Take a Deep Breath...

We all sew in here, right? That means you all know how it is with us – our own projects always come in dead last when it comes to prioritization on a timeline. Same story here.  Now that my niece and sister were solidly on their way to finished dresses, I had to start my own.

And I was stumped.

Let me clarify; I knew how I wanted to put the dress together and how to get it done. The problems were:

1)      I had *too many* ways that I could proceed – nothing like choices to slow you down;
2)      I was pretty sure the best way involved a whole lot of things I have never done before…

As with all projects, I spent a lot of this time pondering my stash of freshly purchased fabric. I am actually very proud of my selections, especially in light of the All Purple, All The Time palette from my inspiration image. I managed to find a range that looked good together and got pretty close to the original colors/textures of the piece. Woo hoo!



The Palette (from L to R): Main Dress, Narrow Sash, Shawl

Then I spent another few days messing about with my accessory pieces. I started with the ‘fabric pauldron’ support structure you see on the left shoulder of the inspiration image. My sneaking suspicion is that Alphonse added this bit as an artistic whimsy (“Her shoulder would look so much better with a huge flying buttress of material…”), but since it was in the piece I had to try and make it work in my real-world dress.

Flying Fortress of Fabric

I started my process by strapping Eloise (my dressmakers dummy[i], a gift from claughter713) into my intended support garment. I knew I was probably going to end up draping the dress in the long run (although I feared the results) so I traced the shape of the Merry Widow onto Eloise’s form; this way I would be able to determine if my draping was going to cover the undergarment, even if the undergarment wasn’t on the form at the time of the draping. BTW - This was done with one of my favorite sewing accessory EVAH…


Click On The Pic To Get Your Own - I am not the only one who loves them.


Eloise - Chalked And Ready To Go

First, I made a paper mockup of the general shape I thought would work for the pauldron which I pinned to Eloise’s shoulder, making sure to overlap the line of the undergarment[ii] . This also gave me a chance to check the 'angle' of the pauldron's wear - not too sharp or droopy a line from my own shoulder.



I checked the result from all angles, trimmed and shaped it a bit, and then cut two layers of my craft felt[iii] base, and an additional 'edging piece' of the same felt that matched the outer curve of the pauldron. Using my machine I sewed all the layers together along all edges, on the outer edge I sewed a number of channels, spaced approx. 3/8 of an inch apart. Between this stitching and placing a section of featherweight boning in the outermost channel, I achieved the level of firmness in the shape that I needed.


Weirdest fabric boomerang ever...


I then cut a cover from my fashion fabric using the same paper pattern and covered the whole shape, handsewing the final seam. Now I could work on placing my dress fabric over a support structure that looked (essentially) like another bit of draped fabric.

Easy Smeeshesy Items

Next up were the sash and the shawl. The making of both is pretty easy, so let’s skip on to the next project.



The Medallion Belt

Early on in the project (like, back in April) claughter713 and I scoured the interwebz looking for a source offering oval belt buckle blanks for a price that was almost reasonable. What we discovered was that a wholesale license was going to be needed in order to get the quantity necessary for less than an arm-and-a-leg. Then I remembered, I *know* a costuming couple with a wholesale license – Better Yet! – they make custom belts!

I called A&B of Legendary Costume Works, they confirmed that they had the necessary blank on hand and were willing to give them to me. Hooray! Best of all, they hand delivered them at the headdress workshop.

Bonus!

Now I had the materials on hand, but they required both modification and painting in order to work the belt configuration I had in mind. So after I removed the original ‘mounting hardware’ on the backside of each, they got four holes drilled in them[iv] and a coat of paint (or two) inside and out and then mounted them on (yet more purple) rawhide cord.



I tried them on Eloise and was pleased as punch with the results. But now I had no more ‘distraction work’ to do and needed to get on to the final project…

THE DRESS

Seriously y’all, if I spend as much time sewing projects as I do *thinking about* how I can sew them, I would have an entire wardrobe full of gear.[v]  I knew that the dress could be done in a variety of waysm and this was what I had been considering:

Plan A: Fully draped dress mounted to a fitted underlayer with no actually ‘patterning’ in sight;
Plan B: Fully patterned dress with some level of decorative draping over the top;
Plan C: A combination of the above (with about 12 variations possible dancing through my head at any given time).

So I hemmed[vi] and hawed, I did test drapes and cried at how they looked. I searched the internet for resources on how other people had made their Mucha creations, and found none. I leaned heavily on the trust that my fellow LSCaCS members were getting along with their projects, and they looked great (so mine could hid in the background if necessary).   Then I realized I needed to just pull the trigger on Plan C if I was going to be wearing ANYTHING[vii] to Gala.

So I started with an underlayer. Using Eloise as my base, I draped a pattern for a basic strapless bodice with a dropped waist. I bit my lip as I made my mock-up and then had my niece help me with a final fitting.

And what do you know? It. Totally. Worked.[viii]


With a bit of tweaking, the wrinkles seen here didn't end up in the final pattern


Making the mock up

Once the basic bodice was cut using the same pattern as above for the fashion fabric and lining, I got to play with featherweight boning for the first time. I literally applied in the Exact Same Manner And Location as shown on the product packaging.



Of course, what I failed to note was that the resulting bodice promptly rolled itself into a tube.



Apparently, plastic boning should be heat treated to get it to lay down flat and behave *before* you add it to your project. Since I had failed to do this utterly, I simply pinned the whole bodice to Eloise and then steamed it into submission with my iron.

This also works, by the way.  ;)


Finished Bodice - I cannot lie, this result made me very happy. :D

Once the bodice was complete and pinned securely in place (no back closure yet, since Eloise is just a *schosh* bigger than me – even when dialed down to her smallest size) I attached the fabric paudron and simply began draping.

The big head ache here was that my fabric, which I had purchased 8 yards of, was really *chunks* of yardage. What was left on the bolt when I purchased consisted of 2-3 pieces of 1.25-1.5 yards and another few longer bits. I loved the fabric so much that I had convinced myself that this would be OK to work with. Now that I was actually doing so, I wasn’t as sure.

I started with the shortest bits first, ensuring they were long enough to drape from the center front of the bodice and still hit the floor. They were. Then I worked my way around to the back of the dress, adding fabric and playing with the shaping of the draped bits as I went.[ix] This tutorial was very handy in calming my nerves and giving me a direction to go in.

Despite my initial misgivings, I was pleased as punch with the results! Eventually...


From L to R: First attempt - which resulted in a stiff drink. Second attempt - More Pins! = Success!

Next, handsewing. Lots and lots of handsewing. I made my way all the way around the bodice, removing pins and tacking the fabric in place. The biggest concern was not sewing all the way through the bodice and into Eloise – which I managed to only do twice!


I could never do this much sewing without Netflix, praise be to the internet gods!

This handsewing included one bit of machine work which was installing the hook-and-eye tape at the center-back of the bodice. The closure was largely covered by the draped fabric that gathered at the back of the gown in a manner not unlike an 18^th C sack-back gown (only much more free form).  That portion which was visible was then covered by the drapery that had been swagged and attached to the pauldron at the dresses shoulder being tucked in once the dress was hook-and-eyed closed.

At this point, all that was left to do was the hemming. Given that the dress was entirely draped, I had a lot more fabric at the hemline than you would normally encounter.  After checking to make sure that Eloise was as close to my height as possible[x] I placed her on my sewing table and then simply chalked a rough hemline into place. This allowed me to play with the shaping of the train a bit before any cutting was done, and the added height helped ensure my back wasn’t in agony.


Draping from the back - Eloise ready to help me hem
(the bit draped up over her neck is the tail of the fabric pauldron draping, placed up and out of the way)

I had intended to use the same method of facing the hemline that was employed on my niece and sister’s dresses; but in the end it wasn’t practical to attempt to create pieces that matched the cut of my draped-and-pieced hem. Thankfully, the ‘inside’ of the dress fabric was beautiful and I didn’t care if it showed (and I had taken the time to French my long seams), so I just used my chiffon hem finish and called it a day.

As soon as the dress was finished, I nervously tried it on over my Merry Widow and discovered that a) It Fit! B) It covered the undergarment completely. C) I loved it…


Why yes, that *is* my inspiration image on my phone cover...also, that dog is not dead - no matter what he'd like you to think

So ends the saga of my portion of the Mucha Maiden’s project. I had an amazing time, learned a ton of new sewing techniques, and generally discovered that I can survive outside of my 16^th C comfort zone.

Which of course means there are a TON of new projects to consider…

*grin*

So, taking up where my prior entry left of; how did we make those Mucha things anyway?

We started with the headdresses.

This seems simple enough, until you try to find flowers the size of the ones in the inspiration images, or at least my inspiration image:



Poppies. That. Huge. Cannot. Be. Had. Anywhere.

After poking around online I had found sources for all my floral needs except these enormous beasts. A few places had 5” poppies, but they were asking $20+/flower and 5” was still too small. Great. Now I sound like a flora size queen.  *chuckle* I was up in the Bay visiting friends on another sewing related adventure when I found myself at Beverly’s Craft & Floral. I was delighted to find that they had All The Flowers there that I needed – except my damn poppies. That was when T stepped in and pointed something out:

“Why don’t you just buy some of these red peonies and modify them?”



Well…duh!

So that evening we gutted the central section of one of our peonies with the help of a sharp pair of embroidery scissors. These flowers are constructed with a small plastic ‘basket’ that holds the central section of petals closed around the stamen of the flower; we found that if you cut this basket off and remove the petal sections it contains, you end up with a nice, open flower with a bright yellow stamen center. After applying black fabric paint to the ‘new’ central petals[i]– and perhaps also to the center-facing portions of the next layer out – you end up with a HUGE poppy.



Now make a bunch, because you will need them.

The whole group met up the last weekend in June at the fabulous Sewing Circle Retreat[ii]. What did we take with us? Here is the general list:

·         Fabric flowers & greenery (procured at Michael's Craft & Floral, Beverly Fabrics, etc.)[iii]
·         Floral tape & wire (I personally recommend the fabric/tape covered floral wire)
·         Wire cutters
·         Glue gun & glue
·         Any 'bits and bobs' you are adding to your headdress for bling (sparkly bits, ribbon, etc)
·         WIGS[iv]
·         Head forms – because being able to *see* the darn thing being worn makes all the difference, and you don’t want to drip hot glue on your own head…

Things to keep in mind when you are making your headdress:

·         Ensure that you have enough ‘range’ in your materials palette to provide for variety in both color (different types of greenery, for example), size (big focal point pieces – like poppies! – plus smaller interest pieces make a more interesting looking result), and effect (drapey bits that hang down, stiff bits that stick up, etc.).  Worst case scenario, you have enough left over for another headdress!

·         If you aren’t sure if it is big enough yet, it probably isn’t. Seriously. Aim for just shy of this and you will be there…

·         This is a 3D piece of art, make sure you fill in any gaps and that it looks good from all angles. Place the headdress on a head/wig form and check it out from behind, in front, on top. Fill in as needed.

·         There is a stage in every headdress where you are sure it is a disaster, just keep working on it and adding bits – you will eventually hit a critical mass point where it becomes FABULOUS

·         If you are making yours based on a piece of art, keep that image handy and check back in often.

The ‘Construction’ Steps:

Start by making a ring of your floral wire that is slightly bigger than you want your finished piece; the extra space will be filled out by flower and tape bulk as you build.

When your ring is the right size, bend the wire where the two ends meet into a pair of ‘hooks’. These will hook around each other (and possibly be bent around each other to form a permanent ring) and allow you to open and close the ring base of your headdress as/if needed during construction.

Using your floral tape, begin by making a small bundle of interesting floral and greenery bits. Think the size of an overgrown boutonniere. You will probably be cutting flowers and bits of green off of larger bundles, but be sure to leave enough ‘stem’ to wrap around as you gather them together. Keep the principle of variety in mind here – color and types of bits.

When you have a tiny bouquet that you like, make another. Having two or three of these under your belt makes the idea of facing a whole headdress a lot easier.

Now.  Starting at either the center front or a focal point location on your headdress design[v], place the tiny bouquet on your floral wire ring and tape it in place with your floral tape. This should be done as securely as possible; while trying to avoid using so much tape that you end up with a wad. Don’t worry – this will become easier as you work along. Also, if the thing won’t stay you always have more floral wire and hot glue[vi] if need be.

Add more tiny bouquets to the ring.

Occasionally throw in a larger flower (size variation) or drapey/pokey bit (effect variation).

When you have gotten all the way around the ring (or covered the portion your headdress requires), place it on your head/wig form and check it for holes. Can you see the wire anywhere? Obvious bits of floral tape showing?

Grab your glue gun and some spare floral bits (smaller sizes work well here) and greenery (left over leaf bits from your flower bunches are perfect for this). This is best done on a wig/head form because Second Degree Burns Hurt.

Fill in the holes.

This is also a chance to add any ‘blingy bits’ – jewelry bits, sea shells, crystals, small birds, bones, etc.  These can either be glued in place or added by stringing them with bits of floral wire and affixing them that way.

Check for holes again and repeat above as necessary.

Now, try on your headdress over your styled wig. Does it still fit? Too loose? Too tight? Adjust it at the ‘hooked ends’ of the ring and add/subtract flora as needed to accommodate.

Once the headdress is sized you can either permanently twist the ends of your ring together to cover with floral tape and more flora; or you can leave the hooks in place, allowing you to adjust the size. This second option is better for folks who may have to open their ring in order to get it around wig bits or hats in future.

Eventually you will find yourself with something like this:



And now, some general Oh My God This Was So Much Fun shots:


J, wearing one of the original White Picnic headdresses that started this whole thing off...


A & B Rock The Mucha Look

First there were hours of draping. And pinning. And draping some more. And crying. Then pinning myself. And unpinning ALL THE THINGS.

/white russian break

Then a flurry of drape-pin-drape-pin-drape-pin.

And then I had something I am OK with.

Now for hours of stitch, tack, stitch, tack, stitch, tack.

*sigh*

I swear to god. If Disney doesn't send me those sewing mice soon I am going to be so @&*#}+<&...!

*chuckle*

/goes to make another white russian

Never ending and obsessive thoughts about sewing methods and patterning prevented most of my sleep last night. What little I did get was interrupted by puppy snoring, toy squeaking, and the fact that I am sharing a bed with my husband and two dogs to both seem to think that they need more space than any single human body would occupy.

 

I need a nap.

 

I need a drink.

 

I need to be home sewing rather than at work.

 

*meh*

 

Crossfit. It is apparently soul consuming.

What I mean by that is, I really like this style of exercise. But as vanessa_lynne pointed out in a recent entry, it drains almost every drop of energy I have at the end of my days. This is normally not a huge issue, but with CoCo looming I need to start carving out time on the weekends to work on costume projects. I have a plan, we'll just see how well that plan works.

Oh, and I am adding to the distraction pile by introducing the following element the first weekend of July:

Meet Nigel...




Nigel - Selfie (he's down with the young crowd like that)


So, in addition to Crossfit, I have added morning runs - Every Day - into my schedule. Because both my 'old man' (Fritz) and the new guy (Nigel) will need some exercise and training on a consistent basis to make sure that we have a happy doggy home. And then there are all the other 'puppy extras' when it comes to time consumption.

You know what? Totally worth it.

Don't be shocked when I show up to Gala in a modified hotel sheet.

*chuckle*

OK, two years of Costume College attendance down and I have this to say:

I. Fucking. Love. You. Guys.

*happy sigh*

Seriously, how is it possible for this many kick ass women (and men!) to fit into one space for a weekend? It feels like being dipped in a pool of light and honey and coming out the other side neither blind nor sticky... *chuckle*

First off; my roomies (both those actually *in* the same room with me and the extended membership of the Breakfast Club!). Ladies, you are never allowed to move to another room. Never. Unless that means that you are moving to a room that is CLOSER TO ME or IN THE SAME SPACE.  Two years going and never a moment where I am not thrilled to get every second I can with you lot (despite the sadness at our lack of claughter713 in person - although she was there for Gala Prep via Skype!).

Next year, more rooms closer together and some with adjoining doors!

Also, Extra-Special Gold Stars for harmanhay for making it down to the gym with me every day (and Super-Honorable Mentions to ladykalessia for making it most of the time - despite the ridiculous hour - and fellow tux action complete with drink-tax!). 

Second: The ladies of the Bitchy Roman Lounge-wear and Pretty Pink Princess parties - y'all were a blast to spend time with and I am totally bummed that I didn't get a chance to join you in draped silk goodness (and love3angle - you're my hero for having made me something to wear even though I couldn't attend in the end). It was an honor to join zoccolaro in the cabana league and I'll happily do it again if there is space at the bar for me next year! 

Third: To my co-learning circle provider (OK, mmcnealy really just taught the class while I took notes and drooled at her work), teachers and classmates - thank you, thank you, thank you! I learned a TON of stuff and took home both ideas and techniques that are going to serve me for a long time to come. You guys are all an inspiration! 

Fourth: The organizers - You are all full of awesome and wonderful. This event has become a mainstay for me and one of the only chances I get to see some of my dearest friends. I cannot repay this kindness, I can only tell you that I appreciate everything you do for us. 

And in conclusion - The No Sew Gala Plan? It worked. (Also, K: Thank you for taking care of the 'girly' hair and make-up bits, this would have never worked without you!)

In the Tiki-Tiki-Tiki-Tiki-Tiki Room


The Ladies (and Gentlemen)


Now I just need to figure out what to do with all the left-over swag that came in the pockets of this tux... *chuckle*

EDIT: An example of the extra swank that this tux came with on display via the Red Carpet


harmanhay reminded me of something that happened right around the time this photo was taken.

Apparently one of the gentlemen watching this display of bad-assery hollered something like,"You know that hat is very early period for the rest of your garments."

To which I replied, "Really, when you have two women that look like this on your arms who CARES what period the hat is..."

She claims there was a roar of laughter and general applause at this point; but honestly I don't remember and Ms. Dietrich isn't telling me. *chuckle*

SWEET BABY JEEBUS!

I leave for one weekend and suddenly my LJ feed is OVERRUN with Comic Con 2012 and CoCo 2012 event information...

*jaw drops at the number of messages to go through*

Um. Guys. If I missed anything important in the past 48 hours you'd tell me....right?

Right?

Now to go and dig out from under a mountain of fandom related posts to find *actual* costume information and details about - you know - real people I actually know.

This whole post brought to you by the letter "W": As in, "WTF have I done to my LJ! Where did all these fandom feeds come from!?!"

PS: On the other hand, lots of eyecandy shots from Comic Con... so... *shrug*

Signed up for four limited classes at CoCo.

Got into all four.

And I'm acting as a model in one of them (which means I get Free Pattern Goodness!).

SUCCESS!

*grin*

As you may remember, I had decided awhile back to tackle a project to recreate false braids ala the 16th C in Germany. These items, known as 'Zopfe' in Nürnberg, were frequent items in the dress indices of the period of study covered by Jutta Zander-Seidel's research in the "Textiler Hausrat".

I actually started with an attempt at a reconstruction back in 2010, only to put it aside in favor of other projects. I got as far as making and stuffing a number of mock-up 'tubes' for the basic braid forms, but no farther. Then, this past June I decided to resurrect the project as something to work on while I was at an event for my birthday. I grabbed the stuffed forms (muslin sausages with synthetic batting for fill - hey! - they were mock ups!) and some left over silk from flag making and got to work. 

The resulting items would NOT work in my hair (which is thin and was only just past my shoulders at the time). But they did OK in a friends much more copious locks:



*psst*  vanagnessayem That is my version of your hat I am wearing there...

So, the size was bad. Going back to the 'Textiler Hausrat' image of the gentleman holding what Mrs. Zander-Seidel believes to be Zopfe, it was clear that my scale was *way* off. So I started over. 

( Here Be Pictures... )

Honestly, I couldn't be happier with the results! I now have some amazing (and period!) Punk Rock hair accessories to have fun with for feasts. I look forward to finding reasons and opportunities to wear them in 2012! ;)

 First of all. Damn you all. All of you with your hot, HOT, super cool costumes. Here I was, all happily ensconced in 16th century Germany –  claughter713 , stop your smirking about your 19th century corruptive influence! – and then WHAM, BAM! Literally hundreds of costumes that made me make my patented Grabby Hands Of Want And Misery in every direction I looked.

You bitches have it out for me. You hate that I have any free time, don’t you?

Why do you do this to me?

( *whimper* )