Enchanted Costuming )O(

Merry meet all,

Beware the Ides of March!  Yes March is like an enigma, it is still winter but spring wants to have her way too. 

The besom I ordered from Etsy and that flew in from the Ukraine is truly magickal. The besom is still standing up on end perfectly straight. Wow. The besom named Raven is black and beautiful. Well it came from Russia, yeah so, it’s magickal. I love Raven. The besom is just made for this witch’s abode. 

I plan to start my seeds soon. I wanted to get soil today but the freezing cold temperature – minus 21 C% windchill, keeps me indoors. I may go out just to do laundry but that’s all. I guess I will head out tomorrow. It is too cold to leave the house today. 

I ordered the Tauriel Maxi Overdress in black this week. I can’t wait to get to wear it with everything I own almost. Black matches everything. I already can think of several dresses I can wear with the overdress. That’s why I don’t regret buying it. It is better than buying something and then discovering too late nothing matches. Here is the enchanting description of the overdress from Holy Clothing:

1. “Named for the free-spirited elven warrior from The Hobbit, our Tauriel Overdress truly is a magical piece. There’s something really fantastic and awe-inspiring about this hooded overdress, from the falling vines of leaves to her mysterious oversized hood.
2. This overdress is a single piece that is made up of a lace-up bodice, asymmetrical hem skirt, and a hood. It’s also an underbust design, which gives the wearer a lot of looks to play with when they’re deciding which pieces of their closet to add to the outfit they want to create.
3. Tauriel isn’t just a fantasy dress for costume play or LARP. It’s so much more than that. It’s a dress that allows you to bring a spark of magic into your everyday life without being a huge statement piece. This is a dress with a subtle and lovely flare, and one that would look perfect while worn during a Sunday market excursion or donned for a day out in your nearest big city.
4. Live magically. Live romantically.
5. About this overdress:
6. Metallic silver nature-inspired embroidery.
7. Pockets for keeping your favorite shiny rocks safe.
8. Brass eyelets.
9. Bodice designed with two layers of rayon and interfacing.
10. Crepe godets.
11. Double layer of rayon for the hood.
12. Exclusive HolyClothing design.
13. Ethically handmade in India.” Credit to Holy Clothing. 

How can you turn that away? I can’t. I ordered it for a reason. I can’t wait for winter to end so I can strut my stuff. Here is a photo of the overdress  shown below. https://holyclothing.com/collections/overdresses I have included the link if you want to order one for yourself. 

I hope this inspires you to try enchanting your own style! Blessings Spiderwitch

Gypsy Witch gets into her sewing groove

The material for the gypsy outfit

Merry meet all,

Currently I am embarking on a major sewing project. I like to wear a certain style of clothing, i.e.., a style that you won’t find in department stores. I love to wear dresses, long skirts, peasant tops, jewelry and boots. I bought a gypsy outfit pattern. I may be in over my head. 

I am an experienced seamstress. But most patterns are created with the idea that people already are familiar with many sewing techniques. It took me a few days to figure out how to sew the tiered skirt. I just did and also have to learn how to sew a corset. I am grateful I bought a black sheer peasant blouse.

I can pass on a few tips for those stitching Witches that are reading this: Mark your pattern pieces. You must be able to know one from the other. You need to know a side shirt lining from a front section piece. If you sew it wrong, then you have wasted your time, thread, and efforts and then must seam rip the entire thing. I once sewed a gorgeous Galadriel white cloak. I sewed it wrong and seam ripped the entire cloak. I stitched it back together and it turned out more beautiful. I also don’t believe in plastic sewing machines. My Mother owns a beautiful sewing machine model she has owned for years and years. I have a White model she learned to sew on as a beginner. The steel sewing machines are the best for making quality garments. 

Stitch neatly and in straight lines. Your garment will look more beautiful. Do not take your anger out on the garment. I made a beautiful Arwen style blue satin gown for a Renaissance Faire. While I will never sew blue satin again, I will also hopefully never have to sew a Arwen gown in blue satin or a sleeve five times in a row with a coffee pot erupting volcano like in my apartment. Yeah disasters happen while you are sewing but what determines everything is how you act on the disasters. 

I became this experienced by surviving disasters like the one above. The dress is beautiful and received many compliments at the Faire. I am wiser now. 

The gypsy skirt needs to be gathered on every tier and fastens by elastic. It is a good idea- and I need to do this too- to have everything you need at the go. Assemble your fabric and tools so it is at hand when you need it. Protect your patterns, fabric and such from damage. I just hope I have enough fabric to make the skirt. It is important to study the pattern illustrations and instructions to the letter. You can help this by storing pattern pieces in large, labeled, and clear ziploc bags and reading sewing books for more information. I recently finally invested in a sewing book to do my sewing with. I wonder how I did without it. The book is titled ‘Sewing Basics: All you need to know about hand and machine sewing’ by Sandra Bardwell. I bought the book at Chapters. 

I chose beautiful fabric material for the skirt. The yoke of the skirt is a dark chocolate brown colour and made of velveteen. The tiered part of the skirt is a print pattern of flowers and made of georgette material. I chose a brown lace for the trim for the skirt tiers and a ribbon with coins dangling from it for the hem of the skirt. That will be sewn on last. I bought a fresh set of sewing pins and new fabric markers so I can identify everything easily. Chalk is good for marking though it is temporary. 

Oh and one more tip to pass on: take your time sewing. I know making this whole pattern will at least take a couple of weeks. I don’t even have the pieces all cut out yet. This weekend, I plan to do a lot of sewing. As they say, practice makes perfect. I can’t wait to be finished the gypsy skirt. I might make one in purple, too. I shopped on Black Friday and bought everything on a large discount. 

Wish me luck!

Blessed Be,

Lady Spiderwitch

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