Isn't she adorable?

Super cute...  Thanks, K, for letting me share your pic. 

scavenging...

One of my favorite things to do is to go to Goodwill looking for costume parts.  Today, I went to two stores, hoping to find things to use as a base for my daughter's Pokemon costume.  Her J club at school is having a human chess match -- and her team's pawns are Pokemon.  She is going as Mightyena (the human version...).

Although I didn't find what I needed for her costume, I did find some fantastic baubles for Rufio's wristbands.  And I found a Nordic Ware octopus cake pan (super cool) for $2.98.   I can't wait to make that cake...

Off to finish cleaning my sewing room and then work on my photography homework...

Rufffffiiioooooo...

... is the next costume.  I am looking forward to this one a lot -- especially making the necklace (I have plans, mwaahhaahaha)....   I have all the fabrics and the garments to re-purpose... and I will be digging in tomorrow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um8mMa5w41A

Alice is completed!

Yay!  All done!  I love it -- I hope K does, too!  Here are the last few construction pics.  First up, I am attaching the triangles to the cuffs:

Finished:

next, the sleeves go in:

Then the bow (which I attached to a bow-tie contraption so it is adjustable...)  I used heat-n-bond to make the bow stiff:

All done!  Ready to head out to UPS...

diamonds are a girl's best friend...

I worked hard today on the diamonds for the sleeves of Alice's jacket.  They turned out great -- I love this jacket!   It was a bit difficult to work today, as I had two kids home sick and a sore throat myself.  Here is a picture of one of the sleeves.  I still need to add the wide white cuffs...

Snaps and buttons

Today, I finished up the front detailing on Alice.  I wanted to make the front be able to part a bit at the bottom of the diamond-patterned piece so I made two snapping positions on the bottom row. 

Here is a picture of the back piece of the diamond-patterned front attachment when it is fully snapped onto the coat front.

I finished up the front rectangle and here it is snapped in place (along with 2 rows of white buttons):

Now I have to get ready to teach the last night of my Fiction Writing class for this semester.  Tonight, we talk publishing, agents, and rejections!

topstitching and trimming

Working hard -- I am very pleased with how the points turned out on the triangles.  Wonder Tape is amazing..

Here's where we are, after a few more things done -- topstitching the triangles, the front, etc.  Triangles are trimmed, and overall length is trimmed.  I also narrowed some of the princess seams in the bust area to take out a bit of extra fabric. 

Wonder Tape and sticky fingers

*finally*  -- success in the geometry of points across an an arc. 

First, I marked the points with a water soluble pencil:

Then, I cut out the triangles and tacked them down with Wonder Tape.  I love this stuff -- for pockets, zippers, applique -- anything, really.

 (wonder tape review).

Next, I lined up all the red/white triangles and seams and used Wonder Tape to hold them down.     

                   

Here's another pic of all the triangles taped down and ready to top-stitch!  Woohoo!                               

Basketball and costuming...

Still working on Alice -- with one eye on the tv the past few days.  I love ACC basketball - and NC State.    Two upsets for State so far -- hoping for another one this afternoon as we take on Georgia Tech.  I'll be "there" needle, thread and all...

Since I haven't posted pictures of the geometry problems I am having with Alice's coat, I thought I would share the vintage pattern I am using as the foundation of her coat (Simplicity 5928, copyright 1973).  Note that the pattern is a size 12.  Ok.  The bust measurement is 34", waist is 26 1/2" and hips 36".  Yes, a size 12.  Oh, and note that this is a "Look Slimmer Pattern".  Any slimmer and the woman would disappear.  Times have changed...

Also, take a look at a pattern piece -- see how thick that "tissue" paper is?  If you buy a Simplicity pattern today, you'll be lucky not to tear the pattern tissue as you use it.  I prefer the paper patterns like KwikSew...  Also, the pattern isn't multi-sized -- you get one set of measurements, that is it.  sigh.  Still, the pattern fits the bill for what I need. 

Appropriately, Alice's coat is NC State colors:


Reference Image of Alice, by Runia

GO STATE!!!

math and sewing

I am still working on Alice.  The diamond-shaped pattern where the red meets the white near the bottom of jacket is giving me fits.  I think the solution is to make a cardboard template -- if I end up with triangles that aren't exactly the same, I will be very unhappy...

Back soon with (hopefully) pictures of perfect diamonds/triangles. 

Sunny Monday...

What a beautiful day to be sewing!  The camellias outside my window are shades of red and purple and the crystals hanging in my windows are beaming rainbows all around my room. 


As soon as I finish preparing my lesson for my Fiction Writing for Beginners class that meets tonight, I will be back to working on Alice (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=10436).  I have her skirt and shirt finished and the red/white coat all cut out.  I need to re-iron the pattern pieces then work on the geometry of making the diamond shapes on the base of the coat.

blog beginnings...

Since I get so many questions about "how to make this" and "where do I find that" in my costuming business, I decided to start a blog.  In this blog, I plan to share tip and tricks of costuming/sewing and the process of taking a costume from idea to realization.  Along the way, I hope to share resources and ideas with other costumers and cosplayers.   Although I currently focus mainly on cosplay, I also love historical clothing reproductions and gothic/Renaissance/medieval/fantasy clothing construction.  Currently, I am working on a cosplay of Alice from Pandora Hearts.  I will share more about that soon!