First try at clothing...Ren Faire costumes

[Goofydes]

   So it started a year ago at the Ren Faire. My husband wanted to buy a costume at the faire. I was taken aback by the price of the shirt he wanted and put my foot in my mouth by saying, "You know for that price I could make us both a costume."
   The problem was I never completed a sewing project before. I had a hand me down sewing machine from my mom, but I never did anything on it.
    I started out simple making tote, wallets and eventually made my way up to purses and Amy Butler's Weekender Bag (after making that I felt like I could make anything). Eventually my mom gave me a better machine, a Bernina Virtuosa 153 machine (she bought it and then realized she really wanted the one that did embroidery and bought that one and gave me the one she never used).
    Over 4th of July I went up to visit her (mainly because they have a Joanne's Fabric and out nearest one is 2 hours away) and shop for stuff. Joanne's had a great sale and I got the fabric, the patterns, and the notions for $68 (receipt said I saved $104!!).
    I have never made clothing and this is how stuff tuned out (they may seem a little uneven and off, but that's just because they are on the hangers):
My husband's outfit. I made the shirt and the vest (ignore the silver pin, it is holding the belt up):

My shirt. It is the same pattern has my husband's except I omitted the elastic from the sleeves and made the neckline deeper:

Here is my shirt with the corset:

And my skirt. It is a dual layer and I used skirt pins to hike up the top skirt:

And the final pic of us wearing the stuff. It was hot and I could not breathe most of the time:


Enjoy!

[Kerallyn]

   
 It was hot and I could not breathe most of the time

Haha!  But you two look great, and as many of my reenacting friends say, breathing is for amateurs! 

[TexasThistle]

i too started learning to make clothes by making a faire costume. Yours looks great!

[scaramouche]

Wow. Those clothes are gorgeous. They make me loathe the project I'm working on. Your''s looks so much better!

[Radmom]

I'd say that you did a fantastic job. I'm still waiting to get my nerve up. Of course, I keep saying I need a new machine before I attempt.

[Ruby Copperhead]

Goofydes, you both look great in your outfits! What fabric did you make it from? And is your husband as impressed as he should be?

scaramouche, don't hate your project! Making one's own costume is a very individual thing, I am always impressed about how everyone makes something that brings out facets of themselves more clearly. Something of yourself will go into your project, and it'll make it special. In case of doubt, it'll always build character

[Goofydes]

Goofydes, you both look great in your outfits! What fabric did you make it from? And is your husband as impressed as he should be?

I made them both from basic cotton, except my shirt used to be a pair of curtains! My husband was impressed with his outfit. When I first had him try it on he said, "Wow, this is much fancier than I thought!"

[froggie0424]

They look really great!  I'll have to try to make some stuff for Ren. Faire...    I need to take some stuff in a bit.  Maybe I'll get up the nerve now. 

[La Maestra]

You look awesome! 

I've stopped holding my partner back from buying over-priced things at Ren Faire, seeing as how I'm a big talker about making things, but only follow through about 50% of the time  (a shirt here, pants there, a tunic, maybe... hey, it's easy to procrastinate Ren Faire garb when there's a SciFi con around the corner) but costumes are a great place to start with sewing clothes, and great practice once you've started! 

[chippywarrior]

You guys look fantastic! I'm heading to my first war in February and am getting all excited about putting together costumes. I hope they turn out as well as yours!