Mothers Day

Mothers Day is almost upon us. I used this free pattern online to make my mom a present. I used blue tweed to make it have a chanel look to it. This is my first official project that i've completed with my sewing machine.

http://kwiksew.com/projects/5001.pdf

Pre Planning Ideas for the body of the Outfit

So here we are again. Watching The Biggest Loser, playing with this costume idea. I wondered if I am going to ever find a good pattern suitable for the body of this costume. So I decided to try an alternative route. What if I put a plastic garbage bag over my home-made duct tape dress form, then dress lines on it where I wanted the cut to be, wrap duct tape around it and make a super thin dress form of the body of the costume I'm trying to make? What if?

Burberry Headbands

A few years ago I was shopping with my cousin at a small boutique store and found a knockoff burberry headband made out of cloth and elastic. So I bought it and wore it everywhere. I lost it a year or two later and couldn't find it anywhere. I couldn't find one to buy online either. So I decided the best idea would be to recreate it. I bought an XL burberry shirt off of ebay and took all the seams out of it with my ginger snippers and laid it out flat like a piece of fabric. I didn't know how to sew at the time so I had my mother sew the burberry headband for me with some black backing. The headband came out so nice that I had her sew a few more for me which I sold on ebay until Ebay kicked me off for copyright infringement, heh. I had to write an email and ask to be let back on.

This was a fun sewing project. I should learn to do it on my own now. We ended up making headbands out of Fendi and Dior fabric too.

Directions for making your own Dress form - The Poor Man's Dress Form

Someone asked for directions on how to do this. So this is a request. This isn't too hard to do. My boyfriend got the original idea from an internet video. I can't find the link at the moment, but once I find it, I will post the video. 

You will need

1. PATIENCE
2. about 3 rolls of duct tape
3. an undershirt to put under the duct tape. (one you dont mind throwing away because you won't get it back for this project)
4. and maybe some kind of stand to put your dress form on

This is how we went about doing it. My boyfriend had me put on an old tshirt that GOES OVER YOUR BUTT. Then we proceeded to wrap me in 3 even layers of duct tape OVER the white undershirt, so the duct tape won't stick to my body. Keep wrapping the duct tape around you until it feels pretty stiff.

Remember, this process takes 2 people. Meaning you the model, and then the duct taper. It can be a lengthy process so I hope you plan on doing what I did --- watching tv to keep yourself busy during the process. I ended up watching Biggest Loser just because it was on tv at the moment. I know you may get tired from standing, so watch something entertaining.


DON'T try to sit down or lay down in any form during the process, for this may ruin the shape of the dress form. You might start to feel short of breath towards the end of the process. This is normal. Just be patient.

When you think you're done and have enough thickness and layers, find a really nice sharp pair of scissors. (maybe Ginger Scissors). and cut one long line down the back. Be very careful doing this because the dress form is so close to your body, you don't want to cut your back, or cut your bra strap off! If you don't have a nice sharp pair of scissors, cutting yourself out of the dress form might be difficult.

After the dress form is cut from your body, take it off, lay it down on the ground and tape up the back where you just cut it open.

Cut the sleeves off of your undershirt.... hey! i told you earlier that you would have to be parting with this shirt!

We probably should have wrapped some fabric around my neck and built a collar/neck for the dress form. But we didn't on well.

Now find something to stand the mannequin on. We found a C-Stand. Voila!

Initial Research for Lady Gaga Costume

I've started my initial research for this Lady Gaga costume I want to make. I've been emailing a lot of people for advice. This is what I've gathered to far

1. Use cheap fabric to start because I'll probably be rebuilding and modifying it a million times
2. look for a historical pattern for the sleeves. something victorian. or elizabethan.  
3. using boning or HEAVY interfacing for the puffy sleeves
4. might have to draft the sleeve pattern myself. might be a moon shape. 
5. for hip support, use something called Stiff as a Board that can be ordered online. or Timtex which can be shaped with steam and heat. they stopped manufacturing it but can be found at CreateForLess.com
6. find a pattern for a leotard/skating costume/swim suit for the body of the costume
7. Omit any armhole facings and attach the puffed sleeves directly to the armholes
8. for fabric material, use something that won't stretch. maybe something from SpandexHouse.com, maybe a knit with lots of lycra in it.

I just had a thought... look at her hip flaps. They look like visors. Or brims of hats, but not as long. Wonder if something like that would work to sew on, and then put fabric over. This purple picture makes the hip flaps look a lot softer then the green outfit

MANY thanks so far to everyone that is helping me out!

• Anna Cotton - cottoncostumes.wordpress.com
• Jace! - http://patternjunkie.typepad.com/
• Renata the Wonder Woman - http://gattirenata.livejournal.com/23989.html?mode=reply

Lady Gaga

I have no idea what compelled me to want to do this project other then my love for Lady Gaga. I'm a big fan. I haven't started this project yet, because I'd like to finish my blouse first, but I've started the initial research for my Lady Gaga Costume idea. Now this not going to an easy project.

My First Project

I was watching the movie "The Proposal" on Netflix instant watch, and saw Sandra Bullock wearing a blouse at the end of the movie that I fell in love with. I scoured the internet for it and couldn't find anything like it so I decided I would make it myself. 

My boyfriend saw I finally wanted to get into sewing, which he's been encouraging me to get into for a while now, so he bought me a sewing machine for an early birthday gift. And that's how all this got started.  He spent quite a bit on the sewing machine, which I was upset by, so when he said I needed a dress form, I was happy when we decided to make one ourselves instead of spending more money. 

Now I'm working on the blouse. It's going okay. I'm making it with muslin. 

Starting this blog

Hey everyone! I'm a first time sewer. And I'm jumping right in to learn how to sew with projects that aren't necessarily beginner projects, but they're trendy, hip, fun and can be see in pop culture. Follow along with me as I make my way through this learning process. Not sure how long i'll keep up with this, but I started emailing people recently about a Lady Gaga costume project I wanted to start, and everyone started writing back and saying hey i'd love to see pictures when you're done. So I figured this could be a good place to post the pictures. RachelKodner1@gmail.com