The Egyptian Collar for History of Costumes

My first project for my History of Costumes class was to make an accessory inspired by Egypt. Our teach encouraged us to use unlikely materials and to make it look as true to the period (in this case, as true to the age) as possible.

Theda Bara as Cleopatra

Egypt’s Culture is so rich, so vast and spans several centuries that choosing a particular adornment was a daunting task. I wanted something distinctively Egyptian in form, but also very wearable. I also wanted to veer from garish adornments that have been copied and sold by tourist shops and featured in too many books and websites. I had the idea of making something an Egyptian common woman would wear. It could not too fancy, as her socio-economic status would not allow it. After several exhaustive Google Image Searches, I found this:

Broad Collar Egyptian Necklace from the 12th Dynasty.

One of the most notable and distinctive jewelry worn in Ancient Egypt are collars. They are also called usekh. They are heavily jeweled necklaces, created with beads made of glass, precious stones, gold, and a glazed pottery called faience. These beads were strung on multiple strings of varying length that were then bound to a ring around the neck to make a wide, semicircular collar that covered the shoulders and chest of the wearer with bright color.

Making The Collar

            In 1999, I was presented with a bracelet made of safety pins and glass seed beads as a gift. I loved it so much that I wore it until the elastic that held it together disintegrated. As I was searching for possible methods to use to construct the collar, I encountered the pins in an old jewelry box. The construction was fairly simple: string beads on the business side of the safety pin, close it and make about a fifty more. Then string both sides of the pins together using elastic cord.

For more information and step by step instructions: “Make a Safety Pin Bracelet” About.Com. http://frugalliving.about.com/od/craftsgifts/ht/Pin_Bracelet.htm 

The construction of the collar is a more complicated version of the safety pin bracelet, but certainly feasible to do. After several calculations, I ran to the craft store and bought 15 packs of green wooden beads (to emulate faience and to represent life and youth) and 100 dozen gold pins, size 30 bead wire and an 18-inch plastic coated stainless steel wire necklace with a barrel clasp. 

Start by preparing the safety pins by stringing four wooden beads on the business side of the pin, adding a dab of bead glue and close it. Then string the beads on necklace wire until it fills the length of the wire. Loop the bottom of the strung safety pins with wire and the pins of the next layer. Repeat steps until you get the desired collar width (about 4-6 layers). Secure all loose wires by looping them inside beads and securing the hidden ends with bead wire.

The majority of the collar was made on the Saturday of Typhoon Ondoy’s merciless downpour. It is interesting to note that the safety pins that were originally very shiny upon purchase had tarnished significantly due to the amount of moisture in the air. I feel that it would not have resembled an unearthed Tomb artifact if it had not been exposed to waterlogged air during such unusual circumstances. However, I feel that the tarnished pins had added an authentic looking quality to the collar that I don’t feel as bad as I did when I found all the pins (strung up and loose) tarnished and muddy looking.

The Finished Product

MATERIALS: Safety pins, green wooden beads, bead wire and clasp. 

 I mounted the collar on an illustration board covered in real Papyrus that mom brought home from Egypt. Thanks, Mom!

Worn by Little Red!

I really enjoyed making this collar. My hands bled and there were pins and wooden beads EVERYWHERE but it was worth it. 

So Much To Blog About!

It just occurred to me an hour ago that I DID have a blog and I have been neglecting it. So here I am, shameless tea-drinking exhibitionist trying to figure out how to update my blog and cover the important events of 2010.

To start, Fashion School! I made plenty of projects to complete my requirement and I'm going to showcase them here. Some of my projects were surprisingly good, given my time and budget. Then there were others that I want to shove in a closet and forget about. I'll showcase those duds here too.

Second, my family is complete again! My husband flew in from the US to be with us and we couldn't be happier. Connor's demeanor changed overnight. From being withdrawn and silent, he's once again a happy, giggly, excited little boy who is starting to talk more and more and more.

Third, projects outside the school! I still can't believe it. People have approached me to design and sew for them. It is very exciting seeing that I've always bemoaned the fact that my style borders on the old-fashioned (i.e. Victorian, Edwardian etc) and can't really be as trendy or cutting edge as my classmates. No matter, no one seems to be complaining.

Fourth, new machines OMG! I recently got a nice, second-hand Juki industrial and edging machine. They work like a dream! My industrial sews well and sews through anything and my serger is so easy to thread! I still use my portable white Singer for decorative stitches and light sewing, but my two Jukis are such wonderful workhorses, so completely different from my slow and limited white plastic Singer Disc-o-matic. Did I also mention that I was able to restore my grandmother's sewing machine as well? It's all just awesome.

Fifth, costuming and my growing love and obsession for bustles and Victorian corsets. I could go on and on all day about bustles and corsets. I made some and I'm making entries about it in the coming days and weeks.

Sixth, (and most important) Connor Connor Connor! He turned three last December and he is growing like a weed. He is a tall and sturdy little boy who loves to ride his bike for hours and hours. He's less picky about what he eats and laughs and laughs at the silliest things. He is the reason why life is so good and getting much much better.

And for your viewing pleasure, a preview of some of the pictures of come:

Black Leatherette Evening Dress with Brass Rivets that I made for my Illustration 3 collection called "Her Majesty's Airship"

This dress was made before I got my Juki and I made this on my Singer Disc-o-matic using lots of baby powder and swear words.

I dream of a dress...

A fabric store asked a bunch of us to design a dress for their big big sale and this is what I did. I used stretch Charmeuse in this funky cheetah print and blue black denim.

Just Breathe...

I've been running myself ragged with Connor, school and the clothing line. It's very tiring, but all of these have been wonderful. I can now draft a pattern and sew a garment in a day. YES YES YES. But do I have anything to show for it for my wardrobe? ABSOLUTELY NOT. Hahahaha.

The Barbie is one of the many many projects I had to do for Fashion School. I had to style a Barbie doll as a Medieval woman. It was so much fun, I bought more Barbies to restyle. I haven't had the time for it though. Soon though, very soon.

More Projects. YAY.

I need to do a Rococo Barbie Doll by the end of the month. It promises to be fun. I'd really rather not do Marie Antoinette as everybody in class would probably base their own dolls on her, so I'm looking for other icons during the Rococo period to emulate. Right now, Madame de Pompadour is looking good, but I'm bound to change my mind later.

Pictures are not mine. If you want me to take it down, I will.

My Mother

She's the one holding the hairbrush. AWESOME. I want her jeans.

In other news, I am busy doing my Egyptian Project for the History of Costumes Class. I am exhausted, but absolutely enthralled with Fashion School. It's hard work, but it's work I LOVE to do. Pictures soon.

I have been sewing up a storm! My sister and I are attending a Cosplay Convention and we're really excited about it.

In other news, I finally got my schedule for fashion school. I start on Monday with Sewing and Pattern Drafting. WHEE.

Closure

Cuteness by my sister Nuni. That's me on the right, yo.

So we watched Nine Inch Nails live last night and it can only be described as AWESOME. Trent Reznor is amazing to watch live and we were close enough to see him really move. I could see his muscles tensing, I could see sweat and water running down his body, I could see how wet his clothes are and how supple his mouth is, I could see his fingers form the chords of those gorgeous songs (yes, yes, I realize I sound like a creepy stalker, but that's my hormonal teenage voice talking) I first encountered NIN in 1995. I was fifteen years old and to nobody's surprise, a very confused and angst-ridden little shit. Nine Inch Nails were one of the top groups in my long list of bands that expressed my teenage rage better than I ever could. This concert was something long overdue and for two or more hours, I felt like a teenager again, experiencing lust and giddiness for the first time.

We expected more recent songs to be played since we figured they were sick of playing songs from more than a decade ago. We were also told by American and European friends of a friend (*cough*Annelyn*cough*) to expect more recent work to be sung. But no! They played several songs from The Downward Spiral, it was more than we could have ever expected. I am ecstatic about hearing Dead Souls, Closer, Gave Up, Head Like A Hole, Hurt and I'm Afraid of Americans played live. It's even better when he is only a couple of feet away, my darlings. I will never forget this. It was amazing.

-On my bed, sore from all the headbanging, with an aching throat but enthralled as all HECK. STILL.

ALSO: Front rows tickets are always worth it. HA!

What I Did While I Was Away From Blogland...

After I finished the other top, Nuni wanted one for herself.

I was able to finish this baby in about two weeks, which is a record for me. I was using really really thin cotton crochet thread and really thin needles so it took plenty of will to get this done. I would usually lose interest after three days and toss it, but I stayed with this one. I think my lust for THE CARDIGAN remains. I'm glad I did, the fit is great and it's very comfortable (Nuni and I have agreed to share. Haha) I have yet to wear this outside (see picture above in my pajama bottom glory) and when I do I'm wearing it with a cute grey circle skirt that I've had in my closet for a long time.

Now I'm knitting another top, a different pattern this time. We'll see how it goes.

Oh, I'm drawing again. Hurray.

New Sweater!

Now that we have room, I've been busy knitting and doing things that I really love to do. The sweater is a top-down raglan sleeved hybrid made out of SWTC Oasis Soysilk yarn in Cream (which turned yellow when I put the white crochet trim on the edges, Ooops) I used US #6 needles and about fourteen vintage buttons bought from an Antique Mall in Evansville. I used Canon Crochet Cotton Thread and a number 8 steel hook for the lace trim.






I have to admit, I did not like knitting with the Soysilk at all. It felt nice in the ball, but it was not fun to knit with. The finished product was worth the trouble though, the drape is fantastic and it clings to your figure very nicely.

Many many thanks to Nuni for modelling it.

YAYYYY.

We just moved into the new house in the province (I will be largely away from the city until I start school) and here is a picture of the beginnings of my office/craft room/work room. HURRAY!

I Can't Wait

I have five rolls of medium format film that's waiting to be developed. I'm excited how it's all going to turn out.

I'm Being Avaricious Again...

Sniff. I can't believe you're gone!

My Vivitar Ultra Wide and Slim was stolen a couple of months back and (almost) everyone knows that Polaroid has stopped producing instant film (and I have two cameras! ARRRGH.) I woke up this morning with an intense craving for a new camera. So I trolled ebay for a little bit and found this:

I love the white body and the fact that it takes credit-card sized photos. I'm also considering getting an Instant Back for my Diana F+ but I can't resist the look of this pretty camera. Ah well. We shall see.

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EDITED TO ADD:

OH NO WAY. That is just so WRONG. It's Asian HAMBURGER Helper, not Asian Helper as I first thought it read. Asian Helper is bad enough, and where are you going to get Asian Hamburger? Bah. I can't stop laughing.

Oh My God.

I'm in love with this Cardigan. I want to have its babies. I found it while looking at random blogs and I came upon this beauty. I love everything about it. The crochet lace, the shape, the contrast. It's fabulous. I'm running to my nearest findings store and see what I can come up with. Love it love it love it!

Edited to add: I wish Blogger had a reply feature to comments from other blogger users. :/

29 doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would.

I am one of the fortunate ones. I have a wonderful family, good friends and a little boy who is my world. I have made some pretty awful decisions in my life, there are days when I feel like a total failure because of my poor judgment in character or just my lack of foresight. But I get out of the consequences of my actions practically unscathed. So thank you, whoever you are: God, Lady Luck, Buddha etc for the immense support you have given me by letting me be born into my family and in the same circles as my dearest friends. I honestly believe that without them, I would have been just another hopeless wreck.

Here's to being a step away from 30.

A Letter Addressed to No One

S,

I stumbled upon your profile and seeing you again after all these years feels very weird indeed. I remember all the hurt feelings that I hid and all the things I made myself ignore to make the person I cared about at the time happy. I tortured myself thinking that maybe if I were more like you, perhaps that person will take notice. Perhaps if I had less respect for myself or if I weren't so bookish that I could take the crude "your mom" and penis jokes a little better. Or if I smoked pot (eww. What was I thinking?), I would be cooler in both your eyes. I looked at myself everyday in the mirror thinking of ways to be better, prettier. Maybe if I acted less intelligent, acted less "cultured," (and fuck you for making me feel bad about not wanting a tacky Louis Vuitton backpack and making me feel awful about reading more books that you) more abrasive, more skanky and more "laid back" (read: open to anal sex and being called a cumbucket)... hoping that maybe everything will get better. I couldn't do that to myself, and for a time you won. I died a little everyday after that. It did not get better until today.

And now I see you, after everything that has happened and I see that you are nothing. You're just an ugly, oily, wrinkled, brown piece of overtanned jerky who can't spell. You look sixty and you're only in your twenties. Your fiancee has dumped your skanky ass and you're still working odd jobs (a dinky tanning salon? REALLY? Is that why you're so jerky-like? You buy your own shit to boost your sales. EWW.). So much for all the talks of you being a successful executive and fabulous and better than me (even without a college degree or no known values? Hmmm.). I'm glad you are both out of my life. The friendship was never really good to begin with anyway. So I say goodbye to you now, happier about myself that I've been for over four years. I can't believe I considered you as someone worthwhile. I can't believe I thought what happened was my worst nightmare because you're better than me. You're not.

I wish you no success, because that would be futile. Keep away from married men because you never know who may want your head on a platter next and may your new job give you a really bad case of skin cancer.

With absolutely no love and only a lingering feeling of betrayal,

Lyra

Found it! WHEE!

Left to Right: Joel, Me, Mariter, Michelle, Cholo. Taken during our thesis exhibit opening night. My hairstylist cut gave me bangs that night and it changed my life forever. Haha.

Currently Reading...

I was at Fully Booked yesterday and I picked up these books:

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

The Zombies book is going well. It's a light read and I'm enjoying it so far. This is a change for me, since I usually buy books that I have already read. I initially wanted to get some Angela Carter and Roald Dahl books, but the idea of reading new books prevailed. It has become an unhealthy obsession of mine to rebuild my fabulous library *sniff* after all my books (design, art, fiction, non-fiction, books from my childhood and teen years etc) drowned in a flood in 2006. Perhaps this purchase is another step to my healing (haha. Or not. I'm just an impulsive buyer.)

In other news, I got SIX (!!!!) letters and postcards in the mail today. That's the most I got EVER. I am very happy. Oh yes I am. Mwahahahaha.

Also, if you've noticed that I added you to my bloglist that's because you're fabulous and I love reading your posts (well, yeah). Thank you for keeping me sane and inspired. ;) I'm drinking tea in your honor.

Gehehehe.

Please Don't Eat Sushi! Love, Mom

I wish someone would take notice and turn this blog into a book. I can definitely relate. Heehee.

I Fall In Love With You More Everyday

Connor and his Nanny, Luisa.

It's funny how you're only a year old and all these girls are going ga-ga over you.I can just imagine how it will be a couple of years down the road. Looks like I need to arm myself as early as now.