The Singing Costumer

My Youtube video associated with this blog post  I am very pleased to present my Tiki Room dress. The Dress Shop brand from Disney has a 1950's-inspired sundress in this fabric. I do like it, but I don't wear sleeveless dresses. So, I thought I would make my own in a slightly different style. I still wanted a vintage dress, with a tropical vibe as was popular mid century. After much deliberation, I decided on Butterick 5880. It's a reprint of a 1951 pattern. I was so anxious to begin this dress. I don't know why exactly. It's not like I'm heading to Disney any time soon. But sometimes I just “get a bee in my bonnet”, as they say. And I can't do anything else until I scratch that itch. So I thoroughly cleaned my sewing studio, AKA the corner of my bedroom, and set to work. For my first run, I used a 101 Dalmatians bed sheet from the thrift store. It's old and worn, but it was less than $2 and it's a big piece of fabric. For my mock-ups, I don't ...

YouTube video associated with this blog “ You can fly! You can fly! You can fly!” How old were you when you first heard those words? I don't remember my first viewing of the classic Disney film. Peter Pan has never been my favorite Disney movie. (And don't even get me started on the terrible stage musical.) But I do remember my first time going on Disneyland's Peter Pan's Flight attraction and seeing Peter Pan himself wandering around outside the attraction. It was, if you'll forgive the overused cliché, a truly magical moment. It has since become somewhat of a tradition for me to begin every trip this way. In a thrift store, I found what I assume was a costume for perhaps a Jane Austin play. It was clearly handmade with care and precision. The condition was almost perfect (except for the age-yellowed lace on the collar, yuck). It was a very lucky find. It has a high collar. The sleeves have poofy upper sleeves, with tight long sleeves attached. And it fit me perfe...

For this blog especially, I recommend watching the vlog on my YouTube. It will just make more sense if you watch it live as it happened.  YouTube Video Here This is not exactly related to costuming, but is more costume-adjacent. I have written before about my love, nay, obsession with Splendette Mid-Century reproduction jewelry in my Easter dress blog. Predictably, I have a couple more pieces now and I thought it was high time to display them properly. I thought long and hard about exactly how to make a display. My woodworking skills are minimal, so I couldn't build one totally from scratch. In Goodwill, I found a long narrow shelf, about 32 inches long and 3 inches deep. This was perfect for my purposes. I debated buying an earring holder to put on top, but I couldn't find one that would fit my shelf. And I want to keep the shelf open for bangles. Space for the bangles, earrings, and the necklaces in the same unit was essential. I really wanted to keep all pieces of o...

YouTube video associated with this blog First of all, Inside Out is not my favorite Pixar movie, but I firmly believe that it is one of the most important films from the studio. I really think Inside Out should be required viewing for children and adults alike. It teaches us that it's ok to be sad or angry for a time. No one can be happy all the time, nor should they be expected to be. Life isn't always happy. Sometimes, Sadness has to take over for a short time. On the other hand, it teaches us that we can hurt others and ourselves if we listen too much to our emotions and keep them to ourselves. Sometimes, we need to ask others for help. And that's ok, too. And especially now, I think we all need to hear this message. There really isn't much to say about this costume, since almost all of it was purchased. The Dress is from Hot Topic several years ago. It is just a simple knit sundress, with the pattern printed on the fabric. The quality is not spec...

YouTube Video associated with this blog I am a HUGE Disney fan, but I sometimes find Disney Channel Original Movies trite, boring, and overly produced. I do enjoy the Descendants series, however. Evie, daughter of the Evil Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, is a fun character. She loves sewing and all things fashion. And also, she has a mini Magic Mirror in her purse, and who wouldn't want one of those? (I found it at the Disney store, so of course I had to cosplay her.) For this look, I wasn't trying to exactly copy any one costume from the films. More of an inspired look. I call it “What else would Evie have in her closet?”. I started with a purchased vest that was originally cream-colored. It was painted Evie's signature blue with regular acrylic paint from Hobby Lobby. I hand placed all 286 studs in the collar for a rock n' roll look. These studs were from Hobby Lobby, also. That took approximately 20 million hours. I found this awesome bejeweled ...

YouTube video associated with this blog post Like I said last time, I thought I would go for a very sassy look for this project. Black gives quite a sophisticated look, doesn't it? This project gave me a bit of trouble, I won't lie. For the projects featured on the blog this week and last, I used PDF patterns by Mrs. Depew on Etsy. They are reprints of pattern in old French sewing magazines. While I love them, the lack of well-written detailed instructions might make it difficult for a beginner sewist. There was a Sew-along for both these projects in 2012. I might have bought the patterns way back then. It was hosted by Anna Depew of http://afewthreadsloose.blogspot.com/ and Sarah of http://www.ohhhlulu.com/ . They called it the “ Ooh La La Pin-Up Sew-Along”. So cute. I found these posts to be very helpful in completing these two items. For the body of the bra, I sewed it the same manner as the garter belt. I basted the fashion fabric and the lining fab...

YouTube associated with this blog post: https://youtu.be/e5Vf3-DzxFo For the 1950's, I thought I'd make something a lot more sassy then I usually sew. I've had this pattern for at least 6 or 7 years. It was too advanced for me at the time, but I fell in love with it and I bought it anyway. Mrs. Depew has the most beautiful patterns in her Etsy. She takes vintage patterns, many from French magazines, and makes the, available to all. There are many patterns in her shop I'd love to make. For this project, I used two of them. They are #2002 1950's Garter Belt Corselet ( http://mrsdepew.com/lingerie-patterns/corsets/french-corset-garter-belt.html ) and #2001 French Bra Corselet ( http://mrsdepew.com/lingerie-patterns/brassieres/french-bra-corselet.html ). I will write about the former this week, and the later next week. These patterns are PDF downloads, which is very convenient. These come in only a few sizes and don't include seam allowances. I printed t...