A Costumers Dream

I'm Everyone who costumes shows wishes that there were some magic outfit that just fit everyone. 

You could use it for a lead in this show, stick it on an extra in this one. Use it for costume parties and tea socials. 

But alas, 

Every person has a body as unique as their personality. 

There is no such thing as one size fits all....or is there? 

I had a stroke of genius while in the shower a month or so ago. 

And that gift from the muses was this self drafted skirt!

And here it is on my fantastic father

It could fit anyone!
and he was the only one home...

This skirt goes from a waist size 34 (or less) to a size 51 1/2!

So here's how I did it. I laid out my fabric and I figured out the smallest circumference I wanted for my skirt. (Which was 34) I divided it by two (17) and divided that by two as well (8.5) 

Then I did what I would for a basic floor length skirt and I drafted three panels with a tapered end. One with the smallest end measuring 17 with seam allowance and two measuring 8.5 with seam allowance. 

Then I grabbed my contrasting fabric and marked off the length I wanted and decided on how much of this fabric to sacrifice. 

Then I drafted four panels with a taper. They provided an extra 4" each on the tapered end. 

Now from here on I forgot to take progress photos. 

I was just so excited!! 

But what I did was sew the four panels of contrasting fabric together to make two tapered panels. These would be the side of the dress. 

Then I stitched the half panels in the floral main fabric together so I had two floral panels matching in size and angle. 

Don't cha just love geometry!

Then I made a little four little straps in the floral fabric to go on the sides of the dress. 

These just blend away, giving the corset detail the spotlight! 

The next time I construct one of these babies in going to make the side panels larger and the main panels smaller. So the corset detail is more noticeable. 

But all in all I think I will get a lot of use out of this skirt!
 And I have enough fabric left over to construct a matching adjustable  top!

cloche Hats~

Who doesn't love hats!

Jerks that's who!

I Scoped out the inter-webs and found a free pattern with KILLER instructions

And I made three right away! 

One wool in size 25"

A brown canvas hat in size 24". 

And a "big sister" in the same fabric but made in size 25". 

I opted not to use interfacing, my fabric was stiff and I wasn't in the mood for a Walmart run.
I'll let you know if I later regret the decision.

But I'm sure you are all wondering about the juicy construction details!

The construction was simple, the hardest part is attaching the lining and brim. 

I just treated the brim like it was bias tape and stitched it in that way. 

This pic is probably a bit confusing to look at but I have the lining inside the hat and it's being sewn in with the brim. 

After connecting the brim I stiched it down and it turned up looking like top stitching. 

I'm planning on decorating them somewhat simply. 

But since I don't know which costumes they will be paired with I'm going to hold off on that a bit.

But they will be extravagant!

Dress Distress Deflected

As mentioned in my introduction to you all I'm costuming Brigadoon~

and its going fabulously~

well it is now at least...

 When we started into the show the costuming department had nothing.

(like always)

we started collecting all sorts of odds and ends, but we had no were near enough clothes to dress a whole cast!!

but then, on what was the most glorious Tuesday to date, I received a call.

The Director had found three bins worth of Scottish garb!

It turns out a director buddy of his had done the show a few years back and saved most of the stuff!

I COULD HAVE DIED!

Some of the pieces need some work, and the sizes don't line up with our cast perfectly,

 but I'm not complaining. 

 We are allowed to make minor changes to the costumes, such as in fixing holes and making items fit our cast better.

Our first specimen is the dress I will be wearing in the play.

There is nothing wrong with it....
aside from the lack of coverage up top....

what better way to fix that than with lace!!

Two whole layers of it too!

the thin layer seen on top was layered over the larger one, for more coverage.

I debated tea dying it so it wouldn't be so stark white, but the lacing on the dress was the same shade.

oh well

I chose to hand stitch the lace in because I'm possibly going to need to return it in the same condition we found it.

(even though its much better this way)

I stitched it so that it would pull tight and not flop downwards while I'm dancing.

I would be far from comfortable that way 😅

As you can see below i pulled the upper part of the lace toward the edge and just did one quick stitch and a knot.

And now it's much better, i know its only an inch but when your dancing under those lights (and eyes) an inch feels more like a mile.

Plus I think it adds a bit of refinement.

What do you think?

Do you like it with lacey's or laceless?

Or do you have an idea of your own that would have looked much better?

(Oh dear I hope not)

let me know in the comments below!