Costumed Nonsense

12th Night Dress

2012-01-26T22:48:00.000-08:00

When Caid 12th Night approached I remember saying that I was not going to make a new court dress for the event. I already had a good amount of court gowns I built in the past and I only wore them a few times.

Of course I say one thing and completely do another.

Here's my dress I wore to Caid 12th Night.

Pardon the wrinkles. 12th Night was at the beginning of the month and I just now managed to pull the dress back out from the garb laundry pile to take photos. Its made out of a lovely brown linen I bought up in the LA Fashion district. There was a linen sale. An SCA gal can never have enough linen. The plus for using linen is this dress is now washable!

I used a different style of pattern than the one I drafted for my orange silk Italian Ren. I was trying to have a more 1520's Venetian silhouette so I changed the neckline and put the closure in the front.

This portrait was my main inspiration:

Palma Vecchio, 1520s: Woman In Blue

I was completely taken with this portrait and wanted to create the same feel as it. I ended up only having a week to put the dress together (I caught the plague the week before) so there are parts that need refining. Overall, I think I did a decent job.

Once again, Trim from a impulse by at war. I KNEW it would come in handy! Do to the shape of the neckline I had to put it all on by hand. That.. was an adventure Alas, you can catch some scorch marks on the trim there. My iron was WAY too hot *facepalm*. The ties are made of simple grosgrain ribbon. the gold balls on the end are leftover buttons from some other project long forgotten. I thought they finished up the bodice nicely.

Ah yes, my "Special" moment. The trim was a bit of a nightmare to put on and I ended up with bizarre gap at the back of the neckline. So I added this little loopy bow detail on the back I thought it was kinda a cute detail for the time I had. But I might change it out later on.

I really loved the red brocade I used for the sleeves. I lucked into a yard of it when a friend of mine was getting rid of his fabric stash. The diamonds are really pretty.

Unfortunately I don't have any photos of me in the dress except one:

And the jazz hands in it are epic.

H.R.M. Steampunk Symposium

2012-01-16T21:03:00.000-08:00

We had a great time vending the event and really enjoyed exploring the Queen Mary. What a great place for a steampunk event!

Of course the fun part for me was the dressing up. Colleen, also being a costumer, joined me with the costume fun. He has some great photos of us playing on the Queen Mary in costume that i will be stealing from her in the future. Here we are dressed in Steampunk Romani on our first day of vending.On Saturday I even donned the Regina "Reggie" Black costume which I put a few more details on. I'll be hunting some photos down soon.

I only took a couple goof ball photos of us playing on the sundeck of the Queen Mary. Mainly of us trying to sneak into this locked door.

Most of the weekend was spent vending so I didn't see much of the con, luckily some awesome looking folks headed over to the booth to peek in on our wares.

Not only did this gentleman light up, but his winds were mechanized and moved up and down. Beautiful work!

Aw, I want a spray can full of the powder of Ibn Ghazi too!

These two were my favorites of week. Native American Steampunk. How awesome is that? This couple were extremely sweet too. LOVED their plague maskes especially.

ARRRR, ITS DRIVING ME NUTS.

Now that I'm fresh from the con, I'm already plotting to delve more into the costuming world. I especially would like to start on my Victorian walking dress and I am considering putting together a "Great White Hunter" costume for my husband...and a steampunk cowboy costume for him as well...for my own personal reasons..I love the period cowboys.

Hopefully I'll hunt down more photos to put up soon!

H.M.S Winter Masquerade Ball.

2011-12-10T09:23:00.001-08:00

Yup, The hubby and I headed out to another Steampunk event. This one was the H.M.S Winter Masquerade Ball at Balboa park sponsored by Waltz 'n Such. It was a FANTASTIC event!

As you can tell, the two of us went once again to the Middle Eastern/Bedouin look since neither of us have had a chance to put together our Victorian garb. I pieced together the outfit from my SCA garb. The coin bra is from my LoJ costume a couple years back. I figured I worked so much on it, I should wear it again.

My overcoat is new, though. I cut out a period Middle Eastern coat years ago and finally had a chance to put it together a few weeks back. The fabric was another awesome swap meet find from way back in the day. I'll have to take some detailed shots of it eventually.

Max, donned his Morocco Mole outfit. I love it so.

Here we are with my friend Ace who went the Bedouin route as well. She decided to look more exotic. I absolutely love the hair falls she made. She also did a kick ass coat there. I wish I had a better picture of the sleeves because they were awesome.

...the random boot there is my husbands...He likes to shed boots around the house.

The reason I love the Morocco Mole costume so much is because my husband feels compelled to get into character whenever someone points a camera at him.

The event itself was a total BLAST! I really hope they do it again. by then I might even know how to waltz!

Here are some pics...done yet again with my dang camera phone.:

Steam Powered Giraffe opened up the event with a great set. They played throughout the night. I have really fallen in love with their music. And they put on a GREAT show. I'll hopefully get a chance to attend more of their concerts in the future.

Dancing, Dancing, Dancing! This was the opening dance, the Grand March which was really fun to watch.

Waltzing! This so made me want to learn how to waltz. Luckily Waltz 'n Such give lessons every Friday evening in Balboa Park. I'm hoping to start attending after the Holidays. Must learn!!

And we will end this post on a goofy note:

...yup.

Halloween Cuteness Overload

2011-11-05T22:51:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to post some photos of my adorable nephew in his finished costume.

Just LOOK at that cutey...LOOK! That's my oldest nephew, Danny all decked out in his devil duds. The top was a titch large for him but the undershirt my sister put on him solved that problem nicely. I am THRILLED to see one of my boys in something I made!

I also whipped up a vest for my Brother in Law, Ryan so he could match his boys.

Ryan likes to take the boys out Trick or Treating. He's a big Halloween nut and wanted to dress up like his sons. The little one is my youngest nephew, Tommie. I didn't make his devil costume but my GOD is it adorable!

And just to end this post on a double awwww...

Halloween Sugar OVERLOAD!!!

Witch-yPoo Madness on Halloween!

2011-10-29T15:38:00.000-07:00

Our annual large Halloween Bash O' Rama happened last night and I have to say it was pretty bash-tastic! I did manage to even get the witch costume all done!

Tah-Dah! All done! That's my husband in his epic bed-sheet ghost costume. $5 sheet from Walmart. Cheapest costume I ever built.
I found a crinoline to go under the skirt which added that extra poof I needed to get the right retro feel for it. Flashbacks in the Hillcrest area of San Diego is a GEM of a thrift/vintage store! My crinoline matched the outfit being bright purple in color. I was wearing the sweater at the time because I was feeling a bit chilly. But honestly, I really didn't need it to hide construction wonkiness, the bodice turned out really great!

The only full body shot of the dress I have at the moment. I wore my cute crochet style tights I bought at Target last year. They went really well with the dress! I considered wearing my striped tights but I figured that might be a little too much pattern going on with the dress being so crazy.

Here's a couple shots of the Hat since you can't see the details in the photos:

I wanted to dress up the hat more. The spider web pattern was cute but it needed a little more oomph. So I added the purple glitter tulle band around the back and accented it with that jeweled buckle and the roses in the back. At first the glitter shed all over me, but a little hairspray and it stayed in place. Thanks for the tip, Colleen!

My accessories for for the night. The Awesome earrings I ordered from Persephone Plus. I LOVE them so! The cameo I bought from a dealer at one of the cons I was vending at. I can't remember the name of the guy, alas. He cameos were gorgeous...and they glow in the friggin' dark. The big flower with the skull I made to pin onto my bow. My ribbon sash needed an extra touch. I had fun with the spider trim there.
I'm considering finding more of those skull beads and making a couple pins and clips in that style. I wanted to try and find some short boots with the big buckles on them but they weren't in the budget. Instead I wore some cute black wedge heels I wear to work. COMFORT!

Here are a couple of my friends looking awesome at the party:

Colleen as a cigarette girl.

Kelly as a witch and her son Dan Jr. as her black cat.

Katie went as her own self portrait.

DRAGONS!!

And Ghoooooosts!

I'm already stoked for our Bash O' Rama next year and trying to think up another theme that was as fun as this year.:)

Quick Post on the Dio de Los Muertos Dress!

2011-10-04T21:02:00.000-07:00

So far so good!
I can honestly say I fill out the dress far better than the dress form does. Regardless, here it is so far! I just have some hand sewing to finish and belt loops to add. I'm also thinking of taking the hem up about two inches or so to get it to a more flattering length on me.
It still is a titch wonky here and there, but I should be able to fix up the final bits.

My friend Ty was kind enough to loan me one of her fabulous witch hats to play with. I love the sparkly spiderwebs on it. I'm going to had a temporary hat band to it all just to dress it out a bit more.

And, just because I couldn't resist, I picked up these beauties on etsy to finish off the look.

So excited for Halloween!!!

Tales of Costumes Paaaaast! Titania from Gargoyles.

2011-10-04T15:28:00.000-07:00

I'd have to say this was the first intricate costume I ever made. And even though I look back at it and think of all the ways I could improve this costume, I'm still pretty dang proud of it. I mean, I was fresh out of undergrad and just changed my major to costuming. I was still learning how to sew. (My specialty was finding things to alter to look like OTHER things.) This was the first time I had the knowledge on how to build pieces from scratch.
Titania was from a Disney Cartoon named Gargoyles. It aired in the early 90's and I was very heavily involved in the fandom for years. Actually, I still have a good deal of friends I met through the fandom that I hang out with to this day. Without going into long nerdy diatribes of the background of the show and its creator Greg Wiseman, I'll just say that Greg loved Shakespeare. And Shakespeare's characters were worked into the show quite often, two of big players being Titania and Oberon from A Midsummer Night's Dream.

What Titania looks like in the Series.

2001. Attempt #1

Dig that sexy Body Paint Job!

Now I'll honestly say that Titania was not my favorite character from the show. She was quite the bad ass and interesting to boot but I hardly fell all over myself over her. But for the Gargoyles convention back in 2001 named "The Gathering of the Gargoyles" I chose her for my cosplay costume. Three reasons for this; 1- I wanted to challenge my new found skills I learned in College, 2- I didn't want to wear a wig and Titania had red hair like myself 3- I wanted to show off. That was a was the big one. I had new skills and suddenly a slammin' bod (in my mind) after working on it for a year. I'm a big freaking showoff and people were just going to have to deal.

Vanity, my motivator.

If only I was so motivated now... at least in the body part.

Yup, I'm green.

The costume was made up of both construction from scratch, followed by finding the appropriate items and altering it to do my bidding. Most of my effort went into the making the cape. Titania had rather pointy epaulets and a long draping cape. I used buckram to get the shape of the applets reinforced by wire so it would mold to my shoulder shape. The clasp was an old brooch I found. I gold leafed the metal and added the red stone. Getting the fabric to drape correctly off my back and to my wrists took a lot of trial and error. The skirt was built into the belt piece which made it very easy to get in and out of. The closure of the belt was built on my hip to keep my front line smooth. I hand beaded the belt with gold bugle beads and red beads and the center circle piece was made from an old necklace my mom was planning on throwing away. I gold leafed it and attached it to the belt to make the buckle the stone hanging from it is an old earring I found. My shirt was made from a red leotard. I cut it in half and sewed on the green velvet panel and the gold trim.

I painted myself green...probably the ugliest green color you could possibly imagine. I actually looked more grey that green in the photos. It was the only green I could find at the time really and the whole body paint thing was new to me.

Body paint...yeah...never again.

The time it took to just turn the visible parts green? Epic.The ring I left around the bathtub? EPIC. The amount of green I found in my hairline about 2 weeks later? EPIC!!!

2004 Attempt #2

3 years and about 10 pounds later...

Remember how I JUST said body paint, never again?

Yeah...

In 2004, The Gathering was in Montreal Canada. I was on staff again and we managed to get Disney to come in with a film crew to shoot parts to the convention as a special feature for the Season 2 DVD release of the show. We really wanted a good turn out for the masquerade so the staff stepped it up a notch and decided to all go in costume. I was asked to wear Titania again.

Okay granted, I'm hardly a grotesque hog but I will admit I did gain weight during my time in grad school. So squeezing back into this costume was a challenge all on its own. Luckily I still looked pretty decent in it for the most part. I didn't make many changes to the costume other than adding an actual "buckle" on the front of the belt to look more like the picture.

"Hey Fox...your husband is really a woman." Fox is played by my friend, Karine.

The biggest change was the body paint. My friend Jen gave me a tin of her green face paint that was FAR closer to the green I needed. And I managed to also find a pair of elf ear tips to finish off the look.A little shading here and there and I made a far more convincing fairy queen this time around.

Overall, I'm still proud of this one. It was my first time at the cosplay rodeo and I felt I came out of the gate really strong. If I ever did this costume again (which I probably wouldn't because my belly has gotten WAY too gushy) I would probably build the epaulets out of craft foam to make it look more like armor and actually make the gauntlets as well.

I learned a lot in the process too. I still have this costume too. I have constantly told myself that I should dismantle it to use the spare parts for new projects, but I just haven't had the heart to. Titania has a special place in my heart still.

But yeah...not to shabby.

Dio De Los Muretos Retro Dress and Kiddie Devil Costume

2011-09-29T21:09:00.000-07:00

Forgive the horrible Cell phone pictures.

Halloween is upon us! This year our Halloween party theme is Old School Halloween. Ghosts, Witches, and Goblins abound! Since my husband has chosen to be a bed sheet ghost (no kidding) I only have mine to really work on. I decided this year to go as a witch but go in a Bewitched route. I'm making a nice 1950's dress and go as a 1950's style witch.

This is the fabric for the witch dress. I completely fell in love with it!

Working on the bodice of the dress. So far the fit ain't half bad. At the point this picture was taken most of it was just pinned together

....oh wow that is a horrible picture. Please ignore the muffin top.

The second project I'm working on is my little nephew's Halloween costume. My sister has two boys, one that is a year old, the other is three years old. She likes to dress them up alike on Halloween while they're still young and not wanting to chose their own costumes. This year They're dressing like little devils (how appropriate!) I'm currently making a costume for my three year old nephew.

I wanted this costume to look a little older and cooler than the tiny devil sleeper that my younger nephew will be wearing. The fabric charmed the heck out of me.

Close up. Its a scrubs pattern for a kids' doctors costume I doctored up. He'll also have a little knit cap with horns and a detachable tail as well. I'll be working on that next week.

I'm just about ready to attach the skirt to my retro dress so hopefully next update will be the dress more complete...and with less muffin top.

Perambulatory Expedition to the San Diego Zoo.

2011-08-23T09:29:00.000-07:00

A.K.A, a bunch of us went to a Steam Powered Giraffe concert in costume at the zoo.

My friend, known as Alastar de Coursyre in my SCA circle, organized a small get together last night at the San Diego Zoo to watch Steam Powered Giraffe do a 40 minute set. They are fantastic performers so I highly recommend checking out their music on their website. Their recordings though pale in comparison to seeing them live!

Anyways, since this was a costumed event, I managed to don my Regina "Reggie" Black costume once again and head on out. Unfortunately since I was coming from work, we didn't have a lot of time to do any posed pictures with the great backdrop the zoo gave us. I also left off my gun belt since I didn't think wearing weaponry (no matter how fake) in a public venue was a good plan. But we managed to snap a few pictures with our small group of steampunkers. I'm really hoping Alastar organizes another get together soon!

Look! Pics! Non Blurry!

Big thanks to my friend Lou who took most of these photos.

Alastar de Coursyre the Temporal Navigator and Reggie Black the Chief Science Officer and Undead Expert on the Air Ship Nevermore. (aka, Time Travel Guy and Zombie Hunter)

Alastar found these beautiful Nevermore patches on etsy and ordered a few for friends. I attached it to my duster. Unfortunately you can't see the other shoulder but I added two new metals, one being my Mockingjay pin I got as a freebie from ComicCon.

Here's our whole group. we turned a LOT of heads that night. My friend Ace in front is a Bedouin Raider. I love her concept. We'll be working together on the details of her costume soon. Noelle is our cute lady in black next to Ace. I unfortunately can't remember the names of the two people on the left there but they were extremely nice and looked fantastic! On the far right our our elegant ladies, Katrina and Ellyn.

The whole group. My husband is the one squatting with the water bottle. I plan to make his steampunk gear soon. Our other friends, Trid and Christal (on the far left) also tagged along to watch the fun.

On our way out for the night. You can actually see my boots for a change! Left to Right, Ellyn, Ace, Noelle, Alastar, and me.

Steam Powered Giraffe was kind enough to take a photo with all us wackos in costume. Lou our photographer is kneeling, and Katrina is in the blue skirt. VERY nice guys and a terrific performance!

I'm looking forward to our next Steampunk gathering. I'm hoping that I'll have an actual Victorian dress to wear. I'm also hoping to get my full Regina costume out for fun posed detail shots sometime in the future. We shall see!

Aphrodite costume for Labyrinth of Jareth and other photos.

2011-07-05T22:14:00.000-07:00

Labyrinth Ball 2011!

And it was a total BLAST!

As usual. I really shouldn't act surprised that I had fun. I always do. I attended this year with a handful of gal pals all dressed as various Greek Goddesses. And my friend I call Capt'n was our steampunk "Mortal Escort" for the night. Alas, I lack photos of him at the moment. But I plan to hunt some down soon!

I made something extremely simple this year. I figured that since I was under the gun making stock to sell at Anime Expo (which fell on the same weekend) I just wanted to work on a costume that wouldn't stress me out, be comfy, and easy to get into.

I found myself some pretty and VERY shiny fabric to make a Chiton out of. I'm pretty sure it was old Christmas fabric. But overall it worked well and sparkled like crazy. I was going to make a more elaborate belt but I just didn't have the time. So instead I made a pretty gold sash out of some leftover fabric from a long forgotten project.

Lately, Labyrinth Ball has been a rush job. So hopefully next year I can put more time to it.

Anyways, here are some photos!

Here is me and my gorgeous friend, Tabitha in a stunning blue gown. I kind of look like a hobo standing next to her. The detail on her dress was stunning.

My Fellow Goddesses! Left to right: Gaia (Jennifer), Aphrodite (me), Artemis (Natasha), and Persephone (Lacy).

Brianna Garcia is an old friend of Jen and mine from our days in the Gargoyles fandom. It was awesome to run into her! Her female hatter costume was amazing!

And here are a few costumes I absolutely ADORED!

The Slender Man. Scariest urban legend EVER.

Light Up Fairy Wings!

I called him "Fancy Man". I loved his wig.

Beautiful green lady and amazing creatures!

Mad Eye Moody!!!

My two favorites of the night. The king of the sea and an amazing Victorian Voodoo lady.

My friend Shing and her boyfriend Jason as a bird cage lady and her male accessory.

I love dio de los muertos so I HAD to take a picture of her. The makeup? STUNNING.

I already sketched out my plotting for next year so hopefully my next post will be all about my Fae Catcher prairie lady and some prelim stuff for her. I am stoked to start it and really put tons of detail into it. And since I have no major projects lined up costume wise for a while, I plan to really

Tales of Costumes PAAAAST!: Fire Phoenix

2011-06-24T09:43:00.000-07:00

All this talk and prep for Labyrinth of Jareth had me thinking about older costumes I made for the event. LoJ is definitely one of my all time favorite parties to attend. Mainly because it gives me an opportunity to go a bit wild on some fantasty designs. Don't get me wrong, I love historical costumes! But sometimes I really need to go back to my roots and so something fantasy based.
Yes, I am a nerd.
I'm sure this was automatically established with the fact that I have a costume blog.

Anyways, I had a ton of different costumes I wore to LoJ; A Greek Nymph, the female version of Bacchus, a very thrown together steampunk fairy... But honestly, the fire phoenix is still my favorite.
This was back in the day when I was brave enough to expose my gushy belly to the world. Yes folks! Bask in the moon tan! Bask in it!
Okay, its not that bad but I am a pretty pale lass.

My two girlfriends Jennifer and Stephanie decided to team up for this even and go as a themed group. We started with the idea of the elements; fire, water, and earth. We had to leave air out since we lacked a fourth person. I chose fire mainly because my hair is red. Seemed like the natural choice! Jen chose water and Steph went with earth because of her vast collection of antlers...I kid you not.
The elements idea ended up evolving a bit more into mythical animals. I wanted wings. I knew that much. So I decided to turn my fire costume into a phoenix themed costume. The wings were fun to make. I just cut the base out of craft foam then covered the whole thing with red, yellow, and orange feathers. I wish I had a picture of the back of the wings because I had a large mass of ribbons, beads, and sequins all trailing down bellow them which I thought looked pretty spiff.
I went with a sudo Indian/belly dancer style for the look. The top came from a simplicity pattern I slightly modified. I managed to make the top self supporting. And trust me, for a big bosomed gal like me? That isn't easy to do. But I did it! The wings were fixed directly onto the shirt since they were so light. The skirt was built from overlapping panels that were cut to be shaped like flames. And the hair clips are a combo of painted craft foam, feathers, and ribbons.

Here's a picture of the three of us all together.

I really loved how all three of us turned out that night. I'd also like to point out that Steph did our face painting that night which turned out excellent.
Overall? A fun time!

Debbie Reynold's Movie Costume Collection Auction

2011-06-23T12:00:00.000-07:00

Once again, the TLo blog blows me away with another awesome costume article. This one on the vast collection of golden age movie costumes of Debbie Reynolds. The collection is BREATH TAKING! Apparently Ms. Reynolds' was wanting to open a museum of movie costumes for her collection but it never came to be....okay that is a bummer, because I would have been first in line to see that museum!
Alas, the auction is over so I wasn't able to spend my bazillion dollars on the My Fair Lady Ascot Grove dress. But the catalog is available to download for free as a PDF here which I believe is just as nice.

You can also check out T-Lo's blog entry here and see the catalog as well. If you're a movie costume nut as much as I am, its definitely a fun look!

Middle Eastern Coat and Aphrodite Headdress.

2011-06-21T22:48:00.000-07:00

I hit an SCA tourney last weekend all decked out in my middle eastern garb. And it was actually cold enough that I could wear my Persian coat I made for Estrella.

Here it is on a body! It really is a very comfy overcoat. Nice and warm and comfy. Though I am thinking of taking the wrists out a touch since it can be a chore getting it on and off. Thank you to my friend Ty for taking this photo.

I also am starting my Aphrodite costume for this year's Labyrinth of Jareth. Some other gal pals and I are all going as various Goddesses. I ended up drawing Aphrodite from the hat. And while I've never felt like the Aphrodite type, I have been having a great time figuring out how I want the costume to look. I am going for a Alphonse Mucha style costume. The dress is going to be very simple but the accessories will be very ornate.

So far, I got the head dress done.

The Jeweled band there is recycled from a previous costume when I went as a female version of Bacchus. I wanted the crown to look very Mucha-esque. I don't believe I will go much further than what I got. I think I'm currently walking the fine line between elaborate and tacky.

I'll be starting the dress hopefully this weekend. Labyrinth is on a couple weeks so I have a limited time. But since the dress is so simple, I think I can pull it off pretty quick.

More progress shots to come!

Hair Falls, Hair Clips, and RegencyGowns, Oh MY!

2011-06-14T09:37:00.000-07:00

Anime Expo is fast approaching! And my friends and I tend to get a few tables together in the Artist Alley there. We go under the name ZOMGWTF?! Studios....long story behind that name. Its comprised of my other artist pals, Shing Khor, Trishana Prater, and Kythera of Anevern. And trust me when I say our styles and what we sell are VASTLY different between the four of us.

We like to keep people on their toes.

Anyways, every time the four of us get together for an event like this, I use it as an excuse to try my hand at doing something new. Last year I did a bunch of accessories for my Dollfie (...I really should take some photos of those). This year I decided to turn my attention to my interest in belly dancing and make some dancer style hair falls/hair clips. Well, okay that was my original idea. It ended up evolving slightly. As my brain is want to do for most projects I work on.

Take a peek!

These are the hair falls/clips I originally started making. A couple of these may turn into matching sets if I get my motivation springing again tonight.

And then I ended up finding these butterflies and kinda fell in love with them. So I made a couple sets of those as well in a similar style.

Did I mention I bought a LOT of butterflies? I ended up veering WAY off course from the hair fall style and ended up making these. I really like how these turned out. I'm considering making a few more simply because they are just fun to make...Need more butterflies though. Maybe some dragon flies if I can find some good ones.

And my one odd guy out here. I was going more for a Retro vintage style clip here. Might make a couple more of these just so I have some options.

And here is the result of the work I did while watching copious amounts of MST3K in my studio. These were a BLAST to make. It put me in a sort of zen state to slam out so many. I'm hoping I can sell a few. They will be available to buy in the Artist Alley during Anime Expo. We are in Row D...Not sure exactly what table number yet but I will let you know! Those that won't sell will be up on my Esty site right afterwards.

And since this is a costuming blog...

Regency progress! Keep in mind this is all just pinned together at the moment. Pins and sheer will are keeping that skirt on my dress form. I'm still tweaking this. As you can see I redid the stomacher. Since I don't have period stays (YET!) to wear under the dress I needed to rethink the stomacher to

hide a bra. Alas, the stomacher looks great on the form but fits me really weird. So I'm going to have to bring a friend in to take a look at it to see where I'm going wrong. But at least I'm making progress!

Steampunk Photos!....Sorta

2011-05-10T15:30:00.000-07:00

I went all the way to a Steampunk con and forgot to grab my camera.
Rather typical of me really.
So the only two photos I happen to have of the finished Regina Black costume. DRAT IT ALL!
The good news though is Colleen from WyngdLyon Creations and I are planning a photo shoot after May to get some decent shots of our work. I have a costume and she has a ton of beautiful stock to photograph to keep us busy.
Anyways...Here's the photos in all their blurry glory!

Yeah, blurry but not horrific!

It all turned out really well and I got a great response from people while wearing it. I'm hoping by the next go around that I'll finally do the glove I've been wanting to make. As you can see, I decided to put the gun back into the picture. I only got one side of it fully painted though so I ended up strapping the thing to my leg so you couldn't see the unfinished side. One thing I'm good at? Hiding the crap. This lead to me building a gun holster in an hour.

Detail shot!

The gun is a Nerf gun. Just the typical one you see modified by most Steampunk costumers. Eh, I like the shape even if I was being unoriginal. So the gun holster came out far better than I imagined it would. Its definitely very close to my original design since I wanted the gun to show. The holster part is actually cardboard with a bit of nylon trim around the top. I spray painted it copper then added the studs to it. It actually is Velcro-ed in the back so I can remove the gun when I wished. I really didn't want to since it wasn't finished but its always nice to have an option! The cardboard is a bit flimsy so when I rebuild it, I'll probably use craft foam. For a day's use, it wasn't too bad. The chains are plastic and held it to my belt. I tied the rest of it around my thigh with a piece of braided hemp cord I made. Overall it was a lot more sturdy than advertised.

I cannot wait to get better shots of this costume!

On a less blurry photo note. I also got some fantastic photos of me in my dancing garb for the belly dancing performance I participated in at the con on Saturday! I couldn't have asked for a better photo!

We dubbed my hairstyle, sexual chicken... I had some vodka in me by then.

Unfortunately I don't know the photographer. So whoever you are Mr Photographer, thank you for the wonderful picture! If you see this, send me a link to your gallery and I'll post it! I do know that my friend Lilli took this fantastic picture of me and my hubby, Max who was dressed a la Morocco Mole. Thanks for the photo!

By the way, his vest was made by Colleen at WyngdLyon Creations. The link is posted in my links section. You should buy some of her amazing stuff...just sayin'.

Thanks for looking!

Steampunk Progress for Gaslight Gathering

2011-05-04T15:09:00.000-07:00

I really need to stop taking photos with my camera phone. But I do it all the time. Mostly because I can't remember where I put my regular camera. Its somewhere in the house. I know THAT much.

The Gaslight Gathering is fast approaching! Its this Friday to be exact. I managed to get my long in overhaul steampunk costume (Regina "Reggie" Black) more or less to a finishing point. So if I venture on over on Friday, I'll have something to wear.

Goggles!

I considered buying welding goggles and rebuilding them all together. But honestly, I have been really happy with how my original goggles looked design wise. They pretty much look exactly like my drawing. So I went back and fixed up all the broken bits then added on a few new pieces. The clock gears I think gives it more of a mechanised look than before. I still have to go in and clean up some bits but overall, they are done.

Coat and Vest!

I amped up the distressing on the coat a LOT. I'm still half tempted to go in with some red paint and do a couple quick splatters on it, just to add some more grittiness. I decided to keep the blue shirt from the original since I look better in color. I added the watch chain and finally got the vial belt finished. Though I am considering going in and distressing the belt a bit more. I'm hoping to add a couple more hangy-offy thingys (Technical term. Honest) on the belt and coat just to give it more character. I do have a gun prop as well but I'm on the fence on if I want to use it since I'll need to build a holster for it.
I'll probably be wearing my old black slacks and my black goth-y looking boots to go with it. As much as I love my beautiful brown suede boots that are VERY steampunk, they hurt my knees if I'm in them for too long. Since I'll probably be on my feet all day, its probably best I go for comfort.
So its all the devil in the details from this point. I'll probably be playing around a bit more before I finally wear this sucker. Alas, I never got to my Victorian gown for this event but I DID manage to get some great patterns. It shall be in the works!

Hopefully I can get some photos of me in full costume soon!

Tales of Costumes PAAAAST!: Suki from Avatar the Last Air Bender.

2011-04-12T13:46:00.000-07:00

So I used to cosplay. Yes, to those mundane friends of mine who found this blog via Facebook, I was one of THOSE people. I was one of the ridiculous folk who dressed up as imaginary characters at conventions. Trust me, this IS as weird as it sounds when you've never been exposed to that universe. Hell, I wasn't really fully exposed to that universe until I turned 25. So imagine my surprise at the notion that it even existed!
In my defence, I have to say that cosplay was really a fantastic way for me to learn how to sew. And that's pretty much what it was; fodder for me to get my feet with with ye olde sewing machine. I had some epic failures in cosplay *cough* which I rather not put on view here at the moment. But get me drunk one night and I may post the "What was a thinking!? Seriously!?" entry just to remind myself that, well, I HAVE improved over time.
But that is for another day.
...and another bottle of tequila.
And luckily for me, every misstep also led to a learning experience and a project that turned out even better than my expectations could lead. Over the years my interest has waned from cosplay and into more historical recreation.(You can thank the SCA for that one). I tend to take more delight these days in creating my own designs. But that doesn't mean that I don't admire a good chunk of cosplayers out there that have technical skill out the Yin Yang! Trust me, there are tons...I'm looking at YOU, Besty.
I only dabbled a bit.

Suki from Avatar: The Last Air Bender cartoon is definitely one of my better cosplay adventures. This was done back in 2007-ish at Anime Expo. Trishana, my partner in crime in the above photo, was the one who came up with the idea of doing this cosplay. She was a huge fan of Avatar. I was just starting to get into the show. Honestly, even though I loved the show, The main reason I did this costume was because I REALLY wanted to build the armor.

Ah, my old apartment...
Anyways, the armor and wrist guards are made of craft foam. No fooling. There's an amazing tutorial online RIGHT here that gives you step by step instructions on how to do this. I pretty much followed it to the letter. the breast plate slats are sewn/glued onto a muslin base I built. Pretty much the same with the wrist guards. The medallion is sculpty.

Believe it or now, we dyed the fabrics all on our own. Definitely came out better than previous adventures into dye. In retrospect, I wish I documented my progress on this costume since I learned so many new techniques. Unfortunately I was so swept up with working on it, I didn't bother to take my camera out for this. Regardless, it was an adventure making the Suki costume.
One that didn't end in tears and bottles of tequila, either.
Baby Steps.

Persian Coat from Reconstructing History Pattern

2011-04-11T10:13:00.000-07:00

And now, a break from something truly amazing to look at my crap again. ;)

Here's the finished Persian coat I made from a Reconstructing History pattern. Overall its a nice pattern. My only warning would be to size UP when you're selecting your pattern size. The pattern that was made for my measurements turned out to be too small so I had to jump to the next size which fit much better. Other than that, this pattern is relatively simple. I have yet to make the other garments from the pattern though. Its on the ever growing list of projects
Note the gorilla sleeves. The wrists are tapered tightly so I can smoosh the sleeves up onto my arms, which I was told is a period fit for a coat like this. judging by the research I've seen, I'd say that's pretty accurate.

The fabric came from Home Fabrics which was closing its doors and had a HUGE sale. I believe this cotton was originally around $7 a yard. I got it for $2 a yard. TOTAL STEAL! But even though its cotton, its extremely heavy. I've pretty much regulated this to a outdoor coat. It came in handy during the very chilly Estrella War this year. The buttons I picked up at Estrella. The button hole technique was taught to me by Baroness Briana Je Nell which is a FAR more elegant manner to do button loops than the way I've been doing them. I really should document a step by step for it soon...because its a great technique.

I'd have to say my favorite part of the coat are the gores on the side. It give the whole garment fantastic movement, especially for belly dancing in cold weather.
I think next time I try this pattern out again I'll try it in a silk. I also am hoping to try my hand at the full outfit. Overall though its a useful coat, especially for someone who gets cold at the drop of a hat.

Also, my Regina Black costume overall is more or less done finally. Pictures to come soon!

Pulp Fashion: The Art of Isabelle de Borchgrave

2011-04-09T10:21:00.000-07:00

I'm taking a quick break from posting about my antics to point out this amazing exhibition happening the the Legion of Honor Fine Art Museum in San Francisco.
Isabelle de Borchgrave has worked with several costume historians to recreate period garments....out of paper.
You can find information on the exhibition here.
You can also find detailed pictures of the exhibition at the T-Lo Blog.

I can honestly say that the photos are truly breath taking. I REALLY hope I can make a quick trek up to my home turf to see this.

This exhibition will be running until June 5th 2011 at the Legion of Honor Fine Art Museum in San Fransisco.

If anyone gets the opportunity to see this, please let me know what you thought!

The Beginings of Regency Morning Gown

2011-04-01T15:08:00.000-07:00

It starts.
Yes, I have started YET another new historical garment. But this one is actually un SCA related. Who knew? I picked up a pattern from Reconstructing History. Its not bad but keep in mind it seems to need a lot of tweaking to get it to fit properly. The sizing is a bit wonky in places, mainly the sleeves and arm syes. I had to tweak the pattern to make it lay right. Luckily I bought plenty of fabric to use for a mock up and a finished piece.

Here is the mock up version I did. Behold! Sleeve-zilla! Yeah,I wasn't too fond of the sleeves there. I was going to do the long sleeve version at first but it just wasn't doing it for me. And the short sleeve/over sleeve was huge. More of a three quarter sleeve. Not overly thrilled with how sad it looked.

And here is the current version after I narrowed the arm sye and widened the shoulder strap. Overall, a MUCH better fit. The sleeves were cut down considerably. They hit just above the elbows now with a bit of a poof. MUCH happier sleeves.

The dress is a bib font style so a stomacher will be going over the front of the bodice. I was screwing around a bit with lace trim to see what I can do with it. I'm a ample bosumed gal, to put it lightly, so the stomacher is a titch too small. Nothing that can't be tweaked.

Roughly, its going to fit like this when its done. The skirt will be next. I'm also considering making a chemise to go under it, but I'm not completely sold yet.

A close up of the fabric I'm using. Just a regular cotton print from JoAnn Fabrics. I usually tend to avoid white when possible since it washes me out, but the print was adorable and the white was so warm that I went for it. I want to try to make this dress pretty feminine.

Hopefully my next post will have the skirt attached!

Finished Gift Persian

2011-02-23T22:04:00.000-08:00

As usual... I got busy. Erf.
But I did snap a couple of pictures of the Persian Coat I made as a gift for my friend, Ty.

Tah Dah!

Click to Enlarge

Unfortunately, my real camera's battery was dead, so I had to use my Camera phone. This was made from the Folk Wear pattern for Persian coats. I just received the Persian pattern from Reconstructing History though and build a quicky out of it. Much easier, more historically accurate, and flattering pattern for sure (not that my friend Ty doesn't look great. That woman can wear a burlap sack and still be gorgeous *jealous*). I'll post pictures of my Persian experiment soon.
And the hubby requested a new Coat for Court. Going to try my hand yet again at some Men's garb.

Also, I picked up a pattern for a Regency Morning Gown which I an very stoked to start work on.
So much to sew! So little time!

Iiiits Persian Time!

2011-01-11T22:04:00.000-08:00

Gift Persian Coat is GO!

Another project I did over the Holidays. Here is a Persian coat I did as a Christmas gift for my friend Ty. It's finished, but I still need to take photos of her in it. I'm hoping to get a couple pics of her in it soon.

I didn't use a super authentic pattern for this. I used one from Folkwear. But it works! Ty's main garb consists of mostly of Persian and Middle Eastern style garb. Its perfect for fighting and equestrian. The fabric is leftover linen from my Viking apron I made last year. I wanted to make the coat machine washable so Ty could wear it not to just tourneys and court but for all her equestrian events as well. Gotta look good on that horse!

The trim I had for years. I picked this up in LA after I designed a production of Aladdin. This was the trim I used on Jafar's robe. I loved it so much I bought some for myself. It sat forever in my stash until this Christmas. The red and the purple work great together! That trim was a bitch to put on lemme tell ya.

I wanted to at least give the coat a bit of a period feel so I tried to find a contrasting color to line the coat. Persian coats usually were lined in fabric that was a contrasting color to the main fabric (Orange to Blue, Red to Green, etc etc..) But I'm pretty sure Ty isn't a huge yellow fan. So I opted for green. I figured there was so much red in the purple and yellow in that green that it would work. I think it looks pretty spiff. Its also Ty's wedding colors so a little added bonus there. That green cotton had been sitting in my stash since 2002. It was great to finally find something to use it for.
So there we go. Hopefully I can snap some photos of Ty in her new duds soon to post!

Happy New Year-Blue Ren Details AND Future Projects Ahoy!

2011-01-08T21:59:00.000-08:00

Just in time for 12th Night...again!

Okay, Maybe not JUST in time actually. I finished this back in December but didn't have a chance to post photos since I've been crazy busy with the holidays. The Blue Ren was both me screwing around to make some more court garb as well as put a lil somethin' somethin' up for Calafian Winter Arts. I ended up getting some fine trinkets for the dress. Honestly, that's the main reason I enter Winter Arts...for the free baubles.
I'm part raccoon.

Anyways. Here's some details on the sucker
.

So I went back on weight watchers recently and I ended up losing about...oh...5 pounds and a couple inches since I made this. needless to say It was a touch large for me compared to the rather perfect fit I originally had with it...not that I'm knocking the weight loss but damnit, I had that bust PERFECT before the diet.

Bodice detail...more or less. You still can't really see the beading I did on the trim. Feh.

You can see the beading a LITTLE better here. I was trying to go for subtle but honestly, next time I bead I think I'm going to make it a bit more bold so it reads better.

Side button closure again...Its flattering and I'm a one trick pony.

Detail of my orange sash with the tassels. Yup..Orange. I love me the orange.

The main reason I left the sleeves off this go around. I wanted to show off my first round with black work embroidery. I'm pretty happy with my first go around. So far, that leaf stitch is the only stitch I know. I'll need to hunt down some black work books soon to learn more. I'm hoping someday to to another chemise detailed with black work.

So that's it for the Blue Ren. Going to be taking a break from the Rens for a while *GASP*. I figured I made enough to get what I wanted to learn out of this pattern. Lined up a have a few fun things coming. SCA wise I need to make myself a couple of short (and quick) Persian coats to wear to Estrella war. It tends to be a muddy war and the calf length coats are perfect to wear in that weather. Hopefully i can slam out a couple soon.
I also plan to work on two big UBER projects which I want to document heavily. First off is the German Cranach gown. aka...one of these.

I bought a fantastic pattern of one from Reconstructing History and I've really been drying to try my hand at it. There are a LOT of techniques I'm going to have to learn to make it, but I'm willing and hopefully will have the resources to learn from.

My other project is a full Victorian bustle dress. A steampunk con is coming up in my neck of the woods around May and I wanted not only my zombie hunter costume but also a Victorian lady costume as well This picture is heavily influencing my design... especially the middle dress. I want to make the under garments and the dress. Its an ambitious project but one I've been wanting to do for years now. Honestly It has me a bit intimidated.

Wish Me Luck!

Another Adventure In Italian Ren Land!

2010-11-30T21:50:00.000-08:00

Yup...I'm at it again.
The original bodice pattern I made when I first started the blog ended up getting lost in the move. So I had to start from scratch. I made a few mock-ups then FINALLY managed to get something that fit relatively well. Took forever though. It also took me forever to realize I could have just ripped a pattern off my orange Italian to get it back *forheadsmack*.
Live and learn.

Anyways, Here's the beginnings of the new Italian. Still the same idea as the orange Italian, just tweaking a few things here at there. Pardon the crappy cellphone pictures.

I'll be raising the waistline to be more under the bust than my previous dress. The neckline is now lower cut which will show off a chemise more. I also cut the bodice a bit larger so I can wear a chemise comfortably under it all. The second shot is a close up of the trim. I'm slowly hand beading it. Not sure if I want to add anymore to it. I like the print on the trim and I don't want the beading to over power it. Still keeping the side closures. Its more comfortable than a lace up back for me.

I'll be adding on the skirt sometime this week. I'm hoping to do a sort of mock split skirt with a panel of the cream down the front, just to give it something extra. I'm still debating sleeves. I'm considering doing split sleeves maybe with the top and bottom open to expose the chemise. Still debating it.
I'll try to post some quick pics of my new Chemise soon. I did my first venture into black work on it and I'm pretty proud of it for my first time out.

Halloween Costume 2010 - March Hare

2010-11-01T21:47:00.000-07:00

Hey hey All!
Figured I'd so a quick update and post my Halloween costume up on the blog. A nice break from the SCA garb.
We had a Alice In Wonderland/Victorian themed party this weekend which was a BLAST and the folks all showed up looking fabulous.

I went as the March Hare.

Its a costume made of out of my stash. Well sorta. The vest fabric (the most obnoxious plaid I could find!) was on the reminent table at Yardage Town. IT was only two bucks for a yard and a half so I couldn't resist. The rest is all stuff I happened to have laying around. I bought the socks at Target. I love them so. The tie is my husband's. The only thing I wish had time to do was the tea cup belt. I was going to make a chain felt and hang some small tea cups from it. alas, I ran out of time...like I ALWAYS do. I also ran out of time to paint the ears brown so I wouldn't blend in with the other white rabbits.
This was my last real pressing project. Not sure what is coming next. I have some fun period patterns to play with so hopefully I'll be dabbling there soon.
.
And for the heck of it, here are all the bunnies from the party.

And with the Hatter.

I hope everyone had a great Halloween!

Completed Viking Garb at Lief Erikson.

2010-10-02T21:43:00.000-07:00

Here it is, all finished!

I'm going to have to go back and re-fit the apron dress a bit, it was a wee bit large in the bust. But then I was being really generous with my seam allowance.
Easy fix overall.
General thoughts are it was warm and comfy and perfect garb for cold weather events (like Estrella War). Its not necessarily my style since I prefer Persian and Italian Ren. on my body type but still, I'm glad I made it and I'll probably wear it again to a winter event.:)

2010-10-01T21:41:00.000-07:00

Well, tomorrow is the Lief Erickson tourney so I figured now would be as good as anytime to try my hand (again) at some viking garb. I ended up winning a spiffy "Viking in a Basket" prize at a raffle a few tourneys ago so it was time to put it to good use.

Heehee...Shiny.

As you can see, the basket came with everything needed, including the festoons. I already have the brooches from my previous go ahead.

Here are some in progress pics I took. I'll actually be wearing it tomorrow so here's hoping I can get a few photos of the garment on me.
The basket came with various instructions of how to put your apron together. I chose the method you can find here.
Not the exact directions that I used but pretty darn close. This was a VERY simple method so I highly recommend it...because i"m lazy.

Here's the Apron dress with partial decorative stitching done. I stuck a comparison shot of my first apron I did mostly so you can see the difference in shape. The new apron is more of a tube shape. It fits pretty snug and with a belt it gives you more of your waist.

The New apron is the purple one. The Old Apron is the blue one. You can see a vast difference in the shape here on the dress form..umm..ignore how really wrinkled the purple is. Its been pressed out..honestly.

Upclose shot of the decorative stitching. I was more or less making it up as I went along.

The Under Tunic/Dress really isn't that exciting so I just took a photo of the neckline. I was pretty happy with you neat I got the trim to look.
Tomorrow I'll be wearing this sucker completed (Weather permitting. If its hot, forget it!) Overall, Viking garb aren't really my style, but I have to admit, they're a lot of fun to make.

I'm Back! LoJ 2010 Bellydancing costume and Steampunk Progress

2010-09-09T21:39:00.000-07:00

Yeah...I have been completely neglecting my costume journal. Things have been a titch busy. But now I'm back and have enough projects lined up that should keep me busy for a while! So hopefully this means that my updates here will be FAR more frequent!

But for now, here are some pictures of my Labyrinth of Jareth costume I made this summer along with a progress shot of my steampunk costume.:)

I'm the green one. Click to enlarge

Originally I wanted to make a basic steampunk lady costume for LoJ since Friday night is the Goblin Clockwork Ball. Unfortunately time wasn't my friend (as usual) so I had to scrap the project. Luckily I didn't even start it so it worked out. Instead I decided to make some bellydancing garb and just accent it with some slight fantasy style details like the leaves and the sparky butterflies (Which unfortunately I never got good shots of) to just step it up a notch.

The Gwazee vest was made out of sari fabric my friend Michelle brought back for me from Srilanka. I have been hanging onto the fabric for years, not sure what to do with it. Not to mention I have a lot of yardage to it. I was deciding between a red and orange costume and a green costume. Green won out after I remembered I had this fabric. Click to enlarge, the details on the print are amazing!

Detail shots. On the left is a shot of the chemise sleeve. The sleeve drape is left over chiffon I had from some project that ended up getting scrapped. the chemise is left over garb material. You can't really see it in this shot, but I sewed in various ribbons and trim to give the sleeves more movement, finished it off with some leaves. The Coins on the bra are a bit chintzy looking but unfortunately I was working on a budget and time constraints so that's all I had available. Luckily the bright gold tied in with the gold/yellow in the vest fabric. The medallion was a raffle prize from my first SCA war. If you take a look at the buttons, they have a sun goddess face on them. Love them! I also made the hair clips which included the green sparkling butterflies on them. The fringe belt I'm wearing in the top picture was purchased. Unfortunately I ran out of both time and steam to really finish off the costume. I wore my basic black garb pants under it all. I wasn't too find of the silhouette with the pants and would have rather made either really voluminous green pants or a circle skirt to go under it all. Well, if I end up digging this one back out of the closet, I can always go the route. Overall, not a bad job for slamming it together in about 24 hours.

And here's a quick progress shot of my Regina Black costume as I continue the major overhaul.

Click to enlarge. As you can see, everything is pinned on right now while I decide on placement and such. I've removed to cog buttons. They were just too dang cheesy for me and replaced them with more period looking ones. Put them on both sides of the coat for a more double breasted look. I returned to the vest simply because I really love that vest fabric I found. But I removed the hastily made clasp covers and instead put more buttons there to act as mock clasps. Also added faux pockets to the vest and will be attaching that watch chain later on. The medal was a random find. Not sure yet if I want it there or somewhere else. I wanted to create this sudo military look to give a sense that Regina was once a part of British armed forces. Just need to make the Medal look more like a medal. After all the details are attached I'll be distressing the coat even more with paint, sandpaper and possibly a lighter. I'll be doing some distressing on the vest as well. I want her to look pretty darn gritty. she IS a zombie hunter/scientist after all.

So that's all she wrote for now! Next project will probably be my full viking garb I plan to make for the Leif Erikson tourney coming up in October. And hopefully I'll also have started a Halloween costume as well. This years theme for our Halloween Party is Alice in Wonderland. debating a March Hare costume. This should be fuuuuun!

Finished Viking!

2009-12-19T21:35:00.000-08:00

Here's a pic of the finished Viking apron and the "smurf hat" I made for Calafian winter Arts!

Click to enlarge Not too bad for my first time at the viking rodeo I like to think.:) It was extremely comfortable and really warm. GOOD Estrella garb! I believe I will have to give this another whirl soon. And just cause I'm a show off, here's my sparse table from winter arts featuring my orange Italian Ren and my hubby's cassock coat.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Holiday!

Been too Long...so I made more garb.

2009-11-28T21:32:00.000-08:00

Wow, Its been FAR too long since I updated. My excuse is the hubby and I have been busy moving into a house for the last..oh...3 months it seems. We bought a nice fixer upper so a good chunk of my sewing time was taken up with painting and installing floors. But now things have finally settled and I managed to get myself back on the sewing train! The best part is now I have a studio space to work in instead of sewing in the bedroom!

So I've been wanting to work on a viking apron for a long time now. I was a bit reluctant at first mostly because I'm a big busted gal and I was afraid the whole thing would make me look pregnant. Then I realized that most women I know who wear this style ARE big busted gals and I was being stupid.
My LJ friend sabre0link sent me some excellent links on viking garb for both men and women (if you're interested in seeing them, let me know! I'll post them up here!). They were a HUGE help and I found any different ways to put an apron together.

Click to Enlarge these pics.

In the end, I went with the very simple two rectangles and two gores on the side look. Above is the finished product. I originally had the gores too high, where my bust line ended, and the apron looked really sloppy, not to mention it looked more like a MuMu than anything else. So I hacked it apart and lowered the gores. I think the result is much nicer. The wool came from a thrift store buy years and years ago. The brooches I bought...what can I say, I love the shiny. The festoons I made myself from some lamp beads and other finds I had in my stash. I think I'll have to strengthen my knots on the festoons though. I don't really trust my knot tying skills...hence why I married an ex sailor.
Overall, I'm really happy with it. I will be wearing my orange kirtle I bought a few wars back under the apron. Its not not pictured since I was being ADD and working on two garments at once on my dress form.

And yes, I am working on yet ANOTHER italian Ren!

Click to Enlarge.

Once again, I'm feeling the need to experiment. I ended up losing my pattern from my first Italian Ren during the move. So I've had to start from scratch. So far its not too bad. I've been wanting to make an Italian Ren out of washable material. Both the lining and the outter fabric is cotton. The pearls are only on there because I was futzing around. I'm not completely sold on them yet. I still need to buy buttons or something to use for the side closures. Then the skirt will go on. For this one I'm hoping to make some detachable sleeves that actually WORK. I'm considering a contrasting color but I'm not sure if I want to go blue. I've been going a little crazy in the orange and blue department.

ALSO, I went fabric shopping with some gal pals un in the LA fashion district recently and picked up some shinies!

Fabric Goodness!
Okay, that first red fabric was from a few trips back. That will be turning into a doublet for the hubby. The teal silk is for me. I want to make another Italian Ren out of it but something a bit more ornate than I usually do. Currently reseaching that. The black was bought for a good friend who has been working hard helping us get the house in order. So he'll be getting a doublet as well.

And now that I'm more or less unpacked I finally found my period hat making book. So hopefully I can make a few coifs and perhaps a french hood. I've been really eager to try my hand at a french hood.

I'm really happy to get back to sewing again, I missed it! Hopefully I'll have some more pictures of new experiments as they come.

SCA Tunics

2009-07-16T21:30:00.000-07:00

Better Late than never, right?:)
Sorry I've been AWOL. My Husband and I are currently working on getting into our new home so things have been busy and my sewing has been on the non existent side since May. Hopefully this weekend I"ll post some detailed shots of a pair of steampunk wings I recently put together for Labyrinth Ball.
I made a punch of basic T-Tunics for some of our fellas (and one lady) in the household and I made a coat for my Hubby. Its not too much flash but they turned out pretty good. So I felt like sharing.:)

click the rest of these pics to enlarge.

All of the fabric is cotton and the colors were picked out by the gentlemen (and lady). The Red and blue tunic the gentleman in the third pic is wearing I did not make. But i did make the basic coat in the fourth picture. I was pretty happy with the turn out. I do plan to line that coat for him though since the fabric wasn't as warm as we suspected it would be.

And this is the coat I made for the hubby.

The photos unfortunately do not do the fabric justice. Its a beautiful silver and blue brocade. I used the same pattern as the fencing coat only removed the mods. So its the correct length and does not have the overflap for protection. I believe its an English style coat but I honestly can't remember. It definitely has signs of an early style cassock. We just call the style the fighting cassock since it works so well as fencing garb.
Unfortunately I ran out of time to put button holes in it so I had to quickly sew on the loops. These will be removed soon and I'll be putting in button holes instead. I will also be adding the collar back. Unfortunately time was a factor and I wanted him to have a coat for war.

The next item on my garb list will be another shot an Italian Ren for me. I'd like to make one that's more for war wear instead of court wear. Our household does a LOT of service and we get dirty frequently. ;)

Steampunk Coat

2009-04-22T21:28:00.000-07:00

Started working on the coat!

So I had some time to rework my steampunk coat. I really have no deadline for this project so I've been taking my time. So far I like the little changes/embellishments I've made.
Here's a shot of the coat front.

I cinched in the side seams to make it more fitted. I also distressed the heck out of the fabric so it doesn't read so blocky. The studs I added makes it look less like a coat I sewed some crud on and more like an actual coat.
I debated on losing the cog buttons but I thought they were cute. Yeah there a little cheesy but I kinda like them.

This is my favorite detail so far. I wanted to add a bit of military-esque feel to the coat. Making the lapels asymetrical helped create a insignia on the coat...well that how I feel *L*

The back detail came out of nowhere. I wanted to make the collar stand up but I didn't want to take apart the collar and reconstruct it. So I used some nylon boning and backed the collar with that. I then painted the boning with various metalic acrylics to make them pop. The detail shot is at the top. I'm really happy with this choice.

That's about as far as I got. I'll be switching gears yet again and going back to garb since May Portero War is coming up and some friends as well as the hubby asked for some garb.
Expect more photos soon!:)

Max's Fighting Coat

2009-04-18T21:26:00.000-07:00

I just realized I never posted photos of my hubby in his finished coat!

Handsome devil, Ain't he? I also made him a matching hood as well.

I'll be using the un-tweaked pattern I used to his fighting coat to make him a nice piece for court garb this coming May War. Gotta keep the fella cleaned up, I tells ya!

Steampunk Sketch

2009-02-21T21:21:00.000-08:00

o as I've said, my next project will be my steampunk costume (and probably worked on the same time as garb since I'm kinda of a garb adict).
Anyways, I don't plan on making anything brand new but completely tweaking and revamping my costume from the 2007 Deadlands Halloween party. My character was Dr. Regina "Reggie" Black, mad scientist. It's a costume that has a lot of potential but I never got around to refining it.
Here's the rendering of the 2.0 version as well as a photo of the original costume.

For some more photos of the original costume and my plans, check under the cut.

The guns on the rendering are the ones I plan to pick up on ebay and modify into steampunk guns. I really have some interresting ideas for them that I can hopefully put on paper.

The changes are pretty small. I want to refine the coat, make it more fitted around the waist. I also want to do some destressing on it to give it texture and personality. The fabric is corderoy so it should texture nicely.I'll also be adding the gold braid to the buttons and pockets to make them pop.

I weill need to take in the vest since I've lost weight. I also am cosidering changing the clasps. I sculped them out of sculpty but I think I want something bigger and more metalic. I'm debating on the shirt. While I love the color, I think I might want something more feminine under the vest. The shirt is up for debate.

Unfortunately, those goggles have pretty much bit the dust. I love them but I made them quickly which ment they weren't ment to last long. I"m considering picking up some welding goggles to modify. I still want to keep the gadget-y look to them. The goggles were inspired by the goggles from the movie Sleepy Hollow. I think I'm going to try for a more delicate look as seen here.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vheloFCFy9I/SIzo6EdVfEI/AAAAAAAAAI0/gPEyDO5CHqs/s320/goggles4.jpg
But not that exact style. I still plan to keep them on top of the head.

I'm also considering making pants in brown/tan instead of reusing the black ones. I think brown would lend better to the look of the costume. The boots I actually own. They are in black though. But honestly I think it will look fine since I'm going more for a wild west mish mash look as opposed to anything super refined.

I also plan to make a belt for a gun holster and another belt with some test tubes connected to it.

I think this is going to be a long term project. One I plan to work on periodically and come back to over a course of a few months.
And thats all for now, folks!

Fighting Coat, Gawhzee, and Persian Coat.

2009-02-07T21:19:00.000-08:00

My Husband Max's Rapier fighting coat and A few other things for Estrella War.:).

So We're gearing up for Estrella and I've been sewing a bunch. The big project was Max's fighting coat for Estrella. Its my first fighting coat not to mention my first male garb that wasn't a T-tunic. It turned out better than I expected.:)

It looks a bit wonky on the dress form since the form is for a woman and is much smaller than Max. It looks pretty darn good on him though. Hopefully pictures of him IN it will come after Estrella War.

With the left over fabric, I made myself a Gawzhee.

I reversed the fabric so it wouldn't be too matchy matchy with Max's coat.

Detail of the clasps:

It can get pretty chilly at Estrella so I dress in layers. Though sometimes my cloat gets in my way. So I put together a persian coat out of linen to wear when I'm not in the mood to put the cloak on.

THis is my first try with a persian. I had to play with the pattern to remove the darts in it...but unfortunately I made it a bit to small so this won't be closing. The sleeves are a little wonky but nothing horrible. I can probably fix it on my next go around with a persian coat.

Detail of trim:

I also cranked out quite a few pair of pants, and a tunic and a coat for a friend (unfortunately I didn't get pics of those yet)

I plan to take a short break from SCA garb for a bit and move on to working on my Steampunk costume next for a little variety.

Thanks for looking!

Finished Italian Ren of the Orange

2009-01-11T21:16:00.000-08:00

Myself and my beautiful friend Ty at Caid 12th Night.

I finished the sucker!
No, I'm not suddenly short armed. Those sleves are so voluminous that you can't see my elbows bent. I was hoping for that;)
Its ment to wear with or without a chamise. It was so dang hot yesterday night though that I opted for no Chamise. Not very period but MUCH more comfy while I sweated like a teamster.
The hem still needs to be taken up one more inch though. Its a bit long for my taste.
The dress involves 8 1/2 yards for orange silk. I was a large orange puff ball.
Here are some detail shots.

I bought this pin off a jewelry resaler and it was perfect to finish the dress off.

The side buttons I found at Joann Fabrics. Usually I don't have much luck finding good buttons there and I pick buttons up at SCA events. I Lucked out this time around.

My cuff on the sleeves...which you can't see under all that yardage. I think I may finish off the cuffs with a button to cover up the hook and eye I have there currently.

I'm extremely proud of this garb. Its perfect court garb for my SCA persona and it was very comfy. It will look more complete when I find a metal belt to go with it.
Next entry will probably be my husbands Raiper fighting coat and random persian coats for war....unless i get completely distracted by shiney things.

Orange Italian Ren IS GO!

2009-01-07T21:15:00.000-08:00

No time like the present, right? That, and 12th Night is this coming Saturday.

Want to see the progress I made in one night?

I only work half days on Wednesdays so I dove on in after I got home. I just came to a finishing point a couple minutes ago. I desided to go more period and pleated the skirt and the Sleves instead of gathering them. Overall the look is far more elegant and finished.
I went with side closures again since I didn't have decent grommets and I also found some great buttons for slide closures.
I gotta admit, Silk shantung? Drapes BEAUTIFULLY! It pleats like a dream and gives plenty of volume.
The fit ain't half bad wither. The bodice pattern Is slowly getting better and better. Its still not perfect, but then neither is my body so it seems to all work out.;)
All I have left is:
Sew buttons on the sides
Close up the side seams on the skirt
put the cuffs on the sleeves
Hem the skirt
Hopefully finished product pictures come Friday night.

Italian Ren Experiment - Part 3 and Bonus

2008-12-05T21:10:00.000-08:00

Not too bad for just an experiement. It helped me determine where I need to tweak my pattern. The shoulders are a touch too big for me unfortunately. This creates a weird problem with the detachable sleeves (which I've made, but are in dire need of tweaking).
Overall I'm pleased with the results. But when I do this again with my beloved orange silk I'll be doing some more teaking of the bodice. I also plan to raise the waist line more.
Here are the new buttons. They're far more durable:

And while I was working on this experiment, I felt the need to make other garb. Here's a Linen Tunic Dress I made for random SCA events:

I really love how this came out. I especialy love the color scheme.
Sorry about the blurry pic.

And the trim is nice. I salvaged it off an old piece of garb I made horribly years ago. I'm glad I was able to save the trim.

Next Entry will probably involve my next Italian Ren or Steampunkery.:)

Mood:accomplished

Italian Ren Experiment - Part 2

2008-11-09T21:08:00.000-08:00

Okie Doke then!
Made a large amount of progress so far!
I fixed the not enough fabric problem by...well..buying different fabric. I managed to find an interresting Taffeta that is the same green as the old fabric but in a paler shade (and on sale as well. WOO!). I like it better than the original choice. The texture on it as well ads a lot to the bodice as well.

I took away the added stripe of trim on the top. With this new fabric it looked to busy. I like the choice to let the fabric speak for itself and just use the vertical trim lines

Here be the Skirt! The sides have yet to be sewn up. Its not as patchwork looking as I thought it would be with the bodice being a different color which is good. I know I should have pleated the skirt for period reasons but I didn't since I was just experimenting. My Orange Ren will definitely have the pleates.
It look me a couple tries to get the waist right. First it was too long and it looked like an 80's prom dress. I shortened it and it became a Disney pretty princess dress. I ended up hacking off a good inch and a half of the bodice. Now I'm a lot happier with the look.

I put a pannel of the green in the back of the dress too just to keep it all tied together.

The sleeves are in progress so far:

I have them cut out and I plan to make them detachable and reversable (one side green and the other side brown).

So far So good! I just need to finish the following.
-Sleeves
-Replace the buttons (I found out the current ones are really crappy)
-Sew up the skirt seams
-Hem the skirt
-Make the chemise

So far this is coming along a lot better than I anticipated.:)

Italian Ren Experiment

2008-10-29T21:45:00.000-07:00

First Entry! WOO! Hope this doesn't bore you.

Okie Doke then.
So I've been experimenting with building Italian Renaissance. I figured since my SCA persona is Italian Renaissance, I should dress the part.

I found this most excellent page on construction and such and figured, eh, what the heck.
http://homepages.wmich.edu/~rowen/renbk/rendressbook.html

Its been years...and I mean YEARS since I drafted my own pattern. Usually I buy commercial and tweak. But I figured that since I'm slowly getting more into period construction I should broaden my Horizon. And since this first dress is nothing but an experiment, I don't mind if it comes out a little wonky here and there. Gotta learn somehow, right?

So here's the basic sketch I came up with for the experiment design.

Going with the Green, brown, and gold pallet simply because that's the fabrics I happen to have. Originally I was going to have a brown bodice and then a green skirt. I'm pretty sure the two tone thing is not period (If it is, Let me know! I couldn't find any documentation on the net). The Bodice is longer, more along the lines of this style of garb.

I started the bodice and so far its coming out alright.

Its not a stiff as I'd like it. but I think that is due mostly to the really awful interfacing I used. I'll need something stiffer next time I think.

I am pleased with the side closures. I may change the buttons out depending on if I feel this is wearable outside my bathroom. *L*

And I'm happy with how freakin' pristine I was able to get the trim to look so far. I bought that trim a couple yhears ago for some project I can't even remember now.

That Chemise? Not what I plan to use under this dress though. Going to construct a less bulky one with a non-gathered neckline so it looks more smooth.
My one SNFU I have hit is I do not have enough fabric for the skirt. So I may toss the whole two toned idea out the window and try to find something that matches the bodice more closely. The bodice fabric is much prettier in person. Has a lovely green irridecent sheen to it that the camera doesn't capture. Too bad it was just a random Remnant I picked up a Joann's one day.

Anyways...thoughts?