Fuck Yeah Needlework

my18thcenturysource:

Waistcoat, French, between 1780-1790.

Silk and silk embroidery.

Now in storage at the Costume Institute in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

I bet the man who wore this was the FANCIEST man. Unless this belonged to a lady. If so, she was probably pretty fancy, too.

grimsperation:

Michele Caragher 

Embroidered details in Game of Thrones 

‘Michele Carragher is a London-based Hand Embroiderer and Illustrator who has been working in costume on film and television productions for over 15 years. She studied Fashion Design at The London College of Fashion, where the course incorporated design, pattern cutting, garment construction, embroidery, millinery and illustration. At the same time she attended a three year evening course in Saddlery at Cordwainers College learning skills in leatherwork.

After leaving college Michele worked in Textile Conservation, repairing and restoring historical textiles for private collectors and museums, specialising in hand embroidery. She then moved into a career in costume for film and television, initially working as a Costume Assistant/Maker on productions such as the BBC’s Our Mutual Friend, ITV’s David Copperfield and Mansfield Park. She soon gravitated towards the decoration and embellishment of costumes, using skills in hand embroidery and surface decoration, taking inspiration from the many historical textiles she had encountered working as a Textile Conservator. 

The first production that saw her undertake the role of a Principal Costume Embroiderer was for HBO’s 2005 Emmy Costume award-winning production of Elizabeth 1. Her most recent work has been on HBO’s 2012 Costume award-winning television series Game of Thrones, working on all three seasons.

As a Costume Embroiderer Michele specialises in hand embroidery and surface embellishment, using traditional hand embroidery techniques, smocking, beading and surface decoration. She works directly onto the completed garment or starts with motifs and textures on silk crepeline/organza, which are applied to the costume and then worked into once on the actual garment. She also works on existing machine embroidery designs that are not too dense, adding some hand stitching and beading to give a more authentic, hand-finished look.

Michele finds hand embroidery has more flexibility and diversity than that of embroidery created by machine, as there is a greater variety of thread choice and colours to use. It is also possible to work more easily on garments that are already constructed. However, machine embroidery in combination with hand work can be very useful when completing many repeats by creating light outlines or a less dense machine stitch, work can then be completed by hand and again can be carried out on a finished garment.

Michele is a highly creative Costume Embroiderer, producing original designs as well as working closely to a costume designer’s brief to create their desired look.’

Text and images from  http://www.michelecarragherembroidery.com

AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I seriously wanted to SCREAM when I saw this, this post is so AWESOME

(I was at work, though, and managed to restrain myself)

I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS

fripperiesandfobs:

Town dress with chemisette owned by Empress Josephine, First Empire

From the Chateau de Malmaision Costume Collection app:

“This high-waisted dress with its square, low-cut neckline and decorated with white embroidered flowers and leaves is typical of the fashion at the start of the First Empire. To conceal the low neckline, it could be worn with a chemisette which was slipped inside the dress. This one is in white muslin, embroidered with a sprinkling of flowers and embellished with a ruché trim. This outfit comes from the family of Madame Poyard who looked after the Empress’s wardrobe after 1809.”

Lovely!

(I have a soft spot for the story of Josephine and Napoleon, I think it is one of the most tragic love stories of all time.)

enter-my-darkest-dreams:

I got this plain black shirt at Target and decided it needed a little more pizzazz.     

That’s a great idea.

tennine:

thevintagethimble:

Coat, Date: first quarter 20th century Culture: Albanian Medium: wool, metal, silk, cotton | THE MET

Guys, seriously, this blog has a ton of fantastic reference material for clothing, and its right up my alley. FFFF its like clothing porn for my soul. 

This coat, yeah I want it. Bad.

This looks like the coat of a very fancy pirate who is also a total badass. Because it is awesome.