Sunday Dress/ Test Run

   I needed to do a test run of this patter that I wanted to use for  my next costume,and since my mom is always asking when will I make something I can 'really wear' this was the perfect time to make us both happy.  I used Butterick pattern 6018, and really like the pattern and how the dress turned out. I had to raise the neckline about a inch and a half but it still wasn't quite enough so I added a bit of lace to make it more modest.

It has a side zipper that was a pain to get to work with the velvet. If you get the stitching to close to the teeth the velvet jams it and it won't move. sigh. But the dress is warm. I also added a bit of lace to the front waist to dress it up a bit. I had thought of making just a small batch of flowers for there but decided that lace would look better.

IS love how it sits high on the back of my neck. It makes me feel regal and very posh!

       The pattern was very easy to follow and it has a great fit. I think it's going to become one of my favorites.  

Riddler 1950's Style!

    This Halloween I've decided on a Batman theme. Funny thing is I'm not dressing like batman...or batgirl as the case would be. I saw some dresses on pinterest that I fell in love with and am going to work on Friday and Saturday as the Riddler's daughter and the Jokers Daughter. Best part is they are done in 1950's style so it's like a double costume!  The ridder style dress took a day and half to complete and I do like how it turned out.

    The first thing I had to do was to hep the poor tiny crinoline.  It was so flat it hardly did a thing and when I held it up next to my red one it was very sad and maybe 1/3 of the size.

  Here it is after adding two layers. There is about 300 inches in the bottom tier. It's not the best addition job but it did make it where it fluffs the dress out.

 
   I used a basic circle skirt pattern for the base and added 7 yards of tulle to add more fullness to the skirt.

 
I measured wrong when I cut the tulle though and it's about an inch to short so I had to tack parts of the bottom down so it looked like it was at least close to the same length.

After I had the skirt assembled I drafter the belt for the dress and added light boning.

 
After I had the bodice sewn I attached it to the skirt and put the side zipper in. It's going to take some wiggling to get out of but that's okay. I can do that.

And here it is all done! There are 16 large "?"  and 15 small ones on the skirt. I divided them among two layers so it would have some extra dimension. and of course the big center front one had to have sparkles!! One of the hardest parts is trying to make the question marks look random and not planned.

Back view.

And that's everything. I hoped you enjoyed this look at my Riddler costume. Now I just have to think of a name to use as the daughter of the Riddler. Hhmmm.

Autumn Fairy

    I finished the Autumn fairy dress just in time for "peak week" unfortunately not all the trees got the memo.
    The dress is made of two pieces.  The under-dress and the tunic. It took forever to get fabrics that didn't clash. Surprising how hard that actually was this time round. The sleeves consisted of three layers, yellow, yellow to orange ombre, and red.  I loved the sleeves.  The tunic laced up on the sides and the leaves were glued on with E6000, you can still smell the glue faintly as it is STRONG stuff. Seriously. use it in a well ventilated area.

    I also found a really cool online site that lets you touch up photos. I then had a lot of fun as you can see in the above photo. Everything is black and white except for me. I tried it the other way too just for giggles but it just didn't look quite right.

Sewing Space ReVamped!

   Sorry I just couldn't resist.I'm not really into vampires but that was just too good to pass up.
 Anyway...the reason I haven't posted in a while is because I have been at 4 camps this summer and in between that I have been re-doing my sewing space. Whew! so glad it's done and I can share with you that I haven't actually been lazing around doing nothing.

 I sat down to sew a medieval/fantasy inspired dress four weeks ago only to have to stop because my sewing space was driving me crazy and stopping my creative process. I hate when that happens. As I started to clean my sewing space I started thinking that it didn't just need cleaned it needed a make over! so the research started,  things like "what's the best way to store fabric?" and "sewing room organization ideas" are just some of the things I went over on pinterest.  One had a folding suggestion which I was VERY skeptical of because I didn't have just one yard of fabric I had up to 15 yards, but decided I would give it a try anyway just to see how it worked. WOW!!! I am in love with this and everyone should use this way of folding the fabric. It's not the normal square fold that I normally would do, it is a measured out and folded over cardboard (which is pulled out and not left in adding to bulk) to create  the perfect uniform rectangles that fit perfect on a small bookcase.   I got rid of about 6 boxes.

Just so you know how much this condensed the amount of space needed on the book case alone is the fabric from a large plastic tote of bolts of fabric and two boxes. Now when I pack a box it is packed! I pack things very well and there is no wasted space, so for this to be two boxes and a tote worth of fabric I am impressed. 

 
       This is my sewing station. In the cupboard I have a basket that holds my scissors and spare items like seam rippers and tape measures.   Then we have my sewing machine on the left with my serger on the right. Above my sewing machine are the notions and machine accessories I need when sewing and above my serger are my cone threads.

    I found that the empty pin boxes are perfect for holding my extra bobbins and it's such a time saver!  In the top drawer I have charms and beads that I use for accent pieces and inspiration for which way I want the costume to go. In the bottom drawer I keep the pins, sewing machine needles,snaps, hook and eyes etc.  In the organizer I have my tools in separate slots with things I need occasionally in the drawer.

I had more fabric than I thought I did. And I don't even have all of it out of storage! The dark "L" shaped hutch is a new addition to my sewing space and it is wonderful! I saw it by the side of the road and my wonderful dad and brother picked it up and hauled it for me.

I can open the closet without being embarrassed.

 I still have to sort through the storage bins but at least the major part of the organizing is done!

Here is all my scrap fabric. Everything here is less than a yard long.

    Here is what took 2 episodes of Merlin to accomplish. I emptied a box full of buttons and sorted through them putting them in categories according to color, size, and how many holes they had.  I still have an ice cream gallon bucket full to go through. sigh.

Well, I hope you enjoyed a tour through my sewing space.

Thanks for reading.  

Ruffled Petticoat

  One of the outfits I've been wanting to do for quite some time now is from a painting by Szinyei Merse Pál titled  Woman in Purple  from 1874.

   I'm not sure why but I love this painting.  I was about to start work on the dress when I realized I didn't have all the undergarments I needed for this endeavor.  I had the bustle and corset with an okay-ish corset cover but I didn't have a petticoat. Granted a petticoat wouldn't make a big difference in how this would lay since I was making it out of a poly/satin blend and it's very thin but I want a complete ensemble and if I don't make the petticoat now I'll probably never will.
    I made the basic structure but shortened it quite a bit since I wanted to add a pleated ruffle to the bottom. Yes, I do realize it was a bit of a stupid idea but I wanted to try.

    Back in the 1800's the clothes started getting really fancy with ruffles and frills since they had a sewing machine to help. Even the undergarments got a makeover. Mine wont be as deluxe as some that they made, it will actually be a rather simple with just a bit of frills to adorn the hem with the pleats.

After I had the basic panels cut I sewed them with a french seam then gathered them to the waist band. Making the pleats at the waist band even took a while but it looks good. I didn't measure these I just eyed it till it looked about right and pinned them in place.

 Then it was time for the fun part, the pleating. I made a pleater a year or so ago and I am so glad I did! This is what the process looks like. It's made out of a heavy card stock that has been folded accordion style so the folds are even. You take the fabric and tuck it between every fold and press with an iron to make the  pleats. I didn't get them perfect but they are close enough where they look good from a foot away.

  I have the front done and sewn onto the petticoat. I just don't want to know what will happen to those lovely little pleats when I have to wash it. I'm not pressing them all again as it took an hour and half just to pleat one half.

I'll be making the back have a double row of pleating one extending down lower than the other to give it more of a train support for the dress.

I'm hoping to complete the petticoat tomorrow and get the actual dress fabric laid out but we'll see how that goes. I hope you enjoyed this small view into the making of the ruffled petticoat.

Renaissance Festival

    Well I don't have many pictures of my friends costume before the festival because my dress form isn't the right size for her clothes so I'm combining those pictures with the pictures from the festival.

    I'm dressed and ready to go. The pouch is the one I made last year  for the festival  here Link. I thought as I spent money it would get lighter since it was kind of heave starting out but for some reason it seemed to get heaver as I spent money, how weird is that!

  Back view of my outfit. I do have a confession about this though. My hair is that long but it's not that thick. I added extensions to make it look thicker, I wish I had thicker hair but I don't so there it is.

   Here you can see the front of my friends outfit. She picked different designs to compose her look and this is the final look. She had a wine colored peasant blouse, black underskirt, and a bodice with split panels.

  The real show stopper of her outfit was in the back of her bodice. I cut out a circle and put eyelets an inch apart then wove a dream-catcher design and hung a sun charm with a wine colored stone in the center. I have never done this before so it was a learning experience for me. I'm happy with the final outcome and I think I would like to have it in the back of a jean jacket.

  A vendor sells AMAZING  wood work and this was one of his creations. I wish I had the money and way of hauling it. I loved the natural look like it had just happened to grow that way with a stone seat in the center.

    Lost in the maze and not minding one bit.

     They also had murals in the maze. This was a very interesting one of sirens.

These are my souvenirs this year. The flowers are a ridiculous  price because they had thistles for the Highland Fling.  My ocarina that I have been wanting for about 12 years and my chalice. I love drinking from my chalice it makes me feel like I'm in another time.

 It also matches the bowl I bought last year from the same vendor.  Next year I'll probably get a plate for the complete matching set.

And that's everything I think. I have more projects planned for the not to distant future. I'll see you then. Fare thee well.

New Jean Skirt

    I girl from my church is going to youth camp and I'm fixing some skirts for her to wear. Today I have fixed 5 skirts (one I made almost all from scratch) and one shirt today. Among them is one style of jean that seems to be kind of popular in the last few years. Since she needed another jean skirt for play but the store only seemed to have micro-minis I decided to try my had at making the modified skirt. Over all it was very easy to do, and am pleased with how it turned out.
 

     I have been busy AND productive! That combo doesn't always walk hand in hand with me.
  Next update will be on my friends renaissance costume. She will be a fantasy/huntress type person. Her outfit is half done and I have one week to finish it....oh joy!!

It's That Time of Year

  It's time to get ready for the Renaissance!! I have been various things through the years but this year I really wanted to be different. I don't want to be historically accurate in design, color, or fabric! I want to be....drum roll please... a GYPSY! A Hollywood kind. You know crazy style and colors with very non time period appropriate accessories and hair. Yeah. That's what I'm going for.

  My look is very basic. Peasant top with poofs sleeves, large circle skirt, hip scarf, and a bodice.
After going shopping and getting fabrics then going home and switching out some fabrics I had the basics of what I needed to get started. I made my shirt and skirt first. Both were very basic and easy to make with little or no alterations needed.I then went to work on the bodice. I had originally intended it to be made from what I lined it with but it wasn't feeling right for some reason so I went looking through my stash and found just what I needed. It's a cross between and orange and gold color that shimmers and adds flair which was sorely lacking.

Before and after picture but with the before on the right and the after on the left.  :)

   After assembling the bodice and adding the boning and eyelets  I started covering all the eyelets. It gives it a better final look ( a little more accurate) and makes it so both sides are perfect making it reversible!

 Not the best stitching in the world but it does the job and looks pretty good from a foot or so away.

Here's the process Of covering them . There are 13 eyelets on each side. I sat back and watch a movie since it takes a while to sew all of these.

    After that came the hip scarf.


I had planned to use a fringe on the edge of the scarf/shaw but it just wasn't looking right in the final picture so I went and did something I thought I would never do. I bought coins. Yes, coin trim. Something every historical costumer avoids and I went and bought some. But it did the trick and looks good.

I found some hemp like trim with some gold threads woven in the middle in my stash that I'm using for a belt for my money pouch. I'm using the same one from last year.

 The scarf you see tied around the neck of my mannequin is the scarf I'm going to have tied in my hair.

I was a bit wary about using purple for the skirt and having a green striped hip scarf for fear of being called Esmeralda. Granted she had a light purple hip scarf and a green striped waist cinch  but the colors are still there. I'm hoping the orange/gold top help to keep me separate. If not then I'll claim distant relations to her. Oh well. The important thing is to have fun. Besides it's all in the attitude.