FOUNDATIONS REVEALED COMPETITION ENTRY
Queen of Bees
(click images to to enlarge)
Outline the story …
Just as the contest theme was announced, I'd finished a book called "Starless Sea" by Erin Morgenstern. In this rambling tale of stories and strange worlds behind strange doors, the main character encounters a portrait of a woman bearing the legend The Queen of Bees, holding a sword and a pomegranate. This woman, known only from portrait, statue and acolytes who all bear the mark of a bee and give up their powers of speech to better hear the stories of others, rules the bees, who, it is ultimately discovered, shape this world behind the world. The portrait looks like a Rembrandt, of a woman in a wine red gown against a dark background, which led me to the silhouette of the 1660s and to the extant English silver camlet gown for inspiration. Wanting to reference, rather than recreate, I changed or omitted elements like the lace decoration, matching train and wings above the sleeves. Taffeta was the natural choice for body and for the hushing rustle of movement, particularly apt for a secret library at the shore of a sea.
Outline the construction…
Having never attempted a boned garment before, this was a steep learning curve! Primarily using the Silver Camlet gown in Patterns of Fashion 5 for reference, I mocked up the stays in muslin, then used heavy linen duck for my two layers of interior structure. Nicole Rudolph's video on making smooth-covered stays was extremely helpful for the construction steps. Boning channels sewn by machine and synthetic whalebone bones inserted, the seam allowances were whipped down by hand and the sections joined together. I had to split the skirts higher twice and recut the front side pieces to product the right conical shape. Once the shape was correct, the silk taffeta cover was cut and hand-sewn on to the foundation with a combination of whip and spaced back-stitch in silk thread. The sleeved are lined in organdy to hold the puffed shape and pleated both top and bottom, with a split in front to show the chemise. The bottom of the skirts were bound by hand in grosgrain ribbon, and the eyelets were worked in silk buttonhole twist. Then the stays were lined in linen, skirts individually, then the main body.
The skirt in the book being almost exactly half my size, I doubled all the width measurements and knife-pleated the skirt in the same fashion, binding the pleats with two rows of stitches on the inside and grosgrain ribbon for a waistband.
The chemise is made of silk voile with a very wide drawstring neckline to fit the stays.
I love Erin Morgenstern’s book and I think you did a lovely job executing the portrait!
Thank you!
Really impressive work! well done
Thank you so much!
this is really great and well-fitted !! I love the choice of fabric.
Thank you! The fabric is a dream – one of my favourites to work with and to wear!
Love this color on you! And those sleeves♡♡♡
Thank you! So much fun to swish.
Just wow! You really look like a queen! I love the slit sleeves and your fabric is gorgeous!
Thank you!
The fit is wonderful! Beautiful job.
Thank you! Partially thanks to my husband and his yanking on the lacing – I’d put on a couple of inches over lockdown!
Beautiful! I’m reading this book right now and this is such a great interpretation of that portrait. Well done!
Thank you! That means a lot.
This is such a great interpretation of the portrait, well done! I love the Starless Sea too (I did Mirabel for my entry), so I was so excited to see your beautiful creation!
Thank you! I’d love to visit both of Erin Morgenstern’s worlds, just magical places. Your Mirabel is a miracle!
Well constructed. Very pretty! Looks authentic. Lovely, thorough work!
Thank you so much!
You look so good in this.
Thank you!
“hushing rustle of movement, particularly apt for a secret library at the shore of a sea” – oh I so want to be there in a taffeta dress. This is a lovely ensemble, so well fitted and you have inspired me to definitely add this book to my reading list.
Thank you so much! It’s an amazing book – like being in a dream.