Halloween Pictures

It's taken me forever to get these pics up, and unfortunately, I don't have ones of all the costumes. *sadkitty*
Maybe soon I'll make everyone dress up again for the heck of it and take some. Until then...the ones I do have.


Harley Quinn: 

Joker: unavailable (he did end up joining in the Halloween festivities though)
Poison Ivy: photo on momma unavailable (she didn't even WEAR it), but please enjoy this one on my dressform

 Robin: unavailable
Musketeer: unavailable
Vampire Princess Miyu:

American McGee's London Alice:

Almost there

It's been a very busy and stressful few weeks. This year's halloween costumes are almost finished. Here's the breakdown with reference pictures, and progress shots if I have them:
Harley Quinn: 100% complete

Shoe covers, over a pair of pointy ballet flats

Joker: Still needs to be hemmed, but it won't be worn this year :(

Robin: 100% complete

Ivy: about 80% complete. The second layer of leaves needs to be sewn to the corset, and a few leaves sewn to the bodysuit

Corset, most leaves sewn

American McGee's Alice London dress: 100% complete, sent off to new owner

Vampire Princess Miyu: 100% complete, sent off to new owner

Generic Musketeer: about 80% complete. Puffy shirt needs to be made, and a closure sewn to the cape.

For those curious about what patterns I used:
Harley Quinn: pattern from Holly Messinger on etsy (HIGHLY recommended. She also makes the costumes if you aren't handy with a machine). I tweaked the sizing to better fit me (more room in the bust, and longer legs), and for the booties I traced the sole of a pair of ballet flats and made shoe covers instead of slippers. Gloves/mask/BANG gun were purchased.
Joker: Shirt and Vest were McCalls 2447, no major changes (sleeves lengthened), good patterns. Tailcoat was McCalls 6143. This will take major alterations to make it acceptable. The sleeves and midsection will need to be lengthened. I made the lapels wider, changed the bottom front edge to be slightly pointed, and reshaped the tails. The pattern doesn't include a lining (basic costume coat) so one will need to be added. I also added interior zip pockets. Trousers were McCalls 4745, overall good pattern, uses a button fly instead of a zipper. I had to take in the waist A LOT (he's super skinny) and lengthen the legs. I also added side seam pockets and back welt pockets, and lined them fully.
Robin: The green shirt was made using Kwik Sew 3029, just had to lengthen it, very simple. The trunks (briefs) were Butterick 6377, an out of print Batman pattern. I was originally going to make the shirt and trunks a bodysuit, but realized separate pieces would make bathroom breaks easier. The red tunic was drafted using a tutorial I can no longer find (sadkitty) for drafting renaissance doublets. Pretty much they have you put the dressform or human into an old button up shirt and pin it all over until it fits like you want. Then cut off the excess and make a pattern from it. I'll update this if I can find the link later. The cape was also Butterick 6377 but with the points cut off and the from pieces cut twice to create a facing. I also made a collar from McCalls 2447 for the neck of the cape. The belt was just a long strip of fabric cut to the right length, closed with velcro. I painted craft foam (the 8x12" sheets) with gold paint for the buckle and details, then just sewed them on by hand.
Ivy: The bodysuit is Kwik Sew 3445. The sleeves are solid beige rather than having the glove look. Corset was Laughing Moon 101. This is an excellent corset pattern. No changes were needed, but I used a zipper down the front for easier dressing. For the gloves I used Butterick 5370 view D (left off the extensions).
Alice: Shirt was Butterick 5525 view D. I folded out some of the fullness of the sleeves on the pattern, then added a couple inches of length so they'd be just below elbow. I ended up lining the bodice of the shirt because my fabric was a bit sheer. The skirt was Butterick 3134 view B. I used the waist yoke from New Look 6873 and added a pocket on the right seam (the zipper was on the left). A basic petticoat was made by gathering rectangles of fabric together. Example: The first rectangle is on the top, 2x as long as the waist measurement (say 29" x 2 = 58" long), the rectangle below it is 2x that length (58x2=116"), and the third/bottom rectangle is 2x that length (116x2=232"). Add an elastic waistband and you've got a petticoat! The apron was drafted by hand, just sketching out the basic front shape until it looked right and adding the long ties and the front 'skirt' piece.
Miyu: The only pattern used for this was Simplicity 4080. I cut the length of the kimono body down to about 40". On the side that would be infront, I extended the neck band to the hem to match the character. The sleeves were shortened, and elastic added to the edge to be just above elbow length. A separate neckband was sewn to the inside to simulate the red under kimono Miyu wears. I left out the boning for the obi (and only used the obi piece, none of the support or bow or drape) and instead interlined it with fleece for some stability. The bow was hand drawn, and loosely made following this tutorial to get it to stay upright. I used two layers of craft interfacing basted to the inside back of the bow, and sewed four snaps to hold it to the obi.
Musketeer: My younger brother decided last minute that he wanted this costume. Thankfully it's a quick one. I'm completely using Simplicity 2334. He chose fabrics to match the one with the red cape, except his shirt will be white, and the cross gold. It's a decent pattern for a quick cape/tunic/puffy shirt. If you can grab it on 99cent special I would. He bought a hat and sword. The only changes I made were to leave off the trim on the cape and tunic, and the lace on the shirt. And to add four inches total to the width of the tunic. My top stitching and hemming were done with gold thread on the tunic for a little contrast.

So much sewing....

There's little bits of thread over my entire house now. I've been sewing in the living room, the kitchen, the dining room, even at my day job. :)

Robin is 99.9% finished. I've got to fudge up some sort of adornment to look like the belt buckle. (It Velcros in the back.) Deedle opted for me not to make gloves or boot covers. (He may very well change his mind 2 days before halloween.)

Also, I gave my friend Seldous that super-secret project I was working on. It was a classic Joker suit, to match my Harley Quinn. He loved it. I don't have pictures of it on him yet because I left the pants and jacket sleeves unhemmed to make sure they were the right length, but please enjoy these photos of it on my dress-form for now. The coat (tails included), vest, and trousers are all fully lined. The coat has two interior zip pockets. The pants have side-seam pockets and two back welt pockets. I haven't mastered lapped zippers yet so I did a button fly. The shirt cuffs have holes for cuff links (I found a perfect pair online.)

Button up shirt, vest, and tailcoat. There is a pair of matching trousers, but my dress-form doesn't have legs.

Close-up of vest pattern. I thought it was PERFECT for the Joker

Tails.

Closer pic of the front

Now, Ivy. The skater's dress looks much too much like a Tinkerbell dress for my liking, but Momma seemed to like it. I would have made just a leotard, no skirt, no sleeves, but it's a little extra coverage for her.

This is a super unattractive picture. Take my word that it looks much better on her.

 I started on her corset today. Bought green canvas for the mock-up. I'll also use this for the outside of the corset. It will be lined in plain green broadcloth. The first mock-up was a bit too small. The gap between laces was too large, and she was quite squished to get it even that tight. (This will be her first corset. I don't want her to faint.) To adjust, I cut the side panels two sizes larger (from the original 16 to a 20). We haven't tried it on again yet, but it added another three inches so I think we should be good. I will probably use plastic boning, rather than steel, since she is inexperienced in corset-wear and because it's just a costume.

Corset after replacing the three middle panels on each side

The hook and eye closure and lacing strips were generously donated by my very first corset. It had a long life, and no longer fits, so it was sacrificed today. I'll save the lacing strips and front closure to use in future corset mock-ups. They worked very well on this one.

My first corset. A Fredericks of Hollywood 'Dream' corset

The lace trim, lacing strips, front closure and plastic bones were harvested

I'll have pictures of us all wearing our costumes closer to Halloween, promise.

NanananananananaBATMAN

Good evening kiddies! I hope you've all been getting ready for Halloween. It's been a whirlwind of sewing here. I convinced part of my family to join me in a theme this year, so we're doing BATMAN! My Harley Quinn costume is almost finished (no pics yet). Also, my brother is going to be Robin and mom is going to be Ivy.

Robin's Cape. needs to be hemmed

Robin's vest, tee and briefs. My dress form is female and my brother is not, so ignore the breasts.

For Ivy I decided on a skater's costume with a leaf covered corset on top. The leotard is green with an attached skirt (and snap crotch for easy bathroom breaks) and flesh colored sleeves for a little warmth. I haven't started on her corset yet, but I've got a reliable pattern so it'll only take a couple days once I sit down with it.

Can't wait to have pictures of them all finished and us wearing them. It'll be so great!

Daisy's Dresses

Sunday night I finished the pink party dress for Daisy. I think it turned out so darn cute.

Finished party dress, ignore the mess in the background

I ended up adding the lace to the neckline and the cuffs. I also changed the order sewing the lining pieces together so that all the seams would be enclosed, especially the scratchy net petticoat seam. The lining is hemmed with a machine narrow hem. The outside of the dress however, I could not get my blindhem stitch on the machine to cooperate, so I blind hemmed it by hand. Tedious but worth the results.


In my stash I also found some cute green-blue cotton with embroidered fishes. A little heavier than the cotton I use for my sundresses, perfect for a fall dress for little girls.

It's a bit more blue than the camera is showing.

For this dress I used McCall's 6273.

I mixed up the elements of the dresses. Used the a-line skirt like the yellow image, but with the round neck and the little sleeves. I also left off the ribbons and the petticoat ruffle. The dress was lengthened 5 inches to be a little more modest, and the ties I cut 4 the full width of the fabric, then sewed them in pairs, and turned rightside out. I've found that the ties on most of the patterns I've used are downright wimpy. An easy fix though. The ties are super long, but now she can either have a really big bow in the back, or wrap them around the front for a bow there. The dress is lined with brown broadcloth and has pockets, like the pink one.

Aren't those little sleeves so CUTE?

You may have noticed, I like big bows

Nana also gave me a slip Daisy had outgrown and asked if I could make a bigger one. Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures of it, but its a basic white slip. Wide shoulder straps, ruffle on the bottom, and shirred side panels on the bodice part for wider range of fit. An exact copy of the one she'd outgrown, but a size bigger. I used white cotton I had on-hand, but the neck and armholes were bound with bias tape, and that I did not have. Not in white anyway. So, as anyone stuck would do, I googled.

Making your own bias tape is not hard, you just need a bit of patience. This is the first link that came up, and I found it quite helpful.

All-in-all, I was quite pleased with the dresses I'd made for Daisy. Nana loved them and said Daisy would too. :)

I own more patterns than I thought.

This morning I organized my patterns and created a master list so that I won't buy duplicates. I didn't realize how many I actually have. There are 61 patterns for regular clothing (dresses, pants, tops...) and 55 costume patterns in my collection. Judging by the ones I own, I think Simplicity has the best costumes, McCalls the best casual dresses, Vogue the best fancy dresses, and Butterick the best 'historical' costumes. Now, that's just my opinion, and it's based off the things I like to sew. If you have different tastes, you might not agree with me.

Right now my patterns are in two flat-rate USPS boxes, but just barely. I need a better/bigger storage system. Maybe I can clean out the 'junk drawer' on my cabinet and use that. How do you keep your patterns organized?

The box in the back is costumes, the front box is regular clothing

Stash Clean-up

A woman asked me to sew some dresses for her young granddaughter. We'll call her Daisy. I'm not sure of Daisy's age, I'll have to ask again when I see her again, but I think she's about 7. My only rules for the dresses were that they have to have some sort of sleeve, and they can't be "too short." I think no shorter than knee length sounds about right for an elementary school girl. I've decided that I should probably use up whatever fabric I can from my stash (several LARGE storage bins and an overstuffed shelf) before buying new fabric.

So, her first dress will be Simplicity 7462, a pretty party dress in some fuchsia taffeta. I'd ordered this fabric for another project and it was much too bright, but perfect for a fancy tea party dress.No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get the lighting to show what color the fabric actually is. It looks red in the pictures. It's bright pink, and slightly iridescent. Depending on the angle, it will look varying shades of hot pink, sometimes purplish.

I wasn't able to measure Daisy myself, but her Nana gave me one of her dresses that fit well. Judging from the measurements of the dress, I cut a size 10. I didn't make many changes so far. For the ties, instead of cutting two and folding them in half, I cut four and sewed the top/bottom and ends to make a fatter bow. I also added pockets on the side seams. My gramma always said everything was better with pockets. :)

Progress shots!

The front of the dress has these really neat pleats. To make them, the pattern piece is pretty funny looking. It's got all these strips on the top, that the edges get sewn together, and the bottom of the stitching line creates inverted box pleats on the outside.

Here's the front piece, with the left side pinned

Completely pinned pleats

I've sewn together as much of the dress as I can without going to the fabric store in the morning. The outside is completely together, and the bodice lining is sewn, but I didn't have enough of the fabric to make the skirt lining, and I don't have a proper colored zipper on hand. I think I will also add lace to the collar and the sleeve bands like the envelope suggests.

Front of the dress, minus sleeves and lace collar.

Back of the dress. Love dresses with big bows.

I should be able to get to the store sometime this weekend, and it'll be done shortly after that. :D

Day One

Hello everyone! As this is my first post, I'll tell you a little about me. My name is Alice. I sew. I once heard someone say that men think about sex something like once every 5 seconds. Whether that's true or not, it's about how often I think about sewing. My hopes for this blog is that anyone even slightly as interested in sewing as I am can keep track of all the new things I'm working on. I will occasionally post links to sites and tutorials that I found helpful, and you're more than happy to ask my advice on things. Along those lines, I'm almost entirely self taught in the ways of needle and thread, so I may or may not tell you the *right* way to do something, but it will still work.

With that out of the way, on to the first project!