Another photoshoot down

The weather was kind to me on Sunday morning and managed to stay dry while I had my Sailor Jupiter photoshoot. Nothing like running around in a skimpy costume at 8:00AM on a Sunday morning to attract unecessary looks. Heh.

Ciel Phantomhive: Part Fifteen

October dress deadline is now gone with the wind. I technically no longer need this dress before May 2010. That really does make one's determination falter a little. I no longer need to break my back night and day to finish this dress in time. However, I am still going to attempt to finish it so that I can get a few pictures of it into my portfolio before I send that off with my school application. Sigh.

Today I sewed the lining to the interfacing. This was a HUGE hassle, my sewing machine did not like me trying to maneuver the bones around... ugh. Disastrous. I cannot repeat this with the top layer, it's just too big of a risk, and yet this is kind of the position I've been left in now. *Dies*

Made a few minor alterations on the skirt part of the top layer, then sewed and pressed. All seems to be going well there, thankfully. I then sewed the top fabric and the lining together, and despite earlier trepidation, it went quite well!

* * *

In other costume news I'm going to do a photoshoot for my Sailor Jupiter costume this weekend, weather pending. At this point Sunday looks clear, so fingers crossed. I need to get it done before it's so cold outside I get hypothermia in my eeny-weeny little skirt.

Sailor Finished!

Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Mars are officially finished! Whoo. Success!

Next up: Ciel Phantomhive.

Night Before

Sailor Jupiter: Erm... none.

To do:

• Iron and trim skrit
• Sew 1.5 snaps
• Put hair balls on elastic/string/something

Sailor Mars: Sewed glove tops. Hemmed skirt and trimmed excess.

To do:

• Iron skirt
• Sew 1 snap on collar
• Sew 3 snaps on skirt

Second last day

Sailor Jupiter: Hemmed the skirt. Sewed pins onto the backs of both bows. Sewed the snap halves onto the bodysuit. Sewed the snaps on the collar.

To-do:

• Iron and trim skirt
• Sew snap halves (3) on the skirt

Sailor Mars: Made sleeve caps. Sewed snaps onto the collar. Sewed pins onto the backs of both bows.

To-do:

• Hem skirt, then iron and trim
• Sew snaps onto the bodysuit
• Sew snaps onto the skirt
• Fix skirt band

Nearing the Finishing Line

I have about three days to finish the two Sailor Scout costumes. So... I'm a little overwhelmed. On the weekend I attached pins to the back of the front bow buttons for both costumes and attached them to the bows.

Sailor Jupiter: I finished the sleeve caps and sewed them on to the bodysuit.

Still to-do:

• Attach collar by snaps to bodysuit
• Attach skirt by snaps to bodysuit
• Hem skirt
• Attach front bow by snaps or pins to bodysuit
• Attach back bow by snaps or pins to bodysuit

Sailor Mars: I finished both glove tops (however I need to size them to Ashley's arm before I can attach them). I finished the choker. I finished painting the shoes. I finished sewing the closures on the bodysuit and I assembled the skirt.

Still to-do:

• Make and attach sleeve caps to bodysuit
• Attach collar by snaps to bodysuit
• Attach skirt by snaps to bodysuit
• Hem skirt
• Attach front bow by snaps or pins to bodysuit
• Attach back bow by snaps or pins to bodysuit -Attach glove tops to gloves

Bryan took the assembled henshin wands home with him to seal and paint. At this point, I can't really wonder or worry about whether or not those will be done in time, they are out of my hands, literally. However, I do believe that a con (as opposed to a Halloween party) is where they would truly be appreciated.

Sailor Jupter: Part Seventeen i.e. Boots are Evil

Back from vacation and back to the grindstone. First on the to-do list is to get my Sailor Jupiter boots in order. I thought this would take a LOT longer than it appears to be taking, so this good, but I'm not yet done.... so I'm reserving judgement for just a little while longer.

First the boots need to be completely sanded to create a surface that the paint will stick to. I read somewhere online that sanding shoes/boots would take about 10 hours -- five hours per shoe/boot presumably. Each boot only took about an hour to an hour and a half. Quite an improvement! Although it was very difficult to manuever the sandpaper around the hooks and eyelets without pulling up the (decorative?) stitching too much, so this slowed it down quite a bit too. The boots were then rinsed and primed. My crappy spray primer however was not working very well, it kept shooting out huge splotches onto the boots and the nozzle was very difficult to press down. After the primer was dry, I went over it with my green paint. I taped off the heels and bottoms of the boots, so that the whole thing is not entirely green. As soon as the boots are dry I just need to seal them and add white shoe laces.

I used Design Master Colortool Spray (a floral spray) which I picked up from Michaels for $10 per can. I used their brand of primer and 717 Holiday Green for the final coat on the boots. I have not yet purchased sealer, so I'm not sure if I will be going with their brand our using some of the Krylon sealer that I already have.

I also used the same green spray to match the front bow button.

The tiaras are also here, which is very exciting! Bryan is working on the wand for me, while I work on the boots and cast a front bow button for Vanessa's Sailor Venus costume. After these touches my costume only needs a hem and for everything to be attached. I hope to finish this by the end of the weekend, because I am running very short on time!

There is another costuming sleepover in the works, which is very much needed. If I don't get Ashley over here soon to try on things, etc., it's not going to be ready for FanExpo. End of story.

Super Sailor Update, Maybe

Sailor Scout Costuming Sleepover has come and gone. Alas. Unfortunately plans didn't pan out quite the way I'd have liked, but fortunately I still made a fairly significant amount of progress.

Sailor Mars: Part Seven
The bodysuit is somewhere between 50% and 75% finished. It depends on how well it fits, which I do not yet know. I believe I am going to cut open the armholes, because they came out a little small for some reason. I need Ashley to stick her arm in there first, heh. I also need to still cut out the "V" into the neckline, but again, I need Ashley to try it on. Lastly I will need to put a couple snaps on the bottom seam, for easier entry and exit. Yes. Otherwise it is looking good, and going well.

Sailor Jupiter: Part Sixteen
Ah, my first update since the beginning of June. Go me. Anyway, I finished sewing one of the armbands on to a glove. Not a very big contribution to this costume, but it's mostly little finicky hand-sewing bits left over anyway. (Aside from the *ahem* massive hem job still to do). I'll get to it, I'll get to it!

In other general Sailor Scout costume news, I believe I am going to order the tiaras tomorrow night. So hopefully that will be nice and painless!

Sailor Jupiter: Part Fifteen

Original Date: April 23, 2009

Hell skirt is essentially finished! In that, I can actually put it on without the aid of my hands or pins to hold it on to my body. Yay! It still needs to be hemmed, but I'll worry about that issue later.

I just need to do some finishing touches - snaps!!! - and the little sleeves, and it's pretty much done! Huzzah!

Sailor Jupiter: Part Fourteen

Original Date: April 22, 2009

Worked on the glove tops today. Cast red buttons for Ashley's costume (which has limited relevance to this dress diary). Sanded down my green buttons, and will buff them later - probably tomorrow.

Overall this whole thing is taking longer than I thought it would.

Going fabric shopping with Ashley on Friday. It would be nice if I could be done the sewing aspects by then.

Sailor Jupiter: Part Thirteen

Original Date: April 20, 2009

This is a thirteen alright.I cast the button and tiara jewel. I don't how it will go, but I was so fucking clumsy while doing it... Ugh. I just want to forget about the whole ordeal.I went back to the skirt as well. I don't know how to fucking fix this thing though. I hate this skirt. Nobody can understand what I need for it to do. Every attempt to fix just requires more fixing. I'm running out of goddamn fabric and there's nothing I can do about it.

ETA: Anger has calmed down. I have an idea about how to fix the skirt, maybe. I won't get too excited because that always leads to trouble, but we'll see.

Anyway... the weekend was fairly productive as far as the accessories are concerned. I made the hair baubles. I found some wooden sphere beads at Desairs, painted them light blue/teal acrylic craft paint and then sprayed them with Krylon clear. They look all nice and shiny. Yay! I now just need to figure out the best way to attach them to my hair piece, but I'll worry about that a bit later.

I found the payless boots in my size. Unfortunately they were $15 more expensive, which is kind of bullshit for a chain of stores. But they are perfect, if not a tad on the high side. But they are love.

We also found the perfect object to make the wand handle out of. Bryan made half of the handle mould, and the second half should be completed next weekend. We're going to then craft the crown/star part out of fimo and make a mould for those too. Then cast the whole thing in resin. Yay, plastic!

Sailor Jupiter: Part Eleven

Original Date: April 16, 2009

Today I accomplished nothing except making a huge mess of everything. Skirt is a disaster! There are no words.I made the hip roll, and it came out pretty well. How to attach it on the other hand? WHO KNOWS!

Sailor Jupiter: Part Ten

Original Date: April 15, 2009

Today was a day of whip stitching. Almost everything I did was whip stitched. I'm ready to use my machine again now! Heh. The bows, collar and choker have all been finished, which is very exciting.

The pictures are slightly blurring because of my camera's stupid inability to take pictures that are clear when the flash is turned off. And the flash needed to be turned off to avoid that horrid effect that happens when you photograph fabric with a shine.I made a quick mock-up for the sleeve pattern, which I will probably tackle next. And then, yes. The skirt will be all that is left. Oh, wait, there's the gloves too.Once the all that is done, I will only need to worry about the boots, tiara, wand and front bow button (the latter being the easiest to accomplish). Joys.

Sailor Jupiter: Part Nine

Original Date: April 14, 2009

So today it felt like I didn't accomplish much, but I suppose I did. I finished sewing together the collar, except for the part at the neck where I turned it inside out. It's also been pressed, even though the fabric generally refuses to be pressed. Agh. Another reason why satin is actually the fabric manifestation of satan.

I started making the little choker, which is pretty cute. I just need to hand sew the last part down, turn the ends over and then either add snaps or hooks for a closure. I also started work on the bows. Unsure of how the bow tutorial would work out, I made a mock-up and decided that I was going to deviate from the Sailor Moon bow tutorial I had planned on using. So far I managed to completely finish the front bow, and prepare the back bow and bow tail pieces to the point where they need to be turned and pressed.

I was going to start work on the glove top pieces - I made an attempt at a pattern, but it ended up being too small, so I just scrapped it for the day.

I also started to look at my mock-up for the skirt, pulling it apart and trying to visualize the way it would look. But that didn't go too well. So, I'm considering doing a circle skirt. After all, my mom did got me one the presser foot for the circle hems. So... maaaaybe. I'm going to leave the skirt to the very last thing, I think. I also had the problem with getting my skirt mock-up on me, so, again I'm not sure how I'm going to accomplish that. But, there are a number of possibilities, I suppose. More snaps, zippers, fake pleats? We'll see.I'll take more progress pictures tomorrow.

Sailor Jupiter: Part Eight

Original Date: April 11, 2009

Made the trip over to Fabricland today and got my interfacing, batting and matching thread. Yay. They didn't have the strech bias tape, at least not in any usable way, only lace crap. I didn't put any more work in on the costume today after the trip, however, because I wasn't feel too well.

We demoulded the earring. The fake test jewel came out really well. The rose came out pretty well, except for some bubbles. So, there were some holes, unfortunately. After the the trip to Fabricland however, we went to the mall and I found some really perfect rose earrings at Claire's (of course). It was a little bittersweet giving in so easily after only one attempt at the roses, but, well I think it may be necessary. I also got some more opera length gloves from Ardene. I saw some boots at payless that were in a pretty perfect style, except for the size. I may yet try to visit another payless location in the near future to pick some up. They were $35 (down from $75), which is not too bad all things considered.

Sailor Jupiter: Part Seven

Original Date: April 10, 2009

I followed my own suggestion and remade the bodysuit, doubling up the pieces. It's finished and it's pretty perfect. Overall the thing is strong, strudier, tighter and whiter! So, all is good. I had to rethred my serger which was a huge pain in the ass, but I managed, and then serged the seams so now they don't rip when I put it on. Yay! I may yet add some elastic to the leg seams because it's still a little loose on the bum, but I'll wait until I get my binding before doing that.

After finishing the bodysuit I went back to my sewing bag and pulled out the green fabric to start making my sailor collar. Before my next trip to Fabricland it's really the only thing I have all the materials to make. I followed an online tutorial that I found, though I'm afraid I've lost the author's name... I'll keep looking for it, I guess.

It was relatively easy to make the pattern, and the measurements worked surprisingly well. I had some annoyances sewing down the ribbons by machine (Jupiter has two, of course!) and getting everything to go on straight. In one area in particular there is a bit of wonkiness, but's not too noticeable. I must say though, sewing along the edge of this 1/4 inch ribbon proved that my ability to sew in a straight line with the machine has greatly improved since I started sewing. I then pinned the collar back and front together to sew, but quickly realised that I didn't have an appropriate green thread, so it'll have to wait until tomorrow when I can pick some up. We also cast the resin into the rose mould so, in about 24 hours the first earring should be finished! Excited!

On Sunday the family is getting together for Easter, so I may get Ashley's measurements to try and get started on her bodysuit while I'm still high on success. Heh.

Sailor Jupiter: Part Six

Original Date: April 7, 2009

Making a good dress diary is hard work. And so is making a good bodysuit.Anyway, last night (as mentioned previously) I cut out the pieces for the bodysuit, using the pattern I drafted. Today was the day to start assembling.

I first sewed and serged the shoulder and crotch (for lack of a better word) seams. I slid into it at this point to check out how the neckline looked. It was too short, so I cut that open (keeping in mind, of course, that later on I would need to fit my whole body through this neck opening). I then sewed in the bust darts, then the side seams.

It was not immediately perfect, but it was pretty close to what I'd intended. The bust darts are MUCH whiter than the rest of the bodysuit. I figure this isn't too much of a problem because I will need to put on some kind of boob armor, which should cover that up. Second, the ass was HUGE and the crotch was too wide (horizontally). The wide crotch problem seemed apparent on the pattern, but I decided I would worry about it later - and so here I am. These two problems took the rest of the afternoon of pinning and sewing and cutting to fix, and they're still not perfect but they've come a long way. I might still try and make it better, but I don't think I'm going to do that today. Heh.

I am going to ask someone for advice on if (or how) to fix my problems and until then I'm going to put it aside. Right now I'm a little short on materials, so I can only really pleat the skirt or make the collar. But, again, I'm going to save that for the next time I work on it. Maybe sometime this weekend, but by that time I'll probably be able to pick up those extra few materials and this will all be moot.

ETA: Everything always ends up being harder than expected. I fixed the crotch problem more or less but now it's more high cut in the front than I would like. Also, my serger decided to chew out a little piece of the fabric in the crotch area as well. What to do about that? No idea. Fucking, fucking mcfuck.

ETA 2: I think I've come up with a contingency plan. I am going to take the bodysuit apart. I'm going to cut a new one and use the old one as a lining. Then I will bias bind the leg holes and neckline. I think this is the best I can do with what I've got. I hope it will work.

Sailor Jupiter: Part Five

Original Date: April 6, 2009

I cut the bodysuit pieces out. Eep! I'm still nervous. But if it's totally horrid, I still have enough fabric to make another one. I've finally decided I am not going to double up the fabric, I am going to use the bathing suit lining or get some lining from Fabricland this weekend if absolutely necessary.

Bryan decided on Sunday that the mould could be a little thicker so as to ensure that the petal details are not weak when we take the mould off of the clay. This is fine. We'll be able to cast them on the following weekend, and because it is a long weekend (Yay four day Easter weekend), we may be able to get both done!

Tomorrow I will start the bodysuit together. *Crosses fingers*

Sailor Jupiter: Part Four

Original Date: April 5, 2009

The mould is almost finished! Bryan thinks we will be able to cast the resin today, which means the first earring could be done anywhere for tomorrow to Wednesday. (I'm not sure the precise drying time, because it will be a very small amount of plastic.) Ashley saw the mould and was interested in getting some rose earrings as well, so, I may just do that after.

I solved my lack of hair problem as well. I found the clip-on ponytail that I originally purchased for my Jedi wig, and it the perfect length for Sailor Jupiter. I may attempt to add a very slight curl to the end, but I don't think it will be too essential. And I'll work out the problem of attaching the hair-balls later.

I pre-washed the white stretch fabric by hand this morning, and boy does that stuff ever hold in the water. Anyway, it should be ready for cutting as soon as I'm finished my final essay. Yay! The first costume at the end of a school year is a very exciting thing!

I'm still deciding on whether I am going to double up fabric or line it with something else. I'm going to have to make a quick visit to fabricland to get some cotton batting and interfacing, so I can perhaps see if there is some cheap swimsuit lining or something to pick up. That way I can save the other half of the stretch fabric for Ashley's costume.

Also, she's seems pretty settled on the idea of a Sailor Mars costume, and seeing all my mock-ups and moulds also seemed to get her pretty excited over the whole costume in general.

Everything is looking good so far!

Sailor Jupiter: Part Three

Original Date: March 20, 2009

On the weekend I went and purchased the fabric for the Sailor Jupiter Costume. Yes. Fabricland, amazingly, had a 50% members sale, so let's just say I made back the cost of my membership twice in this one trip!

Unfortunately, despite my hopes to avoid it I had to settle for a cheapy satin for the skirt because it was the only fabric that came in the correct colour. Sigh, we'll see how that goes. The pink, however, was a better satin, and an absolutely fabulous shade. I'm very pleased with it. My fabric for the bodysuit is a poly-nylon blend, and I unfortunately do not know the exact stretch specifications. Sigh. I hope it is okay. It's a little see-through so I've been thinking about ways to line it - either doubling up the pieces or using my bathing suit's lining, or both. I haven't decided exactly yet. Also, now that I have the fabric I'm a little worried about using the pattern I drafted. What if I did it wrong, or it doesn't work? Eep. I'm considering re-doing it on graph paper. But at the same time, it's stretch fabric... and the pattern is pretty close of my actual body form - far closer than my first draft with the bathing suit. So... maybe I'm worrying needlessly?

I also made a stop at the dollar store to pick up some ribbon for the white stripes on the collar. But... I think it might be too thick to do the two necessary stripes.

In other Sailor costuming news: On Friday, Bryan and I started watching the Sailor Moon Stars season. One of the episodes at the beginning features Sailor Jupiter trying very hard to save Sailor Moon from the Evil Queen Nehellenia. The episode at once made my decision to choose Jupiter definite. Anyway, long story short: Jupiter's rose earrings played a vital role. So, while at lunch on Saturday Bryan and I decided we would make these earrings. Much of the day was thus spent collecting materials to make them. Once we got started, Bryan sculpted the rose out of clay and then started to apply a latex mould. We are going to then use resin to cast the earrings in plastic. Hopefully, we'll be ready to make the first one by next weekend. It's all very exciting!