My history is this- I'm a 6th generation seamstress but for me it all started when I watched Pirates of the Caribbean for the first time. There was a dress that Elizabeth Swann wore that was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. So I went out and did something that most 14 year old girls wouldn't; After searching for weeks for just ther right fabric I spent $150 on 10mtrs of gold and cream Jaqcuard, bought a 17th century corset pattern and a knock off Simplicity pattern like the dress I wanted and set to work on my living room floor on using my moms sewing machine. For a first independent sewing experience it wasn't so horrible at all- but 6 years later there has been some significant improvements- helped largely by the 70 costumes that now sit in dressbags in a corner of my room and a year at university studying Costuming for Stage and Screen.
I've been sewing for clients for 4 years now. I started helping with brides that came in to my moms Bridal shop who wanted something special. I've had the pleaseure of making custom historical costumes for a small number of individuals. It's never been enough for me to support myself and set up in my own space, but it's one thing that I'm truly passionate about, and besides, one can hardly expect to find much demand for custom corsets of extravagant historical costumes in a rural oil town in Alberta, Canada.
I'm currently living in my moms unfinished basement with 400square feet of sewing space- cement floors, fluorescent lights and a table made of an old head and footboard laid over a pile of boxes. Primitive yes, but it certainly hasn't stopped me from challenging myself with new projects and techniques.
So when I came across the Double Period project I was thrilled. I dropped everything, which wasn't much, and threw myself into research, finding details in each period, breaking down the overall line into structure, finding appropriate color schemes and digging through my bin of fabric to find fabrics that though not silk would convey the images that were quickly building in my mind.
All this had to be done on a budget of $10 plus my one month subscription so I could enter. The other challenge in this for me was to work on the half scale- it has it's definite benefits- half the fabric, less time working on embroidery, but it also came with a challenge I hadn't forseen so clearly- small seams, tight corners, and far less room for error. It's been great so far- just what I was wanting right now.
I had the pleasure of being able to use my great grandmothers Pfaff Treadle machine that corssed the Atlantic with her after the war. what a feeling it was to open it up and see it in mint condition- bobbins, turning feet, extra needles and all sorts of extra still lovingly stored in the side compartment as they would have been the day it was bought so many years ago. It took some getting used to- I had to find my rhythm and had issues with the needle coming unthreaded and the thread breaking for the first couple hours, but I must say it is the most satisfying sewing experience I have ever had.
Okay enough backstory- on with the sewing!
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