New Year, New Dress.

Guys. I have a confession to make. There is a fabric I love to work with the most. It is breathable, lightweight, vibrant in color, and oh-so-posh. Silk!

It all started a couple years ago when my hubs and I decided to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary at the Kansas City Renaissance Festival. I wanted something fancy to make new outfits from, and settled on silk.

But at $15 a yard minimum, I was at a loss as to how I could accomplish that until a late night Amazon search turned up vintage Indian silk sarees at close to $5 a yard. They even came embroidered! I think our outfits turned out pretty nice!

Well, I’ve improved my dress-building skills a bit since then with the necessary addition of a hoop skirt, plus a better understanding of where to put boning in a bodice for the most bang for the buck. 

Also, Kate and I have started volunteering in the royal court at the Great Plains Renaissance Festival in Wichita.  The court is loosely based on a fictional German kingdom called Blingenstchein because the court hands out…well…bling.  It’s a very generous ruling court. 

After a couple seasons putting older dresses through their paces in the heat, wind, and rain, I can say silk is easy to move around in.  It does wrinkle a bit if it gets rainy. 

I have a simple enough pattern that works, and with a few modifications I will be putting together a German-inspired outfit for Kate and I. So far all I have is the materials, a sketch, and dark winter evenings to fill as a wrestling coach widow (until the end of February, that is).
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But here’s to a new project!  Huzzah!