Emily Attends the Mardi Gras

February is speeding along, and it's been sunny here the last few days. And what am I doing?  Sitting inside sewing!  There'll be plenty of sunny days as we turn the corner to spring, so I'm not worried about missing a few very cold, sunny ones.  My table is clean once again, awaiting the next project. 

I feel like I've been in the sewing trenches for the last few weeks, but when I'm on a roll, its best to keep creating.  Trust me.  I feel so much better when I'm creating and working on a tedious little project.  With this latest, I feel, very much, a sense of accomplishment.  Trying to figure out how to do every aspect of this costume was a practice in self-discipline and focus.

The more I sew for the 1470 (or 1469), the more I love it.  Although she has "Bleuette Syndrome".  Legs that go everywhere but where you want them to.   

Emily has become my little muse, and that just means that Kitty Hudson will benefit from this down the line.  I'm still amazed that Doug James was able to create a reproduction of the Cuno and Otto 1469 with such exacting precision.  What do you bet a little AI was used in this process?  No matter!  I love her.  And I love making costumes!  Normal everyday clothing is nice, and I've been purchasing as many of Doug's creations for Emily as possible.  They're not cheap.  But when it comes to special costuming like ones for Halloween and Mardi Gras, I'll step up happily and start working.

Last year, soothing my broken heart over my sister giving my beloved aunt's New Orleans charm bracelet to her best friend, even though she knew I wanted it, I made three Mardi Gras costumes in honor of New Orleans and my Aunt Yvonne, and my cousin who now sews the costumes you see people wearing on the floats.  My cousin, Paula, learned this trade from her own grandmother, who sewed the costumes for years.

When I was just 10-years-old, my Aunt JoAnn took me to meet Granny Gorbach and see her little home and the costumes she was working on.  It takes all year to create these works of art.  At least when you're sewing for a doll, it takes a lot less time.  And I knew I'd have to make a Mardi Gras costume for Emily this year.  

So right after I finished Lily's Year of the Dragon, I got to work.  I'd already found this 1920's pattern image on Pinterest, and it was just too obvious which one would make the cut.  Yellow, green and purple are the official colors of the Mardi Gras, and this "Persian Ballet" costume had to get created for Emily.  There wasn't even a second thought to this!

The "Persian" pants and the Deco fan headdress were the main features that attracted me to this project.  I had the silks, but I did not have the chiffon for the pants and draping sleeves.  I purchased a French silk ombre chiffon that was green to raspberry in transition and used just the green end.  The raspberry would be helpful for the mock up since I like to use the same kind of fabrics for the test piece to make sure it looks right and drapes 

correctly.

I don't like chiffon.  This is silk crinkle chiffon.  It's the nastiest stuff I've ever worked with.  Thin, slippery, almost impossible to pin together and gorgeous when it gets there.  But you know what?  I've had plenty of practice working with it, and think, now, that if I ever need to work with it again...I won't...well, maybe.  Because its sheer, it's a must to learn to sew on.

I began with the pants.  There are a pair of green silk "shorts" beneath the Persian pants for modesty's sake.  The chiffon pants are sewn to the waistband of the shorts making them easier to dress the doll in, and sturdier in construction.

Measuring where the gathers would go was an engineering nightmare.  I did not use pins, or marks on the silk, but rather measured up from the hem on the pattern, put it on my machine and used masking tape on the machine as my guide.  Three times 

for the three sets of gathers.  The last and fourth, would be the hem.  I was so happy to have them done and be done with the chiffon, then realized that I had to make the sleeves.  So instead of getting frustrated, I began the ballet dress.  Darts!

I had to do it at some point.  Learn how to make darts.  I'm still not sure I'm doing it correctly, but I plan on asking a friend of mine at convention this year, to show me the trick.  I know there's a trick.  Simply pinching and pinning isn't enough if you really need to make a pattern.  Just another reason I like to dress child dolls.  These dolls have not been a problem to sew for before because of the loose, paper bag dress style of the 1920's.  So I plodded on with figuring out darts.  I've studied other patterns and tried to adapt them, but this doll has a small bust and a unique body, so it was best just to dig in and learn it myself.  I do look for the "easy way out" first!

There is an inset of gold silk in the bodice and it appeared to have sequins sewn into it.  This is a very glittery costume!  I'll get to that

in a minute.  

The next was getting the skirt pattern made.  I use a medium sized dessert plate for my circles.  Then I cut them down or lengthen areas as needed.  This skirt was made in two halves, sewn together at the back since it is open in the front.  While making this costume, I kept thinking how much it reminded me of a circus costume for an acrobat.  Perhaps Emily will join the circus for a one-night appearance sometime, and I'll make her another costume - without chiffon.

The skirt is periwinkle, lined in yellow silk for the drape back fronts.  Another reason I made the pants first, was that the dress would have to go over the pants at the waist, and the fit needed to be right.  I might have benefited from the back of the bodice being a little wider, but hooks and thread loops for closures solved the issue of being a little too tight.

Still holding off on working with the chiffon again, I approached the turban.  It's funny, but as I went along creating this costume, the features in the illustration became clearer.  I kept wondering how the Deco fans were going to be affixed to the turban.  Then on closer examination of the illustration, I could see that the fans were on a headband, and the headband sat on the turban.  Mystery solved.

I was all ready to apply glue and glitter to the fans when upon opening the jar of "Marid Gras" glitter, I realized that I'd purchased the wrong stuff.  It was that gluey glitter which is the most awful stuff in the world.  So, I drove down to Michaels and purchased a glitter set and made my own.  I'm happy with the way the turban headdress turned out and look forward to making more 1920s style turbans in the future.

Finally, it was chiffon time again.  Honestly, I do not know how to edge finish chiffon, and I've never been successful with the 

sewing machine foot that rolls and hems, so after some fiddling around, I simply lined the sleeve by cutting out two of the sleeve pattern and sewed them together.  That provided all the "finish" I needed.  I used more gold leather for the arm bands, then added pearls to the edges.

The next fiddly thing were the white straps or necklace or whatever it was on the costume.  I honestly thought it was a necklace until I started making it, then realized that this was the straps that hooked around the neck, to the costume.  I used off-white cotton velveteen for them, although there was a question as to whether or not fur would be better.  In the illustration, the straps look soft and puffy.  I think the velveteen was a good solution.

I used an oval piece of leather for the center emblem and glittered it as I did the Deco fans, but with a little less.  Maybe it's supposed to look like a huge opal!  I have to laugh, because there are elements of this costume that just make no sense in our modern world.

Detail of the back of the costume.

The next thing I had to teach myself was sewing on sequins.  Good grief.  More hand sewing labor.  As if beading Lily's costume wasn't enough!  Why do I torture myself? 

So, I went online and found the right YouTube video of this process.  However, the sequins I used are itty bitty ones, not the standard ones you normally work with.  I'd bought them for sewing more lehenga costumes, so it was nice to have them on hand.  Like anything else of this nature, once you get a rhythm going, it goes fairly quickly.  There are three bands of sequins on the neckline of the bodice, and a row of them on the skirt fronts.

I pulled out another pair of Doug James shoes from my stash and painted them the same color as the dress.  I cut down a very wide silk ribbon to make the crossed ties.  I simply did not have time to look for and purchase silk ribbon that would match.  Mardi Gras is this Tuesday, February 13th!  It's also nice to be able to use what I have on hand, and this worked.

Here is a detail photo of the sequins and the shoes.

This lovely photo of Emily in her costume shows the little pearl earrings I made for her.  These dolls come with wire loops fired into their earlobes. So, all you have to do is make earrings with a hook and hook them into the loops.  I used very thin jewelry wire for threading the pearls and I can do this for other outfits that I may want earrings for.  The 1470's earring loops are something the 1469 does not have.  

And now Emily can attend the Mardi Gras in a fabulous costume of her own. Of all the costume illustrations I considered, this one is so emblematic of the 1920s style.  I'll enjoy seeing her displayed in it for the rest of the month.

Below are a few photos of 1920s Mardi Gras costumes.  There are even a couple of photos of girls wearing the Persian pants! I hope you'll enjoy the selections.  The girls always look like they're having so much fun in these old photos.  For now, I'll wish you a Happy Valentine's Day and a pleasant transition of seasons as the days stay lighter and become warmer.