The Singing Costumer

  Today, it is my distinct pleasure to debut not one but two Belle costumes. Her blue so-called Village Dress is a project I’ve been wanting to do forever. And her casual outfit from Wreck-it Ralph 2 is pretty cute. I decided pretty early in the Halloween season that I would do both. These two projects bring my Belle costume count to 5 (3 canonical outfits from the movies and 2 alternate universe concepts.) I can’t decide whether I want to continue with Belle looks or if I should move on to Ariel costumes. For Belle outfits, I still need to do her pink dress with the long cape and the green library dress. I do want to do Ariel’s pInk dinner dress at some point. All of these projects were made from fabrics from my stash. First, I’ll talk about the casual outfit. It’s a pretty simple look, with a sports bra, a shirt, and a pair of leggings. I bought the BFF (Beast Friends Forever) shirt on shopDisney a couple of years ago. It comes down super low in the arms. So I decided to make a sport

One day, I hope to have a spare room to use as a combination costume closet and sewing studio. It will be full of black and white storage solutions for all my costumes and accessories.  And it will be stunning. Right now, my costumes are stored in random garment bags from the thrift store on a double rack in my bedroom  and over-sized accessories are in clear tubs. It’s not very aesthetic. But at least I know where everything is. I had several vintage hats that needed safe storage. So I bought some papier mache hat boxes from Joanns, some mod podge, and some black and white wrapping paper. A few hours later, I had 3 beautiful hat boxes. It wasn’t difficult at all. Keeping the paper smooth and straight was tedious, and it definitely isn’t perfect. At some point, I will almost certainly buy another set of hat boxes and do the same with them. I have more hats that need homes. The black and white color scheme may or might not have been inspired by the photo on the pattern I used, Mccalls 5

  Finally, the time had arrived. It was time to begin work on my Snow White costume in earnest. I think it took a work or two to finish all the underthings. I spent as little money as possible on those so I could spend a bit more on the clothes that will be seen. I used Simplicity 8489, an out of print Snow White pattern. Unfortunately, I had only bought the smaller size envelope. I needed size 16 which was in the larger size envelope. I had to resort to Amazon to buy it. At a premium price, I might add. So annoying. I didn’t like the gathered skirt as shown on the pattern. So I instead made a full circle skirt, with a hem length of 35 inches. It was tedious, but straightforward. Because the fabric wasn’t wide enough,  I had to cut 1 half circle and two quarter circles. I cut those pieces of the satin and the lace. For each piece, I placed the lace on top of the satin, then serged them together all around. I could then treat them as one piece.  The finished skirt has side seams and a b

  Princess Gowns are my jam. Disney cosplays are my favorite. So I thought it was high time I created a gown for Walt Disney’s original Princess, Snow White. But of course, me being me, I decided that I need a whole new set of underthings. In many clips of Disney park princesses, they seem to be wearing bloomers and petticoats with layers of ruffles. So, I decided to begin there. My usual sewing method recently has been to serge around all the edges of all pattern pieces, and then assemble them. It makes for a tidy interior, which I adore. A sewing teacher of mine once said that a nice, neat interior is a sign of a good sewist . And I have taken that to heart. I spent $16 on serger and heavy duty threads. (Plus trim for the skirt, which will be discussed in a future blog.) I’m sure I didn’t even use 2 dollars’ worth of the thread.  I  And I was able to cut out this whole set from a yellow sheet I found for $4 at a thrift store. So let’s say this whole set only cost me six dollars. Not

  Pirates of the Caribbean has always been a favorite movie franchise of mine. To me, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is one of the most quotable movies of all time, second only to The Princess Bride. Every single line is iconic. While this isn’t specifically a PotC cosplay, it is in the spirit of these films. For this look, I was a bit inspired by Will Turner in the 3rd movie. For the vest, I used Simplicity 4923, a long-out-of-print Captain Jack Sparrow pattern. (There also happens to be a Stede Bonnet lookalike on the pattern. It’s just a coincidence, since Our Flag Means Death wouldn’t be released for many years after this pattern was printed. I do so love OFMD.) I sewed this vest years ago, so I don’t remember much about the construction. But I think it was fairly simple to make. There are ties in the back to adjust the size when needed. I have no memory of where I got the fabric or the fiber content. The front of the vest is made of a different fabric then

  I am getting back into comic conventions this year, after the blip. My roommate is a huge Lord of the Rings fan. She has had tickets to meet the actors behind the four main hobbits. I have known that this photo op would be happening for months and months. Years, really. They had to cancel their appearances for the last two years. So naturally, I waited to make a costume until the week before. Oops. My roommate and I scoured thrift stores for several hours, trying to find me something appropriately Hobbit-like. At the first store we visited, I found a pink wool size 4 shell blouse. Now, I am not a size 4 any more. But I couldn’t resist it for just $1.  I cut i down the front and down the back. For the front, I wanted some decorative elements. I found some coordinating materials in my stash and set to work. I added an extra strip of fabric down the front to add some room. Then, I topstitched a triangle panel on top to cover that mess. Then, I added some ribbon for some faux lacing and

I’m so sorry I haven’t updated this blog in months. This was not my intention. But life happens. I was involved with a community theatre production (Stage managing and acting), attended a major comic convention, caught covid again, etc. I’ve also been working on my Children’s Party Entertainment business. ( https://favoritefablesententertainment.com/ if you are local to OKC, hit me up!) All that, plus regular life stuff, and it’s been quite the year already (Photo unrelated. Me on my 30th birthday in Walt Disney World.) I’m SO excited about some future projects. Expect some late Victorian shenanigans and some high fantasy. And, as always, Disney Princesses. I may have been bored one day and planned all my projects out to December 2023. Whoops. But I really can’t wait. It’ll be a fun ride. I just have to balance huge historical costume builds with more modest projects so I don’t burn out.  I will keep a weekly posting schedule from Labor Day to Memorial Day. This way, I’ll have the sum

  My next big historical project is a 1890s Mary Poppins.We know that Mary Poppins returns every so often. And we know that the original Mary Poppins film is set in 1910. We can assume 17 Cherry Lane has been in the Banks’ family for a time. Maybe she visited the Banks’ neighbor children in 1890 when George Banks was in his early 20s? Let’s say she met George at that time and knew that she needed to keep her eye on him and his family. The Belle Epoch is not a period I’ve studied a lot, but I love it. It’s a perfect blend of the Bustle styles that came before and the Edwardian style that followed. My Constance Hatchaway is loosely inspired by this period. For the skirt, I used Butterick 5970. I bought some beautiful Gray Herringbone Striped Wool from Burnley and Trowbridge. Sadly, it’s sold out now.  I hope it comes back in stock so I can make a matching jacket at some point. Probably the Eton jacket from Truly Victorian. A good portion of the fashion plates from this period that I foun

  I wasn’t originally planning to blog about this costume. I didn’t sew a single thing shown here. But I decided I would take this opportunity to write about a topic near and dear to my heart; thrift store cosplays. Thrift stores can be a treasure trove of specific and interesting items, found nowhere else. The wide variety of random stuff that one can find there is astonishing. And of course, the prices are usually reasonable. (Although I’ve heard of stores in some bigger cities that are raising prices.) And also, thrift stores are sometimes affiliated with charities that are supported with the proceeds. Not to mention that it is much more sustainable and environmentally conscious to buy used. Overall, thrifting is my favorite way to shop, for cosplay or for daily wear clothes. The one downside I’ve found to thrift store cosplays is the time investment required. Often, it’s a matter of stalking different thrift stores over a period of time to find a specific item needed. Each trip, I

  Today, I thought I would show an oldie-but-a-goodie. I made it years ago, perhaps in 2012 or 2013. I have no idea of the circumstances, but I somehow acquired this bright blue fabric. Did I buy it at Joanns? Did I find it on the sidewalk? A thrift store? Did I get it from a rag lady? There is no telling.  All I know is that it is blue and has a bit of a seersucker texture to it. I love this blue. It’s just the perfect shade of turquoise. I have no idea what pattern I used. It may have been a McCalls pattern. I did a big purge of my patterns within the last couple years and this pattern was probably one that I let go. I know this is the second version of this dress I made. The first one was a fail, so I took off the bodice and cut a new skirt. The bodice is lined, and the skirt has a separate lining that acts as an underskirt. I even added a bit of tulle for some volume in the skirt. I wish I could give more details, but sadly I’ve forgotten almost everything about this make. My zippe

This was supposed to be my Christmas 2021 dress. However, I had to toss it in the naughty projects pile for a bit. I wasted a lot of time fitting it to myself and I got annoyed with it after a while. Maybe there was a reason I chose red fabric instead of green. A red dress works just as well for Valentine’s as it does for Christmas. I don’t see a reason to force myself to continue when there was no real need. The need to push myself to finish my projects and the need to be kind to myself is difficult to balance, but not impossible. My pile of unfinished projects is diminishing over time. And I love that for me.  This pattern, Vogue 2903, is at a medium difficulty level. There are a couple spots I couldn’t quite get right. The princess seams going into the armscye were especially fiddly to get smooth. But I think I was mostly successful. This dress has a nice, full skirt. I did a lot of preparatory work which I normally don’t. I serged around each pattern piece separately. I hand drew t

  I a m pleased to return from my blog hiatus with my Valentine's Day dress from 2021. I didn't blog about it at that time, but I did post pictures on Instagram. It turned out adorable, in my opinion. It's simply scrumptious. I especially love the way light reflects and dances across the satin fabric. A lovely shade of pink, gentle gathers, and a beaded net overlay combine for a soft and romantic look. In real life, I don’t wear dresses to work or church often. But I love sewing and wearing them for photos! These photos are from last year. One of my favorite past-times is refashioning dresses from the thrift store. Sometimes, the dress doesn't fit and I have to figure out a solution. I used a pink satin bridesmaid gown for the main dress. The gown was long, so I had plenty of material to cut the bodice and skirt panels. The beaded net overlay is from another bridesmaid dress. I love the combination. The pink satin and the embroidered and beaded flowers on the net go so