Refashion Runway 2: Halloween Costume Jane

I have a confession to make.

 

No, I lied.

I have two.

 

Confession number 1) I don't celebrate Halloween.

I know, I know, that may seem a little strange,

but only as strange as celebrating death and fear seems to me.

This means that I've never had a Halloween costume before.

 

Which leads to Confession number 2) I love Disney. Seriously, I do.

Now, how this love was able to co-exist without the usual expression

of the yearly Halloween dress up, is a feet to be marveled at.

So it should come as no surprise that my Halloween project for Refashion Runway

was a costume inspired by Jane's dress in Disney's 'Tarzan'.

 I give you exhibit A.
I love Jane.
She is bundle of bumbling brilliance and understated beauty.
I feel just like her most of the time.

 

 

I had my work cut out for me if I was going to pull this off! 

I started out with a fake layered two piece yellow dress suit,

a white button up shirt, and an old yellow sheet and lace trimmed circular blue tablecloth.

In the 'before' picture, you will also notice a yellow button up shirt-

I actually didn't end up using this, as I had plenty to work with otherwise.

 

 

 

 

To start things off, I separated the top from the skirt of my dress suit...

 

 

 

 

...and removed the shoulder pads, lace and sleeves.

I wanted to take off all of those little pearl buttons,

but they were punched through and very well secured,

there was no removing them without leaving holes!
And thus they stayed.

 

 

I shortened the zipper in the back of my top and hand sewed a new stop.

I also tacked the lining back down by hand.

 

 

 

 

To add some extra flair in the back to accommodate for the bustle,

I added a couple of small pin tuck/darts on the seams at either side of the zipper.

 

 

 

 

In order to create the Juliet sleeves (as I learned they are called) on Jane's dress,

I drafted a pattern using this tutorial/method.

 

 

 

 

First I traced the original sleeves...

 

 

 

 

 

Then cut it into 1 inch strips, and spread them 1 inch apart

on top of a new piece of tissue paper.

 

 

 

 

After adding an extra inch on the top and bottom, I had my puffed sleeve pattern.

I made two, just in case one met an unintentional demise, which would be terrible after all that work.
It was a simple enough process, but pretty time consuming.

 

 

 

I laid my new pattern out on the yellow sheet...

 

 

 

...and cut.

 

After sewing the sleeve together, I gathered the top and bottom.

Next, I took some measurements for the bottom straight part of the sleeve.

I started with a simple rectangle, which I eventually tapered towards the elbow.

 

 

 

Pin it to the puffed sleeve...

 



 

 

...and sew.

 

 

 

 

For the cuff, I cut off the existing cuff from the old sleeve, with worked perfectly!

Another reason for doing this was for a uniform look.

The yellow hue of the sheet from which I cut the sleeves

was slightly different than that of the yellow shirt.

So by making the cuff out of the old yellow shirt sleeves,

I feel it tied the colors together nicely.

 

 

 

 

I sewed it over the raw edge of the sleeve just like you would sew on bias tape.

 

 

 

 

Now I could attach the sleeves to my shirt.

 

After that, I moved onto making my new skirt.

 

 

 

 

Taking the blue circular tablecloth, I folded it half, then half again.

 

 

 

 

 I used this chart to determine the radius I needed to cut to create the hole for my waist.

After marking it down, I cut it out then added a zipper.

Now I had a flowing circle skirt!

 

 

 

 

Returning to the skirt portion of the yellow dress,

I ripped out the back seam so I had one long rectangle.

 

 

 

 I first hemmed up all of the raw edges, except for the top which would be attached

to the skirt and covered with a waist band.

 

After doing plenty of research, I based my method for creating the back bustle off of
this video tutorial and a couple of other pictures I found.

 

 

 

 

I sewed lengths of grosgrain ribbon to the top (waist) of my material,

then pinched and pinned up sections of the fabric.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is what is looked like on the other (right) side.

 

 

 

 

Once I was finally pleased with how it looked,

I sewed the pinched gathers to the ribbon by hand.

That took a while!

 

 



 

I also measured out, pinned and sewed upward facing pleats on either end,
to accomplish a rounded look.
 

 

 

 

Once that was all sewn in place,

I basted my front swoop to my blue under skirt.

 

 

 

At this point, I needed to take care of some extra girth in my skirt...it was literally falling down!

I hadn't wanted to cut out a big chunk of fabric when I installed the zipper,

so I came up with a different way to take care of it.

 I measured how much needed to be taken in on either side of the zipper
and marked those points with pins.
 

 

 

 

Then I folded those points over towards the zipper, creating a sort of pleat,

and sewed them down. 

 

 

 

This was a great fix for this sort of project because it created

lots of extra fullness in the back, which is just what this style called for.
 

 

Moving right along, though I wasn't home free yet.

To create the back bustle,

I once again returned to my old sheet and cut a very long rectangle,

based on some loose measurements.

 

  

 

 

After hemming up the raw edges,

I followed the same process as above to create the bustle,

with a few little improvements and minus the pleats running up the sides.

I started with a large box pleat at the top center of what would be the waist line,

and this created a beautiful end result, perfect for a full back bustle.

 

 

 

 

The top folded portion of the sheet was ideal for making the waist band of my skirt

and bustle. I cut right along the bottom of the ribbon trim and got a nice band of double thickness.

 

 

 

 

This I folded and ironed in half, pressing in the ends to hide the raw edges.

 

 

The main skirt...pinned...

 

 

 

 

..and finished.

Including an inside button for the overlapping band in the back.

 

 

 



 

Repeat for the bustle.

 

 

 

Now in order to attach the back bustle to the main skirt,

I needed to add buttons to the inside of the bustle waist band,

and cut button holes into the waist band of the main skirt.

 

 

 

 

 Look at those beautiful button holes!!

I have to admit, I was pretty scared to do these...I have only ever sewn one...yes, one

little button hole with my machine.

After getting this deep into my project, I was terrified of ruining it.

But after about 30 practice runs, I was ready to do the real deal,

and I was so excited at how beautiful they turned out!

*Contented sigh*

 

Ok, moving on.
 

 

 

Here I have the crisp white, button up shirt.

 

 

 

 

That white collar was perfect for the Victorian look I was going for,

so I cut a dickey out from around the collar.

 

 Then trimmed and hemmed it up all nice and neat.

 

Earlier, when I had cut out the waist opening in my tablecloth,

I was left with a perfect circle.

 

 

 

 

 

  

After satin stitching around the edges twice, I folded it into fourths,

and hand stitched the top point to keep it closed.

This became a neckerchief.

 

 

 There was one final little item I needed to sew that would make a 'big' impact on my outfit.

 In keeping with Victorian Era fashion, I made... for lack of a better term, a butt pillow!

Seriously, it is a pillow that rests on your rump with ribbon ties

attached at either side so you can tie it around your waist under your skirt.

This gives the back of the skirt that dramatic pouf!

I took some guesstimated measurements and whipped up this little guy using

material cut from the sheet and more grosgrain ribbon.

 

 

I included my hand in the picture for scale.

 

 

After all that, I was finally finished!!

I had a smashing costume...some assembly required.

Oh, and a little life hack.
I totally sprayed my puffed sleeves and bustle with heavy starch...and then blow dried them.
It worked!!

 

 

And oh my goodness! Did I ever have fun wearing this outfit and taking pictures!!

See for yourself.

Here I demonstrate how the bustle attaches with buttons.

Look at that bustle!
Ahh! Love it.

And, of course, my signature pose. :)

There are tons more pictures, most a little more role playing,
so I am going to make another post with those,
so check back later!

Now head on over to The Renegade Seamstress to see what the other
extremely talented ladies made for their costumes!
Remember to vote for your favorite!

Ta ta!

From One Beginner to Another: Sewing with Leather

After completing my first leather project,

and after lots of research and personal trial and error,

I decided to write down what worked for me when it came to machine sewing leather.

 

Must Haves and Tips



 

Leather needles

These are a must!

They have a cutting edge that helps pierce the leather.
If/when that edge/tip gets broken, you will know!
The needle will have a difficult time piercing the leather,
and mine made clanking and puncturing sounds while sewing.

 

Nylon thread

There are actually other recommended types of thread you can use,

but 100% nylon was the easiest for me to find and worked really well.

As long as you can't break the thread when you pull it hard
 (like I do with cotton thread when I can't find the scissors)
then it should withstand sewing the leather.
Plus, the nylon thread had a glossy feel/finish, which I think worked similar
to waxed thread, which I read in various places was recommended for leather sewing.

 

Corn starch/baby powder

Ok, this is actually a trick I found while searching the web.

Ideally, you should use a Teflon or walker foot for your machine.

I didn't have one, so I used corn starch (because I didn't have baby powder)

to dust the working surface of my machine, the bottom of my foot,
and the surface of the leather I was working with.

This reduced the drag and helped feed it through more evenly,
reducing the amount of teeny tiny bunched up stitches.
It does make a mess though.

 I would recommend getting the special foot, but in a pinch, this trick will help.

 

Thread tension

On some scrap pieces, I experimented with tensions

and found that it worked best between 1.5 and 2.
Whatever your numbering system is, you just want to reduce the tension.

 

Feed dogs

Leather has bulk and sticks,

 so lower the feed dogs a lot so it will feed through more easily and not bunch up.
Some posts I read, the seamstress completely lowered the food dogs
and fed the leather through manually.

 

Bobbin tension

I used a nylon thread for my project,

and when I inserted the bobbin into the case, I realized it was very tight.

Depending on the thread you use, make sure to adjust the tension.

I follow this little method to test and set my bobbin tension.

 I just use my finger nail instead of a screw driver.

It works all the time and it is so easy.

 

Thread length

You don't want teeny tiny stitches, so adjust your length to a longer stitch,

I had mine set at about 3.5- 4.
(4 is the longest stitch setting on my machine).
 

 

Don't back stitch!

When leather is pierced, the holes remain.
So why make more holes and put your machine through the extra strain of back stitching?
Instead, pull your thread through to the backside and tie your ends.
Use this method to tie your string and finish your ends,

it is the same method I used to do the detail top stitching for this peplum blazer.


Trim Edges
To reduce the layers and bulk when sewing over edges/seems,
trim them down...this will make it much easier on you and your machine.


Fold Once
Leather doesn't fray, so you don't need to roll or double fold your hems.
In fact. DON'T. It is way too much work to sew through.


Go Slow
This may be a no brainer, but take is easy and go slow so stave off broken needles and mistakes.
 

 

These methods worked for me, so I wanted to pass along what I learned.
I am in no way an expert, I have in fact to date only sewn on leather once!
But if you are a beginner, you might find this helpful.
If you are more experienced, I welcome your comments and suggestions!
Good luck!

Refashion Runway Season Two: Week 4, Leather

I have come to the conclusion that cows are stubborn,

no matter what form they come in.

And try as you might, you can't always get them to do what you want.

At least, that was my experience with this week's leather challenge.

This project really put me to the test, and had me pretty scared at first.

I'll admit, my first day had me oober frustrated, near tears, and,

actually, a small little expletive was uttered.

I don't swear...at all...so that was a sign things were going really rough!

 

But, just like working with cows,

you've gotta lay down who the boss is and not let 'em whoop ya!

And that is just how I decided to approach this knee-knocking challenge!
 

 

To start things off, I found a hideous fake fur and leather coat at Goodwill.

I say hideous because fake fur gives me the heeby-jeebies,

especially the stained and discolored variety this coat was sporting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So I did the only humane thing that could be done...

I put the furry fiend out of its misery.

 

 

 

 

With seam ripper in hand, I completely dissected this coat.
 

 

 

 

And quickly discarded this furry mass...careful, it might bite!

(If I come down with rabies, we all know where it came from.)

 

 

 

I was left with the lining...
 

 

 

...and these leather pieces.

I had already removed the sleeves from the jacket before snapping this.

 

Having never sewn leather before, this was a huge learning curve for me!

I didn't want to get too ambitious, so I decided to make a vest.

 

To get things started,

I needed to make some fitting adjustments to my vest.

The arm holes were way too long and gaped terribly.

 

 

 

To fix this,  I first took in the shoulders.

 

 

 

 

The arm hole on the right is after taking up the shoulder,

and the one to the left is what it looked like without any changes.

 

Next, I needed to fix the neckline, which was too wide.

 

 

 

 

I marked and sewed a graduating seam or long dart down the seam in the middle of the back.

This took in the neckline and pulled the shoulders in a bit more.

 

 

 

 

My neckline was pretty high, so I marked and cut off the excess,

leaving enough to fold over and hem down later.

 

 

 

 

The arms still gaped a little bit,

so I gradually tapered in the side seams under the arms.

 

All of these little tweaks made for a great fit!

 

 

 

Next I removed the pockets and sewed up the holes.

I really wanted to keep them, but the pockets stuck out too far and

just didn't work with this vest.

 

After that was done, I folded and hemmed all the edges and armholes of the vest.

 

 

Taking the leather piece that was originally the collar,

 

 

 

I cut a lining piece from some beautiful red fabric,

this covered up the messy underside that had been glued to the

lining and 'fur'.

 

 

See how messy that is?
 

 

 

Laying it on the fold...
 

 

 

 

...leaving lots of extra room around the edges.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Those edges were folded inward and ironed down.

 

 

 

 

Then I pinned...err, paper clipped the lining to the leather piece.

 

 

 

 

And sewed them together.

 

 

 

 

Now the collar got clipped to the vest,

right sides together.

 

 

 

 

After that was sewn down,

I flipped the collar over and sewed down the lapel corners to keep it laying flat.

 

Five broken needles (and lots of chocolate) later, I have a fun, leather vest! 

 

 

 

For a fun pop of color, you can even fold that collar up a bit!

 

 

It was a bit windy, can you tell?

 

 

Both me and my sewing machine survived

with a completed leather project to boot,

I think that deserves a thumbs ups!

 

Now head on over to The Renegade Seamstress

and cast a vote for your favorite leather refashion!