DragonCon Mystery Costume - The Jacket

As promised, a look at my thoughts for the mystery costume jacket.

First up, the original inspiration photo. I love the sleeveless cropped jacket (if you haven't already noticed from photos I've posted, I love cropped jackets and have several of them) And the collar is just fabulous.



(http://mydisguises.com/2008/05/19/deconstructing-steampunk-designing-your-own-costume/)

Then I was browsing the FIDM Museum Blog (Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising) and found this amazing bolero style jacket from the 1890s. Again its cropped and has that awesome collar. What's even better is they show a back view so that one can see that the collar does not extend across the back but instead stops at the shoulders.





(Check out http://blog.fidmmuseum.org/museum/2011/06/bolero-style-jacket-1894-1898.html for the article)

So with inspiration taken care of, I started thinking about patterns. There are two contenders. First up is McCalls 3033, a standard that I've used for several shrugs. My worry is that it is too small in the front to allow for a large collar like I want.



Another option is Butterick 5232, which I've also used for several jackets. Its a historical pattern for a cropped Victorian jacket. And it has two collars to choose from! However, even in a sleeveless version, it requires more fabric that I have left of the pink silk. I could do it if I cropped the jacket by another few inches, which would probably be more of what I want anyways.

So my options are this: (1) I use the shrug pattern and enlarge the front to allow for a large collar. The collar itself would likely come from the jacket pattern. OR (2) I shorten the jacket pattern and use one of the collars.

If I go with option (1) I might be able to use the pink silk for the collar. If I go with option (2) I will definitely have to do a contrast collar, for which I have several options -- white, black or maybe even a pink satin that might look interesting.

The lining will likely be the rest of the black sateen from the skirt (I have about half a yard, maybe) and I will be interlining it with white cotton to give the silk some body.

Right now my plan is this -- once the skirt is finished, I'm going to try on the outfit (blouse, corset, skirt) and try a couple jackets with it to see how they look style-wise. I know I have a sleeveless version of the shrug I've already made (its the black and silver plaid) but I don't have one of the jacket. The next step will be cutting my chosen pattern out of white cotton, then fitting and adjusting it before I use it as my pattern and interlining.

I think the jacket may be the most complicated piece of this outfit. After the corset of course.

Speaking of corsets, you should check out this article on how to wear a Victorian corset: http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=d7d7ea251b760f56e4afa10bf&id=3bd90b856b

That's all for now! Feel free to comment and give your opinion on my jacket ideas.

A little Marcon progress...

I cut out the back lining for my beau's vest and pinned it to the front lining at the shoulders and side seams. Tomorrow I hope to get it sewn together and get the lining put into the vest.

I also stopped by Miss Von Stoup's and fit her jacket. I am happy that I went with the larger size because if I'd gone smaller (with the size the size chart suggested), I don't think the jacket would have fit over her ample bosom. I took in (although its just pinned now) the side seams and the front seams, at the bottom and at the top, but not over her breasts. I may also try to get the alterations to the jacket stitched tomorrow, but the vest is more important to me at the moment.

Bonne nuit, dormi bien, a bientot!

Miss Leah J Wilde

A little Ohayocon, a little sewing for me and a little quilting

I didn't get a chance to work on Catwoman sadly. Hopefully I can do that soon.

I did sew a hook onto my Harley Quinn jacket. Its meant for my mask when I'm tired of carrying it, but I may just hook some old keys on there. We'll see.

I finished sewing together the rows of my beau's quilt which means.....I finished my first quilt top! I am quite excited. Now of course comes the actual quilting....

The Joker jacket is almost finished. I sewed in most of the lining today, until I hit a snag -- the lining was just a touch short around one sleeve. So I brought it home, sewed in a little more fabric and pinned it. Its in my sewing basket to finish sewing tomorrow. I also hemmed the sleeves. Before sewing in the lining, I basted the lapels into place so that it would be easier to sew the lining to the lapels. I took the basting out when the lining was stitched into place. EDIT I just finished sewing the lining into place on the second sleeve. Even though it'll need buttons at some point, it's wearable as is and so I am considering it DONE. (Jan. 5, 2011) It took me one day under two weeks to finish. Not bad, not bad at all.

I worked on my pin up skirt. First of all, let me describe the skirt. Its a circle skirt style (one of my favorites) done in two layers -- the pin up fabric is the top layer and the 'petticoat' layer is cream cotton with a polka dot ruffle. I basted the zipper into place on the pin up fabric. Then I sewed the ruffle into place and hemmed it. Next I sewed the two layers together along the top with a basting stitch and sewed the zipper into place in the lining layer. Then I sewed the waistband (which is polka dotted on the outside, cream on the inside) to the top of the skirt then pinned it into place so that it covers the stitching at the top of the skirt. Its in my sewing basket to hand stitch down tomorrow. I also put some cream lace in there, as I am quite tempted to trim one if not both layers in lace.

I decided which pattern to use for my corduroy skirt. I'm going with the long version of the wrap skirt, probably the plaid one in the bottom row. I need to get some interesting closures for it. I'm hoping that I'll actually wear it. I usually wear a lot of circle skirts, which means I don't really have anything else in my wardrobe so something different would be nice. I think I'll just have to force myself to wear it the first few times, until I get used to the new-ness.



I also decided what to do with my pink suedecloth. I'm going to make the Vogue skirt on the left, the one with the flared bottom. At least I hope I am, I think it'll be cutting it close fabric wise. But the flared skirt is the plan, if not, I'll probably go with the Vogue on the right, with the godets as it uses less fabric.



All in all, I think I had a rather successful day. Tomorrow I would like to finish the Joker jacket and the Pin Up Skirt. I may also have time to either work on Miss Dashwood's costume or cut out one of my skirts, probably the corduroy will be first. It'll give me a winter-y skirt to wear.

My new year's resolution is to name each item I make myself. It'll be more entertaining that way.

A bientot!

Miss Leah J Wilde
Steam-stress of the Airship Archon

Ohayocon Prep 24

Well, as you noticed from the postscript on my last post, I have hit full panic mode. Ohayocon is less than a month away and I still have all of Miss Dashwood's items and most of my beau's to complete! I managed to generate enough calm yesterday to compile an extensive, detailed to do list, including time estimates for each item. I'm guessing that I need about three weeks to complete everything, which gives me an extra few days before the convention to finish up any last minute issues. I'm still in panic mode but I feel slightly better.

Yesterday, I finished stitching in the lining on the tails of the Joker tailcoat. I would have done more, but then realized that I needed to discuss the interior pockets with my beau before I did anything with them. And I cannot put in the lining of the body until the pockets are taken care of. I also probably need to buy buttons and do the buttonholes -- I'm leaning towards bound because I don't think stitched buttonholes would work well on the corduroy -- before the lining goes in. I may be able to do the buttonholes after the lining. It'll take some thought to figure that one out.

I also discussed Miss Dashwood's utility belt and bustle with her. She suggested and I agreed that an all in one option would work best. I sketched out some ideas, she approved one and I worked out a pattern on newspaper. Unfortunately, I was unable to start on the belt / bustle because I still have not prewashed the fabric. That is on my list of things to do today.

I'm rather bored at work today -- I have no hand sewing projects to work on. I have contemplated hand basting the underlining and trouser fabric together, but think that it would be too tedious to handle today. I'm entertaining that as a last resort.

What I hope to accomplish this weekend:
1. Finish my HQ mask. I need to shorten, paint and attach the handle to the mask.
2. Add a loop or a hook to my costume for the mask to hang from when I'm not holding it.
3. I also need to try on my completed costume to see if any changes need to be made.

4. Prewash the fabric for Catwoman.
5. At least cut out the pattern for the belt and the bustle ruffles.

6. Talk to my beau about all the questions I have about his costume.
7. Go button / tie fabric / vest lining shopping with my beau.
8. Buttons and buttonholes on the jacket.
9. Interior pockets on the jacket.
10. Finish sewing in the jacket lining.
11. See if beau approves of the lapel. If he does, sew the lapels on and stitch in the lining to finish the edges.
12. Finish sleeves with either a hand stitched hem or a faux fur cuff to match the lapels.
13. Baste together the underlining and fabric for the trousers.

This is just a vague to do list. I may actually leave the lining of the tailcoat until next week because I can work on it during the day while I'm at work. If I do that, I'll be working more on the trousers this weekend.

A bientot!

Miss Leah J Wilde
Steam-stress of the Airship Archon

Ohayocon 23

First of all, my mask is pretty much finished. I need to cut and paint the dowel rod and then attach it to the mask, but the sewing part is done.

As for Miss Dashwood's fabric and sketches, those are still undone. I ended up being sent home early from work, just as I began to work on them. So that's why they are still undone.

I have worked on the Joker however. I finished the other two welted pockets on the jacket. They both went much better than the first pocket. I attempted to take enough photos for a tutorial but failed -- it is rather hard to remember to photograph each step. I just get so caught up in the sewing! Once the pockets were finished, I started on the lining. After pinning and not liking it, I decided just to hand stitch in the lining. I like the way it looks for one thing and I also feel that I have better control over it if I just do it by hand. So last night, I pinned the tail lining onto the coat. I worked on the stitching today and its almost finished. Last night I also basted on the lapels. I figured that basting it on was the best option. That way, we can decided if we like the faux fur or not. If the answer is yes, I can stitch it on properly and if the answer is no, I can remove it easily. The next step after the tail lining is sewn in will be the lining of the body of the jacket.

After I put in the pockets, which I completely forgot about until now. I think they're just going to be patch pockets, but I'll ask the beau to make sure before I do that. Which of course means that I'll have to wait to start putting in that lining until after I put the pockets in.

If I finish the tail lining tomorrow while at work, I shall probably work on sketches for ever lovely Miss Dashwood.

A bientot!

Miss Leah J Wilde
Steam-stress of the Airship Archon

PS -- Eeep! One month til Ohayocon! I'm definitely hitting full panic mode now!

Ohayocon Prep 19 and Quilting 3

First of all, I thought I'd let you all know how my Christmas gifts were received. My mother and father both liked their aprons, Mama wore hers most of the past weekend while we baked. I wore a vintage tied around the waist "merry christmas" apron, just in case you're wondering. My brother and sister in law both liked their pajama pants. I had them try them on, fixed the waist elastic (tightened, knotted and snipped) and pinned the hem. Then I stitched the elastic casing closed and hemmed the pants, all while sitting on my parents' living room floor. My sister in law was particularly pleased with her purple flannel pajama pants and was planning on putting them on when they got home.

Otherwise, well...not too much has been going on in Miss Wilde's Steamy World of Sewing. I don't know if its the weather or what (its been rather frigid here aboard the airship, such a hard thing to heat properly) but I haven't had the inclination for much sewing.

What I have done --

Finished cutting out the muslin for the Joker jacket. Basted it together and got my beau to try it on last night. The front needs widened to allow for it to button, but otherwise, it fits just fine.

One evening last week, I planned on sewing for myself. Just a basic skirt out of some wide wale teal corduroy in my stash. But the pattern would not cooperate with me. Instead, I pulled out the blocks for my beau's quilt, came up with a design, and started pinning the blocks together into rows.

I still haven't finished my mini top hat or my mask for HQ.

I definitely need to get on the ball with both Joker and Catwoman. No more slacking allowed -- only 39 days til Ohayocon (at least by my count). And I have at least one project to finish by Christmas, but its scrapbooking, not sewing.

My to do list

Christmas
1. Scrapbook - definitely need to finish this before Christmas
2. Quilt - and if I can get the quilt top done as well, I'd be very pleased. But the scrapbook is the important part.

My beau's Joker costume
1. Jacket - use the other jacket from the pattern to gauge how much to widen the jacket front, cut out the corduroy and the lining then put the jacket together. And I need to add pockets to the inside of the jacket if at all possible. And I think we're going to do the collar and cuffs (adding cuffs to the pattern actually) out of something different, maybe some fake fur.
2. Vest - size up the pattern I have from the Captain's vest, cut out and construct.
3. Pants - cut out of the fabric and the underlining, stitch the underlining to the fabric, then construct. I need to figure out how to convert the button closure to a standard zipper. I have absolutely no desire to tackle a button fly at this time.

Miss Dashwood's Catwoman
1. Utility belt - design and construct. Its going to have lots of snaps and pockets, I know that much for sure.
2. Bustle - very basic design of a few ruffles
3. Shirt - modify turtleneck by inserting zipper (this may be the first bit that I tackle actually)

Well, that was mainly a "all the crap I have to do in the next month and a half" post, wasn't it?

A bientot!

Miss Leah J Wilde

Ohayocon Prep 16 and Quilting EDITED

Okay readers, my dearest darling readers, my Harley Quinn outfit is (mainly) complete!

I made the pattern and started the purse cover yesterday at work, and finished putting it together last evening. I folded the bottom ends up (kinda like if I was wrapping a present) and secured them with buttons today. Silver with fleur de lis to echo the design in the black taffeta. I sewed the ribbons on and also trimmed it in some black lace. The cover itself is made out of the red taffeta from my costume. EDIT Pictures!


The purse cover.


A close up of the button on the ends.

I also put the grommets in my jacket (5 on each side) so all that's left to do is test out the outfit and see how it looks!

Oh and while the hat is pretty much done, I still need to either put an elastic band on or a hair comb. I also need to work on the mask, but I don't have the necessary materials.

But overall, except for those few teeny tiny things, its DONE!

As you know, my next project is a Joker costume for my beau. Unfortunately, I did not think to measure him last weekend, so I'm at his mercy for him to come over for said measuring. Until he's measured, I cannot do anything on his costume. Nor can I start on Miss Dashwood's Catwoman because we don't have the supplies.

As you can imagine, the utter inability to work on anything led to sheer boredom. So I decided to start a quilt that has been waiting for me to work on it. Readers, please note this is my first quilt. I'm working with 8" squares (VERY easy was the idea here). All of the patterned fabric was cut, but I had some solid to use (black and red) so I cut those into squares, then started sewing. After the sewing came the snipping apart and the ironing of the seams.

The ironing didn't go well. I retract that statement. The actual ironing went perfectly well. Its the 'my arm coming into contact with the iron' that didn't go well. I have about an inch and a half long burn on the inside of my right arm, approaching the elbow. Its been treated with aloe (with lidocaine!) and bandaged. My mother worries about it becoming infected and ordered me to keep it covered. It looked much better this morning when I re-bandaged it than it did last evening, but its still giving me a little bit of pain.

The moral of this story? Miss Wilde should not quilt.

Today at work, I counted up my squares, decided that I'm going to need more (thankfully I have more fabric) and started pinning pieces together for the next stage of sewing. Tonight when I get home, I'll make up a few more squares and start putting them all together. Unless Miss Von Stoup comes over for assistance with her Poison Ivy costume. But that may not happen as she also injured herself last evening -- a nasty cut on her right thumb.

A bientot!

Miss Leah J Wilde

Christmas and Ohayocon Prep 15 EDITED

First of all, I finished my brother's pajama pants last evening. I stitched the waistband casing and threaded the elastic through. Now he needs to try them on for elastic and pant leg length.

And my HQ jacket is almost complete. Yesterday at work I hand stitched in the lining and pinned the sleeve hems. Last night I machine stitched the sleeve hems and top stitched around the jacket opening and all the peplums with a white straight stitch. We decided that lacing from underneath the breasts to the waist would be lovely. I picked out small grommets for the lacing, mainly because I have a lot of them already so there's no need to purchase larger ones. I'm unsure what color lacing I'll use, I have some red cord and some black ribbon that I could use, but I lean towards using white which necessitates a purchase. EDIT Pictures!


A shot of me sewing in the lining. I used black thread because I like contrast.

I personally think it needs more, but Miss Dashwood likes the subtle touch. I'll see what I think once the whole outfit is put together I think. I may add another row of stitching or a little zig zag in addition to the straight stitch or I may just leave it as is. We'll see.

I also worked on my hat. I decided to use the plastic cup technique that I read about online (I think it was on cutoutandkeep.com). First I made it shorter because it was a rather tall cup. Then I traced the top and cut it out of cardboard for the top of the hat. I traced the top again and added to the circumference for the hat brim, and cut that out of cardboard as well. I used scotch tape and clear packing tape to put the hat together.

With the base constructed, it was time to start adding fabric. I used an uncut plastic cup to gauge the fabric to cover the body of the hat and cut it out. I wrapped it around the hat, trimmed it then used a gathering stitch along the bottom to make it fit. The top was notched and stitched with long stitches across the top of the hat to hold it in place. Next up was covering the brim. I cut out a large circle of fabric and first tried a gathering stitch. That didn't work so well. So I took out the gathering stitch and decided to pin it in place and stitch it. Around this time, I remembered that I have double sided tape (usually used to hold costumes in place). So I used a large X of that on the bottom of the brim to hold the fabric in place while I pinned and stitched it in place along the top of the brim. With the brim covered, I trimmed off the excess and turned my attention to the top of the hat. The brim and the body of the hat were covered in the diamond print cotton. Once again, I used double stick tape to hold it in place. I cut out a square of fabric (black taffeta) large enough to cover the top of the hat and taped it in place. I then trimmed off the extra and treated the edges with fray check so that they wouldn't fray (obviously :) ). Next was a double stitch in red thread to hold the top in place and add a bit of red to the hat.

Now it was time to trim the hat. I made a hat band out of a length of black taffeta and added white lace to one edge. I then stitched white lace into place on the brim. A piece of my narrow red ribbon was stitched along the center of the hat band. Now all I have to do is stitch the hat band in place. I'm planning to either add a hair comb to the bottom or elastic to hold it on my head. I am unsure at this moment. EDIT -- hat band has been stitched on. EDIT TWO Here's a couple shots of the hat at this stage of construction.




I want to add more to my hat, perhaps a plume of feathers or something sparkly, but Miss Dashwood thinks the hat is fine how it is. She actually thinks my outfit is rather over the top and keeps telling me to dial it back a notch. And while I think she's right, I also think that's the point. After all, if you can't be over the top with Harley Quinn, when can you?

Today I have my hat with me, as well as materials for the mask and purse. I plan to trace another mask that I've made and cut it out of black taffeta. I need to check my stash for buckrum like I used the last time or purchase a bit of it. Maybe I can use netting for the inside of the mask, but I doubt it'll be enough. I'll have to see. As for the purse, I've decided to make a cover for an old purse that I don't carry much anymore. Its going to be red taffeta with black diamonds and tie on with black ribbons. I may trim it in black and or white lace, that decision will be made after the construction of the purse.

Harley Quinn
1. Petticoat - DONE!
2. Bustle - DONE!
3. Corset - DONE!
4. Underskirt - DONE!
5. Jacket - put in grommets and laces
6. Top Hat - DONE!
7. Purse - pattern needs to be made and cover needs to be constructed and trimmed
8. Mask - pattern needs to be made and mask constructed and trimmed. I need to purchase and paint a dowel rod for the stick to hold the mask by.

I'm anticipating that I'll be finished with Harley Quinn either today or tomorrow. Or at least mostly finished. Next up is the Joker! My first step of that will be the mock up of the jacket for fitting and measuring my beau so I can start on the other items.

A bientot!

Miss Leah J Wilde

Christmas and Ohayocon Prep 14 - Now with Readers Poll!

Hello my dear readers!

Things are still coming along quite swimmingly!

While I ironed the fabric for my beau's Joker costume, I did not progress to the point of cutting out and putting together the muslin.

I decided that getting my jacket to a point where there was hand sewing to be done at work today was a better proposition. So that's what I worked on. Going slowly and with a larger stitch length than I would usually use, I managed to stitch the peplums to the jacket back. I also stitched the jacket together at the side seams and shoulders and set in the sleeves. The sleeve seam was finished with a quick zig zag stitch and a gathering stitch used along the top curve to fit it to the armscye. I attempted to make the diamonds that I wanted for the front of the jacket, but think that I'm going to go with laces instead as the attempt result was rather dismal. I'm contemplating using laces wound around buttons instead of putting in grommets.

I started to pin in the lining and realized that I had made a mistake when putting said lining together -- the front peplum pieces were backwards. So I had to rip out that seam and then pinned the lining piece to the peplum, stitching on two sides, clipping the corners and turning. By this point, the machine at my beau's was having tension issues that I was unable (and slightly unwilling considering the late hour) to correct, so I decided to just pin the lining in so that it could be sewn into place by hand. This also allowed me to watch our Sunday night television programs with my beau.

My jacket is with me today so that I can stitch in the lining. I'm still debating topstitching vs. trimming but decided against boning. I think the fully boned corset will be plenty of constriction. And the taffeta of my jacket (plus the interlining and lining) has enough shape on its own that I don't feel boning is necessary.

Harley Quinn
1. Petticoat - DONE!
2. Bustle - DONE!
3. Corset - DONE!
4. Underskirt - DONE!
5. Jacket - need to put in the lining by hand, trim or topstitch, and figure out the lacing
6. Top Hat
7. Purse
8. Mask

This leaves me with two questions for you, dear readers:
(1) Do you think I should trim or simply topstitch my jacket? I need to do something to hold the lining in place so its not visible. I also want to highlight the detail of my double peplum. I was thinking either white ribbon to echo the red ribbon on the bustle and corset, or some very narrow white lace, or perhaps white braid of some sort. If I topstitched, I'd like to use a decorative stitch in white thread but may settle for a straight stitch in white. Thoughts?
(2) As for the laces, how do you feel about the button idea? Is it a good one, or should I just stick to grommets?

Thanks for any and all opinions.

A bientot!

Miss Leah J Wilde

Ohayocon and Christmas Prep 13 EDITED

Finally started sewing together my twin's pajama pants. All the seams are done and I started pinning the waistband, but did not finish it as I was extremely fatigued. So it'll just be a matter of pinning then sewing the waistband and threading elastic through. The hemming will wait until after he tries them on.

On Friday, I sewed the hook and eye closure onto the underskirt waistband then sewed four hooks on as well, to attach the bustle. I sewed four hooks onto the bustle so that it can now attach to the skirt, and sewed all of the roman shade tape into place.

Last night I got a lot done on my HQ jacket. I sewed the lining together and fitted it, the only change I had to make was taking in the back seam a little. It's not terrible form fitting, but I don't think I want it to be. I'm even debating boning it at the moment. My next step was to sew the interlining to all of the jacket pieces. Once that was finished, I started putting the pieces together -- the front peplum was sewn to the front, the center back seam was sewed, etc. Then I worked on the back peplum. I'm using both the pattern piece that goes with the rest of the jacket and the peplum from another pattern (used for my Time Traveler bodice as well as my black and silver plaid creation). I love the effect of the layered peplum. I lined each peplum piece (sewn on three sides, corners trimmed, then turned), pleated the top peplum and stitched them together. I'm going to attempt to sew them all together today, but I doubt that my beau's mother's machine can handle it. While it is a rather nice machine, it is a new model and just does not have the durability that my Fern has, being an all metal machine that dates from decades ago.

I'm trying to decide if I want to trim the jacket, maybe with white braid or ribbon, or if I'll just topstitch it to hold the lining in place. Decisions decisions.

Part of my day yesterday was spent with my beau as well as Dr. Chronus and Miss Von Stoup. We went to the fabric store in search of something to use for my beau's Joker costume, pants fabric to be exact. The doctor pointed out a lining fabric that was purple and grey/white striped. We tried it with the other fabrics, and decided that it was a perfect fit. Since its lining and thus very lightweight, I'm going to back it with a heavy 100% cotton to give it the proper weight for pants. I prewashed all the fabrics for his costume when we arrived at his dwelling last evening and plan to work on the cutting out today. Actually my plan to to cut out and baste together a muslin of the jacket for fitting purposes. I already cut apart the pattern pieces.

I may start doing a daily update of my to do list...

Christmas
1. Parents' aprons - DONE!
2. Stacey's pajama pants - DONE at least til she can try them on
3. Cliff's pajama pants - started sewing, needs waistband finished and elastic put in

Harley Quinn
1. Petticoat - DONE!
2. Bustle - DONE!
3. Corset - DONE!
4. Underskirt - DONE!
5. Jacket - started construction, need to finish putting the outside together, figure out the front closures, attach the lining, insert the boning (if I decide to bone), finish putting in the lining by hand, sew on trimming (if I decide to trim), and finish the front closures with button holes and buttons
6. Top Hat
7. Purse

And...
1. Steampunk Joker for my beau - vest, tailcoat and pants, maybe a tie. All fabric and most patterns have been purchased (still need a vest pattern, may be able to use the one I used for the Captain's vest, if not, I'll have to purchase one). All fabric has been prewashed. The next step is ironing the fabric and starting work on the tailcoat. EDIT Fabric pictures are below.
2. Steampunk Catwoman for Miss Dashwood - bustle, utility belt and shirt
3. Helping with Poison Ivy and Mr Freeze - whatever they need

The tailcoat, it photographed a little blue, but the color is definitely purple:



The tailcoat lining (orange and purple) is on the left, the vest fabric (green and purple) is on the right:



The trousers (underlining of white cotton, purple striped for the trousers themselves and the pattern I'm using):



A bientot!

Miss Leah J Wilde

Christmas and Ohayocon Prep 10

Well, I was a little bit naughty last night -- I ignored my Christmas sewing for Harley Quinn.

I finished cutting out my HQ jacket, so I now have both sides ready, one black, one red (fingers crossed that it goes together like its supposed to, but if not at least I have plenty of extra fabric!). I also cut out the muslin interlining and red broadcloth lining for the body of the jacket. I plan to leave the sleeves unlined.

Then I put together the skirt and it turned out just like it should have. Oh botheration, I just realized that I wanted to put pockets in the skirt and I forgot. And I finished all the seams already. Hmmmm wonder if I can pick a couple apart to put in a pocket? I should be able to... I used a sort of flat felled seam on all the seams (except the center front because it was the selvage and won't ravel) -- just turned under the seam allowance towards each other and used a zigzag to hold it together. I did not stitch it to the garment because I did not want visible stitching on this skirt. After finishing the seams, I stitched together two left over bits of red quilt binding and made the waistband. I sewed it to the outside of the skirt, gathering the back where it will sit over the bustle pillow and pinned it on the inside for me to hand sew today at work.

In my sewing basket today --
1. HQ skirt: hand stitch waistband on, pin polyester horsehair braid to the hem and maybe rip out part of a couple seams for pockets
2. HQ bustle: to start sewing on red ribbon
3. HQ corset: when trying it on for a photo last night, I realized that its a little small. I'm going to see if I can take out the zipper and either reposition it or add a tiny bit of fabric so that the corset fits better. The bottom fits okay, but the top is rather snug and crushes instead of enhancing my bosom. Its also rather uncomfortable to think of wearing for more than a few minutes.

I'd like to get all of the above finished today and then work on Cliff's pajama pants. I'll feel much better when they're out of the way.

A bientot!

Miss Leah J Wilde