Over Bust Corset

This is the over bust corset that I made for my little sister to wear under her Sakura gown (previous post). I used the Truly Victorian corset pattern to make this, and it is a pattern that I both adore and recommend to other people thinking of trying their hand at corset making. Its amazingly simple to put together, has a very wide range of sizes, and fits wonderfully.

This was made with two layers of white twill, and 12 "1/2 inch" bones, and a metal busk. There are 20 grommets in the back for lacing. The edges were finished in bias tape that was hand stitched down to the lining. This corset is fully supportive. My sister used this in place of any other sort of under garment for her off-the-shoulder ballgown, but it could be worn as a stand a lone top as well. 

This was the first time I'd ever used a busk in a corset before, and it was a real learning curve. I love the look it gives the corset though, and really, once I got the hang of it, the whole thing went in surprisingly easy. This, I can tell, is just going to be the first of many corsets that I make.

Cosplay - Sakura from Tsubasa Chronicles

My baby sister (called such because she's the youngest of 8) and I collaborated on this costume, which we competed at the Colossalcon masq. We didn't win anything, but we had a heck of a time (all of it fun) and the compliments we received were numerous. In our minds, that was even better than a slip of paper, because we couldn't go 4 feet without someone shouting out for a picture, or stopping us to compliment the gown. It was awesome.

My little sister did all of the jewelry work and prop work. She is amazingly talented in the art and sculpting department. She's also a talented sewer, though she would disagree with me on that, but hey XD. I tackled the dress part of this. All in all, the whole thing probably took about two and a half weeks to make.

The bodice was drafted by first making a corset (she actually has a fully boned and busked corset under there - that will be a different post) so that I would be able to see how it would accurately lie, and cinching that on the dress-form set at Kat's measurements. I first drafted it in muslin (twice) and tweaked it until I was happy, and then made it out of the bridal satin. The skirt was simply the left over fabric, hemmed, surged, and then gathered and stitched onto the bodice (I lost 3 needles to that beast).

The cloak is a separate piece entirely, also drafted by myself. The design was free-handed by Kat (the model / my sis) and then painted by me with the help of my friend Nobi. Kat and I styled the wig together and she took on the amazing task of making the jewelry and staff, all of which looks amazing.

There is also a hand made hoop skirt and two petticoats (also made by me) under there, but I'll save the undergarments for their own posts. :)

We had a lot of fun walking around as Sakura and Syaoran, and we're looking forward to bringing this out again at future conventions.

photo was taken by my friend AndraiaTower

Mother Gothel

Mother Gothel, from "Tangled".  I did this costume to run around with a friend in her totally adorable Rapunzel costume. Its not often that I dress as a villain, so it was fun to run around the convention, and even more fun when people recognized who I was.

The dress is a really simple princess seamed dress, with modified sleeves. It was made with polyester shauntung (which I may have mispelled, oops) and trimmed with black velvet ribbon. The only part of this that's lined were the sleeves, because they were noticeably trimmed in the movie. The belt is just my circle belt from my SCA wardrobe. The wig was lent to me by my friend who dressed as Rapunzel.

This was just a quick and dirty job, meant more for fun that superb craftsmanship, and on that end, it was great. There are a lot of things that I would re-do, if I was going for craftsmanship, but since I'm not, it gets to stay as is. <3

I retired this after the one wear, just because that wig likes to eat my face, and because the dress is incredibly warm... also because I shrank out of it. Go figure.