Cinderella Part II of III

Dapper Day @ Disneyland

Well, I have to be honest and say that I had this post all written up and it was almost completed.  Then I went to preview it and the program froze.  I refreshed to reset it and it had reverted back to the state it was before I'd started writing that day; just photos.  

For me this kind of thing is rough.  It took away all of the inspiration to write this post up for you, because I'd already done it it once.  Now I feel like it might loose some of it's luster.  Please bear with me and if it doesn't glitter, keep in mind that the next posting will not have this problem.  I'm still very excited to share with you the big Cinderella movie experience!

Part II

The weekend of the event had arrived!  All my costume preparation came to fruition and even though I still had some last minute sewing to do, I had a little bit of time to do it, no problem.  I started the weekend at the Women's Retreat for my church and was to end it with a day at Disneyland.

Side note: I've yet to complete a single costume anytime but the night before or day of it's first event.

After the evening retreat meeting the night before the big day, I went back to my cabin and put my hair up in pin curls to prepare it for the next day and then sewed on the last of the tiny seed beads detailed in the "Part I" posting.

The next morning I took my curls out and every bit of it just fell out flat.  I looked like a lioness for maybe 10 minutes and it went ever increasingly flat from that moment on.  It was a rainy day, so it made sense.  I put up the front in a tiny bouffant so that it would be out of my face.  If I hadn't I'd be frustrated with it all day.  I added in the tiny little stick on rhinestones I got from Michaels crafts and stuck them randomly all over my hair.  (They actually stayed all day and I had to yank them out in the evening before bed)

Getting dressed and ready, then driving to Disneyland from retreat went smoothly and before I knew it I was parked and heading into the happiest place on earth.

I was to meet a new and dear friend to spend the day with her.  We have just started to get to know each other, but it's like we've known each other for a long time.  I made a dress for her for this event and got to know her through the process. (There will be a posting about her dress soon).  Upon arrival I contacted her and her fiance and found that they were about to board the pirate ship in the Caribbean.  I parked myself at the exit and waited for them to disembark.

While waiting I ran into these cool cats, I mean dogs....lol

Cruella Deville gender bend and Perdita and there lovely friend in blue.  I'm not sure if she was themed, but if she was I'm so sorry I didn't catch it.  We took some photos all around, me of them, them of me.

Then I joined up with Sarah & Justin for getting the day started.  We embarked the Jungle Cruise first. It's one of my favorite ways to start a day at the park.  Relaxing while being filled with quick witty humor.

Then on to Fantasyland, which is the most fitting place for a Disney princesses to be.  We ran into this lovely lady on the way.  Her good friend made her Cinderella gown for her.  Isn't she lovely?

On our way through the castle gates we decided upon taking the carousel the rest of the way.  The noble steeds were ready and waiting for us to ride off into the kingdom with them.

We rode Pinocchio's ride after that, stopping to take photos with this lovely stained glass window at our backdrop.  While we were on the ride we designed and talked about doing Pinocchio themed gowns.  The little dutch girl and show girl puppets with Justin maybe being Jiminy Cricket, or Pinocchio or something fun like that.

We also ran into a woman I met at the last Dapper Day.  We were talking to each other, Sarah & I about how lovely her light yellow eyelet fabric dress was and how it looked like it might be quilted too when it dawned on me that I knew her.  I called out her name, as she was a ways ahead of us in line, "Caroline" and she turned around and looked over.  I told her that I had met her last year.  She wore a beautiful purple dress that I believe she said her mom made.  It was a funny chance meeting.

Once we'd thoroughly explored Fantasyland, we were ready for a break for our feet.  So we rode the monorail.  I was ready to go over and enjoy the Expo at the Grand Californian Hotel and they were ready to go off on their own for a bit.  We rode over to Downtown Disney, the closest station for me to pop over to the Expo and made plans to meet back up afterward for evening fun in the California Adventure Park.

My phone had died so I don't have any photos from the Expo, but it was a joyful time of exploration.  There were so many vendors, more than last year.  One of them had all sorts of lovely vintage sewing patterns, so I spent quite a bit of time looking through each of the bins.  I procured these lovelies for future sewing fun.

There was also a vendor that had beautiful jewelry made out of wood.  I'm not sure if it was dye cut, laser cut, or what, but they were masterfully done and then I'm sure hand painted.  I'm surely a fan of anything hand painted, as I was a sign painter for years.  They had a few that were made to go with the Dapper Day spring theme, "it's going to be sweet" and their promotion flyer which had an image of an orange, with blossoms.  It was beautiful and I'll get into it more when I do the dress post for Sarah's Dapper Day attire, because I had dreamed of making a theme dress for the day with fruit fabric.  As a result of their fine work, the event's theme, and the fruit dress that Sarah was wearing, I picked up the pin pictured here, under the Dapper Day pin.

Sarah loved her brooch and when we met back up we started to venture into the adventure park.  At this point it was dark, so photography became harder, but there are a few fun photos for your viewing pleasure.

Here there was a window display for the Dapper Day theme.

The Adventure Park was a blast. We went on some rides that I've been on and some that I never had before.  I had long since exchanged out of my heels for flat slippers so my feet were happier puppies.  We rode a few cars land rides, the carousel of sea creatures, woody's roundup, the little mermaid, and others before calling it a night.

Thank you Sarah & Justin for an amazingly fun adventure and a successful trip in my new dress!

Cinderella Completed - Part I of III

I've been working on this blog post for an entire week now and it has become so big that it will take too long to finish before I can share any of it with you.  That lead me to the conclusion that I should break it into parts.  At first I thought I'd break it into two parts, construction & events.  However, the two events that I've worn this to each have their own story and have become large posts on their own.  That is why I have determined to break it into three parts.  I will release them on separate dates, so please stick with me, because the third one is the biggest and the bestest.

Happy Reading!

Cinderella Completed - Part I

 

 
Well now is the time that I have the honor of sharing this project's completion with you.  First, I'd like to recap. I had inspiration, sometime in January, to make a gown for the new Cinderella movie.  At the same time, I was wondering what I was going to make for the upcoming Spring Dapper Day at Disneyland.  I like going in 1950's attire when I "step out in style" at this event.  The combination of these two thought processes lead me to combine my efforts.  The design became decided, that my Cinderella would be a 1950's rendition of the gown, to be worn at the ball in the new live action movie, as pictured above.

I went to my favorite local thrift store for my first stop to shop for fabric.  Amazingly there was a shower curtain in the linen department.  It was a sheer blue, with a bit of a shimmer to it, in the right color range.  It cost me a few dollars, along with some closely matching bedsheets for the solid fabric for the bodice and slip in the skirt.

My next thrift store stop, while shopping for something completely different, is where I found the shoes.  $7 silver high heels with gem stones secured to it, completely covering the shoes surface.

I found butterflies and seed beads at JoAnn fabric store, along with notions.  Then I shuffled through my pattern box(es) to find ones that would work for the vision I had of the complete gown.  I found Simplicity's "Mirror Mirror" pattern #1728.  It would work for the bodice, minus the puff sleeves. Then I pulled out a basic skirt pattern, any full skirt pattern would do, once it was adjusted to the proper length.  Then I was off and running, (with scissors), lol.

The process of putting this costume together went fairly well. The bodice came together quickly as you can see in the production photo below that shows it in a partial state of progress.  I wanted a "v" in the front but not the back, so this pattern would work well for my design. I modified the white wedding dress pattern at the top right of the pattern cover photo to not have the puff sleeves.  With this modification I had to decide how to finish off my armholes.  The single fold bias tape method seemed the best option, but I ran into an issue.  It was extremely difficult to find a color of tape that I liked.  I forgot my swatch of fabric the first time I went and now have a package of light blue single fold bias tape in my notions box that didn't match at all.  Then with a second trip came the process to the final choice.  I was thinking white at this point, like the butterflies I had found to add to the poof on the bodice (as seen and explained below). However I knew that would make it very obvious and I wanted it to be more subtle.  I came upon a darker blue at this point, rather a medium blue tone that I decided would work very well for the subtle, yet finished look that I desired.

So I finished up the bodice with the bias tape. Then made a basic, yet full skirt with the shower curtain organza fabric.  Gathering organza is a pain in the neck, to get it to lay still, but it came together fairly quick.  I made sure to save a bit of it for the poof at the top of the bodice, before sewing up the skirt.

After it was sewn together, then came the fun part.  Every night of the next two weeks was dedicated to hand sewing on little itty bitty seed beads for the little teeny tiny bit of sparkle I desired. I wanted it to catch the light, but I didn't want it to be obvious that it was beading that caused it.  It was supposed to be magic causing it to sparkle, not a trick of the light thrown off of beads.  I did at one point try to add small clear sequins, but they were too big.  So little itty bitty seed beads were sewn on in as random a fashion as I could.  Around and around the skirt until it was the fullness of sparkle that I desired.

After the skirt & bodice were done being sewn, it was time to add the poof around the shoulders. I had intended to incorporate the tube of sheer fabric into the the bodice as I put in the zipper and spaced, missing that step.  It ended up working itself out because my zipper application was sub-par. The two sides didn't line up with each other and there was a 3/8" difference.  The poof tube being separately installed helped me mask the mistake.


Once I'd sewn it onto the back, I hand tacked it around the top edge of the bodice, playing the divide, divide, divide game. Not whip stitching it completely down, only at strategic points helped it maintain it's poofy look.  Then for the butterflies.  They also helped with the final outcome of the structure of the poof.  Wherever one was placed and tacked in, it created another bit of definition until it was finally the desired, even randomness.


I made a headband like the one that was in the original movie and loved it, but I have a hard time wearing them.  I tried to wear it at the first event, putting my hair up like the original movie, adding in the head band, but it just didn't fit the design I had in mind.  So I changed to leaving my hair down as it is in the new live action version.  You'll see also that I wore the black ribbon necklace, like the original movie, at my first event.  But at the second event it wasn't worn.  It just didn't work either.  These things work themselves out the more the outfits are worn.  The second event was perfect in accessories, hair, and gown.

That is it for construction, hopefully you enjoyed walking through that process with me.  The next post will be in a day or two and it covers the Disneyland trip for Dapper Day!  Thanks for joining me. Until next time, happy sewing, dreaming and as Ella says, "Have courage and be kind."

Cinderella

 The first project of the new year is near and dear to my heart.  My life has been changing a lot lately and with changes come a whole lot of choices.  For the first time in my adult life, I've been given the space to truly dream of what my future could look like, the space to dream about what I want to do for work, who I want to be.  This room to dream brought me to think on Cinderella, because all of life's moments can relate to Disney movies and I'm a true Disney girl to immediately think on the similarities to this movie or that.  She dreamed of a better life, full of wonder, honesty and the ability to truly live. 

 Her movie said "A dream that you wish, will come true," and this year Disney is re-doing her movie in live action; filled with wonderful costumes.  The San Diego Costume Guild is attending the film together this year, in costume, and a friend from the guild said to me, "you would make a wonderful Ella."  This started to really sink in about a week ago; that not only would I carry her character well, but that she and I have a lot in common right now. 

She dared to dream as I am doing now.  I've been dreaming of expanding myself into the world of truly becoming a seamstress.  Owning my own business isn't new to me, but to make money doing something I love would be.  I've been sewing steadily for 3 years now.  First I made quilts and then I started making costumes.  This past year I've been doing alterations and garment construction for clients and I really love it.  I love the interaction and I love seeing their ideas come to reality.  

I constructed a flower girl dress for a good friend from the fabric taken from altering her wedding gown a few months ago.  The dresses turned into a real "mommy & me" set.  The trim from the back train of the wedding gown fit perfectly around the waist of the flower girl dress.  After attaching and re-beading it, the gowns matched so well.  This exceeded the dreams of the bride to be and watching them both walk down the aisle brought tears to my eyes, from the joy of being such an important part of something so beautiful.

A few days ago I started really thinking about another event I love to go to.  Dapper Day at Disneyland.  Last year, in the fall, was the first time I attended this event and I was really amazed at the turnout and the amount of attendees that did themed attire.  They were stepping out in style in their favorite fashion era, but with a cosplay twist.  There were Snow Whites, Peter Pans, the crocodile no less, and it all created a desire in me to do the same.  So when I started thinking about what character I would like to do in 1950's fashion (my favorite era), it hit me.  I could do a 1950's Cinderella and have one costume for 2 events!

So naturally that meant it was time to go shopping.  I didn't have any baby blue in my "stash" and I wanted something that would fit within my budget.  Money is tight when life changes happen (funny how that works) and so I set out to my local thrift store.  I found a shower curtain that is a shimmery baby blue and matched a couple bed sheets to it for the body of the gown.  All total, $7.00 in fabric. Then I found an amazing pair of thrift store shoes, that fit both my feet and the "glass slipper" look. $6.50 for these amazing shoes.

Accessories were next, which unfortunately isn't something readily available at a thrift store.  Joanns was my next stop and I had the last bit of my Christmas gift card to spend.  A new pattern, on sale for $1, headband, ribbon, silver shimmer beads, shiny gems, zippers, interfacing and boning.  I walked out the door spending only $9.50 of my own money.  All total this costume will cost me $23.00 and the time to sew it.

 This will be a fun and challenging project.  Boning, zippers and modifying the pattern to fit the style of the 1950's will stretch my growing abilities.  The other challenge is that there is only 6 weeks between now and Dapper Day to complete this. 

I'm also thinking that maybe I could make a purse to look like Cinderella's carriage.  How cool would that be?  Well happy sewing and creating to me.  Wish me luck!

A Costume Skate-About

Lady Mari put on a Christmas Walk-About and decided it should be at the new Ice Rink at Mission Valley Mall.  I hadn't been ice skating in a year or so and always love the thrill of it, so I determined that I would go.  My steampunk fairy costume from the 4th of July parade would easily be changed over for Christmas.  I made a quick gold skirt from a $2 thrift store curtain, instead of the blue one I usually wear with this outfit and added my Swedish winter hat.  Hubby and I purchased it on our pre-wedding trip 8 years ago and with our not so winter, winters, I've had few chances to wear it.

I had to do some repairs to my jet pack.  Hot glue doesn't hold, especially with metal parts.  So I whipped out the super glue and did some quick repairs, gave it a touch-up paint job, and re-fueled it for extra speed on the ice.

Photo courtesy of Daniel Fernandez, our new SD Costume Guild Leader!

 After getting two right footed skates at first, exchanging for a left footed skate and donning them, I headed out onto the ice.  I took a quick spill on my first go around, but it didn't take long to get my ice legs back.  Soon after, I braved pulling my camera out to take some action shots of our brave ice venturing guildies. 

Daniel Fernandez

Tony Quirk

Elsa & Olaf

Trudy D'Nalof

A Selfie for good measure!

 A special thank you to Trudy, who took me under her wing and has made me feel so welcome at every event, even my very first with the Costume Guild at the Pirate Exhibit back in February.  I'm so grateful for her encouragement and friendship!

 Some guildies didn't brave the ice, but they were fabulous spectators!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas Time is Here!

Inspirations are so easy to come by with a designer brain.  Deciding which inspirations to run with and which you should put aside is the hard part.  I didn't think it would be possible to finish all the things we had to finish for the costume my dear Mom was putting together and a new skirt as well, so I told myself, "another time".  Then as the week before the SDCG Christmas Dinner @ Harbor House was upon us, I started the final steps to finish off Mom's hard work & creativity.

There was a box pleated skirt edging, the gusset panel down the front with all 42 buttons & button holes to complete.  I started with the pleating and couldn't believe how quickly everything started coming together.  I cut and sewed the tubes randomly from the two curtain panels of shiny gold fabric, that I found at the local Amvets months ago.  We had decided on 8" long pleats, so I cut 17" wide sections and sewed them into a tube, attaching the ends together to create the circle.  Then pleat, pleat, pleat, 1" to the top, 1" to the bottom, over and over.  The darned thing, I thought, "there's no way it will come around perfectly.  Why had I sewed it into a circle prematurely?"  Then what do you know, the very last pleat came around and met up in the right direction with the first, in the perfect 1" size.  I couldn't believe my eyes and ran in to tell Mom, "you'll never believe" and "there's no way I could do that again if I tried, or measured."

Then it was time to press...omg, the pressing....

They came together so well I decided to reward myself by starting my green skirt.  Without hope that I would finish it in time, I just took the break from the pleats with warm welcome and set to cutting, sewing and creating.  There was no pattern, just an inspiration photo (as seen up top).  It came together in 2 hours, minus the finishing steps (button closure, pressing the pleats, hemming the edges, whip stitching the waist band down to the inside).  I was stunned that my skills have improved so much in just one year.  I wouldn't have been able to do this project in such a short time 6 months ago, and I wouldn't have had the ability to wing the whole thing a year ago.

I enjoyed the pleasure of a project well managed and set back to finish the pleats.  The next step was to attach them to the bottom of the skirt.  Pin, pin, pin to the outside at the right height, accounting for the bustled butt height difference in the back.  Then I drew a line to mark where to sew them and unpinned, flipped it over and sewed them on....I thought again that there would be no way the circle would be the right size, I hadn't even measured the skirt.  Then the improbable became reality.  It was perfect!!!!  We added a last minute red pleated trim to match the pleated trim on the sleeves and it tied in in wonderfully!

Mom finished up her front panel & all the buttons and I finished the last steps on my green skirt.  I drove to the thrift store again the day before and purchased the purple blouse to bring out the purple in the coat I intended to wear.  It cost a wopping $1.95.  The fabric for my skirt was a $3.95 curtain panel.  So the total cost of my outfit was $5.90.

The coat was special.  A good friend of mine, the gentleman who helped me solder my giant metal dragonfly, Fredrick, together earlier for Gaslight Gathering, had lent it to me for an event in September that hadn't come together.  The Japanese Garden Tea event in Balboa Park that was postponed for a year was to have an oriental theme and he thought the material in this coat would be perfect.  I had held on to it hoping for another chance to use it and when I was able to put the green skirt together for my 1950's evening attire, I pulled it out and matched the purple blouse to it so that I could wear it all together.  The coat was a hit!  More-so that I ever imagined.  I didn't think it would be such a big deal and almost wasn't able to comfortably wear such a strongly structured garment.  I'm so glad I did.  Thank you everyone for your compliments and questions and for helping me honor my good friend's Mom.  It belonged to his Mother, as part of her wardrobe, in the 1950's.  The unique design and amazing fabric helped make for a perfect finishing touch on my 1950's tribute attire.

With that I bid you farewell and wish you a very Merry Christmas!