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?

Cosplay: Zelda from Skyward Sword Construction

Hello everyone, I thought that since Halloween is coming up you might like to see how I made my Skyloft Zelda costume?

This is the picture I used for reference:

I initially wanted this costume to be a quick construction so I took a ready made M&S skater dress I found in a charity shop and started working on embellishments. I ordered 10m of 1cm thick yellow ribbon to make the designs around the arms, skirt and chest. This turned out to be a much bigger job than I imagined. I had to sew both sides of the ribbon to give it an even finish and it was hours of intricate sewing! Here it is part way through the process:

Here it is completed:

Next I had to start working on the buckle and parts of the circle belt. I made the blue gems using a hand coloured paper backing and square clear resin cabochons. I glued these to craft foam and then painted them using gold and silver acrylic paint.

It took 4 coats, and three days to fully dry.

Next I had to make the sash and sail cloth. Both items have the same bird design on them so I took the time to make a template so that I could paint the fabric. This took two coats. I made the sash using double sided plain polycotton which I topstitched a light blue trim around the outside. It was fairly simple, I only had to cur two squares and three rectangular pieces, sorry I didn't take more detailed pictures of that part!

I used nylon thread to sew the circles on to an existing belt to create the ring belt and I used a long strio of brown poly cotton to create the top of the sash. This worked pretty well as it gave the belt a solid anchor without being very visible. Although it was slightly difficult to work with.

The whole project took longer than I expected, but equally, the end result was far better than I expected too :)

Here it the finished costume:

You can see more of it here.

What are your plans for Halloween?!

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!

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?

Vintage and Sewing: A Tale of Two Skirts (One Home-made, One a Bargain)

Hello folks! I thought today I would share some skirts. The first is a gorgeous full heavy skirt I got from a thrift shop in York. It was little more than a warehouse filled with bags of dusty smelling clothes, some on hangers, some in large bin bags, unsorted and unlabelled. However the sign outside stated 'All vintage 3 for £5' so I really couldn't not have a rake around.

This skirt is one of my 3 for £5 bargains, and it has no labels or sizes but my Mum says it looks familiar to her so based on the fit I would guess very late 80s or early 90s but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. It has a sort of tapestry style pattern in lovely blues and creams and the heavy lined fabric is simply perfect for the winter.

I teamed it with a classic short mac style coat (a hand me down from my Mum) and some little black boots. Unfortunately even though the colour of the mac was perfect to match, it is not very thick so I needed to wear a massive cardigan underneath making the fit a bit less... flattering. 

My walk into town also proved super useful as I recently started reading the A Song of Ice and Fire Books (since I can't wait for the TV show to find out what happens to the characters!) and WHSmith currently have them on offer 3 for £12 so I have been a busy little book worm.

The second skirt I want to mention is the other thing that has been eating up all of my time. SEWING!!!!

I'm addicted.

I have a pencil skirt from Vivien of Holloway but I managed to bust out of the back seam back around christmas time and I havent yet repaired it. Upon inspection I took careful noted of how the pieces fit together and designed my own pattern pieces so that I could make a pencil skirt of my own.

Here is my first attempt. I used some of the leftover dress fabric since it was so cheap, but in the end I don't think I did a bad job - it took me about 4 hours in total which I thought was pretty good going. Maybe I'll be on the Great British Sewing Bee next year (once I develop a lot more skills... are you watching by the way?).

My next sewing task is a similar skirt to this, but in a thicker black fabric as I plan on dressing as Michelle from 'Allo Allo next week. I've not even started yet so I'm pushing it for time... Oh well, I work best under pressure anyway.

Bye for now!

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!