sewingoflove

I feel really awful that I wasn’t able to update at all during the holiday season. Which y’know, would have been awesome since people like to do crafts during the holiday. But it’s okay, because I was setting up for my new jobbie on campus that I have now, and I’m an RA. So I have my own ginooormous room and it’s quite lovely! I have enough room that I can have a workspace that is not dominated by my computer. I can read AND sew there! Quite nice.

But I did figure out how to do fringe this holiday, and I’m trying a new style of “scarf” that I’ll show you in my next update. I just have to get a nice button for it. Til then, happy stitching!

Well, for all of us in college, Thanksgiving Break is almost here, which means….finals and the holiday season are almost upon us!!! Especially with the economic crunch around the world, what do you do for the holidays?

Well…for anyone crafty knows, the best thing for the holiday season is *dun dun dunn* crafts! It takes time, yes, but it’s so worthwhile and fun, as well as relaxing for you and meaningful for your recipient.  I’ll be discussing over the next couple weeks some crocheting ideas, as well as some super easy and lovely sewing and other crafty concepts for gifts. They’re fun, cheap, and great to make extra juust in case someone not on your list decides to bless you with a gift.

Some topics I intend to cover–scarfs, gingerbread men, jewelry bags, and scented sacks. If I think of anything else, yeah I’ll definitely put it up! I might dig into my old embroidery basket and do some on making designs for kercheifs, aprons, pillow cases and the like.

Until then, leave comments and suggestions, as always.

Happy sewing!

(and welcome to Entrecard users!!)

I was asked a question the other day that’s pretty interesting and I wanted to address it here. If you’re familiar with “cosplay” or the costuming community, especially when it comes to pre-designed costumes, there is always a question of whether or not it is “okay” or “acceptable” to alter the design or concept or parts of the costume to modify it for one reason or another. Whether it’s a question of Padme Amidala’s insane hair or the question of how pracitcal it would be to have Edea’s back arch when you’re trying to walk around and through doors.

This is a topic that really does deal with personal preferences. No single person has the “answer” to sucha  situation as this. I think that if your character is still recognizeable, you’re good to go. I don’t like when people take some random clothes, a wig, and call themselves “Bedtime -insert character here”, but that’s just my opinion. I think a character was designed to be a certain way for a reason, so keeping to that is part of the fun of making costumes.

Another good example I can think of is Moogles, from the Final Fantasy. There are moogles, and then there are MOOGLES. There is nothing really wrong with this example,on the right, it’s quite cute and funny. But I personally, would prefer to see more of the example here on the left. That’s just me. I like cannon versions Then again, there are some AWESOME costumes that were creative endeavors, still recognizeably resemble the character or are just FUNNY. Sailor Bubba for one, amuses me to no end. I mean, it really is a personal preference.

However, do keep in mind–if you choose to go with a personalized version, please BE PREPARED to have people make comments about how your costume isn’t “quite right” or “needs x, y, and z to be perfect”. It’s just the way some people are. I like to see creativity, but some people prefer perfection ^^

Happy sewing!

(The Save Point moogle picture was by Eurobeat King, and I picked it up off Google. The phait Moogle is Saber on Cosplay.com)

I received a question about how to attach the diamonds on Harley’s costume. There are a couple of suggestions I would make. It’s really up to you how you want to do it, but there are several ways that I have seen/heard of.

1. Stretch fabric glue
2. Sewing the diamonds on by hand
3. Sewing the diamonds on by machine
4. Using stick-on felt
5. Attaching snaps

The first time I did a Harley, I used fabric glue. I didn’t really do it right, and it was really hard to use, so obviously it didn’t work quite well. It began peeling up the first time I wore it for a length of time. That is what has been circled in the picture to the right. The second time I worked on my Harley costume, I used the same body suit, so I tore off the old diamonds and cut new ones to sew by hand (since I didn’t want to take the costume apart to use the machine). It worked really well, but it’s VERY hard to keep all the fabric from sliding around, so some parts of the diamonds didn’t straighten up well. That is noted on the picture to the left. I think the best tactic would be to sew the diamonds on by machine. Don’t forget to add seam allowances if you do it this way, so you don’t have raw edges hanging out. Make SURE you attach the diamonds before you assemble the suit if you want to use your machine!

Happy sewing!

Hi all! I started a new costume this weekend, and I’m very happy I decided to start it with a mock-up rather than going straight into the real thing. It’s a very unique outfit, and I’ve been thinking about it for quite a while. I finished the mock-up, which was all sewn by hand and using almost the same exact fabric that the real thing will, so I got a really nice idea of what it would all feel like.

 What is a mock-up? It’s really simple actually! A mock-up is what you call a “test-piece”, or when you take either the same, similar, or scrap fabric to test out a pattern and see if it would work for what you’ve drafted or altered. It’s a checking device really, and you can tell here that I made some mistakes in mine, so the mock-up helps me to not have these errors on the real thing!

 I’m really pleased with the pattern that I drafted out for it, and so far even the mock-up looks pretty good. However, it really is a good thing I decided to make the mock-up, and I’ll tell you why.

 Though the fabric choice was really good, and I love the feel of it, you can see pretty well through it here. I didn’t take the time to put on beige undies, but even if I did I’m pretty sure you could see through a bit. Also, I realized that the manner I sewed the sleeve was slightly off. I LOVE the way the pouf on top came out, but I need to lengthen the bottom for when I put the elastic on so there’s more of a “pouf” there too. I also was able to mark on the right leg (you can see the blue mark?) where the belts will go when I do those on the final copy. Finally, you can tell if you compare reference to photograph that the second seam on the torso, the one that looks like piping, under the bust comes down a bit low. That entire bump bit is low, and you can see the arrows I drew to mark where I need to raise it.

 Overall, I’m really pleased that I did this and I can see where I will have plausible issues. Yes, it used up some fabric I could’ve used for another project, but I feel like doing this has saved me from having to scrap the entire thing later on for the sake of making a brand new one over again anyway.

 Happy stitching!

I’ve noticed an INCREDIBLY decreased number of views I’ve been getting since Halloween is over It’s kind of sad, cuz I was so excited when my daily views were up in the 30’s xD But I suppose nobody is interested in the things I’m writing about when it comes to costuming and cosplay, now that Halloween is done and past. Well I suppose I’ll get back to the craftier aspects of what’s going down around here. When I get a chance, I’ll write up on designing a scarf or blanket when crocheting.

Until then, as always, questions and comments are welcome. As well as possible ways to increase my traffic!!

Happy Stitching!

I made a couple changes between Baltimore Comic Con and the Halloween Harley Quinn. I changed the big puff balls on the collar for slightly smaller style. I also changed the stuffing in the tails to, well, not polyfill, but fake snow. xD I found fake snow at Joann, and I tore that to make the stuffing. It worked really well, and I like how they feel now.

 Unfortunately….this Harley Quinn is now officially RETIRED. The last two times I’ve brought it out to wear, I’ve had to mend holes in it >.<; But know what that means?? I have a chance to make it even BETTER now! I’m thrilled really, I mean, I’ll miss it, but it’s time for a new one. I’m even considering doing a cotton suit for the summer, and spandex otherwise. Eh, I’ll figure it out. Anyway, i just wanted to mention it. Buhbyee Harl 1.5!

I’ll make notes and tutorials as I make Harley 2.0 (which will be pretty spandex x] ) and post them up here. As always, questions and comments, feel free to post!

Happy Stitching!

Well, I finished my Harlequin sweatshirt, and I’ve gotten several offers to purchase it from me. So I think I’m going to be starting an Etsy site, where I can offer sweatshirt designs from any superhero or supervillain costume :3 Anyway, in light of that, I won’t exactly write a how-to on this piece. I’ll post pictures, and a link to the Etsy store when I finish it But if you are interested in purchasing a Harley hoodie, it’ll be a very limited quantity that I’ll be selling. But here are some pictures of the WIP and finished product! Enjoy, and Happy Stitching!

Heylo all!

I’m working on a Harlequin sweatshirt (since it’s gonna be a cold Halloween!)  and one of the banes of my Harley costume came up again–diamonds. Drawing PERFECT diamonds is…difficult. So I drew ‘em up on Photoshop and adjusted the size, so I could have “large” diamonds and “small” diamonds. I figured I’d offer them up here, just in case you wanted to use them as well. It’s a small, IMPORTANT, but incredibly tough part of the outfit ^^ The diamonds in this image are about 3 inches tall. I used ‘em for the “small” diamonds on the sweatshirt arms. If you want me to offer up the large ones as well, let me know. Otherwise, I’ll assume you can do it yerself ;P Right-click and choose “View Image”. You should be able to print it right from your Internet browser. Let me know if you have any issues!

 Happy stitching!

I was asked the other day about how to make Morticia Addams’s sleeve cuffs, and the shapes around the bottom of her dress. Well, I’ve never done it, but here’s what I came up with As always, right click to see the full-view.

For the cuffs, measure around your wrist and draw that line out on a piece of paper. Then kinda go wild drawing tendrils hanging off that. Make sure they’re very different lengths, shapes and sizes. You can use that as a general idea for a pattern. After you cut it out of fabric, turn the dress inside out and sew the wrist-sized piece around the edge of the sleeve. You can sew it with the tendrils facing the opening or the sleeve, each one would have a slightly different look when you turn it right-side out. If you sew it with the tendrils toward the sleeve, you might have to iron it a little bit to keep the fabric from poofing around the cuff

As for the bottom of the dress, it looks almost like individual pieces that have been stuffed So you could do it that way, or you could take a similar route as mentioned up above, but using the measure of the bottom of the dress instead of your wrist.

If you try this method, please let me know how it works! I’d love to get feedback on my sewing theories

Happy Stitching!