Supanova 2011 Take 2 - Friday

Lucky that we are, Brisbane got a second Pop Culture Convention this year - a second dose of Supanova. It's the pre-emptive change to future April Supanova on the Gold Coast and November Supanova in Brisbane. Of course, I will be going to both next year. But as it happens, a couple weekends ago, I spent my time at the show grounds for our very own second 2011 Brisbane Supanvoa. It was an action packed weekend which I thankfully managed to hold off getting sick until I got home on Sunday night.

Friday saw me head in for the evening with my cousin and fellow costumer visiting from Sydney. I took the opportunity to re-wear my Sister of the Dark costume. But with it being night time and all, I popped a tiny torch in my lantern so that it would glow nicely. We shopped around for a bit before heading over the opening ceremony where we sat back to the comical stylings of the weekend resident comedian.

Supanova 2011 - Sunday

Supanova Day 3 - Sunday

It was another eventful day and fabulously exhausting day; while a heck of a lot cooler. I made it along to the Lolita panel for the morning, which was interesting. Some of the girls who proclaim to have been in the scene for a few years, I have never met. Odd, considering that I go to the big lolita meets that everyone goes to. But it was lovely enough. I guess the highlight of my day was having my photo taken with Katee Sackhoff (Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica for those non-scifi geeks out there). After the failure of my little camera on Saturday, I decided the smartest option would be to take along the big one. Too bad that I left the battery on the charger at home. Not so smart. At any rate, I had a great time, and have managed to get a copy of some photos.

My first costume of the day was my Sister of the Dark from Legend of the Seeker. It's one of those obscure shows that not many people have actually seen. At any rate, I love these costumes and I am so proud of how mine has tuned out. The only thing that I feel I need to change is the belt. It was a last minute thing because I couldn't get what I wanted and I already had this one in my costume box. At any rate, it turned out well. I was so please, I was even recognised.

I did actually change for the day as well. Slipped into a Lolita outfit for the afternoon. Oddly enough, I had more photos taken of me in this outfit than any of my other costumes. It could be the wig. Ever since I bought it, I have been desperate to wear my split wig, but haven't really had the occasion. I figured that Supanova would be the perfect opportunity. And yes, I did actually pick it because I knew that it would match my dress.

All in all, I had a fantastic weekend. I came home with some great new t-shirts, beautiful teal hair-dye and some super-cute little figures that have been installed on my desk at work. But I was so pleased to get home on Sunday afternoon, take off my wig and wash my hair. It's a little bit of a relief to be wigless at work today, no matter how much I like wearing them. Now, I just have to work out what I want to wear for Supanova in November. I am thinking that Disney would be great. (Looks like it might be time to clean up my diet and jump on the treadmill. A few thousand sit-ups and I might be able to do Princess Jasmine.)

Paint the town red

And the main part of this costume is now complete. I'm not 100% sure that I have the pattern correct, but there was a lot of leniency for the gown as there seem to be a lot of different styles. I went for something that would be both flattering for me as well as in keeping with the gowns on the show. It ended up being a mix. From my research there also seems to be different gowns for normal wear as compared to the gowns for battle. As in, the battle gowns have gores in the skirt running to the hip to allow for leg movement. It seemed most practical to go this way with my gown. (The photos haven't really worked because the red is so hard to photograph at night time. I swear it looks great in person.) 

As for the pattern, it was made by draping a similar weight fabric on my mannequin. It took me a couple goes to get the front split correct and the armhole splits in place. Not to mention the fold over and sleeve draping. In the end, it turned out to be a very simple T shape pattern that has a small amount of waist shaping and triangle gores sewn into the side seams from the hem to the hip. I'm rather pleased with how it turned out, and am even going to finish the mock up of the dress at a later date to wear as a dress. Of course, the belts help pull it in, in the correct places for a little more fitting through the waist and hips.

To finish it all off, all I had to do was make the headpiece. It took a few attempts to get the tying correct but it's really just a turban with a length of fabric tucked in the back. I used two different fabrics to make it. The main turban part is made of lycra into a scullcap sort of shape. The second piece is a lightweight crinkle chiffon (almost a silk chiffon weight) that is tucked in half at the back. The top piece can then be flipped over the face. I also bought a new long brown wig to wear under it all, as my hair is currently at that in-between length (that I really hate).

Now that the clothing is completely ready, I needed consider accessories. Ideally I would love to have a triquatra weapon that the sisters throw, but I am not sure if I have the ability or time to make one. So instead, I went for a lantern (which they are seen carrying when you first meet them). I managed to find a very similar one on ebay for a very respectable price and best of all, it arrived within two days of purchase. 

And as a final, I just need to purchase some belts, and trim my wig. Hopefully this can happen this week.  

Corseted

Now, this is not strictly a part of the original sister of the dark costume. I'm sure that those slender women did not wear corsets underneath their gowns. Me though, I decided that I would like something that controls my curves a little better as well as providing some good bust uplift. And that has led me to a corset. I have made it using the good old 5006 Simplicity pattern that most of my costume friends have used.



I have to say though, it took quite a bit of adjustment to get it to where it is now. Unfortunately there is an extreme amount of bust allowance in the pattern. It made for a lot of fiddling on my part to take it in. It probably didn't help that I was changing the bust line slightly too, dipping it down in the centre more. I also wanted my bust to sit nicely in it with a decent amount of lift. The other change I ended up having to make was to the length. While the front was fine, it was way too short over the hip and in the back. Again, more fiddling. In the end it took me three mock ups to get to where I am now. But I think it was well worth the effort, because I am inordinately pleased with how this has come out.


Of course, it really helps me love it more when the outer layer is made of dupion silk and the inner layer is some lovely hear print cotton that I had left over from another project. For some reason it just seemed appropriate. At any rate, this was probably the most time consuming part of putting this costume together and I think that it has really come out well. The next step is the dress and headpiece. But otherwise, we are done.

It continues...

I had a supremely productive weekend. I have made a lot of progress on a lot of my current projects. But in particular I am referring to my Sister of the Dark costume. It's a fairly simple costume but just has a lot of layers that I have to put together. The thing that really stumped me though has been the fact that not all of the sisters of the dark have the same costume. The necklines on the dress vary as do the skirts - some wear pants. It has worked to my advantage in some respects; giving me a lot of freedom to play and actually find something that works really well for me. 

I decided that I wanted the pants. For comfort and movement sake. So, this was the first piece that I have completed. They are made out of cotton voile for breathability sake. My first hurdle was that I couldn't actually buy red cotton voile. So, instead I headed into the fabric dye section, picked up some idye and headed home. Because of the amount of regency re-enactment that I do, I have a large stash of white cotton voile on hand (I buy a roll every time that I see it on sale) so I just ripped off a 2 metre chunk and dyed it red. The thing I like best about the idye is that you can do it in the washing machine. I put it on and forget about it until it needs to be hung out to dry. And best of all the colour is even because of the motion of the washing machine. When I do it in a bucket, I'm not so good with the even colour. 

Anyway, once my fabric was coloured, I ironed it out and got set to cut out. I ended up using two patterns. I wanted a very harem pants sort of fullness, so I grabbed one of my simplicity costume patterns for the base of the pants. However, instead of an elastic waist and cuffs, I wanted a yoke and button cuffs to that the fullness does not show through on the dress. My resolution was to dig out the pattern pieces for a pair of yoked pants. It was then simply a matter of gathering on the pants and adding an invisible zip in the centre back. I added ankle cuffs that button on the inner seam and they are done. 

I think that they turned out rather well and will provide a good undergarment for my dress. I will be back soon with more updates.

A decision made

With the lead up to April set to be superbly busy (between getting ready for JAFA and Supanova), I have decided to err on the side of caution for my final supernova costume. That being said, after looking through the options in my last post, I eliminated anything too time consuming or complex. In the end I have come down to the sister of the dark costume. It is basically just a heap of red fabric. A little generic perhaps, but neat none-the-less and it has weapons that I think are rather cool. I will keep you posted on the progress, but as for now, I guess I will need to make a shopping list of what fabric I need and head on out shopping.


I'm thinking that I might save the Khalan Season 2 (Legend of the Seeker) costume until the ACG Ball. Being that it does involve a leather / pleather corset that has quite a lot of work in it - not to mention all the detailing on the skirt and the full lacing on the bodice sleeves, I think I would like to dedicate a lot of time to it so that I can be proud of my accomplishment.

Supanova Planning 2011

And a new year has begun. This one looks set to be full of costuming endeavours as well, and I am already booked up for quite a few things this year. But first things first, Supanova. I know it isn't until April, but I really have to get things underway if I want it all to go smoothly. We are talking three costumes.

Friday afternoon / night:
I have a few options. There is Mrs Lovett- by the sea, The White Queen (bodice fitting issues now) or Tia Dalma. I haven't decided which way I will go, but at any rate, it doesn't require me to do any further sewing. 

Saturday:
Again, I am pretty much set. My brother and I will be wearing our Stargate Offworld Uniforms. I have it all sorted apart from a couple of the patches and velcro backing (I was going to order them last week but the on-line shop was shut). And I have yet to sort out our weapons (P90s), and my zat needs painting. 

Sunday:
This is where I run into problems. I just cannot decide what I want to be. I have narrowed it down to a few options, but I am having trouble making the final decision. 

From Disney there is Snow White or Belle, 

 from Legend of the Seeker there is Khalan (one of three outfits) or a Sister of the Dark 

 from Alice in Wonderland there is Alice's Tiny Gown 

 and then there is Star Wars - Padme and Dorme in particular. In some ways I would like to have another hash at Packing Padme, but there are others that I would like to do as well; 

 and as a final option there is Lord of the Rings - Eowyns Funeral Gown.

And of course I will most likely be picking one of these for to make for the ACG Ball in August. Please help me decide!