After much hemming and hawing (no pun intended), I made the overgown. Well, it’s not quite done yet. Need to finish hand-sewing the trim around the incredibly wide neckline. Also need to add sash ties in the back because in my attempt to make the overgown big enough to go over the first gown, I
Technically, both costumes are done now. Pulled a marathon (for me; I stayed up past midnight 😉 sewing session last night and finished my gown. Designed sleeves based on, well, not much ‘cept the fact that I wanted to be able to eat in the dress yet still have a semblance of Floppy Elf Sleeve
Today, I got the main body of my black and silver elf gown done. Not sure if I’ll bother with the overgown because when I sewed the wide sari trim to the neckline, it just looked so good against the solid black. I think the silver overgown (a la the two-part Requiem outfit) might detract
I sweated it out in the nearly 100-degree house and almost completed the Aragorn tunic. Omg, do I rock or what?!? This thing looks freakin’ awesome. The perfect silver and black diamond fabric, fully lined, stand-up collar, fold-over closure, totally like the movie costume, and just cool in its own right. I’m totally self-satisfied with
Lady Fifi MacFoufster, captain of the pirate ship, the Purple Prose, writer of overwrought words, wielder of the poisoned pen, mixer of metaphors, and defender of the serial comma! About 2am the night before I first wore this, I invented the persona for this costume. Seemed appropriate, being that I’m a writer and editor by
Done! With one week to spare. Trimmed up the coat today, buttons and silver braid. Very flashy and Hollywood. Used up almost all the buttons and trim too. Even put buttons above the center-back vent. It just looked cool, even if means I can’t sit back against a chair in this coat. The price we
My pirate lady costume is so goddamned girlie! It’s Foufy McPouftster. It’s dandy, it’s fey, it’s don’t-you-think-I-look-good-in-this-hat. Jack Sparrow would laugh me right off the gangplank, but he might want to shag me speechless first. Well, no, there’s not enough cleavage for that 😉 But it is the least “AAAARRRR” pirate you can imagine. It’s
This skirt is hella cool, but it’s kicking my ass. All the hand sewing! My eyes are blurry, my back aches. Last night, it was sewing the pleats to the waistband. Tedious as all heck, especially since I made the pleats probably a smidge too small. The skirt’s pleated edge ended up being exactly the
Cartridge-pleating while mildly intoxicated is fun! The stitches might not be even, but they aren’t when I’m stone cold sober either 🙂 The gingham trick is actually more of a pain in the arse than just eyeballing the stitch length. Dunno if I’ll bother again (but I have yards and yards of gingham strips all
In record time, I finished the Lady Pirate Jacket Mark 2.0. Probably started sometime after 3pm yesterday, worked on it till midnight, and started again today, about an hour and a half before the game. Finished the hem and tacked down the collar in between periods of the Sharks game. Looks pretty good, if I
And not just because I sewed the collar in upside down. Well, ok, mostly because of that. But also because of my asinine attempts to modify this men’s Colonial coat pattern into a more fitted, girlie pirate coat. The side darts are all fucked up — but I thought I cover the front with silver
Made a muslin of the jacket. Added big darts in the front, modified the shoulder and armscye all to heck. But it seems to fit in a more ladylike fashion, which is the point. Started sewing it up in the velvets. Looks… well, the front darts look weird. But trim should distract. Bonus, I found
I braved the ginormous mess that is The Stash and was duly rewarded. The 3 yards of purple velvet coordinates beautifully with the 6 yards purple and black flocked suiting! That velvet should be enough for the pirate jacket, which takes 3.3 yards, but the pattern I have (McCall’s 2258) is a man’s jacket, and
I should never have mentioned my vague Georgian riding outfit/lady pirate idea because now a friend wants me to join her in being all piratey on Sunday at BayCon. Heh, this is not really a problem, per se. Just a challenge! Can I whip up something from scratch in the five weekend days available to
Photos of me taken at the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden. Screencaps from the Lord of the Rings movies added for costume comparison.