Ahoy!

Avast ye...thingy! Walk the plank! Arrrgghhh and stuff!

Um, yeah...sooo...this was my pirate costume this past Halloween. Nothing like timely posting :) Actually, it is more like timely picture taking...and posting.

This costume gave me some headaches. The vest did anyway. This is the second one. The first got all wonky. I think it was simply a too stretchy fabric for the pattern. Now the fit, well, as you can see, it was not big enough to wrap around to button at the center front.

But I loved my solution so much better than a simple button. The larger skull and chain are a necklace. I attached the skull on and simply hung the chain over the smaller skull on the other side. Those smaller skulls are earring I found at a costume shop. Pretty neat find!

The flappy shoulder pieces turned out great. I was a little worried at first. It seemed like they were not going to fit. Thankfully it was not too bulky.

The top was super simple. I am glad I was short on time and left the edges raw. The fraying and loose threads is a great look for a rough pirate like myself. Don't believe the rough part huh? Me neither. But it was Halloween, I could go with it.

I also strapped a piratey pistol to my thigh with some of the red vest fabric. Since my dress form has no legs, I could not show that part off. But you can see it in this quick snapshot from an earlier post. (Not the most flattering pic...I will blame it on the angle)
Oh, and the sword too. You can see it there. That one did not live long enough to get photographed. The boys got a hold of it...and not the 6 year old...the 16 year old & his buddies. Goofballs! Gotta love 'em!

Alice'ish

 I say 'ish because it was by no means a traditional Alice costume. But she did inspire it. Too bad it did not turn out nearly as good as I had hoped. The satin got so crumply looking around the lace ups. AT least on it was not so noticeable.

I did like the peplum waistcoat and the poofy sleeve ends though. Comfy :)

The skirt was, well, waaaayyyy short. So I decided to lengthen it by using two different blues. That I did like. Gave it some pop. Oh, and the darker blue is sparkly...not that you can see it in the pics.

And the lace trim, so sweet.

The vest was much too big. But an easy fix. I just need to shorten the straps hat cross behind. I did not bother then since it sat under a closed coat.

Green Steam's Mate

This is what my husband wore when we went to the costume party around Halloween. It was the mate to my green steampunk get up. We did not want to get too into it with him since steampunk is my thing, not his. Plus, I wanted to make something that could possibly be re-wearable. Which my son was quite happy about...he quickly claimed the coat as his.

The cravat was a bit of a guesswork piece. I did find some decent tutorials online, but when I went to make it  just went on memory. Turned out fine. We did have a decent pin he used,  but I couldn't find it for this pic...sorry :(

 The vest is an awesome brocade I got at Haberman Fabrics. The green really popped it.

The sleeves needed some work up at the top, but the bottom turned out great. I love the button detail.

I posted a quick snapshot of us from the party if you want to see the two together, goggles and all.

Wordless Wednesday

Green Steam

I finally got my costumes on the dressform for a little photo taking. The background, well, just ignore the TV and stack of old VCR tapes. 

The color did not come out as good as it looks in person...which is unsurprising given the fabric type. But I think you can still get the idea. Oh, and the cami under the coat...mine. I ran out of time for the bustier and this top I already had matched so well, I just went with it.

 I couldn't find a way to show the fullness of the skirt, but the piece below the ruffle and trim, well, there were four and each was about 4 feet long...and took a half hour, EACH, to attach. But so worth it :)

The lacing on the back was a great touch....which I forgot to lace up for the costume party...ugh. Still looked good without though....and comfier to sit. I went with brown to match the trim on the skirt.

The ruffle neckline was awesome! And it was a good thing it was there since the top of the coat was so wide that my bra straps would have shown without the poof of the ruffle.

The little cap over the sleeve top added more to the look than I would have thought.

And I got to play with the new serger lots on this piece! And with metallic gold...fun!

Wordless Wednesday

More Doctor

Need I say more?

Wordless Wednesday

Don't Blink

This one is for all you Whovians out there.

I love the way her hair turned out...it has a great texture.

The text is nice and simple. I just used my own writing...like a quick note when you can't look away....

Black and Blue

....and Godets too :)  I don't remember which pattern this one started as, but I will try to find it. It was supposed to be a dress. But like that last dress I started, it was just too much print. So i just added a waistline and made it a skirt.

This was also my first time with godets. I love them. It gives such a nice fullness. You can kind of see them here. With this print, it is not easy to spot.

Cherry Denim

Denim with teeny embroidered cherries on them that is. This skirt is perfect for work. The length is work worthy...meaning I can move around without flashing any unsuspecting victims. Although, it is only good because I extended it from the original length. I used some grosgrain ribbon on the border of the 2 denims. I did not have enough of the cherry left, so I used some plain stuff I had lying around. It worked.

Closer up on the ribbon border...

And you can see the pockets here....very useful at work.

This is the pattern I used, Vogue 1247...

Mmmmmm...Marimekko

Love Marimekko. I was not so sure about this print as a skirt at first. Horizontal stripes...never good at a larger size. Well, almost. I think this one works because while the strips are horizontal, they are askew and different tones.

This is the fabric itself:

And this is the skirt I made with it:

And the pattern...Burda 8090:

Wordless Wednesday

Watercolor Skirt

I love this print. It looks like a watercolor painting of flowers. It is getting a little chilly and wintery to wear it much longer. But I did manage to sneak in one more wearing yesterday when it was a tad warmer out.

The fit is pretty good, although it will be better with the loss of a couple more pounds :P The top band is a tad taller than I envisioned. This one was made without a pattern, so it is more like a trial run that wound up wearable. Gotta love those!

It doesn't fit so well on the dress form. If I pull it down further to fit her like it does me, it just looks odd...odder anyway. But you get the idea.

Drawing Room Skirt

Drawing Room...that's the name of this fabric by Ann Marie Horner...not where you wear the skirt. Although, I suppose you could. Personally, I wear it to work :)

Please excuse the fit of the skirt on the dress form. I can't seem to get the hip area smooth...and smaller. Something went sproing and no longer twists. Bummer.

In case you are wondering, I used the New look 6030 pattern, minus any pockets and belt loops. I never wear belts. They only accent the width...yick :P

Wordless Wednesday

Pirate Arrrggg

Here is another costume...a pirate this time. Now this view...not so hot, but you get the gist. I will take some pics on the manni to show it off better. But without the sword since it broke when the boys were sword fighting. And not the little kids...the big ones.

And the winner was...

Us :)

I had so much fun making these costumes. I wore his to work on Monday and mine on Tuesday. It'll be worn again Sunday so I can show a couple people how it turned out. It is even being photographed by some students and the local college for their final project. Fun!

I'll get a better pic later and show it with the other costumes I have made recently.

Wordless Wednesday

Costume Pile

Well, costumes-to-be pile. I have been a tad busy. Once all this is made (plus two not seen here), I will show off all the stuff I've made while I was being Bad Blogger. 'Til then....

Circles Skirt

Yup. Circles. Plural. It's not a circle skirt as in shape, but in print.

I have had this fabric for quite some time now. It's an embroidered linen. I added a poly print for the lining for some fun. Yes, I find fun in small places.

I need to unload my dressform so I can show you some of my new skirts, but for now, you get it on a hanger :)