I hemmed and trimmed all the jillion miles of ruffles for the skirt. Hemming would have been enough of a pain (though let us all take a moment to praise the high and mighty rolled-hem foot!). But I had to go and edge each layer of ruffles with narrow black lace. Yes, I am officially insane, thankyouverymuch. But I really wanted the look of black trim on each red ruffle. It looked way too cool in my head for me to not do it. Besides, I ran out of matching red thread when I started hemming, so I was forced to put on the black lace to cover up the not-quite-matching stitching. And yes, I had to hem then trim each ruffle (thus sewing the same length twice) because the raw edge would have shown through the lace, and the lace had to be top-stitched because of the lace’s design.
I am *not* a nitpicky anal costumer type. Very, very rarely do I plan or attempt any project that would require me to sew the same thing twice or top-stitch or do most any kind of fiddly fussy work like this. I’m not that costumer, and I don’t even play her on TV. I’m a slap-dash, who-cares-it-won’t-really-show kinda gal. I’m a “lining? who needs a lining” costumer. I’m a safety-pin-is-good-enough costumer. I’m a “who sez velcro isn’t period as long as it doesn’t show” costumer. I sew hems by machine and then sew trim over the stitching line (also by machine) so it’s not as obvious. Hell, my standard-operating procedure is to throw trim onto anything that doesn’t work out, which in my costume closet is a lot of things.
So I’m still a bit gob-smacked that I trimmed all those ruffles. And that, a few messy areas aside (which won’t be noticeable once the ruffles are actually ruffled and attached to the skirt), it looks pretty good.
Also finished the polonaise. Made and attached the sleeves, made $@?%#! buttonholes (must. not. sew. anything. with. buttonholes. again!), sewed on the buttons, trimmed the neckline, and trimmed the bottom edge of the polonaise with fat black lace. Looks awfully cute, IMO.
Worked on the parasol too — made a fussy little rosette-like thing to go just below the finial, which in some ways was more trouble than it’s worth. Eh, had to cover that spot somehow. Realized that the parasol isn’t as taut as it could be, but, remember, I am not a perfectionist costumer, so I don’t care. Nyah!
As of July 30th, I’ve finished the parasol. Sewed black venice lace around the edge, glued the rosette and finial on, and glued red ribbon around the handle. The ribbon ended up being easier and looking better than the chopsticks would have. Oh well. I’ll use a couple chopsticks on the hat and pack some to use at the picnic.
Sushi beads bought on eBay
But I did luck into finding an artist on eBay who makes awesome beads shaped like sushi rolls. I plan to sew the small beads at the tips of some black venice lace for a choker. The large beads I might make into earrings and/or trim the drawstring bag that I’ll make to match the outfit.
Sushi corset made by Yosa of Silks & Velvets
Bought some sushi erasers on eBay to decorate the hat. I’ve lost one hat auction already and not having luck finding anything else. Need to scout thrift stores. Good thing the event isn’t until October!
And I can’t forget the fabulous sushi corset I bought from Yosa! It’s absolutely stunning, like everything she makes, so I couldn’t possibly resist it. Now I’ll be wearing sushi from the skin out.
Really, I am Theme Girl. Once I get a theme into my head, I have to take it as far as humanly possible. I’ve done this with parties, home decor, costumes, you name it. I hate to be half-assed about a theme. I really can’t be stopped once I get a theme going 😉