Revamp

Designs by Rhenn went on a serious hiatus. Truly, I thought I'd never see another project for sale in my Etsy shop. I burned myself out. Sewing ran its course. So much so, that I gave or threw away all my materials; though, I did keep my tools. At the time I dropped from the Etsy rolls, I had started working a 40 hour week as an employee and opened a homebrew supply store. Since that time, I have moved to a new state, stopped working for the man, and closed the homebrew store.

So, what am I going to do with myself now? Well, I'll tell you: go to college, start a proofreading business, write my planned novels, and do odds-and-ends crafts. I know. Hard to keep my plate clean. 

I did experiment with several craft projects over the last year and am pleased with the results. (One project is still in a state of incompleteness as I have had a doozy of a time trying to find the final piece to finish it off.)  The globe pictured here was a spur-of-the-moment, drop-everything item. And despite Antarctica being put on west-to-east wrongly, I love how it turned out.

It is my hope to have paper dolls, home decor, and a sundry of other items to offer in my Etsy shop... soon?

Update: Antartica is on the RIGHT way after all!  Sweetness!

A Little, A Lot

HATTIE doublet from the back

We are preparing for the arrival of my mom!  Yea!  She started me down the path of creating art from textile and what she wishes to learn from me is the historical design and construction.  I admit, as a teen and young adult I had no desire to sew--it seemed like a grand chore, too difficult for the likes of me.  Then my first child, my only daughter, was born and I got the bug to create cute clothes for my little doll.  When she was about 4 years old, I stepped into the renaissance clothes and have almost exclusively focused on that era since.  With my mom joining our ranks, I am hoping to take on more work and build a greater steampunk presence.

This week I was reminded that the color seen on the computer screen is not necessarily the same in reality.  So, I had to order more beads and went with the cream colored.  Now, I have to wait.  But thankfully my customer was able to confirm certain measurements so the gown can move forward while we await the beads.  This wait is for the SUSAN.

HATTIE Leather Doublet, incomplete

While waiting for various bits of information that held up projects, I did get started on my leather doublet.  I am looking for the right decorative hook and eye clasps and awaiting the brass rivets to attach the epaulets to the shoulder.  Lastly (and it will be last, like the night before), I will make the plackets.  I designed the doublet with lacings under each arm and a gap of about 2" so that if/when I lose weight I can still wear it.  I was surprised at how easily it went together.  7 hours of handwork, but easy handwork.  I chose to solve certain issues in a different way than most would have and I even thought of yet another that I could have.  So someday I will make another and see if that method works.  What I did was to cut the lining, inner felt lining, and doublet exactly as they would fit together, with no seam allowances--the edges butted up against each other at the shoulder and neck.  I then made a very, very long strip of bias tape.  I adhered the felt and silk to the leather with some double sided sticky--just enough to keep it in place.  I laid the bias tape along the edge of the leather/lining/felt combo (right to wrong sides together) and sewed a seam about 1/4" from the edge (long stitches to keep the leather from forming a perforation that would tear away).  All edges were treated the same way.  Then I turned the bias tape to the inside, turned under about 1/4" and sewed the bias to the lining/felt (I tried to be sure to catch the felt beneath the lining in each running stitch).  Then I whip stitched the back to the front at the shoulders and neck and voila!  Done!