Malon (Renfaire Version), Draper and Stitcher
I made a body block of my corseted measurements and converted it into a stay pattern by referencing pictures of the garments and pictures of pattern pieces. The chemise was sewn out of fashion fabric to start with, as well as the petticoat. The tucks were thread-traced and then stitched. For the design of the skirt, I used Heat and Bond light on cotton and satin, stitched around the edges. I used a Cricut to design and cut out the shapes to keep them more consistent. For the apron, I used iron-on vinyl and drew and cut it out with the Cricut. I used a program called Inkstitch to make an embroidery file and did a test on scrap fabric. When it went well, I moved to the final and added them to the sleeves.
corset fitting
corset fitting
fashion fitting for skirt
corset fashion fitting
Embroidered Boned Bodice
A classmate, Francesca Schnalke, patterned this project. I took the patterns, scanned them, and designed/ created embroidery files to go on pieces of the bodice. I cut out coutil and flannel layers, put the boning channels in the coutil, and embroidered the fashion fabric. Then, it was all flatlined on a curve and sewn together. The tabs and peplum are bagged out, bias tape is sewn to the raw edges, and then the peplum and tabs are attached.
Princess Peach Dress (Mario) Draper and Stitcher
The bodice was patterned as a body block first and then converted into a princess seam front. Each piece of the bodice has three layers: matte satin as the front, flannel cut on the bias, and then coutil with plastic boning. For the skirt, I used a ruffle foot to gather it. The sleeves have a normal fitted short sleeve under the gathered sleeve, and then polyfill is put in to achieve a full look.
bodice mock up fitting
second skirt fitting
April O’Neil (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), draper and stitcher
For this costume, I used a free pattern from Mood as a base, as I don’t have much experience patterning jumpsuits. I flatlined the pants as the material was thin, and I wanted the yellow to pop.
Mew Ichigo (Tokyo Mew Mew), Draper and Stitcher
The skirt is 3 circle skirts, two out of cotton and one double my waist measurement in matte satin. On one of the cotton circle skirts, I gathered strips of folded-over 6-inch strips of tulle in rows two inches apart. After that, I did four layers of gathered tulle from the top the length of the skirt to smooth it out and add more volume. Then I sandwiched the cotton layer with tulle between the matte satin layer and the other cotton layer, and then put the waistband on. The tail was made out of PVC pipe, bent into a shape, and then put on a backplate with holes for a belt to slip through. Then I sewed a layer of fur fabric to cover it.
Astronaut Barbie (1980s), Draper and Stitcher
The sleeves were adapted from a block I had, and the block was used as a control sleeve with layers of tulle sewn to support the leg of mutton sleeve. The silver vest was draped and had a layer of cotton and batting quilted together to make it stiffer. There’s piping around the armseyes and neck. The back has a lap zipper. The design on the front I made in my art program and then transferred to Cricut.
Bay City Rollers Overalls, Draper and Stitcher
I was inspired by the band The Bay City Rollers to create a skirt version of the typical pants they wore for their performances. I was able to pattern it quickly; the real difficulty was making sure things were pattern matched when so little of the pattern is showing.
