Pretty flowers and an awesome find

I started out making mini-top hats several years ago to wear with a costume. Initially I bought fake flowers from Jo-Ann Fabrics, but over the years my taste has changed. Unless you're shopping the really expensive flowers at Michael's, the fake flowers are sort of ugly. I started looking around on Pintrest and found tutorials on how to make your own fabric flowers. They seemed easy enough and I definitely like them better. I can use thrift shop blouses, curtains, sheets, or whatever fabric catches my eye,  and make flowers out of them. I also have used clothes that my daughter's have outgrown. I try to scavenge buttons off of everything and sometimes I'll buy a blouse just for the buttons. It sounds weird, but have you seen the price of buttons?! Some can run as high as $12 for one crystal-looking button! I try not to waste a single scrap of fabric and I have a habit of saving even the most ratty looking item. My donations to Goodwill have certainly decreased. Ask my husband, he'll tell you. Fabric is everywhere. Seriously, in every room of the house...lol.

See that last button? Off of a $2.99 blouse at Goodwill and I got several! A button similar would probably sell for $10 a piece! Sweet!

Now for my cool thrift shop find. I found this at my local Goodwill. Isn't it pretty? It's a silk tablecloth and reminds me of something my Grandma would have used when I was a kid. I took it with this summer when we went "Glamping" and it looked great. Below is a picture of our week-long camp. It's a little messy. It's just like home that way...lol.

It's been so long!

I haven't posted in forever! I've been visiting all sorts of different blogs recently and I decided to start up again. You'll see more of my creations, my thrift store finds and probably some kids and pets! I've been on a contest-entering spree and I'll probably put those on here too, as soon as I figure out how to do it. So without further ado, here is my favorite piece that I have made in the past year. I call this my "Mad as a Hatter in Gold". Pretty, isn't it? I handmade all of the flowers, constructed the hat and lined it all by my lonesome. I LOVE this hat! It fits me perfectly and I've toyed with the idea of selling it, but I don't think I can part with it. It's so beautiful. What do you think?

Wash complete!

Aubrey's "Wash Overskirt" was not awash! Whoo hoo! It's gorgeous! I really didn't think I could pull it off, but I did and it's even prettier than I expected it to be. This overskirt design was seen in an 1884 Butterick catalog and can be worn with or without a bustle. I may make a small bustle to wear underneath, to pouf her butt out more. We'll see how it looks when she has all of the undergarments on. The wash has 5 ties sewn underneath, two which are in casings that draw up the skirt and tie, to make the poufs. There is also a tie sewn near the waistband that loops over a button and you can raise or lower the center of the pouf. It sounded so complicated but I figured it out and it works great. The waistband turned out perfectly, with no puckers, and is nice and flat. The trim is very pretty and really adds a lot to the look. I can't wait to start on mine! I still need to buy my wash fabric, although I've had it picked out for months. Jo Ann's still has plenty of it in stock so I'm not worried about not being able to get it. I don't know if I want to start working on Aubrey's corset mock up, or start my underskirt first. I need to do the mock up as I have no idea what size busk to order and won't know until the mock up is finished. The pattern maker lists three corset making suppliers, and I'll be ordering from them very soon. I'd say the thought of making a corset scares me, but dang, it all scares me and I've done alright so far! I'm really glad my patience has increased over the years, or else I would have given up on this months ago.

Two raves and must haves for this project. My dummy and my fantastic sewing machine! If I didn't have the dummy to try the clothes on, Aubrey would be screaming at me by now...lol. It's such a big help! And my Brother sewing machine is so slick. The only issues I've had are operator failure, not the machine..lol. But those have been few and far between :) 

Here are some pictures. Now there are no undergarments underneath, so the underskirt looks rather squished. When it's on Aubrey it will be more full looking. 

Alright, back to work!

Back view

 Side view

 View from the front

 Front view

Close-up of trim

You can't really see it, but there is just a hint of purple in the wash skirt fabric. It's very nice.

Making progress

Two days in a row! I'm surprising myself here. I have the wash cut out, darts sewn in, apron hemmed and now I'm getting ready to sew the sides together. As soon as my hubby gets home from school I'm heading out to Joann Fabrics for apron trim, (maybe, if Aubrey wants it) tie strings and buttons to hook them to for the poufs. I should be outside mowing the lawn, but I'm on a roll :) 

At last

I finally finished Aubrey's underskirt! Pinning the ruffle on was a pain in my ass and scared the hell out of me. Once I finally got the nerve to actually sew it on, it went easy as pie (thanks to my calling on Bridgid for help) I was so worried that I would mess up and the fabric is too delicate and expensive to handle a massive ripping out. I think it turned out really well and the ruffle just adds to the whole look of the skirt. Of course now I have to sew the "wash", which is the overskirt. I'm scared of that one too, but I just need to stop psyching myself out and do it.

I get really weird when I sew. It's like riding a roller coaster for me. I get really wound up, tense, impatient and pace the floor. I make a lot of strange noises, sing, laugh and HAVE to watch comedy on youtube to break the tension. I have bitten off way more than I can chew with this project and I don't want to fail. I've spent way too much money on fabric and patterns to give up or do a shoddy job. I'm proud I've accomplished as much as I have, but I have so much more to do! I CAN do it! I WILL! Aubrey and I will look fabulous and the memories will last a lifetime. Hopefully I'll still have hair on my head or I'll have to buy a weave...lol

Really....break's over!

I need to haul ass if I'm going to finish these costumes! I finally finished Aubrey's petticoat today and realized it's basically useless :(  I'm skipping mine and going straight to her skirt. If I finish everything else and have time I'll make mine, but I can use the wedding petticoat I found at the Salvation Army instead of wasting the time sewing the annoying piece of underwear. Here are the pictures of it.

Break's Over

I took a little break from sewing to bake birthday cakes for my oldest and youngest, but now I'm back at it.

I finished mine and Aubrey's drawers and they are very cute, albeit oddly shaped.  I'm not sure how I'm going to like the open crotch design, but it will come in handy when wearing a full outfit. That's a lot of layers to wrestle with in a cramped public stall. I'd compare it to using the facilities while wearing a wedding gown....not an easy task.

I started on Aubrey's petticoat and if I didn't have so much running around to do today and tomorrow I'd probably finish it, but I don't think that's going to happen. I should be able to finish it this week though.

This past weekend Aubrey and I went shopping and I found a nice cameo brooch that I'm going to turn into a necklace to wear with my gown. We also found several bits and pieces of possible Steampunk costume items, but nothing was in our sizes. Ah well, we have plenty of time.

Back to work. Don't forget to vote tomorrow! Vote for experience! Vote David Townsend!