Madison on Halloween

Making excuses is pointless right now, am I correct? Shame on me for being neglectful, etc, etc. It has been unbelievably crazy, guys, and I have so much to tell you! I am mastering flys in pants and fancy hand-stitched hems and having lectures from technical designers from Target and giving speeches (and failing at it) and re-evaluating and it's been fantastic and utter madness. I've been realizing a lot of things lately, and also questioning a lot of things. I don't know. My head is so full of thoughts and life has been going by too quickly to sit and breathe. All I'm trying to do is make it through the semester in one piece with decent grades. Everything else is a bonus. Please, forgive me if this post is all over the place; and if it is, then it mirrors my life perfectly.

First off, how was your Halloween weekend? What did you dress up as? Where did you go and what did you do? I went with a group of friends to Madison. We stayed at one girl's house and went to the Badgers hockey game on Friday--not very Halloween of us, but still awesome--and then Saturday we went to Freakfest, ran into a lot of crazy people in crazy costumes, and saw Little Big Town play. It was such a blast, and people watching was the best part.

I made myself a costume, of course! I sewed up a little sailor girl dress on Thursday night and borrowed a hat from a friend. I wore it with some shoes I bought for Urban Outfitters earlier that day (for $5! I've never been in the store before and their sale section was unbelievable!), a few layers of tights (it was cold!), and my peacoat.



Unfortunately, we didn't get awesome photos, but these work.



Good ol' bathroom mirror shots!



We were walking along State Street when I saw this guy dressed as Popeye, so I was like, "Hey! Can we take a picture?" and he enthusiastically responded, "Absolutely YES, I'll take a picture!" Result:



Best. Ever.

After Little Big Town (and almost being crushed/knocked over in the packed crowd) we went home at about 1AM and popped a movie in and didn't go to sleep until 4. It was a good night, in other words!

But of course, after the fun, one must buckle down and get back to work. We've been working on a group presentation on design elements in my Intro to Apparel Design class. My group specifically is working on Coats, Jackets, and Blazers. Basically, we put together a powerpoint presentation on our topic, talking about the design and history of them. It's a little tedious, to tell you the truth! But in Apparel Construction, we're making pants, which is actually super fun. I'm making navy blue slacks that come up past my belly button, haha. They're due next Thursday and coming along swimmingly: I finished the fly today (went in smoothly, for the most part -- thank goodness!), and I get to really start putting them together now that I've had my final fitting. I'll take pictures for you, okay? I love that class so much, because it's exactly what I want to be learning.

Besides that, I've been working away in my other classes and getting really excited to be home for Thanksgiving. I can't believe it's even time to get excited about Thanksgiving! Things have gone by so quickly. Have two months really passed? Crazy business.

Thank goodness it's Friday! Have any exciting plans for the weekend? I have plans to spend the entire weekend working on homework and having not very much fun (and not sleeping very much... hi, coffee)--but that's okay, it's what I'm here to do. I have to keep reminding myself that I'm going broke over college so I'd better manage my time and make it worth it. :)

Ren fest costume!

I went to the Renaissance the second weekend of this month with my friend Sophie. It was awesome! Unfortunately, I never did get a chance to make a costume from Prince Caspian like I'd been hoping, but I improvised with what I had to make my outfit. While Sophie was at school the week before we went (I was staying with her for a mini vacation), I made this dress out of a couple twin-sized bottom sheets. I'd meant to grab the larger size topsheets, but I made do quite well.

The white chemise was extremely simple-- I make it huge and then gathered the neckline with elastic. The sleeves are also extra large, gathered at the top to fit the armhole, and gathered at the bottom with elastic. When pushed up to my elbows, it poofs out over, creating an awesome look. The skirt wasn't very full, but since it was just an underskirt, it was okay in appearances-- just annoying to the wearer. :)

The over dress was loosely based on a bodice Sophie'd purchased at the festival a few years back. I made it smaller, lengthened it for the skirt, and added only two bones, on either side of the lacing. The fit is pretty good, but I do need to correct the back. It worked perfectly for the day, though, although my footwear (black and white polkadotted converse...) was probably not appropriate. :P

Epic action shot!!

I wish we'd remembered out cameras-- and as of yet I do not have a photo of Sophie's costume, but I can describe it because it was awesome. She went as a faerie, and we made wings with coathangers, tights and ribbon using the tutorial at Threadbanger. She put her bodice over a poofy sleeved shirt (styled much like my chemise) and a tie-skirt for her underskirt. The overskirt was a cloth belt we pinned a billion scarves and fabric scraps to, making it very full and poofy. She had the best ideas for the costume, it was awesome. I'll bug her about sending me pictures, how does that sound??

I'll be posting every-day wear soon, so keep checking back!

Blast from the Past

I can't find my camera or my camera cable this time, so I'm resorting to old photos. I know it sounds like I'm making stuff up every time I "lose" my camera cable, but seriously, I can't find it. Not even kidding. ;)


I never realized summer could fly by this fast! In a week it'll be August, and then school will start and my jobs will be over. If you're hoping for a litte update on my life, look no further! Before I get to the good stuff, I'll bore you with my entire life story. Won't this be fun?

Joking aside, my summer is going really well, albeit quickly. I love working at the stables, and I decided that for now, three days a week is just right. I can only get up early so many times! But I do love the horsies, and even the poo scooping isn't that bad. I'm sad that there's only five or six weeks left! Other things worth mentioning: scooping ice cream at my other job is ah-mazing, and blueberries make the world a lot nicer. That is all.

Okay, what you've all been waiting for: pictures! As you know, I'm super into costumes, and have made quite a few. Here are a few that I've done...

A huge, pink, cupcake dress (with a hoopskirt underneath!) from Phantom of the Opera.





My Halloween costume last year, which was inspired by Elphaba's dress in the musical Wicked. I made up my own version, drafted the pattern, hand painted the cheesecloth for the embellishments, and hand gathered the strips and strips of the cheesecloth. It didn't really turn out exactly how I envisioned--- I wanted a lot more embellishments and for it to look like things were growing off of the costume, almost like black moss or something. Sorry for the blurriness of the pictures!

Okay, and finally this is the first dress (pretty much the first thing, actually) I'd ever made. It's a tan cotton peasant's dress, made with a Simplicity pattern (although I can't recall which one). I stitched my finger when I made this dress, too, but after putting a band-aid on it, I continued sewing. :) A few months after I made the dress I drafted the pattern for the green/gold bodice from a friend's bodice she'd bought at the Ren-fest. So, first thing I'd made, first pattern I'd drafted. It's a pretty monumental costume. ;)

I will post more pictures soon, I really will! I mean, recent pictures. Hope everyone is having a great summer!

Skirt!

I'm not so sure how often I'll be able to post here once summer comes. Here we are standing on the brink of it, and I'm already having a hard time finding a moment to sit down and write. I'll do my best, though, I can promise you that!

I don't really expect my Etsy business to be roaring, or to make a bunch of sales when I am just starting out, but I did make one sale pretty much off the bat. A very nice girl bought the polka-dotted jumper top. I can't tell you how excited I was when I saw. It was awesome.

I made a skirt that I have listed. It's out of beautiful light blue Lycra fabric, with the most glorious drape and a very pretty pattern. See:

I also made a dress recently with the rest of the fabric (I had quite a bit!) but I don't have pictures yet.

Yesterday when I was in the city I got the chance to see the new Narnia movie, Prince Caspian. As far as faithfulness to the book, it was so-so, but as a movie, it was fantastic. Absolutely incredible, really. And even if you don't enjoy the movie, it's totally worth it for the costumes (and the gorgeous guys!). I was so blown away by quite a few of the costumes. I'd seen some in advance, but there were a couple without pre-released photos, so I got some surprises.

And, being me, I have a list of what I'd like to make. I'm hopefully going to get to the Minnesota Renaissance Festival this September for my golden birthday [insert big grin here], so of course I now have an excuse to spend the summer making the perfect dress. The one I would love to make doesn't even have many released pictures now that the movie is out, but here is one I found, just a side view of the very top.

It's got very poofy sleeves (they balloon out and then come to a cuff at the wrist), and the blue over dress is full length, but open in the center to reveal the white underskirt. It's almost like a corset-dress, closed along the torso probably with hooks and eyes, and then left open along the skirt.

The other costume I'd love to make is this:

But seeing as how I would have to learn to make chainmail, and how to make a leather cuirass, I doubt it'll be happening any time soon. Still, it's fun to think, research, and dream about it.

These aren't the only beautiful costumes. There are pictures and research pages for every costume in both of the movies at The Wardrobe Door, a branch of www.narniaweb.com. Check out the forums, too, to see discussion and research.

I'll keep you updated if I do plan to sew a costume. If I do choose to, I'll probably buy white fabric from Dharma Trading Company (www.dharmatrading.com), and dye it myself-- an adventure unto itself!

One more thing: I've started making a Pop Can Tab dress. I'd seen all these amazing tab dresses over on the Craftster forums, and simply had to give it a try. Yes, I do believe I'm a little crazy. I'm guessing I have about 350 tabs (I've been saving just a few weeks), and I need around 4000 for a dress. This shall be... interesting. I'll post process/progress pictures soon!! ♥♥♥

Arrrr, it's called Matey Couture for a reason!

Just because I've been sewing more everyday wear does not, by any measure, mean that I've lost my passion for costumes, historic and otherwise. I fulfilled a dream of mine this past week in making a pirate hat. I think I finally have my pirate outfit mostly complete, and I can't express to you how much that satisfies me. I've been working on it for a couple years, adding a piece here and making one there.

My friend and I were shopping at Ragstock when, on the Super Sale rack, we came across a bunch of brown fake leather pants for 3$ each. We immediately bought a pair each, and when I got home one of the first things I made was this hat. I used Corrine's Halloween Pirate tutorial from http://www.threadbanger.com/. (I'm sorry I don't have the direct link right now. I'll find it when I have more time), and while I had a bit of trouble with the rolling of the sides, it turned out alright. I still hope to make a proper styled one with wool felt and buckram, but until I've gained the millinery super skillz to try that, this one will work.


Out of this outfit I've made the pants, the vest, and the hat. The shirt came from the Minnesota Renaissance Festival, given to me from a friend, the sash is a window thingy, the coin belt from a local market, the boots from target, and the jewelry I found randomly around my room. The flintlock is entirely a prop-- from http://www.museumreplicas.com/.



I was asked by someone on Threadbanger to make a tutorial for my hoodie, so that's how I spent my afternoon. It took me 2 1/4 hours to make this hoodie, and just as long to make the tutorial. Go figure. I'm extremely pleased with this one, though: it's soft, stretchy, and a very fun print. Also, because it went so fast, I'll be able to keep my prices pretty low for these, which is good news for my customers!

The link to the tutorial is here. It was my first tutorial, and I'd taken about 40 pictures for it. Heh, I ended up only using 25 or so, but it's still quite a lot. I hope it helps people out!

Other Threadbanger news... I'd posted several of my projects in the forum, and I found out today that I'm going to be featured in their newsletter thanks to my skull hoodie!! I'm really honored. It comes out tomorrow, so I can't wait to see what it says!

I'm pretty excited about another thing... I designed a prom dress! For me! I'll post pictures of the sketch when I scan it, and then eventually the real thing. But I decided upon a wine colored satin for the color. It's going to rock. I really, really want to make this jacket to go with it, but I don't know how I'd sew a jacket and a prom dress in just two and a half weeks. Sounds just crazy enough for me to try, but the prom dress has got to come first. ;)