A #MeMade Snow White cosplay costume for World Book Day

So kicking off Me Made May, which I am not officially part of but would like to dabble in, I have a cosplay costume to share with you.

I really love Disney, like love Disney, but lets face it Disney is a bit of a Marmite, the people who love it, love it and the people that hate it, hate it. I have found that Disney is popular in cosplay circles and I can completely understand why. The dresses! Who wouldn't want to try and make those beautiful and sometimes rather offbeat ballgowns.

When I was a little girl I was lucky enough to go to Disney world in Florida and I can very vividly remember the moment a lady ran up to my Mum saying 'Oh wow, you look just like Snow White! That pale skin, that dark hair!'. My Mum was flattered and a little embarrassed and as the years went on we both got older and I started to look more and more like she did on that day (although a little rounder...).

So when it came to choosing a costume for World Book Day back in March I decided that I wanted to dress as Snow White. Because she was one of the original fairy tales committed to writing by the Brothers Grimm, but also because I wanted to make a costume my Mum might one day be able to wear so she can be Snow White again.

This was the first Disney costume I have made completely and 100% from scratch but I did have a little help in the form of Simplicity pattern 2813 Snow White and Cinderella.

Firstly I would like to say that this is the greatest pattern I have worked with so far. I WISH I had known of its existence when I made my Princess Daisy dress (although that still somehow turned out pretty well).  It had really comprehensive instructions and was really straightforward to follow despite containing some really complex elements. Well done Simplicity!!

This costume took a lot of fabric and as I decided to make it in a better quality cotton it was not cheap to make, but I am feeling like it will be a great costume to wear again and again.

I started off making the bodice that was not only fully lined but also had interfacing around the collar, these were two new skills I learnt just for this costume but interfacing makes SUCH a difference I could not believe it (that's the white stuff poking out at the seams)!

I also learnt how to applique the design on the sleeves using wonder webbing and a new zig zag stitch on my sewing machine, which was fairly simple, however what was not simple was the white collar.

I SPENT 3 HOURS ON THE COLLAR!! It has two layers of stiff interfacing, an attempt at machine overlocking and strategic velcro attachment so that the collar would also stand up AND be detachable. It was very hard work, but I was so pleased with the finished effect.

Also how much do I love my swirly fancy fringe in this picture!!

And here is the final outfit, including the hair bow, that I also made myself :)

And here is a quick selfie I took with my wig on before heading off to work.

Annnnnnnd here is the final thing, complete with apple! I really wasn't pleased with the make up as I had to keep it fairly toned down for work, I am looking forward to wearing it again, and since I have had my hair done, I wont need to wear a wig - YES!

Sad news is that I didn't win the staff competition this year, but I don't think it would have been very fair to win two years in a row.

But I did get some very weird looks on the train!

The best part of the who day was when I walked past the nursery near my work and one of the staff came running out to ask me to say hello to the children. It was adorable!

What do you think of my costume? Do I make a good Snow White?

Sewing a reproduction vintage pinafore or jumper

I've always liked pinafores, dungarees or any kind of skirt with straps that go over the shoulder. I've had 'vintage pinafore' saved on my eBay saved searches for years. But I've not had much luck. For some reason the pinafore skirt doesn't seem to crop up much in the UK. There's been a bit of a fad lately to have little skater skirts with braces attached to them but nothing really substantial.

So I decided to make my own.

I began searching online for patterns, and wasn't having much luck, but then I had a break through when I spotted a gorgeous pinafore on The Fiercest Lilliputian Blog (an awesome blog btw) and I saw that she called it a 'jumper'. Now in the UK a jumper is a wooly thing you have to put over a head (a sweater to my US friends) so I was a tad confused.

I took to eBay again searching for 'vintage jumpers' and got a load of Cosby sweaters...

But change that search to 'vintage jumper pattern' and a few results popped up. And then I saw on in my size (just about) from the US. It was a size too small but I was confident enough that I could adjust the pattern so that it would fit so I went for it. Being a pattern, international postage wasn't expensive and it only cost around £4 in total.

As soon as it arrived I went fabric shopping as I thought this would be a perfect Autumn transition outfit. I chose some softer green twill that was mid range in price, it cost about £16 for all the fabric I needed. I added extra full facing to the inside of the top because I wasn't doing the ric rac or binding from the pattern and that was a bit of a pain logistically. At one point I sewed the waistband on back to front and I had to unpick the WHOLE THING - that was 2 rows of stitching :( Oh, and fitting the bust was a nightmare! I've got to get a dress form.

Anywho, here's how it turned out!

Detail to the top (I LOVE top stitching!):

So here's the final product. I've not taken proper pictures yet, but I think the dress is a little too wintery for August/September so give me a few weeks. But you get the idea.

Saying that I'm pleased is an understatement. I think this will be the perfect transitioning into winter dress! I'm not on a mission to make it in ALL THE COLOURS!

If you like the look of a vintage style jumper/pinafore then Collectif's new season has a lovely one with a flock polka dot. I'm going to save up for that one now too as I'd love to try it out!

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?