A home made tartan skirt

I love braces, I love pinafores and I even love dungarees. In short I like anything with shoulder straps. I caught sight of someone wearing a swing skirt with braces at a dancing event some time ago and since then I have coveted something similar.

After much failed searching and some close calls (mainly from Vivien of Holloway and Collectif) I decided that I would have a go at making a pinafore skirt myself. Since its winter I found some bargain plaid/tartan fabric on ebay for around £2.60 per metre!

I did struggle to find a pattern though. So I used some of the skirt pieces from a dress pattern I have moved the zip, changed the hem, added pleats and then added a waistband and straps from my own design. It is mainly a simple skirt with two pleats at the front and two at the back to give it a bit more volume.

Unfortunately I did not think to save the pieces so if I want to make another skirt like this on I'll have to work it all out again. Silly me. I'll never make that mistake again!

When taking the skirt for its first outing, I decided to wear it with a simple black jumper with a lace collar that came from Primark.

And here are the straps at the back, they fasten with hidden buttons in the front waist band. Oh and my beret too :)

These red shoes came from Topshop and a so darn ADORABLE, they seem to have cashed in on these babies and they have had the same design available in tonnes of different colours on the website in the last few months (I have found them a bit big fitting in case you were thinking about getting them).

Of course with a skirt I was so proud of, I simply had to do my hair. I did that really silly thing where you wash your hair and don't quite get all the conditioner out and it looks like crap, thing is, what that does is give your hair a bit of extra texture so you can get a bit more height.

So I did two asymmetric victory rolls with a beret. I think I did pretty well at building height. I bought a teasing brush, tail comb combo that really helps smooth and create the rolls. 

One more sot of the skirt with gloves, my coat and bag. I think it may have looked a little better with a neater coat but anywho.

Skirt: Home made, original pattern

Shoes: Topshop

Gloves, Hat & Scarf: Accessorize

Satchel: eBay

Jumper: Primark

The best part is, I got 3m of fabric and managed to make a whole other skirt out of the leftovers :D I'll show you those another time!

What do you think of this one?

Princess Daisy Cosplay Construction

Now that its October I thought I could mention a bit about costumes for this month. I am going to MCMExpo and I am wearing my Sailor Mars costume on the Sunday. On the Saturday however I am going to be dressing as Princess Daisy from the Super Mario game franchise.

I have always loved the Mario games, and have especially had a soft spot for Luigi and Daisy so this costume seemed like a natural choice for me, especially given that I am a natural brunette. Here is the picture I have been working off to give you some idea:

I ordered the fabric online and cut all the pieces. I based it loosely on a vintage pattern and adjusted the length, added sleeves and the frills to the skirt and waist.

Bodice construction with the addition of a collar:

Testing the fit once I added the sleeves:

Here is where I am right now, the dress is mostly complete but a few touches need adding like the jewel on the bust (sorry for the goofy face...).

Its been quite an undertaking, but actually it was a really pleasure to sew! I would really reccommend poly cotton for costume construction as it is so cheap and really easy to sew. It only cost me £7 for the entire 7 m of fabric I used. The underskirt was £2.50, a total steal from eBay, so the foam I bought for the crown is actually one of the more expensive pieces of the costume.

I won't be posting any more pictures of the costume as I am saving it for MCM Expo and want it to be a surprise but do let me know what you think so far.

Are you making a costume or dressing up for Halloween?

The Fancy Dressers Best Friend - The Sewing Machine

When I was working on my ms marvel costume it became quickly apparent that I needed a sewing machine. A friend of mine recommended lidl machines as they are quite cheap (~£60) but work well and are easy to use.

Luckily for me my lovely husband (henceforth to be known as Mr Fancy) bought me my machine just after we were married as a sort of 'Yey Marriage!' type of gift. The only trouble was that it had been about 12 years since I last touched a sewing machine!

I bought some vintage patterns online so that I could start getting back into things. They were mostly cheap between 2 and 5 pounds and from varying eras one is quite 40s, another is 50s and the last is 70s which is not my usual era but I just can't resist a sailor collar!

I even got a little bit excitable and began designing cosplay costumes to wear at events next year - can you guess who it is yet?

However I needed some serious practice and since nice fabric is so expensive I decided to use a cheap white sheet and have a go at making a dress.

The style I picked was a 50s style dress with a small collar and a pleated skirt and I had hoped that one day it would make a nice nurses dress. I am still working on the design as it proved a little more complicated than its brand name of 'simplicity' but oh well, a few it of the other patterns I have look easier.

During its construction I've made a few mistakes and some unpicking and unravelling mean that it is on its way, if I am only making very slow progress. However it is something I am proud of. After all it's always nice to learn a new skill!

If you have any vintage patterns or designs you'd recommend to a novice then I'd love to hear about them!