Last Monday I started the Almost no-Sew Daisy Costume with the leaf shaped sleeve. Today I give you part II: the Petal Collar. Gather your supplies and let’s get to work. Do not make my mistake and misjudge your hot glue stick supply or you will be sewing on our almost no-sew project. Ready? Part II

Tweet This Post

This month’s costume is a Daisy. Today I’ll give you the supply list and Part I of the assembly how-to. Next Monday, March 23, I’ll post Part II. On that Wednesday I will don the Daisy costume. There’s only one small bit of hand stitching in the entire project. Let’s get started on our Almost No-Sew Daisy Costume. Part I

Tweet This Post

Argh, mateys!

Tomorrow be Talk Like a Pirate Day. But that’s tomorrow, so we’ll get back to grammar now.

Tomorrow I’ll post some pirate costume pictures. Today we need to earn our pirate names and our pirate treasure map. Answer the questions on this website to find out what your pirate name is. My name is Mad Anne Rackham. The ‘Mad’ is not angry but the crazy, unpredictable, wild eyed sort of mad. The best kind of pirate to be! Now it’s your turn.

You can’t be a true pirate without a stash of booty hidden somewhere. Let’s make a map. You need a piece of paper or brown paper sack, a few cups of brewed tea, permanent markers, an oven or hairdryer, a lighter, and some assorted paints.

Tear the edges of the paper so they are frayed. Draw your map using the permanent marker. You need a compass rose and an X. It’s a good idea to have an island and some strangely named landmarks too. Done? Crumple the paper. Dunk the paper in the tea and let it set for about 5 minutes. Remove the paper and dry it. I place the paper on cookie sheet and pop it in the oven. This requires a close eye. No wandering off. Or you can use your hairdryer.

Next, take the paper outside and burn the edges. Be careful. Adult supervision required! You just want a little singe. You might also want to burn a few small holes in the map like One Eyed Willie’s map. Go back to your worktable and flatten the map. Mix your paints with some water so they’re very pale. Paint some color on the map. Red can be used to age it or add blood. Blue to color rivers and oceans. You get the idea, right? Now you’re done. Fold it or roll it up to keep it safe. If you’re feeling really authentic add some wax to simulate a broken seal. Keep it safe.

Tweet This Post

Here’s a quick rundown of how I made my Wonder Girl costume breast plate.

Supplies:

1 Fun Foam, yellow (light color preferred) less than $1
1 pair sew-in bra cups, less than $5
White glue
Fabric Stiffener
Mustard, Rust/brick, gold, silver craft paint, $1-2 ea.
Sponge brush , pack of 5 for $1
Marker or pen
3-D fabric paint in silver

I think that’s it. I was not confident that I’d be able to form foam to match my chest shape. I started brainstorming on ways to get around that task and thought about the shoulder pads I always see in the sewing aisle. Then it dawned on me that I could just use bra cups. I can’t believe I hadn’t thought of that.

I sketched out the breast plate bird design on the foam. After cutting it out, I stitched it to the cups. Once it was one piece I began the sealing process. It took several coats with the sponge brush, front and back, of white glue, fabric stiffener, and water to seal the design and stiffen it. The cups are hard now (you can knock on them, heh).

That process took a week or so to make sure everything dried. Then I started the paint process. I wanted the cups and foam to start at a similar color so I painted the cups yellow. Then it was just a matter of layers. Several mustard for a good base. I used the marker to draw the lines onto the piece. I traced the lines with the 3-D paint (some people use low-temp hot glue for this). A coat of red, gold, mustard, gold, silver, and gold to finish the painting. Whew.

As I mentioned in the last post, I’m still working on finding the metallic finish. When I get that figured out, I’ll update you. I had most of the paints in my craft cabinet so there was very little expense for me on this project. It was time consuming because of all the drying time. I like the bra cup method and will use something similar for the armor.

Let me know if this is helpful. Don’t forget to include a pic!

Tweet This Post

This is it folks, the last part of my Ariel tutorial.

In PART ONE we made our list and gathered our supplies. Then in PART TWO we began putting things together. In part three we’ll do the hard part: Patches.

We’ll identify the number and types of patches found on the uniform.

Vest:
1 Large rectangle with caduceus (8.5 in h) and Chinese (bottom), center back. 8 in w x 11.5 in h. Corners cut at an angle.
1 Small rectangle with caduceus (3 in h), right front pocket. 2 in w x 3.75 in h. Corners cut at an angle. This one might be slimmer. I found working on a 1.5 in patch to be frustrating.

Coveralls:
2 Medium with caduceus (3 in h) and Chinese (top), center upper arm. 3 in w at top. 1 in wide at bottom. 4 in h.

Hat:
1 Small with caduceus (2 in h) and Chinese (top), center. 2 in w at top. 1 in w at bottom. 2.5 in h.

Optional: Small reflective polygon on right vest pocket. It’s only worn within the hospital.

Here are the graphics I made. Click on the thumbnails for a larger file to download. Then scale the graphics to the sizes you need. Remember, these are not 100% accurate. I created these based on stills. Resourceful types will turn these into files to use with their embroidery machines. The rest of us cheapskates will either paint or sew the emblems by hand. Good luck with that.

1. Measure and cut the felt. Use the patch blank if needed. Simply resize in photo editing program and print.

2. For the caduceus, resize in your photo editing software and print the stencil. Cut out design with scissors or Exacto blade.

3. Place stencil where you want it on the patch. Begin with the SILVER paint to create the border of the caduceus. Fill in the staff with the SILVER.

4. While the paint is drying. Make a thin black border along the edge on the patch. You can do this with black thread if you’re embroidering.

5. Color in each snake: one WHITE, one BLACK.

6. Let dry.

7. The letters are hard to make crisp with the stencil. I free hand the characters in WHITE.

8. If you’re using thread or a thin tip, trace the lettering in SILVER. I was not able to do that on the small patches, but I did do it on the large back patch.

As you can see, the paint does not cover the felt completely. You will need to let it dry then cover it with a second thin coat of paint.

You’re done. Repeat the steps to complete the remaining patches. Remember, the front vest patch has no writing on it.

Last thing to do is make your ID badge, 2.5 in w x 3.5 in h. Here is a picture of my ID. Open your favorite photo editing software and put your headshot over my picture. You also need a name. Mal, Zoe, Jayne, and Wash used the names Miles Arixoen M.D. (blush), Q. Kumamotoa R.N., Kiki LaRue R.N., and Beauma Sclevages R.N. I don’t know what Simon’s badge said. You can use one of their fake names, chose a favorite character, a screen name, or pick a pun. I am Molly Qule R.N. My partner in crime is P. McNinja M.D. You can print this at home (heavy paper or card stock) if you have a color printer or take it to a copy shop. Cut to size and place in a badge holder (3w x 4h in).

Put it all together. Undershirt, coveralls, boots, hat, and vest. Place a few doodads on the vest and clip on your badge.

Now all you need is that elusive ambulance, two mostly dead bodies, or maybe a crazy sister and kick-ass doctor brother.

Firefly Costume: Ariel Tutorial
Part I | Part II | Part III

Tweet This Post

Today I’ll go over Part II of my Ariel tutorial. Part I can be found here.

Last week you found a few reference photos or stills that showed the entire outfit head to toe, back to front, right? Good.

Hopefully you have your coveralls. If you’re having trouble locating some, hit the surplus stores for old military ones like mine, try a feed or outdoors store, a nearby uniform supplier, or hit the internet. Too big isn’t a problem, you can always take it in. Like me!

First things first, wash them. Adjust the size to a comfortable fit. Fitted isn’t necessary since it will be covered by an EMS vest. *chalks, pins, and sews* I shortened the waist and crotch, took in the sides and legs, and resized the zipper.

Get your reflective tape ready. I used 1in tape. Why? Reflective fabric trim was hard to find locally. The tape was cheaper online than the trim was. This means laundering my costume is problematic but not impossible. I haven’t had the tape pull away from the material yet. *crosses fingers*

The stills show trim down each arm and around each leg just below the knee. One strip across each back pocket. I recommend at least three rolls (40in ea.) per costume to allow for placement errors (please measure to be sure). The vest should have all its reflective trim already on it. Pin and stitch the trim or mark the fabric and place the tape. It’s one of the easier steps.

Optional: There is additional reflective designs on the coveralls that are obscured by the vest. I chose not to do them since I planned to keep the vest on while in costume. One strip across each front chest pocket. One asterisk star with caduceus center on upper left chest.

Next up, modify the vest. You’ll have to examine the vest you chose. The one from Rothco I used needed to have the black netting removed from several areas. I also added black elastic to hold EMT implements. The ID badge will need a tab where it attaches. Take the netting you removed and fold it over and tack into place at the left shoulder.

That’s it for today. Depending on how short you are will determine how much sewing you needed to do. I hope you’re taller than me. I’m positively petite!

Next week we will make the patches and badges. I’ll share my scans and line art with you so you don’t have to worry about such things. You will need to take a headshot on light background with your makeup and hair styled similarly to how you plan to wear it in costume. Or be completely goofy, it’s your badge. This will need to be in digital format.

Next week: same bat-time, same bat-channel.

Continue reading… Part I | Part II | Part III

Tweet This Post