Travel Tea Box

January 2010

Fabric: Red velvet from a torn up skirt, leftover black crepe
Pattern: Trial and error

I often bring a tea set to various LARPs, and I needed a way to transport it without fear of it being broken. Foam seemed a natural choice. DN's mother had some foam leftover from a custom made windowseat, so I took a razor to it to make fitted inserts for a cheap little tea set I bought at the Asian grocery store.

Step one: buy tea set and find a box big enough for it.

Step Two: Cut foam in the size and shape of the box.

Step Three: Trace the shapes of the teapot and cups in the foam. Step Four: Use the razor blade to score the foam, and then pick it out with fingers in the shape of the teapot and cups.

Step Five: Cut foam to fit the top half of the box, and make necessary cut-outs so the teapot and cups fit snugly between the two layers.

Step Six: Cover foam with fabric and secure with hot glue in the recessions and on the back.

To see the nitty gritty of the process and the how to, visit http://www.arachneattire.com/teabox.html

Green Wool Frock Coat

Conceived as a novelty from the leftovers of AS's coat, I combined the neckline of the JP Ryan waistcoat, the box pleats of the JP Ryan frock coat, and the general shape of the simplicity pattern. I removed the godets the Simplicity pattern calls for - the fullness is more reminiscent of the 17th century - and added a rather 19th century looking standing collar.

I think the collar could have used something to stiffen it - or maybe I'll remove it. It's itchy and in an awkward place, but it looks somewhat unfinished without it. Also, the cotton lining does not slide the way I would like, and clothes worn under the coat bunch up in terrible ways. I suppose it's a work in progress. I intended to wear it as an every-day outer garment, but the buttons and general anachronistic feel make me a bit apprehensive about wearing it in public as clothing and not some theatrical costume.

Hooded Coat

Fabric: Dark green wool, cotton sateen for lining
Patterns: JP Ryan Frock Coat; JP Ryan Waistcoat, (heavily modified)

December 2009 - Commission for a friend who loved Rogue's coat from the first X-Men movie. I lengthened the JP Ryan frock coat pattern, and used the front piece from the wasistcoat pattern. A hood from one of Simplicity's many cloak patterns and about a million buttons later, we had a fabulous piece of finery.

Don't forget the site: http://www.arachneattire.com/hoodedcoat.html

Norma Jean Continued

Pre-Op
A few months back, I had attempted to shave down the foam to a better shape. It took me a while to develop a workable slice and shave technique with the razor, but eventually I got it. The breasts, aside from being far too large were situated too low on the torso. The rear end was also a bit too low. I think I had the right idea with my series of amputations, but I did not go far enough.

Post-Op
I took the breasts completely off and went to town on the waistline and back. It looks a bit like an apple someone has been eating.



Polyfill Stuffing
I used polyfill to stuff the areas that needed stuffing. Hopefully the decreased density will make it possible to strap a corset on the dummy now.

Norma Jean

My Uniquely You dress dummy. We named her Norma Jean beause of her... endowments.

I got the bright idea from another costumer's website thinking that it would be cool to be able to fit period garnments over the proper underpinnings strapped to a squishy dummy that was me-shaped. Unfortunately, I got a dummy that was far too large, and I underestimated the density of the foam. What follows is a chronicle of our adventures.

Fitting the sheath

This project involved help from SG in porportion to Norma Jean's massive foam breasts. Several hours of swearing, pinning, stitching and walking around the house in the most fashionless garnment known to man, we had an approximation of my shape. The only trouble was the fact that I ordered a dummy based on my largest measurement: my hips. The dummy with 40 inches at the widest point on the bottom had a 50 inch chest, and the sheath I ordered was way too small. This resulted in six inches of exposed foam at the bottom of the dummy. The cat is pleased with this, but he is the only one. I think if I do this again, I will order a dummy that is too small and pad out the sheath. That way, it will have the necessary squish to strap it into stays.

Sins & Virtues Masquerade Ball

The event is finally over. The stand-up collar I ended up using a piece of creased cardboard covered with silk with a silk-covered plastic cable tie reinforcing it at the center. The feathers are hot-glued on, and the seam at the neck and the glue mess are covered with a pleated band of the silk.


The idea behind this whole costume is pride. Hopefully the massive amounts of peacock feathers get the point across.

The Destruction of an Enemy

I finally destroyed the old red anglaise. I cannibalized it for parts to make a cartridge pleated overskirt for my red Elizabethan. I must say, cartridge pleating was a lot easier than it looked once SG showed me how to do it. It really does provide a lot of volume. Also, it's the only way to get 8 yards of fabric pleated to a 30 inch waist band.

The overskirt in the photo is 4 yards of what was formerly the greatest tragedy of my 18th century portfolio. I guess this means I now have to add a renaissance section to the website.