For the masked ball this year, I decided to finish the green silk/linen blend bliaut I had started back in 2016 for the 2017 ball (original post here), as the theme for the year was Wear Your Heraldry. In the 12th century, the only way that people really wore their own heraldry was on a mantle, which I doubt I would get much use out of during a ball, but which I will certainly make someday. However, this dress is slightly fancier than the rest of my garb and features my colors.
I never did make a ceinture or add bicep bands on this dress, but I'd still like to do so in the future. I even bought a couple sets of pearls to sew on, which somehow were forgotten in the push to finish.
I also experimented with set-in sleeves on this bliaut rather than my usual square construction, and it was a bit of a challenge. Let's just say it's a good thing my arms are smaller than when I first made the dress, or it wouldn't have worked out. The other challenge is that I let my darling husband help me pin and cut the hem, and it wound up uneven, so therefore shorter than I'd planned. I was able to use some scrap bits of the silk to make a facing inside the skirt so I was only losing a little bit of length, maybe 1/4" instead of the inch or so I'd lose with my typical double rolled hem, but needless to say I didn't have any train for train wrecks. Next time I'll try this great tutorial for hemming without help.
Sadly, the only photo I have is a selfie I took in the car before the event, so I will have to do a photo shoot if and when I wear this dress again.
I never did make a ceinture or add bicep bands on this dress, but I'd still like to do so in the future. I even bought a couple sets of pearls to sew on, which somehow were forgotten in the push to finish.
I also experimented with set-in sleeves on this bliaut rather than my usual square construction, and it was a bit of a challenge. Let's just say it's a good thing my arms are smaller than when I first made the dress, or it wouldn't have worked out. The other challenge is that I let my darling husband help me pin and cut the hem, and it wound up uneven, so therefore shorter than I'd planned. I was able to use some scrap bits of the silk to make a facing inside the skirt so I was only losing a little bit of length, maybe 1/4" instead of the inch or so I'd lose with my typical double rolled hem, but needless to say I didn't have any train for train wrecks. Next time I'll try this great tutorial for hemming without help.
Sadly, the only photo I have is a selfie I took in the car before the event, so I will have to do a photo shoot if and when I wear this dress again.
I also made a mask using the bear from my device as the theme, and made a little circlet with garlic flowers made from pearl beads for it to wear. Again, the only picture is a selfie I nabbed during the evening with my friend Bug, who also wore a bear mask.
The challenge is that this dress is not breastfeeding friendly, and I'm still nursing at this point, but for this evening formal kid-free event it worked well. This was also my first full night away from Freya, who my sister had to basically pry from my arms and hide for me to consider an evening without her. Motherhood is weird.
The event was very nice. I chose the dances for the ball and worked with the musicians to secure live music for all of it. My friend Viscountess Morgan ran the dance practice and we shared the brief instructions before the dancing in the evening. There was a bardic competition, a heraldic mask competition, and a lot of nice nibbles and drinks. I also donated a period spinning lesson with all supplies (including distaff) provided, which was purchased by my friend Mistress Gilliana. We'll have fun with that, I'm sure.
The event was very nice. I chose the dances for the ball and worked with the musicians to secure live music for all of it. My friend Viscountess Morgan ran the dance practice and we shared the brief instructions before the dancing in the evening. There was a bardic competition, a heraldic mask competition, and a lot of nice nibbles and drinks. I also donated a period spinning lesson with all supplies (including distaff) provided, which was purchased by my friend Mistress Gilliana. We'll have fun with that, I'm sure.
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