Pinocchio Props...

I know I haven't posted in a while, like I said before, I'm crazy busy helping with my local theater group's summer musical. I don't think I ever told you what show it is, so in case you were wondering, it's called My Son Pinocchio. It's the story of Pinocchio but told from Geppetto's point of view. If you want to watch the movie version of this, you can find the YouTube playlist here. The movie is significantly different from the musical, but it's still pretty good.

The group was lacking in props, particularly marionettes for Stromboli, so my mom and I searched online for ways to make cheap ones. My mom found this really great tutorial and the music director absolutely loved it. So, after a trip to A. C. Moore and about two hours of taking up the couch with my molting boas, I'm left with these awesome marionettes!

Aren't they adorable!? Yes, I am fully aware that the one is essentially Big Bird, the colors were chosen by the music director. To make both marionettes cost somewhere around $20. Isn't that crazy!? And they reach up to the knees when they're raised up in a standing position! The tutorial called for a wooden sphere cut in half for the feet, but I found these cool flat wooden hand shapes and used those instead. I also (at my mom's urging) gave the girl bird a Marilyn Monroe beauty mark. Adorable!

I also found these wooden block boxes in A. C. Moore. They were unpainted, and one of my favorite color palettes is red, blue green, and yellow green, so that's how I chose to paint them. It took a while, but I definitely think it was worth it. They'll look really great in Geppetto's toy shop, and they only cost $6 with our 40% off coupon!

Still haven't had a chance to get a picture of the girls in their costumes that I made, the cast isn't practicing in costume yet. I'll definitely post pictures once they start.

Quick Convertible Dress...

I know I said that I didn't want to do any more sewing like that, and that if I sew anything it should be something for my fashion line, but I really just wanted to make something that I could wear today. I searched through my newly acquired patterns and found one for a convertible jersey dress. I looked at the instruction packet, and it turns out the pattern pieces were just made of two rectangles! The pattern was uncut, and I didn't feel like it was necessary to cut them out, so I improvised with some basic measurements.

I found a coral cotton knit fabric in my stash (yet another fabric that I got from my grandma--she's so nice to me!) that was about two yards long. The pattern calls for about two and a half yards, but I didn't think it would be too big of a deal.

I don't think I was entirely wrong; I definitely had enough to make the dress well, but it's too short for me to feel comfortable in it. I'm always worried that a strong wind will come by and suddenly everyone will be able to see my underwear. No thank you. I also think that the color is a little too light for my skin tone. It would look better on me if the coral color was more saturated.

So, I've decided to try to finally make some money off of this fun little sewing talent of mine, and decided to set up a shop on Etsy. If you're interested in this dress, you can find it here in my Etsy shop.

Other than that, I don't have anything special to post on...I'm running a camp for little kids during the day next week, so by the time I get home I'll probably be too exhausted to sew. Don't be alarmed.

No Pictures Today...

Two days ago, I went to JoAnn Fabrics to pick up the fabric for the costumes. I got a black rayon/polyester knit (for the undershirts--over 7 yards of it, because the shirts are so big and baggy), a rust colored zebra print stamped suedecloth (for the corset/vests--5 yards), and a purple costume satin sprayed with pinkish glitter (for the skirts--10 yards). All this cost under $100, which seems pretty good for 5 costumes.

I cut out all the pieces (the suedecloth was really a bitch to cut; my hand cramped up a few times!) and sewed 4 of the skirts, then found out that I didn't have quite enough elastic to do the last one. Yesterday I picked up more elastic and some cord to do the lacing of the corsets (because these are meant for the stage, it will actually be faux lacing, and the vests will close via velcro. It can get pretty crazy backstage, and none of the girls will have time to lace themselves up in the middle of the show).

Then I proceeded to sew the remaining skirt, all 5 of the corset/vests, and all 5 of the undershirts. It was an exhausting, sleepless night, but I'm glad that most of the work is done. The next practice is on Monday night, so I'll have to wait until then to fit the vests to the girls.

Now that the night of mad stitching is over, I'm feeling a little sewn out...looks like the rest of the day will be about knitting. I'm okay with that.

In other news, Jerry (the rather ugly looking Singer) is in the shop to be fixed. The upper thread keeps getting caught inside the bobbin section of the machine. I'm not sure if it's actually getting stuck on something, or if it just needs to be cleaned, or if the issue is with the tension (which would be a bobbin issue, since I can't loosen it well enough). I hope it doesn't take too long to figure it out...

While waiting for that machine, my next job for my fashion line will be draping the patterns which are on my dress form. I'm having a bit of trouble just thinking about it... Tell me, does anyone know how to make a bodice with no seams (other than the sides) cut on the sides which begins at the collarbone and ends at the hips and contours to the body? Am I shooting for something that will never happen? I hope not... Anyways, with that being difficult and just finding out that Borders is going out of business, I'm about as irritable as a 3 year old without a nap. Probably because I need a nap. Not fun.

Piece #6 Finished!

This is my lovely Silver Satin Tank. It's made from the same pattern as the Teal Satin Tank, but I did add about 3 inches total to the top so it would be looser under the arms. I was going to do a drawstring waist this time, but I really didn't feel like punishing myself with the task of making a thin drawstring. Instead, I chose to use elastic again, and I find that I don't mind the missing drawstring. I think it would have been too much on the front.

My favorite part of this shirt is probably the chain straps. It's the same kind of chain that I used on the Black Satin 4 Square Dress (don't worry; I promise I won't overuse the chain idea). Yes, you can believe your eyes; I did in fact sew the chains into the seams using my machine! If you decide you want to challenge yourself and try this out, remember to do it slowly and carefully while hand cranking. The only reason it worked for me is because I was very careful about moving the fabric to just the right place and stitching slowly. I'm glad I did, because I think it looks much better than it would have if hand stitched, and it seems more sturdy.

Total Hours Logged: 2 1/2

Fabric: Silver Crepe Back Satin

Notions: Chain and 1/2" Elastic (the thinner elastic cuts into the skin more, which is a bit uncomfortable, so I went with the wider stuff this time)

Cost: about $6

Piece #5 Finished!

This post is going to be pretty short, since this garment, the Red Cap Sleeve Cotton V-neck Top is pretty simple. It's based on the same pattern as the Red Jersey A-line Dress, but for this one I decided to leave out the V back, and I used set-in sleeves instead of raglan. Easy, quick, and it freed up a bobbin for a different thread color (honestly, that's the reason I made this shirt so early).

Total Hours Logged: 1 1/2 (which is why I'm planning to save the other 6 shirts for later; I want to get the tough stuff done first)

Fabric: Red Jersey (rayon/spandex mix) 1 yard

Notions: none

Cost (not including time): about $7

Piece #4 and Outfit #1 Finished!

My first completed full outfit is the Black Satin 4 Square Dress (with Teal Satin Belt). The basic idea behind this dress is pretty simple; 4 squares will drape in the same way as a circular skirt would, and the points would offer geometric, architectural-esque shapes. Using a simple math equation, I figured out that a square measuring a yard (36 inches) will be 52 inches if held diagonally, which is about an inch less than the measurement from my shoulder to the floor (originally I was planning on connecting the corners at the shoulders).

When I came up with this dress, I originally thought that the edges of the squares would just be thinly hemmed, since I don't have a serger. Once I found the scallop stitch, however, I quickly decided to give the edges more detail and use the stitch backwards. I really love the way the "bites" turned out. I ended up giving the dress straps, because the edging took off more fabric than I expected, making the dress about four inches shorter than I thought (I imagine this would have been more dramatic if I had hemmed the edges). I think the chain straps and the bitten edging work really well to make the dress less plain.

Because the dress is clearly entirely shapeless as a single piece, I wanted to make a belt to cinch it off at the natural waist. I was originally going to make it a single strip of the teal fabric that snapped or hooked in the center, but then I remembered that I had some D-rings from an old belt which I tore up, and a lot of various chains which I purchased for a separate line (the idea for which had to be scrapped due to time and cost). I made a rectangle, the width of the D-rings, stitched them around the rings, and connected the chain to one of the rings. The other ring has a hook which fits through the links of the chain. I love the way this belt turned out, and it probably only took me half an hour to make! The belt chain is different from the strap chain, but I don't really think that's a problem.

Here's the finished product! Great huh?

Total Hours Logged: about 10 (the edging took 7 hours!)

Fabric: Thin Black Satin 4 yards and Teal Satin about 1/8 yard

Notions: Chains (two different kinds), and 2 D-rings (mine were 1 3/4")

Cost (not including time): under $20

Significance In Absence...

Hello all, I just realized that I haven't posted anything about sewing in a week! But never fear, my absence has been significant, and that significance is obvious in all the work I've done! There's a lot to be said, so I might end up breaking the info into several posts, just for a break. Anywho, onforth!

Since speaking to you last, I've finished the Black Satin 4 Square Dress (with Teal Satin Belt), the Red Cap Sleeve Cotton V-neck Top, and the Silver Satin Tank (these three will be further discussed in a separate post). In case you're trying to keep up with the numbers, that's outfit #1 and pieces #4, 5, and 6. I'm moving along rather well, I think (only 25 more sewn pieces to go).

I've also made a second test of the jacket pattern, which fits much better since I fixed the waistline. I took a little off of the side seams, too because it seemed a little big. I absolutely love the length of it. It's perfect.

Once I decided that I liked the way the pattern was fitting, I decided to make sure that my shorter version of the jacket, the Black Suiting Long Sleeve Jacket, was the right length on me. I just cut the bottom of the jacket to check it out; there was no way I was making a third test if I didn't have to.

I've also cut out the pieces for the Grey Modified Suiting Vest. I imagine some of you are wondering what I mean by modified suiting...well, it's your lucky day; I'm going to give you a free preview!

It's pretty simple; just random stitches going across the fabric to add fun texture, color, and interest to an otherwise plain vest. This only shows the red thread (I've finished the only two garments which require it, so now I'm free to use what's left on the spool for the modifying), but I plan to use all of the different colors of thread for this purpose. Fun idea, huh? It does pucker a bit, but I don't think it'll be too noticeable when I do more stitching and sew the garment.

I've also begun the dreaded task of draping the patterns for three more garments. All three are dresses, and two of them are based on shapes which I've never seen used before in the way that I'm using them (think the windows of Notre Dame). It means a lot of extra work, but I think they'll look pretty awesome when they're done.

Yes, I know it's confusing. Keep in mind there are three patterns on there at once. Sometime soon I'll get them all down on paper.

In other, non fashion line news, I've finished the plans for the costumes I've agreed to make for my local theater group. The characters are similar to a pop girl band (think The Pussycat Dolls or The Spice Girls), so the director requested feminine and sultry yet modest.

Just today, I received in the mail a box of over 75 vintage patterns which I purchased on Ebay (for a whopping $22!). With all of the new patterns, I found I had enough corset/vest patterns to give each girl her own style! I'm really glad I was able to, because I think it fits the "theme" of a girl band even more. The vests will all be made of a woven rust colored fabric (the color scheme of the scene is black, dark purple, and rust). Each girl will also get a black knit shirt with puffy sleeves and a circular skirt which will end just above the knee. I'm not sure yet what color the skirts will be. The director gave me free reign, so it'll depend on what I can find in the clearance section of JoAnn Fabrics.

My mom is a bit annoyed at the sewing distraction, but I'm glad that I can do something to help out the group this year, since I can't be in the show. I've been in almost every show since the group started, over 10 years ago. I think this will be the first one I haven't been in in at least 7 years. Crazy...

Anyway, that's about it. My next project (after finishing updating you guys on everything) is going to be the Black Satin Vest. More later!