The Suit Coat of Doom

This is the suit coat that has been sitting on my sewing table, ironing board, and sewing machine in various states of completedness since last summer. Or was it spring? I can't remember anymore. It was originally meant to be my fall project, but got pushed back in the face of my halloween/AUSA costume (featured in the background of the blog here) that ended up taking about 150ish hours mainly due to all that embroidery. I just didn't have enough time for it! So then the goal was to finish it in time for Christmas to wear home and show off. Maybe Dad would see it, realize I can sew well enough for something to be worn in public and he'd let me make something for him. I thought a nice felted wool coat to wear over his suits in the winter when he goes to church would be nice, but that's just me. But anyways, then before Christmas - right at the time I'd allotted for this suit! - Tina asked me to make her curtains. Which, of course, had to be done before Christmas so she could have them up at her daughter's wedding reception. So the suit got pushed off yet again. After all, it doesn't need to be finished for anything in particular. Then there were the costumes for my in-laws and now here we are.

Making a suit coat using traditional methods (none of that cheapy iron on interfacing here, I'm using hair canvas!) is one of the pinacles of sewing. I'm putting to use every technique I know, and learning a few new ones as I go along. A lot of the detail work has to be done by hand so as to be invisible from the outside. It's tough, but I'm really proud of my progress so far.

No, I'm not done yet, and I've got several projects pressing to get done, but I've decided that I'm going to finish this first. I misplaced my camera or else I'd post up progress pics, but today I finally finished the collar and got it properly attached. I'm grateful I bought a (really) nice (and fairly expensive at $20/yard, and that was on sale) 100% wool suiting. It's more forgiving of ittsy bittsy mistakes than other fabrics would be. I had to ease the collar in on one side more than I wish had had to, but a bit of steam and careful stitching, and it worked. You can't even tell I was worried there for a while from the outside! And hey, no one's going to be seeing the inside. ;)

So now the body of the suit is finished. It's all ready to be lined and have the shoulder pads and sleeves attached. I also got a lot done on the sleeves today too. Most of the time was spent hand basting the interlining in as well as catch-stitching the hair canvas that goes at the cuffs. Now that was fairly tedious to do. You have to do it really carefully to make sure you only catch the interlining and interfacing on the catch-stitches and not the fashion fabric or else it's extremely obvious from the outside. But it got done and I got the facing sewn in as well and all the pattern pieces for the lining laid out to be cut- which I'll do tomorrow. Between the nice charcoal grey wool suiting, black china silk lining, and hair canvas interfacing, I'm half wishing I had sprung for the silk organza rather than just the poly for the interlining. *laughs* But hey, have to draw the line for the budget somewhere. China silk is pretty cheap. I think I got mine for $7 or $8/yard, but silk organza is more expensive since it's used for wedding dresses a lot. *rolls eyes*

Speaking of weddings, Jessie - that's my sister in law - is getting married this spring. I'm making my own dress since frankly, it's easier than finding one to meet her specifications. Knee- or tea- length, short sleeved, and black. You'd think it'd be a simple request to fulfill, but most dresses I've found tend to be either (a) too short, (b) sleeveless, or (c) hideously expensive. I'd picked up this pattern when they were having a $1/pattern sale because I knew that someday I'd have to have a modest dress pattern :D Aren't I a genius. The square neckline may take a little adjustment though, as I don't think they even make square necked garments. But I guess I'll see how the mock up goes first. Not that this is going to be difficult to adjust once I know if I need to or not. Ah well. But the suit comes first!

I need a gun

Sometimes the crime in this city really freaks me out. Seth and I intend to get a gun in the near future. It's really just a matter of taking the time to go over to the NRA, sign up for a conceal carry class, shooting a few guns to see what I like best, and buying the dang thing. When I get police alerts for the area like the following:

The Alexandria Police report two other attacks against women that occurred over the weekend.

The first attack happened just after midnight Saturday. Police said a woman was walking in the area of Beauregard and King Street when a man grabbed her. The victim screamed and fought her attacker and the man fled the scene, police said.

The second attack happened just after 1 p.m. Saturday at a McDonalds at the intersection of Glebe Road and Mount Vernon Avenue.

Police said a man tried to push his way into a bathroom that a woman was using inside the McDonalds. He is described as a white Hispanic man. He was wearing a black jacket and black pants.

The police stated that none of these incidents are related.

Anyone with any information about these cases is asked to call the Alexandria Police Department's Criminal Investigation Section at 703-838-4711.

Armistead Boothe Park Incident

At about 6:45 Sunday evening, an unknown suspect attempted to abduct a woman visiting Armistead Boothe Park. The attacker grabbed the woman and tried to force her away from the park, but she was able to successfully fight him off and escape without serious injury. He fled through the park, possibly through the community toward the Trade Center.

The victim, who is not a Cameron Station resident, fled the area and notified police. Numerous Alexandria officers, as well as a K-9 unit and police helicopter form Fairfax County searched the area extensively but were unable to locate the suspect.

The investigation has been assigned to an Alexandria Police Detective for follow-up. It has not yet been determined whether this incident is linked to a series of other attempted abductions in the City's west end and in Fairfax County over the last several months.

The suspect is described as a Hispanic or light skinned black male, about 5"8' to 5"10' tall, weighing about 180 lbs. He was wearing a black ski mask, black hoodie sweatshirt, black shoes and light blue jeans.

Anyone with any information about this case is asked to call the Alexandria Police Department's Criminal Investigation Section at 703-838-4711.

AND there's been another guy assaulting women all over the area from Falls Church down through Alexandria and a few of the other burbs in the area that they haven't caught. I may not be living in the poshest of areas in N. VA, but I'm not exactly living in the slums here either! And then there's the stories that Seth hears about at work. It's a downright scary world out there.

Super Secret Costume Con 2009 costume Part 2

After sleeping on things a bit, I've decided to take option (d) Keep the more realistically Victorian style and take a different direction altogether that I hadn't considered yet. The base costume I had been using is now abandoned and I'm going with something else- still the same character, but different dress



Here is what I'm going to be blending now :D Isn't it gorgeous? It's going to take a bit of modifying still, but I'm really liking this so far! The pattern for the entire dress is $41.50. Pricy still, but it's for the entire outfit except the bustle. And Instead of 53 yards of fabric, this one is only going to take 20ish total. The dangly scarves bit in the front is going to be quite a bit different, as is the neckline which is going to be turned into more of a v-scoop I think. This dress is also going to be done in black rather than dark blue and red, and black velvet is cheaper. I'm looking at $10.50/yard for the velvet now instead of $15-20+ Which is definately much more in my price range. Maybe even less if I find a nice poly rayon instead of the silk rayon I had had bookmarked from when I had stumbled over that little gem of a find. Still, $10/yard for velvet is eminently reasonable. The only time I got a better deal than that on velvet was when I found that green cotton velvet priced at $40/ 10 yards. Hey, maybe I'll find something like that again. :D

Super Secret Costume Con 2009 costume

I suppose this is an excercise in being vague, but what the heck. I spent some time today working on this costume's concept and decided to go a bit more away from what it was and more in the Victorian direction. Which meant researching victorian outfits and patterns. Sadly, there is a distinct lack of Victorian patterns out there that are suitable for what I have in mind. The "Truely Victorian" pattern company has some nice patterns, but they run around $15/ pattern. It isn't that bad of a price considering the fact that it's a small, probably one person, business and they can't afford to charge less if they're going to survive. However, their patterns don't cover an entire outfit. They cover a single element of the costume. When you need everything from underwear on up, the price of the patterns adds up pretty darn quickly. If I bought everything I need from them, it'd cost me $84 without even getting into the 53ish yards of assorted types of fabric I'd need. Yes, that's right. 53 yards of fabric. Scary, isn't it, especially considered that if I'm lucky I'll average $10/yard. Considering 17 of that is velvet... yeah. I'm glad I'm starting on this early. This is going to get pricy.

So how to lower costs without sacrificing artist integrity?

(a) Draft my own patterns or adjust existing online patterns

Quite likely, this is what I'm going to end up having to do. I've got a couple bodice patterns here and here that while it'll take some serious readjustments and mixing of elements to work, are vaguely the proper shape. I'll need to get one of my Danish speaking friends to translate it for me though. >.> I'm sure a bit more looking around will produce similar finds or else I can finally pick up Corests and Crinolines or one of Janet Arnold's books that have patterns in them. The books are expensive though, and together may be more expensive than buying the patterns.

(b) Return to my original design that doesn't require quite so many Victorian patterns.

I still like the original idea, but it is tricky, and I'll have to draft everything except the bustle and train from scratch. It would mean buying fewer patterns, but doing a lot more drafting and draping to get the dress right.

(c) Abandon the more realistically Victorian style and take a different direction altogether that I haven't considered yet.

It's always a possibility, but I really am looking forward to making a ginormous bustle- something with a sillouette like this one.


Face it, while it probably looks silly to you, Dad and AnnaMarie, it'd just be so much fun to make! However, maybe someone at the guild will have some fun ideas this Saturday. Maybe something that keeps the colors and sillouette but changes the fabic and style? Something to ponder.

However, my VTers are coming over in about an hour and I should probably go eat dinner before they come. Seth's working late again tonight and won't be leaving the office until around 8 so I'm at loose ends for food. Then again, maybe I'll just munch on pocky until he gets home and then make that noodle skillet dish I've been meaning to make so he can have something real to eat instead of grabbing what he can on the way home.

Work work work

Ok, so I don't have a real job, but I'm having a lot of fun, and work of my sewing skills are getting out there now! Before Christmas I made curtains for Tina, a friend of Seth's family and they turned out gorgeous. It helped, I suppose, that she was willing to spend the $50/yard on really nice fabric. I still need to get pictures of them from her since I assembled them at her house rather than here at mine and I'd forgotten to bring my camera. But she paid me pretty nicely for what amounted to a couple days work.

With a bit of that, I reinvested in a fitting dummy- she still needs a name, but hey. I put a lot of research into what type of dummy to get. I didn't want one of the flimsy plastic ones you get from Jo-Ann's that cost about $120 and have the dials that turn (or are supposed to turn) to adjust the dummy's size. Ideally, I'd be able to afford one a professional one that's customed made to my measurements, but I'm quite sure I have a better use for $1K. So I was really happy to find this one - http://www.allbrands.com/products/abp03900-0094.html It's made of rubber foam and then you fit the cover to your shape and squish the foam into it so it fills it out properly. For $120 too! So much better than the stupid plastic ones and my second choice of dummies was $350. I just need someone to help me fit the cover since you can't exactly do it on your own, but one of the ladies in the costuming guild promised to help this month.

Even without it being perfectly my size, she's already been a huge help. This month my inlaws asked me to make them costumes for a branch renaissance themed dinner. Since I wouldn't have a chance to hold a fitting session with them, I decided to go with costumes that wouldn't really require it.

For Pam's dress I went with a medeival pellote where the underdress is fairly closely fitted and the overdress is sleeveless and has armholes that reach down to the hip. I wouldn't have tried it except there's an elizabethan smock pattern generator where you just punch in the measurements and it spits out the dimensions of each pattern piece. The pellote was easy, and I used the 'Gates of Hell' hourglass style which I though was pretty, and trimmed it faux fur. It turned out nice, but I've sworn off faux fur at least until I have no other choice but to use it. It's fuzzy and hard to sew when you can't see what you're doing clearly.
Pam looked really good in it, and I'll get pictures up of her wearing it eventually.

For Ted and Seth's outfits, I decided to go with monk's robes. After all, it's nice and simple, and Ted is the branch president. I was a little more... creative... with the pattern on this one, but it turned out pretty nice I think, even if it isn't historicallly accurate. My dummy came in extremely useful here because I just kinda drapped the fabric over her until I figure out what worked. She had a slightly more girlish figure than my father in law, but the entire thing was baggy enough that it'd fit almost anyone.


And dang, that hood was too much fun. So much volume that you could probably hide a couple dogs and cats it it and not even notice if they were fighting.


They were apparently extremely comfy and warm, and I'm half tempted to make one for myself. Maybe in a nice cream color wool or something. They only take a couple hours to make after all.

But the renaissance dinner went really well, and everyone loved the costumes. Seth and I did a demo/lecture on swordfighting, and we got invited up to their local May Day celebration. I've been wanting to make a pair of plunderhosen for a very long time, so maybe this is a good opportunity for that. In MS1.33 the figures on the plates are monks, and Seth'd be carrying sword and buckler since it's one of his favorite weapon combos anyways. I've always prefered the greatsword myself, and in Meyer's manual they wear plunderhosen and use the greatsword. It would be fun. :) It'd especially be nice if the price of wool would hurry up and take its usual spring/summer dip so I could grab bolt ends to make this with. I'm not sure on what colors to go with yet though. Any suggestions?

So this upcoming weekend is the guild meeting, and next weekend, I'm going to be going over to one of Seth's co-worker's houses to see what she needs to have done with her curtains and possibly help out there. She apparently wants roman shades, however. Which I don't have any experience in and I've heard are tricky. If she wants them, maybe she'll pay to send me to the G-Street fabric store's 'Roman shade in a Day' class. Takes 8 hous, but you walk out with a completed curtain and the knowledge of how to make more so it would be valuable for me to go to. I'll have to check G-Street's class schedule and see if there's one coming up soon. Curtains are freaking expensive, and I could charge a lot if I could gather a broad enough repetoire of home dec skills.

Let's see, some other things that are coming up!

Balticon is running May 23-26, and Seth and I are going up for that. I'll be competing with my 40K Sister of Battle costume and see if I can't make Journeyman level by winning a major prize as a Novice. Or maybe I'll just compete at Journeyman level and see how it goes. Maybe once I get a look at the competition I'll decide where I should enter- or the judges will auto-bump me if they feel I deserve it.

I'm going to be trying to compete at more cons with my costumes this year. I'd like to reach Master craftsmanship level, before CostumeCon 27 which is being held in Baltimore next year. Costume Con is one of two International level conventions and competition is tough. My local chapter of the ICG is doing a group costume and since groups compete at the rank of the highest ranked person in the group, I'm fairly certain we'll be competing at Master level anyways. (eek!) I don't want to be the weak link that brings the group down and ruins our chances so I want to get there on my own. Besides, if we do manage to carry off the Best in Show prize or one of the other major awards, that award will count on my tally and you can't compete down in rank after winning something that big. I want to know that I deserve to be at Master level because of my work, not just hanging on everyone else's coat tails.

So I've got over a year to plan my CostumeCon 27 costume, and I've already got my basic idea and done a few concept sketches. I'm even starting to collect the materials that I'm going to need to make my wig. You can't buy a wig like the one this is going to take! It's going to be awesome. This summer I hope to at least have the underpinnings finished as well as the pattern for the costume completed. That's going to take a lot of work. Then this winter I'd like to have the wig and accessories done and by the time spring rolls around to have the dress finished to! It's going to be a lot of work, but done right, should blow everyone away with its awesomeness.

But that's not all. Anime USA got bumped up to October 10-13 this year from mid-November last year. A change of which I highly approve as AUSA sunk my NaNoWriMo bid last year. But it also means I need to get going on my costume for that! Especially if I'm going to be competing in their masquerade too. I'm going to be going as Himura from Karas It's a deceptively simple costume. Coats are always tricky, but this one shouldn't be too bad once I figure out exactly what changes need to be made, and my current 'issue' is that dang sweater. I may end up having to learn how to knit and doing it myself if I don't find something rtw that works soon. Also, when competing in the masquerade, a certain percentage of the costume has to be made by you. I'll need to see what their masquerade rules say for this year, but since I'm already going to just be buying the white button up shirt she wears under the sweater, I may be forced to knit it myself in order to be eligable. But we'll see. Maybe I'll get lucky and find a knit that I can buy and sew up normally!

Well that's it for now and pretty much what's been and will be going on for me this year. Everything else is just gravy and I wouldn't really expect any future posts to be anywhere near this length. Heh.

My uber nifty customized background!

So I didn't particularly care for any of the backgrounds. They're all a bit boring and none whatsoever are related in any way to me personally. So off I ran, assuming that it wasn't going to be that difficult. I mean really, how hard could it be to replace the link to one image in the template html code even if you don't know html? Well, apparently not all that easy. I just spent the last hour finding a template liked with the transparent blocks down it so you could read the text. Found one, much photoshopping later I came up with what I have now. Unfortunately, messing with the template code makes it so I can't change the font as easily as it would otherwise be. >.> So I'm still not entirely happy with it, but I'll figure out how to do that later I suppose.

Well you asked for it

Well Dad asked if I was ever going to start a blog last time I talked to him, and AnnaMarie promised to read it, so I figured hey, why not. My life isn't all that terribly exciting to my family, I know, but at least I'm enjoying it and you'll be able to see what I'm up to.