Refashioning Project: Boho, ethnic, romantic skirt/dress fusion Part 2 - Making a chatelaine

I've worked on costume and window display projects in the past and my best friend has always been the glue gun. This includes the time I made thousands of fabric roses for an artists' group working on the Spring windows at Fortnum and Mason and I still have the scars to prove it. This time however, with camera close-ups and strenuous physical movement by actors, I decided I would stitch and often hand-stitch most of the costumes and accessories, which is probably why it took me so long! Being a glutton for punishment, the worst design idea I had was the witch's hat veil but more of that later.

   Hand-sewing black on black, not a good idea, felt on tulle, even worse....

The Chatelaine

I'm starting with this accessory as it is one which certainly should make a comeback into everyday life. It was also a relatively easy piece to source and put together, furthermore it involved a satisfying mix of refashioning and upcycling. The chatelaine, being worn either by the housekeeper or 'lady of the house' carried all sorts of useful items such as keys and scissors but I, imagined the old woman/witch would have a different set of accoutrements.

The chatelaine on the right comes from the Pinterest boards of steclub.ru, which has many other fine examples on show. Instead of silver filigree and chain, mine has as its basis, a surprising find from a French haberdashers. To wit a bikini scarf made from blue thread interwoven between feng shui lucky Emperor coins!

It's probably not the usual item on a tourist's bucket list but fabric shops in France can be wonderful Aladdin's caves and well worth a visit. Our local one is piled high, from floor to ceiling with folded lengths of fabric, which are sold as whole pieces or you can purchase metre lengths. There are rolls of fabric too, mainly furnishing fabric and also a great deal of carnival and fancy dress material. There are hundreds of metres of lace and ribbons, sequins and buttons and made-up parcels of 2 Euro 'Lucky bags' from which I got the above. The shop owner buys from auction, so you never know what is going to turn up but I've bought 1920's original metal lace pieces and 1930's silk and cotton spools.

The other ingredient in the mix was a Turkish-style slipper. I had bought this for pennies at a thrift shop and worn them to destruction over the previous Summer but had saved the uppers for future use. Seen here above is the remaining piece of one upper after I had cut out the central motif to use on the costume collar. As the upper was lined with a faux silver leather and the top fabric could be split from it, this gave me options to use thinner or thicker sections of slipper, so as to cut out complete motifs (as above) and/or to remove individual beads and sequins more easily. Somewhere in all my belongings resides the actual Turkish slippers I bought in Istanbul, which I was lucky to visit as a child. They are not to be compared with the false ones. Their workmanship is exquisite formed onto a beautifully shaped piece of leather sole and it was this visit which informed on my life-long love of beadwork and embellishment. However, with the magic that is cinema, the witch wore rich rubies from her red slippers.

So having found a suitably narrow, navy blue belt on which to base my chatelaine, one given me by my cousin, I started to deconstruct the thread and tassels of the bikini scarf, so as to rebraid and remake them into the supporting hangers for the witch's paraphernalia. To keep each chain separate and facing forward and also to carry on the theme of fortune telling and introduce a far eastern theme to my witch, I used the emperor coins and held them in place with beads taken from the slipper. Feng shui coins are considered to be even luckier when associated with the colour red and I do like the fact that this detail will, according to the shooting schedule, be picked up by the camera. In reality whether minute detail is seen, is not an issue, I will know it is there!

Vade mecum or Grimoire

I had real fun planning and making this. I had decided to use only one slipper on the whole costume and as most of it already had a designated place in the design, I was down to small sections but these made the finished book look even more ancient and mystical.

For the book covers I used one of our standard materials (other than pallets), fruit crate wood and covered the front and spine with slipper fabric.

The pages were made from a paper napkin, which had a great mediaeval illuminated manuscript design. The back cover had the same design but in a thicker tissue paper (shown above left) I had found some years earlier and used to cover and upcycle an old dressing table mirror.

This sort of ephemera turns up regularly in thrift shops for a few cents, relics of defunct craft and card making shops. It is well worth squirrelling away for further use and keeping all the scraps too!

I sewed a row of beads from the slipper onto the spine, to both embellish it and define the edges of the book. The whole piece was glued together including adding a 'lock', of which I'm sure the witch would approve.
 

When the character moved  it would not matter if she was in close-up as the book would have interest visually from both sides. I also wanted to make the accessories look real. I think costume should help to carry the narrative. This also helps to expand the character, particularly within the limits of a short.

Potion or Poison Bottle

Again this was another fun thing to make and used up yet another item from my hoard, this time one of those small perfume bottles that come in duty free collections.

This was created with the aid of an old wine cork, sculpted to fit, gold thread, beads from the slipper and some purple/violet watercolour paint! This time the glue gun proved invaluable!

I also added a bouquet of feathers both from my own chickens, which I always collect when they moult and some Guinea hen plumes from my neighbour's poultry. This I decided was some unexplained aigrette, a totem of the witches fabrication and gave  balance to the chatelaine. I made it from a bunch of feathers, with the ends enclosed in a piece of slipper.






You can find my Pinterest Costume Inspiration Board here and find out more about The Golden Goblet and Climb The Ivy Films here


If you have enjoyed this piece and found it useful think about sharing it and also about joining this blog to be assured of new posts. Please also feel free to ask questions or make comments in the section below.

All the very best,

Sue

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This project was a great deal of fun because although I had the design firmly set in my mind when I started, I still allowed it to grow...read more

© 2015 Sue Cross

The Skeleton that is my Wardrobe - Introduction to this Blog

As are many with a passion for collecting, I am limited by purse strings and space, although, to be strictly truthful it is the former rather than the latter, which has ever been my greater concern.

However, with a chance that we may move home in the near future and with the added impetus of being costumer on a new film project, I decided to set myself the challenge of freeing up at least part of my fabric, furnishings and clothing collection. Material and clothes are meant to move, hanging them up in a wardrobe or folding them up on a shelf assures they remain inanimate. It's time to open the wardrobe doors, loosen their bonds and let them escape. The fiat has gone forth for them to be shaken out and/or deconstructed, then re-fashioned to serve a purpose above and beyond being stared at and coveted by me.

From skirt to sleeves. The 'old woman' costume above uses one of my favourite skirts as a trompe l'oeil to create my take on a traditional Russian sarafan.

The Challenge - Unwrapping the Mummy

I started my collection of fabrics and clothes years ago when I had easy access to some of the great historic markets such as Brick Lane, Bath and Covent Garden. It was also at a time when the UK still had fabric shops a-plenty and the beginnings of cut price fashion such as the Monsoon Sale Shop and Next to Nothing. The main treasure trove though, for serious collectors, was to be found in the jumble sales, charity shops, auctions and the wonderful vintage (and older) clothing emporiums. Finding clothes has been for me a study in social history, just as collecting china would mean a visit to the Potteries, so vintage and 'old' clothes could be traced to the textile centres of the North and Midlands of England.

Above; contemporary lace collar, 1920's beaded and sequined lace and feathered aigrette, 1930's kid gloves, 1950's costume jewellery belt from a Dior frock, Victorian lace pillow case and Regency cut steel removable shoe buckles. It is interesting to note that in previous eras people valued and upcycled parts of their clothing. Collars and cuffs, for example, as these modern versions below, could be removed and laundered separately, thus endlessly re-fitted to the classic subfusc work clothes.

As someone who has always made clothes, starting as a small child outfitting dolls and working upwards, whenever I look to buy garments I generally turn them inside out, to see how they are made. Even when well-worn and mass-produced, these clothes are now great for upcycling as they are professionally sewn and often have generous seam allowances. I have also bought a few good quality clothes at knock-down prices because they needed mending, so part of my challenge will be to complete these projects too. Other items, such as woollens, where the fabric is worn beyond reuse and good only for rags and dusters, I have now been able to upcycle for fixings, such as beads and buttons.

I only bought/buy natural materials, except on the few occasions, where I have been particularly drawn to a print,  so again these have worn well and are suitable for reuse. Over the past 10 years I have purchased mainly organic fabrics, so with some of these, as they are plain and often in a raw state, I will be experimenting with natural dyes and appliqué. (Above modern linen print, 1930's embroidered crêpe de Chine, organic flannel, hand-painted 1920's silk peignoir. Below, from Birmingham rag market, full length of wedding sari and heavily decorated scarf.) 

In addition to dress fabrics,I have a great hoard of linen, lace and embroidery as well as a reasonable amount of offcuts from furnishing fabrics and curtain materials. 

Proving that there is nothing new under the sun, here is an intricate piece of framed embroidery work, which is in fact an upcycled centuries old kimono sleeve.

Here also another of my collection, not for upcycling but does need some attention, a trumpet banner, a little memento got up in gold thread couched work on a pink silk ground to celebrate a visit from Queen Victoria.

Some of my textiles, including these embroidered roses on this beautiful late Victorian wedding tea cosy, will provide inspiration for my costume work and in particular for my first project which I will now set out below.

The Golden Goblet - Five fairytale film costumes on a shoestring

Climb the Ivy like many other small independent film companies, has a limited budget for its début onto the film competition circuit. The entry date for the above film is the day before my birthday, May 30th and as the rehearsals proper are starting this month, I have already got to the point where I am sewing in the car. The costumes I have designed and am now in the process of making up, are as follows, the (aforementioned) old woman, the Faerie Queen, a young girl, a Magician/Jester and a doll. As this is a short film and as I have been given quite a free rein on the costumes, I have tried to imbue them with the personality and duality of the characters. Although I pretty much had the ideas forming when I read the script, I wanted some cultural references and also, what the heck, loved making another collection of, albeit digital, fabric and costume. To do this therefore I turned to Pinterest and created a board, which you can find here Inspiration for Costumes

In Conclusion

I will be using my collection of fabrics and clothing in a variety of projects over the coming months. These range from film costumes for both live actors/actresses and the stop motion kind, clothes, hats, shoes, accessories, soft furnishings and upholstery, (dolls' house and animation sets included) to techniques for repairing and refurbishing old textiles. So hopefully there is something for everyone, even the character below awaiting refurbishment.

With regard to the World of Haute Couture, I have three claims to a passing acquaintance with it. Vivienne Westwood once gave me a square of chocolate, when visiting a shop I was working in.  I was temp PA, for a day, to Zandra Rhodes.  We live within a stone's throw of the Villa des Rhumbs, childhood home of Christian Dior. That over with, we can now forget it and get on with the blog.

If you have enjoyed this piece and found it useful think about sharing it and also about joining this blog to be assured of new posts. Please also feel free to ask questions or make comments in the section below.

Find out more about Climb The Ivy Films here

All the very best,
Sue

 © 2015 Sue Cross