Progress! (not much, but still progress is progress)

I've actually made some progress! lol

1. Finish the commission. - Almost done. It's stitched together and I'm almost finished hand stitching the lining in place. Deadline; ASAP
2. Halloween skirt - Stitched the yoke to the skirt and hemmed it. The zipper is basted in but not stitched. I still need to finish the zipper and add some hook and eyes to finish off the closure. Deadline: October.
3. Femme Joker - Started sewing the skirt and the jacket together. Next up is fitting the skirt, cuz it looks huge... Deadline: end of September
4. Nursing cover for my sister in law - Fabric has been bought and prewashed. Deadline: probably October-ish.
5. Contemplating making some leggings for AAR's fall tour, for myself and for Pepper, and or a tunic to wear with said leggings or ones that I already own. Deadline: September / October
6. Also contemplating a Hellhound costume from Auror's Tale. Deadline: Don't have one. Maybe end of September, maybe not til January for Ohayocon.

STILL little to no progress

Lack of progress is mainly because I've been so crazy busy lately.

1. Finish the commission. - Still not done. Deadline; ASAP
2. Petticoat for my green and white sundress. - DONE. And then I wore a different dress to the wedding. It was still one that I made though, I wore my walkaway green and purple wrap dress.
3. Bunting for my nephew - DONE
4. Halloween skirt - Gathered to fit the yoke but not stitched. Deadline: October.
5. Femme Joker - Cut out the suit. AND started the pinning. Deadline: end of September
6. Nursing cover for my sister in law - Bought the fabric yesterday, brown flannel that is going to be trimmed in left over fabric from the bunting. Deadline: probably October-ish.
7. Contemplating making some leggings for AAR's fall tour, for myself and for Pepper, and or a tunic to wear with said leggings or ones that I already own. Deadline: September / October
8. Also contemplating a Hellhound costume from Auror's Tale. Deadline: Don't have one. Maybe end of September, maybe not til January for Ohayocon.

To Do List Progress

1. Finish the commission. - My wrist is feeling better so I started the basting. It still looks off, esp in the arms so I'm going to have to devote some time to it this weekend.
2. Sew snaps on the Paris bodice. - DONE
3. Cut out the lining and work on my green and white sundress. - Dress is DONE! And I have the materials for the petticoat, just haven't started them yet.
4. Black gauze shorts - DONE
5. Dye femme Joker suit fabric - DONE
6. Work on the bunting for my nephew. - This is cut out and I started putting it together yesterday.
7. Halloween circle skirt - This one is going to be odd. I couldn't use the pattern exactly so I have the yoke cut out and sewn together and I cut three lengths of fabric for the skirt. They've been sewn together and gather stitched so next up is gathering them to fit the yoke.
8. And I randomly made a backless halter from left over Paris fabric.

What I'd like to get done over the next few weeks:
- The bunting
- The commission
- The petticoat for the green and white dress
- The Halloween skirt
- And at least start on the femme Joker

By the way, I now have a due date for femme Joker - I've decided to go to Mid Ohio Comic Con in September because one of my favorite celebrities is going to be there. CM Punk from WWE. Yes, I am a wrestling fan. And proud of it. lol

What I Did Over New Years

Quite a bit actually.

I worked on the SPG (steampunk gypsy) corset: Stitched on the last strap with the second buckle that I purchased last week, put in the zipper and basted (almost) all the edges together. I left some of the back un-basted because I need to slide some boning in along the center back edges. What's left to do: Bone the center back. Make and put on the binding. And put in the eyelets. There is a light at the end of the tunnel!

I also started piecing the last gore of my crazy quilt skirt.

And...I traced two of my Truly Victorian patterns: the square overskirt (which is next on my sewing list, I'm going to try to have it done for Ohayocon *fingers crossed*) and the asymmetrical overskirt (which is probably next after the square overskirt). I had just enough tracing stuff (my grandma told me its called 'sew do') to finish both overskirts, I have some left over, maybe enough for the bodice, maybe not. I'll need to purchase some pattern stuff soon.

I also finally sewed the closure onto my new Harley Quinn collar. I need to do a little top-stitching though, to give it a little more roundness.

In other news, they gave me all FIVE of the panels I applied for at Ohayocon. So I'm going to be a busy little girl preparing for those and at the con as well. Of course, the packing plans have already begun based on my panels.

Crazy Quilt Progress and A New Skirt!

First up, some photos of my crazy quilt skirt progress. The first three are of some fabrics I'm using, the last is of the current progress.


Red crushed velvet, brown corduroy, blue brocade, navy wide wale corduroy


Red faux velvet from the Christmas fabrics, brown faux silk, purple pinstriped linen, orange crush velvet, red iridescent taffeta


Gold lace, silver brocade, green faux velvet from the Christmas fabrics, teal crepe, gold faux silk


First panel of my crazy quilt skirt so far.

Secondly, I put together my Keeper of the Keys skirt last night. It took about an hour, waistband, hem, zipper and all. It's a little big, sits on the hips instead of the waist, but I don't know if I want to take it in or not. Also the flannel clings to my tights when I walk, so I may wear it with a petticoat of some sort the next time.

DragonCon Mystery Costume - The Jewelry and The Skirt

While cleaning out my parents' basement, I found some awesome jewelry, including this stunning bracelet. I figured it would be perfect for the mystery costume since its green and pink.



As planned, I worked on rearranging my room last evening and unloaded most of my car. I still have two boxes I need to find space for.

I also worked on the mystery costume's skirt. I cut out three layers, messed up the first, and did the other two correctly. I think I can save the messed up layer. I also pinned the hems on the two layers that I cut correctly. One is the green metallic mesh from the fabric post last week and the other will be white cotton trimmed in lace. If the messed up layer is salvageable its going to be white cotton trimmed in pink and white striped ruffles.

In other news, I compiled a master list of all my costumes today. I made a spreadsheet of every item I need for each costume. My aim is to make packing for conventions easier.

UPDATE Worked on the skirt tonight. Hemmed layers one and two; cut, sewed together and hemmed the pink striped ruffle; also did a gathering stitch along the unhemmed edge. Its in my bag for me to work on at work tomorrow if I have time.

Weekend Sewing at my Parents'

First of all, I finished my Confederate skirt -- hand stitched the waistband into place, manipulating the gathers as I went, and sewed on a hook and eye closure.

Secondly, I finished my Persian vest -- cut open the buttonholes and sewed on the buttons. It fits a little too snug, which I need to remember the next time I want to go taking something in, and the buttonholes are just a pinch too small, which I plan to attempt to fix.

Thirdly, I cut out the white broadcloth for my Persian bodice. I plan to put it together then add an overlay of the white eyelet because I don't have enough eyelet to cut out the front of the bodice using the pattern pieces. I guess that means that the broadcloth will sort of become the lining of the bodice. By the way, I need to see if I have a zipper....

AND I bought a sheet to use for the back of my beau's quilt! Its dark red (I wanted black) and I ended up having to buy a set because the store did not have separate sheets for sale. I figure I can use the fitted sheet and pillowcases for something, either a costume or for normal clothes. Red tiered gypsy skirt anyone? Or how about a petticoat?

Tomorrow, I would like to get mine and Miss Von Stoup's Confederate jackets cut out.

That's all for now! A bientot!

Miss Leah J Wilde

Ice Storm = Sewing

I'd actually kind of thought that I'd spend MORE of the day sewing than I did, but...oh well.

My knit tunic is DONE. I used a Simplicity pattern and lengthened it a few inches so that it'd be long enough to cover my bum. I think it turned out well, and Miss Dashwood agrees.

I attempted to start my corduroy skirt but the pattern / fabric would not cooperate. I'm beginning to think its the fabric since I had the same problem with another pattern.

Then I thought I would work on my pink skirt, but realized I probably don't have a zipper so why bother starting it when I can't finish it? And since its going to be a work skirt, I should probably go shopping and pick up thread and a zipper that actually match instead of my usual "oh this is close enough" approach.

I looked at my pretty blue and white cotton print, but since its a pattern that goes selvage to selvage, I need to cut it in half lengthwise to give me enough fabric for the gathered waist skirt, but then its going to be above the knee aka not long enough for work this summer. So I'll need to look through my stash / buy some white or blue solid cotton to make a band at the hem so its long enough.

After three sewing fails, I decided to move on to scrapbooking. Finished a page I'd been working on, added a title to the front page since I recently bought letter stickers for that very purpose, and did another page start to finish.

A bientot!

Miss Leah J Wilde
(who is praying that the Companion's Shuttle doesn't lose power because of the ice storm)

Quickie Update

1. I started on my Quebec scrapbook yesterday! Its coming along quite nicely, I think. I just loaded my things into a bag and carted them to work! lol

2. I also worked on my embroidery. I've almost finished another block. I think all that's left is the border. And I'm going to need floss soon -- I'm almost out of pink, which makes up all the flowers and the entire border of each block.

3. And I'm adding these to my sewing list: http://www.etsy.com/listing/62268342/jasmine-ruffled-side-tie-panties-silk?ref=tre-4d30b299c9668eef1df5c8a8-1 I'm thinking mini bloomer pattern with ruffles. I do like the side tie, but that'll be easy to replicate. Soooo pretty.

4. I started my Imperial Officer uniform last night and finished the skirt. Its an easy pattern -- darts in the front and back, center back seam with zipper, side seams, waist facing and hem. I had to take it in A LOT which surprised me. This afternoon, I'll start on the jacket. Hopefully, I can get it mostly finished today and tomorrow.

That is all.

A bientot!

Miss Leah J Wilde

Ohayocon Prep 27 and a Preview of Normal Clothes Sewing

Progress on Catwoman

Miss Dashwood tried on her aviator hat and declared it acceptable. The hat is in my sewing basket to be worked on Monday while I am at work.

This evening, I had her put on her turtleneck so I could pin the zipper to it. Then I cut the turtleneck along the zipper, took the zipper off, turned the edges back and repinned the zipper into place. I stitched it but had issues with the actual turtleneck portion -- since its a knit, it kept shifting so the edges didn't align on each side of the zipper. I took the stitching out once (just along the neck and a little below) and restitched it. It's better, but still not perfect. I'm going to have her take a look at it tomorrow to see what she thinks. After all, the seamstress frequently notices mistakes in her own work that no one else will see unless they are pointed out to them.

Miss Dashwood has not been able to secure a belt as of this moment, so I have been unable to work on her utility bustle.

Normal Sewing Preview

Also in my sewing basket are the first two normal clothing items I'd like to complete for myself -- the Kermit pajama pants and the corduroy wrap around skirt. I may find time to cut them out tomorrow while visiting my beau and perhaps even begin the sewing. After all, the pajama pants will be terribly easy to complete.

In other news...

My beau has once more expressed interest in dressing as the Joker for our Steampunk Rogue's Gallery. So I suppose it is quite the good thing that I finished his coat. Although I am sure that he will insist on buttons and be quite put out at the lack of interior pockets, which may lead to me having to re-do the lining. C'est la vie.

With the change in the status of the Joker, this also means that I am once more responsible for making myself an Imperial Officer uniform. It is not that I am opposed to the idea, I just do not feel like I have adequate time to complete the uniform as it should be (the party it is for is on the 22, so in two weeks). Actually, I don't know if I have the desire to complete it to Legion standards. Although there's no rule saying that I can't have a Star Wars costume that is not acceptable to their costuming organizations. So I may just do my best -- whether I do it now or later -- and not worry overly much about the specifications.

Fingers crossed that everything gets finished for the event it needs to be done for.

A bientot!

Miss Leah J. Wilde
Steam-stress of the Airship Archon

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

Christmas and Ohayocon Prep 11

I still have not worked on my brother's pajamas. I keep forgetting to carry them inside from the car. I think there's also this idea in my head that I have plenty of time to finish them because Christmas is still a few weeks away and they won't take long. I need to get this idea out of my head and finish them, I'd rather have them done than be rushing to finish them at the last minute.

Progress on HQ --

Corset: I took out the zipper and adjusted the fabric. Thankfully, there was plenty of diamond print to work with -- I'd turned under almost an inch on each edge! I basted it yesterday at work and tried it on when I got home. And it fits pretty perfectly now. All that's left to do is actually sew in the zipper properly, take out the basting and trim it with red ribbon.

Bustle: I stitched red ribbon along both layers of the bustle. And pinned the roman shade tape into place on the underside for bustling purposes. The ribbon was a bit tricky, as it is very narrow. I decided to do a stitch right down the middle of the ribbon, and used a long underneath, short on top stitch pattern in red thread. I think it worked out quite well.

Underskirt: I sewed the waistband on and pinned the polyester braid yesterday at work. Last night at home, I finished the hem and tried on the skirt to see where the closure needs to go.

I actually tried on everything I've been working on (albeit with the aid of pins to hold a few things in place). And it looks good. The apron needed some adjustment, so I took out about two and half inches of the seam where the front connects to the side. I'm planning on gathering that seam so that the apron is a better length and lays better.

In my sewing basket today --
Corset: to finish the zipper and trim in red ribbon
Bustle: hook and eyes to fasten to the underskirt and roman shade tape
Apron: gather the side seams and finish them, trim in red ribbon
Underskirt: hook and eyes to close the skirt and to fasten the bustle to

I really want to start on the jacket, but I should finish all the little things first so that is my plan. Once all the little stuff listed above is finished, I can move on to the jacket and then the hat and purse (decided against the pockets) and then once that's finished I can move on to my beau's Joker costume.

I think everything is coming along quite swimmingly, don't you my dearest dear readers?

A bientot!

Miss Leah J Wilde

EDIT - The bustle apron is finished! While at work today: I pleated and finished the side seams with red and white striped bias. I tried the gathering first but it laid funny so I had to take it all apart and start again. I think (hope) that it'll be fine now. Then I sewed two snaps onto the apron back for it to fasten close. I usually use hooks and eyes but felt like trying something new and different this time to see how it works. And last of all, I sewed red ribbon along the hem. Again, I used a short on top, long on bottom stitch, but they're a little closer together than on the bustle because the curve of the apron wouldn't allow for longer spaces between stitches like the straight edges of the bustle did. And that's all from me for today -- I got called in to work my second job this evening so no more sewing for me today.

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

Sewing ideas

I'm putting these here because if I write them down, I'll just lose the note.

1. A plaid full gathered skirt, like this one courtesy of Gertie's New Blog for Better Sewing (my latest blog obsession)



2. A sheath dress w a sheer overskirt. I could probably use my retro Butterick for this, with several adjustments. The only question is where the heck do I wear it? (also from Gertie's blog)

Recent sewing projects

Hello dearest dear readers,

I haven't been up to much since Marcon. I felt that a break was necessary. But here's a little update as to what I have been doing -

1. I took in a dress for a friend so it would be a little more form fitting through the torso.

2. I just sewed a button onto my beau's pants. He'd lost the button at the fly and asked me to replace it. Instead of shopping for something that might match, I removed a button from one of the back pockets (which he never buttons) and moved it to the fly. Quick and easy.

3. Last night I made a new skirt for myself. I'd purchased a remnant of this lovely green embroidered cotton (similar to an eyelet) that was just under a yard. I cut it in half along the fold line, sewed the ends together on both sides, hemmed one end and created an elastic casing at the other, used a safety pin to slide elastic through the casing, tried it on, knotted it at the appropriate length, sewed the casing closed and voila! I have a cute new summer skirt. I think that it should work for everyday or steamy wear.

4. I've been working on using up the last of my clockwork fabric to make a gypsy skirt. Well, that's my term for them - a tiered skirt. I tend to live in them in the summer, my dears, because they are so comfortable and tend to be cool. All that's left is to add the bottom tier, hem and elastic it.

How to make a gypsy skirt:

First step - cutting the fabric
The first tier needs to be larger than your waist (or hips if that's where you're wearing it) - one and a half to two times should do it.
The second tier needs to be one and a half to two times longer than the first tier.
Each consecutive tier should follow this formula.
Ideally, each tier also increases in width - for example, the first being around 4 inches, the second 6 inches, etc.
Each tier will likely have to be pieced to achieve the necessary length.

Second step - sewing the fabric together
If you've already pieced each tier to the desired length, the next step is to stitch a gathering stitch along one side of each tier other than the first one. To do a gathering stitch, I use heavy thread in the bobbin, regular thread on top and a large stitch length on the machine.
Start by pinning the second tier to the first. The best way to do this is to divide both tiers into sections - four works well at this stage. Then gather each quarter of the second tier until it is the same length as a quarter of the top tier and pinned them together.
Stitch the second tier to the top tier, being careful not to catch any of the top tier in the stitching.
Continue with this method until all the tiers have been sewn together. As the tiers get longer, I would recommend division into eighths instead of quarters for the gathering.

Third step - seam, hem and elastic
Now that everything is sewn together, pin the two ends together and stitch a seam. I usually try to wear this seam at the back or on the side.
Next, hem the bottom tier. I tend to lean towards a narrow hem,
Then make the elastic casing at the top, being sure to leave a part of it open so that the elastic can be inserted. The easiest way to insert elastic (at least for me) is to attach one end to a large safety pin and pull it through the casing. Just make sure to keep a hold of the other end!
Once the elastic is through, try on the skirt and adjust the elastic to fit. Knot the ends of the elastic, cutting off any excess before allowing the elastic to slide into the casing. Then all you have to do is stitch the opening in the casing closed and your gypsy skirt is complete!

My clockwork skirt is to the gathering and pinning stage for the bottom ruffle. I would have done it the other day, but realized that the bottom tier wasn't long enough so I had to add more length by using up what left over bits of fabric I had. One good thing about the skirt is that with the gathering, its unlikely that anyone will notice / comment on the pieced tiers. And if they do, then I think that they are looking too close at your clothing. Such inappropriate behavior!

Well that's it for now, darlings!

A bientot!
Miss Leah J Wilde