Batgirl Bra - Lingerie & Nightwear - Last Chance To Buy - Topshop USA

How awesome is this?

Batgirl Bra - Lingerie & Nightwear - Last Chance To Buy - Topshop USA


don't worry- matching panties too!

Batgirl Comic Girl Boxer

Batgirl BoyPant Undies

Latest Projects-Aprons, Cushions and Clothes- Oh My!

Well it's certainly difficult to have something cool to follow up the Monarch jacket- and I don't have anything that cool right now.

So, you'll just have to enjoy some clothes I've made for myself. I've set a goal for to slowly replace as much of my existing wardrobe with things I have made. This is not a hard and fast rule, I love to sew, so what better place to show it off than on myself- that and I have lots of fabric! I won't be making things like socks, undies or shoes (I love my shoes!). Making footwear will mostly be reserved for costuming purposes. I also doubt that I will be mastering jeans anytime soon also.

 

Cool twisty front top! This is made out of some lovely rayon spandex fabric that wrinkles when you look at it- so this style is good for it.

 

One in grey also!

Faux surplus top- that fabric was something super cheap from Wal-Mart- luckily most of it is double layers, because it's cheap for a reason!

Actual surplus wrap with nice cozy high collar.

Alright, enough of my wardrobe. 

I love this apron. It is reversible and skull-covered. One side is orange, and one side is skulled. Both sides have a pocket, and both sides have an orange waistband and ties. Has cute scalloped edges. And where can you get something like this? Why, I'm glad you asked- from my etsy shop!

And for the cushions- some commissions for my mother (I would not be caught working with those fabrics under normal circumstances!). So she asked for a few different things, a round cushion with a ruffle for a stool, a rectangular cushion for a bench, and some throw pillows.

The round cushion is first.

I purchased some foam that is 2" thick. I made a pattern the appropriate size, and traced it onto the foam.

 

I used an old kitchen knife to saw through the foam and cut it into shape.

  

I made a simple muslin cover for the foam because the main fabric is so light colored, I was afraid the green foam would show through. So of course the cat took it upon herself to test out the cushion- she approved.

   

As you can see, the fabric has a gingham pattern to it, so I wanted to match up the pattern where possible. So here I spread the fabric on the kitchen floor (the only spot with enough floor space) and played around with the placement of the pattern pieces.

 

I cut the side of the cushion on the bias for a few reasons- it would fit better around the cushion, it would eliminate the impossible task of matching up the pattern in this shape, and last because it will look good. The ruffle was also gathered (I kind of hate gathers!) and stitched into place.

 

The bottom of the cushion was split along the pattern to allow for a zipper to be inserted.

 

Cushion is assembled and in there! Zipper functions, and I sewed a small amount of ribbon to the bottom to tie the cushion onto the wicker stool.

 

While this is something I would not have typically made- I admit, it looks cute.

 

Here's the finished product at my ma's. I also added those ruffles to those towels.

Now the bench cushion.

Another piece of 2" thick foam- purchased from the local JoAnn Fabric- they have an upholstery section, and while foam can be expensive, they do have a lot of sales. After tracing my shape onto it, I sawed it into shape.

 

The back end of the cushion will have this velcro closure hidden. More gingham fabric to keep matched up! On one hand it's kind of annoying, but then again, it gives nice straight lines to cut along. It also forces me to keep everything nice and straight while I'm sewing.

After the velcro is stitched into place, I pressed the velcro together, and cut that panel down to the correct size. It was then stitched to the other panel that would cover the remaining 3 sides of the cushion. That panel was cut on the bias.

From there it was a quick finish after stitching the top and bottom into place. I stuffed the foam block into place, and we have a cushion! I also forgot to mention- this fabric was recycled from a dust ruffle!

 

Here's the finished result. I also made those little throw pillows too. They are a combination of the dust ruffle fabric and the round cushion fabric. That flowered fabric was actually left over from a few years ago when I made this shower curtain....

 

World's cutest, girly-est bathroom rigtht?

The Mighty Monarch Jacket

  Monarch-wear for everyday!

I have been planning this project for awhile (much to the chagrin of my husband) but he has patiently waited for it. Part of the delay was finding the exact supplies that I wanted. Who knew it would be so difficult to find the proper bright yellow fabrics I wanted? In fact- I really wanted my Batgirl ensemble to have bright yellow in it, but I also really wanted to wear it in San Diego and at my presentation in Pittsburgh, so I used this "gold" color instead. I much prefer the bright yellow....

 

And the back- check out the butterfly trail.....

I think this is my favorite part of the jacket- and it was all hubby's idea. 

Alright, back to the beginning.....

 

Patternmaking! I measured hubby and picked the appropriately sized sloper for the project. I then copied the front and back of the jacket pattern pieces in order to draw my accent (yellow) pieces and cut the pattern.

Laying out the pattern pieces for the yellow parts of the jacket.

   

Cutting out the black fabric of the jacket. That's right, sometimes I use soup cans as pattern weights. 

  

I had the "monarch symbol" saved from when I made the monarch costume a few years ago. Here I transferred the monarch symbol to the red fabric using Heatbond- a very useful fabric stabilizer that can be fused on both sides. 

 

Monarch symbol cut out, and ready to be fused and stitched to the yellow fabric.

  

Using my sewing machine and a nice zigzag stitch with matching thread I stitched all the way around this winding shape. That sucker is not going anywhere! Since I am stitching on somewhat "mushy" knit fabrics I usually put a tear-away stabilizer underneath everything, to keep things from shifting or getting stuck in the machine.

 

After the monarch symbol stitching was complete, I readied the yellow fabric to be stitched down.

Once that was completed I merely need to assemble the jacket.

 

The most tricky part of that is to make sure the yellow parts line up across seams, and of course making sure the monarch symbol lines up across the separating zipper- which it does.

 

Close-up of the topstitching.

 

There's pockets too!

 

Here I have made my butterfly stencil. I drew a bunch of butterflies onto parchment paper (yes, baking paper). Then I applied enough masking tape to cover all the drawings, and cut out all of the butterflies using an exact-o knife. 

 

After finding a placement that I liked, I peeled off the parchment paper, and stick the masking tape into place.

 

Using fabric paint and a tiny brush, I  paint several layers and allow to dry overnight.

 

Lastly I simply peeled off the tape to reveal the butterflies.

Ode to the Simpsons

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love the Simpsons- Ok I love the show as a whole, but I mostly discount the weak episodes of the past ten years.

Nevertheless, I was more than thrilled when I came across Simpsons fabric. I probably had the fabric for more than a year until I figured out a good use for it.

Pillows!

I made these envelope style pillow covers that button in the back- so I can take them off and wash them.

Here's an close-up view of the fabric. There are some problems with the fabric- Krusty's face is green, one of Sideshow Mel's eyes is yellow, and several characters have the wrong color hair, and while there are a lot of cool esoteric characters Groundskeeper Willy seems to be missing! But still- cool Simpsons fabric.

I also made this fun apron for myself. (and I still have more fabric!)

It keeps me cheerful when I am being domestic- and I really did need an apron, I'm messy.

Close-up of the ruffle.

And just you wait- there are plenty of other apron projects in the pipeline.

Lil' Red Hat

It's always fun to take on commissions, and one of the latest completed was that of the "Lil' Red Hat". This is for a choir show for O'Gorman High School out in South Dakota. It seems they are very serious about their chorus shows out there, so I was glad to be able to help them out. They needed 22 red pillbox hats- and if you have read this blog before, you know that I know how to do pillboxes!

How it was done:

For this, we were under some time and financial constraints so, the method I used was a little different than before. Previously I showed how to make a frame, but this time I began with a purchased frame from a theatre supplier.

Ta da. Hat frame fully assembled. Time to make the patterns.

I traced the outside of the crown of the hat in order to make the lining for the crown. I measured around the inside of the band and added seam allowance, and of course it is important to cut the band lining on the bias. I marked equal quarters on both the crown and the band in order to match those spots up while I was sewing. I also pressed the seam allowance of the bottom part of the band so it would be prepared for later.

Here is a lining fully assembled. After sewing all the linings, all the machine work was done, the remainder was completed by hand.

See? Fits nicely.

To cover the crown, I draped a square of fabric that was large enough to cover the crown fully. This fabric is called crushed panne. It is a kind of velveteen and has a good deal of stretch to it, so I need to keep the fabric taunt as I stitch around the edge of the crown.

After stitching, I trim the fabric just under the row of handstitches.

To cover the band, I fold under seam allowance and pin it over the stitching I just made on the crown. The band cover is then slipstitched together, so all the seams are virtually invisible.

The remainder of the band fabric is folded to the inside of the frame to await the lining.

Now, how to hold those hats in place?? This is a point I have struggled with in my pillbox hat wearing experiences. I have tried elastic with loops, plastic hair combs, swimwear elastic, and normal elastic (which was the only thing that worked!). But now, I've found something better, hat elastic! (duh, right?)

This round elastic is designed for hats, it is strong and nude color, and it also has these little metal barbs on both ends to attach to the hat with ease.

To attach to the hat: one inserts the metal barb through the fabric and through one of the holes in the ultrastraw frame. Then, you allow the metal barb to take on a "T" shape and the metal part lies flat against the hat. As the elastic is stretched, the metal barb is braced against the hat frame, so it is very secure.

 After attaching one side of the elastic, I pop the lining into place.

 

 Then attach the elastic on the other side. The lining is hand stitched into place, again, being virtually invisible.

Can't forget the label!

 

  A lil' red hat completed! This fabric has some great sheen and will look very dynamic under bright lights.