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The Raven King
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Outline the story …
My costume is of John Uskglass, aka the Raven King, from the novel "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell" by Susanna Clarke. This character plays a major role in the plot of the novel, but doesn't actually make much of an appearance, making him both mysterious and fascinating. He is an immortal human man who was abducted to Faerie, but eventually became a king there with immense magical power. He is described at the time of the books events, approximately 1817, as dressing like a fae, but with a strong preference for black and still wearing his black hair unfashionably long. It should be noted that other fae characters in the book are described as keeping up with the latest human fashions, sometimes by magical means.
As a Nonbinary Goth person, this character really called to me. I was very excited by the idea of doing a mild gender bend of this character, while dabbling in historical patterns for the first time. As research for this character I read many of the fan wiki articles about the world and characters, as well as looking at pictures of museum pieces from the time period. I was particularly drawn to the raven theme, and even designed a crest for him based on a written description, as well as incorporating the raven design into the embroidery I added to this project.
Outline the construction…
For this project I created a shirt, cravat, and waistcoat.
The shirt is made of cotton lawn with thrifted velvet and lace at the collar and cuffs. The shirt was made using the basic design and technique from Bernadette Banners "Pirate shirt" video. I had to do the sleeves and gussets twice because I did not make them big enough; it was my first ever shirt/gusset experience, and in the future I would also make the collar bigger.
The cravat is thrifted linen. I hand dyed it black, then stamped the Raven King's crest all over it with a stamp I carved myself from linoleum. It was printed with a modern multi surface ink that can be heat set with an iron. One edge is on the selvedge, and the other is hemmed by hand. I used a blog post that described the basic construction and methods of tying a cravat as a reference, but my thrifted fabric ended up not being long enough so I had to piece it together in the middle.
The waistcoat is made using Laughing Moon Mercantile pattern # 125: Late Georgian Vest. It is made of silk and linen. I added Raven embroidery to all 4 collar points and feathers at the edge of the welt pockets (because the welts were too small). This was my first time doing welt pockets, silk embroidery, fabric covered buttons, hand stitched button holes, canvas interfacing, and such drastic alterations to a pattern not meant for my body.
Wonderful details and I love the gothic inspiration. So original to make your own stamp for the Raven King’s crest and your embroidered raven is brilliantly done.
I love the intricate details and embroidery. Your version of the pirate shirt is so beautiful. I really enjoyed reading this and watching your video showing your process and not just modeling.
The ravens on the collar are trully perfect. I love it
The print on the scarf made by yourself – I am speechless.
Love the crest! Wonderful job
Raven King would wear this with pride. Great work.
I love how much the raven embroidery looks like feathers