Dress complete - prom over.  *sigh of relief*

Time is running out!  Alex leaves for prom in less than 6 hours and I still need to make the peasant top to go with the skirt!  Here is a quick pic of the completed skirt!

2 more layers

two mre layers done.  Prom is tomorrow...  aack.

also note the hair -- red, black and highlights... 

back to sewing!

Green Day, Earth Day and Paint it Black day

I am not sure exactly how I am supposed to get this prom dress finished with a Green Day marathon on Fuse tv today...   I am working during commercials, though.  More pics to follow soon.

all ruffled out....

I simply cannot ruffle any more.... tonight...

here is a beautiful ruffle attached to satin then topstitched down and then the entire thing ruffled.  I can't believe how much sewing goes into a ruffle...

here is the skirt so far.  At least 3 more tiers to go (all different and all with netting, too):

so many yards...

ruffles and gathering... yards and yards of it. I had to go back to Joann's to get more netting -- who knew it would take so much?

The hemline of the dress is 150 inches!

Ruffling the lower tier:

First ruffle

Ha!  Do you think Tim Gunn would like my fabulous collar????  Not really -- it's just the first tier ruffle for the prom dress.  I had a bear of a time figuring out what I was doing wrong with the ruffler foot on my machine when trying to gather this netting.  Finally, after looking at lots of tutorials on-line, I came across the secret --  *hold the threads behind the foot as you start to ruffle*.  That simple.  With the open holes on the netting, the machine was having a time figuring out what to attach to and it was sewing onto the threads -- which made a big mess.   Now that it is figured out, I have lots of ruffles to make...

prom, take 2

lots of prep work for the prom dress.  I got the base for the skirt done and fitted.  It is very full, and I surely hope I bought enough ruffle fabric. 

Here is the cincher we bought.  I love it!  I don't like that the top ruffle is floppy, so I sprayed a bit of it with stiffener -- we'll see if that helps.

Here is the skirt -- simple waistband, almost a full circle skirt.  Not ironed yet -- and ignore the bulky t-shirt...  Now to add all the ruffles...

Prom Dress

"Prom dress" --  arrggh.   A couple days to make one?  arrgghh^2   Alex doesn't really like super-traditional stuff (no pink, sparkly, or too shiny...).  We searched the Internet for a dress style she liked and she picked a really pretty black tiered skirt/top combo.  She doesn't like the asymmetry of the corset top, so we decided to use a different one.  here is the dress: 
http://www.evening-dresses.eu/Suknie_Wieczorowe/Bella_P_Czarna/pid,560,cid,46,product.php

And here is the cincher we bought: 

http://www.pyramidcollection.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=P8352%20XS&srccode=NXCPC6

I like it a lot -- plus, I don't have time to make one (prom is next weekend and I also need to finish Rufio...)

I cut the underskirt -- basically an 8 gore long skirt (though I combined the front gores into one).  I hope I bought enough fabric for all the ruffles!

back soon with more pics.  I need to finish this up as soon as possible.  lol
coffee....

Mightyena

Finished a couple days ago...  a simple set of accessories, but fine for the application!  The ears have cardstock in them and are attached to a headband.  The arm things have a bit of elastic at the top to help keep them up.  I left the tail unstuffed since she will be sitting on it.  It is attached to the jeans with a small elastic strap around the belt loop.  If anyone pulls it, or she gets it caught, it will stretch before breaking off.  I made the shirt out of the only gray stretchy fabric I had on hand. 

Here's a pic:

Mightyena reference pic

Here is the picture Alex picked for us to make her Mightyena from.  The drawing is by Midnight_dark_angel -- and I think it is awesome! 
http://media.photobucket.com/image/mightyena/Midnight_Dark_Angel/Inner%20Pokemon/Mightyena_Girl.jpg

  I am working on the arm pieces now - but here is a pic of the jeans and shirt.

Joann fabrics...

Is having a daffodil sale --- almost every fabric is 50% off...   Lots of notions are 50% off, too!

testing sms posting...

jeans with fur

here is a pic of what the fur looks like when the seam allowance is trimmed off.  Cutting away the extra fur reduces bulk in the seam, and is really a necessity when sewing fur.

Here are the jeans with fur on the bottom.  I just made a fur tube and tacked it onto the jeans (since they are still in service...)  After I tacked the fur on, I put rescue tape (essentially double sided fabric tape) in the gaps so that the fur sticks down all around the top. 

The fur is flying...

This black fur is unbelievable!  So soft...  I am finishing up my daughter's cosplay chess outfit today -- the Pokemon Mightyena.  Though this is not a full cosplay, I am still dealing with sewing fur, which can be tricky. 

Most people suggest cutting the fur from the back side (where it is not furry...), and this is a good idea.  I am not sure how you could cut it from the front and be able to maintain a straight line.  I marked the pattern on the back of this black fur with a white marking pencil -- it shows up really well and won't be seen in the final product.  

Some suggest that you cut fur with a craft knife or small scissors so you can just cut the backing and not any of the fur length, but I have found it is perfectly fine to cut straight through, fur and all.  Even after cutting, you still have to either remove the fur that will be encased in the seam, or be prepared to pick it out after sewing with a pin...  that is very tedious!

Since fur does not ravel, it does not have to be hemmed.  Back later with more pics!

Green Day

ok, totally not related to costuming -- except that trying to get tickets today completely kept me from sewing....

but I got tix.  Row A.  I cannot wait. 

I love Green Day....

Spring Break

Today is the last day of spring break -- which means everyone is back to school tomorrow.  Boo!  But it also means I have some quiet time to finish Rufio and Alex's cosplay chess Pokemon.  Yay!  I found part of my sewing room, and have a new Green Day poster to hang...  and -- tomorrow is the day Green Day tickets go on pre-sale (for Idiot Club members) for the DC show this summer.  I am SO THERE.