Know when to fold 'em

Less than a week before Banzaicon I realised their Time Travel Ball would be held on Friday - the day I'd planned not to wear a costume. Couldn't have that, so I set about with plans to make a gown based on this evening gown from 1912.

Only the red ones, mind you.

The fabric came from my stash. I bought it in Finland a year ago with quite different plans, but that's life - or rather sewing ADD of a sort, always dashing off to the next exciting project.

I was unable to make sense of the period pattern, so I improvised. The pattern for the top comes from a tattered vintage dress I had lying around. The base for the top is a thickly woven cotton. It's boned in the sides and in the back. I draped the velvet over, trying and failing a few times since this was the first time I tried my hand at it, and sewed it down to make sure it would stay down.

The skirt was made from this edwardian tutorial. I think the fabric is duchess satin - it's definitely satin and not natural fiber. The back drapes nicely, and there is a short train. Underneath the skirt there is an underskirt in a cotton/polyester blend for a little support.

The skirt is just pinned on so far. Don't judge.

I started the project while on easter holiday, with five days left to con. I lost one day of sewing because my plane home was cancelled (yay, snowstorm!) and we had to drive up to Tromsø instead. Eight hours, ugh, but I met a nerd and another guy I managed to recruit to the viking re-enactment group.

Then, after sewing in blind panic for two days, I realised I don't want my hobby to be stressful. It's something I do for fun. So I put the gown aside, decided to wear the red Edwardian ensemble from last summer and felt my blood pressure normalize itself.

Say hello to Dalek.

And this is Vega.

And so the day before the convention was used to play with the cats instead, resulting in one happy seamstress.