Hurricane Irene and Vinyl Tentacles

Nasty weather and staying in unexpectedly on a Saturday night, I started makin' stuff. I have a fabulous skirt that just needs a little extra something. I got the idea to make an ornament similar to the tentacle tail on the emerald green taffeta 1870s-inspired gown for New Orleans this year, but the thought of turning all of those tiny little tubes inside out and stuffing them with polyfill was in no way appealing. I opted instead to make flat sea snake-like tentacles about one inch wide on an identical base.

I must have watched 5 or 6 episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise while flipping tentacles and stitching them down. (Yes, I am a giant nerd.) Now I need to flip and top-stitch about 10-12 more tentacles for the top layer, and make a wasitband. I think this makes a fine alternative to other more cape-like ideas I had to provide some drape and drama to this costume.

Update 3:50 PM: Just a few photos of my tentacle process and some shots of the (mostly) finished product. Very H.R. Giger.

Victorian Vinyl: Too big?

I had some fun figuring out the zipper. I had to cut it down about half an inch, and then stitch the top teeth by hand to create a stopper, as I cut off the one that it came with to get the correct length. It works well enough, but The fit looks a little wonky in the PVC. I may need to take it in a little. Should I futz with it, or just leave it? Where can I take it in?

Update: I took in the darts in the front for a much tighter fit, but I think there is still more I can do to make this perfect. Also, I may add some kind of tail or ruffled embellishment off the back to cover the open lacing panel the skirt has. Better?

Sewing Vinyl

Sewing the vinyl went a bit easier than I thought until I came to the sleeves. That was approximately as difficult as I thought it would be. I got through one before I started giving serious thought to sewing the second one in completely by hand. No sooner did I got both in place then I realized they were ever so slightly too tight. I'm going to stretch them a bit and see what that does, as it's a mere fraction of a inch. I really don't want to re-cut them. I also don't want the ugly sausage effect on my arms.

Victorian Vinyl

I love the juxtaposition of period lines and ultra modern, nigh futuristic fabrics and themes. I guess we can call this an off-road adventure in Victorian cyber-goth. The plan is to use the pattern from the tentacle dress and proceed from there in shiny black PVC. This got started because I'm cheap. I have been daydreaming about a Meschantes vinyl corset for over a year now, but I can never seem to scrape together the cash. I got the idea instead to make a ballgown type bodice to go over my existing red corset. I even mashed two sleeve patterns together and did a little trial and error to finally come up with a non-puffed sleeve for this 1870s-inspired off-the-shoulder bodice. The vinyl and lining are all cut out. Now I just need to decide if I want the hidden zipper in the front of the back. Any opinions out there?