And there was much rejoicing; yay.

So the convention was great, all of the bodices were boned in time (Gabriel's being boned on the drive down but finished before first wearing). It was amazing, we went to the panels, the karaoke, the cabaret, and got to meet a few of the actors. We won second place in the costume contest, mostly because Osric Chau personally pushed for us because despite an unenthusiastic response from the crowd he could see how much work went into it. The person who won first place totally had a novel concept behind her idea and was utterly deserving of the first place position. But I'll take it next year ;). I'm still waiting on photos to be able to post shots of the costumes, but they will be coming soon.

It was amazing to be able to spend a weekend with friends. So often when we hang out other things end up happening. Samifer has to go out to the ranch to tend to horses. Gabriel has work to do for school. There was an emergency at the cat shelter and Crowley wasn't able to make it down like she hoped. Castiel has to cover someone's shift. For the first time in ever, the five of us were able to just hang out. No one else, no priorities, no emergencies to be handled, no one to hold ourselves accountable to. We decide to skip a panel and sleep? No big. We all realize we're hungry? There was a fast food village across the street that we tried and graded and ate at when we felt like it. We decided to find a geek shop and pick up new dice for the Dungeons and Dragons game that I was running (only my third time ever GMing) and got to laugh about the faces the men who were there made when almost a half dozen women walked in and made a bee line for the dice. (We did not get the 'women in a comic book store' discount, so they obviously get female patrons, but they were still kind of shocked to see such a large group without any menfolk in sight.)

When I got back my husband had hoped I'd take a break from sewing for a while, but I'm not as burnt out as I thought I'd be. So my piece for the next Sew Historical challenge is already finished, and a post will be forthcoming. A co-worker who went to a Supernatural convention in 2013 said she was already planning to attend this year before the previous con had ended. With my friends, it was the same. By Saturday we were already making plans as to which tickets to get for 2015, things we need to bring, things we didn't end up using, and what the costumes should be.

I'm feeling viped and want to do more. Of everything. And even with working the holiday season and the stress that brings, I'm finding my energy. And it feels good.

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 #20

Late post because I was so busy finishing one of the outfits. Current status of the project is two costumes done, two wearable (no boning and the seams aren't whipped down, but not obvious). The fifth bodice mock-up has been stitched (except sleeves, which I will do tomorrow), and I have just about a week to make it. Since I won't actually be able to see Gabriel until Saturday, tomorrow will be spent finishing all the bits I can on the other costumes before putting my nose to the grindstone on the last bodice.

The challenge is the easiest for me since all of the costumes I've been working on qualify. Taking the characters and outfits from the show Supernatural and turning them into late bustle era costumes falls pretty solidly under the header of "Alternative Universe." This particular one is the most recently finished in the line of five costumes: Samifer.

In the show, Lucifer escapes the cage that he has been locked in and starts running amok. Angels don't have a physical form humans can see (and survive), so they possess humans that are strong enough to endure it. One of the main characters, Sam Winchester, is the chosen vessel of Lucifer, and when Lucifer finally gets a hold of him, he is dubbed Samifer (as opposed to the other vessel he was running around in which is just generally called Lucifer). In an episode that takes place in an alternative future we meet Samifer, and he looks like this:

Wearing a white suit in a rose garden, making him the biggest show off in the series. So when it came to making this outfit, it needed to be over the top. Lots of trims, lots of details, and a train. This is someone who knows how to make an entrance. So the skirt is white crepe suiting with cream colored pleats and two different ribbons stacked on top.

And red roses underneath that looks like the flames of hell. The bodice continues the look.

The boob-framing look comes from image I found of a woman who I assume to be an actress wearing a bodice with a similar cut. The sleeves have similar trim to the skirt, cream pleats with a two ribbons sewn on top. The inside edge of the cuff was bias bound with the red rose fabric, to keep up with the rimmed in hellfire look.

Close-up of the bottom. The center fabric has a herringbone weave, and the entire front is trimmed in a box-pleated ribbon with a bit of white and gold cording tucked inside. The bottom cording is off-white and gorgeous.

The false shirt is the same cream as the pleats, and trimmed in one of the ribbons from the skirt along with another trim I had kicking around.

The train is cut as one piece with the back and side back pieces of the bodice using the full width of the fabric. The extra was pleated into inverse box pleats and stitched down, with a decorative antique gold metal rose on top.

The train laid out.

The edges of the train are trimmed with off-white rose lace, and the two ribbons that were used on the skirt. The ribbon hides the selvages, and is box pleated along the bottom to make is easier to curve with the cut of the train. I actually didn't have enough lace for the full train, but I did have the same pattern in a proper white, so I used about 6 inches of that to cover gap left at the very bottom of the train.

I don't have any images of the outfit being worn after the sleeves were finished and the neckline changed, but here's how it looked at the nearly done stages.

Back view, with train down. This was before all the trimming was applied to the train.

Side view, with all the bustle-y goodness. The mock-up sleeve was slit open because it was too tight and I needed to figure out how much to add for movement.

Back view, train up. Since we're going to be at a convention with lots of people walking around, we figured it'd be safer if their was a way to pick the train up at times so it wouldn't get stepped on. The interior has two sets of ties that can to tied together to bustle up the back of the train and prevent it from dragging.


The Breakdown:

The Challenge: #20 Alternative Universe

Fabric: White polyester crepe suiting, muslin, white herringbone suiting, cream cotton sateen, rose printed quilting cotton.

Pattern: Self made

Year: Mid-1880s

Notions: Cotton thread, hooks and eyes for closures, white satin ribbon, white and gold brocade ribbon, lace, white and gold cording, white fringe-y trim, thick off-white twisting piping.

How historically accurate is it? The design is based off of elements I've seen in dresses dating from 1884 to 1888, but this outfit has a lot of polyester elements. 75%, maybe?

Hours to complete: Lots. The pleats on the skirt alone took close to 18 hours, and because Samifer has interesting shoulders I had to do more mock-ups for this outfit than for any other. I'm going to put it in the realm of 50-70 hours.

First worn: Not yet, but the convention begins November 14. Squee!

Total cost: Again, lots. $55 for the suiting, and probably another $20 just for the muslin for mock-ups and flat-lining. At least $40 for ribbons and lace and notions. I'd put it around $150 total, which really isn't that much all things considered.

Back in the Saddle Again

I just got back from a week and a half long vacation to my uncle-in-law's cabin in Idaho. We drank, we fished, we drank, we hunted, and we drank. Six and a half cases of beer, four bottles of wine, and four or five bottles of tequila and whiskey later, my husband and I, his parents, and his aunt and uncle stumbled off the mountain. I bear the crown the of Fishing Queen, there is now a family feud involving gnomes and trunk nuts, and my husband learned how to butcher a deer.

Now that I'm back in California, I have some sewing to catch up on. Yesterday was spent doing mock-ups on Samifer; I did two but a third will need to be made. Crowley's bodice has its bias binding, and the center panel has been whip stitched in place on one side. Hooks and eyes need to be added to the other side, and sleeves need to be mocked up for her visit this weekend. I also am going to try to get half the boning in, so I can check placement, but I'm working seasonal again this year so I have other things taking up my time.

Right now it's time to make a sandwich before I have to leave for work. Not panicking yet, but I am running out of time.

No Historical Sew Fortnightly

I had plans, I found a poem, I was going to make something. But the deadline for the Victorian Femme Supernatural Cosplay is coming up, and with tickets bought, hotel booked, and a week and a half long vacation in the middle I knew I have to get to work.

Castiel's bodice is practically done, I just need her to try it on to see if the bones I put in are good, and finish boning it. Seriously. The closures are done, a pocket was added, it's close. Until that fitting happens, I've been working on her capelet.

This is one half of the back, smocked into a wing. The right side will be the center back seam, and there will be another wing. The capelet will wrap around her shoulders to the front and button on under the collar. It may be done tomorrow; I finished the first piece today even though I didn't start on it until 2pm.

I will also be writing up a post of How I Did It, by Victor Frankenstein.

Bodices of friendship

Crowley was down for a recent visit, so I had her try on all of her clothes so I could figure out hemming lengths and button placement and so forth. I also threw my bodice mock-up on her as well, because despite being significantly shorter we have nearly identical measurements. I was able to pin it, mark it, and notate it enough that I'll be able to make her bodice without making another mock-up. In fact, if I'm lucky I'll be able to make all five bodices with only six mock-ups. It took two for me, and I was able to use the revised version to fit Crowley. It took two for Cas, and her bodice is nearly finished. I'll likely need two for Samifer, but I may be able to use the best fit one to figure out Gabriel as she has similar measurements. Even if I need seven mock-ups total, I'll still consider that a win. And now, photos:

Cas in her walking skirt, the day I did the mock-ups for her bodice. Also: eyebrow. Also also: you can see her toesies.

My cat, 'helping' me sew.

Crowley, now with added butt.

Next was the petticoat.

Crowley skirt front

And side. Her boyfriend was surprised at shelf-butt, and tested to see if you can rest a drink on it. Result: you can. If drink had not been a lidded cup of water, added result would have been dead boyfriend.

I went on a trail ride with Cas, Crowley, and Samifer (who owns a trail riding business) on Sunday. This is Athena (left) and Remi (right) flirting.

Stay tuned for pictures of Castiel's bodice, the panicked realization that I only have about a month left until my deadline, and photos of my upcoming trip to Idaho where I will bring lots of things to work on and then spend most of my time drinking and fishing.

Bridged the Gap

There comes a point when every project losings steam. When you just don't feel like working on it anymore.Where you consider putting it aside for a while and taking a break. For me that point is called the fuckin' sleeves. I hate/fear sleeves. A bodice may fit perfectly, until you add sleeves. You may not feel overly constricted, with good range of motion and joyful thoughts about the project. And then you add sleeves. Bad sleeves can make a great costume a horror to wear. And they are so weirdly shaped. Not to mention historically through a number of periods tight sleeves were the thing, and it's hard to make sleeves that are tight enough to look good, but loose enough to be comfort.

I had a break from my project Monday since Cas had the day off work, so I made mock-ups for her bodice so after I finish mine I can move onto hers without much effort. It can be hard to get a hold of people, and I wasn't going to waste the opportunity. Tuesday I screwed around. Wednesday I reminded myself of my deadline and started doing things. Finished the sleeves and the collar (which took two tries) and started hand-tacking down things on the inside. Today I applied boning to half the bodice, and soon I'll be trying it on to check how they fit (I only want to do half in case some bones need to be moved). I'll also be putting in the waist tape, and adding buttons. Buttonholes probably won't happen until tomorrow. Until then here's some photos from before I altered the neckline and added the collar:

Sleeve looks wrinkled cause I'm holding my arm out of the way so you can see the bustle.

Back looks weird because of angle of backwards selfie.

Here's a quick shot I took to consider buttons. These aren't the ones I'm going with, but you can see the henley neckline and collar.

The Top Half

So after all this time I'm finally making a bodice. Woot!

I know that there are free period bodice patterns online, and so pulled up The National Garment Cutter Book of Diagrams, by Goldsberry and Doran, from 1888. The whole book is available for free from the Library of Congress' Internet Archive, so I can actually use patterns for the bodices without feeling like I'm cheating.

For Dean's bodice I choose the basque in the very front, because I liked the look. After drafting I realized that it had a 24 inch waist, and since one seam has an extra wide allowance, I could let it out a quarter inch and get an inch increase overall. My waist is 26 inches, corseted, but with the hem allowance at the center front I knew I'd be able to pin it at least partially shut and see how much it needed to be altered. The answer was: a lot.

The waist may have only been 1 inch too small, but that doesn't matter when it's 4 INCHES TOO HIGH. My skirt rests at my natural waist, but this bodice's hem couldn't reach. Also, the hump-back look comes from the too small back. In fact, if I wasn't physically impossible and able to touch my elbows behind my back, I would have needed someone to cut me out of that thing.

The armscye was way too small and I couldn't let my shoulders drop to my natural resting position.

However, once I took it off and just pinned the waist at my actual waist level, the bottom wasn't so bad. So after a bit of measuring, I found the waist had to be dropped 4 inches, the bust enlarged by 5 inches, and a few minor tweaks applied. The second mock-up was much better.

Finally something approaching a bodice.

The back hem needed to come down a bit, and the bust needed to be let out yet another inch.

Somehow I failed to lowered the waist evenly, so the center back piece had a waist point an inch higher than the rest of the garment. The shoulder seam needed to be altered, and the line of the center front curved to prevent the neckline from gapping, but I could finally start cutting the fashion fabric.

I made piping out of a leather brown bottomweight, to be a subtle nod to the leather jacket Dean wears.

As a point of reference, the paper piece is the original draft from the book. That thing had a waist only 5 inches below the bust point. In fact I just checked Crowley's measurements; she's only 4' 11" and her bust to waist is still 7 and a half inches.

Lovely piping. The bodice is flatlined with muslin. For the front I applied the piping first to just the fashion fabric, then stitched the lining on right sides together and turned the lining to the inside, which Jennifer at Historical Sewing says is period.

Pinning piping to just a single layer feels weird

The bodice has two fish-eye darts on the front piece, so I used the Dreamstress' technique for sewing flatlined darts without wrinkles.

First you draw your darts to the lining only, and stitch them flat just slightly inside the lines. You can see my green stitching next to poorly drawn blue lines.

Then you fold up your darts and stitch them on the dart line.

And viola! Neatly stitched darts without having to worry about the outer layer not being even with the inner layer.

The main body of the bodice is done, now I'm currently in the process of mocking up the sleeves. Completed photos soon to follow.

Historical Sew Fortnightly #16

With Crowley's skirt finished I can finally move on to bodices. The project is really starting to pull together, and since I'll probably have my nose to the sewing machine for the next couple of days I figured I'd make my HSF post early.

The term I decided to use was actually from a recent post: Brocade.

You can see the black on black patterning on the fabric to the right.

Crowley's skirt uses a black damask as the center front panel, with a black shirting cotton for the main body.

My phone makes it look bluish. It's not.

Crowley as a character wears all black, with simple tailored lines and a black brocade tie as the only shine against flat black.

For my Victorian Femme Crowley, the damask takes the front and center, while the rest of the skirt is bustled up in a frothy period look.

Close-up. Center front on the right. Skirt is bustled in three sets of three pleats, perfect of the son of a witch.

The Breakdown:

The Challenge:  #16 Terminology

Fabric:  Black cotton shirting, polyester damask

Pattern: 1880s skirt pattern, from Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion 1860 - 1940

Year: Mid-1880s

Notions:  Black cotton thread, polyester ribbon braid, cotton twill tape, polyester ribbon, plastic buttons, hooks and bars

How historically accurate is it?  The technique is good, but the damask is synthetic, as is the trim. I ran out of cotton twill tape for bustling, so one of the interior ties is polyester ribbon. Maybe 50%?

Hours to complete: 10ish

First worn:  Not worn yet

Total cost:  $25-40. I don't remember how much everything cost.