A Finished Queen Elizabeth Costume

Today I finished up the costume I've been working on.  I began by hemming that very full skirt, wow, there is a lot of fabric in that!  I hemmed it on the sewing machine.  I couldn't even begin to get my head round hemming it by hand!  When I was done with that I made the stand up collar.  This is made using two layers of organza and a layer of lace.   I used more boning to make it keep its shape and covered the boning with trim.  As a finishing touch I added some pearl trim on the top edge and a little bit of white fur trim.  It looks suitably opulent!  This was not a beginner pattern.  There were some seriously challenging moments and times when I felt overwhelmed but I am very pleased with how it came out.  I'm very glad I took the time to fit the bodice accurately.  I have to say, that I am really looking forward to getting back to sewing with felt again though!

I had never used boning before this project and was surprised how easy it was to use.  It was lightweight fabric covered plastic boning and cut easily with scissors.  You cut a length, slip the plastic out, sew the fabric channel down and then slide the boning back in.  I cut the plastic ends in a curve so there would be no sharp edges.  The boning is curved from being in a roll and for this collar, that was perfect!

My nails do not need cleaning, I poked myself with the needle under my nail and that is dried blood!  At least I didn't bleed over the white lace!  The creamy colored fabric on the bottom of the collar has velcro on the back and that is how it attaches to the bodice - remember the velcro squares?

In case you are interested this is the pattern we used and we made the view with the white dress with the collar.