Have you ever spent a ton of time of a project you suspect you’ll never do?
If you’re anything like me, you love the idea. You do research. You plan things out. Everything would be ready to go…if you would just start it up.
Sometimes I even go so far to buy supplies that never get used. (Though I try not to get to that point, because that’s a waste of money that could be used for coffee and books.)
There’s something so lovely about an idea, isn’t there? Because it isn’t real, because it doesn’t exist, the possibilities are endless.
Of course, there are sometimes reasons not to go through with something–if it’s too expensive, if you don’t have the skills to pull it off, if you can’t fit anything else in your schedule, if you can’t or won’t actually do anything with it when it’s done…
The nice thing about ideas is that there’s lots of them. Another one will come along. Or maybe things will change, and that idea will become a reality. I had that happen recently–I planned a short story years ago, but never wrote it. Except now I have, and I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out, as well.
And it doesn’t hurt anything to plan. It’s fun. It’s practice. And maybe something will actually come out of it.
Currently I’m poking fantasy clothing. We spend our summers at festivals–medieval festivals, renaissance festivals, Scottish festivals–you name it, and we’re game. And I don’t really have anything appropriate to wear. I have full costumes–long sleeves, full skirts, bodices and what have you–but I don’t know how anyone manages those in 100 degree heat.
I don’t like to be hot.
We spent last weekend at the renaissance festival which, despite the name (as you know, if you’ve been to one), generally has very little to do with the renaissance (though the royalty at ours does wear renaissance-era clothing, to be fair). There’s fairies and pirates and people wearing as little clothing as possible. There’s mermaids and anime costumes and every style kilt you could possible want. And it really hit home how I wish I had an outfit to wear for the summer festivals that was better than a tank top and shorts so I don’t die of heat exhaustion.
So that’s my current planning.
Problems:
- Everything I like is too expensive
- Everything I like is not seasonally appropriate
- If it is reasonably priced and looks appropriate for summer, I will not be able to pull it off because of body shape (whhhhyyy does nothing have a back?)
There is a surprisingly lack of garb available for the summer. I can get a full skirt, bodice, long-sleeved dress for whatever era or culture or fantastical inspiration I want, but no one’s seemed to have bothered modifying said styles. It seems like an untapped market.
Anyway, having scoured the renfaire and etsy and Pinterest and not finding anything I want/can afford, the idea goes: hey, why don’t you just sew something yourself?
At first glance, this has merit. I used to make costumes all the time. I was good at it. I made my own patterns. I know how to sew knits and zippers, use interfacing, fully line a garment, adjust patterns to fit my measurements…
Ah, the dreaming.
The reality, though? Fabric is not cheap, and I don’t know if I could sew a complicated garment around the small, mobile ones. It’s been a long time since I’ve made anything more complicated than curtains or a hat or a bracelet. (Or fingerless gloves, which are so easy I don’t know why you wouldn’t randomly make pairs for everyone you know.)
Does that mean I’ve thrown in the towel until time, money, or the proper garment show their faces?
Well, no.
It is fun to plan.