FOUNDATIONS REVEALED COMPETITION ENTRY
Somewhere over the rainbow laced stays
(click images to to enlarge)
Other Credits
Most photos by Henrietta Stack (age 6)
Outline the story …
The inspiration for my entry is the fairyland of Oz from the extensive book series by L. Frank Baum. While the movies are visually iconic and nearly all of the books feature charming, turn-of-the 20th century artwork by illustrator John R. Neill, I wanted to avoid the well known and find a more obscure character. In The Marvelous Land of Oz, General Jinjur, a citizen of the munchkin country, leads an army of knitting needle armed girls on revolt to overthrow the the Emerald City, take the gems, and liberate women from household duties. General Jinjur may have been written as contemporary satire and nowadays reads as an antiquated example of the women’s suffrage movement. Nevertheless, the bold personality of Jinjur along with the description of her uniform “her silken waist being of emerald green and her skirt of four distinct colors” struck me as something I wanted to make. Her outfit with a multicolor skirt representing the 4 countries of Oz (with the blue of the munchkins in front) and an emerald green top (with the same 4 colored buttons) gave me place to start. I chose to set Jinjur in the 18th century since the skirt could be a petticoat and that could go nicely with a green silk short jacket. This would also give me a reason to make my first ever stays.
Outline the construction…
Everything for my project was hand sewn except for the boning channels on the stays. Those were sewn with an antique treadle machine. In April, I made first piece of 18th c. costuming with a pocket following along with Burnley and Trowbridge sew-a-longs. The shift and petticoats are also based on B&T instructions and videos.
Shift of linen.
Under-petticoat of cotton “Matelassé”.
Multicolor petticoat of linen fabric and ties.
Frances Rump, Scroop Patterns - Cotton ticking, polyfil, cotton ties. Worn under the stays according to the FR live workshops and POF5.
Augustus Stays, Scroop Patterns - Cotton canvas strength layers, cotton twill exterior, linen interior reinforcement strips, zip ties, rayon seam binding, lambskin edge binding, rainbow paracord lacing, metal back grommets stitched over to look like the hand sewn eyelets in the front. The pattern fit well with the “curvy” option in sizing. Width of boning channels was adjusted. Straps left off. Great pattern. Now I feel I could draft my own and be successful.
Amalia Jacket from Scroop Patterns - Silk taffeta, linen and silk lining, fabric covered wooden buttons. Lengthened at waist to account for rump worn under stays. Sleeves lengthened. Buttons pinned on. I love the Pierrot style of this jacket and how the sleeves, armscye, and back fit me. I would like to redo the shape and style of the front in order to close differently and fit a bit better.
Oh this is wonderful! beautiful construction and structure and then the colours! Stunning!
Joyful colour combinations and beautiful stays.
Super whimsical– so absolutely perfect for a character from Oz. The final silhouette achieved with these stays is so nice. It’s satisfying looking at all those tiny channels. Goodness. Great job. 😀
I love the character you chose and you represented her so well. So beautifully sewn. Lovely colors. Excellent work.
Wow hand sewing that’s so much work. Looks fantastic
Really a dream!!! I love Oz. Great work.
She “leads an army of knitting needle armed girls on revolt to overthrow the the Emerald City, take the gems, and liberate women from household duties.”
!!!!
What a fantastic character to bring to life! It’s impossible to look at your ensemble without smiling. Good luck (from icarus!)
Beautiful shape, and I’m in awe of your impeccable stitching!
What a beautiful character to portray! I love the ensemble you made. Well designed, well cut and amazingly fitted.
I always love anything colourful 🙂
Your stays are beautiful. Nice job on the color story. Great work.