Jewelry and details for the dress

As I write before , Eleonora Di Toledo was a major inspiration.I must admit the jewel she wore are somehow classic to my eyes and I love that.That's probably because I love pearls , timeless and classic.

 Eleonora Di Toledo by Agnolo Bronzino 1543,picture from Web gallery of art

My first inspiration , I think this portrait is a source of inspiration of so many of us.I did focus on the hair net and the partlet.

My choice of material for the partlet: genuine button pearl and silk organza.When you look carefully at the picture ,the net and the partlet can looks like made with some kind of soutache.I did buy a dvd on the etsy store of the Tudor tailor.After some practice I can say it's close.Making such an amount of soutache would take a lot of time but a delicate one hand made would be beautiful.

 Eleonora and her son Giovanni by Agnolo Bronzino 1544-45 , Web gallery of art

Another portrait with similar partlet and hair net.On this one she wore more pearls.The buttons on the sleeves are beautiful.I know some people have make replica and cast their own.This is the kind of knowledge I do not have.

I do have extra long hair .A black hair net cost only 5$ on the web.Most of the time they are small or too small for all my hair and so tight around my head that I get headhache.

I use a piece of cardboard and draft a pattern .There is two colors of line as you can see , the first pink being a bit too small.The space between the line is quite important because a have an exact amount of pearls for it and do not want to buy more of it.

Buttons for the sleeves buy on Etsy .I use a gold paint to give them a more rich look.You can see the difference before and after.It required many buttons for the sleeves and it wasn't easy to find something beautiful for a reasonable price.You could be quite surprise and chock to see how much some button could be expensive.

A brooch and necklace from Sapphire and Sage , birthday gift from last year by my friend Gwenyver.As I do not want to tell Gwenyver the color of my dress and not telling much detail  about it , I haven't leave competition at that moment,she choose to offer me jewelry that could possibly match with my dress.She buy this not knowing I have order something from Sapphire and Sage.A real coincidence that we buy from the same place.

Accessories to be complete : a girdle

 Pictures from the Scala  museum

No dress is complete without jewelry.For the challenge , I thought I could do a girdle.This portrait , Isabella De Medicis by Allessandro Allori catch my attention.A girdle  should not be too difficult to do and will help to give an impression of luxury.

A close up of the girdle I'm looking for.The idea was not to make a replica but something inspire by it.The girdle of  Isabella is made of pearls , gold jewel with a stone in the center and the end is attach to a zibelline.

I buy ouch and a central piece from Sapphire and Sage.I choose black stone to pop and I thought it could match to many potential color of dress I could make.

The pearl are genuine.The have the button shape for a lower cost but will work perfectly for a girdle.The size is between 8-10mm.If I had buy smaller pearl it would not have been the same and would not have fit with the dimension  of the ouch or the central piece.

It would not be possible to find a zibelline in my province and it can't cross the border if I found one.The best I can do is to get a close cousin of it  but I won't.I don't like those little beast with jewelry for their eyes , it's creepy for me.

Right now the girdle isn't done.It would be easy to make it and not much time consuming.I thought it would be best to wait until the dress in entirely finish to make sure it is long enough specially around the waist.

Gifts

 Before

This is how my sewing dummy was , pretty bad.For christmas , I ask my honey to repair it or at least to make it work.This thing is probably older then me or pretty close.I ask for this not only because I need it but also because it was a gift that should not cost much.

 After

A picture of the dummy after a few hours of love .Basically it's a thin fabric covering some kind of cardboard with a metallic frame.Like a restoration , every piece was remove and all the rust on the metal is gone.It work much better.

The perfect reason to make a dress : I receive this necklace for my birthday two years ago I believe.Even if a wolf would have been more close to my personality ,when I thought of Game of throne I wish to make a dress like those wore on the south.

I already have a pattern and I have a pretty good idea of what I would like to do.I think a lavender or a soft color .I add this to my to do list.