Antoinette

so I decided I need something to do with my hands in the evenings. not necessarily sewing, but something close...so I decided to start on a costume that is embroidered!
This costume has been a favorite of mine for years and I have always dreamed of making it~!

from a Japanese musical about Marie Antoinette! the costumes are not historically accurate but are SO amazing~!

I picked this one b/c the embroidery is all one color (gold), so I don't have to worry about changing colors....

so I ordered some embroidery floss, a good embroidery hoop, and a yard of some velvet that I think I like (we'll see when I get it). It's actually hard to find fire engine red velvet! it's easy to find dark red, but not red red......(if I like it when I get it I'll order more).


so I am going to start with the front of bodice~!! we'll see how it goes!

references (click to make bigger)

Queen for a day

so...right now neither my sister or myself have any desire to work on our Trinity Blood costumes.....

I have been wanting to make something else. but for a while I have been in a slump. I haven't had any costume inspiration.....


well. one of my favorite movies is The Young Victoria. and Victoria has a really nice dress in that movie that I like.
it has an embroidered strawberry pattern on it! I was looking at exhibit picture to see what type of embroidery it uses, and lucky for me it is the chain stitch, which is super simple.....


so I'm am going to think about this dress.....if I can find a good pattern for it I might attempt it.....



but there is also another dress I have been liking lately. I really am into learning about Empress Elisabeth (aka Sissi) of Austria. she is one of my favorite historical figures....

anyways. she had a black court dress made out of moire silk and has a HUGE train. oh man it is fabulous. so I can't quite decide which dress I would rather make...

Well....I made the underskirt for my Queen Esther costume......I bought some Bordeaux colored satin (low sheen). I haven't hemmed it yet b/c I am without my dressform (I broke it in a fit of rage...) and my sister is at work, so I have no one to help me hem it...and I can't find the petticoat I want to use anyways....

oh well..I'll do it another day....
I decided on the Bordeaux color b/c I didn't like a lipstick red color, that just doesn't look good IMO.....so I went with something slightly darker....

uh oh

oh my 0_0

I have fallen in love with another Esther dress.....
I was looking at Queen Esther costumes on DeviantArt....and i ran across this costume. I knew of it, but I never really liked it before ............now......I like it 0_0

reasons it might be better for me to make it:

1. it's easier...I don't have to paint the little design on the whole costume for the big dress. I only have to paint the roses. which is not hard at all...

2. it would be much easier to move around in, seeing as the skirt is MUCH smaller

3. it has short sleeves etc so it wouldn't be as hot.......



now I don't know what to do.... should I stick with my original plan and do the "big ass" dress or the red rose dress?

if I did the red rose dress I don't think I would be as stressed, and it would leave me time to spend on my second costume.
I was always skeptical as to whether I could actually make the BIG dress.

but I feel like I could be more successful with the rose dress....

I hate to change my mind again.....but I feel it would easier.....

second ACEN costume

OK....

SO EXCITED right now~!
I have discovered the anime/manga Black Butler and I must say the costumes are SO FABULOUS~!!!

so, I found my second costume for ACEN.

right now I am so excited to have found THIS ONE~!!!!!(see below) it looks exactly like this costume from Sleepy Hollow!!!!!!!!!!! how cool is that?!
um kind of excited about that b/c Sleepy Hollow is a favorite of mine...


(the picture from Black Butler)




















(The dress from Sleepy Hollow)


















I looked and I finally found a REALLY nice Lamour Satin on ebay that has 1/2 inch stripes! PERFECT! So I broke down and bought some. it should be perfect b/c lamour satin is not shiny, it has a dull sheen. So it's perfect. especially b/c it's really hard to find striped satin. usually you can only find cotton.....which is not very luxurious....


here's the fabric I bought...

it begins

It begins.

there is a 50% off coupon on the Joanns website right now. so, I bought 10 yards of white Casa satin. That seals the deal. I'm making the "big ass" Queen Esther dress. I am sick of making half assed not very interesting costumes. I want something that people will ooh and ahh over. something that is masquerade worthy.

I found a pattern that with some tweaking will be perfect. it even has the large ruff that Esther has. So that saves me from having to figure out on my own how to make one....


I decided to use fabric paint, either with a stencil or puff fabric paint to make the design on the fabric......I have to get some fabric and test and see which looks better........


so........let''s hope this turns out good~! I am going to take my time doing this and not rush.......


so.....wish me luck~!!!!!
I AM SO EXCITED~

here's the pattern I chose


(right click for bigger)

ok, so I went to the bank (finally) so I have some money to use for costume stuff (and Christmas presents).

I have a couple on my list...

I need to make 2 costumes for Anime Central (aka ACEN).
My first costume for that is going to be Queen Esther from Trinity Blood. THis will be worn on saturday and for the masquerade..if it ends up looking ok...

an example of one of the dresses I could make...













I still can't decide which version I am doing *sigh* very frustrating. every day I think I make up my mind and then the next day I change it again....see my second entry for the different versions I can choose from (including the one above).

I have yet to decide on a second costume for ACEN....I"m not that much into anime and manga so it's really hard for me to choose new stuff if I haven't watched anything new....
last anime i watched was Spirited Away...but there really aren't any costumes in there I would want to make....
So I'll have to keep searching.....




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am really interested in this 18th century french dress. I found the perfect fabric on ebay...then promptly lost the link.....I'll have to search again...















I would also like to start working on some of the other historical patterns I own.
I am currently obsessed with 16th century Spanish clothing from 1550~
here is an example...

I'd love to make something like that.....














hm...I guess I should start with the costumes I need to make for ACEN.....
even though I would love to start on the Spanish dress.....

necklace

I realized I have the perfect necklace to go with whatever Esther costume I choose~!!

she has a pearl necklace that has several rows....and I realized I have one of those that I wore to my senior prom.
I just need to add the red gem that hangs down.

mine

So. my computer died. and I lost everything on it. but fortunately I have an external hard drive. so I still have some stuff......
Dad's 60th birthday is tomorrow. So went out to dinner tonight. it was really good. We went to a Mongolian grill.....


in costume news. We'll I can't sew right now until I get some money. not having a job really puts a damper on everything......


BUT I will start my Queen Esther dress once I get some money.....

I also want to make a couple dresses based on some that Elisabeth Empress of Austria wore....
I can't decide if I want to make the Takrazuka versions or the original versions.....

here's an example of some dresses at the Hofburg in Austria.

(click for bigger)













here are some examples of some Takarazuka versions

THESE ARE SCANNED BY ME. PLEASE DO NOT REDISTRIBUTE.




























































I can't decide which versions i like better. they are all cool.

which do you like better?

decided

SO.


in regard to my second post, I was asking for advice on which costume to make....

BUT I decided~!


I was inspired by Esther's all white coronation dress in the anime......










I wanted to do one of her white dresses, but I didn't LOVE either of the manga ones.....so I think I am going to combine two designs and add the plain anime one and simplify it....

I LOVE how the first dress has pearls all over it, but I hated the thorn and rose design on it....the thorns are just ugly IMO......and I don't really like the crown.




























so I am taking the crown and the strips on the skirt from the second picture and the pearls and general shape from the first picture and putting it all together.....I hope all of that makes sense......

and I hope it's ok that I am combining dresses LOL....I guess I can just say I made the anime dress with inspiration from the manga..,..

I just know that there is no way to make the first one...ever b/c of the detail on the fabric and the HUGE heart shaped ruff...........

so I guess I am making the anime one with a little embellishment...pearls XD

ok...this dress is quite fabulous~! I think I might attempt it as my first 18th century project~!
(Click to make bigger)

First costume here

ok so now that things are set up.....my first costume that I am going to make and show you guys progress of, is this one. Queen Esther from Trinity Blood.
I have yet to decide which dress to do...I just can't make up my mind! which one do you like best???
(click to make bigger)


1.












2.












3.

Hello all~!
You have stumbled upon the blog of Biscuit (aka Hillary).
I will be posting many things here.
You can follow my sewing projects, hobbies, and any other tidbits I dig up!
Hope to hear your comments!