Hemming

One width of fabric pleats down to just 50cm- about 18″. Sigh, I just have to hope I have enough…

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I was in so much pain yesterday I took the whole day off and slept. Enforced sleep, because that pain was not ignorable.I think there is still enough activity for my specialist to see but it is really frustrating when you have weeks of pain and then the…

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Starting to look like I hoped 🙂

Sigh…. and my plan for the fastening should work. So I did have enough trim for the skirt hem…

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My camera on my phone is being special…. But here is the remaining trim all bonded and ready to cut to size as well as the bulk already bonded to to waterfall drape. This is almost exactly what I have in my construction guide above (hover over the menu.)
Sparkletimes! Elissa/Hannibal gown progress.

The L shaped pieces are the front of the tunic. The weird blob in the middle was from the centre front of the skirt I think. The waterfall hem was most of the hem of the shawl and there is a collar and scraps from the skirt hem (rest used for the aprom drape) lots of the tiny paisley and figure 8ish pieces from the skirt and shawl are already on the tabs. This was a three piece outfit I got at Savemart. I’m searching for the proper terms but I haven’t yet found a good match. I’ll post a photo of the outfit before I cut it apart. I’m hoping to use nearly every part of the embroidery to do the original work justice 🙂

Have I mentioned this project began in 1995 when I started it to sing “Think of Me” for a contest? It didn’t happen for many reasons but the bulk of it was sewn in 1999 and then the overhaul was started in 2006 for the cosplay contest (which I self sabotaged due to other issues). So there is a lot more behind the drive tp finish this than for the sparkles 😉

Though that helps.

So I got to work on the torso armour. I cannot undo having seen the shapes of the original papercraft and it really did help hugely. I mostly though used the collars as they were so I didn’t over complicate the shape by trying for a perfect fit- don’t ask me about Nyreen’s simple collar and how that got drafted…:

So as per above I taped lunch paper around my mannequin and taped the collars to it to create a base to stick the collars to, it will also form the “straps”. I then cut the paper in to two parts (left and right, front and back combined) to create a solid base to stick the chest plates and all the back componants to. In doing this I wound up finalising my decision to use leather to make the armour from. The collars self support and so long as I take care when storing I won’t have to worry about any warping. Also with this front opening underlayer I have worked out the method of getting in and out of this. The chest piece acts as a plastron.

So the chest pieces were roughly copied from the paper and trimmed to shape on the form. I adapted the base pattern quite heavily to eliminate excess cuts and straight edges. This is a bit like using a T-shirt as a guide to fit a bodysuit. You get a good head start to have a nice standard shape.

I am Faora! Ehem… yeah I may be using this pattern as a spring board for other armour…. Oh and yes the base still needs cutting away under the arms and to the swoop back pieces but this was to make sure it actually fit.

So I originally made a weird totmato and pepper soup/sauce that was too rich:

Tomato and Roasted Pepper Base:
1 jar roasted peppers lightly crushed and dry fried (they were in a water and oil mix)
2 cans pureed tomatoes and 2 cans water
pinch or paprika

It was too rich and too sweet and way out of balance.

I tied a tiny amount with a tiny amount of cream and mmmmm, way too rich but the idea of using it as a base for veges started to evolve.

So yesterday I added
3 leeks finely sliced and dry fried (reabsorbing their own moisture)
The last of the base (about 2 cups)
and about 75ml cream.

So amazing but it felt too rich still.

So today I bought half a head of cauliflower, half steamed half boiled (so lid on but only a little water). Strained and bashed (masher doesn’t work so it was just to break up the pieces).
And a little water and the leek mix and a sprinkle of salt and flour to bind.

And yes. Super yummy. Also smoked paprika which I added to the leeks and cauliflower stages is super yummy.

So I was thinking about how much less card it took to make the thigh pieces as I thought. Also how the card behaves let alone anything rigid and i’m almost at the make it from leather stage again.

I want this to be functional and wearable so I can do some action shots. And the tensions of the belt, and thigh strapping is not fully adjusted for even with the layers being hinged. That just allows for sideways motion.

So I may have to rescue some heavier leather I have in water and use that for the collars and get some edge sealer as well.

Please excuse me while I nom on leblebi.

Heat n Bond funtimes 🙂

My camera on my phone is being special…. But here is the remaining trim all bonded and ready to…

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Definitely leather 🙂

So I got to work on the torso armour. I cannot undo having seen the shapes of the original…

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So I originally made a weird totmato and pepper soup/sauce that was too rich:

Tomato and Roasted Pepper Base:
1 jar roasted peppers lightly crushed and dry fried (they were in a water and oil mix)
2 cans pureed tomatoes and 2 cans water
pinch or paprika

I…

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