I am making a new belt for one of the guides in Sunnhordland Guideteneste in Moster Amphi  and Historical Religious Centre.

Ave Maria

Gracia Plena

Dominvs Tcvm

This text is written on the old church bell in Moster Church.

Moster is where Norway first was proclaimed as a Christian country, and the old Norse gods were prohibited. So this little stone-church is one of the oldest in the country, probably from around 1030. It was built on the site of a wooden church, which was built right after 995, when Norway was Christened.

I designed the uniforms or rather dresses for the guides working at this historical site some years ago, and now one of the belts needed to be replaced. The dress itself is middle-age inspired in the cut, in earthy tones, and with the belt directly inspired from the church.

All the text is machine embroidered onto a water-soluble fabric, soaked in water, and ironed into shape.

Stay tuned, tomorrow I´ll make the rest of the belt.

In not-so-long it will turn into one of the Pea-flower-fairies skirt.

Here is my new friend for the week. I´ve hardly ever sewn on an industrial sewing machine before, so it is slightly intimidating. But only slightly.

First thing on the agenda: I have to make the panty to sew the skirt on to.

Three layers of tulle, marking the pattern.

Half way done.

And done!

(See, it seems like so little, when it´s done like that in three pictures, but it actually took most of the first day.)

Sewing on the loop for the metal-”spine” on the 10th layer. Which is actually the layer you first sew on.

This layer is the first one you sew onto the panty. One layer down, 13 to go…

After just three layers, I´m using weights to help me hold down all the fabric.

Here, the first five layers are in place, already it´s pretty much fabric. These are the top layers, but the final skirt will have a last layer (part of the dress) resting on top of here.

So, here comes the fun part… After sewing the first five layers on, as if it was a normal skirt, you turn the whole thing around, to sew the remaining layers on, as if it was an upside-down skirt.

Oh. Micro-break! We were told we needed those to stretch our bodies, so we wouldn´t get all kinds of aches. Above is Eva, the Swedish angel-look-alike who is making the same skirt as me.

My former student and colleague, Silje, who now works at the opera, was also attending the course. She´s working on a sugar-plum-skirt.

Anyway, back to work. (I might have reached day two here) Pinning away the first layers, so they won´t get in the way, and then pinning down the 9th layer.

This is a very good work-out if you want to build muscles! You really have to fight with a lot of fabric that really wants to go the opposite way of where you want.

It´s getting kind of crowded above the hips. I still need about 4-5 layers, and that one centimeter of panty you can still see, can´t be sewn into, as there is going to be adjustable elastic there…

These skirts are actually impossible to make. It´s a twisted idea kind of like when that Chinese emperor dreamed of a beautiful women with tiny feet, and they started binding women´s feet in China. It´s not natural. Or more precis, it´s fighting nature. Just like sewing 10 layers of crunched tulle onto 3 cm. There is bound to be overlapping at one stage or the other.

I realize that the comparison to Chinese tiny feet is a bit off. But you get my point, right?

I mean, you can hardly even see the sewing needle anymore. Still a couple of layers to go.

It´s growing…

New micro-break: My neighbor, Johanna is making a cream-colored tutu. She is a retired ballerina, now seamstress, and can now make her own tutus!

Pinning down the last layer!

Showing the inside with all the not-so-perfectly-straight-seams.

Finally! All the tulle is in place! YES!!!

The crotch-part of the panty is sewn on at last, by hand, so it is easy to undo. The tulle doesn´t do too well with water, so by un-stitching this part, it is easier to keep the hygenic standard we all like.

This is the end of day three.

Ok. Day four. Last day. Stitching down the “bask” (I have no idea what the English names are for the different parts and techniques. sorry) This is done relatively quickly, as it will be removed later and replaced with the real one in the right color. We just need it on now, for the next step.

Does anybody else thinks this looks like an sea-anemone? (I can´t find the right spelling for this sea-plant-creature. Help?)

Some of my colleagues in the course, from different theaters in Norway. And one from Denmark.

Getting the metal cord into layer ten. This will stiffen the skirt, and help it stand out from the body.

Getting it in place, and making all the wrinkles even around the cord.

What is this pastel alien??!!

Starting to pin down the layers again. This time in a very strict matter. Kind of combing the fabric, layering three and three layers, pinning and sewing them together with special knots. In Norwegian it´s called “takking”.

Oh, you thought I was cheating, didn´t you!? But nope, that really is me, working in the Opera House for almost a week! Yay for me!

The special “takke”-knot.

One of my other course-neighbors, Kristin, trying on her tutu. What a brilliant idea! I sneaked into the fitting room and…

The bottom part is finished “takka”, the top I started on, but was unable to finish. I did however want to try it on. The “fluff” on top will be forced down by the thread once it is “takka”. I know it doesn´t look as elegant with jeans underneath, and me posing in a classic camera-position. But who cares!

It feels kind of cool to have made a tutu that will be used on stage every December for maybe the next 15 years…

It certainly is a true test of one´s patience, being very particular in every detail and it just plain takes a long time to make. I want to make one for myself later. But it won´t be this week…

I´ve been playing around with my sewing machine today. I made a copy of the UNO-skirts we used in Brytningstid. I had this wonderful lime-and-pink rayon fabric that´s been lying around for years, and it was just enough fabric for the skirt.

It doesn´t really show on the pictures, but the pattern is a true puzzle, and you really need a finished one to see how it´s been put together. See how different the colors look at night!? Now the lime has turned to gold. And the pink to burgundy.

Back to day-light:

It looks a bit of a drag when it´s on the stand. They look much better when they are worn by a moving body. It´s a bit long, so I either need to wear high heels, or pull it up on one side with a flower.

Hm. Maybe this should be part of my pirate-costume that I am making for myself.

This picture is from “American Dream”, which is the one feel-good number in the show, and costume-wise was my favorite! It was great fun to play around with all the all-American icons. Uncle and Auntie Sam, beauty queens and baseball-players, cheerleaders and James Deans, presidents and Secret Service, Marilyn Monroe and the Statue of Liberty and Elvis and then some.(not all are in the picture)

For more pictures from the show, click here.

This is the show I´ve been working on the costumes on since December last year. I have the costume-design, and have also sewn some of the costumes for Kim.

Oh, and here is a review in Haugesunds Avis:

http://www.haugesunds-avis.no/article/20090806/PULS/663186156/1058/AKTUELT

Når eg no har levert bilete til Viking Poseidon, er det rett tilbake til Narnias fantastiske eventyrverden. I kveld har eg gjort ferdig den første kruna til dei fire kongelege barna. Med perler fra India og silkefløyel fra Kina, syns eg den er litt eksotisk! Her ser du eit utsnitt:

Now that I have delivered art for Viking Poseidon, it´s straight back to the the wonderful farytale of Narnia. Tonight I finished the first of the four royal crowns. Pearls from India, and silk-velvet from China, I think it´s rather exotic! Above you can see part of it. 

The past weeks I´ve been busy in Haugesund at the theatre, working with Narnia. I drew most of the scetches this summer, and now it was time to start the production of the main-characters costumes. (Stine, along with Tanja and Lone, are well into the ensembles costumes). Below is a picture of the White witch, played by Elsa Aanesen. The picture is taken from behind, and shows part of the costume: several layers of skirts, one of which can be used as a sled(!), frostroses on her arms, and a glacier-corset.

Premieren er 5. desember, og det blir forestillingar fram til nyttår. 

Elsa Aanesen spelar heksa, Brynjar Stautland løva Aslan, Nina Sele og Bjørn Andre Widvey er Fru Bever og Herr Bever, Knut Gjelle Angell er faunen Mr. Tumnus.

This week I am finally in  Haugesund working on the production of the Narnia-costumes. We are only three people sowing, and have a lot of unsown fake fur waiting to become mice, rabbits, wolves, foxes and even a porqupine. And ofcourse the lion and the witch!

opening night is December 5th, shows run till New-years.