She Photographs Very Well

Just completed Main Character Rana's full wardrobe for the film series. Yay. Above is what she wears during the day whilst working in the garden, etc. I think she photographed very beautifully today on the macro close-up garden set. I love her completely.

Her outfit consist of a vintage ivory muslin nightgown with hand-embroidered embellishments on the front and antique hand-made spider web-like laces (provided by the wonderful friend and supporter Corey Amaro) at its hem and cuffs. Rana's nightgown was cut down from a full size piece that the late Constance gave to the production. I made it loose for her to sleep in and added vintage shell buttons to the front and the back. All of its edges are wired for animating and the laces have been made rigid with matte medium for greater movement control.

Rana will wear the bare nightgown during the night sequences inside the cottage as she's seen going to bed in candlelight as the knitting beetles (which are DONE by the way...) at her bedside making soft clacking noises.

During the day, she wears a rose pink tunic over the nightgown with an extraordinary handmade lace front piece and triple decker vintage lace edging at the hem with matching edge at cuffs (below upper left). Over the pink tunic she wears a set of three layers of skirts, the top of which I wove from hand-dyed wools for THIS precise purpose at the beginning of the production. (seen below lower left). On top of all five skirts is a hearty French-linen apron finished with handy pockets and leather straps (an unplanned detail that has become one of my favorite parts.)

The writing mouse tags along with her in a pocket (below lower left) or in the apron front watching and taking notes for the journals. I love how they kiss (two above lower right). And now we can all, after 20 years, realize at last how Rana looks while actually kneeling to coax him to her, two above lower left.

Her necklace is made from precious seeds and crackled pods, bits of bone and antler, and even has a finely woven piece of cobweb lace caught between its strands, below, lower right.

Costume Changes: Once I dressed her, I saw that the apron needed to be shortened to show the other skirt edges underneath (the altered version can be seen in the top photo group). Every edge of every opening on every hand-sewn garment in this outfit has wire embedded to help position the fabric. Her hat now has Autumn leaves added to the crown, opposite the Springtime bee and blossom. (The exciting reason for that was discovered today (!) and will be explained in my next post.) Even though the hat was "finished" a long time ago, after seeing it on the finished costumed puppet's head necessitated that it be made broader, which I did today. I stiffened a fine jute open weave material with... matte medium (my most essential product) and proceeded to extend the brim out another inch via needle and thread. Made all the difference, now the proportions are correct.

Rana wears her apron while she is working inside or outside the house but will remove it and wear a traveling cloak during the troop's long trek away from the cottage to see the Sage toward the end of the story.

So the wardrobe for her breaks down like this:

In Four Akts
Day: (Cottage Interior) Rose pink tunic and skirting set over nightgown with apron on top, kerchief in hair.
Dusk: (Cottage Exterior) Same as above, replacing a straw sun hat instead of kerchief.
Dark: (Cottage Interior) Bare nightgown with hair down.
Dawn: (Desert Exterior) All clothing as described above, with the addition of a heavy, hooded traveling cloak, hair pulled back into a chignon.

If there's any aspect of Rana's costume that I haven't shown that you'd care to see, or to see something in greater detail, please just let me know! And thank you so much for coming along for this ride!