New Projects

Since I already have things hooped that need to be embroidered and boxes of projects in a box under the table, it's time to start 2 new ones right? Yes. Variety is good. Eventually you get tired of winding elastic thread and you just have to mix it up.

So here are the 2 new projects I've started working on:

On the left is Ilithyia from Spartacus: Blood and Sand, which is totally my guilty pleasure. She has the most beautiful costumes and if she's anything, it's entertaining. She's part villain, part patsy. I'm also planning a very special prop.

On the right is Miss Katherine Pierce from the Vampire Diaries. A vampire during the civil war. That means big ball gown and if I want, fantastic makeup. We're still deciding. Similar to Ilithyia, she's only partly a villain. But I think both are less villain persay and moreso just self serving. Katherine makes no bones about how self serving she is. Clearly I'm a fan of gray area characters. Plus, GREEN MY FAVORITE COLOR.
My friend Jessica has been helping me decide about trims since before the storm. But I'm just now getting to buy them. Katherine has pointy lace and I can't ever think about how to google that. It's scalloped, but not really. So here's what I ended up with:

I couldn't find green pointy lace, so I rolled with the scallop. But this is a backup. I did find pointy lace that I will attempt to dye. But this also seems to have more of the correct consistency.

See! It's also rather wide. So the alternate is what I found at Joann's and a tutorial I found online on how to dye lace. Here's the Joann's lace:

Not quite as long. We'll see which works out best. I lean towards the scallop, Jessica leans towards the pointy. For now I've cut out all the pieces of the bodice and am hopeful I have enough lining material that I don't have to buy any (and maybe I'll have enough stiff fabric for the boning, which I can't decide if I want to use steel or not). I'm getting a head start on her because I'll probably be pleating all summer. I'm hoping the ruffler will make short work of it.

I'm also quite happy that I have a history loving mother, so she loves it when I make historical costumes. And there happens to be an antebellum museum close to her house. So when I get it all finished, expect some fabulous pictures. I may make some phone calls and gently encourage some folks to make similar dresses and have a big event. And if all that doesn't work, Huntsville has Alabama Constitution Village (which I discovered via Whistlestop).

Now, on to Ilithyia. I've got her all cut out and on the dress form. All I need is the trim to come in. Then I get to make decisions like "is it necessary to do her shoulders as they are in the image" and to find similar jewelry.

I grabbed chiffon at Joann's yesterday. I think I'm going to get more to do an underskirt. But I'll wait for a coupon. I've made some changes since this picture, trying to get the right opening at the neck. But it all depends on the trim. Here are the 2 it came down to:

The top may blend better with the colors, but the bottom is more correct style wise. The bottom is also embroidered, which is more correct for the time period (we think, but we aren't history majors).

I think Ilithyia is just perfect for D*C. I hope she's appreciated but I'm making these 2 because I want to. And not just because I like the costumes, but because I liked the characters.

Lastly, I went on the hunt for Katherine's cameo necklace, as it's sort of important to her attire. I found a link that indicated Hot Topic had made some, but alas no luck on the site or in the store. But I did find Elena's locket and Damon's ring, so expect some present day pics for morning costumes.

But I did find her cameo on etsy:

Tonight I'll sew up Katherine's bodice. I might embroider a shirt for my sister. And then I'll probably be putting rickrack on a kimono top (because that sentence made tons of sense). If I get home from the gym in time that is.