The Postage Part of being a Seamstress

So a couple of weeks ago my boyfriend surprised me with a postage scale, so that I could print out postage at home without having to go to the post office every week! I've had so many 'rush' orders to catch up with the delay caused by the migraines that I've had to take the last few packages to the post office to make sure they'd arrive on time. So today was the first day I had something non-urgent to ship and the time to figure out how to make this 'printing postage at home' thing work.

At first I was kind of confused, because I just wanted to send a manila envelope first class... and the USPS website would only let me send a priority mail package! Annoying! And their website said that if I wanted to print less than this, I'd have to get a Stamps.com subscription... $16 a month? No thank you!

But then I turned to my friend "Google" and found out that if you have a paypal account you can print first class postage there at no extra charge! And of course I am an avid paypal user with all these costume commissions...

So now we find out if I did everything properly. The only concern I have is if the postage gets wet and the ink runs... I'm not sure how stable it is. Does it work better if you print directly onto a label? Guess I'll have to get some of those, then...

What's Happening in the Sewing Room?

Wow. You would not believe how much sewing has been happening here in the last week. With the help of my assistant and my sister we got Belle Blue #4 done and shipped, and the Padme Wedding Gown veil and underdress shipped (see my facebook for sneak peeks of both!). The overdress is still under construction, which is okay because the underdress is the alteration-possible piece.

I think my longest day clocked in at 10 hours, and most of that was handsewing beads and battenburg lace. Wow. I literally had trouble holding my pointer finger straight after that. Understandable, then, that I didn't sew yesterday and instead caught up on all of my knitting and crochet projects. (I knit, crochet and quilt for fun.)

Upcoming? Finishing Captain America (he kindly allowed me an extended deadline so I could get the wedding dress done), creating a Homestuck Cosplay (it's going to be nifty!) and making Red's cloak from OUAT. Then there are some more OUAT and Star Wars pieces to do...

...not to mention my very own costume to make for C2E2! Lorna Dane's latest X-Factor uniform! (Complete with green wig!)

Anyhow, next week is the Daffodil Dash at JoAnn Fabrics, so you can trust I'll be taking advantage of that!

Preview of a Wedding Veil and Something About Beads?

See these beads? These are why I have not posted recently. I've been spending every working moment stitching them onto this replica of Padme Amidala's wedding veil...

Full Photo Diary coming next week!

An Exercise in Alterations

Although I am primarily a costumer and designer, I do have a background in and understanding of alterations. When one of my friends got married earlier this month, I let her know that I would be glad to help with any last minute sewing emergencies. Sure enough, one of the flower girl dresses was too big, and needed to be cut down. 

Here is the dress as I received it. It was about three or four inches too long, plus too large in the armholes. 

Due to the elaborate lace edge of the overskirt, that part of the problem couldn't be solved by hemming. I would have to remove the skirt entirely and reinsert the skirt after taking off three inches from the waistband.

This meant of course not just separating the bodice and skirt, but also removing the lower half of the zipper.

To modify the armhole, I took the side seams in about an inch on either side. I then opened up the top shoulder seam, took that in about an inch, and restitched the top fabric to the lining. This was all done by hand.

Close-up of the gorgeous embellished netting used on the skirt. The Bride's gown also used this same fabric as a similar overskirt.

Yes, this is a different picture than the first one. I had to double and triple check to make sure I was posting them in the right order. This is the finished, altered gown.

And of course after all that, the flower girl fell asleep right before the ceremony! But she did look ever so adorable. ;)

Fixing the Queue Schedule

I believe I mentioned my February migraine... however it ended up being about a month of weekly migraines that would last several days. Really stressful, as you can imagine, and I am now working with all of my clients to make sure that everyone still gets their costume on time. Some of you have been waiting a very long time for answers, and I apologize so sincerely for that! Thank you all for waiting and I hope your custom dream costumes will be worth the wait!

You know you're a Seamstress When...

... you beta read a manuscript and keep stopping to sketch the different clothing, despite the tight deadline the book is on!

I am, of course, referring to Regina Doman's latest Fairy Tale Novel, "Rapunzel Let Down" which will be available to order on the 18th of this month. And let me tell you, there are plenty of gorgeous clothes in this book and I plan to share my renditions with you as soon as I'm allowed!

Catching Fire Costume Peeks

Still working on "The Hunger Games" post, but for now, lets enjoy a sneak peek at the "Catching Fire" costumes!"

From www.buzzsugar.com

From www.comingsoon.net

From www.impawards.com

From blog.zap2it.com

What do you think, folks? If these photos are any indication (and I believe they are), "Catching Fire" looks due to have even more costume awesomeness than "The Hunger Games"!!!