Piratey New Year to you!

The way to welcome in the new year? In pirate style of course!

I again hosted a costumed event to roll in the New Year. This year, I chose to go for a pirate theme. I had out back patio decked out with a hammock, lanterns, gold doubloons, jolly roger and a few edible bits and pieces. We played pirate board games, duelled with our swords, battled with our brains (trivia) and popped our cannons (party poppers). I had to be one of the easiest parties that I have organised in a long time, and it was really great to see so many of my invitees dressed up in costume.

I did put together a little bit of sewing projects to get ready for the evening. Firstly, I made a pirate costume for my Dad. He borrowed my pirate hat, sword, belt and gun for accessories, and wore his regency shirt underneath. The only pieces that I needed to make were some drop front knee breeches in black linen, a blue Georgian vest and a red waist sash. All in all, it came together rather quickly, and I was able to draft up the patterns from a couple of simplicity ones that I had on hand. I particularly love the buttons that I had in my stash for him - they are a tarnished gold colour with emblems on them. And while they are plastic, they certainly don't look it.

I knew from the outset that I would be wearing my Tia Dalma costume for the evening, so had no worry over myself. But my mum insisted that she wanted a costume as well. I told her that she didn't need to dress up as my invite specified *costume optional*, but I must be rubbing off on her as she really wanted something appropriate to wear. And at any rate she will be able to wear it when her school does book week and she dresses up each day. We chose to make my mum the proprietress of "The Saucy Mermaid" - our scene of the evening. Her costume was again pretty simple to throw together. I started with the blouse - a cream crinkle cotton, very full that gathers up under the elbows and around the neck (I used elastic to make it easier to wear). I then put together her skirts. Both are made in the Georgian manor, with two halves tying front and back. The underskirt is brown with a feint blue stripe, while the overskirt is a bright blue crinkle cotton. The overskirt is slightly shorter and bustles up at the front with a button and tie. I also lent her my false rump to give a bit more fullness. Then came the waist cinch. Not really historically accurate, but we needed something. It is a simple waist that is straight across the back with a point in the front, where it laces up. I did put a decent amount of boning in it though so that it would actually sit correctly. I topped it off by ragging her hair. This gave me a lovely tight curl that I was able to unravel for a full curly Georgian look. I think it all turned out rather well.

And I really did have a great evening.

A pirates life for me.

The month of May marked the return of Captain Jack Sparrow to the movie theatres. For me, this posed the perfect opportunity to get dress up and head to a session. Of course, I roped in a couple of fellow costumers to go with me; and we had a blast. I pulled out my Tia Dalma costume again for a re-wear, while being surrounded with tricorns, swords and guns. The movie was fantastic and well worth watching, and going along in costume just made it all the more special for me.

We got to the cinema early enough to take some photos with the pirates display in the foyer. The cinema attendant even removed the cordon from around the display for us so that we could get close for our photos and then took a group shot for us as well. It really makes me want to host an international talk like a pirate day event later this year. 'Cause lets face it. Pirates are cool!

Supanova Day 3 - Tia Dalma

Phew! One weekend is over. And it was a busy one I tell you now. Sunday was at a little bit of a slower pace, but still wore me out. Though that could be from the fact that my lovely family has given me a head cold. Perfect timing, really.

I made it along to see the James Masters talk again. Only this time, they shifted him into the huge anime theatre and it was packed. All the seats were filled and there were people standing around the sides as well. I guess they just underestimated how popular he would be. I have to say though, I really hate the people who get up to ask a question and start it out by saying "I love you, blah blah blah". There is a time and place for that. Just get on with your question. I think it is more embarassing for the guest than anything else. Still, he was cool about it.

For my costume, I wore my Tia Dalma one again. I know it's not a recent film so the only costumes you generally see from Pirates of the Carribean are Jack Sparrows wandering around. But it was still nice to be recognised. I just makes me feel a lot more secure about my sewing abilites that I can work something up that actually looks film correct. Plus, I love the costume. I have always wanted to make it, and this year gave me the perfect excuse. Again, it was stinking hot, but it probably didn't help that I was running a bit of a temperature, so I didn't stick around all day like I normally would. Instead I went home, showered and crashed into my bed for an hour.

Overall, I had a great weekend. It was well worth all the effort that I put into my costumes, even if they drove me up the wall in the meantime. There were some fantastic costumes that I saw running about, but I sadly didn't get many photos. Now I can start thinking about what costumes I want to make for next year (yes I know I am nuts, but I like to be prepared). The only plans I have at the moment are to go with something cool, less layers, that sort of thing. It will most likely get thrown out the window when I fall in love with another costume.

C Party

I feel like I have not accomplished much of anything sewing-wise lately, but then I remember that I have put a full costume together in just on a week. Last night, I attended my cousin's birthday party (she is also a costumer like myself) so of course we had to dress up. The theme was the letter 'C'. She dressed up as Cinderella.


At first I was thinking of something along the lines of a vintage cigarette girl. But then, it came to me that I should do something that I would wear to supanova, so that it would be less work in the long run. I have always wanted to do Tia Dalma (Calypso) from the 2nd and 3rd Pirates of the Carribean movies, and what more of a perfect opportunity. I am very pleased with how it all turned out and am really happy that I have had a costume wearing run through before a whole day at supanova, and I don't need to change anything. Phew!

The first thing I worked on for this costume was the stays. They are made from the JP Ryan strapless stays pattern. I was a little worried that I would not have enough boning to complete them, but after a trip to Bunnings, I tested working with cable ties. I was surprised at how well they worked out, though I did add a couple pieces of my heavy plastic boning at the center front and back for strength. It was great that I was able to do a complete run through of the pattern before making a full historical set, and great to find out that the pattern is perfectly sized for me.

I then worked on putting the skirts and the belt together. The best thing is that I did not have to hem the skirts because the fraying is perfect for the character. It took a heap of beads to fill the belt out, but I am pleased with the results. The hardest thing to find were the decorations for the stays. I hunted around a lot of places to find a string bag to use as the netting. There were $6 ones that were tiny, but I managed to find a decent sized one for $3.50 at a health food shop. But my most favourite partis the wig that I picked up on ebay.

There are actually two versions of this costume. The one I have made and another one that has an extra gown / robe over the top. I was thinking that I would make the extra robe for supanova, but I am just so pleased with this, that I am not going to bother. It will save me some time and it means I don't have to spend the extra money for the fabric of the overdress. A happy note in my book.


The part I am most proud of is that I was completely done with a whole day to spare. And then my brother says that he needs a costume. Originally he was going to dress as a cardboard car, but we were giggling about Dogma (Kevin Smith film) and he said Cardinal Glick and I said Buddy Christ. From there, he goes on about how now he would like to dress as Christ. So after a quick trip to the fabric store yesterday morning, I came home and whipped up his costume. Thankfully it was very quick. It is just a white robe underneath and two pieces of fabric (4m each) sewn together and draped around him, with the help of some safety pins. It's good enough for my satisfaction, and I am quite proud that I was able to put it together in only 4 hours.

International Talk Like a Pirate Day 2008

Well, the International Talk Like a Pirate day was rather a success. Dinner at sizzler, followed by a photo session. And here they are as promised.

POTC2 - Elizabeth Swan

So I finally managed to get some photos done of my Elizabeth Swan costume from Pirates of the Carribean 2. I am actually really happy with how it turned out. I have actually worn a few pieces already for my steampunk costume. The shirt should come in really handy in the future for anything regarding pirate. The vest is probably a little bit short in length and it would probably look better without a bra underneath (too much shape for the time period in masculine clothing). I am very happy with the jacket and all the braid and buttons I managed to find and stitched on. Took forever, but it looks pretty good. And of course the hat. I love my hat and cannot wait for International Talk Like A Pirate Day to actually wear it in public. The quality of my photos are probably not the best. I have three options for photographers. My Mum is terrible at framing photos, my Brother is too tall and takes photos at a weird angle for me, and my Dad (he took these). He is actually pretty good at taking photos but he has bad eyesight so really cannot see properly through my camera, and he cannot bend at the moment for different angles. Hmmm, but at least I have photos. Now I just need to get some more of my other un-photographed completed costumes.