Convention? Convention!

First of all, let me say:
EXCITED! EXCITED! EXXXCCCIIIIIIIITTTTTEEEEEDDDDDD!

Whoo.

Secondly: I did it! As of today I sewed the buttons and buttonholes onto Gabriel's bodice, meaning all costumes are officially wearable. Awww yeah! With two more days until the convention, I can bone the bodices that still need bones, add in pockets where I can, and generally take it easy. There are still some minor things: waist tapes that have hooks but still need eyes, Samifer's and maybe Crowley's bodices need hooks to attach bodice to skirt in order to prevent gaps when arms are raised. All little things that can be done day of if needed. I don't have enough boning caps to bone all the bodices, but I'll pick up some heat shrink tubing to cap them with. Castiel has offered to help me sew the boning in, and between the two of us we should be able to get the boning in and the seam allowances whipped. We've also been working on props. She completed stage one of angel blades today, and I've turned two confetti guns into the Colt and Dean's gun.

Gabriel's bodice. This was before the buttons were on; I was checking the overlap to figure out button placement. I also needed to see if the bodice was long enough that I could do a facing or if I needed to bias bind. I was able to do a facing.

Gabriel's bodice was hard to fit as she has 5 gallons of tits. Seriously. So many bust alterations.

The (confetti) Colt. This will be carried by Crowley, since he has the Colt when you first meet him.

Dean's (confetti) gun. Displayed on yarn because it was still drying. I will be carrying it. Also, all of the confetti shots were topped off with glitter, for the ultimate "I will fuck you up"

My Samulet. It has since been painted. It's too big, but still wearable. Apparently my friend ordered one for me online, but if it doesn't arrive in time I will wear the one I made.

I made a little rose pin for Samifer to wear. I was unhappy with the rose selection available, but this turned out well I think.

I actually bought these for a Halloween costume for myself, but I think they'll look great on Samifer.

The piece de resistance. I designed this guy on Cafe Press, and now I finally have an awesome flask. I've been wanting a good one for years, but was never satisfied with the ones I found. This one's smaller than I'd originally hoped, but that makes it perfect to slip in a back pocket. It reads: "Sometimes, wrestling with my demons is the only exercise I get"

Still to come: angel blade pictures, full costume images, and convention weekend photos. This thing I've been planning since January has finally come to fruition. And I still have two more days before we head to Burbank. My head is so full of fuck right now.

Historical Sew Fortnightly #14: Paisley & Plaid

This is one of those challenges that lines up perfectly with my own deadlines. I wanted to finish my skirt by the end of July, which features plaid. I actually finished the skirt about a week ago, but was unable to get picture at the time. Now that I live in a house full of people, it was much easier to rope someone into taking photos (my husband is always willing to snap pictures, but he fails to comprehend that picture taken for a costuming blog should be focused on the costume.)

Although Dean tends to wear plaid shirt less often than his brother Sam, he still wears a buttload of plaid.

That man's face should be illegal

But I decided early in the planning stages of these costumes that I was using the clothes on the show as inspiration, not direct outfits. I could simply do a blue denim colored skirt with a green Henley-style shirt front on a plaid bodice with a leather jacket and be Dean. But that felt like I was taking the outfits on the show and forcing them to look Victorian, rather than using Victorian principles and designing costumes that the characters would wear if they lived in that time period. With that idea in mind I moved the plaid to the skirt, going for a pleated, active wear look that would blend mobility with style. (Also, there are hidden slits so I can hide things and access them later.) The result:

The blue of the shirt is a little darker than the photo, but you can see the teal plaid nicely. The plaid sections are flatlined since the fabric was a bit on the light side.

In order to make the pleats hang more evenly a half moon of blue fabric was added to the waistband so the pleats would fall from the edge of the bustle.

The pleats aren't as sharp as I'd like, despite ironing them with vinegar and top-stitching, but the skirt still looks good.

Close-up of the plaid

An overskirt is going to be added later. You can't really tell from the photo, but the fabric is ivory with a floral brocade, a homage to the gun Dean favors.

Floral scroll work and a mother-of-pearl handle. Talk about a classy way to die.

Just the facts:
The Challenge: #14 Paisley and Plaid

Fabric: Navy blue broadcloth and Teal Plaid quilters cotton, white muslin for flatlining.

Pattern:  No pattern used, just math and draping

Year: 1884-1889

Notions:  Navy blue polyester thread, teal cotton thread, hook and bar closure

How historically accurate is it? Skirt closure is on the wrong side, and most of the stitching was in polyester thread, but the hem is hand tacked to keep it invisible and the techniques are solid. I'd say 95%

Hours to complete:  Lots. Cutting and flatlining took a while, since the plaid wasn't printed exactly straight of grain. Ironing took an entire day, as did topstitching. I'd put it in the realm of 25-40 hours.

First worn: The day it was completed. I didn't want to take it off.

Total cost: About $25

Crossing things off the list

Having finally been able to meet up with Crowley and work on things for her, I can officially cross stuff off the to-do list.

Firstly, Crowley's chemise. I was going to do more detailing on it, but lazy happened.

Close up of the handmade lace.

Secondly, Crowley's drawers. I still need to add buttons and buttonholes, but she needs to try them on so I can get the fit. Also, considering that it is physically impossible for me to pass up sale buttons, how do I not have any that are plain black? The best I have are domed black velvet buttons, but A) I may end up using those on Crowley's bodice, B) there aren't many so I can't waste them, and C) domed buttons under a corset sounds painful. So I need to buy MORE buttons. (I love buttons, but I can never spend less than $20, because I will buy buttons by the crapload.)

Close up of the stacked ribbon trim. I was going to do 1/4 inch tucks around the legs and stitch the red ribbon to the underside so that an 1/8 inch of red ribbon would peek out from the tucks, but once again lazy happened.

I choose to do Crowley's undergarments in black since all he wears on the show is black, with a touch of red because he is the daring-est devil you've ever met. It's a perfect color scheme for the King of Hell.

The corset, chosen for the player not the character, is an olive green stitched in gold. The whole thing is finished except the seams, since I like to do a final fitting before everything is flat-felled and encased. Once I do the fitting, I can bind it, bone it, and floss it. Considering I want to have everything done in 4 months, I need to get busy.

Project Steps:
Chemises (Completed)
Drawers (Completed)
Corsets (4 of 5 Completed)
Bustles (2 of 5 Completed)
Petticoats (2 of 5 Completed)
Skirts (1 of 5 Started)
Bodices (Not Started)

Just keep sewing, just keep sewing . . .

Another One Bites The Dust

Third corset completed. Castiel's corset was finished only moments ago, and it feels good to be able to mark something off the list. Next up will be Crowley's chemise and drawers, and hopefully I'll be able to finish Gabriel's corset by the end of the month. Those three things: the chemise, drawers, and corset, are around 50% done at the moment. If I can get them done, then I can mark off the Chemise Step and the Drawers Step entirely, as well as only having one corset left to do. Get that done as far as the final fitting, and I'll be able to start on two more bustles and petticoats. Not to mention starting the actual outfits. We'll see how far I get by the 31st. But now pictures!

Castiel's corset is a garnet silk, stitched in black silk thread, with black silk binding and champagne lace.

Close-up on the cording. The silk is a bit darker that the photo shows, it's more of a burgundy than a red.

 Close-up of the flossing. Every other bone is flossed in a feather. For reasons.

The eyelet bones are flossed with a pair of wings. Please ignore wonky stitching on wrong side. Also, this is closer to the true color of the corset. The lacing is champagne to match the trim.

Finally, a close-up of the lace. You can see some of the feather flossing peeking out. 

The hardest part of this corset was that I stitched a couple of boning channels too narrow, and it was a bitch to get the the bones in later. One of the channels even had to be re-stitched. There are a couple of spots on Gabriel's corset that are going to give me the same problem, so I'm going to fix it before I install the spoon busk. No reason to give myself the same headache a second time.

Now I'm off, to go tie up Castiel and see if I can get some shots of her wearing the corset. And for those of you who have watched the season finale of Supernatural:

Suddenly, May

I didn't die on my recent trip or anything, I just haven't really gone online since. I missed the last two HSF challenges, but I got some work done on my 18th century stays. I'm nearly finished with Castiel's corset, just have the second half to floss before pictures. I now have all the supplies to finish the corsets, and Crowley finally was able to visit, so I can start making her things. Her chemise is nearly done, her drawers about 50%, and I fit the mock-up for her corset while she was here. Pretty soon I'll actually be able to cross off whole layers as completed for everyone, which is good since I've started having nightmares about not finishing in time. No pressure, right? Just my subconscious telling me I'm going to fail. :/

Oh, and the Supernatural season finale is tonight (I'll be watching it tomorrow since I don't have TV), so I need to make up some Bailey's for Castiel and I since we'll be watching it together. And Crying. Possibly Screaming.

Corset Update

In knitting, particularly colorwork, there's a trick if you screw up and use the wrong colors in the pattern. You simply make the same mistake for the rest of the project, and then it's no longer wrong but an 'interpretation of the pattern.' In sewing, some trim or decorative embroidery turns a flaw into a 'design feature.' I didn't like the space between my busk and the first bone. (About 1/8th of an inch.) I seemed a tip off that it was my first corset. But now?

Herringbone stitch down the length of the corset and it's a pretty design element.

Even though I said this corset was more me than my character, I couldn't help doing a little Supernatural-theme flossing.

D.W. on the inside lacing bones (My character is Dean Winchester.) The Aquarian Star, symbol of the Men of Letters, and a pentagram.

The little triangles on all of the other bones were inspired by the center of this sigil:

used to open Purgatory.

And for those of you reading this who don't watch the show and are wondering about the strange symbols and giving me suspicious glances,

I don't have a good answer.