they had some good pictures and descriptions. But I'm thinking of making the helmet out of a plastic construction hat. Any ideas on how to make it work? Thanks!

[Cuiel Rilwen]

No can't say I have...and sorry to say I'm still without my pc so cannot help or at least not right away! If I'm real lucky the pc-fairy will come install the new one tomorrow...but there will be a long line of people,(the rest of my family!),waiting to use it so I will prob not get much time until this weekend!

Sounds like an exchiting project tho...if you look around and find something be sure to let us know...and I'll certainly do the same!

[Elfdaughter]

Sounds really interesting! I've just made a Eowyn/celtic/rohirric - based dress for the next SCA event - I'll have a look around, see if I can find a couple of piccies of something similar to give you an idea.

OK... take the sleeves from the top right piccie:

http://www.simplicity.com/assets/5843/5843.jpg

and shorten the dress (so it comes to about ankle length.) Then take a tartan material (no idea which tartan it is, sorry! Fraser, I think... but not sure.) anway... make a type of Poncho out of it, so it's floor length. the material I used was a type of wollen material, so it's quite heavy. Then, use an offcut as a belt (make sure it's a straight offcut, obviously!) and tie it around your waist. The material's wide, and there's a quite a bit that ovelaps the arms (it comes down to past the elbow) so I roll that up to form the armholes, and pull the material down tightly, and the belt holds it in place.

Bit like this one:

http://www.moviecostumes.com/Lordof/Eowyn/Eowyn_brownblue_side1.jpg

but the ties aren't there - it's just the belt that holds it in place, and the dress isn't cut to size - the armholes are just rolled. And the neck's higher. That allows me in cold weather to unroll the armholls of the overdress to provide me with elbow-length sleeves, and it keeps me warm.

I hope that makes sense......

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Guys... I posted a link to a piccie of my dress in my creations ... it's not a good piccie but at least you can see the basic look of it at this point! I'd love some feedback!:)

[Luvara]

Hi! :) I'm gonna make Eowyn's white dress for the Fellowship Festival I'm going to in August! I did sew a shirt once and trousers and stuff, but I've never made a dress before.... My mum will help me though, and she's pretty good at this kind of stuff! :) Does anyone have any tips? I'll probably use Simplicity 9891 (http://www.simplicity.com/assets/9891/9891.jpg) as a pattern (they recommended it over at Alleyscratch! ;), but what do you guys think about fabrics? And how shall I make the "belt"? :)

[Shieldmaiden]

Wow, that sounds really cool, Luvara! I want to make a few of Eowyn's stuff too ever since I learned how to use a sewing machine (her armor, the green dress from TTT, and the shieldmaiden gown), but anyway...

I think you might be able to find a belt similar to Eowyn's...I bought one from a clothing store not too long ago, and though it's not exactly like hers it's pretty close. I'm sure you can find stuff in accessory stores too, if they sell a variety of belts. Good luck! :thumbs:

[Cuiel Rilwen]

I see from allycatscratch that the dress is made from a cream light wool blend, with the sleeves lined in a brocade in the same colour. The wool will prob be hard to find, and terribly expensive too. Go look in a curtain-shop, you might find something usable there...make sure you get something that has a heavy quality so it will fall nicely tho!

The belt is also one of my own tasks to start at the moment! I'm almost done with my Rohan inspired gown, and have begun thinking about who to tackle this. The belt is shaped over the hips, and tho your link does for some reason not work for me, I think the best way to make it will be to draw it on the pattern of the skirt...that way it will shape perfectly. That is if the skirt is like it looks on the pictures, meaning not too wide at the hips! You could also use one of your own pants as a pattern and draw the shape from it.

If you're gonna make some embroidery you can use material fitting for this, + some solid for lining. Otherwise there are golden lace available which might look good on top of a cream solid.

Draw the pattern so you get one half front and one half back. Place the middle front line towards the fold on the fabric, and cut the front as one piece with the long end and all. Cut two backs. Do the same with the lining. Do whatever decor you mean to have. Iron vlieseline to the wrong side of the lining. Sew the back and front together at the sides, on both fabric and lining, so you have two belts. Position the two belts with their right sides facing eachother and sew all sides together, except for the middle back seams. Cut back allowance. Cut all corners close to the seam, and cut nothces in the allowance on all curves and inside sharply angled corners; this will prevent the allowance from pulling or getting lumpy. Turn the right sides out through the openings in the back. Iron carefully, pin if it helps. Turn the back openings inwards, and attach some small metall loops to the seams while you sew them by hand. Make sure the loops get tucked enough into the seam and they will not show. If you want to you can sew an edge stich all around, on machine or by hand, to make the front and lining stay in place, but that might not be necessary.

Hope I am making sence, but if not Pm me, and I'll translate it! :) Good luck!

[Luvara]

Yes, I think I get it! lol Thank you so much for the help! :)

[Cuiel Rilwen]

My pleasure, sweetie! :)

[Isil]

Are there anyone out there that can give me some ideas/patterns concerning a hobbit dress??

[Elfdaughter]

What style of dress are you after, Isil? (Yes, I know, hobbit....) Hmm... well Alleyscratch.com is probably the best place for you to start off with. Other than that, Rosie cotton is probably a good place to start, as she's featured quite a bit. OK, here's a good piccie that shows you the type of dress she wears.

http://www.quintessentialwebsites.com/lordoftherings/decipher_cards/309_rosiecottonhobbitonlass.jpg

This is a relatively easy outfit to make, actually, provided you have a sewing machine. now then - Skirts. There are a lot of ways to make skirts, all of them including a waistband of somekind, and lots of ways to make gathered skirts, ussually involving a lot of stiching. My first skirt was terrible, then I developed a cheat. The problem is, you need a lot of material, so I advise going to a second hand store, and buying a plain coloured table-cloth (prefferably a rectangle, as that saves a lot of cutting.)

OK, now you hem the bottom, and that's the easy part out of the way. Lay the material out on a flat surface, and fold the top edge (the part that goes around your waist, remember, you want a LOT of material for this part) over, and sew it down, so you have, in effect, hemmed it, but there's a gap running all the way along the top edge of the material. In that gap, you want to thread some cord (enough to go around your waist one and a half times - you can always cut it down a bit later on.) right through. Now this will mean that you have to scrunch the matierial up onto the cord, in order for it to all fit on. The more material you have, the more pleats you will have in your skirt. Once you have the material threaded onto your cord, all you need to do is to tie the two ends of the cord together, sew the edges of the material together, then turn it the right way out. And there you have one very simple skirt.

phew!

OK, now for Rosie Cotton's outfit....
Now then, that's interesting. Rosie's top is not gusseted. (http://www.quintessentialwebsites.com/lordoftherings/movieshots/rosie_sam.jpg) It's a T-tunic. Well, they are very easy to make. Basically, you need two peices of material (the front and back - a 'T' shape) Don't worry about making it fit - just make it large enough for you to fit into it comfortably. Sew elastic around the bottom edge of the sleeves, and there you go.

Corset. OK, these are more difficult, and rosie's is quite peculiar. They are laced on back, (Rosie has 7 lace holes on each side, ), but there is also a panel of the same fabric and stiffness as the bodice. My guess is that on one side it is sewn in, and on the other side on the bottom it is attached with a couple of hooks and eyes. The panel in the back of the bodice goes behind the lacing. The trim between the front and side panels of the bodice seems to be two of the same running side by side, and is kind of a scalloped sort of thing, which is basically rick-rack, you can by it in packs at the fabric store - it's the zig-zaggy stuff.

Hmm.... I basically used four panels of material, all the same size. One panel was the back, and two others were the sides. This is just a question of trial and error, sizewise. The final panel, I put across the front, hiding the blouse underneath. You could do something similar, but for rosie's, put the ties on the back, and cut a little detail out of the'back' panel. Basically, just turn the corset I made around - the 'back' panel becomes the front, with a little detail cut out of it, and the 'front' panel with the ties becomes the back.

hope that helps!!

[Cuiel Rilwen]

If you need some sketches look at this page (http://www.alleycatscratch.com/lotr/Hobbit/Female/Hobbit_Skirts.htm) These guys have it all laid out. Like ED says, you don't really need a pattern for the skirt. When you shop for fabric I would like to suggest that you choose something not so heavy/thick, as it will be difficoult to work with AND add several inches to you waist! I'm a big girl so I also cheat by placing most of the pleats on the front and back, leaving the hips with less fabric, in order to prevent my hips from looking bigger!

Also if you need patterns for the bodice or any of the other parts look here (http://www.alleycatscratch.com/lotr/makingem/Patterns/Hobbits.htm#Women)

Good Luck! :)

[Feebeefi]

Hey guys!

I was wondering if anyone could give me any advice on how to make an Elven cloak, like the Hobbits wear with the hood?
It's a little project my mum and I are doing together ;)

[Cuiel Rilwen]

AlleyCatScratch (http://www.alleycatscratch.com/lotr/Things/FCloak.htm) has a new research with pattern suggestions for the Fellowship Cloak! Cloaks are fairly simple compared to gowns, they are mainly half to full circles. You can also make them from many long triangles, but from the text and piccies I don't think that's the way this cloak was made.

Look over the research and see if its understandable...then fire away if you have any questions! Did you get your fabric yet? Come to think of it I better get my act together and start working on my own cloak! :grin:

[Arwen of Imladris]

OK last year my made me the elven cloak and now this year in a few weeks before hollween my mother is going to make me the blood red dress FINALLY! my freind (an lotr fan) is a pattern-maker and she is helping my mother make the dress and when the dress is done i will try to put the pic up so you can see the dress :)

~Arwen of Imladris~

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Hehehe all in good time...didn't she say that too? :grin: Post piccies dear...in the proper place! :thumbs:

[Arwen of Imladris]

ok yeah my mother has started on the dress! :) kinda happy! :)

[Isilme_cu]

Hi all! I just noticed this spot. I was reading through some of the posts. I found this stuff called "aluminum tape" in Home Depot in the department that has the pipe insulation and stuff. Its about 1.5 inches wide, very shiny. It comes with a peel off backing and is on a spool kind of like duct tape. Its good for making armor and helmets and those arm thingies. I taped in over the sheet craft foam (that kind that looks sort of like a placemat.) It also sticks onto stiff sheets of felt. You can paint over it if you want to dull it down. Works far better than sticking tinfoil to the foam with glue. I made the witch kings helm with it for my grandson this year.

[Cuiel Rilwen]

That sounds like something that would work for breastplates and shields too! Great tip, Isilme cu! I added a headline to your post to identify it easier, hope you don't mind!

Do you have piccies of your grandson in the helmet? Would be sooo great if you could upload it and post it in here! :)

[Arwen of Imladris]

well my Arwen Blood Red Dress is done! just that we couldn't find a red lace that looked like the one on Arwen's dress so we put a white one on the sleeve and around the neck

[Cuiel Rilwen]

That's great, hon! *cough* Might we look forward too a piccie in "Your Creations?" *cough* :grin:

[Arwen of Imladris]

yeah once my sis takes a pic i'll post it up :grin:

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Grand! :thumbs:

[Isilme_cu]

Hi Cuiel Rilwen! Thanks for adding a headline. I was so excited, its my first one! :blush: All the girls at work think everyone is so nice here. There are a couple pictures of the helm over in the Family Photo Forum. One is pretty blurry - at 9 my little witch king is hard to get standing still - especially when I try to aim the camera at him! I may have better pics on my other film.

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Nice yes ofcourse...well we try our best anyways! lol No seriously I'm happy to hear that, Isilme cu! :cool:

I looked for that photo but I can't find it. Could you please either post a link to it or the photo itself in here, I'm sure people are interested in that! Or if you'd like me to do it you can just PM me with the link. :)

[Isilme_cu]

Hi Cuiel! OK - I'm going to give this a go ;) - http://www.warofthering.net/photoforum/data/500/3362Witch_King_Mask_002a-med.jpg

That's the mask on top of the black costume - and this one will be my grandson wearing it - I think I spent most of the day trying to keep him from poking everything with his sword! :nono:

http://www.warofthering.net/photoforum/data/505/3362Nazgul_with_sweet_tooth2-med.jpg

Well, let me see how this works out and thanks much for the help! :)

Wow, I think its worked :whoohoo:

[Cuiel Rilwen]

:) See easy peasy! And he looks fabulous!

[Isilme_cu]

lol Everything is easy once you know the secret! Thanks for sharing the secret, Cuiel! :cool: My head feels much better now that I've stopped smacking it off my desk! :trout:

[Cuiel Rilwen]

eeeeiii poor head! lol

[Black Rider]

you kno, you kill brain cells every time you do that :p

[Isilme_cu]

:o Say no more!! My working brain cells are already in short supply! lol

[Black Rider]

lol isn't that the case with all of us!

imagine if we had two heads... then we could have two brains! that would be awesome. i could study so much more effectively! hhahahaa

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Oh yes! Or not. I would be all over the place! lol

[Isilme_cu]

:mmmm: :mmmm: What if the brains were arguing over which way to go - which side would win? And if we had two heads it would be impossible to find a nicely fitting sweater - turtle necks would be out of the question! lol lol

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Hahahahaha lol lol lol imagine a turtleneck with...two turtlenecks! roflmao

[Black Rider]

roflmao

well, i guess if enough people had two heads then they could have a market for two-necked sweaters... but then we wouldn't be special anymore :( lol

[Elfdaughter]

*Reads last post and backs slowly away....*

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Oooops think we scared ED...better get back on topic girls! :)

[Isilme_cu]

lol Right you are. Besides, one head/brain is more than enough trouble for me to handle already! roflmao

[Black Rider]

roflmao


sooo... how about that camera....

[Isilme_cu]

lol - Now that we've all got our heads on properly and in the correct amount (sorry) lol I was wondering if any of you like to dress in or make clothes that are kind of in the Elven fashion for daily wear? I just finished making a nice cape/wrap in grey fleece (McCall #8936). Its pretty nice. I used the hood on it from one of the other views, but for some reason it was big enough for it to fit the "50 Foot Woman"!!! So I took it off. I'm going to try to make a smaller sized hood that I can remove with buttons. I'm really into longer skirts and nice wraps or pochos with boots. Kind of modified elvish I guess. Please tell me I'm not alone!!:huh:

[Isilme_cu]

:trout: Oops. Judging from the deadly silence here, I think I am the only one trying to do an Elvish spin on modern clothing. :o

[Aletheia]

I am no good @ sewing or I would totally be making Elvish-y clothes ;)
I have been trying to find a resonablly priced copy of Eowyn's white wool gown from TTT, though, so that I can wear it to Rennasance fests!!!(no luck so far though :( )
I think its very cool that you are making updated elven styled clothes :thumbs:

~Leia:rose:~

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Isilme...I'm afraid your post literally drowned in the activity in here! lol lol lol I'm sorry hon I must have been blind on both eyes! Also I can swear I never got e-mail notification on it...I'm usually in like lightening when I see a BTS-post! lol

Ofcourse I would consider that...actually I AM considering that! After making the Rohan gown I totally acknowledge the comfort of these clothes, and the beauty can't be contradicted. Did you have a piccie of it? If you do, please feel free to make a thread about it, or even about elvish style everyday wear so that maybe others also would want to share! I'm positive we're not alone...I KNOW we're not alone! :grin:

I got a new dress that I bought for xmas which is a bit elven looking. Maybe I'll take a piccie and make that thread if you don't wanna!

[Aletheia]

I would love to see pics of how you are modernizing elvish styled clothes :)
& of any LotR dresses you have made (or bought) as well! ;)

~Leia:rose:~

[Isilme_cu]

Happy New Year everyone!! :whoohoo: Glad to see I am not alone after all. Mostly, I just wear long skirts (which I've always been partial to) and I've found some nice kind of "shawl collar" sweaters which give that sort of wider neckline and flat boots. I made one long grey poncho of fleece which is comfy and warm, but kind of puffy. It doesn't quite drape the way I wanted. I bought a couple of "turkish" wraps which have pretty designs and close them with my LOTR brooches. Most of the sweaters and skirts I get on sale (end of season sales! for about $10.00 or $12.00) Except my boots - my feet are too big for bargains and my LOTR jewelry! I took a picture at work and one in my yard with the camera on timer and I felt pretty silly so I look kind of dopey. At least I feel kind of Elvish wearing this stuff! lol
http://C:\Documents and Settings\Andrea\My Documents\Photos\Costume Pics\Clothes for the Modern Elf http://C:\Documents and Settings\Andrea\My Documents\Photos\Costume Pics\Clothes for the Modern Elf Well, I'm having a little trouble with the photos, so they may not come out.

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Hiya Isilme! Happy New Year to you too! Something is making your piccies not show..I think it's because you've got them on your pc and not on some website. Upload them to the photoforum and link to them from there instead, I wanna see them! Or if you have troubble rezising them you can always mail them to me (cuielrilwen@warofthering.net) and I'll fix it for you!

[Isilme_cu]

Hi Cuiel!! Ah ha! The missing step! I'll try again. :)

[Isilme_cu]

Here I go again!
http://www.warofthering.net/photoforum/data/500/3362Modern_Elven_Wear_Brown_Wrap_and_Skirt_-med.jpg http://www.warofthering.net/photoforum/data/500/3362Modern_Elvish_at_Work.jpg

[Aletheia]

Are the pics in the photo forum?
Oh, what peices of LotR jewlery do you have? They are all so pretty :grin: I only have the elven brooch so far but I try & set a little money aside from paychecks so I can splurge on Tolkien-y items ;)

good luck w/ the posting, I will keep watching for it ;)

~Leia:rose:~

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Well something is not right and I can't for the life of me figure out what it is. My best guess is that your photo's are pending somewhere between the old and the new photo forums...I can't find them and they are certainly not showing up with the URL you have posted. I think we'll have to wait for Illu and Fatty to be done with this and then see if it gets fixed. Sure hope the system handles the move or we'll have one fine job fixing all the image urls in here! :(

[Isilme_cu]

My fault!! I panicked and took them back :blush: ! My friends at work have electronically kind of given me a kick in the backside, so I did it over! :grin: I didn't move the other pic, it came out very blurry. I tried to cut off most of the hallway at work, but it didn't work out too well. Its in the family section on photo forum. Over the course of the last 2 years or so I got the Fellowship brooch, Gandalf's brooch, the butterfly and Arwen's little brooch (thanks to birthdays, Xmas, and pinching off the grocery money) lol . Sadly, there are no end of season sales on those things!
http://www.warofthering.net/photoforum/data/3022/3362Modern_Elven_Wear_Brown_Wrap_and_Skirt_.jpg

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Ooooooh that throw is truly beautyful! Goes very well with the narrow skirt and flat healed boots too! I like how you've pinned the brooch on the side! :)

[Aletheia]

You look very regal & noble...I really like it :)
Glad ya finally figured out the posting problems ;)

~Leia:rose:~

[Isilme_cu]

Thanks! :grin: I had the most bizarre expression cause I couldn't tell when the camera was going to go off. I never used the timer before ! lol Steve the Great moved the pic in the photo forum to the Behind the Scenes section there so it disappeared again here! lol But I am innocent this time!

[Cuiel Rilwen]

We should have another category in there...personal fav's/ my creations or summat. What do you think?

[Black Rider]

great idea! :) :thumbs:

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Wonder if Steve will think we deserve this? :grin:

[Isilme_cu]

:cool: That seems a good idea Cuiel! And it will keep Steve the Great from having to redirect piccies that some of us (oops) :blush: post in apparently inappropriate places! I do feel a little odd being in the company of various members of the Fellowship in the Behind the Scenes photo forum! notworthy By the way, Cuiel, your bracer came out great!! You certainly have many talents! :grin:

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Thanks! :blush: I enjoyed making it...will prob make do leatherwork!

I'll get to work pesuading Steve then! ;)

[Isilme_cu]

:whoohoo: Cuiel, you really must have been working on Steve because now I see we've been moved to the "Applied Art" section in the Member Art area in the Photo Forum! Your bracer piccies are there now along with other cool stuff made by our fellow members. :cool: May it soon be fillled with wonderful creations ! :hooray:

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Oh I got a mail from him today, he and Nessa were quite willing to do this cus they're such tidy people and this would make the forums work so much better! I'm gonna go through all the images in here, the software didn't handle the move so any broken link has to be fixed manually.

If you guys come across any broken image links anywhere else on the forums, please notify Nessa and she who has supermod-powers will fix it! :grin:

[Elfdaughter]

Anyone got any tips for sewing leather?

[Cuiel Rilwen]

I haven't done any sewing yet...Iron Hills Dwarf mentioned that he'd done some work like that but he didn't follow my hint on saying anything further about it! lol What are you planning on making?

Actually my dad makes knives and sheaths, he drills the holes with a tiny drill first. If you're making larger items there are also some tool that looks like a fork with which you can make 4 holes in one go...just place it where the holes should be and hit the tool with a hammer. I'll see if I can find some link with images. :)

[Tari Silmarwen]

I have a question about embroidery. I went on allycatscratch.com once and a girl that used something called "cord embroidery" to make a design on her sleeves. What I would like to know is, where can you get cord embroidery? Do they sell it in fabric stores or do I have to order it off the internet?

[Elfdaughter]

Cord embroidery is basically embroidery that has been done with cord. It depends on exactly what you want - do want pre-embroidered fabric, or cord to embroider with onto fabric?

There is another type of Cord embroidery, which is basically embroidered corduroy. This can be expensive, but it gives a feel of embroidered velvet (and is much cheaper than Velvet). Without a piccie, it's difficult to know which version it is.

[Cuiel Rilwen]

I should think that from what you write it would be decorative cords that have been sewn in some intricate pattern onto a sleeve? Like swirls or summat...to create a rised pattern. I don't think corduroy was in use in medieval times so can't be that....or I might e jumping to conclusions here but since you mention Alleycatscratch I suppose the sleeve was on a medieval costume or something similar! :grin:

[Elfdaughter]

Cordoury is often used nowadays for halloween costumes as a cheap alternative to velvet, Cuiel. Could be that. But aye, it does sound likeit's just cord sewn onto material (in which case it's easy to do yourself - simply lie the material flat, mark out the pattern on the cloth and stitch the cord to it following the pattern.)

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Do you sew it on through the cord or over it? Some of those things are so danged thick it hurts your fingers preciousss!

[Elfdaughter]

Throught the cord - you don't have to sw it all the wy through, you just have to catch it to the material.

[Tari Silmarwen]

You pretty much hit it when you said it was "decorative cords sewn into an intricate pattern", Cuiel. That's what I meant. Do you think Hancock fabrics has it in stock?

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Hehehe...I'm not familiar with Hancock, (check my location ;) ), maybe ED can be of service there?

[Elfdaughter]

Erm...they might. You'll probably find it would be easier (and cheaper) just to get the cord and sew it onto the material yourself, though...

Mind you, I'm afriad I'm not much either, being in the UK..... lol!!!

I've just checked their website....from the looks of it, I don't think they do stock it. I think that the girl on AS probably embroidered it herself. All you do is get a piece of material, lay it out on the floor, use some tailor's chalk and draw/trace your pattern, then get your twist cord and lay it out along the chalk, and sew.

Unless....do you hve the link to the item you're talking about on AS?

by the way, here' the link to everything relating to 'cord' in Hancocks....
http://www.hancockfabrics.com/shopping/search/searchresultsmain.jsp?iMainCat=0&iSubCat=0&page=1&searchType=advanced&keyword=cord&attribute14=0&attribute15=0&attribute16=0

[Isilme_cu]

Ebay sometimes has odd items that might be useful. You can find fabrics of all types there and some trim as well. But searching can sometimes be frustrating. :-/ There are some stores there that sell renaisance type fabric (I think Renaisance Fabrics, and Fabric Masterpieces). I got a nice vintage Japanese green broacade that I used for a kind of knock off of the "farewell gown" for a special occassion that I must attend. It was only 30" wide so it was a tight squeeze! lol (It was even stamped on the back made in Japan in red letters!):)

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Oooo sounds nice Isilme! Got any piccies of the gown...prefereably with you in it? :)

[Elfdaughter]

*nods and bounces*

That reminds me, I need to knock up a 12th century gown in a week. That's going to be interesting, especially as I'm hand sewing.

[Isilme_cu]

Hi everyone! I did take a pic, but I was goofing off and the camera was on timer, so its not fit for public viewing. :blush: But I will be wearing it next Sunday, so hopefully, I will get a better photo then. The funny thing was they photographed the material inside out on Ebay and when I got it, the right side was so much prettier! lol Of course, its not quite like Arwen's dress, but I used the idea and lengthened my pattern by 10 inches for the "over" part (the Japanese material) and the "under" dress which is a mint green crepe back satin. I had to keep the sleeves of the over part on the small size because I was limited by the amount of fabric I had (30" wide X 170" long). There was also a kind of paisley pattern to it, so I had to be careful in cutting. I had to dispense with the big sash - it would have made me look kind of boxy. Its pretty close to the very lowest part of my ankle so I won't trip over anything. Aren't the elves inspiring?:) Even my hubby likes it. :cool:

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Oooh I can't wait to see it! Do take piccies! :grin:

ED you certainly have your work cut out for ya sweetie! To what occation are you wearing it?

[Elfdaughter]

Just an SCA event - Protectors. Don't think I'm going to get it done though, as I am currently down with some bug... :rolleyes:

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Awww poor ED. What a shame.*germfree hug*

[Isilme_cu]

Oh no, ED! You can't be sick now. I am still kind of in awe that you will hand sew an entire outfit. :blink: I'm so slow I'd never be finished, not to mention my fingers would be permanently bent out of shape! :-/ Drink lots of tea and take some echineacha (a herbal remedy for boosting immunity). I don't know if it really works or it works because I think it does, though. lol

[Elfdaughter]

lol - Thanks Isilme - oh, I believe in the properties of herbs. Been drinking lots of lavender - tastes horrible but is excellent for healing. Feeling slightly better already. Better start that dress tomorrow.

Hehe - thanks though! Eh, yeah. But it won't be amazing or anything. Just pretty simple.

[Cuiel Rilwen]

I'm so envious of you british who get to go to all thos cool events! No such thing here! :(

[Elfdaughter]

Yes there is. ;) The SCA has reached Norway, I believe. Hang on, let me find the info...

Ah, maybe not. There's Sweden and Iceland - they're the two newest ones.

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Knew that. Actually there are some further south...very much further south...in Norway. Out of my range anyways.

[Isilme_cu]

I am embarrassed to be so out of touch, but what is the SCA? Do we have it here in the US? We just got a Comic Con in NYC a few days ago. The one in SanDiego always seems to get good Lord of the Rings related guests and things. It would be fun to wear my velvet elf dress there....sigh.

[Elfdaughter]

Ah, don't worry, it's not that well-known. Yip, it actually started in America. SCA stands for Society Of Creative Anachronism - www.sca.org has all the info you need. ;)

[Isilme_cu]

:) Thanks! I shall check them out. Strangely, it seems there are not many people around this way who seem to do conventions or gatherings for this type of thing, or maybe I'm just not finding them.:(

[Isilme_cu]

I posted a photo in the applied art section of a little evening bag I made from the same material I used to make my "elvish" dress for my special occassion this weekend. Hopefully on the weekend I'll get a proper photo of the dress without me acting silly! :p

[Elfdaughter]

Ooh, that is BEAUTIFUL! Can't wait to see the dress!!

*groan* Guess which muggins has just bought a LOOM? lol!

[Cuiel Rilwen]

:o like for weaving?!!!

The bag is gorgeous Isilme....can't wait to see piccies of the dress!

[Elfdaughter]

lol -yip!! For weaving! Can't wait for it to arrive!!

[Isilme_cu]

Wow!!! Too cool. :cool: :brave: The only time I've ever come close to a loom is those little plastic squares with the little peg things on top for making pot holders! lol

[Elfdaughter]

lol! Aye, I know the ones. Nope - this is mine....

http://images.auctionworks.com/hi/66/65893/loom.jpg

[Isilme_cu]

:thumbs: Wow! Most impressive. Have you run a loom before? I think they would have to extricate me from it after getting myself tied up in knots! lol I have enough trouble with posting (note the misplaced freedom smiley in my previous post!!!) never mind weaving!:)

[Cuiel Rilwen]

Oh I have one of those...in the attic somewhere! lol You know I actually thought you meant a large floor size thing! My granny had one...passed it on to my sister. I actually did some other type of looming in school...with square cards which you twist in a certain order. Dunno the english term...does anyone know what I'm on about?

[Isilme_cu]

Thanks Cuiel and ED! Glad you like my bag :hooray: I posted a photo of the dress in Applied Art, but its a pretty awful photo. I had