A little progress, A little more planning

First of all, I just sat at my desk at work and made a pattern for the Harley Quinn collar. All I did was pull up a picture of Harley and draw until it looked right. Yeah for progress!! I may even take the white taffeta home with me this weekend to work on.

Also in my sewing box for the weekend: Elf Punk bustle. Pink jumper. Navy jumper. Keeper of the Keys skirt. I won't really be able to sew any of it except the bustle, but I can at least start pinning all those freaking darts. I think there's twelve total on each jumper.

I did a little shopping today, mainly notions (needles, elastic and hook and eye closures, you know the necessities) but I also bought six yards of white tiny pompom trim for the Diamonds are Forever jacket and a pattern for my homage to the 18th century.

I purchased Simplicity 4092. Now I know its not really very accurate, but I'm just not much for historical accuracy: that's why I do steampunk. And I think some of the construction details can be altered to make it more accurate, like taking away the back zipper and putting buttons down the front. It was also the closest I could find to this dress (that Beau likes), from Sleepy Hollow. I might make it in the cream and black flocked satin for the bodice with a black petticoat, perhaps trimmed in cream.


Photo from Maggie's Costume Wardrobe.

As for the gypsy steampunk skirt, I've decided to go the crazy quilt route. This is going to be a labor of love my friends. I plan to buy about 4 yards of broadcloth to use as the base fabric and I'm going with a circle skirt style, probably based on the skirt of Butterick 4790. I need to sort through my scraps and even my fabric, picking out the best fabrics (I'm thinking deep rich colors, colors that coordinate with the blouse, and fabrics on the richer end of the spectrum). Once the skirt is put together, I'll start on the embroidery and maybe even the beading. I told you it'd be a labor of love. I'm also contemplating the high backed corset vest out of teal silk dupioni that I have in my stash. If I have enough and if its a good color with the blouse.

I may even take my steampunk Harley Quinn jacket home this weekend so I can start on the trim, thus giving me time over Thanksgiving to devote to the crazy quilt skirt.

A bientot!

In My Sewing Basket for Sewing Day

I'm sure I won't finish everything, but here's what I packed for sewing day at a friend's:

1. My Confederate jacket. -- Today: Shortened cuffs and pinned them on.
2. My mystery costume jacket. -- Today: Slipstitched the collar into place and pinned the armholes for hand stitching.
3. My Ottoman vest. -- Today: Worked on embroidery. Almost done with the front / top set of spirals. Next is pink then more couching down of the metallic thread. Then there's the bottom...

I didn't get to the rest:
4. Pattern and materials for making a pouch for the beau's kilt.
5. Fabric to cut out Miss Von Stoup's post apoc outfit. But she's changed what kind of jacket she wants so this probably won't happen today.
6. Fabric and a pattern to cut out a couple sleep shorts.
7. Fabric for Persian pants.

Along with various threads, needles, scissors, etc.

Here's hoping I get a lot done!

Just a little progress and weekend sewing plans

First of all, while helping my fellow Archonite last evening, I finished my Persian hat! Huzzah!

Secondly, I packed the following projects in my sewing bag for the weekend (in order of likely sewing, depending on my mood): Miss Von Stoup's Asian inspired jacket, the Captain's last two alterations, and Miss Dashwood's utility bustle. I also packed the patterns and muslin I cut out a few days ago for my playsuit. I am very eager to start on that project.

I plan to use the bodice of the walkaway dress, altered to have side seams and a back zipper / front buttons, not really sure yet. I'll also use the skirt to go over the playsuit, it will definitely have buttons.



And I'm going to use the shorts from this out of print Simplicity pattern that I have in my stash.



Wish me luck! Oh how I love franken-patterning!

And now I'm off to work and then to Cincinnati!

A bientot my dear friends!

Miss Leah J Wilde

UPDATE - Tonight I: (1) sewed the zipper into Miss Dashwood's bustle (2) pinned the Captain's alterations, but I'm not really sure how one is going to work out... (3) cut out Miss Von Stoup's jacket and (4) worked on my playsuit pattern for a bit. Not too shabby for an evening's work.

Weekend Sewing Basket

In order of when it needs done, what I have packed to work on this weekend (even though I don't know how much will actually get done, since my weekend is about as busy as this past week was) --

1. Vest - need to sew the buttonholes, slice them open and sew on the buttons. I need to finish this by about noon on Sunday for the photo shoot.

2. Persian skirt - needs hemmed (might work on this at work tomorrow) DONE

3. My Confederate jacket - need to finish putting it together

4. Hat making supplies for the Persian hat

5. Patterns for my playsuit / skirt combination

And the Time Traveler is all packed for the photo shoot!

A bientot,

Miss Leah J Wilde

Major Progress on Marcon!

First of all, most of the hand sewing on my Persian vest is finished. While at work yesterday, I pinned and sewed the armholes and last evening, I did the buttonholes. All that's left is to cut open the buttonholes and sew on the buttons!

Secondly, we started our Confederate uniforms last evening! My skirt is almost complete, Miss Von Stoup's still needs gathered and waistbanded. All I need to do is hand stitch the waistband into place and put a closure on.

We took a length of fabric (2 yards for me, 2 and a half for her), cut it along the fold, sewed the ends together (one side was sewn with a notch so that it can overlap and thus eliminate the need for a zipper), hemmed them along the selvaged edge. I went ahead and gathered mine down to a waistband, but she did not make it that far.

In my sewing bag for the weekend --
1. Playsuit patterns - btw, I'm thinking a black playsuit with a coordinating skirt or skirts in a pattern.
2. Persian vest to finish the buttonholes and buttons
3. Persian bodice to cut out
4. My Confederate skirt to finish
5. Confederate jackets to cut out
6. Ottoman bustle and vest
7. My beau's quilt

My plan is to finish the vest and skirt first, then move on to cutting out patterns.

And now its time to load up the car and get to work, and then? On to Cincinnati! I'm so excited about going home for a little while, just wish it could be longer than 24 hours.

A bientot! and Happy Easter!

Miss Leah J Wilde

Progress?

Sadly, no. Last night, I was rather tired and decided to forgo sewing for one evening. I did however try on my cage bustle and I do believe it is going to work.

It is a rather large bustle however...

All that needs to be done is the hem and I can mark that off my to do list.

I have several things in my project bag for the next couple of days (I'm taking tomorrow off work to accompany my beau to the doctor) - my Ottoman Vest, the Joker trousers - which still need hemmed, a bag of pink fabric in case I feel an urge to work on my crazy quilt bustle idea, and a dress pattern in case I end up at the fabric store. I am in need of a new summer dress. I'm thinking cupcake printed fabric, or maybe skulls but I already have a skull sundress...Basically just something cute and a little funky to make a little sundress.

That's all for now, my darling readers.

A bientot!

Miss Leah J. Wilde

A Cage Bustle Petticoat (Marcon Prep) and a few other things

As mentioned yesterday, I cleaned my sewing area last night. The table is now mostly clear except for a few current projects, my actual sewing machine table is clear of all the little stuff that was cluttering it up, pattern pieces are back in their envelopes and patterns are back in their boxes, left over fabric is all put away into plastic bins and things I think I may need soon are easily accessible.

With that done, I sat down and took in my Think Pink skirt and my purple knit tunic, both of which were a little big. The skirt needs a bit of hand sewing, just to tack down the facing and I think the tunic needs taken in more after I tried it on this morning.

I then packed a bag for my slumber party at Miss Bobbie's this evening. I have my Ottoman vest, my beau's Joker coat and my Think Pink skirt all ready for me to work on this evening. I thought about taking muslin to make strips for ruffles on my new bustle petticoat, but decided I had enough to work on.

With all this finished, and not in the mood for hand sewing, I started on my cage bustle petticoat. I was going for something similar to these bustles from Fashions of the Ages -

Or to Truly Victorian 101 -


But my petticoat needed to be shorter to be worn with Diamonds are Forever (aka steampunk Harley Quinn). I really thought about buying the TV pattern (I've been dying to try some of their patterns), but the cost was just a little too dear for me to pay with how tight my finances have been. So I decided to try my hand at making one on my own, using tried and true patterns and a tutorial or two.

I pulled out my trusty Simplicity 5457 (out of print, but its my go to pattern for most of my steampunk sewing), got the underskirt pieces and proceeded to cut them out of the white muslin I bought recently. The pattern needed to be shortened to be about 27" long (the length of the Harley Quinn underskirt and petticoat) so I did that by measuring and then folding the pattern. I cut out the five gores - three narrow gores for the front, two wider gores for the back, then pinned and sewed them together. I decided to leave one side seam unsewn so I could put in the boning channels easier.

I started laying out the boning channels. I used quilt binding for the channels.



Then decided to check my tutorial (found on My Silly Blue Hippo on blogspot). I needed three channels, not two, and the top one needed to be higher. I sewed part of the back opening together so I could put in another channel about two inches above the top one in the above picture, and moved that channel about two inches lower. And all the channels had to be moved to the other side of the petticoat, as they're supposed to go on the outside not the inside.

With the channels all pinned on, I stitched them down, then stitched the inside channels - a short channel in the middle of the top boning channel and two pocket-ish channels on the sides. The inside bone fits into the pockets and passes through the middle bit in a curve. Then I put the boning in -


I realized that it wasn't laying exactly right, and that the bones needed to be shortened. So I took them out and proceeded to put the waistband on. Then I redid the bones, shortening all of them. I measured the top channel to see how short I thought the top bone needed to be when you allow for the channel to gather over it and decided on 24". I cut that bone, and the other two are longer (for now). I'm sure I'll change the boning length when I can work on it again.

Here's a picture showing the gathering at the top -

And a side shot showing how well it collapses -


And here it is with me holding it up by the waistband -


It still needs some work. I plan to stitch along the top boning channel to keep the gathers in place. And the second channel may need gathered as well, we'll see. Then I'll need to sew the boning channels closed and put in the ties, which go underneath to really give it the right shape. And of course, there's the hem. I'd like to add a ruffled overlay as seen in the first pictures posted above.

I definitely need to try it on before I really do much else though. Probably should've done that last night. All in all, I'm pleased with my progress and that I managed to make a cage bustle petticoat without using a pattern.

In retrospect, I would leave both side seams unsewn then put in the boning channels. I would also change how the waistband closes, probably to a front or side closure, and alter the shape of the back, particularly at the top, so it wouldn't have to gather. If I make another one, I'll definitely change a few things.

A bientot!

Miss Leah J Wilde