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charameiI'm trying to learn to sew, and I like costumes. And when I went to China this year, I found the most amazing... I think it's actually a wedding dress, but it was orange, and high-collared, and perfect.
And then I got back home and couldn't find any orange velvet... but I did find a gorgeous wine-coloured one at the Birmingham rag market. And I have a mother who likes a creative challenge, and I like to learn by doing...
Most of this is her work, really. I watched and sewed the simpler bits: she's the one who altered the pattern and did the fiddly stuff.
Some stats: it took seven metres of (fortunately very cheap) fabric, of which at least half was wastage due to oddly-shaped pieces and will be used for a couple of jackets my mum's making. The skirt has a radius of twenty feet and eight inches, and wearing it is like carrying my own personal Van de Graaff generator around: if you look closely, you can probably see my hair sticking to it in some of those pictures. I'm investigating the possibility of wearing a cotton shift underneath it to prevent some of the build-up.
Oh, and POCKETS. It doesn't have them, so I made a couple of little pouches, and when my mum's done with her jackets I'll improvise with the leftovers and hopefully make a bag to go with it.
As to where to wear it... there's a possibility of GenCon Indiana this year, assuming jobs happen.
For my next trick, I will be making pyjamas. Significantly less awesome, but I can do them on my own and, well, I need new pyjamas...
(After that, I'm hoping to make a Tranan costume; he's pretty easy, as long as I can find enough shades of brown.)
And then I got back home and couldn't find any orange velvet... but I did find a gorgeous wine-coloured one at the Birmingham rag market. And I have a mother who likes a creative challenge, and I like to learn by doing...
Most of this is her work, really. I watched and sewed the simpler bits: she's the one who altered the pattern and did the fiddly stuff.
Some stats: it took seven metres of (fortunately very cheap) fabric, of which at least half was wastage due to oddly-shaped pieces and will be used for a couple of jackets my mum's making. The skirt has a radius of twenty feet and eight inches, and wearing it is like carrying my own personal Van de Graaff generator around: if you look closely, you can probably see my hair sticking to it in some of those pictures. I'm investigating the possibility of wearing a cotton shift underneath it to prevent some of the build-up.
Oh, and POCKETS. It doesn't have them, so I made a couple of little pouches, and when my mum's done with her jackets I'll improvise with the leftovers and hopefully make a bag to go with it.
As to where to wear it... there's a possibility of GenCon Indiana this year, assuming jobs happen.
For my next trick, I will be making pyjamas. Significantly less awesome, but I can do them on my own and, well, I need new pyjamas...
(After that, I'm hoping to make a Tranan costume; he's pretty easy, as long as I can find enough shades of brown.)