tailordrews

Sun, 13 Mar 2011 14:52:14 GMT

I dont know how i close down this blog, if someone could tell me i would be very greatfull.
I am stopping my live journal, Going on vacation for 14 days now, when i get home, i am starting my last projekt, a commissioned Venetian Carnival Costume.
The lady has payed me plenty of money, and she has provided me with a lot of fabric and gold and silver laces. Ill give her all i have, and then its over
She comes here 29th of march.

Bjarne

change

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 08:46:07 GMT

I just emailed my webhotel to ask how much its going to cost me to change domain name. I want to change from www.my-drewscostumes.dk to Bjarnes broderier (Bjarnes embroideries)
What about the costumes then?
Well i am putting them on a hold.
Today is my day off, i have a lot of laundry to make and i need to pack my trunk, i am leaving on a holliday to Madeira on monday. Rest of the week and the weekend, i have to work.
My stay on Madeira is only a week, but the next week also is my vacation, so i have 2 weeks vacation. Ill do a lot of thinking in those weeks, because i think i am skipping the costume making and the future is going to be embroidery only.

Bjarne

Sat, 05 Mar 2011 13:30:27 GMT

I am making stays:
http://www.my-drewscostumes.dk/snoereliv.htm

Bjarne

Thu, 03 Mar 2011 17:43:13 GMT

I have found the pattern i made for Sofies stays to the red francaise dress i made for her. I am using this pattern for her new stays in ruby red silk damask. Her mother meassured her pocket hoops for me, so i am also ready to make her ruby red pocket hoops to match. Her first stays were made with 0,4 mm. wiesner boning, but i want to make it in 0,7 mm. boning. I will make 2 layers of cotton and one layer of the silk damask. The edges i shall use ordinary silk taffeta for binding.
Its going to be hecktic from now on, having manny projekts running together.
in 14 days a lady is comming to have her meassures taken, and to disgus wich kind of dress i am going to make for her. She ordered me to make her a dress for venice carnival next year. She has her own brokade with her, and also gold and silver laces she baught in Italy.
I collected the blue silk home today for the anglaise dress. The underskirt, the zone front and the sleaves are going to be blue, the rest of the anglaise is tan colloured. I have soon finnished the pleating of the trim for the overskirt, 4 widths 140 cm trimmed with ivory "rococo trimming"

Notice this corset.

Tue, 01 Mar 2011 20:16:38 GMT

Look at this clip and see a wonderfull corset. Taken from Kyoto stays.

Bjarne

plans

Tue, 01 Mar 2011 18:39:03 GMT

I am stuck with the anglaise because i need the girl to come here to have a fitting of the toille.Problem is that she is studying at the university and have work besides, she lives in a far distance from here in Jutland, and its difficult for her to come soon, so i have to put a hold on her dress.
In stead i have found remnants of the renaissance skirt i made a coupple of years ago, red silk damask with lovebirds. I want to make Sofie a corset of that and a pair of pocket hoops.
So i am starting on that tomorrow. Found the corset pattern in my stash wich suited her very well, so its just to go for it.
I waited for an answer for several days from the girl with the anglaise, i guess she dont think it matters, that i am waiting impatiently, but i wrote her an email today, saying that i put her dress on hold for a while, until she is ready.

Bjarne

Anglaise with turkish sleaves

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 11:54:22 GMT

I baught silk yesterday wich will be here in about a week. Today i browsed Bennetts silks wich are online, but i dont think i can buy directly from them, i have to use the dealer here in Copenhagen as a middle dealer, wich is going to increase the price. What a shame. But i found out that he actually has 100% silk moiré wich has made my mouth droolling very much.
Anyway here are pictures of the draped bodice and sleave of the Anglaise with turkish sleaves.

Bjarne

weekend - anglaise

Sat, 19 Feb 2011 14:24:25 GMT

I have work this weekend but i am early home today, i had an easy day. It happens once in a while, really nice!
The reason why my anglaise projekt has ben so slow is due to
1 i am not passionate about it!
2 the girl i make it for, has changed ideas a coupple of times
3 the fabric and collour.
Now we have come to a solution and i can get on with it.
She has always ben so much in love with the start anglaise in The Duchesse.
Its beige and blue.
My taffeta is beige, so we have come to this conclusion:
She wants a zone front closure, turkish sleaves on top of the simple - ordinary anglaise sleaves. The fabric under the zone is going to be blue ditto to the underskirt. Overdress made of beige taffeta.
She wants it to be as simple as possible, but i have made a lot of trimming sewed by hand, so she has to agree that i make pleated edges.
Found a wondefull hat in Magasin Nouveilles anglaises et francaises. Its a puff crown with big ruches of lace in the edge og the brim, a ribbon round the crown with big bows either site of the head, to the right also feathers. I want to make that in beige with the bows and ribbon brim in blue. Perhaps some red roses to highlight the collours.
I have draped a beautifull back and front, but i have to remake the front to the zone closure.
Anybody have any experiments with hooks and eyes for the zone closure? or as i feel it, would be better to pin in place?
On to the draping :-)

Bjarne

Dark shadows again

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 15:35:54 GMT

Thanks to all you good friends who advised me with this. I will definately buy an international dvd player at amazon then.
And for the dvd's ill order them from america, but hey there are a lot to choose from, wich one is your favourite?
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddvd&field-keywords=dark+shadows&x=3&y=4#/ref=sr_pg_1?rh=n%3A130%2Ck%3Adark+shadows&keywords=dark+shadows&ie=UTF8&qid=1298042684

Bjarne

Barnabas (dark shadows)

Thu, 17 Feb 2011 18:56:44 GMT

Back in the seventies, i watched dark shadows in the cinema.
I have tryed to get it on dvd, but i can only have it with region 1 and this i can not use in Europe.
Now i have seen that a new one is to get to preorder at amazon uk, but i dont know if this is the one i saw back in the seventies or if it is new eppisodes?
Can anyone enlighgten me?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dark-Shadows-Complete-Joe-Certa/dp/1932563571/ref=sr_1_cc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1297968441&sr=1-1-catcorr

It has always ben the scriest of all wampire movies to me.

Bjarne

stays for anglaise

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 14:24:26 GMT

I did get some sewing done this weekend. I had to make changes to the stays for the anglaise dress for Kristine.
First i had to make a new stomacher, because the other one was two big in the bustline, and i also sewed the stomacher to the sides of the stays because they crumbled together when i laced the front.
Now they keep their shape. Also i had to cut off some of the underarms and also the back was two long. So this is going to be strapless stays.
Now i am ready to drape the anglaise dress, thats a wonderfull thing to have the stays done.
Can anybody explain to me why my pictures gets "Two fat" when i flip the picture in my corel draw program? I always resize and edit my pictures in that program, but for instance the photos of the stays i just did, got very fat to look at, they are much more slender in reality?
Perhaps i should skip photograph pictures by turning the angle of my pictures?
http://www.my-drewscostumes.dk/engelsk_kjole.htm
By the way the bumroll i have made this time, isnt biggest in the back but on the sides, its going to be interresting to see how it ends up.

Bjarne from a cold frosen and very windy Denmark, its freezing cold outside, glad to be home again in the warm flat.

more silk winding done.

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 19:51:10 GMT

Just compleated my 4th box of Eterna Stranded Silk thread, just with blue, started number 5 and realise i need 4 more boxes to compleate my Eterna skeins. I have 130 skeins in each box.
Number 5 is going to be filled with turquise greens.
Then i have 10 boxes with Souzhou China Silk and 10 with Eterna. Then its the end of all that winding..............
Hope to get a lot of sewing done this weekend.

Bjarne

my day off.

Tue, 08 Feb 2011 15:04:18 GMT

Started early this morning, was expecting my clening help to come, he had promised to come between 11 and 13 hours. -rang me up at 11 and told me he would be late and first be able to come at 15 hours. So i cancelled him, because i had other things to do than waiting for him.
So on i went and made the cleaning myself, cleaned also the birdcage for my 2 badgies. Then into a bath and get some clean clothes. Off to the hairdresser (its a drop in hairdresser, with no time schedule) a lady was having her hair dyed, so it took a while before it was my turn. Then away to get the 2 last boxes i had ordered, nr 11 and 12 for my embroidery threads. Lunch at Burger King and on my way to the fabric store where i was going to get mock up callico, i met a lady who i was on the same embroidery course with this last fall. Was very nice to meet her and we had a little chatter at the street. She was in fact on her way down to the same embroidery shop to buy some knitting yarn.
Then i went and baught the mock up callico, a bolt wich was quite heavy to carry under my arm and then to the metro and hurry home.
Well its now late afternoon, and i am finally going to make a little sewing, but hey this is not what i had expected to do this tuesday on my day off.
So its going to be easy sewing work the rest of the day, making more edging for the anglaise, this time with a band a little narrower for the neckline of the dress.
There is a little photo at the homepage of the trimming:
http://www.my-drewscostumes.dk/engelsk_kjole.htm

Bjarne

braided baste

Mon, 07 Feb 2011 15:38:01 GMT

I am looking for the material you can get in endless and you can sew it together to make strawhats.
Does anybody know where i could buy this online? I know it sounds strange, but its because i dont know the right name for it.
Would be very happy if anybody could help.

Bjarne

Anglaise

Sat, 05 Feb 2011 10:56:31 GMT

I have finally settled with the anglaise. Its going to be a very typical early anglaise, with a hip vollume, center front fastening,trim in the neck and on the sides of the oveskirt, a ruffle at the skirt, and ruffled cuff endings at the sleaves. I use an ivory rococo rayon ribbon in the edge of the trimmings, handsewn on off cause and the collour of the dress is the khaki taffeta.
I played with trimmings yesterday, and i make gathered in the center pleats, that looks like small bows.
I am glad i finally setteled with a solution. Today i am going to cut out lots of strips for the trim, its so cosy to sit and make that, and i can watch movies on dvds. I have more than 30 meters of the ribbon,so it should be plenty.
Oh and very dangerous, they opened a 5 star cake and chokolate café just across my street. I read the newspapers and they had an article of it, giving it 5 stars. I had had a look in the window, and it looked soo yummy!

Bjarne

Fabric difficulties

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 10:59:38 GMT

I am, as i have mentioned earlyer, sick and tired of those silk taffeta collours, i cant get inspired to do anything with them, simple as that, and in stead of keeping on to loose time and inspiration, i have chosen some other collours. I have never made a dress with 2 different collours, well i have made jacket and skirt, but i want to see if i can manage to get inspired to make something of these 2 collours:

Either i want to make a francaise with an underskirt in the Water Lily collour and overdress of the Tint Green, or an early anglaise with lots of trim on it.
Could be interresting to make the trim of the overdress with the opposite collour, and vise versa with the skirt.
I never understand why i ordered home those stupid tan and brown-green colloured taffetas, perhaps i can use them in the future for some redingotes, most suited for that.
I will sertanly pack the ugly collours away, to the bottom of my stash.
Well i have 7 meters of the Tint Green, but only 1,5 meter of the Water Lily colloured, but its James Hare silk taffetas, and its their range of collours, so i think i am going to get them a call and ask them to send me some more Water Lily.
This photo of the collours, the Water Lily and the Tint Green is much brighter, in reality its a little darker...............

Bjarne

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 12:56:26 GMT

Today on my day off, i am just relaxing, had a hard week at work.It bothers me a little, that i dont feel inspired at all with the anglaise dress i am going to start, i think its the collour of the silk taffeta, it gives me little inspiration. I give myself this week to deside if i should go and look for other collours.
I have this morning finnished the one side of the tambour fichu, only the tambour work, but its getting along very nicely. Its such a wonderfull fabric to work with, i have ordered 10 meters of it.
Here is a link to the fichu, with the latest progress:
http://www.my-drewscostumes.dk/tambourering.htm
In a while i am going to pull myself together to go to the haircutter, i really need it!

Wed, 26 Jan 2011 17:24:24 GMT

Have started my homepage again, its only very small but am getting bigger as time goes on. Here is my inspiration for the anglaise i am going to make for Kristine. White and tan colloured with turquise blue spots and ribbons.
http://www.my-drewscostumes.dk/engelsk_kjole.htm

Bjarne

Anglaise / fichu

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 19:52:21 GMT

Must admit that the only thing i have "done" with the anglaise i am starting is that i found a lovely fashion print i want to make it from. And i am going to make the petticoat of taffeta, but i am having a layer of cotton voillé on top of it in white. The frill also a voillé is going to have small painted spots on it, and the front pannels made in large puffs, the same. The overdress is tan colloured, and the skirt white. The spots are going to be bluish turquise.
Besides making this dessition, i have worked on the fichu, i have embroidered the corner and on the right side, i am on the 2.nd pattern repeat. This is only for the tambouring, the shadow work is made after the tambour.
I have cleaning help again tomorrow on my day off. Hope i get the time and the quiet, to start making the toillé and a bum roll.
Hohenstein told me yesterday of the Margaretha Helms embroidery patterns wich are online now on V&As archive. I downloaded all of them yesterday, there were also some lovely other patterns made of an english victorian lady there. Lots of inspiration to have, thanks for reminding me Hohenstein!

Bjarne

court dress

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 19:54:22 GMT

One of the issues i have with the court dress i am going to make is the problem with the tabs. I hate when the gap from the skirt to the bodice is seen, and the tabs are going to lye on top of the skirt.
This problem was solved in one example with the wedding dress of Sophia Magdalena. Janet Arnold says that the bones were made thinner in the tabs, half as thick as the body bones. I cant do that with my modern boning.
So how could i make the same?
I thoaght about that i maybe could glue on strips of ridgeline to the boning, so that i have ridgeline at the tabs alone?
Making a fully boned bodice with tabs is a huge work, so i would like to make a nice solution.
Does any of you have any good ideas?
Making the tabs thinner, makes the tabs go over the skirt more smoothly.

Bjarne

fitting

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 19:22:28 GMT

Kristine was on a visit today, she lives in Jutland, but was here at Sealand to say goodbye to an australian friend who went home by plane today. So she tryed on the pale red corset i made for her last year. It was very nice on her but i have to make a few changes. Cut away the underarmscyes about 2 centimeters, the stays went up into her underarms. I had feared that the width of the bustline was two big because my dress stand could not be smaller in the bust, but it seemed that she had given me wrong meassures, the bust width was perfect.
So i can go right to it in making a mock up of the dress.
Its not going to be a robe a la francaise after all, she wanted an anglaise. She loved the cream colloured silk taffeta, and we agreed on making ruched trim with sewed on light blue ribbon. So this is what i am going to find now. I have to do a lot of laundry after work tomorrow, but on friday, ill go hunting light blue ribbon for the trimmings.
I didnt mind to make an anglaise in stead of a francaise, its both lovely dresses to make.
She told me about a very interresting diary she was reading of a danish nobility woman "Schimmelmann" who lived in the last quarter of 18th century, unfortunately the diary is written in french, so i cant read it :-( -she wrote about a lot of gossip going on at the danish court, what a shame i cant read it.
I am starting the mock up this weekend.
Bjarne

This year

Mon, 17 Jan 2011 16:02:20 GMT

This year my plans are:
Embroidered apron
Embroidered fichu
1 robe a la francaise in cream colloured silk taffeta.
1 robe de cour
1 robe not desided wich kind yeat.
This is the plans i have for now.

The lady i am making the francaise dress for was the girl studying in PARIS last summer, who could not come to Gammel Estrup after all because of her study there.'
This year she is home again. She is comming here wednesday so that i can make meassures of her. I already have made her corset, the pale red with the laced front stomacher i made last year. I want to make her a pannier because i dont think pocket hoops would support it in the shape i want it to be, i want it to be larger at the foot.
I need to find some ribbbon to give it collour, would be two dull with all cream collour.
I have 10 meters of taffeta, am going to make the underskirt faked with a front the same collour as the dress, the sides and back of the underskirt will be made of a simmilar taffeta wich is some tones darker.
The court dress i fear a little because of the space its going to take up, as i have told you, i dont have a study but have to make my dresses in our living room. But i have calculated that i have to take the pannier down and put it away, when i am not working on it. The court dress is going to be made of the Brunswick and Fils red floral silk brokade i baught some time ago.
The last dress is going to be a carnival dress. A lady asked me to make her a dress. She has 18 meters of some brokade, She is going with her husband for next years february carnival, and maybe i am going to make her husband a suit two. She told me she also have some italian lace with gold, she wants to be on the dress.
Thats my schedule for this year.
My god! Live journal is really working slow today!

Bjarne

Whitework.

Sun, 16 Jan 2011 10:16:59 GMT

I also have a commision of a fichu. A danish lady who has made her own middleclass costume dated 1740 ordered it.
This weekend i have made the pattern, and i also started to make a sampler of it.
In 18th century embroidery teckniques, there is a triangular neckerchief with a slit in the diagonal to ease the neckerchief better over the neck. I want to make the same.
This is a sampler of the embroidery. First it is tamboured, next i have made densely wowen herringbone stitches at the backside of each motif, this way it gets to look as if the layer is doubble in the motifs. Its embroidered on a cotton voillé.
Its the first time i ever make such kind of embroidery.

random

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 16:09:08 GMT

Its my day off tomorrow, ill have cleaning help and i expect to go to a copy store where i am going to have the pannier blown up. Its probably going to be quite expensive to have it blown up in real size, but nothing to do about it, i want it as precise as possible. Its the pannier worn under Louisa Ulrikas coronation court dress. This pannier is pleated in the sides the same way as the Fashioning Fashion pannier, so it could probably also be used to make smaller sized panniers.
Also i have in mind to start to embroider a fichu with white on white tambour embroidery. I have some leftover fabric from the Øregård dress i made last year. Its sheer, soft and very nice. I have found a patterrn for the tambour embroidery, but i need to construct it with a corner and a revers in the middle. Thinking about i could make some very nice sleave ruffles from the same fabric also embroidered with the same pattern, and why not also a neck ruffle?
Its not lack of things to do i have the most, its the lack of time to do it!
Bjarne

Ghost Hunters International, 3rd. season

Sun, 09 Jan 2011 20:09:20 GMT

For my american friends i can tell that Ghost Hunters International are making investigations at Hamlets Castle Kronborg in Denmark. Last year the museums café and restaurant had manny mysterius events, they even had to get help for someone who could make the events smaller or dissapear. Candlelights lighted themselves in the night, doors who were locked, suddently were left unlocked and so on. The staff was so frightened and manny stayed home and said they were sick.
Unfortunately i cant see american tele, but if some of my friends gets to see it, i hope you will tell me a little about it.
Hamlets Castle is situated in Helsingør (Elsinore) and its a very famous renaissance castle.

Bjarne