Just realized I still hadn't posted this...lol. My family and friends went to the renfair Halloween weekend. I have a huge assortment of renfair gear that I've made for myself and my friends, but THIS year I was seven months pregnant when we went and so of course none of it fit me. Luckily my wonderful husband spoiled me and let me go crazy during the Halloween fabric sale at Joann's and I got stuff to make an entirely new pregnancy-friendly outfit!
I decided to be a fairy because it seemed like the least restrictive/easy to grow with look, and I picked red because I look great in red! Plus I already had the crown and wanted it to have an outfit that matched the crown.
Me and my husband
Close up
Me and my brother...and an owl!
The white under dress has long sleeves and I sewed channels up the top so I could adjust for the unpredictable Texas weather. In these pics they are "up." The neck also has a channel so I can gather it and wear it low on my shoulders for a wench look if I want. I wanted this to be a very versatile white ren-fair under dress, not just for maternity! I had a small problem that I did beautiful french seams throughout and then realized I needed underarm gussets...gah! But I worked it out.
The bodice thing was made using an old bodice I had as a pattern--just a bigger size to accommodate my new motherly bosom. I'm not totally happy with how it came out, but I am proud that it is completely lined, and neatly!
The skirt is a bunch of organza petals sewn into a waistband that ties in a bow in the back (to accommodate changing belly size) and probably my favorite part of the outfit! I love the way they swoosh and move when I walk or spin.
The wings I made using Aislynn's (craftster member) tutorial at her website: http://www.freewebs.com/faeriemuse/ It was easy and they turned out so pretty!
Anyway, my baby is due in ten days and I have lots of baby stuff still to sew, of course! Thanks for looking!
I made this awesome gold totally functional messenger bag for my pokemon trainer costume in June for AKON Dallas--inside zippered pocket, cell phone pouch, pen and pencil pouch, etc. I loved it so much that after the con, I used it all summer as a regular purse! I even took it with me to my nannying job.
Of course, the little 10 year old girl I was nannying LOVED it (and pokemon) and asked if I could make her one, but in pink. So one week I brought my sewing machine to her house and for an hour a day during "arts and crafts" time, we worked on making her a bag like mine. And here it is!
The pink pokemon bag! It's made from sturdy cotton twill, the white part is really soft flannel.
outside/inside pockets are the perfect size for my cell phone. Pencil holders are under the front flap. There's no closure, just the flap
Me and the original gold bag (with pokeball pins and pokedex pinned to strap)
My mom asked me to make her a Vera Bradley style quilted tote, so of course I had to oblige! She picked out some pretty pre-quilted fabric and I just went to town based on the pics on the vb website.
It was pretty easy and probably only took two hours start to finish. And I gave it to her today and she loved it. <3 the outside pocket between the straps closes with a little square of velcro, that button is purely decorative. The top closes with an elastic loop over another of the red buttons. (She didn't want a zipper)
My first *real* quilt! I actually bought the fabric two years ago for the front and just intended to sew some squares onto some purple fleece, but never had the time cause I was still in college. Well, since then I've gotten some mad sewing skillz and loads of extra time (thanks, crappy economy!!) and a little luck, so I put it together and this is what I made!
Like I said, the front was pieced from quilter's cotton and some old purple curtains (the curtains make up the back too). I don't know how to do a binding, so I just did the birthing method and quilted it with my machine in diamonds going opposite ways from the squares, and accented the solid purple squares with brown ribbon bows. My only hiccup was a week-before-Christmas "oh god I forgot that purple and red aren't supposed to go together!" moment, but I think I managed to make the colors work anyway!
I also embroidered the date and a little message on the bottom corner:
A few years ago I was in a costume-making class at my university, and I drafted a pattern for a doublet, but because we had so much to cover in the class and I was a busy student, I didn't get to actually make the doublet that year! Over the past few years I finally had enough time to get this whole costume together, and my husband finally got to wear it to renfair this year!
Doublet: Drafted the pattern and put it together. It's made from remnant upholstery fabric with green and gold velvet trim and lion-face gold-colored buttons. Undershirt: I made it from leftover material from a table cloth, the pattern is based on the Butterick 5008. Hat: I made it from green velveteen, based on directions from the rennaisance tailor: http://www.renaissancetailor.com/ The feather is from Hobby Lobby and I just sewed it onto the trim. Belt and Pouch: Were hand-tooled and dyed by my brother John. (More of his work in this thread: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=314280.0)
The pants were just regular dockers and the boots were costume-store boots from his Han Solo costume a few years back.
Gunnar with his brother Erik( as a pirate):
Gunnar with a cool wolf guy and my brother John: (John's costume is home-made too!)
Since my primary Halloween event this year was the National Novel Writing Month Kickoff Party at the local comic book shop Dragon's Lair, and included a costume contest, I figured what better costume than one of the greatest writers of all time? Bonus points because I've always wanted to make a historically accurate-ish Regency costume!
Double bonus points for me because this entire costume was made from scraps, mostly left overs from when I fixed up my wedding dress.
I made chemise long ago during an ice storm where I was locked in my dorm for a few days with nothing else do to...
The corset is a short one, using leftover white twill from my husband's ren fair shirt and some pink bedsheet for the inside lining. I bound it with pink bias tape.
For the dress, I hand-dyed the nasty bright white faux-satin into something pretty, a nice lavender color. Which was more than I was expecting, since the crappy faux-satin is more plastic than fiber. But I was glad to have some use for it, since it was originally the entire underskirt for my wedding dress, hence the replacing of it with real satin for the wedding.
I used Simplicity 4055 as a pattern, but changed it up to suit my liking. The split skirt was totally an accident, because I started to cut the back placket in the wrong side. I almost flipped out before I realized I could still salvage it as a split skirt, and rounded up some leftover beautiful real white satin for the underskirt. I played around with piping for the first time ever and loved it. If I had more time I would have probably piped every seam in the whole dress, lol! I also added a string of beading under the bust. The only thing on the dress I'm unhappy with accuracy wise is the elastic on arm holes. Unfortunately (or fortunately, I guess) I've been working out a crapload and the arm pieces I cut out and sewed for the mock up no longer fit me by my final fitting. Alas, I said, it was only Halloween!
I topped it off with a regency-accurate hairstyle and bonnet for when I went outside.
So my mom gave me a floor length drawstring skirt with an adorable pattern about a year ago and I never ever wore it because a) it was too small for my big booty and b) I am so short that floor-length dresses just look silly on me.
I decided to use the had the bottom half of the skirt for clothing, which was still too small to go around my butt but so adorable. I chopped the skirt in half so that it would be knee length. There were slits in the sides (from when it was the bottom of the skirt) that made it fit comfortably but totally immodestly. When I was digging through my stash I had a flash of inspiration--a superhuge t-shirt that was the same color as the dots in the flowers could be an adorable underskirt!
The t-shirt and bottom half of skirt:
The finished skirt!
I wore it to work today and because the underskirt is jersey it was totally warm, modest, and comfy! My husband said it looked dumb with the white shirt, but I think that the white makes an otherwise bohemianish look and makes it crisp and professional. (I wore my brown mary-jane sketchers with it.)
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With the top half of the skirt, I made a pillow-bed-thing for my cat, who because of her arthritis, decided it was better to sleep on and get hair all over my piles of fabric instead of her usual barstool chair. I inserted three layers of padding made from a ragged and stained towel inside the top half of the skirt. After breaking two needles trying to quilt it, I finally gave up and did it by hand. It says "Ember" in cursive quilting, but it's hard to see in the pics. She loves it and it's washable!
The layers:
I plan to edge it with some nice gray velvet...when I have money to buy anything besides gas and groceries!
She sent me an amazing purse with a Gryffindor Lion embroidered on it, with a matching zippered coin purse with HP embroidered on it! Yay Gryffindor Pride!
She also sent a gold crochet (or knitted??) chapstick holder (I am soo addicted to chapstick) and an adorable Gryffindor bow! (Perfect addition to my ever-growing Hermione Costume!) And a sweet card. (not pictured, I put it on my bulletin board already.)
I know I look like a dork in these pics, I had just got off of work (I'm a substitute teacher) and had to take pics as soon as I opened my package! I actually got it a few days ago, but haven't been able to get online.
Thanks again! I can never have too much Gryffindor Stuff!
Thanks for the complements guys! My brother is a propmaking genius, I swear. I help by supply him with the textiles and the inspirations.
If you mean my reference image, it's Susan from the Narnia movie Prince Caspian. The hairdo in my results pic was just me tying in the matching ribbon in my hair so I could take some pics to include on this thread.
What is the purpose of the waxing, to set the shape? Or some other purpose?
Thanks!
To answer your questions, yes, the leather dries on the mold for a few days and hardens. Hardened leather is tough and stiff, but will become more supple with wear and tear and if exposed to water again, can be reshaped.
The wax is what turns the hardened leather into armor. After the leather has absorbed the wax it is waterproof and as rigid as thick plastic.
This is a really bad picture, but here it is just standing up on a table by itself, so you can see how thick it is and how it can just stand up by itself.
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