The Plan.

I've got 10 weeks left to finish this project and while that fact may seem quite daunting I'm taking a new look at it. 

• Two more weeks researching fairytale histories, fashion through the centuries, the fabrics and the type of embroidery done on these fabrics.
• Followed by four weeks of sampling, experimenting, hunting down fabrics I can use for an end project and ultimately deciding which Princess or fairytale creature I'll be focusing on.
• Then four weeks of design and construction. Which makes the next three months seem a lot simpler but it may not happen that easily. But for now I'm still sticking with it and have been out again in the hunt for more research.

I've been to the V&A a few times now but every time with a different project on mind so I'm always looking out for different things, this time it was for 18th and early 19th century fabrics and embroidery. 

Close up detail

It's hard to believe sometimes that this kind of embroidery and stitching done hundreds of years ago was completed by candlelight and without a sewing machine in sight. The amount of detail can be astonishing when it's seen repeated all over a dress. When I think of designs I imagine some detailing around the hem or just in a corner and that can feel like too much to take one but it was a different world back then when it comes to hand embroidery.

Detailed embroidery over textured, raised fabric

Sleeping Beauty Inspired.

Left: Late 1970s Pink Synthetic Jersey evening dress, Genny Italy
Right: Early 1910s Cream Silk ninon dress with silk satin ribbon trim,

The Fashion Museum in Bath currently has an exhibition entitled Glamour. Evening dresses from throughout the past century, these two above especially caught my eye. The Pink Jersey dress reminds me of Sleeping Beauty I think mainly because of the cape like Cardigan.

Seems more medieval to me rather than a 1910s bridesmaid dress

I think that this cape cardigan below could be an idea if I end up making something for the character of Aurora. Or even just as a sample, some embroidery representing the character on the corner of the body of the cardigan, or print onto the ribbon for the neck tie. A cardigan would go more with the character of Briar Rose, like when she's imagining that she's dancing with the prince, she's dancing with his cape and tries it one. Because of her name I'm thinking of roses being embroidered into the corners of the cardigan, or weaving up the sleeves perhaps.

This dress reminds me of Sleeping Beauty,
due to the cape like cardigan?

A rather old dress.

This Sliver Tissue dress is the oldest dress in the Museums collection. Dating from around 1660 it's remarkable that it's the near perfect condition that it is. Due to how small the dress is it's thought that it could've belonged to a girl or a very young women but it defiantly would've only been worn to very grand occasions for example attending the Royal Court in the time of King Charles II.

Due to it's era of time it makes me think that this dress mostly compares to those of Sleeping Beauty, with fine detail and workmanship that from a distance can't be seen but can be admired when taking a second look closer up.

The fabrics made out of fine silk woven with silver thread and decorated with parchment lace which was encased down onto the fabric and sewn on most likely using a couching method.

It seems impossible to think that this fine type of embroidery was done all by hand in a time before machines, along with being done by candlelight most likely as well.The fact that this bordering pattern not only goes along the hem but up the front of the skirt also then repeated to go back down to the border,  I admire the dressmakers patience.