By the sea in 2020

In all the hullaballoo over COVID-19 last year, I completely forgot to post about the one other costume that I did indeed make. My cousin invited me along to an outing by the seaside mid-year. Many of my old costumes don’t fit anymore so I was at a loss as to what I could wear. Inspiration hit me and I decided to make a new ensemble. I went with a Regency outfit as I figured it’s something that I will get the most wear out of (it’s the period I do the most with me re-enactment group).

I was determined to make everything completely out of stash fabric, so I went through my collection to see what I could find. I settled on a soft liberty cotton in a blue and green plaid print for the gown. It’s a beautiful fabric with a very soft finish and sheen – perfect for Regency. I hunted around on the net to find a design that I liked. I ended up choosing to reproduce a museum gown that is very adjustable in fit (great when you have weight-loss aspirations). I threw together a pattern, mocked it up and made my adjustments before cutting my beautiful fabric.

 

Now, a Regency ensemble isn’t complete without some accoutrements. I again headed to the stash to see what I had to hand. Some green cotton velveteen that I had purchased for another project and turned out to be the wrong colour provided the perfect match to set off my outfit. Yes to the cotton because despite it being winter in Australia, it’s not especially cold here and I like my gowns to breathe. I drafted up new spencer, reticule, and bonnet patterns to get the ball rolling. Somehow I managed to get everything made in time for the weekend outing.

 

We spent some time taking pics by the shore. 

 

And some bonus shots and a link to the original gown I based my design on:

https://www.thejohnbrightcollection.co.uk/costume/dress-06/ 

Egypt at the con

It's been a while. But then, it feels like the world has been on hold over the last several months with COVID-19 restrictions. Before it all came into force in Australia, I attended Supanova on the Gold Coast in April - the beginning of what would normally be our convention season. My brother and I drove down to attend for the Saturday of the con weekend. The event itself was on the slow side of things, not as many attendees and quite a few of the usual sellers missing in action.

But, I took the opportunity to finally make a costume that I had planned a few years back - Evie Carnahan from The Mummy. In particular, the library outfit:

It's a relatively simple costume to break down - skirt, blouse, necktie, wig and props. I butchered a 1930s reproduction skirt pattern to come up with one similar to the movie costume, made out of a sand coloured linen. I did change the design a little, adding in a pocket and side placket opening as zips were not being used in women's clothing at the time (they were considered to "easy"). My shirt was made out of a quilting cotton in a similar print to the film version. Again, I altered a couple of patterns to create a mens style shirt. And I made a necktie out of some brown silk in my stash.

My only purchases in preparation of the costume were a belt, glasses and key prop. Though, I had purchased the fabrics for the shirt and skirt a few years back. It was a spur of the moment purchase that I made online when I was watching the movie. I thought it would be a fun one to do.

I was right. And my cousin took some fantastic photos for me at the event.

  

1840s is the order of the day

Not off to the best blogging start for the new year. Life's been crazy and I'm hoping things slow down a bit soon, but I'm certainly not holding my breath.

Late last year I was invited to attend a celebration event at Newstead House. It's been a while since I have done anything historical and a good portion of my historical clothing has shrunk in the wardrobe. So to combat that issue, I decided that it was time for a new outfit. I decided to revamp my 1850s silk ballgown, which I last wore in 2013 https://poisonedkitty.blogspot.com/2013/12/a-state-of-our-own.html. It no longer fits and I haven't been able to on-sell it, so it was something perfect to rework. But I didn't want to just make a new bodice and recreate the same outfit.

I've always had a love of the 1840s fashions and they're a perfect period for wearing at Newstead House, which was built in 1846. And I do have a whole set of 1840s undergarments which does still fit. My first step was to find some inspiration, and I came across this lovely tartan gown.

 

Inspiration chosen, I drafted up and mocked up a pattern before cutting out my fabric. I managed to cut the entire outfit out of the skirts from the previous gown, not even touching my extra fabric. The only thing I needed to purchase for the new gown was some white cotton for lining the bodice. All trimmings came from my stash.

Brisnova 2019

Then came Supanova.

This time, I’m not too far off on the backlog. We’re in the same month. Supanova is the biggest pop culture convention in Australia, and the Brisbane event, the last of the year is generally the most well attended of all the cons across the country. (There’s a lot of loyalty in Queensland). But it came around far too fast this year, or rather the year seems to have run far too fast and I wasn’t overly prepared for it all. But I did manage to put together two (yes two) new costumes.

It was a hard choice, deciding what I was going to wear. The con fell only two weeks after I had surgery to remove endometriosis. I was still recovering and healing from my surgery, and I knew that I wouldn’t be able to do my usual costumes which involve corsetry. The thought of compressing my tender belly for a few days was too horrific. So, I decided on costumes that aren’t in my usual wheelhouse. I should also mention, that while the con runs for three days, Friday was hideously hot and humid and there was no way I was putting on a costume, so I went along and shopped (a bit too much) in shorts and a t-shirt. Most of my cosplay friends had the same idea.

But that brings us to Saturday. I dressed as Supergirl from the DC cartoon Super Best Friends Forever. 

This costume is one that I have wanted to do for a long time, but I put it off because I was uncomfortable with my weight. Ironically, I ended up doing it when I was still bloated from surgery and a bit heavier than I have been in the past. But I reached a point where that seemed like a stupid reason for putting off this costume. It was actually a pretty easy to put together. I already had a pattern drafted and mockup cut out, so I whipped that up and made some necessary pattern adjustments. From there, it was just a matter of sewing it all together. The parts that I was most nervous about was sewing with spandex, the logo and boots. I don’t normally do a lot of stretch sewing so I was thrown a little out of my element on this, but my Bernina 570 machine is a blessing. With its fabulous stretch stitches, it all came together smoothly (I will admit that I put the zip in four times before I was happy with it). As for the logo, it came out beautifully. I fused the layers together and used a tearaway stabiliser to stop any stretching and it all worked so well. Then there were the boots. I watched a number of online tutorials on how to go about creating spandex boots using ballet flats. They seemed to turn out well. It’s just unfortunate that the shape of them means they don’t stay up on their own, but I just whip stitched the front points to my dance tights for the day and they held up really well.

 

  

As for Sunday, I decided to go for something more in my comfort zone. My vintage comfort zone. I designed my own version of a human form (or Gajinka) Pokemon. My favourite little pink thing, the Jigglypuff. I turned her into a classic vintage lounge singer, pulling together a pink evening gown, pink wig and retro microphone. The gown is one that I have made before, so it was a matter of simply finding a pink fabric that worked – I grabbed a great satin backed crepe from Fabric.com. Thankfully it was the perfect shade of pink when it arrived. Of course, the weekend before the event I decided it would be a great idea to add some beading detail to the bodice. A rather silly last minute decision that saw me up to the wee hours each night beading my heart out. It was worth it in the end, but next time I’ll do my best to plan ahead a bit more. The best thing about this costume though, is that it doesn’t have to be a costume in the future. It’s just a lovely dress that I get to add to my wardrobe.

  

 

(Photos are all thanks to the fabulous cousin, Trinnyt).

Stay tuned though, there is more to come this year. (It feels like my sewing mojo may have returned after an extended break).

18th Century for a con?

It seems like I am always catching up on my blog rather than being pro-active about posting. Things have been a little bit crazy in my life of late, with work changes, some health issues, and car troubles that time just slips away. But onto it. Catchup.

Back in September, I dragged myself along to the Brisbane leg of Oz Comic Con. I say dragged because I was rather ill at the time, recovering from a headcold. I thankfully only went on the one day of the event, as I don’t think I could have handled much more. But for the occassion, I made my first costume in quite some time. I dressed as Bess from “The Duchess”, in her white chemise a la reine, which is worn a few times during the film. The main reason I chose this outfit was that Haley Atwell, the actress who played Bess would be in attendance at the con. Unfortunately, my photo with her is not the most flattering for me. Though a lovely photographer friend did take some photos of me before I got changed into comfortable sick person clothing.

I thought that this would be a quick costume to whip up for me as it’s similar to another gown that I have made previously. In that all it required was for me to cut the gown out, add in a neck ruffle and sleeve ruffle and call it a day. Of course I then realised that my Georigan stays were now too small. Granted I made them back in 2013 and my shape has changed quite significantly since then. Suddenly my project turned into making a new set of stays as well as a gown. I dug some fabric out of my stash and whipped up a new set of stays (which I still need to finish the eyelets on). And of course, I added a bit too much into the stays and they lace closed, so another new pair of stays is now in my future. Frustrating, but that’s the way it goes I guess. I blame the fact that I squish too much.

As for the event itself, it was a fun day out and I’m glad that I pushed myself to make something new. Even if I’m not sure that I want to wear the gown again. I was a little disappointed in the lack of vendors in Artist’s Alley. It’s where I do most of my shopping but there wasn’t a whole lot of creators. Maybe next year it will be better, and I will plan a little more in advance when deciding on a new costume.