The Singing Costumer

I decided to wear mid-1850s underpinnings with my future Princess gowns. These have to be complete before I can fit my new gown to myself, as these proper underpinnings change your shape significantly. First layer is a chemise. A thrift store soft cotton dress fills this role admirably. The cut of the neckline just falling off the shoulders is very accurate to this time. I especially love the flower print and the lace trim along the neckline. The second layer is the corset. I have made a few corsets in the past, but they were more like a bodice, not meant for waist reduction. And my skills are not quite up to the task yet. So I bought a Timeless Trends corset from their Nude Corset Collection,  The Hourglass Nude in Vanilla.  (  https://timeless-trends.com/ )  I love this collection because it has a whole range of colors to fit different skin tones. It comes in latte, crème, caramel, butterscotch, vanilla, cinn...

Thrift stores are a wealth of treasures, waiting to be found. True, you have to dig deep sometimes, but these gems do exist. Take for example, this wonderful Walt Disney World sweatshirt. The bold, gorgeous blue! The adorable embroidery of Minnie Mouse! And in brand new condition, too! Love it. I would've worn it proudly, but it was an XL. Which I am not. It never was worn and eventually, I just put it away. It sadly languished in my fabric stash for way too long. Recently, I was reorganizing my fabric stash and I really wanted to do a quick project to get my creative juices flowing. And then I recalled seeing free patterns for fleece warm winter accessories on recent favorite patterns websites; Patterns for Pirates and Made for Mermaids. The two are sister companies, both literally and figuratively :-) One sister owns one, and another owns the other. I love it. I made a neck warmer. https://www.madeformermaids.com/product/neckwarmer/ Some sweet littl...

This ensemble is my most-worn self-made items ever. I lived in it most nights (allowing for washing, obviously) for weeks and weeks the winter I finished it. So soft, so warm, and so comfy. I came across this fabulous Elsa Schiaparelli sweater while surfing the web years ago. Schiaparelli was a famous fashion designer during the early and middle part of the 20th century. She was well known for her use of "Shocking Pink".  I liked it a lot.   I am too lazy to knit such a complicated sweater, but if I ever see one like it, I'll probably buy it. I bought this cotton flannel during the Black Friday Sale 2013 at Joann's Fabrics only because it reminded me of this sweater. Almost immediately, I decided to make a traditional pajama set with it. I used McCall’s 6659, long sleeves top and long straight pants. (The pattern also includes options for shorts sleeves top and tapered pants or shorts, plus a short or medium length robe. Very usef...

My last post, I wrote that I bought a yard of each of two diferent Beauty and the Beast stained glass fabric. You've seen what I made with first one, (see the previous blog here https://thesingingcostumer.blogspot.com/2018/08/beauty-and-beast-set.html . ) And this is what I made with the second. I loved both prints equally, so I had to buy both. The two were similar, but were different enough that I could find a use for them both. Joann Fabrics has really stepped up their game in the licensed character prints. They are all so beautiful. They've also added some ch aracter knit fabrics, so check it out if you would like. There's some fun Harry Potter prints, which are very popular, I'm sure. Star Wars is well represented also, as well as Star Trek. Basically any fandom or theme you could want. Please observe the beauty of this fabric. I bought purple 1/4" cord from "Paracord Planet" on Amazon. This shade wasn't an exact match to the fabric w...

I have written about my time at Joann Fabrics multiple times. This travel set was made from a double-sided quilted fabric that I found there while working. Sadly, I didn't buy it in time and there wasn't enough for all the projects I wanted to do. Oh well. You win some, you lose some. It is actually two cotton fabrics quilted together. Joann Fabrics carried quite a few different prints in this line. It has one side with a leopard print. And the other side has stripes of Leopard print, Zebra Stripes, and Giraffe spots.  I used Simplicity 2551 for the handbag. I matched the pattern of the fabrics across the front of the purse and the pockets. It is lined in simple black cotton. The duffle bag was made from Simplicity 2274. I used the solid Leopard print side of the fabric. My favorite feature is the gold-tone metal zipper. For some reason, a metal zipper elevates the whole look of the project to the next level. It has a large pocket on the end for s...

It is no secret that I am in love with Disney's Beauty and the Beast. Always has been, probably always will be. The aesthetic of the stained glass windows and the jewel tones of deep blues, purples, and greens are just beautiful.   The purse is the FREE(!!!) Ramona mini hipster from https://swoonpatterns.com/ If I ever make it again, I'll enlarge it just a little bit. But it is a good size for travel. Small, light, compact and hands-free because of the cross-body strap. Perfect for going to Walt Disney World. And that's exactly what I did. I took this set on a quick 4-day trip and it worked out very well.  I just discovered the Swoon Patterns site recently and I love it. There are tons of free purse patterns and even more that are pretty cheap. I already have plans for a couple more. The makeup bag is from the book Making Vintage Bags by Emma Brennan, which I've mentioned before. And the small coin purse is the same, just with smaller rectangles. I am obs...

Mrs. Incredible/Elasticgirl/Helen Parr. She goes by many names. (Does she mention her maiden name in the first movie? I can't remember) But for this costume, we'll go with Mrs. Incredible. I have always liked The Incredibles. I thought now was a perfect time to do a cosplay from this Disney/Pixar movie, with the sequel in theatres now. I won't spoil anything in the new movie, but I really love how Mrs. Incredible gets her day in the spotlight. Girl Power! lol. The base red suit was bought on Amazon. Also the black dance bloomers and the gloves. There were just a few small details that needed to be changed. As seen in this reference photo, the suit needed a black high collar instead of the red collar. So, I just took my seam ripper and took it off.  I then used that fabric for a simple pattern. The red was replaced by a black collar made from a simple knit I had on hand. Next came the bloomers. I couldn't find any orange fabric in local stores, s...