All Dressed Up: Melearlin Valar
Author: Tyla al'Mere
This month I caught up with Melearlin Valar, an Aes Sedai of the Blue Ajah, and chatted to her about creating her amazing costumes. In particular I was interested in hearing a little about the Moiraine costume she created for Jordan Con 7 this year, where she won second place in the costume contest.
Contents
- 1 Interview Questions
- 1.1 Let's start with a little background. Can you tell me a little about who you are and what you do in the big, wide, real world?
- 1.2 When did you first start sewing? Did you start to make costumes like the Moiraine costume right off the bat or did you hone your skills in other ways first?
- 1.3 Can you share a little of how you start off designing your costumes?
- 1.4 Where do you find inspiration?
- 1.5 How long did the Moiraine costume take? Can you give a few details on each step?
- 1.6 Do you have any advice for anyone wanting to make their own costume?
- 1.7 Where to from here? What are you planning next as a big project?
Interview Questions
Let's start with a little background. Can you tell me a little about who you are and what you do in the big, wide, real world?
In the real world I work as a Product Manager at Google. That means I basically herd engineers, and try and protect them from having to do anything that isn't coding. Things I can't do: read your gmail, get you a ride in a self driving car (or even myself), install google fiber in your apartment, or fix your computer. Things I can do: have you over to free lunch if you swing by Mountain View. My other main hobby is dancing. I do ballet and jazz classes, plus a bunch of social dance (waltz, lindy etc.) For the past two years I have been in a vintage dance group where we perform period dances in period costume which is a fantastic combination of my hobbies!
When did you first start sewing? Did you start to make costumes like the Moiraine costume right off the bat or did you hone your skills in other ways first?
I started when I was around 15. It was a combination of 1) seeing Lord of the Rings and wanting all the pretties, 2) realizing Renaissance Faires were a thing, and 3) being jealous that I wasn't old enough to go to Tower parties, and admiring the fun corset/costume things people were wearing in pictures. At first I swooned over costumes I found online, and swore I would save up to buy one. Then I found some costuming blogs, and realized people could actually *make* this stuff?!?!? So then I spent days looking at costume patterns online, and finally just bought one.
My first costume was very bad! I bought a costume bodice pattern which was vaguely rennfaire-ish, and read the instructions repeatedly. It didn't actually seem too difficult, so I bought some fabric and sewed the bodice. And it fit *horribly*.
I had accidentally bought grommets that were too large, and neither myself nor my dad were able to hammer them in. I ended up using *rubber plumbing washers* to hold the grommets on the bodice. Yikes!
Luckily, with everything I sew, I get slightly better. Eventually, I got good enough to make things that look nice and actually fit!
Most of the time I see an extant garment or painting and want to replicate it. I may change little things like the color, or combine trims from several dresses, or pull the sleeves from one and the skirt from another, etc. But there is always something I am basing the dress on.
Where do you find inspiration?
Paintings, pinterest, other costume blogs online, tv shows, extant garments in museums. In general, I'm really inspired by whatever I've been reading about online (so if lots of other people are doing 18th century, I will get really excited about it as well). You can see my pinterest boards for all my costuming pins by era, which is how I organize images for research.
How long did the Moiraine costume take? Can you give a few details on each step?
I worked on this nearly daily from February to mid April. I sewed the last stitch around midnight the night before I got on the plane to Atlanta for Jordan Con. Since I was going for a mostly historically accurate 18th century silhouette, there are actually a number of layers here which no one can see, but are vital for the right look. I am wearing stays, panniers, an underpetticoat, the outer petticoat, a stomacher, and the gown. I should also be wearing a shift, but I never got around to making that and wore a tank top underneath the corset instead. I also styled the wig myself.
Do you have any advice for anyone wanting to make their own costume?
Just do it. The first one probably will suck, but everyone will be more impressed with your work than you will be. If you keep making things, eventually they cross the line from suck to awesome, and then people will be even more impressed with your work!
Also, there are heaps and piles of helpful information online, from blogs, to videos, to Facebook groups, so you can definitely get help if you need it.
Where to from here? What are you planning next as a big project?
I'm kicking around the idea of being Ada Lovelace for Halloween, since it would be epically nerdy and relevant to my interests, as she was the first computer programmer.
This is the most famous painting of her. I have never done late 1830s before, so I would need to make this whole outfit from the skin out. I will need a corded petticoat, a regular petticoat or two, a shift, corset, and dress, so I will need to start soon in order to be done by Halloween!
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Thank you to Melearlin Sedai for taking the time to answer by questions. Be sure to head over to her blog, Garbe, where she writes about her triumphs and disasters in sewing her costumes. She is already at work on her Halloween costume, so it's definitely worth the read.
