So much for Taiyou

That's right, I'm not going.

I can't say I'm surprised; my superior's schedule writing abilities are abysmal. And they never want to give me a weekend off. You'd think that regularly working six days a week and being trained in 10 different departments would be worth something, but no. As the saying goes "never be irreplacable or you'll never be able to move up". Or something like that.

In any event, I'm glad I held out on purchasing a ticket. I saw this coming, and would have been really irritated if I spent forty dollars and then could not go. Let's face it, it's not as if the company would say, "Oh, we're sorry you can't attend because we need you to work. Here, let us reimburse you for the ticket you are unable to use". Hahahaha, yeah right. As is I had to cancel all plans with Amara, Den, Sylvia and the rest. Sorry everyone!

Well, enough moaning. I have attached the collar to the dress. It took two tries because the pieces shifted when I was sewing, and gaped in the front. The second time around was much more successful, mainly because I pinned the heck out of the that one inch section on the front and stitched it down before I re-pinned everything else.

I also picked out the straight stitch seams down the sides. Oddly enough, the dress is a bit too small. Actually, it fits almost perfectly, but odd strains on the brocade would just make it fray, so I'm making it a bit loose. Better safe than sorry, after all.

I'll ease the stiching back into place, and fix a few lengths that missed the serger, then we can start putting the trim on- after I buy it. I'm thinking something thinner that the average 1/4" trim, but we'll have to see what's available. I'll be going to the fabric store after work today, or tomorrow morning, and we'll go from there.

Changing Tracks

So the current sewing project is not cosplay. =o It's more along the lines of fashion, if on the formal side.

This is my Temple dress- or it will be when it is finished. See, I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (aka Mormons) and will soon be entering the Temple. When inside the Temple we wear white clothing, and the apparel of the women is long sleeved and long skirted. But we are still able to wear clothing that suits our individual tastes and personalities, and I was determined from the get go to make what I would wear. I thought that I would be using a cotton, or a polyester satin, or wearing something I had purchased until I found what I wanted- but those ideas were dispelled a few weeks ago.

I was out running errands one afternoon when I ducked into Hobby Lobby for a moment. I had not had any intentions of stopping there, but decided to dash in and check a price. While there I found this gorgeous brocade on clearance for $7/yd! I was stoked, and quickly purchased four yards.

I had already decided on using Simplicity pattern #9891. I knew what I wanted the dress to look like, then went searching for a pattern that fit the bill. I did not want the flouncy sleeves though, and chose instead to add on the pointed sleeves from Butterick #4571.

The contrasted collar is made of white satin I had leftover from Sarah- hoarding all those scraps comes in handy. The construction of the collar was taken care of first, then I zipped up the rest of the dress. Princess seams are so quick and easy!

Once the collar and dress were past the initial construction phase they... sat on the dress form for several days. How's that for anti-climactic? It was not without reason though. Brocade frays worse than just about anything else and there was not point in making a dress if it frayed to pieces the first time I wore it! It clearly needed to be serged and this disastrous process stopped in it's tracks. I do not own a serger (I'm saving my pennies) so waited patiently until I went home for Christmas so I could use my mother's.

I serged the dress, the collar, the sleeves and the pockets while I was at my parents, and now can continue with the project. Remaining work to do: attach the collar and sleeves, install an invisible zipper, add frogs and trim, And hem the dress. Not too much at all!

I'm considering focusing on a couple of historic and fashion projects next. I would like to make Quorra, but I will not have EL wire for a while yet, so there's only so much I can do. I do need to make my Starfleet uniform dress before we go to the Renaissance Faire in February or March, so that's pretty high on the list.

Other costumes with potential for being made soon:

• Amalthea, for whom I already have fabric, but no wig. I'm trying not to spend money right now, so if I make her I still will not wear her for a while.
• Rapunzel, who does not require I wig, since I'm insistent on being her with short brown hair. I'm supposed to be on a fabric fast right now though. Going to the fabric store to buy my trim and frogs is going to try my will amply. I really should not be going to price materials for a new dress, I'd just end up giving in.

Utena Complete

A few more comments on the making of Utena.

The cuffs for Utena weren't very difficult, once I modified my original plan. The pattern I made (on the left) was cut on the fold, and two were needed for each cuff. What I had initially intended was to have that smaller lip fit within the coat sleeve, but this came to naught. There was no way to cut an sew thing without have strange angles, raw edges, or large gaps. To solve this the lip was cut away, and a separate ring of material stitched within the cuff. This ring slips right into the sleeve, and is currently pinned to the hem. Eventually I'll have attached snaps so that it is simpler to add and remove.

The ring is something I began designing years and years ago. The rose was a button from which the back loop was removed, but I never got any further than that. Thankfully it was still sitting in my jewelry box. I pulled it out, and sifted through all my other old charms and found the ring. It was one I have had since I was eight or nine, and while I does not fit my pointer finger any more, it perfectly on my ring finger.

To combing the two I popped out the mood gem that no longer functioned, and filled down the top. Likewise, the back of the rose was filled down smooth. When I was sure both were flat enough to sit together, I super glued them in place. Honestly, I was not expecting the glue to work so well, I thought I would have to solder them.


To fix my petticoats I pulled them all apart and looked at several different options. The length of fabric was about 90", and clearly that much fabric about the waist was too much. I decided to cut wedges from one end so that the length about the waist would be 32 inches instead. I admit not being perfectly exact in my measurements, but no matter. in the end I cut out ten wedges, about eight inches deep and 6 inches wide at the highest point. All the layers were sewn together, then the triangular sections removed. once again a waistband was attached, and a skirt hook and eye set was used in front.

Along with this adjustment in fabric, a strip of horsehair boning was placed in the bottom most layer. The amount is unsure, because I did not measure it. The petticoat and coat were both on the dress form, and I adjusted the boning to the desired stiffness, then cut it off. All together, a great improvement over the original!

The problem with the shorts was indeed the fact that cotton does not accept acid dyes. Since I was on a schedule I did not want to wait for my mother to send me some dye, and instead tried Jacquard's iDye. Disclaimer: the only reason I was willing to try this is the fact that Dharma sells it, and I trust them. There was no way I was going to use Rit dye, or anything else.

The iDye was not used the way all the other procyon dyes I have experience with were, but it was a simple process. Again I was worried as I rinsed out the shorts, but this time I was afraid it would be to dark. It took three rinsings to remove all of the dye, but they ended up being the perfect color! When the coloring process was done, I cut them off, then hemmed them.

A few other things that were done (that I have no pictures for):

• The lining and shell were stitched together and the collar added.
• The bias tape was put around all the edges. Some parts were hand stitched into place when the machine did not catch.
• The button holes for the passants, and coat front were made; and the buttons sewn on.

I say complete, but it is not entirely so. As said above, I need to sew on snaps about the sleeve hems. Also, after wearing it once, I have decided that I need hooks and eyes to keep the collar to keep in from gaping. Other than that though, we're good, so I say, "Close enough".

Uniform Details

Just in case it ever comes in handy, there is a difference between lanyards and aiguillettes on 19th century military uniforms. And this is a true difference, not a semi-imagined one like "epaulettes" and "epaulets" (Tangent: I have learn that the fabric epaulet is technically called a passant). On military uniforms the lanyard is the cord that connects epaulette to the collar. A aiguillettes is a cord that connects epaulette to collar, and has an end that hangs down from the collar. This end has some form of metal tip (or "needle" hence the french word "aiguillette", meaning "little needle") on it. Without this "needle" it is a lanyard, not a aiguillettes. Both reenactors and historians are very adamant about this distinction. Utena has a lanyard.

My lanyard for Utena is made from the same cotton based trim as the epaulette gold, which meant drowning it in fray check before cutting. The biggest catch for her lanyard was they solid part that would attach to the triangular piece at the collar.

To make this bit, I pulled the metallic end off of a paintbrush, and cut off the end with the bristles. This had to be made to match all the rest of the gold on the costumes, so was covered in yellow fimo then painted: first with flat, then with metallic acrylic paint. When everything had dried I filled half of the tube with hot glue, and twisted the cord into it.

The three triangles at the collar were made the same way, with fimo and paint, but the sizes were arbitrarily decided. I painted them up, let them dry, then went to put them on the collar and found they were much to tall! I was afraid I'd have to make them all over again, but fimo is not rock hard after it is baked. In this case, this was a positive thing. I trimmed down the triangles, and repainted them without any problem. To keep them in place and low profile, I glued tie take pins to the backs.

The last bit of these decorations was the green jewel at the top of the coat. This was made by circumferencing a flat bead in fimo, then baking it (thankfully the green did not melt during that process. I would have been better served to do this before adding the clay, but after it was baked I decided I want to remove the silver backing. That was easier said than done, but when it was complete I had an opening behind the green in which the top most gold button could sit. 

This construct was painted to match the rest, then the entire conglomerate was strung together. Once the other end of the lanyard was glued to the epaulette all these details were said and done!

Epaulets and Epaulettes

For the sake of distinguishing the word "epaulets" is used to refer to the fabric sewn onto the shoulders that buttons near the collar; "epaulettes" indicates the combination of shoulder boards and half-spheres held on by the epaulets.

In truth I do not believe there is any true significance in the historic usage and spelling one way or another, but I need some way to distinguish between them. XD

As stated before, my lack of glass manipulation abilities, or metallurgical skills was not going to keep me from creating proper-looking epaulettes. In "Wig Curling Lab 102 + Epaulettes" I described how I began to make these adornments.

Two different sizes of trim were used to make the gold edge. The first, smaller size, was attached to twill tape that could be folded under to hide the plastic edge. I figured out real quick that hot glue warped the plastic, which did not matter at the moment, but would in the future. 

Once the trim encircled and enclosed the edge of the plastic, I glued the shoulder boards into place. Truth be told, they aren't exact: one is about 1/4, maybe 1/2 cm longer than the other- but you can't tell, so keep it a secret. ;) The larger diameter trim was glued over the twill tape, and designed for the edges to butt right up against shoulder boards.

Next came the cord. I wanted to be authentic with seven larger cord on each shoulder, but as historically accurate as I could. Plus, there was no way I was going to use cutouts of stiff paper, or pieces of fabric, or whatever else. My initial consideration was to use wool yarn, which would have been period appropriate. I eventually nixed this option because a) wool yarn is a bit pricey and (more importantly b) wool yarn is fuzzy, and I did not at all want furry epualette cords. Instead I chose cotton, which was also period, more cost effective, and better matched the rest of the outfit

It took nearly the whole 200 yard spool to make the cord. One hundred and twenty six, 96 inches-long pieces were cut and divided into 14 sets. Each set was subsequently tied to the frame of a set of shelves (it had to be something sturdy enough to not fall over when I tugged on it). The opposite ends were tied about a small wooden rod and spun, exactly 65 times each, by hand. When the twirled cords were tight enough, and keeping the tension high, I folded them in half, and let go of the middle. This caused them to spin in on themselves and create the thick cords you see.

These measured at about 6" long when tied and cut off. The rough edges were quickly glued together to ensure they did not fray, and then they were glued to the ornaments. This is where I needed to remember that the hot glue would melt the plastic. The glue was put on the edges of the cords, then I waited 10 or so seconds before putting them to the orb. This was the heat was diminished, but the tackiness was not.

Everything was left to cool, then jya~n: two pretty awesome epaulettes

A few of notes:

• I painted the shoulder boards, first with a flat acrylic, and again with a metallic acrylic paint. The original color of the fabric covering these just looked terrible against everything else, so I adjusted them to match.
• The trims are cotton, not synthetic based, so the ends would burn rather than melt (when trying to keep them from fraying). Instead of using heat, the sections were measured, and the cutting locations were drenched in fray check. Once things dried, the trims could be cut and remain in shape.
• The shoulder boards each had a strip of twill tape glued to the underside that the epaulet will slip through to keep the epaulette in place.

The Results of Acid Dyes

I feel like putting the best and/or final photos at the very first of the post is almost like a spoiler, but they look so much nicer than the odd pile of dyed lace below. That tutu certainly accentuates the hips, but it is much closer to what I imagined than a basic circle skirt beneath the coat. The length of the coat is not final, it is just pinned up in the photo, but I think that is where it will stay.

Well, first off the lace.  The color thereof, when I rinsed it out and put it in the wash machine, was a sort of dingy, grey, flesh color. This was not at all heartening, as you can see from the picture below. Once the cuts of lace were removed from the wash, and placed in proper light, I found that they were the perfect shade of pink! I'm absolutely thrilled about this!

Look at the difference between the lace on the left here, and the pile below. It is amazing what happens with a good washing and removing all the excess dye!

The odd, initial shade, of the dyed lace

The first idea was to use a pink lace from the Casa Collection, but I found the cream at such a great price, there was no way I could top it. With it being successfully dyed, I'm one step closer to being done. On a similar note, while I was out today I purchased a pink sheer to accompany the lace on the petticoat. It was not what I had in mind, but at $2 for three yards, there was not much to loose. This was a worthwhile risk, for the petticoat has come out almost exactly how I would like it to be. Though I may be adding some boning to help stiffen the shape. This is to be decided...

And now, those shorts.

I dipped them into the dye before I went to bed last night, just as an experiment. You can see them here, partially dyed, and soaking wet, just before I put them in the dye bath earlier today:

Prepping the shorts for dying

Soaking the shorts in the acid wash

The odd color the shorts came out.
This picture is a little dark...

As usual, I soaked them in the acid bath for about half an hour before removing them from the heat and allowing them to cool. I watched while rinsing them, as a great amount of dye flooded from them. It was a bit unnerving, though I have been dying cloth for years, so you always watch as great loads of dye are expelled during rinsing. Still, I was a bit trepidatious, and with good cause. When I removed them from the washer, the shorts were not long the vivid red they were when I had taken them from my enameled pot. Instead they were a sort of beige-pink. Not at all what my goal was.

Re-dying the shorts.

So I put them right back in the bath. I added water, of course, and another teaspoon of dye, bringing the total to 4 tsp, and then let it boil for nearly two more hours. They are still sitting on the stove, in the now thoroughly chilled dye. It is late enough now that I will probably rinse them out tomorrow, but if they don't take to the dye this time, than I doubt they ever will.

There is one slight ray of light to this. The shorts are 70% cotton and 30% polyester. I decided on the acid bath because I already had it going, and wanted to ensure the polyester excepted the dye. Cotton fabric does not require an acid bath, so perhaps it does not being dyed this way. I do not personally have any red procion dye, but I know my mother does. If, when I rinse these out, the color is still not correct I'll request some from her, and we'll try that route. There's nothing to loose, after all.

3/4" Fabric covered buttons

Separately, I covered four half inch buttons earlier today. I was determined to have them be the same colors as the rest of the garment. The two blue will be going on the shoulders to secure the epaulets. The red will be on the cuffs, which reminds me, I need to buy some white fabric for those.

Utena Revived

My apologies for not updating recently. Between Thanksgiving, Black Friday, relatives, and work schedules- well, you know the drill. After all, you have a life that's just as hectic...

As I write several yards of cream lace are boiling in my kitchen. These will eventually be pink, and will become the "skirt" like part of Utena's whole outfit. I am taking artistic license here, it is true. One can clearly see that the "skirt" is drawn as one layer of fabric, and somewhat sheer. I take issue with this in the real world, because one layer of sheer material is not firm enough to fan out as it ought to. Not to bash anyone's cosplays, many of which are positively outstanding, but I really would like to have a "skirt" that is more than a splash of color under my coat. To this end, I am creating more of a tutu, looking to have at least three layers, of pink lace and (hopefully) pearlized sheer. The pearlized sheer lends a fantastic look to the over all concoction, but it's also expensive, so I'm not sure I will be able to afford it at this point in time.

My big Black Friday score was a dress form! So excited! This was perfectly timed, because I seriously doubt that I would have been able to properly align the welt pockets while wearing the garment itself. There was a great deal of trial and error involved in this: situating and re-situating the positions of the buttons; determining the alignment of the "center"; trying to decide how wide and tall to make the flaps, and where, exactly, they should go. This was the first time I made welt pockets, and they were much easier than I had expected. This tutorial was a fantastic guide!

Determining the best positioning and sizing of the pockets

Making a pattern for the welt pockets	Deciding on the alignment for the breast pocket
Back of the breast pocket	Positioning the lower pockets

 I am waiting to have the tutu completed before I finally decide on the proper hem length. It would be ridiculous to end up hemming it too short- can you imagine? Of course, before I can do that, I need to combine the lining to the shell. Funny story about that: after my last post I was all ready to combine the two sides and I said to myself "All right, I'll put the lining and the shell together, then I can attach the pocke- wait a minute." Right. What kind of person would put the coat together, then try to make pockets? Hahaha...

So now I can combine the two, and I even have the bias tape ready! The last time I tried to make bias tape I burned the heck out of my fingers, so I must have been doing something wrong. This go round it took hardly any time at all to whip six yards out, and without any burns! If I had known it was going to be that easy, I might not have fussed to much about finding appropriate ribbon to line Julia with- but then again, I really love the way she turned out.

Drawing out the lines for the tape	Cutting out the strips	Stitching together the tape
Trimming and ironing the seams	Shaping and ironing the tape	Ironing the tape to make double-fold bias tape

When I have finished dying the lace I will be dying some shorts. While out shopping a few months ago, I found a pair of white shorts on clearance for about $7, and it seemed to me that I could hardly make them for that price. I will need to shorten them, though I'm taking artistic license here too. There is no way I'm going about wearing shorts as short as Utena is drawn in! The ones I have hit below the knee, which is ridiculous looking (they would be capris on people with normal length legs). I'll be adjusting them to just above my knee, which is a more respectable length.

Well the pot is off the stove and cooling now, so when the lace is rinsed out and ready to go, I'll be sure to post it here!