Confessions of a Seamstress: November 2015

Monday, November 30, 2015

Kitty Pryde "Shadowcat" Doll

The last two weeks have been a bit better for me healthwise, so I decided try making something - specifically a Kitty Pryde "Shadowcat" doll for a friend's birthday/Christmas gift.

Unfortunately, I was so focused on making it that I didn't take many in progress pictures! She started off looking something like this doll. (I rescue Barbies in good condition from thrift stores for projects like this).

I painted her eyes, and also her lips because they were a weird light pink color.

Curling Barbie hair is SO FUN. If it isn't already straight, you dip it into some boiling water for a few seconds, comb it out and let it dry. Then you roll it up in little straw pieces, secure them with bobby pins, and dip the head in more boiling water. Let sit overnight to dry.

After taking Kitty's hair out of the curlers, it wanted to kind of spring up around her head. So I pinned it down with bobby pins and carefully set just the top of her head in hot water, just enough to set that bit down smoothly.

I didn't use any patterns for her costume. I took stretchy black fabric and basted it into the shape I wanted, took it off, sewed the seams with my machine, then pulled it back on and stitched the final seams closed with hand stitches (all covered by the top details).

For the yellow contrast pieces, I stitched them onto the black while the bodysuit was on Kitty (there is no way to take her costume off). I folded the edges under and whipped stitched them down with some of the tiniest stitches I've made in my life.

For the gloves and boots, I used the same method as the black bodysuit. The only difference is that I hemmed the raw edges first!

I used a little bit of black pleather for the belt and painted on the "X" symbol.

For Lockheed, I asked my husband if he had any miniatures in his HUMONGOUS collection that would work. We found a little winged guy with potential, made a few alterations, and then Nathan painted him up.

We spent three days perfecting all the details, and the look on my friend's face when she opened it made it all worth it!

Saturday, November 21, 2015

Costumes for Sale

I've been sick now for 4 months and unable to work much at all during that time. We went through my costume stash and identified some that I could sell in an effort to bring in some more funds.

These are mostly between 5 and 7 years old. They are clean and in good repair, but because they were made awhile ago, they are not up to my current standards, hence why they are listed for relatively low prices.

The biggest issue with most of them is that there are exposed seams on many interiors, seams that I would now serge to prevent fraying. The bonus to this, however, is that this makes for fairly easy alterations if you need to take anything in! (Not all of the zippers are as smoothly inserted as I would do now, but they all work quite well!)

For more photos, prices, and details on purchasing, please visit the Facebook album here.

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

The Once Upon a Time Fan Meetup and Cosplay Photoshoot at CONvergence 2015 (Guest Post)

I'm delighted to introduce a guest post by Melissa Adorn! Melissa and I have frequented the same convention before (I actually photographed her Arwen costume once!) and she contacted me earlier this year to attend a OUAT fan meet-up at CONvergence this past summer. I was unable to attend, but was excited to see the photos Melissa shared with me. I also appreciated her writing style and initiative, so I asked if she'd write a post about her experience with the meet-up and OUAT costuming, and she graciously agreed! I hope you enjoy her thoughts as much as I did!

I’m super excited to be writing a guest post for Confessions of a Seamstress; as a cosplayer and a Once Upon a Time fan, I just love what Elizabeth does on here.

The Once Upon a Time meetup at CONvergence was kind of my fault. I had been planning to make Belle’s gold ball gown for the convention anyway (I have a fondness for ball gowns and for Rumplestiltskin—it seemed the most appropriate choice, considering).

My finished Belle dress (photo by Nude Carbon Studios)

I had a couple friends who were also planning OUAT costumes, and I came across other cosplayers in the months before with the same idea, so I figured, why not make it an official get-together? With the encouragement and help of friends, I made a Facebook event, posted it in the CONvergence group, and invited everyone to invite anyone who might be interested. We wound up with a turnout better than I think any of us expected.

(Note from Elizabeth - this is the only time I've seen another cosplayer do Regina's blue riding coat! Cool!)

Group photos from the beginning and end of the meetup, as people came and went (photos by YGK)

About 25 people came along for part of the fun, and a few stuck around for everything. Not only was there a fantastic group of cosplayers, but lots of other Oncers came along to watch, hang out, think up with photo ideas, and take pictures. Meeting everyone and being able to geek out together was really exciting (nothing tops cosplaying with people from the same fandom, to my mind). We also had two of the kindest cosplay photographers ever join us to help get great pictures; Chase from Nude Carbon Studios and Kai from YGK.

The Three Faces of Regina (YGK)

After meeting in the convention we trooped outside (picture a OUAT parade through the parking lot) and took lots of photos, sorting by characters, ships, and whatever else we could think of. There was lots of goofing off and general OUAT nerdery.

Mother and Daughter (NCS)

Pretty much everyone had made or scrounged up their own cosplays. The attention to detail and craftsmanship was impressive. The silver shoes that Belle crafted, all the grommets (and makeup!) on Rumplestiltskin, Emma’s handmade badge, Gold not cutting his hair for months, two sets of full pirate gear, epic Regina coats….I wish that I’d had more of a chance to learn about all the effort these incredible cosplayers put in.

CaptainSwan vs. Rumbelle (YGK)

After an hour or so outside a group of us went over to DQ to eat and pretend it was Granny’s. After that it was back to the convention to watch Art of the Dress (Costume and Couture Show) and change into Cinderella for the Disney meetup (that’s what I did, anyway!).

Rumbelle hamburger date (YGK)

We’re hoping to do another OUAT meetup at CONvergence this July, but I think we’ll keep it inside more of the time for the comfort of the cosplayers in heavy leather coats! As of writing this, I’m not sure what I’ll cosplay yet (there’s just so many incredible outfits!)…but if you’re curious what I come up with, want to see next year’s pictures, or want to join us next year, keep tabs on Adorn Cosplay on Facebook. If you’re anywhere nearby, I hope you can come along for more OUAT meetup adventures!

Here’s a few more favorite moments: