Busy, busy, busy!

I had to use my sewing machine last night for the new cuffs on my Veronica Sawyer blazer and as I was setting everything up, I realized it was the first time I'd used my sewing machine in over a week!

My goal from now on is to set aside at least one day a week for sewing. No ifs, no buts. No cancellations. I'm very behind on everything right now, I have a lot of catching up to do!
I just bought some double knit blue fabric for my Star Trek 50th anniversary uniform, so I'm going to get started on that next week. Expect updates! I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend.

Rey Boots Tutorial

Happy Friday, everyone! I just finished putting together my new Rey boots, so I thought I'd show you how I made them! I spent maybe about $30 tops on these? Not all of us can afford the screen accurate Po-Zu boots and this is a really nice, cheap alternative that you can do with minimal effort and supplies.
To make these boots, you will need:
Boots, two shades of brown material, dark brown shoelaces, a needle, dark brown thread, scissors, pins, a pencil or pen, a tape measure, a ruler, some tin foil, and possibly a seam ripper.
With the boots - try to find some ugg boots that have the same shape as Rey’s boots. If they’re not exactly the same, you can use your seam ripper and scissors to cut that shape out of the top of the boots. It doesn’t matter what colour they are, as we will be covering them completely with material.
As for the material - you’ll need two shades of brown in two different material types. I used some faux leather I had left over from an old project and a big sweater I found online that had the weave I was looking for. When you go shopping for your material, bring a reference picture of the actual boots to help you find the right texture and colour.
They don’t have to be exactly the same colour - just go with whatever suits you. The actual material used for most of the boots was tweed, I believe, but it doesn’t have to be. I’ve heard of other Rey cosplayers using army blankets for their Rey boots. It’s totally up to you what you use, you don’t have to follow this tutorial step by step. It’s just a little guide.
First, you’ll need to make a pattern with the tin foil. Wrap it around the heel of your boot, folding and scrunching the tin foil until you’re satisfied with the shape. Now unfold it and there’s your pattern piece. Use this to cut out two pieces of your lighter brown fabric and pin the pieces to the heels of your boots, and then sew them on.
Do this for the other parts of the boots (using the dark brown fabric), until you have this!
Now you need to make the tab pieces for the sides and back of your boots. Use the tape measure and a reference photo of the boots to decide on the size of your tab pieces.
Take these measurements and draw your pieces on the light brown fabric, then cut them out. You'll need eight side tabs and two of each of the back pieces.
Pin your pieces to the boots and sew them on the dotted lines. Add the shoelaces and you're done!
And here's a quick video showing you how to thread the shoelaces:

To Boldly Embroider Where No One Has Embroidered Before

I started my Bespin cloak embroidery the other night! What I'm using here is something called a shadow stitch. It's not very even, but I'm still learning. Here's a video tutorial on how to do it. 
I've put the cloak fabric and all my embroidery supplies in a cat tote bag, so I can work on it when I'm out, but I think I'll get most of it done each night while watching Star Trek!Speaking of Star Trek - the 50th anniversary is coming up later this year! And, although there doesn't seem to be any events happening in Melbourne, I am hoping to make a uniform to celebrate.

Boots, Rain, Embroidery, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

The weather so far this week has been utterly miserable, so I've spent most of it inside. Today it's been raining on and off, so I've been snuggled up in some lazy clothes while working on two of my projects!



I should really be starting on the tunic and the pants for my Leia costume first, but I haven't found the right patterns yet. And, with only about a month left to finish the costume, I decided to start the embroidery on the cloak first so that I can work on it continuously on top of all my other projects.



I'm also trying to get my Rey boots done asap so I can continue working on the other pieces for the costume! I've learnt so much while working on this costume. It looks so deceptively simple, but a lot of work is going into each piece.

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Mother's Day Embroidery

Hello, hello, hello! Guess who's finally made a proper blog! I had an account on tumblr for my creations under the pseudonym Emily Reginalds, but I felt it was unprofessional and I wanted to share a blog with potential customers and followers that I could be proud of.

I have to give some credit to the lovely and ridiculously talented Louise over at dearteaswirls - she recently returned to blogging and seeing her posts again gave me that little push I needed to finally create this blog.










While searching for potential designs for Nan's gift, I found another gorgeous floral design with the text 'Home is where your mum is' and I knew I had to do one for mum as well. I already knew all the typical embroidery stitches, but for these projects I wanted to try some new things.


These were floral embroidery pieces, after all. I couldn't just lazy daisy and back stitch my way through them. I had the most fun making the roses. They look like so much effort went into them, but the opposite is true. You can find a tutorial for the roses here.









Happy Mother's Day to all the mums out there!