'Venetian Carnival Mask' Bolero

A quick google search of venetian carnival masks convinced me that this idea had enough scope for a design. In fact, there was enough to inspire an entire collection of designs, but as that has probably been done before, I decided to limit myself to one. It's worth google searching though, because there are so many beautiful and interesting designs. The huge range of different masks made it incredibly hard to decide what direction to take this design. In the end I based this bolero around a mask that was similar to the one in the sketch below. (Or at least reasonably similar, there's been a bit of artistic license in this sketch.)

This design features braiding around the main part of the bolero, with gold embroidery in swirling patterns all over. Originally I had this design in gold, so that it matched the mask it was based on a lot more. I tried this design in six different colours, (I have a whole OneNote page filled up with this design in different colours) but in the end narrowed it down to these two. Black with red braiding, and a very dark green with bronze braiding.

I hope you liked this design, it is part of my 'Designs inspired by Art' project. For more designs, check back here next week.

Bolero image and design and Venetian Carnival Mask Sketch Image © Bronzedale Designs

'Dew on Spider's Web' Poncho

I think dew on spider's webs is a case of finding the extraordinary within the ordinary. There is something absolutely stunning about them, they look like strings of beads or jewels on wires. I had made a long, long list of different things to inspire my next piece for my 'Designs inspired by Nature' project, but dew on spider's webs really stuck with me, this is the result.

The poncho is dark blue and is intended to be made from wool. I thought about creating a poncho out of a satiny material to be worn over evening wear, but in the end decided for this slightly more practical and conventional wool one. The decoration on it mimics the dewdrops on the spider's web. On this design they are intended to be embroidered on in white, though if I was creating the evening wear poncho I think I would have chosen to embroider the dew drops on in silver thread instead. The dew drops that I have drawn on this design are a little bigger and clumsier than I would like, but it wasn't until I had finished the design and zoomed out that I decided they would look better smaller. It's something for me to bear in mind when doing future designs, to zoom out and check how something looks overall as well as just looking at the details.

I hope you liked this design, it is part of my 'Designs inspired by Nature' project. For more designs, check back here next week.

Poncho image and design © Bronzedale Designs

'Ightham Mote' Jeans

I designed this after I found a leaflet for National Trust membership. It had a suit of armour with a lot of elegant scrolly decoration on it. Looking it up, the suit of armour is from Ightham Mote, a manor house in Kent dating back to the 1300s. The house looks stunning, so I've included a link to the National Trust webpage for it:

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ightham-mote

The suit of armour on the National Trust leaflet

As for the suit of armour, it dates from between 1800 and 1900. The design takes the scrolly detail on the front of the suit of armour and uses it on the waistband, pockets and on the decorative denim shapes above and below the knee. The styling on the knees involves three pieces of denim, stitched over with decorative running stitches in a darker embroidery thread. The turned up cuffs of the trouser legs have upright lines stitched upon them, and are also edged with the same decorative running stitch as is used on the knees. I wasn't sure about the cuffs on the trousers, I couldn't decide whether the design worked better without them, so if preferred the cuffs could not be included.

Detail of the decoration around the knee

Detail of the decoration on the pocket

I hope you liked this design, it is part of my 'Designs Inspired by History' project. For more designs check back here next week.

Trousers design, images and detail © Bronzedale Designs

'O. Wilde' Lingerie

 Oscar Wilde has a quote for most things. 'We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars', 'Be yourself - Everyone else is taken' and 'Some cause happiness wherever they go, others whenever they go' are some of his. These two designs aren't inspired by his quotes, but by two short stories which he wrote for children. The left design is inspired by his story The Happy Prince and the right hand design is inspired by The Young King. My copy of them is part of a collection of stories called 'Oscar Wilde Stories for Children'  but I did come across a book in a bookshop recently called 'The Quotable Oscar Wilde' which was hardly bigger than a matchbox, but had one of his short stories in it, along with numerous quotes.

Detail of the Roses and Lilies Bra

Detail of the Swallows and Teardrops Bra

If you haven't read the stories, the left hand design features swallows and teardrops, and the right hand design features lilies and roses. The swallow bra design was intended to be made out of cotton, with the swallows printed on and the tear drops embroidered. On the briefs (I haven't used the word pants for the benefit of any American readers.) the teardrop edging is intended to be embroidered, with the rest of the design to be printed on.
With the roses design, the bra and briefs are intended to be made from satiny material, with gathers in the middle, as on the drawing. The lilies and roses are embroidered.

Pattern used on the Swallow and Teardrop Briefs

Both of the bras were designs as non-underwired bras. I have been mildly despairing for a long time over the lack of decorative non-underwired bras available. Maybe I'm just looking in the wrong places? But as far as I can see I shouldn't have to sacrifice beauty for comfort (I don't wear underwired bras, I just don't find them comfortable.) So both of these were intended as decorative non-underwired bra designs. I've now finished my little rant on the subject, but if anyone reading this is feeling particularly entrepreneurial, I think there may be a gap in the bra market, which I would really like to be filled in.

Detail similar to that used on the Roses and Lilies Briefs (The lilies have been turned pink in this image so that they are visible against the white background.)

Thank you for reading this, it is part of my 'Designs inspired by Literature' Project. For more designs, check back here next week. 

 Swallow  and Rose motifs, lingerie images, and design © Bronzedale Designs