Woo! (Posted 3rd April 2010)

02/04/10
Yay Kita debut went really well! Had a few minor issues which are now sorted and just need finishing some time between now and May. I'm going to replace the zip and hopefully give it a full run at Minami as I missed out on photos with Silver. :(
Gave up on searching for more gold beads so I've now got pre-strung beads to sew on which will be a bit easier!

Not much left now! (Posted 22nd March 2010)

22/03/10
Managed to get quite a bit done despite being away the weekend. Did quite a bit being leaving and got straight on with it when we got back last night. Left the cape and streamers drying so they were ready when I got back so the pattern can now be added to the cape. Just finished attaching the last of the pattern to the tabbard too so that can be attach to the dress when it's done.

The skirt is in progress. I can't complete it until I can dye the sides tonight (ran out of paint) and add those as the bias need to go on top. The jacket just needs the front panel and bead work done and that's complete. The jacket is a little tight but it's needed to hold the collar up when that's added.

Going to work on the hat and collar today. The way things are looking I should have everything completed before Kita! Right now it's looking like this:
Today - cut and heat hat and collar, dye skirt sides, paint tabbard, finish streamers.
Tuesday - Cover hat and collar, beads on collar, attach skirt sides and finish.
Wednesday - Finish hat and add beads, add cape detail and finish. Attach everything together.
Thursday - Begin panicking because I've not packed or done any other costumes, finish off any details for this.
Yeah I'm not going to uni again this week. ><

Getting there finally! (Posted 17th March 2010)

17/03/10
Wigs have taken up more time than I would have liked but I'm finally getting on with everything now!

The dress is now completed. The dyeing took longer than expected but I'm really pleased with the colour (though my mum wasn't too pleased with what it did to the hob!). Painting has taken a while as I don't exactly have a steady hand (I have essential tremors so my hands and legs shake constantly). Luckily Jack picked up some Cider for me last night so that made things a lot better and sped up work considerably! Just need some more to finish it off now.

The jacket is finally sorted. I've never made one for myself before so it took two goes to get the front panel correctly fitted but it's all good now. Just got to cut out the lining and collar today and that's done and I can get on with adding details.

The red sleeves have been beaded successfully. The ribbon still needs to be attached as I'm not fully sure how I want to do it yet, either sewing or fabric glue. I'll probably go with sewing.

Dyeing the streamers today too so they'll be ready soon too.

Left to do now is:
Skirt
Jacket details
Tabbard details
3rd Necklace
Dye & applique cape
Hat
Collar
9 days left to go now! I really hope I can get this done in time!

Success! (Posted 11th March 2010)

11/03/10

Woo fosshape has arrived! It seems after messing me around last time, they sorted themselves out and sent it out the day I ordered it!
It was the main worry about getting this done in time for Kita as it's for two main parts of the costume that a lot of the rest needs to be attached to.

Mixed up the dye today. After the red mix failure I've opted for a 1:1 orange yellow mix. I'm going to hopefully dye everything needed today and do the gradient dyeing over the weekend!

Working on wigs today as well to hopefully clear them all out by the end of the week. Luckily thanks to the multiple heads I can work on 5 at a time while each one is drying.

Day 4 update. (Posted 7th March 2010)

06/03/10
Dye test 3.
Test 2 went relatively well, I think I've got a method now for the orange. After an hour boiling, let it dry, then make damp again, let it dry again and wash. It gives a much stronger colour for some reason and doesn't wash out!
Did another test anyway today this time mixing in some red so see if I could get a more rich colour as it was still slightly pale. Didn't get a good result for the orange but the colour was spot on for the gradient dyeing I'll be doing!
Going to do the final test on monday with just a stronger organge/yellow mix and then do the actual dress pieces!

Got another star done today. Not overly productive today as I'm feeling generally blah atm. Going to hopefully get the final bits cut out tomorrow and get the other star sorted if I'm feeling up to it. The final star I won't be making until the hat is shaped as it needs to fold around it.
Ordered the fosshape last night though so it should come fairly soon hopefully! They did mess me around a bit with shipping last time (saying it had been shipped and then told me they were sending it over a week later with no reason why it wasn't shipped when they said it had been) but I've given them a deadline so I'm hoping they'll be a bit better this time! *Fingers crossed*

Day 3 (Posted 5th March 2010)

05/03/10
Dye test 2
Gave the dye another test run today, I'm getting a darker colour to stick but it's still very pale, I'm considering a stronger mix but it's going to get fairly expensive.
I was considering dyeing it and then just not washing it as the dye didn't rub out when dry but the fabric becomes too stiff. This was after being in direct sunlight so it might need more gentle drying.
I've read that you can get a chemical the help with polyester dyeing so I may look into that along with other brands of dye.

I've started work on the stars today. It's the same design as the back of the cape so it made it a little easier as I've drawn it already. It's currently in the oven baking so photos when it's out!

2nd day update (Posted 4th March 2010)

04/03/10

Dye test 1.
Mixing both dyes has gone well and I've gotten the shade I need. The only thing I have to do now is work out a way for it to take well. I knew I'd have problems dyeing it because of the fabric I'm using (synthetic blend silk jersey) but there was nothing else I was going to use so it's just a matter of getting around it.
Although I've got machine dye, I'm testing out different methods to get the best result. I know I won't be able to use it in the machine because it washes out too quickly. I'm currently testing out a method similar to dyeing polyester which is basically boil the hell out of it. If it's successful I'll have a good method but will need to still test out new methods for gradient dyeing as some sections need multiple colours.

Oh, and did the pattern for the cape with zero mistakes! Yay!

2nd full day (Posted 4th March 2010)

Managed to get quite a bit done yesterday, though I've now realised I did all the easy parts and have left myself to sketch up patterns for the hard stuff today. Sent my mum off to get some more beads in town, I've fully cleared out my collection that I had which makes me slightly concerned about the total number I'm going to use. Originally I had estimated about 5k but having only just managed two necklaces out of 1k I think it might be leaning more towards 6 or 7k. Not too much of a bother though, they're fairly cheap so I don't mind bulk buying them really.

Done so far:
- Dress full cut out
- Head scarf cut out
- Tabbard cut out
- Medium and large necklaces made
- Streamers cut out
- Sleeves cut out
- Cape cut out

To do today:
Skirt
Jacket
Pattern on cape
Pattern on tabbard
Test out orange dye

Finally starting (Posted 3rd March 2010)

Although I've done a bit of work on it already. I'm properly starting today! Still need more beads as I've now used them all up on just two necklaces >< and I'll need to get some more fosshape too as I only have 300 and would prefer 600 for this as it'll need to be very sturdy (no it's not another Clow Card hat!).

Wrote up a 6 page list of what needs doing last night, it's mostly for me but it'll give judges a good idea of how I went about things if I miss mentioning something.

Done so far:
- Dress full cut out
- Head scarf cut out
- Tabbard cut out
- Medium and large necklaces made

Long way to go still but aside from my dissertation I'm all done with uni work so I'll be working on just this and wigs for the next 3 weeks.

Nearly got everything! (Posted 27th February 2010)

26th Feb 2010
Picked up some more supplies today. Got all the dye needed as well as clearing out their supply of beads again but it's still no where near enough. I managed to use about 500ish in the first necklace which is the biggest but I've got two more to make then the thread of beads going around the headpiece. DX Too many beads!
Going to experiment with fabric dye a bit. They didn't have the shade I wanted so I'm going to try mixing two together to see if it'll give me the colour I want. Definitely going to be testing it first before putting it near any final pattern pieces!

So far I've spent one evening cutting things out for the base dress. Got the skirt of stupid weight done along with the first set of sleeves and the separate head scarf. Need to finish cutting out the dress so I can start dyeing it!