Candy W. Ardlay - Uniform St. Paul's #4

new materials: white voile, black twill, white twill,
interfacing, horsehair braid, invisible zippers, grommets

Last Thursday I went downtown to gather more Candy materials, after getting the payment for a job. I decided to use cotton mix twill for the dress fabrics, as it's a cheaper option and I can easily get the same quality in both colours. I also decided to make the bib part in cotton voile, trying to make it at least a little bit historically accurate, to early 20th Century.

I had to go to three shops to get the stiff woven interfacing, and I was told the factory stopped supplying it. I couldn't find it in black, but at least I got some in white, at Botilã, where I also bought the invisible zippers. I got the horsehair braid for the hair bows, but it's too narrow. Either I use some of the interfacing, or I try to get wider horsehair braid online.

unpainted grommets

white painted grommets

Domingos & Nogueira didn't have any white painted grommets (nor blue laces), but I got some silver ones and spray painted them with Lidl's white spray paint, which is very resistant.

To properly paint them, I stuck them to a strip of thick corrugated cardboard, from an IKEA package, and painted two coats of white. I will let them cure for a few more days, before I start setting them to the boots.

I still need the grey velvet, and the pink and burgundy satin for the front bows. I've bought them from the online store Violet Fabrics, as the colours are correct and they have nice prices, but they didn't arrive yet. I'm still deciding how I'm going to make the burgundy bow's black stripes, probably I'll just sew 3mm black ribbon on them, I found some at AliExpress. Because I didn't find any proper blue laces, I think I'll go for blue satin cord, I can buy in spools at the Chinese shops. I may have to go buy more interfacing, as 1 meter isn't enough for 2 hair bows, 2 front bows, 2 belts and 2 back bows, and 2 pairs of cuffs.

my very first vectoral drawing in Affinity Design, the Prince of the Hill pendant

Meanwhile, Affinity has offered me a 6 months full trial of their suite, and Affinity Design is Ah-mazing! I already made the Prince of the Hill's pendant, so soon I'll have it printed and will make it out of cereal boxes, acrylic paint and nail polish, to emulate enamel.

EDIT (23.07.2024):

90% of the materials, only missing the boot laces
and the thin ribbon for the burgundy bow

The fabrics from Violet Fabrics arrived today. I ordered them on a Friday, and they arrived on Tuesday. Quite good shipping speed.

The grey velvet is a bit on the light side, I would prefer a darker tone, but it's fine. If I have the budget and patience, I'll order some iDye Poly, and dye the fabric in the washing machine.

The burgundy is a nice sablé, maybe a bit too light, but I really don't mind, because, with the black stripes, it will always feel darker. And the cherry pink satin could be a bit brighter, but I also don't mind. Both look almost the same colour, but it's OK, as they won't be seen together anyway. And they are also very drapey, so I'll have to interface the hell out of them! I guess I'll buy some white 2mm EVA foam and use it as interfacing.

All the fabrics are great quality, even if the polyester percentage is high. They feel luxurious, which is what I was aiming for. After all, it's a Private Intern School, where the students have private rooms for themselves. And these will also balance the twill, making it also feel luxurious per association.

+ I have all the main materials, at least for the white dress.

- It's a bummer to think that one more basic material is getting discontinued, like the stiff woven interfacing. There is nothing else available at local shops to replace it. I had to paint the grommets, but that's not really an issue.

THE CUNNING PLAN

Get the remaining materials, and keep exercising at home. The exercise is working, I still haven't lost any body mass, but my muscles are more toned and and I don't get so easily tired as before. GANBATTE!