Making Stuff and Taking Names

My name is Missy. I make things.

[mightythesaurusrex]

I recently re-made the bodice of my Belle dress. Lovely as it was, it was uncomfortable and not very practical. I couldn’t move my arms. It fell down constantly. It was lined with crappy polyester that left me sweaty and stinky. Princesses don’t sweat. So I ripped out the old lining and replaced it with some cotton coutille. Eventually, I will add some boning so that pesky drop front won’t keep flipping upward or bunching like it does. The coutille adds a very nice weight to the bodice, which ultimately made me feel much better in the craziness of a con. My bodice was holding in all sorts of wiggly bits, and I felt secure. The shoulder sleeves were a challenge. Originally, they met in the middle. This left very little room for my arms to actually go anywhere without taking the whole bodice with them. Since both sleeves are made from the same strip of fabric, I just lined up the ends with the front seams of the bodice, giving me a solid two extra inches per arm hole. This dress still has a long way to go before I’m fully satisfied with it (the skirt is still a disaster, even if it has elbow-deep pockets). I’m sure I’ll keep posting about it as I keep fiddling with it.

To see what the dress originally looked like, check here: http://steampoweredseamstress.tumblr.com/post/137072379820/lets-talk-technical-about-this-belle-dress-i-made

[steampoweredseamstress]

Whoops, just put it on my personal blog. Ignore that.

[steampoweredseamstress]

Here’s one of my first wire-wrapped pieces I’m actually proud of! I made this headpiece to mimick that of a performer I liked, while also mimicking the headpieces worn by the principal dancers in Swan Lake. I used whatever wire I could find (which ended up being floral wire), as well as some random craft beads I had around my house.

The ears on this headpiece were made from craft foam, painted and cut and pinned just so. I attached a hair comb underneath so I could stick it to my head, and added small loops along the sides so I could fix it in place with bobby pins.

I built it in layers, coiling and adding pieces until I finally liked it. I really, really like it. I’d wear it all the time if I could. It’s fairly lightweight and really well-balanced, and I’m still amazed I made it myself.

[steampoweredseamstress]

I made these ear cuffs for a costume I haven’t completed yet. Overall, they took me about two hours to make; one hour for each ear. I ended up wearing them to Labyrinth of Jareth with a different costume, and I got a surprising amount of compliments on them.

I later added sterling silver posts to one of the spirals on the bottom, so I could attach them to my ears more reliably. That way, if they slip off, they’re not lost forever.

The purple stones are amethyst; the other beads and stones are random craft supplies I had lying around. These were super fun to make and even more fun to wear, and I definitely have plans to make more in the near future. I love wire wrapping.

[steampoweredseamstress]

I have dyed pointe shoes twice in my life. The first time went well enough, but the second time I actually got pictures!

I used Rit powder dye in black, mixed with rubbing alcohol. Usually it’s mixed with hot water, but pointe shoes are special. If they get too wet, they lose their shape. They become useless.

Rubbing alcohol dries faster than water. This way I could apply two coats of dye in the same night without totally ruining my shoes. I applied the dye with an old (clean!) toothbrush. The first coat turned out a weird silvery blue. It was gorgeous, but not the color I was looking for. The second coat took very, very nicely. I accidentally got some dye on the sole of the shoes, which normally wouldn’t be a problem, but I’m picky. So I decided to turn them into faux Louboutins. I took some red acrylic paint and painter’s tape and turned them into something beautiful.

In retrospect, I should’ve worn gloves. My hands were black for days.

These shoes were a hit, and they were surprisingly comfortable to wear to the event I went to. I still have them, and still dance in them on occasion.

[steampoweredseamstress]

One time I tried my hand at making a tutu. This was for a ballerina version of an obscure character from something nobody really cares about, so I had a lot of freedom with my design choices.

I had ordered a pancake tutu online, expecting it to have some sort of shape like the one I wanted. Instead, I got a floppy, too-small, poorly-constructed little red fluffball. I grabbed some spare skirt elastic, starch, and a bottle of Stiffen Quick and got to work. The Stiffen Quick wasn’t enough to make it hold its shape, so I sewed two of the layers of tulle together and added a wire stolen from a pop up windshield cover. I ended up throwing some more glittery red tulle in layers around the whole skirt, and I finally achieved the level of floof I wanted.

The black overskirt was made from leftover fabric from a previous project. I measured my waist, and guessed at how many petals I could fit on top of my tutu. I added red buttons to one side, and eventually added more of that sparkly red tulle to the borders. That was the day I learned how to use a fork to make pleats. There’s still red glitter in my sewing machine.

This project was truly a labor of love. I have never been so frustrated with ballet. This tutu makes it almost impossible to sit down, and it bumps into anyone and everyone around. It’s great for preserving a personal bubble!

[steampoweredseamstress]

Here’s a fun little project I did a while back. I found a silk shirt at Goodwill and turned it into a snazzy vest. This piece was part of a bigger costume (which I’ll be posting more about as the day goes on),

I started by tracing the vest shape while the shirt was on my dress form. I cut it out, plucked off the sleeves, and finished the edges. I would’ve lined the whole project if I had more time to work on it, but I came up with this costume at the last minute.

I took some leftover fabric and made the two grommet strips seen on the back. I had to get my dad’s help with setting the grommets, as I had never done it before (I also didn’t have the grip strength to get them set well).

I had some red lining and heavyweight interfacing left over from another project, so I combined those with the existing collar to create the illusion that the entire project was lined.

I finished this vest within a couple hours. The most difficult part was probably the collar. For some reason I couldn’t seem to make it lay flat. I blame cheap lining and flimsy construction.

[steampoweredseamstress]

This is a project I don’t talk too much about, since I completed it in about 4 hours, and I honestly forget sometimes that I even did it!

My friend was dressing as Batman for my city’s Fourth of July parade, but he didn’t have a cape. I came to the rescue with two yards of black peachskin and my dinky little sewing machine.

I chose peachskin because it doesn’t catch the light like cheap costume satin would, and it has a wonderful weight to it that makes for a great superhero cape. It draped wonderfully. Also, it was affordable and on sale.

I drew up a pattern for a six-piece bat-shaped yoke, and fiddled with it until I liked it. I set my dressform to my friend’s measurements and draped the actual cape onto the yoke.

The neck is held together by velcro. I chose velcro because it’s faster to do than a button, but also because it wouldn’t choke my friend, should his cape get stuck for some reason.

It’s difficult to see with the pictures I have, but the bottom edge of the cape is scalloped (much like the cape from the original series with Adam West). I used my serger to finish off the ends and keep the thing from fraying. I would’ve done more with it, but I threw it together at the last minute (the parade was the next morning!).

I love challenges like this! I get to use the things I’m good at to make something unique.

[steampoweredseamstress]

Another technical post! This time about my blue dress Belle. Unfortunately I don’t have many progress shots of this one, so I can’t show you all the fun I had.

When I made this one, I was working at Joanns. I picked up a couple yards each of blue and white kona quilting cotton. For the bodice I used a tank top pattern my grandmother gave me way back when I first started sewing, and I used a circle skirt pattern I found on sale at work.

The bodice has four vertical seams, which made fitting it simultaneously wonderful and a nightmare. I threw an invisible zipper in on my left side so I could get myself into and out of it with minimal contortion.

For the white undershirt, I used a pattern I found at Walmart. I used the leftover fabric from the shirt to make the apron, which is basically just a square with a ribbon sewn across the top.

The whole ensemble is four pieces: shirt, dress, apron, and petticoat. It’s my most comfortable costume to date.

(That bottom picture was taken at Comic Con 2015 with the current voice of Belle, Julie Nathanson! I met her the year prior when I was wearing my ballgown, and she remembered me. She’s the best.)

[steampoweredseamstress]

Let’s talk technical about this Belle dress I made a few years ago. I went to my local Joanns and dropped about $100 on 14 yards of polyester crepeback satin (I ended up working there later, but that’s irrelevant). I found a corset pattern at Walmart, and a Victorian skirt pattern on the internet, and I went to town. My little Brother sewing machine almost didn’t make it.

This dress took me about two weeks to finish. I’ve tweaked it a few times since then, and I have more tweaks planned when I have the time (that bodice will eventually be an actual corset, boning and coutille and all; hopefully solving that rumpling problem at the waist).

I got my gloves from WeLoveColors, but they were the exact wrong shade of yellow. I used Rit color remover and liquid dye in sunshine yellow to get them to a color I didn’t hate.

This is kind of my magnum opus, really. I have big projects planned for the future, but for now this is the biggest thing I’ve ever tackled.

[mightythesaurusrex]

Comic Con picture spam.

This isn’t all of them, but it’s certainly most of them. I’ll make separate posts for the pictures I REALLY want you to see.

Click on the pictures for my usual sass and commentary.

[steampoweredseamstress]

#fbf My first Comic-Con!

[telosam]

Ten (now there’s a cosplayer who nailed Ten’s swagger like she’s been swagging her whole swaggy life!)

[steampoweredseamstress]

#FBF to Gally1 2014!

[mightythesaurusrex]

I decided to be an angel of The Lord. #castiel #supernatural

[steampoweredseamstress]

This shirt didn't fit me right, so I chopped it up Castiel style. It fits much better now.

[steampoweredseamstress]

Gally1 friends

If you have any pictures of me as Belle or as the 10th doctor, please feel free to share! You can tag me as steampoweredseamstress. I'd love to see them!

[allthingsbucky]

First three pictures for Gally1. (i met Alexis Cruz hnnnnnnngg) with mightythesaurusrex

[allthingsbucky]

More gally pictures! With mightythesaurusrex and @holycityfangirl

[steampoweredseamstress]

Had a blast as Belle at Gallifrey One this year!

[steampoweredseamstress]

Tried my hand at embroidery. Turns out, it’s a lot of fun.

[steampoweredseamstress]

A little photo journey through today's project! I found some super fun cotton tweed, high-waisted pants my mom used to wear sometime around the late 90's, and she gave me full permission to cut them up and make them something fun. Then these shorts happened.

Today I am thankful that I have some of my mother's genetics, so I can wear all her old clothes.