FOUNDATIONS REVEALED COMPETITION ENTRY
Drottningen
(click images to to enlarge)
Other Credits
https://litteraturbanken.se/f%C3%B6rfattare/WahlenbergA/titlar , http://runeberg.org/download.pl?mode=work&work=sagoteater, https://katafalk.wordpress.com/2014/01/16/st-birgittas-cap/
Outline the story …
Play Feéns gudotter by Swedish author Anna Wahlenberg (1858–1933) in Sagoteatern (1911) (ref https://litteraturbanken.se/f%C3%B6rfattare/WahlenbergA/titlar and Project Runeberg http://runeberg.org/download.pl?mode=work&work=sagoteater). Bad English text translations are mine. Setting of play a castle room with big windows, 3 doors for entering and leaving and a huge floor seized mirror. I imagined Versailles but had to settle for makeshift photo booth in my workroom Birgitta-cap for hairdo and Corona snout on face.
Characters in the play: Kungen (the widowed young king), Drottningen (his mother the Queen), Britta, Bolla (Bolla), Feèn, Hovherren, 5 hovdamer.
My character is based on Drottningen, first act, a dress fitting. Imagine the Queen is in her mid-fifties, trying on dresses from the bygone era of her glory days in the early 19th century, deeply discontent with her actual looks
Drottning (Pouting sourly at her mirror image) line 8-11 p90
Hu, this dress is a misfit. And the color! It makes me al yellow in the face, and how oddly it fit! It completely dishevels my elegant figure. How many dresses have I not tried on?
[…]
Drottningen (line 17-19 p91)
No so, my son. It is of no use defending those miserable seamstresses I know that beautiful dresses can be sewn. Thirty years ago every dress every dress fitted me perfectly!
This is my competition entry: a simple youthful pale yellow silk dress from the Queens twenties. There dress no longer emanates beauty on the body and the colour is reflecting sickly yellow tint on the face.
Outline the construction…
This year I have learned that: hand sewing do take more time than estimated, draping is hard to master but fun and last minute ironing in poor light might give no fun results come better light the day after.
This year I have been trying to grip how to create the illusion of symmetry in a dress by draping and pleating directly on ME the mirror image of my asymmetric body. My competition entry Drottningen is the result of this years work. The dress is a hybrid of the images found on my Jane Austen mood board on Pinterest. No premade patterns are used for the dress. The dress is entirely hand sewn. Displayed flat as seen in the pictures the dress may look wonky but on the body it is fits comfortable.
Materials used come from thrift store: Shell fabric 3.20 meter yellow dupioni silk and 80cm white for bias tape on neckline. Bodice: table cloth from cotton and linen. Interlining sleeves and belt 100% cotton a stiff light yellow curtain. Threads: 100% cotton for nonvisual sewing, visual threads pulled from weft of silk fabric. Bling: vintage metal sequins, metal thread. Quick knit string, silk ribbon
Corona snout pattern mine,
Birgitta cap pattern by Cathrin Åhlén https://katafalk.wordpress.com/2014/01/16/st-birgittas-cap/
Goal for sewing: Learn draping, accepting draped pattern result, work with optical illusions, make a look like dress from inspirational regency fashion plates, mindfulness in hand sewing, sew neat, overcome cutting anxiety, work with minimum textile waste, cut and sew silk fabric.
Marianne, this is so beautiful! I love that you used thrift store fabrics — I love to use second-hand textiles in my sewing, too, both to minimize textile waste and to get neat fabrics that aren’t available at fabric stores anymore.
Your attention to detail really shows in this finished dress — it’s really lovely and it feels like you walked out of a regency fashion plate!
Dear Andrea
Thank you so much for commenting and for your kind words. I it makes me very happy that you like it 😀
Oh man, that line of sequins is so subtle and -so- good.
Dear Leora
😀 Thank you so much for commenting 😀
I am happy that you like the golden sequin line, I had a hard time deciding what to choose pink or gold or a single stitched line sewn with gold flat thread.
The back pleats are so good ❤
Dear Manon
Thank you for the love and thank you for commenting. I am glad you like the pleats 😀
It’s so cute and well made! You look great in it.
Dear Kristina
Thank you for commenting I am happy that you like it 😀
Oh my….this is simply beautiful! very well done, thank you!
So clever!
Best Apprentice entry with matching mask, thank you!
Absolutely stunning.