January 23, 2010

September was my last post?!?! Here's a costume and a skirt.

Obviously I've done alot since September. School has left me very busy and stressed, and life has left me very depressed. I'm not going to Japan, I had to drop two of my winter classes because I'm out of money. I need a job, but I'm messed up and have a lot of schoolwork. Dear god, I hope I get those bursaries...

NOW! On to the crafting and fashion of awesomeness! I haven't done as much as I've wanted (psha, isn't that always the case), but I did get some stuff done.

First up, my Hallowe'en costume! I decided my Xena costume just WILL NOT DO! I've worn it 7 times in 13 years. Nuhuh, no more. Well maybe, but not this year. So I needed another strong female character as my alter ego. BEHOLD! She-Ra! The Princess of Power!!!!

I was already quite in the bag when this photo was taken, so please forgive the extraordinary goofiness. To give a better idea of the details:


That was ALOT of work. I used BurdaStyle's Lydia for the top with a point in the front, made a modified ovular circle skirt so that it'd long enough in the back, and the first head-wing was a total epic fail. The gems needed the silver crap sanded off the backs and were painted with nail polish, and rayon thread does NOT like playing a strength role. I just liked the shininess... I also made my own matching panties and butchered those sandals and added gold rope (they almost fell off my feet at least 5 times at the bar). So for next year, I need to add spats, gauntlets, a choker and a red cape. And I might redo the neckline, because it just looks sloppy (but it's attached REALLY well, arg).

I think the only truly sad thing about this whole costume is that maybe 3 people at the bar recognized who I was: 2 gay guys in their late 20s/early 30s, and one young woman dressed as Anne Boleyn. I was asked several times by the barely-legals if I was Sailor Moon *facepalm*


Guess what?!?! I FINALLY used the pheasant fabric my boyfriend's mom bought me! YAY! It turned out SUPER cute! I used BurdaStyle's Marie for the front, a Simplicity "sewing workshop" pattern from 1992 for the back, and shortened it by... oh god, like 7 inches. AFTER basting it together. I wish I'd known it was stupid-long before I'd cut the fabric. I also had to take the waist in ALOT because it's meant to sit about an inch below the natural waist. I wanted it AT my waist, and because there's such a huge difference between my hips and waist (about 10 inches), I had to take out almost 3 inches through the darts and back seam.