GiRD 4 - ARGH

So i cut out my dress, being very careful to measure it because i thought it would be tight/small according to the measurements i made of myself.  I finally got around to sewing it up today and guess what i discovered? The dress is too big.  The sleeves are the right size but the back and front are too large. Because of that, the dress wants to lay with the neckline too loose and too low, becoming a boatneck of sorts when that's not at all what i'm going for.  I'm also not sure if it's as long as i'd like, which is horrible but there's nothing i can do about that without buying more fabric.  I'm going to see if i can fix it w/o doing that but certainly not tonight.  I am simply too frustrated.  This is why i never sew, nothing turns out the way its meant to. /cry

GitRD 3 - complicated cuts

So Simplicity patterns are finally on sale at work.  It took me a couple of hours, much measuring, and lots of careful adjustments, but i managed to make the Simplicity 1800 pattern's shoulders fit the McCall's 6612 dress body.  The cap of the shoulder is very strange, and i will probably have to figure out a facing/lining for the shoulders and back collar, but otherwise i have cut out the entire dress.  This was rather nerve-wracking, and i really wish i could have found a pattern that was closer to the original product, but i think that i am ready to sew and that it will be a passable replica.  But of course i have work tomorrow and now i need rest.

Oswin/GIRD update

So the shoulders on the McCall's pattern are definitely not the same as what's pictured.  I'm considering on using Simplicity 1800 for the sleeves portion of the neckline.  I'm not decided yet, i would like to wait for it to go on sale for 99c at work but am impatient to sew this dress as soon as possible.  I didn't find an alternative on the McCall's site unfortunately.  Apparently some have had trouble with this pattern. /:  I'm not sure i can get it to look the same (or as good) as the dress that Oswin wore.  I have a wide neck, broad shoulders, and wide bra straps to hide.  I might have to do something out of character and make a muslin mock-up before i cut the red knit (not that muslin will fit the same).  Maybe i have an old pair of knit sheets that would work better.  This is going to be an experiment, no doubt.

the girl in the red dress

I am going to make this dress.

Source: thesun.co.uk via Luinel on Pinterest

At least...a version of it. First of all, i loved Oswald, second of all, i loved her dress (and her apron, but i digress), third of all i think it's close enough to the reboot Star Trek Uhura's costume that it could work for a Doctor Who or Star Trek convention (i really need to go to a convention someday). Of course, i probably couldn't be going as Uhura (makeup, wig, too much work), i would totally be going as Janice Rand instead. xD Or any anonymous yeoman, i suppose.

Source: comicbooked.com via Luinel on Pinterest

Today, at work, I saw the perfect pattern going through my check lane...McCall's 6612. It's on sale for 99c this week and i grabbed the last one in my size as soon as i clocked out. Phew.  View A is cute but a little short for me.  I plan to go with view B...which, oddly enough, isn't pictured on the McCall's website.

Pickings are slim for knit fabrics at work...we have travel knit in black, heather gray, and brown (i keep meaning to make something in those last two colors), and then some prints for the rest of the (thinner) knit fabrics, but we just so happen to already have the Fall and Christmas fabrics out, so i was able to find a really nice darker red fabric. I can't decide if it's more of a maroon or a brick red, but i'm sure it will go great with my Burgundy Boots / Maroon Converse. I'm not even going to try to find her shoes.  Sometimes i love working at a craft store because with a coupon and my employee discount the fabric came to $14.25. I never could have bought a dress for that price, let alone on in my size! So this won't be identical...but i think it will be close enough for people to be able to tell once i've got a belt or communicator on.  As for her apron...

Source: dw-cosplay.livejournal.com via Luinel on Pinterest

I'm not planning to include that in the costume, though i'm sure i could modify a flour sack apron in a pinch.  The fabric is thick enough that i really don't want to be wearing any more bulk if i don't have to, and since i probably won't be baking in this dress, i just am not going to buy the apron. ...  Yet?

Differences...Oswin's dress has a different neck (can't decide if it's asymmetrical or just pulled that way? but it definitely has modified raglan sleeves) and slightly less draped than the McCall's pattern is.  I'm sure i'll fill out the front more than she does and i think that it's close enough to get by with.

update

sigh...

Well, i've completed knitting projects for two Christmas presents, and bought some yarn for additional projects, but haven't started them. It seems like so many of my projects don't turn out the way i expect them to or age prematurely. My PoA scarf looks horrid, probably because i washed it in the machine and wore it every day and the yarn was hand wash only, and the scarf really wasn't wide enough or long enough in the first place. My messenger bag never got truly finished, it turned out that i didn't purchase quite enough fabric, and the flap was too short, which didn't stop me from using the bag every day... and a seam needs to be repaired as a result, but i don't even know where i stashed the bag, it probably needs to be washed, too. i've never found a pattern that would work for the Fox beanie visor. The crocheted newsboy cap from Knit 1 has never looked right on me, and i'm not happy with the visor on it. My swimsuit/coverup project has been a complete fiasco. i haven't taken the time to sew all the projects i've cut out. My digital camera's screen is totally messed up now for no explicable reason. It's all very discouraging. i must get some more projects done but i'm not sure that i can take failure right now...

crocheting again (yes, you read that right!)

Yesterday (was it only yeterday? it seems so far away) i finished crocheting a lacy hat that i just happened to find in a book at the library. See, on Monday i sold my books back and instantly had $60 burning a whole in my pocket. I headed over to the new knitting store in town (the Cozy Knit & Purl) for the bamboo needles that i know i can't buy anywhere else and while i'm there i stumble upon some Rowan yarn that is just beautiful and the perfect color. It matches Arwen's chase jacket. And as soon as i had seen this hat pattern i thought it looked elvish. So i splurged on the yarn and now have a completed pattern. Not only that, but i'm currently working on an advanced pattern that's in the newest Knit 1 magazine.

Of the Rowan yarn: i really wasn't happy with the quality of it. I think this is the same color that i got, but it seems a bit greyer in person. It's a very pale color. Just a bit more turquoise in it than Arwen's chase outfit.



Of the Lion Brand suede that i'm currently using for two different hat patterns i am fairly happy. It's a bit difficult to cast on with but it crochets like a dream. I'm crocheting with Ecru and knitting with Coffee.



Hopefully i can post pics soon, but Brinna is on the road again... rather, she's in Korea seeing her husband for the first time since May.

PoA scarf: finished!

I just finished putting on the fringe. I think i might add more, but for all intents and purposes the project is finally done. (: I didn't get my GoF cloak done, but i will be wearing my school uniform costume to the movie tonight (or, as the theater's recording says, "at 12:01 am, a special advance viewing"). I have a little leftover yarn that i'm considering using for a hat (not sure it will be enough) or a head scarf/headband like the one my sister made. Not sure what my next HP related project will be, yet, maybe a hat like the twins' or Ron's in PoA.

Happy Harry Potter Day!

i wore my PoA inspired skirt today (along with a white shirt and marroon tie) and was pleased with the response i got (no one could tell that i sewed the skirt myself). i didn't get my scarf done (i just hit the 3/4's mark), but i worked on it during certain classes (per usual), something which really cracked up my Women's Chorus professor (i was knitting during warmups and "wearing the scarf at the same time"). My next project is going to be to finish the GoF cloak i've been working on, after that i haven't decided.

my PoA scarf

I'm halfway through! I wish i could post a picture, but i can't. It's not going to be as long as i wanted but i don't have the money to buy more yarn. I'm so short that it probably wouldn't be wise to make it the same length as in the movies, anyway. I mean, i may be 5'5", but Dan, Rupert, and Tom are all around 6' tall now, right?

Harry Potter Day costumes (gasp)

I've got two new projects! I'm sewing two pleated skirts, one for Harry Potter Day, the other possibly for the Harvest Fest at our church the night before. Work on my GoF cloak will resume soon, and i plan to sew one skirt (a charcoal with subtle burgundy stripes that are perfect) to wear with the cloak (to the premiere of GoF as well) and the other is a turquoise and orange polyester plaid that i'm considering wearing to the Harvest Fest clad as Kitty from That '70's Show. Pics will hopefully be forthcoming.

beanie hats galore

I have finished my beanie visor, am nearly done with brinna's, and am finally posting this image that i saw shortly after Star Wars 3 came out: they're crocheted but i think it's a great idea. As an R2-D2 fan i may have to make one of these myself.

Padme's choking tunic and armwarmers

might be sewn by Luinel
based on the outfit in Star Wars III Revenge of the Sith



During my first viewing of SW3 this was one of the only outfit that i really liked. Most of Padme's outfits in this movie were overly ornate: they would have been incredibly uncomfortable to wear and did little to cover her condition. The only other outfits that appealed to me at all were the brown and purple velvet dress and the waterfall burial dress.

During my second viewing of SW3 this outfit really stood out to me, particularly because of the shot on the left. I suddenly realized that Padme wasn't wearing a long sleeved tunic but one that's practically sleeveless (there's about half of a cap sleeve there) and some really cool armwarmers.

I don't usually go for Star Wars costumes because i don't care about the series that much anymore. I loved watching it when i was a kid, it was my favorite, but such is no longer the case. Despite that i've fallen in love with this tunic and armwarmers would like to make them sometime. It looks like the upper bodice is cut in one piece with the collar, sleeves, and itself, and its only seams are the front and the one connecting it to the lower bodice. I think i could make this in a way that doesn't look like a tent (;. What's really cool is that there doesn't appear to be any hem on the collar, and if i use microsuede i don't think i need to sew a bottom hem or hems on the sleeves, either. I'm not certain, but i think this project may be lined, which would account for some of this. I'm most likely will not be including the brown straps if i make this.

images appear courtesy of the Padawan's Guide

update (finally!)

We've been a bit busy with a new baby in the home. I've finally found the chance to upload some new stuff that i was working on before the birth day event. Dealing with computer problems: more to (hopefully) come soon with pictures.

ETA: This post originally contained links to my webpage, but those pages no long exist as i have moved all meaningful content to this blog or my Ravelry projects.

Twilight blouse

inspired by Stacie Orrico's tunic on her album Stacie Orrico

i wore this for Easter, but have never been happy with the lay of the neckline (the fabric is really too thick for the proper drape). Pictures should be forthcoming soon.

patterns
Vogue 7800 A for tunic (modified = sleeves)

fabric
100% (Kona?) cotton in dark purple

notions
silver eyelets
silver embroidery floss

Hobbit Lass outfit

made and designed by Luinel
inspired by Danielle's work dress in Ever After

As a child, we never celebrated Halloween. I never went trick or treating. There was one harvest fest at are church where i dressed up (i think as Laura from Little House on the Prarie) and one homeschool book report (with other homeschoolers where we dressed up as our favorite character) where i dressed up as Abigail from Ten Kids No Pets. Until i was over eighteen i never wore costumes. That sort of changed when we moved to Colorado and began helping with the Harvest Festivals at our church. The first year i threw together a Hobbit costume that was decidedly lacking (but pretty good for two hours planning). When i joined the NC Fellowship i knew that would no longer make the cut.

So i decided to make myself a costume. Unlike most of my peers i didn't have anyone i wanted to emulate. I only knew that i am mainly a Frodo and Gandalf fan (and i didn't want to dress like them, particularly because our mod already had a good Frodo outfit). Luinel was only beginning to be born deep in my mind and, at this point, was only the alias i used in the group. I didn't have much time to make a costume. I decided to watch Ever After for inspiration (one of my favorite Drew Barrymore films). Almost instantly, my Hobbit lass outfit was born.

Danielle's work dress is the inspiration, but as i have no one to lace me up nor the budget for the fabric to make so many layers i found a pattern that was slightly similar but not identical and used it. I wanted to use all natural fibers (the obvious exception is my cloak) so i scrounged for 100% cotton (i shopped at Mary Jo's Fabrics, Wal-Mart, and Hancock Fabrics), and dyed the overdress blue myself. For the undershirt i was sort of inspired by Eowyn and made a v-neck, for the colors i was inspired by Gandalf and chose a dark grey courderoy. I always intended to sew arm bands or wear cotton yarn wrapped around my sleeves (like Dannielle and Eowyn respectively) but never got around to sewing the cuffs or braiding some cotton. The shirt's fabric is a natural linen instead of strongly bleached, the overdress' less finely woven and even more natural with brown flecks. The skirt was only a yard of fabric: i cut it with a slight A-line shape, designed my own button flap, and used these beautiful grey buttons that i found at Hancock (plastic, but beautiful).

The result is what you see before you. Very little modification, buttonholes for the laces (which i swore never to do again, particularly because the buttonholer was broken on the machine i was using and i had to do it myself with zigzag and a four point turn), and a quick costume in time for the Renaissance Faire in Huntersville, NC. All in all: looking back i would have done things differently, but i learned a lot, and now have no desire to stop costuming.

patterns
Simplicity 7756 B overdress (modification = buttonholes instead of eyelets)
a pattern of my aunt's for the top (an old one that i borrowed and would not recommend to anyone)
no pattern for skirt
the cloak was made from a pattern / tutorial at Alley Cat's LotR Costumes

fabric
100% cotton muslin, loosely woven, with brown flecks throughout
100% cotton muslin, natural
100% cotton courderoy, dark grey (not historically accurate from a Renaissance pov, but pretty, none the less)
i don't remember what kind of fabric i made the cloak from, though it was definitely artificial in origin and semi-melted when ironed; it has a rough texture on one side and is soft on the other side and is very warm

notions
light blue thread
white thread
white cotton cord for lacing
four dark grey buttons (for skirt closure)
non-fusible interfacing (for lacing reinforcement)

first post

I've been wanting to write more about my knitting and sewing designs for a couple of years now. It started when i began designing my Hobbit Lass costume shortly after joining the NC Fellowship. After I was done I found that i couldn't stop designing and dreaming up new things to make. It's amazing to me that i moved to Charlotte, NC, in August of 2003, joined the group, attended a viewing of the Two Towers at our fearless leader's home, and i designed and completed a costume before October 31st when the group attended the Renn Faire in Huntersville. This was of course months before attending Trilogy Tuesday in Raleigh--in costume--with a lot of other kindred spirits (thanks so much to King Cardlothien who organized it for us).

Since then i've taken knitting up again and am sewing both projects that have been on the backburner for a couple of years and new ones. The NC Fellowship was a good place for me to become passionate about both or the above because so many of the people there were just as crazy as me (if not crazier) and wanted to have costumes just like i did. I learned a lot there and miss belonging to a group like that.

I have found that i still greatly want to share the entire experience with others. Because my focus has switched to blogging since then it seems natural to me to start sharing my ideas here. I'm all fired up from reading other peoples' knitting blogs and have been inspired by a lot of movies lately (as well as spoiler images for upcoming movies). I think that knitting and sewing will always be a part of my life... i don't know about costuming. It's important to me that, if i sew a costume, i can wear it in real life, too. Parts of my Hobbit lass outfit got a lot of wear for quite a while. If i'm going to make a costume i have to be comfortable wearing it in public or what's the point?

The name for this blog came from a strange but perfectly natural place... My sister and i have had a secret syntax for a long time; it's not that we've made up a language, it's just that we know each other so well and are passionate about so many of the same things that we can talk to each other kind of in code. You wouldn't want to play Taboo with us while we are on the same team (we slaughtered the other team at a New Years party a couple of years ago)! We spent last spring break in Yuma and i quickly got fed up trying to find a single swimsuit that would modestly and attractively fit a young woman who has DD or DDD breasts. I finally said that i'd just have to design my own suit and market it to the public along with a line of clothes and lingerie. That evening we came up with a name for such a store: Big Tracts of Land.

Fans of Monty Python and the Holy Grail may understand the reference: at one point in the film a young man is being coerced into marrying a woman with "big tracts of land" by his father. When you see the bride it's obvious that land isn't the only thing she's well endowed with. It was just a joke but i fell in love with the idea. The funny thing is that my sis is pregnant and now having the same trouble finding stuff that fits because of her new size. Now i'm not planning to sell anything here, but i just thought it would still be a good title for showing off the stuff my sister and i have made. Who knows how long this site will last or where it will go, i'm just full of tmi on the subject to comfortably stay quiet.