Porcelain, to Ivory, to Steel
A year ago this week - I bought my first sewing machine. And a year later, I've just finished a major costume and I'm about to finish a riding jacket inspired by a costume piece in Outlander. I've come so far since my first project on a sewing machine and I'm so glad I stuck with this hobby and got through all the moments where I wanted to give up on it.
I wrote a post a while back about the wolf embroidery on my Sansa gown, but I only just finished working on the rest of it so that I could wear it for the first time at the Bendigo Records, Toys, and Comics Fair. It got a lot of compliments, especially about the embroidery. I'm very proud of the whole costume, in spite of all its minor flaws. Velvet is pure evil, 10/10 would not recommend working with velvet.
The dress was actually the first piece I finished, using Simplicity 9891. I then moved on to the embroidery, which took about a month of work. After that I ordered the fabric for the main piece of the cloak and then set the costume aside while I gave my time to other costumes I'd left in the back burner.
The cloak fabric is also velvet, but it's a two way stretch dance velvet from an Australian store. It's less thick than the dress fabric and flows very nicely when I walk. The fur is faux fur and actually the second piece of faux fur I ordered since the first never actually arrived.
Buying fur fabric is extraordinarily expensive and would have been hard to work with, so in the end I bought a fur bridal wrap. It's whip stitched to the top of the cloak and keeps its shape exceptionally well.
I also added the detail of snowflakes to the cloak. There is a pattern on Sansa's cloak in the show, but it would have been too hard to replicate without spending weeks scouring the Internet for a fabric with the exact pattern. So I decided to emboss my fabric with a stamp and an iron.
The costume is complete, but I'd still like to add more snowflakes to the cloak and find a way to secure the top of the cloak to the shoulders of the gown. It shifts a lot while I'm wearing it so I think I'll use hooks and eyes or little snaps to keep it in place. It's such a comfortable, warm costume. It's a shame the weather here is starting to heat up again.
I have been very inactive on this blog as of late, and for that I apologize, but I do have a lot more to share with you over the coming weeks. I made a new Star Trek uniform for the 50th anniversary and I've been taking lots of photos of my process while making Claire's riding jacket which I mentioned above. So keep an eye out for those posts and more!
Your costume looks fantastic!
ReplyDeleteThank you !!
Delete