Finished sewing a dress, and wore it to the Sherwood Forest Renaissance Faire

So it was a completely unplanned occasion, as was the wearing of the dress.  I made a dress from a pattern  ...this one from McCall's.

(McCall's Stitch 'n Save M6263)

I used some plaid shirting my mom had thrifted for me in South Carolina.  I finished all but the hem about 6 months ago, but something wasn't quite right. I was a bit messy sewing some of the seams (guess I was in a hurry?), and the sleeves were just strange!  They didn't quite stand on the shoulders, they didn't fall to the side, the just rested somewhere in the middle.  So after months of deliberation (and many other more interesting projects, I'm not gonna lie), I decided on a whim today to chop the sleeve clean off, and make it a strapless sweetheart type dress.

I started this 3 days ago, finished off all the now sleeveless portions, and then began the hem.  Have you ever hemmed a circle skirt before?  It was like that - because of the curve, the hem never quite lays right, and you have to be very fiddly about it to make it look right.  And it took forever.  I set it aside for a day or so...and this morning, since I had very smartly left the dress ready to sew in my machine, uncut thread and all, I finished off the hem.  I literally rolled out of bed, went to the sewing machine, and finished it.  Weird, huh?

My brother-in-law and his wife and their son came in to stay the night last night, and today they planned to go to the local ren fest, the Sherwood Forest Renaissance Faire.  We thought the boys would enjoy it, so I decided to wear my newly finished sleeveless dress (on a 50ish degree day). My sister-in-law and I ran to Goodwill for shoes and a sparkly duster I had seen a few days ago (and prayed was still there, to keep me warm today).  We both found the boots we were looking for, and the duster was still hanging around.  We showed up at the faire fashionable and awesome. I like to think so anyway.

I did take the duster off so you could see it!

I love the giant stretchy belt with this.

The dress turned out not at all like I thought it would! With that plaid, I had thought it would be like a preppy sundress...but it turned out steampunk and I love it!  I found my new favorite fashion niche.  With the new boots, black tights, and belt, it was perfect. It looks like it has straps, I know - I was rushed, and safety pinned it to a color coordinated bra.  I think I'll add bra type straps to it later on, I like the way it looks.

You see my new zip up embroidered boots? Go Goodwill! I'm also trying unsuccessfully to rock a steampunkish hat that was for sale, but I'm pretty sure this one isn't for me.  The same hat vendor also had the most wonderful tiny tea hats to pin in your hair.  I must learn hat making now.  Any tips of where to start, books or anything?  I'm in love with the craft and the idea.  I wouldn't be me if I just didn't need to learn a new craft.


There were some absolutely gorgeous masks that I loved - leather, the one I like was like a tree person mask, and had small deer antlers.  Like I'd ever wear it anywhere, but I can appreciate its beauty.

There was an awesome leather steampunk corset that would have worked perfectly with it, but it was WAY out of my price range. I'd charge that much if I had to do all that work - hand punch leather evenly to do all the seaming, plus the steampunk latches and stuff. Wow. Glad that's not my job!

We had a blast, and have some pictures to prove it.  All in all, it was a must calmer faire than ones we've been to before, and was very family friendly.

Jousting anyone?

Dragon fountain my kids adored.

What did you do so far this weekend? Oh, did I forget to mention the burlesque show last night? Completely different from today, being rather non-family-friendly, and very raunchy...they were called the Jigglewatts.  I had my favorites, but the girls were all quite good, and if you ever happen to run across a show, it was a fun night.   Takes you back to another time, with all the period costumes and such...it was another world...man, what a random weekend we've had here.

Anyway, see you soon!