Halloween is approaching fast so I’m sure most of you have seen some costume ideas being kicked around the blogosphere. I’m currently working on my costume for this year (which I swear will be more awesome than the following), but thought I would share something I made for the Renaissance Festival last winter.
I know, I know… it’s not TRUE Renaissance, yadda yadda. I figured random corset + weird velvet-type skirt + my “Robin Hood” boots = Good enough for a Renaissance Festival in Arizona. And yes, I mentioned that it was during winter. You still need short sleeves here if you’re going to spend all day outdoors, even in the winter. Blazing sun 24/7 is hot, y’all.
I used Butterick B5662, View D:
It turned out to be a lot more simple than anticipated. Yes, there’s boning and grommets, but it’s not that bad and actually kind of fun… especially hammering those grommets!
I omitted the front lacing since the back was going to be crazy enough. I just went ahead and sewed the two front pieces together. This worked overall, but the seams where your boobs are supposed to go are a little too close together. *Shrugs*
I used leftover fabric from curtains I made for our bedroom (yes, I made hideous curtains and they won’t make an appearance on this blog… unless y’all really want me to make your eyes bleed). The lining is old bedsheets I hacked up. I didn’t know if it was going to be a success or not, so I decided to go on the cheap.

The outer fabric is super heavy and durable, so it made for a good corset. I like how the geometric shapes came together (yes, I know, not Renaissance-y but whatevs).
The only bad thing about my corset is I made it too large. I think I made it in a size 10, thinking if I made it too small, I would be too uncomfortable. Well, it’s definitely pretty comfortable for a corset, the only downside is the back gets all kind of crazy with overlapping and weird grommet placement.
I also made the skirt out of stretchy velvet-type fabric. I used a basic maxi skirt pattern and added elastic in the waistband casing. Easy, breezy…. beautiful?
Overall, it was a success in my eyes and I felt Renaissance-y enough in it. If you add a belly dancing skirt belt and random wolf tail attached to your purse, it makes it Ren-Faire ready!

I stole this picture from Angie’s blog (my bad!). Go check out her fun post about her adventures at the Ren Faire and see her awesome handmade Scout shirt! Hollaaaaa.
-RED
We should definitely do the Ren Fair again this year!
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Lilian and I are going on President’s Day as the tickets are usually 1/2 off then. You and James are more than welcome to meet us there! I’m going as Daenerys from Game of Thrones :3
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