Another Fragment

... I checked him over: no visible bloodstains, rumpled jeans and jersey he'd had on three days ago, hunched shoulders and his hands between his knees. He wouldn't look at me. I kept on babbling: "... I mean, hey, my brother started setting my alarm clock fast - now I get up at noon to make my nine o'clock -"

"I was kidnapped by aliens."

"You mean like... lights in the sky?"

"No, I mean little grey guys that came up to my armpit, in silver velour suits with plastic ray-guns. I mean plastic. I could kick through the walls. I did a couple times, when I got loose. They, it, they hurt me a lot, and I can't even tell people about it - my excursion to the cardboard-mockup UFO." He glanced at me sidelong. "You ever read Dracula? Early on, Jonathon Harker fetches up in an insane asylum in Europe. He knows that he has two options: to believe that the horrifying events that he remembers actually happened, or know that he's gone insane."

He looked back at the wall, and the breath escaped his throat. "I'm sorry I missed your party."

Isn't It Always The Way?

You're standing on stage at the Regent, about to try on a centuries-old Noh mask held by a Japanese Cultural Treasure, and it's only then that you realise that your boots are scruffy and your hair is mussed...

At least I was wearing my best stripy stockings.

Seriously, I went with Michael to the Noh Experience that was held last night. As this is the first time (according to the programme notes) that Noh Theatre has made it New Zealand, it was really quite historic. I think that IPC was sponsoring it, as were some other companies, whose names escape me.

What we saw were two solo dances excerpted from well-known plays, with a queston-and answer (and chance to try on the masks) in between. The dancer, Kyutaro Hashioka, was dressed in exceedingly bulky and beautifully made clothing, and moved very slowly. His only props were a fan and his hanging sleeves, which he moved in meaningful ways, most of which I didn't understand (I don't understand most of the body-language of ballet, either). Both of the dances we saw were god dances.

There were five musicians: two drummers, a flute-player, and three chanters. The drums were small and their skins were horse-hide, though the leather was from different parts of the horse. In consequence, one drum had to be warmed backstage to keep moisture from slackening the tone. They had distinct pitches and were played very simply - slow handslaps against the skin. They would have been nothing without each other to bounce the irregular rhythms off. The flute was small and very waily; I could hear breathiness at the start of the notes. Sometimes the chanters were singing altogether in harmony what sounded like bits of plot, or description perhaps. Even if I understood Japanese, I don't think I'd be able to decipher what they were singing, though. Sometimes they were acting as other insturments, supplying weird howls and other sound-effects in the same rhythm as the drums and flute.

The music was certainly different from the Western music that I am used to : the flute's long notes tended to sag in pitch, the harmony of the singers was strange, sounding very dissonant to my ears. (It sounds a bit like traditional Maori music. If that isn't a useful comparison, watch the first five minutes of Gangs of New York - the repetitive flute riff has a little of the same feeling.) It made a peculiar contrast to the formality of the dancer, the perfectly clean floor that he was supposed to dance on (ours was a little dusty, alas), the solemnity with which everyone moved - like, perhaps, straight clean garden walls with a tangled wilderness hidden inside.

In the workshop in-between the performances, Kyutaro Hashioka told us a little bit about Noh - that there were specific gestures in the dances, that Noh was 650 years old and hadn't changed since the beginning, that it was associated with religion, that his costumes and masks were all over a hundred years old. The eye-holes of the mask are set so that the dancer cannot easily look through them - the dancer effectively moves from memory. He also let members of the audience come up on stage and try on the masks :-) Well, he held the masks in front of our faces, anyway - they are so old and fragile that it's dangerous to handle them too much. (I said Doumo to him, after, and ever since have been afflicted with doubt - was that too informal? He seemed a very nice person, and I didn't want him to think I wasn't taking it seriously. Ah, the hell with it.)

I found Noh a little uncomfortable to listen to and watch, at first, but it grew on me. I would like to see a complete performance, sometime, and see how the plot unfolds. There is a science fiction story, "Rokuro" by Poul Anderson, that I believe to be based on a the Noh form - I have a better idea of how it should be read now.

It was a very memorable experience.

And They're Back!

Mum and John T, that is, from their luxury cruise in the sunny islands. They were actually quite hot at several points, but the last two days back were stormy, and they're both feeling a bit tired and ill right now, and Mum has a very nasty cough.

I did a Big Clean and Iron-Down yesterday, in preparation for their return, and another Big Clean today. ME: "Was the house-keeping okay?" MUM: "Not bad." Sigh. And I forgot to sweep the wood chips from the front of the fireplace, and the dead leaves from the back porch... Ah well, the cats have been pampered, and that's the important bit.

I took some time off the Big Sewing Project (not the shirt, Michael, sorry - I chickened out of making something that I couldn't drape on the model as I put it together) and whipped together a stuffed pigeon for a prop for Mum's production. Finally I had something useful to do with the fabric scraps! The head is a little small, though, and I will probably re-do it in the morning.

And that's about it. The Big Sewing Project has its own blog entry, which isn't finished as the Project is not. I'll publish it when it's done.

Tribal Rites

What with being in Hastings, I spent this afternoon with John the Quasi-Ex-Step-Dad and his infamous crew, the Hash House Harriers. It was fun. John and I got lost halfway along or thereabouts, when we stopped to say Hello to the Order of the Sacred Sword (another infamous crew). Then we went shopping.

You have to understand, mothers' birthdays take precedence over rain, hail, and earthquakes, and I'd seen something in an antique shop's sale that looked like something she would like.

Anyway, we had thoroughly lost the others by this point, so we headed to the endpoint of the run and picked up the trail going backwards (there are chalk arrows to follow, y'see, and weirdly scrawled signs to lead us on the chase). We rejoined the others, and then retraced our steps to the barbecue.

This was my Naming Run, and amidst much ribaldry linked with Mum's birthday present, I was awarded the HHH Name 'Furball'. I got off very lightly, I can assure you.

Also, I actually drank alcohol - pre-mixed vodka and coke, and weird liqueurs in a two-part shot-glass. Deary, deary me.

They Are Sailing, They Are Sailing

So Mum and my Step-dad are going off on a cruise, one that they have been planning for half a year, and I am looking after the cats.

Tall Black Ziggy is fairly aloof and happy that way, except he'll turn up for meals and a warm living room at night.

Rosie the Rent-A-Cat is very clingy and adores having someone around all day. It's quite pleasant, except when I trip, and when she tries to take a bite out of me. There never seems to be a reason for this, and she'll start fights with Ziggy the same way so I guess it's just the way she's made. Keeps my observation and reflexes sharp, too. She is vexful to sleep with, for we both toss and turn and though I am bigger, she is ever be-weaponed. She also managed to locate, within the first ten minutes, a pile of freshly washed fabric that I am planning on making into a dress, and sleeping on it.

Tonight I watched a double billing of Lady Snowblood and The Day the Earth Stood Still, and then I lucked into The Bride of Frankensten on late-night tv. Right now Frankie's being introduced to smoking by a blind old man. There were dancing homunculi in jars before. "Do you think I'm mad? Perhaps you're right..." Ooh, ooh - graverobbing! I like this movie!

**

As of the last web-update, Mum and John, and the boat, are "At sea, en route to Mystery Island." That's a black-and-white movie all of its own!

Dress Diary - Fitted Kirtle for Kat

Back when I was putting together a new dress (a 15th century Flemish fitted kirtle), I kept a diary of my research and how the construction was going. It seems to me well-and-truly time to put the diary up to public view.

BRIEF: 'Kirtle' can mean a lot of things depending on the time and place of the person wearing it (and the accuracy of the costumer). To be specific, I've been looking at a lot of pictures from the early fifteenth century, lately, and fallen in love with those smooth curves over the torso. They don't have the stiff flat front of a boned bodice, and yet they are somehow uplifting, too. Yummy. I want one. This is going to be a working dress, so the skirts, however full, will be ankle-length. As always, comfortable fit around the torso and good arm-movement is essential. The style lets me have cap-sleeves or no sleeves, with fancy brocade ones pinned on as the occasion warrants, which I feel adds a lot to the convenience. This essay here has convinced me that this style is probably considered casual - t-shirt and sweat-pants of the middle ages. That's fine: I'll have a period dress for working, and I can pretty it up with fancy overdresses at need.

I will be pleating the back skirt to the bodice to give a bit of extra bouffe. Not all of the kirtles in the pictures do this, but enough do that I feel comfortable with it. Also, some of the pictures show definite waist-seams. I will work the bodice and the skirt seperately, partly for the pleating, and partly because it's easier to adjust the fit of the toile without the skirts gathering around my knees and ankles.

**TODO// EVIDENCE FOR INTERLINING OF BODICE//**

As this kirtle will be very closely fitted, I am making a toile of the interlining layer, and will cut my lining and outer pieces from that.

RELATED TERMS: kirtle, under-kirtle, fitted kirtle, flat-fronted kirtle, Gothic Fitted Dress (GFD), supportive layer, under-dress

FABRIC: What I wanted was a pure wool outer, and a pure linen inner, for authenticity (yay!) and the ability of natural fibres to breathe - this is almost the closest layer to my skin. The Exchequer will not stand; there is no linen in the stores right now, and none of the wool or wool-mix fabrics I've found have me drooling either.

I ended up with a mid-brown, sturdy cotton with a fluffy nap for the outer (at a tenth of the cost of wool). I think it can pass for a period fabric in a 'peach-coloured' light. The inner is a light-weight mid-red. The interlining is an open-weavy cotton canvas-like thing - I chose the texture for extra airflow (and why not?). The colours are not offensive and work with each other. The brown could do with a little zip, maybe, and I'm thinking of re-dying it slightly.

The cotton fabric will breathe nicely, and can also be machine-washed (which is a very attractive quality for something that will be sweated in). It has different stretch qualities, though, which may lead to me cutting the bodice on the bias, and it will not be as warm. I'm chalking this up as a practice dress - if I mess up, it won't be heart-breaking, and I can duplicate the pattern in better fabric at a later date if it works well.

PIECING OF SKIRT: This will be from Alcega's farthingale pattern, minus hoops. I've pictorial evidence for unusually pieced skirts, though I can't confirm this one; I like the idea of matching bias cuts with selvedges; it lets me put extra cloth in the back for pleats without pain. I'm not sure why the front gore is smaller than the back, unless this is what helps the skirt shift to the back; I'm willing to take this piecing decision on faith. UPDATE: I later found a couple of dresses made by contemporary re-enactors that used the farthingale piecing, though I didn't grab the links.

I intend to use roll pleats on the bodice/back-skirt join. According to my research at www.elizabethancostume.net, roll pleats are springier than anything but cartridge pleats. They are also bulkier. I'm planning to make up the skirt seperately, stitching the outer and the liner together, then pleating, and then attaching to the bodice with a double line of stitching for strength. (UPDATE: I later decided on overhanding.)

Dying.The fabric for the outer is a mid-brown cotton, which will be lined with red cotton. It seems to me a good candidate for machine-dying a slightly deeper, redder shade - cotton apparently dyes well, and if the dye runs afterwards, it won't ruin the lining. However, the last time I tried dying something it was a complete disaster. I did a quick spot of research, this time, at Paula Burch's All About Hand Dyeing web page. There's a lot of technical information; it never contradicts itself; there are many queries from outside parties. I'll do a bit more reading around, but the site looks reliable to me.

Ms Burch recommends Procion MX, Cibacron F (Sabracron F), and Drimarene K (Dylon Machine Dye) for what I want to do (seperately, that is). I'll have a squizz 'round the shops and see what's available. EDIT: I picked up some Dylon Machine Dye in Dark Red from Spotlight. The packet doesn't say whether it contains Drimarene K or not. It's about a quarter of what I need by weight, but I'm on a budget, and I wanted 'just a hint' and not 'whole different colour', so we'll see how it goes.

UPDATE: The fabric ended up a little darker and a little redder. About what I wanted.

I've cut a basic toile out of the inter-lining and am experimenting with the seams to get it fitting snugly. I'm having problems. I tend to get lots of tiny stress wrinkles popping up, even when it isn't very snug, and alarmingly often there is this weird horizontal indent coming up, where the stress from the upper balcony is right along the weft grain, so I get a bulge below and a bulge above and a valley in the middle - Doh! Options: 1. Raise or lower the arm-holes to change where the stress goes; 2. Cut the toile again on the bias, to avoid that grain-line; 3. Take a break and think about it all in the morning.

UPDATE: I've tinkered with the armholes and seam-lines some and got something do-able. Then I said 'Why not' and cut the front again, but on the bias. The difference is remarkable! I couldn't do this unless I had a seperate skirt, but suddenly I have flex and ease and delightful curves again. Yay! A little more tinkering with the shoulder pieces, and I'll be done.

UPDATE: I scooped out the neckline at the front and back. This isn't just about getting the curving-swan-neck look - when the bodice is that tightly fitted there tends to be gapping if the material rises too high.

Pad-stitching the canvas to the outer took a while. The effect is amazing! With the fuzziness of the brushed cotton attached to the weight of the canvas, it now reminds me strongly of suede leather. Unfortunately, the heft of the material changed again, and I had to do a bit more tinkering, sigh. I'm reasonably happy with it now, but I'll be leaving an opening with the lining to get back inside if I have to.

In a fit of madness, I decided to overhand the skirt pieces. That means that I machine-stitched each piece of the outer to its lining mate, turned the right-sides out, ironed the edges carefully, put the right-side of the new piece to its similarly treated mate, and connected them with very small whip stitches. It takes flipping ages, but oh my golly gosh the flatness of those seams O_o. I'm planning on doing a similar treatment when connecting the skirt to the bodice which makes me a little nervous, considering the weight, but I've read about people doing similar. We'll see.

UPDATE: I glommed a pattern off the Elizabethan Smock Pattern Generator and threw a smock together last night. It was so wonderful to make something in a short space of time - everything except the hemming. The smock fits well, except the sleeves are just a touch tight.

The skirt of the kirtle has been attached to the bodice - the back bit in roll pleats - and seems sturdy enough. I think that I made my stitches too large, though, because I can see them just a bit from the right side. Perhaps the linen thread is just too light a brown. There's not much I can do about it except buy black thread (the closest other match) and re-do. I don't want to re-do right now.

Right now I've sewn very small washers* to the inside of the side openings to hold the laces. It's cheap and relatively quick, and it lets me shift them if I don't like the stress pattern when the lacing is tight, but I don't like the way the cord pulls at the attachment points. Sewing proper eyelet holes is on my improvements list.

I've tried the kirtle on, with smock and lacing, and it's good. I have a snug fitting bodice with support (though not as much uplift as I'd hoped for) and lovely smooth curves, and flowing skirts.

Next is hemming (ick) and eyelets.



* From the Hastings Mitre 10, and can I just say that they are teh awesome? The staff were persistently helpful, even when I was just looking for a mingy two nuts and bolts, or a handful of washers. And they knew where things were. WONDERFUL!!

EXTRA LINKS:

ftp://netherton.net/FittedDressPosts.txt
ftp://netherton.net/FittedDressFAQ.PDF
http://slumberland.org/moodle/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=693
http://www.cottesimple.com/
http://swein.campus.luth.se/lia/garb/redwoolGFD/
http://www.mathildegirlgenius.com/Documentation/KASF2006/15thCentSleeves.pdf

WEARING IT:

- It's a pretty, comfortable dress and I like it.

- I find that the tight-lacing tends to draw me into pulling my belly in and standing straighter. I tend to get less back-pain overall, though it can get a bit tiring.

THINGS TO DO DIFFERENTLY:

- I'd put cap sleeves on - when I wear brocade pin-on sleeves, it gets a bit breezy around the arm-pits. Also, my current pair of pin-ons are a bit short and tend to pull the straps down off the shoulders - NOT COMFY.

- I'd put some kind of boning strip next to the lacing to keep the edge straighter.

THINGS TO KEEP THE SAME:

- I like the pleats at the back.

- Also, the lacing at the side is convenient for changes in waistlines and willingness to pose vs. desire for comfort. Sometimes near the end of the event, I'll just release the laces and let myself breathe.

OTHER ISSUES:

At some point, I should do a write-up for how I made my pin-on sleeves, and y'know, make a pair that fit a bit better.

SUMMATION:

I lot of work, but I'm extremely glad that I did it. It's a dress that's comfortable, looks good, and will last. Yayy!