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Thursday, December 29, 2016

Not Easy Being Green 1870-71

Drooling over Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion 2 (Amazon Associates link), I quickly determined that a gown from 1870-71 would be my first challenge.



This was made for one of my LARP (Live Action RolePlaying) characters, so I made some changes for in game reasons. One change was the amount of fabric I used. One of the game mechanics is the "Certificate of Authenticity." You can see two pinned to the front apron of my skirt. Basically, no matter how fancy your outfit is, unless you have a certificate/tag giving it an in-game value, other characters won't view it as especially special. Many characters don't care about this kind of thing, but mine is a British Aristocrat, and when playing the society game, that kind of thing is important! After all, it isn't enough to be fancy if people don't KNOW you're fancy! Oh, and she does have a robotic hand. Keystone LARP is a weird west alternate history LARP, and tons of fun. And yes, I did pick my character background based on how I could be the MOST fancy.

Oh yes. Back to the certificate of authenticity. My character had obtained one worth "1kg of silk." I didn't use actual silk. I used a sythetic taffeta I found at the amazing $3 a yard Auburn Fabric Outlet (773 Southbridge St, Auburn, MA 01501).  I knew I'd bought too much, so I cut off a yard and weighed it on my baking scale. Then, I did the math to make sure I used no more than 1kg of fabric.

The oversleeve bits aren't as full as I'd have liked, and I had to skip the ruffle on the bottom skirt hem, but I REALLY enjoyed the challenge. And I even left enough for a hat! I followed the tutorial from one of my favorite websites ever: http://historicalsewing.com/the-3-hour-hat-non-tutorial I just need to finish it, with either peacock feathers or discarded feathers from my friend's gorgeous parrot! 




This was the first time I used Titchy Thread's Inkscape PDF Generator to make my Inkscape patterns into PDF patterns. (Oh yeah, and while I am an Amazon Associate, and would earn a small commission if you purchased something through one of my Amazon links, I don't earn anything else I link to at this point.)

I had some growing pains with figuring out how to make this work, so there are a lot of files! Bear with me, and please reach out if parts are missing!!! I was just diagnosed with Cervicogenic Headache and Dizziness, and have been dealing with visual tracking dysfunction for almost two months, so my time on the computer is pretty limited at the moment. Otherwise, I would proofread these better. I may need to re-export some of the pattern pieces.
Also, I used these to do fittings in muslin, and the bodice is a VERY tight fit. You'll need to do a lot of your own customization! 



More pictures. . ..


You know what I love? Ruffles. You know what I hate? Manually gathering stuff. The Janome Universal Ultimate Ruffler  is the best thing in the history of things.The reviews are only 3 stars, but ignore them.

 It is also amazing for pleats. I made a dress basically centered around pleats. I was going to post it later, but I want to make sure you know how much I love that sewing machine foot!

Monday, December 19, 2016

Princess Leia Yavin Ceremony - Accessory Sources




Here's the original listing for the necklace and cuff bracelet I purchased.






The bracelet and necklace are now separate, with the necklace here and the bracelet here. I HIGHLY recommend them! I got tons of compliments at DragonCon! The bracelet was a bit big on my wrist, but it actually fit over my fitbit Alta perfectly! I positioned the screen in the opening so I could discretely check the time.

Here are the shoes I found on Ebay. The sole was starting to detach, so I did have to use Shoe Goo (amazon affiliate link - if you purchase through this link, I'd earn a small commission) to reattach both soles. They held up just fine for the photo shoot, although I did switch to flats for walking around. I made sure the hem of the gown would work with flats, figuring I didn't want to worry about people in DragonCon crowds stepping on my dress!



Hair! I used an Odango Bun in dark brown from Arda Wigs over my natural bun. My fantastic hair dresser actually got my hair to perfectly match the the wig! I split long wefts in dark brown in two, and braided each. I sewed one around the Odango bun, and left enough length to wrap around the level of the bun made from my own hair. I sewed the hanging braid into the bun, and lined up the wrapping braid so the end would be hidden underneath. Use my link to get free shipping on your first order!



Saturday, December 3, 2016

The force is strong with this robe! (Jedi Robe Pattern)






A friend was looking for a Jedi Robe, and I realized I hadn't shared this!

I drafted this based on Jedi Master's Robe Tutorial, by EeanLedgor  posted on the Rebel Legion forum, with adjustments based on KrisAntilles' post. I

Check the forum post for assembly directions!

My drafted Jedi Robe pattern


Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Princess Leia Ceremony Gown - Pattern

I've meant to post a "how-to" on my Princess Leia Ceremony Gown. Well, that hasn't happened.

(Picture by the amazingly talented Gerry Francisco)

Right after I got Rebel Legion approval (yay!) I got hit with a nasty bout of vertigo (boo). I haven't been up to any new projects, but I was able to scan the pieces of this gown. There is a 1/2 inch margin on each side. You *should* be able to assemble this and get your own pattern. I suggest you assemble it and then trace the pieces with Swedish tracing paper. The pieces overlap, so you might also just print it out multiple times.

My commercial pattern size is a 14. The most useful fitting piece for this pattern, however, is that this should fit someone who is 5' 7" and wear a 36D perfectly.

I added an extra inner lining in a fabric close to my skin tone. That REALLY helps avoid lines! Both the nude lining fabric and the white layer were stretchy. I cut the sheer layer, which was not stretchy, on the bias, which helped it drape nicely.

Disclaimers:

I had to adjust the shape of the sheer overlay so I could tack it to the outer sleeve so it wouldn't fall forward. I made approximate adjustments on the pattern, but I haven't tested that version. Also, I'm not sure where I put the shoulder sleeve liner piece, so I redrafted that the same way I drafted the original.

Princess Leia Ceremony Gown Hand Drawn Pattern

Saturday, September 3, 2016

Cosplaying as one of my LARP characters!

With my husband, as our characters from Keystone LARP!

Saturday, August 13, 2016

Sneak Peek: Princess Leia, Yavin Ceremony

I still need to hem the bottom of the gown and figure out the hair, but here's what I have so far!



Here's my dress form, modeling the medal of Yavin.



Sneak Peek: Princess Leia and Peggy Carter!

I was going to wait until I had all the finishing touches done before posing, but I was happy to oblige when mom wanted to take some pictures!






Saturday, August 6, 2016

Counting down to DragonCon 2016

When did August arrive?

And where did all the time go between when we decided to go to DragonCon and now? It seemed like I had so much time!

Both of my Cosplays are recognizable, despite all the myriad finishing touches waiting for me.

Our front room is full of empty cardboard boxes from the fabric and accessories I've ordered.

I'm mostly avoiding guilt about ordering my husband's costumes and not making them myself. To be fair, there's no reason for me to make the chef gear for his Linguine (from Ratatouille) costume. But, ideally, I would have made his Han Solo outfit. I may still make him the shirt from the Yavin Ceremony scene, since his costume has the regular ANH shirt. However, being realistic about what I have time to accomplish is going to keep me from giving in to the dark side. . . .