Friday, June 13, 2008

Tudor oh my!






  Well, this is the first and only Tudor gown for one twelfth scale I am going to get to do. I ran into some problems with this style gowns, that cannot be overcome at this time. I'll think on it, and maybe something will come to mind, but until it does.... this is it.
  A turquoise and gold gown, of the early Tudor period. She has it all, right down to her bare body. Starting with pantalets and a corset, those were planned on remaining on her {in other words... sewn on and not removable}. Then her chamise and a petticoat. The problem came with the chamise, as there is no way to gather the sleeves, and neckline and make it look right without being bulky, unless it's sewn on.{ Here is that dirty word again... sewn on.} So, I had to give in and do just that...  gather it and sew it on. The first gown I worked on the skirt turned out great, but the bodice was just not right, and the sleeves just didn't work. Don't use velveteen for these small ladies, it turns out way to bulky.
  So I moved on to this gown, of gold and turquoise brocade, and gold overdress, with turquoise lining, and center section. There are real false sleeves over the chamise, and under the full fur trimmed sleeves. And speaking of chamise, the sleeves are one and a half times the length of her arms. It was needed for the fullness and to peak thought the slits in the false sleeves. Real mink fur, for a real lady of quality trim the edge of the over-sleeves, that are turned back on the arms. That is a lot of fabric, for so small a doll. Hand beading trims the neckline, and cap. She wears a strand of seed bead pearls around her neck.
  This doll is one of my own making. Back when I was doing porcelain {pouring, firing, painting  etc.}, and I don't have many left. I have not made any new ones for a long, long time. So whenever I dress one of my own, it has to be special. This Tudor outfit meets and exceeds what the word special stands for. I couldn't have done it any better.
   So there you have it. Six layers of clothing {just like how they wore it} and it still turned out looking wonderful. I would not want to try taking this outfit off of her and putting it back on later. Way to much work. But it's pretty!

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