WILFTP: Hobbit Bodice

This is part of my Hobbit/ren faire costume, shown on the peasants dress. The only thing I didn't make was the gray over skirt.

*That even napkins and old drapes make great fabric!
*Lining is a Bee-otch
*That one must never judge a costume before it's finished.
*That even when making a bodice, it's a good idea to add some bones.

WIHLFTP: Peasant's Shift

* How to put elastic in the casings and how much of a...well...bitca that is.
* How to hem a dress WELL
* That just because you're size 16 doesn't mean the size 16 - 18 will look good on you. Or when you hold it up, much to the horror of the whole house.

Designers to Admire.

I'll admit it- I'm a movieholic! But who doesn't like movies? In my watching of (probably) thousands of movies I have come to collect a list of Costume designers I admire. (The list is going to be short right now since I don't know many of their names)

1. (and always will be) Ngila Dickson. Her work can be seen in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The International, Xena, Blood Diamond and Hercules.

2. Jill Taylor. Her work can be seen in Penelope and The 10th Kingdom.

3. Shawna Trpcic. (just the fact that she works with Joss Whedon makes her awesome) Her work can be seen in Firefly, Serenity, Dollhouse, Angel, She was a costume illistrator in Hidalgo...

4. Beatrix Aruna Pasztor. Her work can be seen in The Secret of Moonacre, Brothers Bloom, AEon Flux, Vanity Fair, The Fisher King and Drugstore Cowboy.

5. Penny Rose. Her work can be seen in P.O.T.C., Prince of Persia, King Arthur and Mission Impossible.

6. Isis Mussenden. Her work can be seen in The Chronicles of Narnia, Shrek and Drag Me to Hell.

7. Frances Tempest & Howard Burden. Their work can be seen in The BBC's Robin Hood.

8. John Peacock. He did work on 8 eps of All creatures great and small for the BBC, he also wrote a book called Costume: 1066-1966 which has inspired me quite a lot-it shows details of what men and women wore over the ages, I suggest it to all movie/stage/just for fun designers.

Thats all for now!
Keep each other safe, keep faith!

Blair's Guide to making costumes for those with no money.

Fabric-
*Look at all clothes in thrift shops as possible fabric-I've found 5 dollar leather jackets that have now been made into leather coin pouches. Sheets work wonderfully for making shifts, just make sure they have no stains and to wash and bleach (especially if white) them.
*If you're in the process of clearing out your closet of dresser-double check the clothes you're giving away, a possible corset could be hiding in an old skirt or pair of pants.
*Altering clothes to create costumes is always fun and usually results in one of a kind items.

All for now.

WILFTP: Renaissance Underdress.

The underdress of my renfaire costume.

What I learned from this:
*Ease stitching is a BITCA (hehe reference.)
*It takes more fabric to make a cloak than a dress.
*How to hand-sew eyelets.
*That it is IMPOSSIBLE to fix your own hem.

What I learned from this project: Matt Vest Commission.

I made this for my friend who is cosplaying Matt from Death Note. It took quite a while.

What I learned:
*How to make a pattern piece.
*How to sew fake fur.
*How to keep the fake fur out of the goddamn feed dogs.

Costume Design Resources.

Every costume designer has their inspiration, the LotR movies are mine-Here are some good websites for those designers/crafts people that want to make costumes, ect. With them in mind.
http://www.alleycatscratch.com/lotr/ One of my favorite sites- They tell you how you can make the costumes from the movies and have lots of amazing pictures.

http://arwen-undomiel.com/gallery.html
AMAZING website-check out all the other features. This has pictures of all the characters as well as screen captures for those of you (like me) who have watched the movies enough times to see what the extras are wearing.

http://www.costumersguide.com/exhibits.shtml
I didn't get the chance to fully look through this website, but it looks promising.

More later-Don't get frostbite (or sunburn)