FOUNDATIONS REVEALED COMPETITION ENTRY
Lirael Librarian Outfit
(click images to to enlarge)
Outline the story …
Entry inspired by Lirael by Garth Nix. My costume shows Lirael as I imagine her just before she left the glacier of the Clayr and the library where she worked. It features the red waistcoat of her recent promotion to Second Assistant Librarian. This is set over what is described earlier in the book as work clothes: a grey tunic, blue leggings, leather shoes, and a silk headscarf. The waistcoat includes a whistle attached to the lapel so that it may be blown easily. I used this as my guideline and designed a sort of medieval-meets-1700s fantasy look. Instead of sewing leggings or hose, I made a pair of grey braise and paired them with the blue wool leg wraps I already had. The shoes were from a pattern from ChampagneFaire on Etsy. The tunic was based on a basic 18th-century men's shirt, and the waistcoat I self-drafted. I added gold sun-pattern buttons to the waistcoat, the closest I could find to the gold star emblem of the Clayr, and the waistcoat is standard-issue in canon, so I thought it should have some marker of the place about it. Lirael drew me because of our common traits. She is about my age and struggles similarly with depression and other mental health issues - something which we rarely see in young adult fiction and which I felt it was important to call attention to. I would like to note that while I am using she/her pronouns for Lirael, I myself am nonbinary/agender and use he/they pronouns.
Outline the construction…
One of the peculiar things about the Old Kingdom where Lirael lives is that machines and machine-made objects tend to fall apart once they cross the borders. This means no sewing machines, so I did almost everything by hand. I did make the braies on the machine as they would be hidden and I needed to get them done quickly. I will probably go back and re-do them by hand later. The tunic was assembled with backstitched, flat-felled seams and whipped hems. The shoes were done very slowly by hand. This was my first time working with leather and I did not have the correct needles, so broke a few. The waistcoat is three layers. I sewed together a cotton canvas base first, then cut out the pieces for a silk outer layer and facing, and a linen inner layer. Once everything was pinned in place, I sewed the layers together using a whip stitch on the seams between the pattern pieces, and around the outside and armscyes I used the stitch that looks like a running stitch on the outside and a whip stitch on the inside, causing the inside layer to be slightly concealed by the overlapping edge of the outer layer. Buttonholes, especially in silk twist, I am still practicing, but they are here. I added two small patch pockets on the outside of the vest and am planning to put a couple inside as well. The silk scarf was one I had lying around.
I love Lirael too and I think you did a great job bringing the clothes to life! Also those button holes are stellar!
Oh…. the waistcoat! And the buttons!! Fabulous! Great make. GO YOU!!!
Those buttons are wonderful!❤
Those shoes are so cool! And first time working with leather – just beautiful.
This outfit is really well executed! Good job! Thank you!
So pretty! Wow!
Absolutely wonderful and I now know my next make will be a red waistcoat – I love the idea of it being a promoted librarian! Well done for doing most of it by hand – that’s a huge commitment and certainly paid off. The buttons are fabulous too.