FOUNDATIONS REVEALED COMPETITION ENTRY
White Kitty
(click images to to enlarge)
Other Credits
Dave Nelson, photographer
Outline the story …
I've always had a cat so I pounced on the chance to research literary works that included a feline character for my entry. First I looked at a tale written in the 17th century by Giambattista Basile titled “Cagliuso”. I found it may have been influenced by “Lucky Costantino” written in the 16th century by Giovanni Straparola. Besides those two, I looked at a more known source, “Puss in Boots” by Charles Perrault written in the 17th century. In all the stories, a low-born son inherited a cat who brought power, wealth and marriage to a princess for their owner through their cleverness and wit. For example, Puss tricked an ogre into turning into a mouse so he could eat him and then told the king the ogre’s castle belonged to his master. Keeping with the time frame of the stories, I looked at Renaissance and Tudor fashion including decorative techniques such as blackwork and Jacobean embroidery. I also researched necklace designs during these periods because I wanted to create one for this project. I changed some historical details from Renaissance and Tudor fashion such as shortening the layers, adding pink cat paws to the underdress and wearing boots in a later style. I chose the colors white, blue, red and pink because of the kittens, especially Maria, from the film, The Aristocats. In addition, I used metallic threads and braids to add sparkle. One of the fun things I found was reproductions of Elizabethan metal buttons on Etsy.
Outline the construction…
I used Patterns of Fashion 3 and 5 and The Tudor Lady’s Wardrobe by Margo Anderson for most of the layers. The underdress was created using a medieval Simplicity pattern. To create the colored braids, I followed the instructions on www renaissancetailor com/demos_simpletrims htm and attached them using crouching stitches. These stitches were also used to attach the silver braid to the skirt and cape. To create the round braid for the cape, I used a traditional Japanese technique called Kumihimo. In addition to the braids, I incorporated a chain stitch on the overskirt due to its connection to Jacobean embroidery. For the 2 layer stays, I used POF 5 and the kirtle pattern from TLW as guides. I combined different patterns from Pinterest to create the blackwork cuffs attached to the chemise. While directions and patterns for the overdress were easily found, the sleeves were created through the process of trial and error. I was able to find information about individual parts but temporarily attached the different sections till I found the design I liked. The design I settled on was adding an extra section between the paned and the hanging sleeves. One of my favorite parts was the pink pattern on the sleeves of the underdress based on design found in POF 3. Another was figuring out the design for the cape. When possible, I tried to use natural materials for the different layers and trims but there were some exceptions such as synthetic fur.
Sweet and fun costume, just like a cat.
Thank you. Meow.
Just beautiful and so skillfully and thoughtfully made along with being fun.
Dorthy, thank you. Alot of thought went into it.
Amazing, what a conceptual piece, and wonderful backstory. Superb maker skills and so much detail, Brava!
Thank you for the compliments. I appreciate you noticing the details. Many brain cells were used to create them.
So many layers! And they all look stunning♡
Thank you. I”m glad all the layers look good.
So Sweet! I love that you did all that research and came up with something so creative yet founded in history. Reminds me of all the lovely and fantastical illustrations in the fair tale books I had as a child. (LOONG, long ago….)
Thank you. I’m glad the research and history foundation shows. I look giving nods to the past.
Wonderful work, Bobbie Jo. You always get my vote! xo
Thank you.
This is fantastic, well done!
Thank you. I appreciate the kind words.