Tag: Costume Challenge 2014

  • Outer layers inspiration

    More Spartacus here.

    I can’t just wear a tunic, I’ll freeze to death. I’m always cold and being outside for four days doesn’t help. Who thought it would be a good idea to run a mediterranean themed game in the UK? I know exactly who. I’ll get my revenge one day.

    So wraps and cloaks it is then. The long, hard task is going to be finding some suitable fabric for a wrap of some sort. The three examples below are varying approaches. There’s Spartacus’ rough blanket. I’ve got something that might be suitable here, it’s a threadbare throw that was on our couch for as long as I can remember, and worn away over the years by two labradors. Alternatively there’s the praetors smart red wrap with that golden trim that is just to die for. This in blue perhaps? I hesitate to look too Roman though.

    Ganicus is in there because I like the layering his character has. You really get the feeling he’s carrying all his possessions on his back, don’t you?

    Speaking of Ganicus, I’m just going to indulge for a second.

    nkel476Anyway. (Also I like those bracers for my Empire character.)

    Ashur in the first couple of series also had a beautiful cloak but I’m not sure how I’d go about creating something like that. Might have to visit some upholstery fabric shops. Perhaps a jacquard of some sort might work?

    ashur-spartacus-vengeance-10990-1280x720

    I want to talk about female costumes in Spartacus.

    It is hard to talk about practicality here in any meaningful way, because obviously the men also have their bare chests and stomaches exposed. In southern Italy in Roman times I can imagine this would have been practical if you were a gladiator. No top getting in the way of your armour, nothing to stop you sweating, free to move etc.

    I can also understand why the female slaves don’t have leather armour in most cases. The male slaves took it with them when they were freed from being gladiators anymore. It made sense for them to retain their leather arm pieces, leg armour and the like.

    But the girls don’t seem to have any armour at all. I can’t imagine that after fellow slaves had fallen they wouldn’t have picked up and adapted the guys armour? And on top of that, the outfits are just so sexy. It’s all scant little threads of fabric wrapped around their boobs! God, if I tried that everything would all fall out within hours.

    Having said that, I do like Navias outfit for the show. She wore something practical and it seems that she also salvaged bits of armour from other slaves. Why couldn’t all the female characters be like this instead of being ultra sexy? (Citizens excluded as they were generally in their nice dresses.)

    MV5BOTExMzA5MDQwN15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwOTA1ODg3OA@@._V1_SX640_SY720_

     

  • Four hours of sewing

    The first four hours of sewing on the Costume Challenge are done! I started at about 1400hrs and finished at about 1800hrs when it became far too cold in my house to keep going (broken heating…).

    Work on the first tunic began!

    First a sketch:

    image-1

    I will note here for when I remake it, that I shortened the sewn edge from 28″ to 24″.

    Then cutting. Everything is a straight strip of fabric the width of the bolt so I used a long gridded ruler and a rotary cutter. Must invest in a new blade, this one is not quite so good anymore.

    image

    Mmmm, many strips…

    image-2

    My grandfather was a tailor and it has highly influenced the way that I create. I don’t see the point in doing things if I’m not going to do them to a standard higher than I can afford to buy. For that reason I do things like enclose every seam. Every single seam. I don’t mind that it takes me longer because the finish of the piece if worth it to me, to create a beautiful garment that I want to wear and will last for many years. I will not make something you can just buy off the peg.

    Check out the wonderfully neat french seams on the blue stripe! The blue fabric is pieced into the black rather than appliquéd on. I did consider the latter but decided it would be harder to get a lovely straight stripe.

    image-4

     

    image-3

     

    And here is where I left it. The side seams have been put in, it’s just raw around the arm scythes and the hem. I was going to just turn them up, but I think I will end up bias binding them. I am unsure yet if I want to bind in black or blue. Any thoughts?

    The neckline is simply just ‘not sewn’ across the opening to make it a straight slash. It’s faced by simply turning over 4″ before sewing the shoulders together. The good thing about Ikea ‘Ditte’ fabric is that it has a lovely finished edge to the selvage!

    image-5

  • Stay up till Four In The Morning…

    Well actually that’s a lie. I work up at four in the morning with inspiration for my sew-along.

    It might be the four seasons of Spartacus I’ve watched over the last few weeks while procrastinating about working my way through my Semester 2 reading list, but Josh Hannah crept his way into my head and promptly prodded me awake. I’ve struggled to find ideas for things to wear to Odyssey, making do with my generic Empire kit last year. But it wasn’t really appropriate. The problem is that I am not a player, I am not a Minoan, but I spend all day in the arena effectively interacting with people. It needs to be easy enough to move in, yet disguise my camera kit, and as gender neutral as possible because I ain’t running around at LRP in girlie clothes. (Sorry girls who like girlie clothes, it’s just not me).

    Enter Batiatus.

    The overall design of his tunic and toga remains the same. It is always a simply cut tunic pulled in at the waist with a narrow leather belt and a toga thrown over his shoulder and tucked into his belt. His father also wears the same. In the gallery there are a few colour variations too, showing simpler designs alongside the blue variation that he mostly wears.

    I don’t know the historical accuracy of the toga, I’d always been brought up to believe that togas were huge lengths of fabric akin to a sari that were draped in particular ways. But it looks pretty cool, so I don’t mind too much. Plus the beau didn’t scowl at me in the same way that he scowled at my beanie at the last event when I showed him, so I can only take that as a good thing.

    And here’s what got put down on paper at 4am after I’d managed to find myself a sketchbook:

    tunic 1

     

    I know, it’s not the most coherent bunch of drawing and writing, but I needed to make sure I remembered it if I got back off to sleep (I didn’t…).

    I’m going to take colour inspiration from the other Minoans who were apparently given the brief ‘autumnal’ and especially Sabrina’s outfit:

    1006051_571399276246021_437556573_n

     

    And oh look, I also found someone else wearing my outfit in different colours…

    1094782_571398819579400_549712329_nSo the first thing to do is to work out some measurements and gave a first go. I’m not imagining it’s going to be rocket science. I have some black Ikea Ditte fabric and some blue of the same, I’ll start there.

    However I also noticed these sneak into the Ikea fabric collection recently:

    Screen Shot 2014-01-24 at 18.13.55 Screen Shot 2014-01-24 at 18.13.43

    MINNA comes in a brown, a dark grey, a mauve and a white. I think I have plans for these. Ikea also does nice linen for £8 a meter…

     

     

  • The Costume Challenge

    It all started here when Jude said:

    It’s the 2014 Costume Froth Sew-Along Challenge!

    Ooo! What can I make?

    Anything you like! This year’s theme is developing a single area of our skills – so pick a project that allows you to do that. Some folk have already chosen to focus on surface decoration, neatness of finish, embroidery or completing something wearable – your level of experience doesn’t matter, just your willingness to join in!

    We make different things? Doesn’t sound much like a sew-along to me…

    Everyone loves a sew-along, but who wants an outfit exactly the same as fifteen other costumes? So, we’ve messed things up a bit – we’ll work at the same time and support each other while we make different things, each working on a particular area of our skills.

    Hmm… But I don’t play Empire. Is it for Empire?

    Nope, it’s for everyone! Though if you do make something that would work for Empire I’d love to share your project diary on the Empire wiki.

    But I’m not good enough!

    This group caters to all levels – beginners to pros. And you can guarantee that everyone on this group has at some point felt a) like their own stuff is rubbish and b) like everybody else’s work is unattainably good. Don’t worry! Just have fun.

    Ok, I’m convinced! What do I do?

    Step 1: a quick project plan. Post by 1st February if you can. Sketches, descriptions, anything you like – something to let other people imagine what you’re going to make, and also for you to compare with your finished work at the end and see what you changed along the way.

    Step 2: Post updates as you go! Ask for input! Share top tips! Photos! Photos!

    Step 3: Keep a costume diary as you go- Facebook is great for updates but crap for archiving. When it’s done then share as a document or we can put it on the Empire wiki. Soft deadline is Easter weekend (Empire 5).

    And have fun!

    And so it begins. My challenge is to create my outfits for Odyssey. I need roughly two/three days worth of Roman/Grecian/Similar inspired outfits that allow me to shoot pictures. I start with a pair of trousers that might be suitable. I’m hoping to get at least something done by the Easter weekend which will also be useable for Empire.