Finished Project: Dusky Pink Gown

Recently I was invited to a murder mystery evening which was so much fun.  A few weeks before we were given a costume brief and mine was to be a socialite who should wear a full ballgown.  I couldn't find anything in the local charity shops so naturally came to the conclusion that two weeks is plenty of time to design and make a gown from scratch!!!

Luckily I had this fabric in my stash, it's lovely pink chiffon and I used black satin that I had lurking around for the underdress/lining.

I just about got the thing sewn in time and then realised I had just enough fabric left over to make a sash to tie around the waist.  It's funny how last minute ideas like that can really complete a project in a way that surprises you.

These photos were taken the day after the murder mystery, when the British weather decided to behave itself  for once and the blossoms were at their prettiest.  Good timing all round!!

Finished Project: Elven Priestess Costume

This was something I made a little while ago.  It started off as just an idea for a gauzy textured, embellished hood which as I developed became a concept for a whole costume.

The further I got with sewing the hood the more it felt like something was missing so I made a matching robe to go with it.  The whole thing is made from pale blue voile, the hood has been embellished with small amounts of other fabrics in shades of blue for example organza, manipulated into floral forms.

Close-up of the hood.

I used triple-flex plastic boning to give it it's shape.  It's perfect for projects like this because it's incredibly lightweight but will still give fantastic support.

Finished project - Poison Ivy hooded cape.

Last halloween I made a Poison Ivy costume for myself to wear to a party and this was the cape that went with it.

It's made from forest green and deep red polycotton.  I wanted to make this as economically as possible as I needed 6 meters of each colour.  

To make the cape a bit more interesting I machine embroidered trailing vines using a satin stitch up the entire length of the garment.  Each panel was decorated separately before joining all the panels together.  Once all the seams were sewn, including the hood, I then embroidered across the seams to ensure the pattern had good continuity across the cape.

I love capes with giant, oversized hoods!!

During the construction of this I thought, hey! this really should be reversible....... you know.......just in case....

The finished 'Juliet Angel' dress

After a very productive day here is the finished dress, it turned out great. It needs a few refinements - a slightly longer waist sash as I had to wrap it around me twice to get the right look in the end and ideally it needs fuller skirts.




Something else I am currently dabbling with is a muslin chemise. I have taken elements from various sources. The neckline and sleeves are inspired from one of the costumes from 'The Other Boleyn Girl' as I am toying with the idea of making the entire costume worn by Scarlett Johansson.



At first glance I thought this dress was obviously made of gold satin but after much zooming in and squinting I believe it is in fact made of an extremely lustrous gold velvet. I have no idea if I will be able to find/afford this sort of fabric so I may well settle for satin in the end.

My current project

Well I have finally got my act together and started a blog. It's something I have been meaning to do for a little while as I think it will be useful for me and maybe, just maybe, other people as well. I'm planning on posting about the costumes I'm making or what i find inspiring/ideas that I have.

The project taking centre stage at the moment is a replica of Claire Danes white angel dress from Baz Luhrmanns 'Romeo and Juliet'. I have always adored it for its simplicity and pure girlish innocence.

My first attempt at this dress is still under construction, a concealed zip, hem and bias binding around the bodice edges still left to do. I can say for sure it will need to be made in a heavier cotton next time to achieve a smoother hanging finish on the skirts.