It’s now August and we are 3 weeks out.
Geez normally we’d have 4 weeks at this point but Labor Day seems early this year. That freaks me out, I was feeling good about where I was but not anymore LOL
So what’d I get done this week? I got my Shin gaiters done:
Are they accurate? I don’t know, and I don’t give a shit at this point.
More Taylor boot progress:
Monday –
Tuesday –
Wednesday –
(they look done here but there was one strip on the back calf of one that needed finished)
Thursday DONE!
(Glue was still drying on the other one so I didn’t move it)
I tried them on last night with the rest of the costume. Had a lot of fun shining my phone’s flashlight on myself, the sequin dress makes rainbow light reflections everywhere and the boots make blue reflections.
I did have several rhinestones pop off when I put them on:
They all came from ONE area though – right at the ankle crease by the zipper on just one boot. I felt one or two come off as I was putting it on, so I ran my fingernails over the whole area and forced off anything that was loose. I did the same everywhere else on both boots and nothing came off like in this one area, so I figure I must have gotten the glue too thin in that spot. Going to glue them back on today.
I got the stamp for Padme:
Tested it out on a scrap piece of fabric.
I need some practice.
I’m anxious about doing this for real on the cape. If I mess up, it’s just gonna be what it’s gonna be.
Once I was done with the boot stoning, I switched to the trim treatment on my Shin vest.
This is killing my fingers and it’s also revealing my lining layer – at least on this back panel – was too big and it’s wrinkling everything. Wish I’d done it before putting the lining in. Oh well. I’ve got one back panel done, starting on the other back today.
I did also get the tabards done – just got to finish assembling all that.
So now let’s talk Mara drama. The first suede I got for Mara was GORGEOUS, it was so buttery soft and had a beautiful drape. But it was just more desaturated that I wanted, I wanted like a rich forest green and the first fabric I just knew would photograph more brown. So I returned it and ordered something else.
The new fabric came Thursday. I had wanted to start cutting Baylan parts thursday but Chase had an appointment, so I decided to just knock Mara out. The new suede was the colour I wanted, but it was so much stiffer.
But I got the basic tunic cut out, and the lining, and got both parts basically assembled Thursday night:
Friday night I spent mostly top-stitching all the seams (sort out of like how I’d just done on the suede for Shin) because I wanted that same clean look. I got the lining layer pinned on that night, but the lining ended up being a little shorter (horizontally) than the main fabric at the hem, so I left it like this Friday night and decided I’d come back to it Saturday:
Saturday was a disaster.
It took me forever to get the lining in, and once I did, nothing was hanging right anymore. The skirt was looking like a bubble skirt because things weren’t even. Like how does that even happen, the suede layer was cut using the lining as a pattern, how could they be so different!
So I unpicked the lining from the hem line, and then tried it all on with the belt, and the skirt was so stiff and it was sticking out like a Judy Jetson skirt! It looked so stupid.
So I had to focus on that. First I took some width out of the lower section at the back. Then I ended up having take out all of the top stitching I did from the waist down because that was just stiffening up the seams even more. I also removed the “point” on the bottom of the front panel because it just looked ridiculous in this fabric.
This still wasn’t great but it was at least passable. I had to futz with it for a few minutes to get it to look like this though.
By this point it was late Saturday afternoon and I was DEAD SET on finishing this damn thing that day. It was supposed to be a 1-2 day project and we were verging on 3.
I did the LEAST INVASIVE hem I could on the bottom. I cut a piece of lining and sewed it on the bottom and then sewed it by hand to the inside. I was hoping that wouldn’t stiffen it up again – but it did a bit of course. I cut the original lining off to the waist and just turned it and was going to tack it in at the seams. Got a sleeve on…
Tried it on with the one sleeve and realized I was in a classic sunk cost fallacy situation. I was so deadset on making this work all day because I’d already spent so much time and money on it when I was seeing the signs all day that it was not going to work. The thing that finally made me realize I was fighting a losing battle was seeing it fully zipped up with that one sleeve and realizing my neckline was way too wide and should’ve also come up higher in the back.
So I scraped it. An entire Saturday of work lost. Chase drove me down to the OTHER Joann Fabrics to see if they had anything (cuz I knew ours didn’t) Of course they had no green suede, but I decided, I guess it doesn’t have to be suede? I just really wanted it to be suede. So I just picked something else – they had a very soft green cotton on an end cap, so I got that. Not ideal but hey – at least it’ll be cooler than a suede tunic at dragoncon.
So Saturday night I cleaned up my office so I’d at least feel “fresh” coming in Sunday morning, and Sunday I got to work right away.
Thankfully it went together fast, since I already had the pattern pieces ready to go and knew the changes I needed to make already. I extended the neckline further in and raised it in the back.
It’s fully lined – lining worked fine this time LOL and last night I got the lining finished by hand along the zipper inside and all that’s left is hemming the sleeves and possibly adding a couple of epalauts for the shoulder pauldrons to connect to.
I’m just reusing my Jedi Training Leia belt, boots and spats. So all that it needs is the pauldrons, which are already printed and ready for painting, and the brooch. Not doing the bag right now.
Now I just need my wig. I ordered it 7/23. It just shipped today. Why? No idea, I asked the company last week why it hadn’t shipped yet and they couldn’t give me an answer but they thought it would arrive in time. It just needs braided so it could arrive the day before we leave and it’d be fine. My backup plan is to watch the tracking and if it doesn’t look like it’s going to make it, I’ll buy something else on amazon the week before. If it shows up, I’ll return the amazon, if it doesn’t, I’ll at least have a wig.
What else…
Walker stayed over Friday. She had her first groom and she looks like a dog now instead of a muppet puppy.
Also last week I posted an old tiktok video on instagram about the old marriott carpet. It is now my highest performing video on instagram ever. I’d also reposted it on tiktok a few days before that, and after it took off on instagram, it suddenly took off on tiktok too? (weird.) 99% of the comments are fine, people reminiscing about dragoncon or other crazy carpets they’ve enjoyed. The 1% are people being weird about it and I have no compunctions about deleting comments and blocking people, even if it is over a stupid carpet LOL
Ok now it’s time for the to-do list portion of the week:
T’Lyn:
-Try on/style wig
-print/paint badge
-add blue stripes to boots (they came in and I love them!)
Taylor:
-reglue lost stones on
-finish tacking lining on jacket
-try on wig
Padme:
-stamp designs on cape
-style wig around tiara
Ozma:
-reassemble crown
Honeymoon Leia:
-fix belt (just needs a piece of velcro)
Nadja:
-see if I can sand down some rough edges on my fangs
Stevie Nicks:
-buy a damn necklace already
Shin:
-Try on wig/add beads to braid
-finish trim treatment on vest
-assemble kama/tabards
-weather everything
-whatever snaps/velcro is needed for armor attachment
-finish cape if I have time
Mara:
-hem sleeves
-whatever straps/snaps are needed for pauldron attachment
-cross fingers for wig
Baylan:
-Assemble vest (got pieces cut last night)
-Cord treatment on vest
-make sleeves/collar for undershirt (we just bought a tshirt for the base)
-cut/assemble kama
-make gaiters (waiting on fabric)
I’m gonna try to start knocking off one small thing everyday like the wig try-ons, in between the bigger things like everything left on Baylan.
Pray for me LOL