The Donner Party

My sister Tricia took her kids and I up to Tahoe where we had a great time hanging out at Squaw Valley for a few days. As we were leaving, we decided to head over to Donner Lake and check out the Emigrant Trail Museum and learn more about the Donner Party.  I used to be pretty fascinated with this true story of adventure, bad judgement, bad luck, suffering and cannibalism. Its a kind of suffering that we can only shudder and guess about. The event is really just one of the hundreds of stories from those times, but it has remained one of the most notorious. And some of these survivors contributed to some serious molding of the state of California. Vallejo was in the running for becoming the state capitol! (Its the town over the bridge and next door to me!)

The wild, wild west is full of these stories of adventure and hardships. And depending on whose side you are on in the "taming" of this country, its pretty fascinating to look back on how we got to this point in time........what they wore, what they did, how they managed if they managed at all......................

Having grown up in California, having had ancestors that got in their wagons and headed west, having family that headed over to California during the last Great Depression, and now having  lived through a time of opulence and fortune to sadly  be entering into a new period of potential decline of our Super Power country, I am being drawn back once again to stories of courage and .hardship. Stories of what people are really made of when they are forced to make do with what they've got. Stories of never giving up. Stories of living and dying for a dream of a better future. It helps me to go on when I have one of those days of not being able to see the glass half full.

I do love an amazing gown. I love sequins and faded velvet and all the sumptuous clothing that were worn by the well to do from other eras, but it seems that these are the garments that most focus on when we think of the Olden Days. And understandably so. The real clothing isnt very glamorous. It is functional  with maybe a frill or two. You can tell so much about a people by what they wear. Its how I learned a lot of world history.

Tricia and I had fun comparing ourselves to the pioneer clothing worn by the real women of the mid 1800's. What a joke. We wouldn't last a day on the trail like this in our leggings, cute shoes, cowboy hat from Ross and designer capris. Of course, this isnt what we would wear on a cross country hike, but its really hard to imagine walking across rough country in a long dress. Hundreds and hundreds of miles of it. There was no sunscreen, so they had to wear those huge bonnets to protect themselves from sun and insects. They were hot and miserable. There were no lightweight cross trainers or hiking boots. They had hard soled shoes. Their feet must have killed them. They got real old before their time.

And bringing along children...........what spoiled modern child would be able to survive this? The story of little Patty Reed is so sweet. She had to give up her toys to lighten the load but she hid this little doll in her dress. This is just a copy. The original is in the Fort Sutter Museum in Sacramento because those were the guys who came to rescue them and she donated it to their museum.

A few relics. A few textiles. An old sewing machine. Native beaded garments, books, and guns. Lots of dioramas full of facts and visuals. Its not a fancy museum and you might not be very impressed as they get little funding ( I'm sure). It does give you a very clear idea, however, of how it was back then and what happened to those poor stranded  adventurers. There are lots of books on interesting subjects pertaining to the area and since one of the women working there used to be a librarian, she was able to give us a wealth of information on which were the best to read.

  I just finished this one. Its a quick read and he tells it like he supposed it must have been - not a dry read at all. Yet filled with facts enough to appreciate the soft lives that we lead.

If you are in the area, check it out. And here are some wonderful reenactment photos from Fort Sutter.

 Sorry about the vintage iphone photos. I wasnt thinking about using them for blogging at the time. But hopefully its a bit informative and entertaining!

Capes and Circle Skirts

This last week, I finished up a little project that came my way. Chris March made a bunch of super hero type costumes for a giveaway promotion. He gave me the capes and little super heroine skirts to sew up and he took care of the rest.

Its a simple project, but it was fun. I cut all the capes out freehand and I mostly used selvages for the ties, For the skirts, I used the bottom flounce pattern of my Fluffie Rufflie Pantaloons as a base. I used my Sampants waistband and  with a little tweaking here and there of the measurements, they worked out perfectly!

I was sewing on sequins and spandex for the most part and my industrials were being a bit temperamental. Needles were breaking and stitches skipping. So rather than adjust my machines for every fabric, I used my home sewer for some of it and all went well in the end. Lots of capes and skirts. Some were lined. Some were trimmed. Some had rolled hems and some edges were just serged.

Simple costumes do not have to look like they were made in a factory in China. With a little knowledge of fabrics and what types of machines and needles and hemming feet work with them, its fairly easy to make something inexpensive look well made.

And, well, practice, practice, practice!

Hail Stevie!

Sonja Drakulich of Stellamara brought this little corsetie bodice to me to have cut down to fit her frame. It also needed some repair.

It is a 70's relic - the lace is delicate. The velvet has that oldie worldie panache that only time can create. And I'm sure that Stevie Nicks would have worn something like it . Hail Stevie!

Dear Fluffie Rufflie Pantaloon Purchasers:

One day I woke up and looked here at my pages and noticed that my Fluffie Rufflie Pantaloon tutorial is missing. I dont know what happened. Its just gone. So my profuse apologies and I beg your forgiveness if you came here looking for help and there was none to be had!

What you CAN do while Im working on making a new tutorial for you is to follow most of THESE instructions for the Fluffie Rufflie Dance Pants. You wont be working with a knit upper body, so the construction for your pantaloons will be similar, but not the same.

Seam allowance for the Fluffie Rufflie Pantaloon is half an inch. You can serge (overlock) the edges, but sew it with your straight stitch. This will give your garment more durability.

Fold the upper part of the Pantaloon over to form a 2" casing for your elastic. After you have stitched down your casing (leaving about a 1.5 inch opening in the back to insert your elastic.

The rest should be basically the same - you'll just have a lot more fabric to handle and a wider pant leg to attach the flounces to.

Hope that helps for now!

Tribal Fest 2012 Recap

 Tribal Fest 12

To make a long week very short:
It was fun.
I made a new Mother Goddess belt for Lori Tawasha of Bal Anat
I saw some  KCCC  grace the stage
I sold lots.
I caught up with old friends.
I made new friends.
I saw new things.
I took some pictures
I saw some dancing.
I saw a Baby Eater Thing.
I saw a giant unicorn.
I was busy.
I got inspired.
I got sunburned.
I got dirty.
I laughed a lot.
I cant wait to do it again.

Tribal Fest 2012 The Year Of The Unicorn

Its that Tribal Fest time of the year again, folks, and I'm pretty excited! This year's theme is the "Year Of The Unicorn". I have to say that I am fairly ignorant of what unicorns stand for. I always understood them to symbolize purity and goodness. Little girls are obsessed with them. Unicorns make me think of light colors and pretty ponies, so Ive made a few frilly little cholis in honor of the occassion!

I'll be sharing a booth with Medina Maitreya Designs! Medina will be selling her gorgeous belt and bra sets.
Here are a couple photos from a previous Tribal Fest of the amazing stuff she makes: 

I'll be selling Cholis for the ATS and Folkloric ladies! There will be velvet Sampants, Rattie Tattie Skirts and a few other fine goodies! Ive done my best to give a better fit for a tried and true dance choli design - so you will have to critique my efforts!
Come check us out at the new Peace Park vendors' section behind the Labyrinth!

We will also be carrying Sandi Ball's High Beam Bindis!

For all the  info: go here!
Every year it is held in the same place - in beautiful Sebastopol. Chuck and Kajira produce this event every year and every year they outdo themselves! Its BIG and CRAZY and you will see the Greats and Up and Comings! Check out the town. There are lots of shops and eateries! Take a drive out to the ocean when you need to take a break from all the tribal fabulousness! And of course, come hang out with us!
I hadn't planned on attending this year. :( Life was just getting in the way and Ive stepped back to take a break ) But when opportunity comes knocking, you gotta go for it! So I'm busy here in my studio: sewing away and getting as much done to fill our lovely tent! I'll be near all my designer girlfriends. I'll be meeting new dancers and hanging out with old friends - I cannot wait!
XXX

Now that Ive had time to step back and adapt to this stupid economy, Ive started to get inspired again. Im inspired to make myself a new wardrobe is what Im inspired to do! I would like one of each of these dresses to wear to work and then I would like one of each in black for all those cocktail parties that I'll go to again one day.

Its a new year and it could happen. 

So today, instead of what I was supposed to be doing, I pulled all of my boxes and containers of patterns out of storage and put them up in my studio where I can  see them. I dont think they are exactly great to look at, but they are my library and where I find a lot of my inspiration.

This is maybe a third of them. I'll have to start weeding through them and maybe selling the ones that I dont like any longer.

Collecting patterns has been invaluable to me since I am not a professional pattern maker. I can take an existing pattern piece and tweak it and grade it, but to start from scratch is a nightmare for me. Whatever works, right?

Sometimes I just like the line of a design for the most part, but would make changes - like I would narrow down this sleeve a bit. Its perfect for a Steampunk overcoat!

Happy 2012!!

Just a little post to recap my feelings about the previous year: no time is ever wasted. No experiences are ever wasted if you learn and grow from it. A year is just an increment in time to mark off accomplishments and events.

That being said. 2011 kind of sucked. Yes, good things happened - great things! I learned how to make a good loaf of bread just to name a few............

but the year pretty much bit it. I saw it coming. I grew a few more grey hairs. I adapted.

And now I'm focusing more on things that really matter to me: my family, my friends, my hobbies, my sleep.

The business end of things will always be there ready to be reved up when I want it to - I'm in the middle of a big revamp (including this blog), which for me is time consuming and slow going. But will be well worth the effort in the end.

Time marches on and as my father told me once (and I hated him for it - but sometimes what else can you say...........) "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

Happy 2012 everyone! The message is clear: if we are not kinder towards each other  -  If we don't raise each other up -  if we don't become a better species - there is going to be a lot of lemonade to be made.

Happy Solstice!

An Atheist Christmas Card

I just couldn't resist..................Happy Holidays everyone!

Solstice always marks the end of a cycle and the beginning of a new one. Just as I'm soooooooooooooo  very excited to see the start of longer days again, I'm also excited for the new year. Last year was one of letting go of things that do not work for me any longer. What used to be fun and exciting became old and weary.  When I rev this business back up again, its going to be run very differently.

This morning while I was commuting to work, all these ideas popped into my head. Ideas for things that I had wanted to make and had forgotten all about. So I formulated a plan for a little creative piece - or series of pieces that I had wanted to do. Things I had not had the energy or time for before. And my heart was full again and excited for a new season and a new year!

As you have probably figured out, I'm taking a time out from making clothes to sell. Because as the world seemed to change overnight, my business was not viable for much longer after that. When I was offered a part time job stitching corsets in the city, I jumped for it! So now I stitch and daydream and work with some remarkable women all day long. And then, after a day of being citified, I get to come home to my studio where I can see the stars at night.
Its a good life.

I will still be taking on alterations and custom work! I have sewing students lined up for after the holidays! So do not hesitate to contact me!

Happy Holidays everyone! It doesn't matter what you celebrate or how.................or who stole what custom from the pagans............it just really doesn't matter anymore. Just be kind to each other. If we all were committed to taking care of each other, the world would be a much better place to live in.
kc.costumecouture@gmail.com



    

Lets Be Thankful For All We Have

The Fluffie Rufflie Pattern Results

I really want to see what everyone is making with my Fluffie Rufflie Patterns!
Marci Turner-Holcombe sent me this photo of the Fluffie Rufflie Dance Pants that she made for Forever By Your Side - Belly Horror 2011!

This is a lovely photo by Stereo Vision Photography!
Please send me photos and I'll put them in my Facebook Album! I REALLY want to see what you come up with!! Its pretty exciting!!
Thank you Marci!
XXX