Wednesday, February 27, 2008

More Progress

Ok, long time since I've updated. I have been working on different pieces while still trying to do boring stuff like pay rent. I've mostly been working on Edmund's Battle Outfit for my 11 year old cousin. I've got the chainmaille about 1/2 finished and the basis of the red velvet tunic (though mine is red suede). It still doesn't have the gold embroidery or the gold lion. But I want to make sure it fits my cousin before I start detailing it. I'll post pictures as soon as he comes over to try it on!

Another tiny addition. Since we now have tons of new pictures, we can see more details. Lucy's underdress neckline has some kind of embroidery on it. I went through the stitches that my Bernina machine offers and found one that was close. I chose light blue thread and I actually like how it turned out!



Also, the new pics showed the skirt isn't velvet. But I have tons of this velvet that I love, so my skirt will be velvet. Also the bodice now appears to be dupioni silk. Since I haven't started the real bodice I think I will make this change. I'll then paint on the swirls and make blue french knots for the buds.

That's it for now. I've added Susan's Purple Dress to my list of costumes I want to make. But with only 78 days left, I don't know if I can pull it off. It's so exciting!

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Lucy's Overdress Muslin



Alright. The second bodice muslin worked so well that I decided to add the peplum and overskirt to it. My cousin and I decided that we liked the overskirt being a little shorter than the underdress so you can see it underneath. The peplum is an arc but I think it might need to me more arced so that it sticks out a little more. Over all, I'm very pleased!!!

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Lucy's Overdress Muslin(s)


Ok, I have been working on the overdress for Lucy. The above pictures are of the first muslin. Please ignore the ugly fabric - just trying to get rid of extra. It turned out too short and too tight where the arms attach to the bodice. So now onto the next muslin:


This time it turned out much better. Longer length and better fit at armhole - though still could use some ease. This time I tried bag lining the sleeves. It wasn't as hard as I thought. The sleeves are a little longer than hers in the movie but my cousin preferred the longer sleeves which we both thought looked more princess-y. The neckline is a little too high but that's ok - I can fix that later. I really like the placement of the seam in the middle of the sleeve. I lowered it by about 2 inches from the original pattern. Now my next step will be to add a peplum and an over skirt to this bodice. I'm pleased with the progress though!

Friday, February 8, 2008

Susan's Chainmaille - Finished!

I finally finished it! Well, it's mostly finished. I might go back and work on the split in the back because it looks a little weird right now. But besides that, it looks great! Note the details like the sleeves that are longer on the outsides and the long splits. I really like the square neckline too!

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Susan's Chainmaille

Worked a little more on the chainmaille today. It's looking so great! If you look real close at the big picture of her costume, you can see the the sleeves have a slight point on the outside of the arm. I made that today on one sleeves and it turned out right! The first time, too! I'm so pleased. I added more width under one arm and will add a little more on the other side so the maille will hopefully fit better.

On a non-Susan's Chainmaille topic, my brother (who will be Caspian) is coming home from college this weekend and I hope to have a muslin of the shirt and the brigandine for him to try on. Whoo-hoo! On a slightly sadder note, I have about $20 to my name and I owe Mom and Dad $200. Somehow this is not good. I hate being poor...

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Susan's Chainmaille

More chainmaille rings finally arrived today! Whoo-hoo! I'd say I'm about 2/3 the way finished. Of course, I saved the hardest part (the sleeves) until last so it might still take me weeks. =(
I was so afraid that I would make it too small but I tried it on and it actually fits - mostly. It doesn't do the fabulous things that most chainmaille does of hugging your curves. Mine seems to be stretched to the limit from side to side. But I tried adding more width under the arms down the side and it just messed up that area but didn't add to the overall look. Oh well, it looks like chainmaille. That's all I care about. I'll try to post a picture soon.

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Lucy's Underdress




Whoot! Had my cousin come try on the underdress today. Not too bad. A little tweaking here, a change there and it looked good! I still have to bind the armholes off with bias tape but that's about it. I had an invisible zipper in the back of the dress but I moved it to underneath one arm (which actually wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be). This way the back is smooth so if it shows through the lacing of the overdress it will be okay. Enough talking - on to pictures.

I promise it isn't light blue. The fabric truly is gray - this color. That's my velvet in the second picture. I love it! My cousin will look fabulous as Lucy!