Skulls and Roses

Whipped up a quick skirt from a beautiful fabric I had. I had got my hands on this coll skulls and roses fabric. As soon as I saw this fabric I knew I need to make something to wear. I wanted to make something quick since I was in between projects so I went with the skirt since it would only take a few hours and I already had a spare zipper. NO extra supplies need. Besides I love a skirt, so I make tons of them.

The fabric before cutting

Skirt before  I finished the hem.

Before I had started on the hem I tried the skirt on and discover that the skirt was to big in the waist. I had lost inches with my weight lost. I had made the skirt using my pattern I used for previous skirts. It's like riding a bike I just went for it. Well after the try on I had about 3 inches of room. I had to rip the waist band off and remove the zipper to take the skirt in. After getting that done I completed the skirt.

The skirt is still a bit big and I'm going to have to take it in a bit more. 

Bonus look at one of my current project. 

Lillian  is rocking the London Plaid cape now getting revamped with a vintage fox fur collar I got my hands on. It's just sitting on there cause I have to re-cut the collar for it the fit properly. But first I still have to get a few little things done.

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Current project and my little fabric stash

Right now I'm just taking a break before I movie on to the next costume project. Working on a skirts, fixing something here and there... Just  little things to keep me busy.

I had got this cool Skulls and Roses fabric and whipped up a quick skirt.

I have done everything but the hem I have to re thread my serger and I'm not in the mood to do that right now so I'll finish the skirt tomorrow.

I also have a few thing like patching up a pair of jeans, replacing a zipper in a pair of pants, and changing out old elastic in a top. I have a to get these things out the way before I start work on my new skirt foundations for another 18th century costume and my red ball gown.

A LOOK INTO MY LITTLE FABRIC STASH

I have been stashing fabric like a squirrel collecting nuts. I'm getting fabric for a few dresses and skirts for next summer. I have a few events I'm hoping to get the chance to attend next year and I'm planning my wardrobe.

 When I saw this fabric I had to get it. I have loved Archie comics since I was a little girl. Betty and Veronica are two of my favorite comic ladies in the world.

 Getting this fabric involved a trip to a different state. Vintage Marvel comic covers. The colors in this fabric is the best, it's going to be a fun dress.

 1950s Elvis portrait fabric. I have loved Elvis since I was little girl. Saw the fabric and it was on sale, I had to get. I have to make a dress and plan a trip to Graceland.

 This was the first fabric I bought to put into my stash. I love the colors. It's going to be a nice summer dress.

This fabric is for my next 18th century costume. I have really decided  what type of dress it's going to be but I already have the petticoat made.

Keeping with my 18th century love. I saw this fabric and just had to get it. not sure what I'm going to do with it yet but I do love.

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Finally! The complete Sansa Stark dress

Well after two months of work and even learning new things I have finally finished the Sansa Stark costume. From a week long fabric search to the last few days of hand sewing it has been a great experience for me. Here she is the Sansa Stark purple dress.

In early May I got a message from a girl on Tumblr asking me if I could make her a Sansa Stark dress. After seeing which dress she wanted I decided to tell her yes even though I never made a costume like this or make one for another person. I had to figure out the best way for me to make the dress either drafting a pattern or working  with a store bought pattern. I decided to work with a store bought pattern with some modifications which cut the work in half. Before I  could get started I had to go to Atlanta to visit family so I had time to search for the fabric. 

The dress Sansa Stark wore in season 3 and 4 of Game of Thrones

After getting back from Atlanta I had fabric swatches waiting for me to test dye because I couldn't find fabric that was the color I needed. after testing and liking how well the fabric took the dye I ordered all the yards I needed. I decided to  make two dresses, an solid under dress and the printed over dress. Both fabric started off ivory and had to be dyed. In order to dye such large quantities of fabric I had to go buy a huge  plastic tub to dye the fabric in. I spent two days dyeing 14 yards of fabric. Once I had dyed and washed the fabric I worked on modifying the pattern. Not going to go into details about that because I'm  not trying to write a book here. Just going to say that I had  taken the pattern that had the bodice and skirt separate piece, and joined them together for the outer dress. I kept  the pieces separate for the under dress but did some changes to the skirt pattern. I also moved the zipper from the side to the back of the under dress.  After I finished  all the pattern work I was ready to cut out the fabric.

I started working on the under dress first. Cutting out the fabric and finishing all the edges, I was nervous about working on the bodice. I was worried about getting the fit right and making sure I got the pleats right. I spent weeks working on getting the bodice just right, even changing up the design a few times. I finally found a way that worked and stuck with it. After I completed the  bodice I sewed the skirt panels together and attached the skirt to the bodice. Once I completed the under dress(zipper, facing, and hem) I started on the outer dress.

The outer dress took less time because I had made single dress pattern pieces. The sleeves were even easy to insert, not one problem. After putting in the neck facing and hemming the outer dress I only had one thing to do. All I needed to do was sew on the  hook & eyes for the outer dress closure.

The moment I snipped the last thread after sewing on the last hook I felt a wave of ease and relief come over me. I was so happy to finish this dress. It was so much fun to make as well as improving some of my skills.

I'm still looking for a box big enough for the dress so I can ship it off. All of the boxes I have are too small and I have one that's too big. I hopefully I find a box in the next two days.

tried to get a picture of the sleeves but it was hard with just me.

Side by side comparison of both dresses. My dress photographs really bright but in person it's more muted.

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4th of July Denim and Dots

I love having an outfit for any holiday, so of course I needed to have an outfit for the Fourth of July. Last year I had a great  theme skirt but this year I want something simple.  I had decided to make a pair of 1940s jeans and a top. But I had a problem, I didn't know if I would have time to make anything at all. I have been working on the Sansa Stark costume everyday in June. So just in case I had time I ordered my fabric and it came around June 22nd.

Long story short July 1st came around and I hadn't even touched my fabric. I knew if I wanted to have something to wear I better get to work.
 July 1st I was able to get the jeans made
July 2nd I got a top made
July 3rd I finished hems, top stitching and whipped up a matching headband.

Surprisingly I had an outfit to wear on July 4th.

There are some fit issues with the jeans. They are a little too big in the waist but that's a good thing. I'm losing weight so I'm going to have to take in the waist and re draft my pants pattern. I won't be making another pair pants until this winter so I can put pattern work off til then. I left off pockets(as much I wanted them) cause of time and lack of fabric.

fabric before cutting

pants pattern ready for cutting



I barely had enough fabric for my jeans but I was able to get them. Earlier in June I wanted to make a playsuit and polka dot top. So when I ordered the fabric I ordered for playsuit. Anyway, after a while I went with jeans. After cutting out the jeans had this adorable  bib shaped scrap. When I had the jeans mad I pinned the the bib to the jeans to see if I could have dungarees. I'll be adding the bib and straps later on, making them detachable. I love a two for one outfit.

My red buttons I choose for my closure. I picked them cause they looked vintage. My jeans also have an invisible zipper closure. I would never trust my hips to just buttons, that could end up bad.

I forgot to take pictures while making the top. I was just trying to get it made.

The shirt is based off a 1940s pattern with some alterations. I left the sleeves off cause it hot and I’m already wearing jeans so I had to get rid of something. It's a simple pull over your head top, only took a few hour to make. I picked the polka dots print cause the color red, white, and blue was great for the fourth but it didn't scream THE FOURTH. I can wear the top any other day without looking like Besty Ross.

I had a few scraps of the top fabric left after making the top. So I whipped up a cute little headband to wear. I love a match hair accessories.

It was the perfect outfit for running to the store, cooking, and barbecuing. I was comfortable, cool, and cute.

plus sneak peeks of the Sansa Stark dress in corners and background

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Back from Vacation and back to work

Well I got back home from visiting my family on Tuesday night and the first thing I did on Wednesday was do some test dying. I had to test the fabric I picked for the Sansa Stark order, I wanted to make sure the fabric could take a dye and hold the color. Thankfully it does, but I made a tiny mess in my kitchen. I got purple dye on my floor, I'm not sure how it got on the floor. Anyway I'm going to get one of those big plastic tubs to dye all of the fabric. I have 14 yards for fabric I have  to dye and my little pot isn't going to work.
I start pattern work for the Sansa dress on Thursday, I still have a bit more tweaking to do on it before I can start on my muslin. I'm happy with the pace I'm going at with the dress.

In other news..... I have a few more projects I want to work on this year for a con I'm planning on attending next February. these will be great for my portfolio but they will have to wait until I've finished the Sansa dress.

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I've been a busy bee

For the last few weeks I have been working on a few projects. Most of the projects are for my vacation and a birthday costume for my nephew. I going to Atlanta tomorrow to visit my mom and my sisters for two birthdays, a graduation, and just fun family time.
Last month my mom called me and told me her plans for her birthday, she want to go to the Renaissance Festival.  I love a Renaissance Festival so I was excited, then she asked if I could make something for her to wear. Now she didn't want a whole costume so that was good. I also made two new dresses to wear, one that will be great for my nephew's birthday party theme. Pictures of the two dress when I wear them.

  anyway I'm glad I'll have this week plus + break cause I got my first costume commission. Yay!


I have to pack and get some sleep. I have to prep for the long trip.

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New member of the family

MY SEWING FAMILY THAT IS!

I finally bought a new sewing machine. My first  brand new sewing machine since I got my little blue soldier(a Kenmore) for a Christmas present 10 years ago. so now that will make me a mother of three now, and I am just beaming with joy. Joining my two Kenmores is a beautiful  Brother CS6000i, yes I did a brand change.

I wasn't looking for anything fancy right now just a machine that did the basics and if it had some cool feature, cherry on top. I was also on a very tight budget since buying a machine wasn't apart of the plan for another couple of months. But sadly my two Kenmores aren't working like they used too and I just don't have time to go get them fix and wait for them to get better.
After doing some research on sewing machines, this is the first one I ever bought on my own, I settled on the Brother CS6000i. This machine had great reviews and seem to be on top of every best sewing machine list i came across. BUt beside all the postive I read about the machine the price really is want won me over. I was not only within my budget it was 57 dollars less then my budget.

So far I have been working on a few projects with my new baby. I completed the Oz skirt, the Barbie dress, a under skirt and my nephew's birthday costumes. Pretty easy projects to break her in before my next costume project.

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