*Official* Wisconsin Fanforce Costume Thread

Thanks for the link, Tom. It was very interesting to see those very elaborate costumes. But I don't think I'll become an armorer anytime soon.

I won't lie, Laura--I still feel bad about the destruction of the cord. It was great fun dyeing it (and sometimes a bit harrowing), and I'm very glad to know that we can easily dye the crinkle poly for the lining (that was a true miracle--now you'll be able to get the color you want and have it be affordable). But I mourn the loss of the cord. Oh well, maybe this new stuff you have coming will be better. We know it dyes, as Kay_Dee used it, but I think we can monitor the color much better this time--no navy added! I'm also thinking we may use fray check for the ends of the cord, since this bourdon cord sounds like something that could very easily fray, which would be problematic, even for a seasoned embroiderer. I'm going to check the JoAnn's site and see if the crinkle poly will remain on sale, because if it is, we're going to pick some up tomorrow night. 50% off is just too good to miss!

In the meantime, take your time sewing, especially after this weekend. There's lots of time, and we can really smack the asteroid at full throttle tomorrow night, when you feel a little stronger.

On another note, the thermal detonator arrived last week (I would have posted about it then, but my grandfather's funeral took obvious precedence). After purchasing N batteries for it at Batteries Plus (I guess N batteries are used for hospital equipment and phones, so I'm told they're more common than I initially thought--in short, I'd never heard of them before), I turned it on and the largest smile I've had in weeks. It is a little louder than I thought, but I could care less about that! I am simply in love with it, and it really was worth the $200 I had to cough up to get it. I could never make a prop even remotely close to the look and feel of this one, and even though Bob might have been able to rig lighting for it, we could never have reproduced such sound. In short, it was really worth it! It also came with a beautiful case, so it's on display on the sideboard in the dining room. I'll be sure to bring it along for the next gathering, so everyone can have a look.

Anyway, back to the sewing I go. I haven't started any major costumes yet, but I am diligently working on the Bespin embroidery upgrade. Hope everyone else's costumes are going well.

 

Just letting everyone know about the update of my costume. The skirt of the Senate dress is almost completed except that it needs hemmed. I completed the waistband today and I will say that it was not easy due to the many gathers in the back of the skirt. The bodice is almost ready but we will to add the inner sleeves plus the sequins and embroidery. I am having fun putting this together and I am getting so excited that it is coming along so well.

 

I'm glad to hear you're having great fun with your costume, Laura (despite those really annoying gathers in the waistband--one day I'll have to teach you how to cartridge-pleat--serious pleating insanity! )

I ran the bodice embroidery pattern through my printer, working with the dimensions we drew on the muslin. With some minor modifications (and some rounding done to the triangle--I think the sides are a bit too stiff) it should work out fine. Although, after looking through some other pics, I think we should raise the bottom point of the embroidery up so it's level with your waist, or at the very least just below your waist, as you are shorter-waisted than Natalie herself. This pic on the Padawan's Guide--Padme Pic--made me change my mind on the length down the middle yesterday. I also discovered that MSPaint will split up any overlarge pic you print over several pages automatically, so I do not expect any trouble printing out the tabard embroidery.

On another note, I anticipate starting the classic Leia gown over the holidays, with the goal in mind of finishing it by the first full week of January. And if I'm on a roll, I want to continue seamlessly onto the ceremonial gown as well, even though I do have two commissions in the works. More than anything, these two costumes are the easiest for the sake that they lack embroidery along with the other usual detail minutiae one finds on a SW costume, and with the classic gown's simple medieval silhouette, even more so. In short, there's no excuse for me to sit on my laurels and procrastinate.

As always, I hope everyone's costumes are going well. Expect a meeting to be announced for January before the year is out, and I hope to see all of you there. Keep up the good work and do post with your updates now and again.

 

I ordered a bolt of the velvet fabric so it should be coming by anytime next week. I say get it now when I have the money otherwise I will regret it later.

 

Glad to hear you ordered the velvet (and I understand what you mean about doing it now when you have the money rather than waiting; had I not gotten the thermal detonator when I did, I would not have been able to now). Guess we'll be dyeing cloth in February/March (remember, we have to make the muslin first so we know how much velvet we'll need)! And thanks for the heads up, too. I'll use some of my time off to go down to the basement and scrub down the stationary tub in preparation.

Oooo, it's gonna be great!

 

The velvet came today. I am so happy!!!!

 

May I say the filament really sucks to work with on the embroidery. It has broke on me thousands of times and I am getting really frustrated.

 

I got my cain and broach the other day! Now all I need is the robe and the face stuff. Yes the 2 major things! But at least I have the yellow eyes and the cain is WICKED! I have shown people and all they do is tell me to cut it out- it's to creepy!

HAHAHAHAHAH

So next is the fabric- baret I will write soon...how much sjould I get? 2-3 king sizes???

E

 

Eric- are you going to bring them to the next costume meeting? I can't wait to see them.

As for the embroidery for the bodice, the tracing is so hard to see and as I said earlier the filament loves to break and tangle on me. If I'm not happy with how it turns out, I may want to retrace it onto new satin and start again. I'll keep going for now but another person's opinion on this would be appreciated.

 

Man, the holidays are sucking the life out of me!!!

Ok, enough digression...

Laura, I think we should do a new piece of satin, so stop now, and remove the cord so we can reuse it. Meanwhile, I'll try and come up with an alternative way to use the filament to its best advantage and I have a different tracing paper, one that Hancock sells, which you can use--it's a bone white, and I think it'll transfer better. I will bring it along Monday night to your place (12/29). I used it on Leslie's Arwen gown for her sleeve embroidery and had no trouble with it. Also, I will let you use my bamboo stylus--I don't know if that will make it easier for you, but it's worth a go.

I can't wait to see your cane and brooch, Eric! It sounds fantastic! You must try to make the next costume meeting (I'm still working on the date but I'll know by next weekend), and bring it to show. Then I can show you the thermal detonator. Don't you just love Master Replicas? As for the number/size of the blankets, let me do some math on it (because this cloak has double the layers of the turkish weave, at least in the hood, and must be lined with black cotton or it will not have any body) and I'll give you my report on it when we next meet.

Also, a heads-up for all you costumers in the group:

The Jo-Ann's just behind 76th street next to the Southridge Mall is moving to the larger space next door to it (there used to be a SteinMart there). So they are having gigantic clearance sales! And I mean huge! Nothing is being moved--they are selling it all! In short, I just picked up about $200 of patterns for $12! Notions, decor and fabrics are drastically reduced! And this sale will continue until Feb. 5th, the day before the new store opens next door. So hurry in for great deals!

Laura, I also picked up the gigantic safety pins we will need for your velvet to dry on the clothesline when we dye it--8 gigantic skirt pins (like the ones used for kilts) which I got for half off the regular price of $1.99. I'll bring those along tomorrow evening as well. Tried to find cheap Rit Dye, though, but there was no purple or navy to be had.

Hope everyone's costumes are going well, and we'll meet very soon.

 

Well, I spent the whole weekend at JoAnn fabrics on 76th St. I got some patterns that I thought I could use for skirts, shirts, and dresses. I even got a pattern for the Padme Battle outfit of the mock turtleneck and the pants. I got a lot of stuff to keep me busy for awhile. I don't know when I will get the time to do them all since I am doing my senate gown and I wish do everything at once to have everything now. So it is off to sewing I go!

 

Beret- I was just wondering if you set a date for the next costume meeting. If not, that's cool.

 

No, I haven't. I was entertaining the idea of having it on the 18th, but something came up, and now that won't work. And the 17th is out, as that's the day of the wedding show downtown, and the only day my mom can go with me.

So now I'm looking towards the following weekend, which I know will clash with some people's schedules, since school is just around the corner for some. It comes down to this:

How does Saturday, the 24th or Sunday, the 25th sound? This will be a short meeting--essentially a couple of hours to talk about plans for the new year and review the previous year, and to hear of everyone's progress--so it'll only last a couple of hours, and no fabric run will be held, unless there is a massive demand for one.

Chime in with your thoughts!

 

Either day works for me.

 

Hey all,

How are the costumes coming? Now that the holiday season is over with, I can seriously start working on my costumes. I've been working on the over cloak for the hippy Jedi costume, and it is progressing (can't wait until it is finished because I am starting to get sick of working on it).

Anyways, I found some fabric for the Salmon colored under robe for the Elrond costume. I have a problem with it, I may not have enough. I have 5-6 yards in 2 different pieces. There was some kind of satin at Joann's that the wrong side fabric looked right for it, but I am not sure. And there was a ton of it, so I wouldn't run into this problem. If I can still use this stuff, I will need to find something for underneath because it is too flimsy for the costume. So I get to work with layers, yay.

For the other costumes, I still need to work on the tests, and get the fabric washed. Is it okay to machine wash satin? Beret, can you pm me with your phone number, because I seemed to have misplaced it and would like to talk with you about some stuff with the costumes.

Hope everyone is having fun and will chat with you all later.

Devan

 

I have a SWRPG on the 24th so the 25th is best for me.

 

I have to work from 9-6 on the 24th, so the 25th would work better for me too.

Devan

 

Bugger. I'm in the Dells that weekend (girl's weekend out with my mom and her friends), otherwise I'd be there. And I wanted to show off my knitting skills to you guys--that's been sucking up all of my free time.

That, and I haven't been able to sew at ALL because my mom's machine broke. We have to take it in to get fixed one of these days-it's just a matter of finding the time.

 

I did my first dye test for the Jocasta costume, used one box of tan and one box of peach and it doesn't look right to the pictures I have. I think I need yellow instead of peach. Will bring the swatch for the costume meeting and gain everyone's input.

Devan

 

I'm such an insomniac for it is almost 7:00am and I've been away for a while. Anyways, I was looking at a pic of Elrond, and it seems like there is a grey satin layer inside of the salmon silk. This would help with the fabric being too flimsy, but the it runs into the problem that I have no clue how to do a layer like that. Also, in the same pic, he appears to have a bergandy silk shirt underneath this robe, which would be the same layer and color as the pants. What is with costumes and Layers. LotR elves are just as bad as Jedi in this regards.

I'm going to try and piece together a cotton test of the under robe, to see if I can adapt a pattern I found enough so it looks somewhat close to the actual robe. *sighs and mumbles about prissy elf lords and layers*

Devan

 

Ok, I'm going to set the remaining portion of this weekend to do sewing only. Wish me luck! I'm wanting to finish the sequins, make the extra layer between the satin and the farthingale, and finish the embroidery work for the bodice.

 

Bad news, guys. It looks like there will be no meeting this month. I was about to announce for a meeting on Sunday, the 25th, but close friends of ours have announced that they will be in town that weekend and they are having a party for their daughter's birthday, so we are obliged to attend.

So, everyone please post with your available Saturdays and Sundays in February; I will then compare and choose a date that's most suitable. I apologize for the delay, but this month is becoming far busier for me than I had anticipated.

In any case, I am glad that everyone is doing well with their costumes.

Devan, it's best that we strike up a dialogue over your costumes by email. It's tough to reach me over the phone these days, so email me at LeiaYT1300@aol.com or pm with your questions and I'll respond as promptly as I can. In the meanwhile, I believe that satin can be washed. But if you dry it, be sure to do so on a low heat setting, and do measure the width and length before and after drying, that way you'll know if there's any shrinkage. You can even test a piece first (wet it in the sink and use a hair dryer to simulate drying), measuring before and after.

As for dying your fabric, try various shades of yellow and brown in order to get the shade you're looking for. And do note the amounts you used (how much water, how much of each dye), if it's powder or liquid dye, how long the fabric sat in the dye and at what temp roughly. All the information you collect will help you in recreating the same effect when you do all the fabric at once.

As for the grey lining to the salmon-colored robe of Elrond's, when you add a lining, you generally use the same pattern pieces as the outer fabric. The lining is sewn separate from the outer fabric, like making two different robes. Then you place the lining inside the outer robe, wrong sides together, and sew the lining to the outer fabric at the robe's opening and neckline, and at the sleeves. Short jackets hem the layers together (inspect the inside of a basic blazer and you'll see how the lining and the outer fabric are stitched together), but long robes, coats, and some tunics do not sew the hems together but separately, because the layers do shift with movement and the more fabric involved, the more shifting, so the layers are generally left hemmed separately, so when the layers shift there's no funky twisting and such. Of course, there are ways around this on large garments so that you may have all layers hemmed together, but in this specific case of Elrond's robe, I would leave them separate, and it will make the experience easier for you. Just remember that the lining should be hemmed about a 1/2" to 1" higher than the outer fabric so it doesn't peek out when you move.

If you have any more questions or there's something you'd like to discuss, Devan, do not hesitate to post here, email me or pm me. And the best of luck with your experimentations in the dying world!

And that goes for everyone else who is costuming. If you have questions or wish to discuss something, please post here, email me or pm me, and I will help as best I can.

Don't forget to let me know what Saturdays and Sundays you are all available.

 

Beret-As far as I know I am free for most weekends in February except February 7 & 8 since I will be celebrating my birthday on the 7th and the 8th is the book club meeting. Oh, my birthday is Feb. 9th. Yup, three more years until I will be 30. Yay.

 

Hey All! I am from The Big Bend Area, and making a fan film. I need a dengar constume, and this local page seems the great place to start. Does anyone have plans or drawing for a Dengar costume that we could copy? Your names would be included in the credits of course, I just know that you guys are the people to talk to about great looking costumes. Thanx in advance...

 

Available dates in February are fast becoming scarce. The only Saturday/Sundays I have open right now are Sat 14 (but that is Valentine's Day for you ladies who have boyfriends/husbands) and Sun 15 & 29. That's it for me.

Devan, regarding the multiple layers in the LOTR costumes, IMO, that is one of the unique and beautiful things about the Elven costumes. The silk flows so beautifully and gives their costumes an ethereal look.