Danceler's Prince Caspian Costumes

Update

2009-09-15T22:51:00.002-04:00

Yes, it's been a year since I've updated. There is this thing called life that gets in the way. Bummer.

Anyways, I have two costumes that I am about to start work on. They will both be crazily detailed (hopefully).

- Susan's Farewell Dress

- Han Solo's Costume

Yes, they are not at all alike. Oh well. My brother (who is Caspian below) would be a great Han Solo. And I need a costume for Halloween/VDT premiere. And Susan's Farewell Dress was the prettiest costume in Prince Caspian - it literally brought tears to my eyes when it first came on screen - I'm a costume dork.

Going fabric shopping Friday in Atlanta to look for fabric. Will update with my finds!

A Whole New Purpose

2008-07-05T11:06:00.002-04:00

Well, sorta. So since Prince Caspian has come and gone already, I have to decide what to do with this blog. I really liked having all the pictures and details of each stage of a costume because once it's all finished I kinda forget that part. So, I will definitely revert this blog back to Narnia when Voyage of the Dawn Treader comes out and I attempt Susan's Farewell Dress from Prince Caspian. But until then, I think I'll change this to any kind of costumes.

I make and sell costumes for a living so I won't be posting the boring, everyday costumes. I'll instead focus on the ones that I'm slowly but surely working on. I'll try to get a complete list but so far they include:

Christine's Wishing Dress from Phantom of the Opera (Stage Version)
Remake of Rosie Cotton's Dancing Dress from Fellowship of the Ring
Neo's Lobby Trench from Matrix Reloaded (for my brother and a friend)

I'm sure I'll think of others soon. Oh, and I promise to get better pictures of my Prince Caspian costumes up soon. I need to have an outdoors photoshoot when it's not 100 degrees outside...

Caspian Finished

2008-06-13T23:43:00.004-04:00

Completed

2008-05-17T00:16:00.003-04:00

A beautiful letdown - is that a song? It's a great way to describe my emotions right now. Anyways, I finished my costumes and we wore them proudly to the midnight premiere. Four of us were costumed - I had finished six but my two young cousins (Lucy and Edmund) weren't allowed to go to the midnight premiere.

We looked amazing. Of the six costumes I made, they split evenly into two categories: Insanely Accurate, and Pretty Close. The Insanely Accurate ones were: Susan's Battle for me, Caspian's Main for my brother, and Lucy's Rust Red for my cousin. The Pretty Close ones were: Caspian's Coronation for a friend, Peter's Brown Tunic for my brother's college roommate, and Edmund's Battle for another cousin.

To determine the criteria was rather easy - hand sewing. I hate hand sewing with a passion and avoid it at all costs. Lucy's bodice received hand sewn French knots, Caspian's sleeves were smocked, and Susan's dress just had insane amounts of time put in it - those darn straps on the cuirass.

Another determination of the categories is Would I Change Anything?

Susan's Battle Dress is as accurate as I could possible get it. It only lacks a collar for the chainmaille (which I decided I didn't like) and the weird leather cord 'seam' on the chainmaille sleeves (if you don't know what I'm talking about that's because it was the tiniest of details). Every other inch of my Susan dress makes me happy.

Caspian's Main is perhaps the most accurate guys costume replica I have ever made. Incorrect details? The sleeve was not hand set into the armhole with cartridge pleats (it was just machine gathered). Embroidery was just drawn on (though it turned out quite nice). Boots aren't right - but they were an extremely last minute thing - we were literally finishing them on the way to the theater. Other inaccuracies for Caspian? The sleeve cuffs don't fasten the same way as the original (I was too lazy/hurried to make buttonholes so they tie instead).

Lucy's costume I am also very proud of (I'm also proud of the fact that it was finished so far in advance!). From the swirls on the bodice to the neckline stitching on the underdress, this costume turned out exactly as I wanted it.

The other three have many things wrong. Caspian's coronation was fairly close considering we only had one photo and a horse's head was blocking the front. But I didn't make any pants so my poor Caspian had to wear khakis. Peter's Brown Tunic was okay. But I didn't make the left princess seam split or do the embroidery on the left side. Also, it is very obviously not velvet. Edmund's Battle is kinda close - the pieces that I made. Not too bad. But I didn't make the leather gorget (collar) or hand embroider the bottom hem (though I did stitch a little of the lion).

Anyway, that was just me ranting. I realize that anyone reading this would rather pictures than me ranting. *is incredibly embarrassed* We didn't actually take any pictures at the premiere. Well, other people took pictures of us and with us - random people and even the theater employees! I did manage to have a friend take some good pictures of my brother as Caspian - I'll post those as soon as possible. We're dressing up again to take my two cousins on Sunday and I promise to get pictures of that!

By the way, Prince Caspian is amazing! I won't spoil it for anyone but I loved it!

Caspian Update

2008-05-12T11:18:00.000-04:00

First of all, on I took my Caspian sleeves to a local sewing shop/children's boutique. The lady pleated the sleeves (7 rows of thread = 6 finished rows of smocking) where I had marked on the upper arm. It cost me all of $5! Once I had the pleats, I drew on a squiggly design to be "embroidery."

So then I went off to Mom and Dad's on Friday night and while we watched a movie (The Prestige which I hate!), I almost finished one sleeve. I used this website for instructions on how to smock (which I had never done before). The Wardrobe Door recommends using a Honeycomb Stitch but recent photos suggest that it is a Surface Honeycomb - which is what I used. My mom had smocked years and years ago, so she didn't have any real advice except to pull each stitch tight. It really makes a difference in the outcome. The middle rows are shorter by ten stitches (five on each side) and the bottom rows are still shorter by another ten. Anyway, here is one finished sleeve and detail of the stitches:

Then I worked on the Brigandine. I had an epiphany that it would be a million times faster to apply the fun foam strips with hot glue instead of craft glue. Brilliant! I also used the hot glue to fill in the cracks between the strips on the back. Note: the hot glue in the cracks isn't quite as pretty as regular glue. If you have time, use regular glue. If you are pressed for time, hot glue will work in a pinch. Here's a picture taken yesterday with my Caspian.

Can you see the excitement radiating from his face? ;) Anyway, now I have applied all the strips and I'm only missing the extra pieces are the neck and the sleeve caps. And I might make the brigandine a little shorter. We'll see once we have the whole ensemble. For the white shirt, I've got to re-adjust the sleeve because the shape of it is making the smocking sag instead of being straight across. And then of course, finish the other sleeve, add cuffs, add the collar, and draw more embroidery. I'm going to try to spray paint the whole brigandine today. I'm so excited. Oh! And there was a chance that my theater wasn't going to have a midnight premiere and they just added one yesterday! Hooray!

Caspian's Brigandine

2008-05-08T22:11:00.000-04:00

So I worked today on gluing the strips of fun foam to the fabric vest. The chest strips are 1.75 inches across and the skirt pieces are whatever the width of the skirt piece divided by three (so each skirt flare has three strips that are sorta triangular).

I've got all the skirt strips glued on and some of the front chest strips. Hopefully, it will dry completely overnight so I can work on the chest tomorrow. It will be harder because I won't be able to lay it flat because of the shoulders and seams. After that, I've got to find some way to make it curve to the body when worn. Right now it is very box-y. Very box-y. I think I'll try seeing if I have hold it over the stove-top eye to melt it a little and make it retain a curved shape. If I can't get it up to the stove, I'll try a hairdryer or a hot iron (not touching the foam, of course).

One thing I do like about this brigandine is that it is already kinda heavy. And it's only about half way done! It will help add to the feel of the costume. Cool! So far:

Caspian Main

2008-05-07T11:07:00.000-04:00

Okay, lots of work on this costume without finished products. Well, at least you can see the in-progress pictures. First, the pants. I found some mustard brown cotton at Hobby Lobby and made a simple pair of elastic waist long pants. Simple and straight. I had my brother try on the pants and then marked right above his knee for the lowest button to be. I then marked all the buttons (I'm used 6 on each side) two inches apart. Used gold paint to make the "embroidery" on the sides in between each button and further up the leg even past the buttons:

I had some buttons on hand but they weren't quite right. The far left is what they started out as, the middle is after I spray-painted them gold, and the right is the finished product with black marker in the cracks. I like them:

And here is the finished side of the pants. I'm pleased! My brother, however, said they were Aladdin pants and sang "A Whole New World" the entire time. *sigh*

Now the brigandine. *Huge sigh* Goodness, this is hard work. Okay, back to square one which was like three weeks ago. I'm using black fun foam to make overlapping rectangles to look like his.

First, cut the fun foam into strips that are 8 inches by 2.5 inches. Cut tons.

Then glue them together overlapping not quite half way.

I glued 8 strips together. I made red marks on my board so I would keep each set of strips the same measurements. You can faintly see them at 26 inches and about every 1.25 inches.

After that, I slathered everything with watered-down glue. I tried to get extra glue in the cracks so each new strip wouldn't show up that much. I also made sure the glue wasn't allowed to dry smooth. I stippled it after it had barely set to add texture. So here's the strip sets. The one in the bottom right has been spray-painted black and brown. I think when I do it for sure I'll only use black and midnight blue.

Now, these pieces are no where near finished. Sad but true. I then cut some of the pieces into 1.75 inch strips lengthwise. This will be for the chest part. I didn't cut all the pieces because the skirt pieces are almost triangular shaped. Anyway, the strips (these are cut before being glued all over- glue first!):

The theory is that once they are all assembled, I'll glue the strips to the fabric brigandine (below) and space then 1/8 inch apart. I'll put extra glue to fill in the cracks. Then I'll spray paint everything. Probably multiple times. Once I like the color, I'll put in millions of rivets (they are already the perfect color so I don't want to risk them getting sprayed by putting them on earlier). I tested a few strips with spraying and riveting and I think it works. I was going to get a picture, but for the life of me, I can't find that test piece. If I find it I'll get a picture.

The fabric brigandine. No pattern. I made my brother try on Peter's Brown Tunic for size. It was a little too big because I wanted the brigandine to fit fairly snug. So I cut a slightly smaller version out of this fake black vinyl leather. I had my brother come over yesterday and try it on. I adjusted it a little made some darts in the back (but no darts in the front). Today, I cut out the skirt part and he's coming over this afternoon to see if the skirt works. If it does, I'll start applying the fun foam tonight! Hooray! Oh, another note. I tried gluing the fun foam to the black vinyl side but the glue doesn't stick. So I'm turning the vest inside out and gluing the foam to the fabric-y/felt-y underside. That way the inside of the brigandine will look nice too! Here's the only picture of the vest so far:

Right now it looks like a sketchy biker vest. Ew. Well, at least I've made progress. Whew, this was a long post. I think I'll go calm myself by watching Pirates of Penzance for the millionth time.

Caspian Coronation

2008-05-07T10:56:00.000-04:00

Here's the progress on Caspian's Coronation Outfit. I already finished the green undershirt so I've been working on the overtunic. I didn't have a cream diamond matelasse so I just used a cream jacquard that I had on hand. I also found some greenish fabric that I completely lined it in. The front will button the same way as Peter's Brown Tunic. I made it so it will be about mid-thigh length and split it up the sides for movement. I used a sleeve pattern I had on hand and just guessed where to put the sleeve slit. The sleeve cuff will be the hardest part so I'll post on that soon. Here's the progress so far:

Fittings

2008-04-27T13:47:00.000-04:00

Okay so my 'Peter' came over today to try on his Peter Outfit. I even got a picture.

I guess it's okay. I was kinda disappointed that the tunic was so large - I made it to his size! But the width is okay with a belt (he will have a better belt). The thing that's really annoying me is the shoulders. My Peter sadly does not have super broad shoulders so it look a little big. But I've already got the grommets on there and the lacing. I thought about trying to take a big pintuck right at the edge of the bias tape and then maybe you wouldn't see it. Anybody have any ideas on that? I might also make the blue shirt a little shorter.

Then my 'Caspian Coronation' tried on his undershirt and it was fine. I had only cut out the overtunic so I just kinda draped it on him and realized that I would have to take the sides in about 8 inches. I made the Small! I hate pattern discrepancies.

Then my 'Caspian Main' tried on his white shirt again and I hated it. It was about 8 inches too short (my brother is 6'6") and the sleeves were not poofy enough. So I'll rip that one up and try again. Also his brigandine (which I haven't cut out yet) will need quite a few fittings because it sits so close to the body.

Of course, the entire time I was trying to fit the costumes, the guys were making fun of my cuirass (and its inherent skankiness) and quoting some Zelda saying about 'hero of time' using my pauldons and gauntlets. *sigh*

Peter's Brown Tunic

2008-04-26T20:18:00.000-04:00

Okay, today I finished Peter's Brown Tunic. I bought bias tape at Hobby Lobby - Extra Wide Double Fold (the smaller size for sleeves and neckline) and Quilt Binding (for the front) in Mocha color. Just topstitched it on.

For the sleeve embroidery, I made this pattern last night:

It's not exact but who cares? Then I drew this design on my sleeves with a dressmakers pencil:

And then machine stitched along the lines in a dark gold thread:

It doesn't have the detail of the original but, again, who cares? I found six cheap black buttons at Hobby Lobby. I spray painted them metallic gold - a nice thin coat so some of the black showed through. Then I added the buttons down the middle. I wanted to button to be in the middle of the tunic like his so I put the button on an elastic cord and sewed it down so it was suspended over the opening. Then I got another elastic cord (that would just barely go around the button) and sewed a loop on the other side. It totally worked! You can see the stitching on the bias tape but, again, who cares? (I'm going to be saying that a lot with this costume!)

Then I did the lacing at the top of the shoulder. I cheated and used grommets instead of handsewn eyelets. There are five grommets in the tunic part and six on the sleeve part. I kinda guesstimated on how far apart to place them. In hindsight, I could have put the ones on the sleeve part closer together. Oh, well. Then I just spiral laced them with some soft black leather cord that I found at Hobby Lobby. Not too shabby.

So here's two pictures of the finished costume:

Now I just have to hope that it fits my 'Peter'! *crosses fingers*

Little Updates

2008-04-25T23:08:00.000-04:00

First, I finally got a picture of Edmund's finished chainmaille:

The lighter section in the middle was not on purpose. I ran out of the darker rings so I had to use the leftover rings from Susan's chainmaille which were lighter. It won't really matter because he's wearing the tunic over it so we won't see that part.

Next, I added two inches to the length of my Susan sleeves (curse of being tall) and finished the back of Susan's cuirass. I just attached the straps to each other randomly. I also tied string and cord in different places for a little more detail.

To get in and out, I think she has to unlace each strap in the back. Well, that requires someone dressing you. No thank you. I hot-glued hidden snaps on two large straps on the left side. I just have to snap those two shut after lacing. No problem!

Then I worked on Peter's Brown Tunic Outfit. I didn't want to buy brown velvet (which is impossible to find in the almost summer) so I found a brown polyester at Walmart for $1 a yard. I just cut a simple vest and then worked on the sleeves. I used a sleeve pattern I had but realized that the slope of the shoulder 'seam' had to be more defined. So after a draft or two I came up with this:

Here's the not-finished picture:

The blue undershirt is a little too blue but I don't care. For the LWW premiere it was Peter's Camp Outfit. I altered the sleeves and the neckline and now it's Peter Prince Caspian! I call it recycling. =)

To Do for Peter's Brown Tunic:

Buy Brown Bias Tape and Attach at Edges
Machine Embroider Sleeves
Make Holes for Shoulder Lacing
Add Buttons Down the Front
Try it on my 'Peter' and Hope it Fits!

Susan's Battle Dress Embroidery

2008-04-24T21:44:00.001-04:00

Today I "embroidered" the hem of Susan's Battle Dress. I bought some blank stencil sheets at Hobby Lobby and cut out a stencil using this design I made. I then just painted the stencil using my same ol' cheap acrylic gold metallic paint. It took a ton of paint - almost two bottles. I love the result. It might be a little too tall, but I'm super tall so that shouldn't matter!

It's not quite that gold because the red isn't quite that light. It really looks nice. Slowly but surely this dress is getting completed!

Edmund's Armor

2008-04-24T21:35:00.000-04:00

I officially finished the pauldrons for Edmund's Battle Outfit. Since the last picture I posted, I scratched a floral-y design on the top layer, added decorative rivets (I'm really liking the rivets! I've used them on every costume!), added a hidden strap at the top to safety pin to the tunic while wearing, and a strap to go under the arm to keep it on. I'm very pleased with the result!

Now I just have to finish the gauntlets and Edmund is done! They are a little to big right now so I just have to trim them down and then attach straps like the pauldrons. And then they are done!

I spray painted these with dark brown paint and then came back and hand painted the accent piece with medium brown acrylic paint. Not bad for fun foam!

Susan's Cuirass

2008-04-24T11:49:00.000-04:00

I weathered the cuirass today. I used equal parts black and brown acrylic paint and then watered it down a little. Then I just applied the mixture haphazardly concentrating on the cracks and seams. I did about a 4x4 inch area at a time. I'd smear the paint on and then immediately wipe most of it off with a damp rag. I'm really pleased with the results. It's actually a lot dirtier than the picture shows. It looks very battle-worn which I love! Hooray!

Left To Do for Susan's Battle Outfit:

Do 'Embroidery' on Dress Hem
Lengthen Dress Sleeves
Make Cuirass Straps Attach in Back
Add 'Embroidery' to the Top of Cuirass

And I think that's it! Whoo-hoo! I'm so close! That's good because there are only 21 days left!

Susan's Cuirass Details

2008-04-23T21:55:00.000-04:00

Okay. I went to Hobby Lobby and found all these thingies to use for the cuirass. The big medallion is a piece of carved wood. I also found metal belt designs, scrap leather, rivets and random buttons that I had on hand.

Then I aged everything. I also over-sprayed some things to make them more antique gold/silver. Here's a medallion with the left side plain and the right side aged with black craft paint in all the crevices.

I found a trim that I had so I took it apart to use the straw strings to tie on my medallions.

I then stared at all my pictures of the cuirass. I scrounged with all my leather scraps, cut up two belts, and created a few medallions. I then laid all the pieces on the cuirass where I wanted them.

I then glued each piece starting for the pieces that are closest to the cuirass. First the two long straps that go over the right shoulder.

Then a short vertical piece for the left side:

Then came the bottom piece. It turned out a little big but oh, well:

Then the top piece with a long down strap on the right side:

Then the long skinny strap that goes across your left shoulder and a skinny strap that cuts horizontally across the middle:

And ta-da! Now I just have to do the back. Much more complicated because I want to be able to get in and out of it easily. I'm thinking about putting some snaps somewhere for ease of entry. I also need to 'age' the cuirass by making it look dirty and worn like the original. I'm thinking dark brown shoepolish, concentrating on getting it in the corners and crevices. Any other ideas?

I'll hopefully finish gluing the back tomorrow. I've almost used an entire bottle of fabric glue. Oh, I also have to put the design across the top of the cuirass. Since the entire cuirass isn't real leather, I can't just make the design as indentations. I'll probably just stencil on a design in a darker brown.

Guys Shirts

2008-04-23T21:52:00.000-04:00

I finished the undershirts for Peter's Brown Tunic and Caspian's Coronation. I'll post pictures soon!

Susan's Cuirass

2008-04-22T19:19:00.001-04:00

I've finished the base of the cuirass. Whoo-hoo! It's made of a fake leather cloth and flat-lined in some fabric I had laying around. The fabric is a little too light but once all the straps get glued on, you won't see much of it. Each seam has 1/4" spiral steel boning and the lacing sites have 1/2" boning. It is a little too loose when I tried it on, but when worn over chainmaille, it should fit beautifully. Now I've just got to find tons of leather scraps and belts to put over it. I guess I'll go by Salvation Army tomorrow to look through their selection of belts. I also need to find some things to be her metal things (can't think of the right word).

Edmund's Battle Tunic

2008-04-19T02:45:00.000-04:00

Edmund's Battle Tunic is finished!!! Whoo-hoo! Today I did the lion and the hem embroidery. For the lion, I printed off the drawing of the lion on NarniaWeb costumes. I then cut that shape out of fusible webbing and fused one side to a suede-like fabric that I had on hand:

After cutting out the suede to match the glued on lion, I painted the whole thing with some cheap acrylic paint that I had on hand. I specifically did not coat it evenly. I wanted some lighter areas and some darker. I also drew on the lines for the embroidery with a red ink pen:

After that I fused the lion to the tunic and then stitched over the red line marks using a backstitch:

The hem is supposed to have intricate embroidery but I just decided to be fast. I found an old stencil that I had on hand and just stipled the same gold paint through that simple stencil. No where near exact but I don't really care! I am very, very pleased with my finished tunic!

Edmund's Battle Outfit

2008-04-16T16:04:00.000-04:00

I am taking the easy road with my fun foam armor. There is a much more complicated process that produces a much better result, but I don't have time. And these pauldrons don't have to look amazing. If you want to follow the detailed instructions, check out this website.

Today I spray painted the glued together pauldrons. I used a metallic silver paint that I had on hand.

I then went around and painted a gold trim on all the edges.
I then took an open bobby pin (with the round tip removed) and started drawing lines around the edges.

What the bobby pin actually did was scrap away the silver paint to reveal the black fun foam underneath. I scraped two lines all the way around (one line is right beside the gold trim - the next is about 1/8 inch away). I then ended up putting another layer of gold paint on the edges.

I still have to scrap some kind of design onto the top layer (at least). Then I'll put decorative rivets, and attach some kind of straps to hold it on. But I'm excited about how it's looking!

I also finished Edmund's chainmaille. Whoo-hoo! Pics soon!

Edmund's Battle Outfit

2008-04-15T23:11:00.000-04:00

I've almost finished on Edmund's chainmaille. I added the sleeves and added the gold ring trim. I just took the regular chainmaille rings and spray painted them with metallic gold spray paint. Voila:

I then added it to the sleeves and the bottom of the maille. The sleeves were so difficult because they aren't straight across. But even the chainmaille trim in the movie isn't perfect. Overall, I'm pleased with the result:

I also worked on the shoulder pauldrons. I made the five pieces through trial and error. I kept getting the overall shape wrong. Finally I was satisfied. The two pauldrons aren't exactly the same, but they will work. I've glued them together and will let them dry overnight before I try spray painting them silver. I also have to work the design into them.

Also, taking the advice of Alicia's comment on the last post, I dyed the tunic. I just used a dark brown dye and it made it slightly darker red. I was really pleased. I also finally added a shoulder piece like I was talking about. A triangular piece like on Caspian's White Shirt. I think it will make it sit better across the shoulders. I'll try to get my cousin over here sometime to try on the updated ensemble.

Only 30 days!!! AH!!!!!! *begins to hyperventilate*

Edmund's Battle Outfit

2008-04-07T00:38:00.001-04:00

I've been working on this costume for a while now but never had any pictures to prove it. So finally here is my exhibit on my Edmund's Battle Outfit. My cousin will be Edmund (brother to my cousin who is Lucy). Before you see pictures, I have to give disclaimers. This was a costume built on the extremist of budgets. I made the chainmaille from electric fence wire that I coiled, cut, and wove myself. The red suede is some I had on hard from forever ago. The brown fabric for the shirt I found at Hobby Lobby in the clearance bin for $2 a yard. Sadly there was only a yard and a half so that's why there's an extra band of a different brown fabric at the hem.

I like the brown shirt. You can see all of two inches of Ed's brown shirt (between the bottom of his chainmaille sleeves and the top of this vambraces). So I just made this classic pirate shirt that I had a pattern for. No, Edmund's probably didn't look anything like this. But I really don't care!

I like how the chainmaille's coming along. The length is about right. I might make the neckhole smaller and of course I have to add sleeves. I also have to add the contrast of gold rings along the edges. I think I'll try spraypainting some rings gold and seeing how that looks.

I hate the tunic. Hate, hate, HATE! Sorry. Anyway, I didn't have a pattern, so I thought I could just draft a pattern from my cousin's measurements. Wrong! I sloped the shoulders too much so the neck part bunches. I think I'll go back in and add a triangular piece to the top of the shoulders (kinda like Caspian's White Shirt) and that might help it fit at the shoulders better. It might also make it a little longer which I would like. By the way, I didn't realize the extra width chainmaille would add. I had to actually add more fabric to the sides of the tunic because it wouldn't fit over the chainmaille. I would say that chainmaille adds an extra 2-3 inches in circumference. Anyway, then I've got to figure out the embroidery on the hem and the lion, of course.

After these three pieces, I still have the leather gorget (funky foam?), the pauldrons (definitely funky foam) and the vambraces (ditto). I'm putting all those off. It sounds hard!

This week I hope to work on Caspian's White Shirt and finish my Susan's Battle Underdress.

Lucy Dress

2008-04-07T00:35:00.000-04:00

Just a couple pictures of my cousin in her finished Lucy Dress.

Finished Lucy Dress!

2008-04-05T17:17:00.000-04:00

It's finished! Yesterday and today I: finished the French knots, put the upper arm trim on, hemmed the velvet, and put in the back lacing.

The neckline center U isn't quite perfect but I like it anyway. I'm so glad that I finished and I'm so proud of my efforts! New pictures tomorrow when my cousin can come over to model it!

Lucy's Embroidery

2008-04-03T00:11:00.000-04:00

Well, a slight update today. The flowery swirls that I drew on a few days ago were too light. So I went back over the designs with my marker again. Note to anyone else: if you are using a FabricMate marker on real silk, draw your design and then let it dry a day or two as it absorbs into the fabric. It would be much easier to have gone over the design again if the dress wasn't already assembled. But that would have been too easy for me.

I've almost finished the French Knots on Lucy's Bodice. I used embroidery floss from DMC in two colors - an ice blue and a French blue - #775 & #809 in case you care. I went with three strands on each color and wrapped the thread around once. I experimented with wrapping it two and three times, but it was a little much. I am very pleased with the result. It's very 3D which I like. I still have to finish 11 flowers on the back. I've already done 47 flowers. Yeah. This bodice has WAY too many flowers. But it does look nice.

Susan's Battle Outfit

2008-03-30T21:25:00.000-04:00

Wow. I've gotten a lot done this weekend! Today I worked on Susan's Battle Dress. I had finished the muslin a while back (like two months ago!) so I finally cut it out of the real fabric. Well, fabrics. I had bought garnet velvet for the skirt (back when we thought the skirt was velvet) and I didn't want to waste it so I cut the overskirt of velvet. The underskirt and bodice was a suede cloth that I had bought for Lucy's Rust Red Dress before I found her velvet. I didn't have enough of that for a full underskirt and the bodice so I also used an embroidered taffeta for the sleeves and the front panel of the bodice. A picture is worth a thousand words:

It looks very Victorian in this picture but it's really not. And it's not quite that dark. I was so pleased with this dress but then I put the chainmaille on top and bummer! The sleeves are way too short so I have to length both the dress and the chainmaille sleeves by about two inches. The neckline is too high so I have to lower it about two inches too. And the chainmaille has to be altered to work better with the dress. =(

With the chainmaille it's SUPER HOT. I only wore it for about 5 minutes and I was burning up. Great.

Still to do on this dress: hem underskirt, hem velvet skirt, put gold embroidery on hem, put in invisible zipper, lengthen sleeves, alter neckline, and take in the waist a little.

And I haven't even started on the cuirass. =(

Lucy Dress Update

2008-03-30T14:43:00.000-04:00

Oh my goodness. It's been forever since I've updated. That's because I haven't sewn any for Prince Caspian recently! But yesterday, I finally bought the silk for Lucy's bodice at Hobby Lobby. It's a little too coppery but I figured that I would never actually find a color I loved. And this went beautifully with the velvet I already had. So, I cut out the bodice and then drew on the swirls with a fabric marker. I may go back over them and make them a little darker. The swirls match the original perfectly. I was rather proud of myself.

Then I assembled the bodice flatlining the silk with some cotton I had on hand. I then made the sleeves baglining them in the same polyester I had made the underdress with (which was stretchy! Bleh!). I then put all the pieces together with the skirt and the peplum. The beaded trim hated me. It would not bend an inch. Which is bad because the peplum is cut on a circle. So finally I just sewed the top of the trim directly to the bodice and the peplum underneath kinda helps it stick out a little. Anyway, here are some in-process pics:

I still have to put the trim on the upper arm, do the French Knots on the bodice, make the neckline, hem the velvet skirt, and do the back lacing. But, I think I have come a long way. I hope to finish this dress this week. Then it will be one down, a million to go!

Peter's Blue Shirt

2008-03-04T17:57:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I made a Peter's Camp Outfit for LWW's premiere for a friend. This time the same friend is going to be Peter in his Brown Velvet Tunic Outfit. So I recycled! The blue shirt from the Camp Outfit is actually kind of close to the blue shirt under the Brown Tunic. So I decided to just alter it to be closer to the the Brown Tunic one. Here's a pic of what it looks like as the Camp shirt:

So I decided to make a decorative piece to go around the neckline. First I cut a strip of fabric about 1 1/2 wide. Then I folded it in half and sewed it with a thin cord in the middle (that is sewn to one end):

Once you have a tube, pull on the thin string and with some huffing and puffing it will eventually turn the casing inside out. Cut away the thin string. Thread (using a giant safety pin) a 3/8 inch cord into the casing:

After the cord is in the casing finish the ends by sewing them shut. Then the fun part. Take a similar color thread and wrap it around the cord. If you have the exact same cord as I did, it will slip into the grooves of the wrap. If you stay in the same groove the whole way down, it will pick up every other groove (does that make sense?). Glue it every so often with fabric glue to help keep it tight:

And the finished product:

Then I just folded the ends under and glued it to my neckline:

It's a little more prominent than the original but I like it. Whoo-hoo! Now I have to rip out the sleeves (because the Camp shirt had semi-fitted sleeves) and replace them with full sleeves with cuffs. Luckily I kept my extra fabric from when I made this shirt 2 1/2 years ago! I know, I'm a packrat..

More Progress

2008-02-27T23:53:00.000-05:00

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!

Lucy's Overdress Muslin

2008-02-17T21:27:00.000-05:00

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!!!

Lucy's Overdress Muslin(s)

2008-02-16T21:20:00.000-05:00

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!

Susan's Chainmaille - Finished!

2008-02-08T00:08:00.001-05:00

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!

Susan's Chainmaille

2008-02-07T01:49:00.001-05:00

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...

Susan's Chainmaille

2008-02-05T01:42:00.000-05:00

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.

Lucy's Underdress

2008-02-03T00:02:00.000-05:00

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!

Susan's Battle Outfit

2008-01-31T23:44:00.000-05:00

I have most of the materials for this costume. I have the garnet red velvet for the skirt, gorgeous red embroidered taffeta for the bodice and sleeves, and some gray flannel or gray felt (my choice) for the annoying collar (which might get nixed). Also, my chainmail hauberk (technically a haubergon) is half finished. I ordered more chainmail rings - hopefully they will get here tomorrow. Oh, here's my version of what my dress will look like:
I can't decide if I want to have an underdress shown at the neckline or not. The skirt is not another separate skirt; it's just an inset. Of course, you won't see the neckline because it will be hidden under chainmail (and possibly an ugly collar). But I want the dress to be pretty enough to wear without the chainmail - like to the Renaissance Faire. As for the corset, I haven't gotten very far on that yet. I do know that I want it to be extra long like hers. Hers doesn't stop at her waist; it continues to the top of her hips. Gorgeous.

I've made a muslin of this dress and everything works well except the neckline. I can't quite get it right and now it's WAY too low. Definitely not queenly. I want to have the muslin perfect before I cut into my $9-a-yard velvet.

Lucy's Underdress

2008-01-31T23:32:00.000-05:00

I just finished what might become Lucy's underdress for her Rust Red Dress. If it fits, it will be the underdress; if it doesn't fit, it's the muslin. It actually turned out cute. I used this dollar-a-yard fabric I got at Walmart today. I'll post pictures as soon as I can get my younger cousin (who is the dress is for) over here to model it.

Also, I think I have the dye combination for her silver vest. I've found a tan/silver color that looks nice with the gray underdress and also coordinates with the dusty-red velvet. I have some gold lip trim that looks kinda like this: -->

I think that might be all the materials I need to finish this dress! Whoo-hoo! 'Course it'll take me til Dooms Day to finish. *Sigh*

Just Getting Started!

2008-01-27T00:08:00.000-05:00

I've started a blog because I want to! So there. This blog will chronicle (slightly a pun) my journey of making tons of the costumes for the premiere of Prince Caspian in May.