My uniform : McCalls Dress Pattern 6074

In the library, it gets extremely warm for 4 reasons:

1.  it's elevated by 3 feet above the ground floor

2. 30 computers and 370 little patrons put out some serious BTUs

3.  It's got amazing huge skylights

4.  The librarian is menopausal

Anyway, I wear the same nightgown-maternity-like dresses every day, all year long for its comfort factor.  The pattern I use is extremely easy as well. I have one in maroon, black, grey, blue, and several prints.  One of the best parts of teaching little kids is that they DON'T CARE what I wear. Here I am, looking considerable sturdier than the sketches on the pattern envelope:

Once Upon A Mattress - black

I am still busy crafting costumes for the upcoming play in Spokane.  This is actually avoidance behavior for me, as there are about 10 things that I really NEED to get done, but it's way more fun to sew.  I spent a whole $7 on this one, buying ribbon and the chain at the bodice front.  So far, I've made 4 gowns, all with cast-off prom dresses and bits and pieces I had stashed away.  I love making something from nothing. It appeals to my tight- wad nature.  I'm a little worried that black may be to somber for a musical comedy, but I didn't want to waste the dress.  Now, I only have one prom dress left to remodel.  It' s purple... Stay tuned!

Once Upon A Mattress Costumes

Well, the play hasn't been cast yet, but the idea of making a bunch of "princess dresses" was too much to resist.  I had several old prom dresses that I refashioned for the event.  They should fit most girls, since they all have lacing to adjust the sizing. 

      

T-shirt Skirts

Have a few old Tshirts with interesting images on the front or back? You can easily make them into groovy skirts.  I've been making tons.  Once the pattern is made, you can knock one of these out in less than an hour. You will need 2 tee shirts.  Nice to have but not essential: a serger, rotary cutter, cutting mat.

This is my attempt at a tutorial...

Make yourself a pattern out of a folded piece of newspaper or something else (I like to use cheap plastic tablecloths because you can see through them). The dimensions for this pattern will give you a skirt sized small-ish, good for hips up to about 38 inches.  The length is about 20 inches, give or take.

Unfold the paper, and lay your pattern out flat on a large Tshirt. If your Tshirt is too small,  you will have to sew extra on the sides.... But it's all good.

After you've cut out these 2 main pieces (front & back of your skirt), take another t shirt and cut according to the diagram below.... You will see that all my strips are different colors, it's because I cut up a lot of different shits, so I have lots of random strips.  When sewing, go right along the edge... No more than 1/2 inch seam allowance is provided!

Lara's Crazy Skirt

Lara found a blog that she loves,  Cotton & curls

The blog features lots of refashioned items of attire, which appeals to her sensibilities.  We are planning on trying out more of the ideas found there.  

For this project, we actually started with a new piece of fabric, as Lara really wanted stripes.  Unfortunately, we couldn't find any striped fabric that she liked, and ended up with this crazy print.  I like it!

When we first put it together, we had a yellow zipper, but I thought navy would give it more punch.

Both Lara & I are thinking this would also be cute with a vintage zipper, one that has brass teeth and an interesting toggle, perhaps.  The project only takes 1 yard of fabric, if you can tolerate an asymmetrical seam down the back.

Two Dollies

This sweet girl WOULD NOT smile for me, but she would let me take a picture to show her dress with the matching dolly outfit I made for her. Lots of BLING, and the blue matches her pretty eyes.

Skeleton Poodle Skirt

My good friend's daughter decided that she wanted a new poodle skirt for the spring sock hop, and that she wanted a Zombie Poodle, or Skeleton Poodle. I am wondering if this is an example of costume irony, and isn't it funny that a little girl would want such a thing? I love it!

This photo shows detail from the skirt, a little matching pocketbook I made to go with her outfit, and the crinoline I made for underneath. The crinoline actually took more time than anything... All those gathers!

Heidi Costume

I got to make a darling Tyrollean style dress for a little girl's Christmas gift this year. I do love a good excuse to use lots of trim!
I was able to make the entire thing with just stuff I already had. The black calico is older than I am (part of my Mother's stash). The trim is all from my extensive "karma collection" meaning that I inherited it from some friend's deceased relative who was as bad a packrat as I am.
Dolly got a Heidi dress too!

Vintage Zipper repair kit...

One of my darling coworkers needed the zipper slider on her favorite jacket replaced. I happened to have this funky old kit that I inherited from a deceased tailor. I went ahead and used it on the jacket, and it works like a charm. I love the slogans on the packaging and the promises to repair galoshes, rubbers, and girdles with failed zippers.

Conrad thought it was just terrible that I used the thing, he thought I ought to keep it as a curiosity, but I have so MUCH crap, I just can't hold onto stuff if I have a chance to get rid of it. I guess I'm just not as sentimental as he is.

A good day for baking bread

Today's rainy weather gave me an opportunity to bake a little bread.  Montana is so funny in the summer, with 90 degree weather one day, followed by rain, hail, and the furnace clicking on the next.  Conrad and I have become addicted to our homemade bread, and store-bought simply won't do any more. You know it's simple if two lazy folks like us do it.  I use the "Artisan Bread in 5" recipe, but modify the instructions a bit to save time.  I just put a silicone sheet on a cookie sheet, pull out a wad of dough, form the loaf, score the top, let rise for about 15-20 min.  Then I throw it in a hot (450) oven for 40 min.with a pie tin half full of water underneath.  I don't fool around with my pizza stone or cornmeal, because it makes a mess in the oven. Here's the recipe, in case you haven't tried it yet...

In a gallon ice cream bucket, stir up 3 cups water, 1.5 Tablespoons of yeast, 1.5 Tablespoons of kosher salt, and 6.5 cups of flour. 

Cleopatra

So, one of my little buddies needed a Cleopatra costume for her 

biography wax museum project. 

 I made her just the simplest little tunic, sash, and headdress.  

Isn't she so cute?  

Here she is, posing with her asps!

Undersea Jacket

 One of my colleagues has a son graduating from a local school this summer, and they have a "under the sea" theme for their commencement celebration.  He wanted a jacket to wear for the event.   I had a lot of fun decorating this one for him.  

To make the background scene, I sponged various shades of green paint on a sprig of juniper bush and pressed it against the fabric with newspaper.  To make the "coral", I used a sprig of lambs-ear with fuchsia and white paint.  The fish are actually cut from fabric that was designed to look like peacock feathers, with pieces added on to make fins.

  

This was a really fun, fast project!

Front view

Back view

March Hare

March Hare

Here is my friend Richard, graciously modeling another costume for Alice In Wonderland. I wanted him to look like he has been rolling around in someone's garden, so I distressed the jacket with a little spray paint, and gave him a carrot boutonnière, as well as one tied to his ear with a little raffia. His tail and cheek puffs are made from fuzzy "homespun" yarn.  I dyed the fur unevenly, to give him a somewhat scorched and frazzled look.

 

 

mad hatter

 My darling neighbor boy agreed to model all my costumes so I could get a few photos prior to shipping them all off.  I told him I would make him some cookies in exchange.  The Mad Hatter turned out pretty well, althought I should have thought to have him put on some mismatched socks and some funky shoes.  I bought the wig commercially, and it was a disappointment.  I should have had the confidence to make my own.

 

frog footman

Here is my fabulous froggy footman for Alice in Wonderland.   I like him quite a lot, but if I were to start over again, I would have given him an articulated jaw.  Perhaps he doesn't have any lines in the play, I don't know for sure.  The photo at the lower right is my inspiration.

Cheshire Cat

This is my slightly scary Cheshire Cat.  She has light up eyes and teeth!  I had to dye the fur gray, and it turned out more blue than I had intended.  Then I added turquoise and black stripes, as well as bleaching some areas for contrast.  The jaw is fully articulated, so the mouth moves when the actor speaks.  The claws are actually fake fingernails from the beauty supply shop... Flexible, shiny, study and cheap!

Hooka-smoking Caterpillar

I'm working on a few costumes for Alice In Wonderland.  This is my rather large caterpillar suit.  He will be sitting on a toadstool, so the actors' legs won't show.  The arms move in unison, thanks to the fishing line.  I sort of wanted to put shoes on all his feet, bit I didn't want to spend the money.  Wouldn't he look great in hightop sneakers, though?  I have sent him off to spokane, so now it's too late!

Mandy's wedding dress

My friend Mandy asked me to make her wedding dress. She designed it herself, with lots of pleats and bling... I had to make up the pattern as I went along, based on a sketch.  It ended up looking beautiful on her.  It fit pretty well, considering that I couldn't do any fittings (she lives on the other side of the continent).

Serious bling!



Lots of pleats!



Slightly distorted photo-  she's tall and lean

caterpillar costume

This is a caterpillar costume I made for children's play at school.  I love the way the arms all move together, thanks to fishing line. It's actually a child's size 10, but one of my adult colleagues couldn't resist trying it on, thus the 3/4 length sleeve effect.
I used some magnificent striped fleece, with a children's jacket pattern, cut extra-long.  The eyeballs are holographic stretch lycra. It looked great on stage!

Pillowcase Dresses

The neighbor wanted some pillowcase dresses for her adorable little girl, so, I dug out some unloved pllowcases and found tons of tutorials on-line. I ended up using this template to cut the armholes.  I tried one with elastic in the casing, the other with just a ribbon of fabric threaded through. I hope at least one of them works!

Nutcracker Dresses

I made quite a few dresses for The Nutcracker Ballet.  The Missoulian did a nice article about it.  I got pretty good at putting boning into bodices!

Feeling a little crabby

This is my darling great nephew in the crab costume I made him for Halloween.  I made it out of double fleece with a wind barrier, so he would be nice and warm,  The legs are all rigged with fishing line which is attached at the elbow of the costume, so that when he moves his arms, all the appendages move in concert.  His parents dressed as the crab fishermen.

Nutcracker Soldiers

The local ballet commissioned a new set of soldier costumes for the annual nutcracker production.  I had to devise my own patterns, for the most part.  The pants are heavy duty knit, and I made them from a pattern for a sleeveless leotard, combined with a pattern for stirrup cycling pants.  I loved putting all the trim and buttons on the jackets.  I got a great deal on the helmets from a uniform shop that went out of business, but I had to add the gold hat chain and sunburst emblems.  The first photo shows the mock-up that I made in miniature to show the board.  The next photo is from the local newspaper article- they took the picture before the pants and boots were finished, so the girls are in their tights!

  

Lion King Costumes

My niece needed some quickie costumes for an event at her school.  I made her a baboon, a warthog, and a Meerkat.  For the bodies, I just used a basic one-piece pajama pattern.  The heads are made from foam rubber.  The two lions aren't mine.

My Mother Ginger in the news!

The Mayor played the part of Mother Ginger in this year's production. He was perfectly delightful to work with, although I did end up having to make him his own blouse, bodice, and pantaloons, as the existing costume didn't fit him properly. He has measurements to match his personality.

I pasted some links to a few news spots about his role and the costume. I blatantly stole the pictures above from the news, but since I made the costume, I figure I have the right to use the photos, don't you agree?

I made the hoopskirt and costume about 7 years ago. It's not beautiful, but it does the job. The skirt was a major feat of PVC architecture, let me tell you. I even had to do MATH for this construction. The skirt has a circumference of around 28 feet.

http://missoularedtape.com/?p=2112

http://www.missoulian.com/entertainment/arts-and-theatre/article_e86b3e1a-eb91-11de-a1c3-001cc4c03286.html

Nutcracker Mice are Nice!

I managed to live through another Nutcracker season. I was preparing my costumer's report, and realized that I sewed at least 22 new garments for the show, not including props, such as sashes, pillows, and draperies. Additionally, I altered, repaired, or rebuilt about 100 costumes, with changes ranging from simple hemlines and moving closure hardware to the complete dismantling and refurbishing of tutus. No wonder I caught a cold.



I didn't take any photos myself (I was too busy!) I will, however, try to salvage a few pictures for my blog as I find them on other people's photostreams, or wepages or wherever.

For example, these little mice are very cute! They were used in a season-long advertising campaign. Their photos were taken all over town, and people had to guess the location to win tickets. I actually made these little mousy costumes last season (a baker's dozen).

The mouse costumes all have stuffed furry breeches with suspenders under those fancy tunics, which are worn with gray leotards that the studio already owned. The main fabric is a jacobean floral, with sleeveheads and front decorative panels of a luminous gold. The trim on the collars and faux pocket flaps are purple velvet. I used purple satin ribbon and gold star-shaped buttons for embellishment. These mouse costumes also feature long tails with wire inside, so the tails can be used as weapons to fight their arch-enemy, the Nutcracker Prince!

I find the tunic approach, over suspendered breeches to be very forgiving for costume fitting. I only had to make signifigant alterations to one mouse costume, for a particularly stout little mouse.