Sewing (Posted 12th June 2010)

So after picking up a zip at fabricland today, some lace and some correctly coloured thread I managed to get the dress all sewn together when I got home from town and also made a start on my tail.

The dress needed some taking in, but that's done now and it fits snuggly. I have some left over lace that I'm thinking of attaching to the dress so that it has a halterneck look and also so it breaks up my shoulders a bit. The dress needs taking up about two inches as its a bit long at the moment, but I'll do that and hem it tomorrow.

The tail is really lovely, I love how it turned out and its not too heavy. I still need to sew up the top of the tail (where I turned it right side out), but that'll take a few minutes. Then I'll be sewing the top into pleats so its gathered and so it flares out from the middle of my lower back. I would like to have it sewn to the dress, but because I don't want to risk the dress ripping, it will probably be attached with velcro... maybe. I am still undecided.

I'm really liking the dress, but I think its a little plain and want to add some detail to the dress, so may investigate doing some beading or something. Its fun to be working to my own ideas and not reference art.

Actually making stuff (Posted 12th June 2010)

I was clearing out my sewing box, which is a perfectly sensible thing to do at gone midnight and came across the material I had already bought for my Blue Jay. I forgot I had bought so much, so kept it out. I managed to find a pattern already in my possession which was easily altered for the dress, though I think I may have made it a little large.

I need to get a zip so I can actually get in and out of the dress, but at the moment the back and front are pinned, they'll be sewn tomorrow, and then sewn to each other once I have a zip.

The dress is this gorgeous silver/lilac silk I found. Its so floaty and really soft to the touch. The other material which will be used for the 'tail' is a textured silk in dark blue and white. The white will be on the inside, while the blue on the outside.
I adore the colour of the blue because when it catches the light it flashes really vibrant cobalt and steely blues. :3

I'll be getting some silk dupion for the tail moasic pattern which I'll be doing once the dress and tail are completed.

Material (Posted 18th December 2009)

While wandering around town today I was able to take a quick trip into the massive Aladdin's Cave of fabric.

As much as I love Fabricland, nothing beats this fabric store. Its piled floor to ceiling with alll types of faric you could think of. Every kind of fabric from under the sun! So many different types of trim and everything. I love it.

I wandered around a bit. I didn't intend to buy any fabric but I saw some lovely fabrics that tempted me. I saw a gorgeous two tone taffetta which shimmered silver and green. And I found a a beautiful silver silk.

I decided to buy two metres of the silver silk. I know a Blue Jay is actually white chested; but I the silver will make it strike a bit more, I think. :]

Sketchiness (Posted 18th December 2009)

Re-sketch, shows the basic idea from the front and the back, with a kind of fairy wing design in the top corner and my scribblings around it. That's what most of my ideas tend to look like.

Even when its a costume already in existance. I break it down and tell myself what to use and how to do it. Keeps my mind at ease I guess. Usually its on a much smaller scale (postit notes).

Anyhoo.
I'm still in two minds about certain fabrics to use. I think I'm decided on taffetta and satin backed dupion for the back skirt. I love the way taffeta looks and feels, its got some gorgeous colours in it when its photograhed. And the dupion has the lovely weave to give it a pattern.

The dress I'm not sure about yet. I would love to use silk dupion, but its hella expensive, and also very stiff. I'm going to go on the hunt for other possible fabrics tomorrw in another shop in Brighton. If I find nothing there, then I may go with the satin backed dupion, or maybe the crepe back satin (I don't want anything too shiny though. ): )

The moasic (thank you Amy) pattern the wings make when they're folded I'm keeping on the back of the dress. Originally it was going to be a bustle, and its still a similar idea. I'm going to use black, white and blue silk dupion (<33) for the mosaic pattern. Each strip will be folded, hemmed and sewn to the back of the dress, and layered under each other in a 'random' way.

As mentioned earlier, sleeves will be chiffon. Starting with white then dyed to blue with the tips being black.

Also decided I'm going to do a mask for this too. Something to reflect the facial markings of the Blue Jay.

I haven't been this excited or inspired by a project in a while! FUN!

Fabric Samples (Posted 17th December 2009)

I, in true me style, inspired and fired up to do something new, I went to investigate possible fabrics for this project.

I want to move away from the fabrics I always use, like jersey and poly cotton and try something different. I wandered around Fabricland for a bit, and picked up some samples in suitable colours that I think would work quite nicely.
I've sketched up a design which I'm going to upload a bit later after its scanned when I get home from work.

The basic design is a halter-neck dress, with a large back skirt (about fingertip-to-fingertip length, so it can be held out to make a wing span-esque look). And with chiffon sleeves. I was going to do a bustle, but instead, to get in in the pattern that the wings make when they're folded, I'm going to do something a bit different. And hope it works.

So, originally I considered using silk dupion, because I didn't want something plain, but I didn't want anything garish. And the dupion has a really lovely weave pattern throughout which is pretty.
However, after talking to Scarlett, my friend in Fabricland she thinks the silk dupion might be took stiff to use to achieve the flowiness I'm after.
I might be able to get away with satin backed dupion, which still has the pretty weave pattern, but has a more movement too it.

For the pattern on the back, I'm going to use the silk dupion, because the sections are small and don't require movement.

The back skirt I'm still debating. I would love to use taffetta, but it still quite a stiff material and I might not be able to achieve the flowiness. But as an alternate option there's the possibility of using crepe back satin.
Now I generally hate satin after using it for Sailor fukus and for my Rydia costumes. But I can kind of see it working.
It has a really lovely feel too it, cause it moves. Its not ridgid. And because its shiny is catches more than one colour.

I'm going to do some thinking. I won't be buying the fabric until Suu is finished and I've started on Falsetto. Hopefully that will be this week-ish.