Fringe twisters

In between the sewing - a new batch of gowns is under way - I needed to do something more "rustic".
This is the result: a bunch of fringe twisters with gold forks for handles. As they were so easily bent I suspect they are real gold ;-)



After lots of experimenting I started to make three-pronged fringe twisters about a year ago. They all have cutlery for handles, and chessmen for the turning knobs. Now I have fine-tuned the process, so I dare offer them for sale for a bigger public... Should you be interested, e-mail me.

The snake-adorned gowns in use!

The gowns were for the rector and pro-rector (some would say the vice chancellor and the pro vice chancellor) of Karolinska Institutet , Sweden's oldest medical universtiy. They are celebrating their 200-year jubilee this year, and wanted new gowns for the highest officials. (So now you know why the snakes are there... :-)

The gowns were first worn at the ceremony of promotion of the new doctors (I guess I should say the ceremony of conferment of the PhD degree in medicine) last week.

Now I have found the site for all the photos of the event. There are a lot, so... here is a short list of the photos most interesting to me:
This shows the rector in front, the pro rector in the background (opens in new window). Click "next" for a picture of the pro rector.
I also like this photo. Photo nr 499 and 501 are nice, too.

A rose is a rose is...

(can be) a piece of barbed wire and some silk cabbage.



Since I learned to make roses, I have a special eye for nice scraps otherwise too small to be used.

These roses were given to a friend for the opening of her new exhibition the other day.

After appliqué-ing...

my fingers look like this:



Probably I should learn to use a thimble...

The red silk had to be backed, and I choose a black bourette I had on hand. This meant the left hand not only got scratched, but also black from the crocking bourette.

For the first gown, I did the appliqué before I attached the facings. Easier to work, harder to attach to the gown.
So, for the second gown, I first attached the facings, and did the appliqué afterwards. Much more unwieldy, but easier to match.


Total: more than five meters of gold lace appliqué, with a golden "rod" in the middle.


Now the gowns are done and delivered, and I'm hoping for "official" pictures soon...

Below the collar...

there had to be something - a jacket, perhaps?

Again I browsed my Arnold (Patterns of fashion, ISBN 0-333-38284-6), and found this interesting sleeve cut:


It comes from a Spanish book (Geometria y traca, by Francisco de la Rocha Burguen, 1618)

So I made a simple front, a Spanish sleeve and a pleated back.
After having made the pattern, I wove the approptiate amount of material, using the weave I showed here
I used the same warp yarn as in the collar, merc cotton 30/2, but in two shades. For weft I used a softer merc cotton, still 30/2.

... as one cannot use a jacket like this over jeans, I also had to make a dress to go with it :-)
I found some shot doupioni silk in a slightly darker shade - and this is the result:




Now I only have to wait for the perfect party to wear it...