Velvet Choker with Pendant

A necklace with a bit of whimsy...

I found ribbon crimp ends at Michael's which let you clamp the ends of a piece of velvet ribbon and then attach a necklace chain to ends. I already had purple and yellow velvet ribbon (from Grandma's collection of supplies), I thought these pendants added some interest.

I attached the first pendant with a button and the second with a loop of wire I made with some pliers. Whatever works, right?

Vintage Lace Fingerless Gloves

I made these gloves to wear with my Steampunk Superwoman costume. The lace was something I found in a box of assorted lace my grandma had given to me, so the materials for this project did not cost me anything.

First I made one glove with my sewing machine. I draped the lace over my hand and wrist to estimate the size, cut a rectangle, then turned down the edges about 1/8" and straight-stitched them down. Then I sewed the seam (the inner wrist) with a thumb hole, tried it on, and adjusted. This took a while, but eventually I ended up with one glove.

Did I mention I finally got a serger?!

This baby is already making my sewing life SO much easier. I haven't used one of these since college and I didn't get one until now because 1) I didn't want to pay full price for a good one and 2) I didn't want to buy a really cheap one. I purchased this one from my mom's friend. Normally I wouldn't recommend buying sergers second-hand, but I knew owner, it had a manual with it, and I was able to give it a test run before hauling it away.

I digress. Back to the lacey gloves... I used the first glove to make a paper pattern for another glove. I cut out the piece of lace, trimmed the edge expecting a 1/4" seam allowance, then ran both edges through the serger (separately) in about a minute flat. Lastly, I placed the edges together and ran it through the sewing machine, leaving the thumb hole. Done!
I then changed the thread to black and made an extra black pair for Steampunk Batgirl.

That was over so fast that I made a third glove with the serger. The serged glove turned out much better than the straight-stitched glove! So then I fixed the first prototype glove by running the seam through the serger (keeping the thumb hole open). I have enough lace to make 7 extra pairs of white gloves, PLUS some black lace... this may be the start of a future Etsy store for me.

More information about sergers and how to use them:
http://sewing.about.cm/od/sergersoverlock/ss/serger.htm

Costume Progress - Victorian Spats

Steampunk costumes call for spats! Or really great boots, which I don't have because of my gigantic ankles and calves. Anyone else have this problem? Anyway, To make spats (or gaiters), the first step is to make a pattern. To get the right fit, I created a duct tape "cast" of my foot following this DIY spats pattern guide.

After I cut it off and cut it into three pattern pieces (inside, outside front, outside back), I discovered the sock I used was really contracting. I had to really spread out the duct tape pieces and pin them down in order to mark out the pattern pieces on butcher paper.

I added 1/2-inch seam allowances and then belatedly remembered I needed extra width on the edge of the outer front piece (1) to overlap the outer back piece (2) and allow for button holes. I accounted for this when I traced the patterns onto the fabric with chalk.

I ended up with six pieces, three for each foot, mirror images of course. Then I sewed them together, sewing the two skinny pieces onto each side of the wider (inside) piece.

Lace trim came next.

Lastly I added buttons, twelve on each.

I spaced out the buttons equidistant (about an inch) and marked the spots with a chalk line. Then I ran it through the buttonholer over and over, twenty-four times. I got really good at making button holes, I can tell ya that.

Then I sewed on all the buttons, tried it on, and then removed half the buttons and sewed them on again to tighten the calf. At that point the spats were wearable but still needed two more tweaks before wearing them all day at a convention:
1) add a strap beneath the arch of the foot.
2) reinforce the shaft so they stay up when I walk (d'oh!)

Costume Progress - A Super Bodice

I finished the bodice for my new costume. It is made of blue dupioni silk, with boning in the lining, and lacing up the back.

Grommets alternate gold and silver. I originally planned to use all gold but I had one box of gold and one box of silver, so this is what happened.

Figured out what I'm making yet? This is going to be a steampunk/fantasy/Victorian Superman costume. Like, if Superman was a woman and lived in the age of steam engines, bustles and top hats. I'm killing two chickadees with one stone here; this costume will be great for both Comic-Con and SteamCon! Especially when I hook up with the rest of the DC Justice League at Emerald City Comic Con this weekend.

The pattern I used for the bodice is modified from Butterick 3012. I only used the bodice and the drape, not the skirt part of the pattern. I added two inches of height at the waist and  raised the neckline so I could fit the logo on the front. I later discovered I really did not need to make the torso 2 inches longer like I do with Simplicity patterns, since this bodice already has a low waist.

Shown with a blue costume-satin skirt (this is not the final skirt for this costume, it will be shorter and bustled.) Those lacings need trimming!

The drape is sewn onto the bodice, following the instructions in the pattern. I used red dupioni silk, the same fabric I used in the "S" logo.

Sammy's Halloween Costume - Masquerade Style

So this year for Halloween me and my friends got tickets to a masquerade ball where the dress code was either Black Tie with a Venetian mask or just a cool costume. This was an easy choice for several reasons. 1) gives me an opportunity to use the Venetian masks I got in Venice! 2) After many years of Halloween I'm getting tired of Sexy outfits, I just want to wear something really glamorous.

So Victorian or Venetian-ish Ball gown I pick :) Picked up a pattern so I can't screw it up too much.  Based off my mask I picked a pinkish (purple) fabric with a darker purple fabric (because my boyfriend wanted purple).

The pattern is for a normal size person (and i'm short) so i had to cut A LOT off.  The pattern of the train also drags onto the floor which I had to trim down because I can't run around in public crowded drunken place with my skirt mopping up everyone's alcohol and foot prints. 

So even though I followed the pattern of course the slightest shifts make a huge different.  With the picture on the right you can see that the where the lengths and curves were slightly different making the symmetry really off and odd.  Using a thick trim you can muddle those lines a lot  hiding the inconsistency.

With it being a floral trim I couldn't sew right over with a machine without it looking crappy, so I had to hand stitch the trim on.  Because it was straight it went fairly

Yay, now to show off the final product. Um excuse the lack of photo shopping the lighting and cropping out the silly door. I was in a rush to blog about this.

~giggle~ also time to show off me and my sweety ready for the ball.