Assassin's Creed - Part 3

Tunic is done, but we need some more pieces to pull this costume together.

Since getting a large enough piece of leather for the whole belt would be expensive, my client and I decided to go with pleather. After making the whole thing, I've pretty much decided that the extra time required to finish all the edges doesn't make it cheaper and in the future I'd let my clients choose one or the other.

Since I was working with pleather, I needed to line it, and I decided to use some of the left over white broadcloth from the tunic. This turned out to be a good idea despite the color difference, as this pleather has a bit of a stretch to it and needed the stability of the broadcloth backing.

Actually the broadcloth alone wasn't even enough. I added interfacing to both pieces.

Stitched and turned!

Then I topstitched all of the edges...

...using my special non stick foot. (I've read that you can also put masking tape on the bottom of a regular presser foot for the same effect)

Looking mighty fine, don't you think?

Time to add some more details! I used packing tissue saved from my wedding plates to make the pattern for the belt appliques.

They were a little fussy to sew down, mostly because they wanted to stretch out, and I had to use a little glue first to get the curves to tuck under smoothly.

Sharp eyes will note buckles at the top of that last photo... click through this link to learn how to make those in Part 4 of the Assassin's Creed Cosplay!

Assassin's Creed - Part 2

In part one we talked about making the body of the tunic. Here we talk about sleeves, embroidery and other embellishments.

It was at this point that I got my AWESOME NEW EMBROIDERY MACHINE and used it to create the design on the shoulders. I played around with some stitches on scrap fabric before finalizing the armhole design. It just took three different decorative stitches, lined up very carefully.

Yes, I could have purchased some trim, but it would have been difficult to get it to lie smoothly on the sharp curves of the armhole. I was pretty happy without the design turned out.

I cut the hood freehand, angling it to slope over the shoulders. Unfortunately I didn't give it quite as much of a point at the top as is iconic to Assassin's Creed. That's the difficulty when working in a fandom I'm not personally familiar with, I really rely on my clients to point out the details that are most important to them, and that has to be done ahead of time. Once the fabric is cut and sewn, there usually isn't a lot that can be altered.

Ah well, it'll still look very cool.

I made the hood separate from the rest of the tunic, sewing it to a fully lined collar.

Inside out...

Right side out!

I then stitched in the zipper the same way I did on the tunic. The only difference is here I used a regular zipper, not a separating one, as JoAnn's did not carry one that was short enough. No biggie, unzipping it to the bottom gives a more than large enough head hole.

Look at that!

My husband was pretty excited about the hood piece.

Look at how nicely that shoulder slope worked out!

We're a long ways from done, however. Find out how I did the belt and vambraces!

Assassin's Creed - Part 1

Before I became a full-time freelance costumer, I worked as a nanny for two different homeschool families. Given that I was also their tutor, I spent a lot of time with these kids and they became pretty special to me. So imagine how excited I was when the oldest decided he wanted to commission his own costume from me! (My husband, being an Assassin's Creed fan, was also pretty excited.)

I used McCall's 5446 as a guideline for the white tunic, as I had the pattern on hand and the lines were pretty much exactly what I needed. I lengthened the torso a bit, and changed the neckline slightly, simple but important modifications.

Assassin's Creed fans will note that there is only one layer to this tunic. My client and I were trying to make this as easy and economical as possible, so we passed on that layer. (Easy... ha... you'll see...)

However, since my client wanted to use this piece for parkour as well as cosplay, it needed to be durable and easy to wash. I used a blend broadcloth and lined it with cotton muslin.

It's always difficult to complete slits when lining is involved. Sometimes I handsew the peaks to get an invisible seam, but that wasn't going to matter with this costume since the belt would be covering it. So I just topstitched it down.

I sewed the zipper into both the broadcloth and the lining at once, so there would be no raw edges on the interior. I

I just used a sturdy plastic jacket zipper.

I'd sewed the collar in before adding the zipper, so that the zipper could extend up into the collar. The final step to finish it involved pinning down the loose cotton and topstitching it to again avoid raw edges on the interior.

(Here you can see what it looked like pinned from the outside)

Read Part 2 -The Sleeves and Hood!

I love sewing blogs.

Confession. I love sewing blogs.

I love starting each day by seeing the latest posts and getting inspired by everyone's projects and photos. Fabric, thread, clothes, like-minded seamstresses who also struggle with getting the perfect fit... it's heaven!

I keep a blogroll in the sidebar, so if you're ever looking for some good reading, I highly recommend you check out some of the titles in the list. I always weed the list out periodically and add new blogs when I find someone I want to follow, so if they're on there, they're worth checking out!

What are you favorite sewing/cosplay/fashion blogs?

Belle Gold Part 3

I'm always thrilled when I get photos from my happy customers of their costumes in action, because it doesn't always happen. Most people are pretty generous about sharing their snapshots though, and I've had a few customers e-mail me with photos quite some time after receiving the product - always a happy surprise when I check my inbox!

I was honestly not expecting to get photos from the Belle Gold dress I did last year, but yesterday I opened up my work email and was ecstatic to get the following two photos (which my customer graciously has allowed me to share here).

This dress had been created especially with the purpose of being worn for dances, and here we get to see it on the spot! (I'm loving the Scottish garb of her partner!)

There's something else special about this gown as well. My client decided that she wanted more sparkle on the bodice, and redid the central embroidery. I have to say I don't blame her one bit - the stuff I did was rather rushed at the end to get it to her on time, and what she did here is amazing! I'm totally inspired to go overboard the next time I get a chance to replicate this dress (and  now that I have an embroidery machine that should make it easier as well). Anyhow, she did a fab job and it's so cool to see a piece I made being brought to even greater heights of gorgeousness! Can you believe this is her first such decorative project?

The Princess Emma Swan Dress (At Last!)

Headache this week, so not a huge update, but I do have to point out the long awaited appearance of PRINCESS EMMA.

(my screencaptures from screencapped.net)

Yes. It's a dream sequence. yes. It's super weird to see Emma in a frilly dress. But man, we've been waiting 3 seasons for this! And it's a gorgeous dress that is very evocative of a swan, our Emma's motif.

Here's hoping this won't be the last appearance of Princess Emma!

Ironing Board Cover Tutorial

When we think of sewing, we usually picture a woman sitting at a sewing machine. However, learning to iron properly is nearly as important as learning to operate a sewing machine properly when it comes to the art of fabric and thread construction. Unironed seams look sloppy and are the mark of an amateur, but crisply pressed seams will add an air of professionalism to any garment. 

As I sew constantly, my ironing board is usually a pretty permanently set up feature of my sewing room. I got this $10 board at Target when I was in college, but it was starting to show some stains from an ill-advised wax adventure and the teal just did not go with the decor I had planned for my new workspace.

The solution? Make a new ironing board cover out of the fabric I was using for the workroom curtains and other decor features. I looked up a few different tutorials online, cobbled together different suggestions and... well... keep scrolling!

Making the pattern was actually pretty easy. I'd been worried that it would be hard to fit, but that's the beauty of the drawstring construction. all I had to do was lay the board down on a folded edge and draw an overlap and seam allowance.

Easy peasy!

I serged the raw edges, then turned them under about 3/4ths of an inch all the way around.

Sewn and pressed!

I then removed the old teal cover, leaving the foam padding behind.

Other tutorials recommended using elastic, but my old cover had a nice sturdy cord that I just drew out and threaded through the seam allowance on my new cover.

I laid the cover over, making sure to position the foam evenly underneath.

I drew the cord tight, then added a ribbon across the middle, as I had noticed a tendency on the previous cover for the fabric to flip up a bit here (no such issues with the new cover!).

And voila! A gorgeous new cover, done in less than an hour. I was super pleased with how it turned out. The cotton upholstery fabric is just thick enough that I don't have to worry about the iron scorching it, as it needs the hottest heat to iron out its own wrinkles.

I love it and it really adds a nice touch to the sewing room, which is slowly coming together!