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DerynifanK

March 17, 2024, 03:48:44 PM
Happy St Patrick's Day. Enjoy the one day of the year when the whole world is Irish.

Re: Work In Progress--Deryni Action Figure Project (was Duncan Action Figure)

Started by Evie, March 11, 2012, 08:52:30 PM

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Aerlys

Note to self:

When invited to Evie's for a barbeque, avoid the kabobs and stick to salad.  :o
"Loss and possession, death and life are one, There falls no shadow where there shines no sun."

Hilaire Belloc

Evie

I picked up some fabric scraps today for making clothing for Rhys and Evaine:


Fabrics for Rhys and Evaine by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

The earth tones will be for Rhys, while Evaine will be clad in blues.   I may add further embellishment to the darker blue fabric that will become Evaine's outer gown, but it depends on what sort of trims and/or mini-beads I can find.  The lighter gold/tan fabric will become a tunic for Rhys, and the darker tan/brown will be his trews.  It was very difficult to find an appropriate Healer Green fabric with a nice drape to it--it seems like lime and chartreuse greens are more in fashion this year--but I finally found some fabric I think will work for the purpose.  The ribbon trim might end up used as trim on the tunic and/or as cross-gartering for the trews, though it's rather fancy for the latter purpose, so I may just use ivory ribbon or thin leather lacing instead.
"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

Aerlys

Yeah, that was an oops. I replied to wrong thread. Moved it to "Two decades ago..." Hey, it's a Monday.

Oh well, like I always say: don't panic and carry a towel.



(Now where did I put that babblefish?)


"Loss and possession, death and life are one, There falls no shadow where there shines no sun."

Hilaire Belloc

Evie

I went digging through my fabric stash at home and discovered something else that might work for Evaine's outfit.


Blue fabrics for Evaine by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

This ivory and blue small scale print fabric that was already in my stash might serve for making contrasting trim, sleeve lining for wide bliaud sleeves, and/or an undergown. The flash has grayed out the blues in this photo; the photo I posted yesterday shows the true color of the fabric on the left, and the pattern on the ivory fabric is very close to the background medium blue in the other fabric.


Fray-checking the pieces of Rhys' mantle by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Today I cut out the pieces for Rhys' Healer green half circle cloak and fray-checked the edges.  I am putting it together with a gold silk lining.to give the inside a more finished look and to help disguise the fact that I am using a modern knit panne velour fabric for the cloak, since I couldn't find more period-appropriate fabric in the right color and in a light enough weight to drape nicely.  I will use the gold silk on his tunic as well, probably as an embellishment fabric around collar and cuffs, and with other colors added (probably via embroidery) to tie in the various earthtones of the outfit.  I think Morgan might be a bit jealous; he keeps asking me if the Kelson-era Deryni Healers have learned enough about the Healers of Camber's day to know about the Healers' mantles and badges.  It's a good thing I have some leftover fabric....


Pinning the straight edge by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

I used tiny applique pins to pin the right sides of the fabric together along the straight edge.  Applique pins are much easier to use than regular sewing pins when working at this scale.

Rhys isn't with me today, so I tested the fit on Mihall.  The cloak is currently just a little higher than ankle length, but once I hem it, I think it will be somewhere between knee and mid-calf length.   I need to look up my notes on how KK described it to me before I sew in the hems.  The outer layer and the lining will be hemmed separately, with the lining  hemmed a little higher so it won't peek out from underneath the green outer fabric.  But for now, both pieces are the same length.  Even with the double layers, this fabric is very supple and drapes beautifully.  It's not at all like poor Duncan's cope fabric that's so stiff it hangs on him like a starched Christmas tree skirt!  I will probably use a snap fastener for the neck opening once it is done, with the closure to one side over the shoulder in the standard Healer's Badge clasp position, and then conceal the outer snap with the Healer's badge sewn or glued on top of it.
"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

Aerlys

Wow! I can hardly wait to see the finished project. You're three-mazings!
"Loss and possession, death and life are one, There falls no shadow where there shines no sun."

Hilaire Belloc

Jerusha

I have always wondered what the Healer's mantle actually looked like, so I am looking forward to the results.  Have you posted a picture of mini-Rhys yet (in whatever he is currenty wearing or not wearing)?  :)
From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggity beasties and things that go bump in the night...good Lord deliver us!

 -- Old English Litany

Evie

I don't actually have a mini-Rhys yet.  I've got his body (or what I'm hoping will work for his body), but I still need to get some curly red mohair to make his wig.  What I am planning on is using a bald Ken head on an Evo body (the same style body Duncan is using) and then making the wig so he'll have the "unruly" red hair.  Katherine says Rhys' hair is also long enough to tie back in a short queue, so I will need to keep that in mind when styling the wig.  The wig base will be made the same way that I made John Nivard's, only without the bald spot, and using red mohair rather than yarn.
"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

Evie

Funny you should ask about the mantle, Jerusha!  I did a search for a suitable picture of one to show you, and came up with this website I didn't know about:

http://www.svetova.com/7ad_angle_nobleman_costume/

Someone else is making costumed dolls based on a book series, and apparently she's got a much bigger budget than I've got, since the type of doll she's using is very pricey!  For a scale comparison, Rhys will be about 30 cm tall rather than 80 cm. 

Anyway, back to the mantle.  It looks like the mantle in this website's photos is made from a rectangle of fabric rather than a semicircle--which is more of a Saxon style of mantle and possibly even more in keeping with Camber's earlier time period.  It is pinned over one shoulder the way that Rhys pins his.  I opted for a semicircle mantle because I was afraid a folded rectangle would be too bulky to drape well on as small a scale as I'm working in, although I have extra fabric in case I change my mind and decide to do a rectangular version instead. 

Here's a photo of Mihall doing a test fit.


Test fit by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

The green fabric is currently inside out and the neckline isn't hemmed down to the finished neck opening size yet, but hopefully this gets the general idea across of the mantle's shape and the way the fabric drapes.  I double-checked KK's description of the mantle, and it's supposed to be around knee length once it's hemmed.  So I will need to trim about an inch of fabric off along the curve before putting the hem in.
"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

Aerlys

When you have the Healer's badge designed, I'd really love to see it!
"Loss and possession, death and life are one, There falls no shadow where there shines no sun."

Hilaire Belloc

Evie

I can't draw with a mouse well enough to show what it is supposed to look like, but here is the description of the Gabrilite badge:

A couped right hand vert pierced in the palm by a white star of eight points (reverse of a secular healers badge.)

So for a Gabrilite under religious vows, that would be the shape of a right hand (not including the wrist) in green, with an eight pointed white star layered on top of that, centered in the palm.  Since it's a badge, it is probably on a white circular backdrop.  Rhys, as a secular Healer, would wear the colors reversed--so probably a green backdrop with a white hand on it, and a green eight-pointed star piercing the middle of the hand's palm.   Since it's a right hand, that means when the palm is facing the viewer, the thumb points toward the viewer's right.  Does that help you visualize it?
"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

Jerusha

Thank you Evie.  I could never quite figure out how the mantle would be draped.  But now with your model and a mental picture of the badge attached, it's all coming together.

Looking forward to seeing Rhys's head.  On his body is OK too.   ;)
From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggity beasties and things that go bump in the night...good Lord deliver us!

 -- Old English Litany

Elkhound

Do a google search for the arms of the historical Irish province of Ulster.  The shield there has a dexter (right) hand couped I (cut off cleanly) at the wrist in gueles (red) on a white (argent) shield.  Imagine the hand green with a white star on the palm, or vice versa.

Evie

Today's progress:


Adjusting the mantle's fit by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Today I made the neck opening a little bit deeper so it would fit around the neck better, and then basted the two layer together right-sides-out.  If this were a modern garment, I would topstitch along that edge to hold the layers in place nicely, but since it's meant to be a period garment, I don't want to do anything that will resemble machine stitching.  (I've machine sewn 1:1 medieval garb because I don't always want to take weeks to make a simple outfit, but to me showing obvious machine stitches that are visible on the outside takes away from the period look, and hand stitching on 1:6 scale clothing doesn't take all that long to do, so I prefer to reserve machine sewing for long inside seams when going for a more period look.)  So for now, I have just tacked the fabric together with long stitches that will be easy to remove later.  I am thinking of doing some sort of decorative embroidery along that edge which would serve the same purpose as topstitching, but look more in keeping with the period.  Either that, or I might just use a simple running or back stitch, but with a contrasting color of thread so it becomes a decorative element.  Since the badge that will serve as the cloak clasp will be green and white, white embroidery might work best here.  Metallic gold thread could work also, but since this is Rhys's "work outfit," so to speak, I don't want to make it overly fancy.


Adjusting the mantle's fit by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Here is the basted cloak from the outside.  The light basting thread shows up easily against the dark green fabric.  I left the outside edges unstitched so that I can turn them under to hem them along the curved edge.


Adjusting the mantle's fit by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

After pinning the altered mantle around Mihall's neck, it's time to experiment with different ways to wear it.  Here's one style that is suitable for a colder day, yet allows for him to use his hands.


Adjusting the mantle's fit by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

On a day that's not too wet or wintry, when less coverage is desired, the mantle can be pushed back or even flipped over the shoulder to expose more of one's front.

Mihall seems quite intent on pointing out there's a tip can in the break room to help pay for the cost of the water filter replacements.  Thoughtful of him to notice.   ;D


Adjusting the mantle's fit by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

If the mantle is pinned slightly lower than the points of the half-moon opening at the neck, the top portion can be flipped down to form a sort of contrasting collar. 


Hemming by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

On the whole, I'm happy with the top portion of the cloak and how it's draping, so now it's time to hem it.  First, I folded down the edges of the green fabric about 1/4 of an inch and basted them down.  Normally, with a thinner fabric, I would do a double fold hem so that the raw edge of the fabric ends up on the inside of the hem, to protect it from fraying.  However, this fabric is so thick that a three-layer hem would add unnecessary bulk, and it's also not prone to fraying like the woven gold fabric I'm using for the lining.  So I will just go back over the edges with a hemstitch later,  I've begun the basting process on the inner lining as well, folding in about 1/8 of an inch.  Once I'm done with that edge, I'll go back and fold it another 1/8 of an inch so that the raw edge is completely hidden, and hem that lining.  I will finish the green hem last so that I can make sure it ends up slightly longer than the gold lining.  Once both hems are done, I'll take the basting stitches out of the green fabric.  (It won't be necessary to remove them from the gold fabric since they'll be tucked inside the hem and hidden from view.)

I'm a little jealous of Rhys now.  I want this cloak!  (Wouldn't want to hand sew it in 1:1 scale, though!)
"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

Jerusha

Nicely done, Evie.  Are you sure Mihail will want to give the mantle up to Rhys? He looks quite regal in it.  :)
From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggity beasties and things that go bump in the night...good Lord deliver us!

 -- Old English Litany

Evie

I may have to make a second one.  Or I could try the rectangular style next and then let them work out who gets to keep which.
"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!