Gala Costume Test Run

This week, my lovely shimmy sister and long-time friend Katie came over so that I could help her make a skirt for one of her Gala costumes.  We didn't have enough fabric for a circle skirt (and she didn't want that much fullness anyway) so we adapted one of my patterns.  I had to redo the waist 3-4 times, but we finally got it.  Word to the wise: always triple check the pattern, and remember to zig-zag stitch when you need stretch.

Still, it turned out great, and she loves it.  I wish you could see the amount of sparkle the skirt has.  I still have  green glitter everywhere.  

While she was here, we did a test run of my Gala costume, and here is version 1.0!

I'm really happy with how it's turning out, but I have a few things that need to be fixed.  First, I need to add some of the belt's swirls to the top to round out the design.  Second, we realized that the cross strap just isn't working--it's pulling the cups too far away from my body and messing with the fit.  Third, the fringe is uncomfortable at the bottom edge of the bra.  And fourth, the fabric of the back straps likes to slip, so it's hard to tie it tightly.  So, those are the tasks to take care of before Gala this Saturday!  Thankfully, I've made good headway.

I went ahead and made a second layer of back straps out of the sheer red glitter fabric.  I still have to test it, but the tying should work better now.  Once I've tested it, I'll sew the two together to make tying easier.

Dual straps!

Next, I fixed the asymmetrical strap.  It's a little lumpy because of the shape, but I don't think it'll matter/show in wearing.  I do need to test the length of the back part of the strap though (you can see the pin holding its guess-timated place in the picture).

Lastly, I started on the fringe itchiness problem.   It's just a bit of ribbon sewed over the top back of the fringe.  It covers the beads that would be against the skin and also pulls the fringe a bit away from the body. Again, I have to try it on and test it before I'll know if it does its job, hence why my stitches are messy.

Eventually, I'll line these cups like a proper seamstress.

The rest I'll be working on throughout the week, in between practice, dissertation writing, and my new summer job at Toys R Us.

And now, as I leave you for the night, I went to the MAC stand in our local mall and got a makeup test run for everyday and engagement/wedding.  Here's a shot of my super-glammed eyes.  I'll probably be using these techniques for Gala too!

Hehehe, my nose looks huge.

Gala Progress

So, I made quite a lot of progress this week, which is good, seeing as Gala is in 2 weeks.  I only have one "must do" task left, and everything else is lagniappe.

Firstly, I finally found the pendant.  At first, I was debating these, although I wasn't won over by either:

Then, I went to Hancock fabrics for ribbon (sales, whee!).  Of course, the store with the smallest jewelry selection had something perfect:

Sorry for the poor picture quality.  A lot of these turned out blurry.

So I got two.  One for the belt (above) and the other for the top (although I didn't use the two extra pieces on the top).

I also had to do the straps.  Again, the pictures insist on staying sideways, and the color variation doesn't show well, but I layered the top's fabric over a sparkly red chiffon. I also added the fringe, but I forgot to take a picture.  

But I do have one when I laid everything out for comparison early on.

This is before I sewed them in properly. I didn't take a current picture.  Whoops!

All that's left on the top is getting the back straps the correct length.  I'll have proper pictures of the top next week.

I did almost the whole belt yesterday, after Jenny helped with the design last week.  I sewed on the pendant stuff and used Fabri-Tac glue to attach the trim.  I like sewing them on, but the glue was SOOOO much faster.

In progress

 It's mostly done, but I want to add a little more trim or something in the center--it's a little plain.

laced back

This is how I did the lacing loops.

Well, hopefully next week, I'll have some pictures with the costume finished and actually ON. Whoohoo!

A Busy Crafting Week

So, I've done quite a few things this week (although there's still plenty more to do)!

Black and White Yarn Belt Trim
First things first, I finally added the trim to the black and white yarn belt.  I need to add the trim to the reverse side as well--virtually everyone has said they prefer the matte sides of the belts, so I'd like to have the trim available on both for that one at least.

Blue and White Yarn Belt
I also started the blue and white yarn belt.  It's actually farther along than the purple and orange one simply because I started sewing up the blue one first.

Here you can see the general process in a little more detail:

How I lay out the yarn after cutting it to the proper length.
There's two skeins of the blue, even if it doesn't look that way.

Start in the middle with the main color, then do the pattern on each side.

I don't know why this is upside down, but here it is, completed.

Cut the belt fabric, then pin along the suede cord.

This time, I'm hand stitching the top. It takes longer, but it's cleaner
and less prone to screw-up from the machine disagreeing with the pleather.

I'm almost done with the top stitching, at which point this will be done.  Woohoo!

Gala Costume
I've also been working on my Gala costume. I've put trim and the side straps on the bra, and I'm very grateful to the design help of my shimmy sister Jennifer for the former!

Blogger seems to want to upload all of my pictures wonky today....

I'll be putting in some jewelly bits in the middle, because something needs to go there. I've started on the top straps, but they need to be roll-hemmed against fraying.  Here you can see the strap fabric loosely laid out on the bra though.

And here are some of the rejected trim ideas...

I did get the side straps done today, though.  They need to be pressed, but I went ahead and sewed them on anyway.

As for the belt, it's still in progress, but here's how the planning has gone.  At first, I tried to mimic the bra design, but it just seemed kind of "blah."

Trying to mimic the bra...

 Then my shimmy sisters Jenny and Haley stepped in!  It's hard to see, but the smaller red, gold, and blue trims create smaller swirls.  I'm not sure yet if the thicker red trim will go along the top or stay where it is in the pictures, but I'll have to figure that out soon.

I think this design is much cooler, and I can still incorporate the swirls into the top, so that's probably what I'll do.

And that's it for this week!  Expect more updates soon!

Gala Top Progress

So, not a lot got done this week crafting-wise, but I still made some progress.

First of all, I started prepping the blue/grey/white yarn for the next yarn belt.  It's basically just unwinding the yarn and rewinding it around my fingers at the desired length.  I still have to cut one end of the loops, but it's a messy business with eyelash yarn.

As for the Gala top, I put the first part of the side straps on and got a little more design feedback.

I forgot to take progress shots of putting the side straps together.  Now they're sewed on and interfaced.

Putting the rings onto the straps. Machine stitched with zipper foot.

Edges roughly hand-stitched inside.  Didn't worry about making it pretty.

The lumpiness of the side straps is because I left the side boning of the original straps for extra structure.  This part will be covered by the regular straps, which will start at the bottom of the cups.  Speaking of, here's the updated design:

My shimmy sisters have suggested red or orange chiffon for the straps, which I think I'll do.  The pendant may not happen, simply because I can't find a good one for my design (especially one that would ship here in time).  But I'll figure something out.

And lastly, my skirt came in!  The color is way off, but you can see how well the belt matches.  Thank goodness I did the orange and blue fringe to differentiate them a bit more!

Purchases Galore!

So, most of the past week has been ordering things for my Gala costume. I finished covering bra, and I also sewed up the belt:

The belt needs to be pressed, but I'll do that this week.

As for my purchases, I jumped on the bandwagon with some of my shimmy girls and ordered this skirt off of ebay.

Awesome 3-tier skirt

I also ordered some lovely glass bead fringe from a seller in Egypt.  I'm taking a risk color-wise with orange and turquoise.

So cool.

Lastly, I made another stop at Jo-Ann Fabrics and splurged just a little bit.

First, I found a blue-green version of my red-orange fabric in the craft section and had to grab it.

Second, their selection of yarns on clearance expanded, and so I picked up another bunch for yet another yarn belt in blue, gray, and white.

Hopefully I'll get some of the things I ordered soon, but in the meantime, expect some more finished yarn belts next week!

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