its clobberin time

Saw Fantastic Four this weekend. Really loved it. I wanna live in that world.

First up let’s go back to my Padme Lover bodysuit project.

I got the new outer layer/lining layers cut, assembled and dyed. Got them sewn together and sewn onto the interior bodice. Got the zipper in, hand-tacked down, got the outer layer sewn in place along the top, bias tape dyed and attached. Straps made and attached. No more butt fit issue.

So technically the basic thing is done but it’s REALLY bothering me how the top edge is wanting to curl outwards. The first version wasn’t doing that – but I did edit the pattern between versions 1 and 2 and got rid of the side front and side back seams. I think there’s just too much tension on that top edge being caused by the stretch fabric pulling it in multiple directions. I did some hand tacking at the boning channels, some top stitching right underneath the bias tape and that only helped a bit. My last saving grace is that maybe when I sew the lining down at the interior top it will balance it out? I was going to do that last after rhinestoning just to have one less barrier to getting this thing onto a dressform, but maybe I’ll go ahead and do it today just to see.

(edit: after posting this I did go up and experiment with pinning the lining layer in place along the center front and it did seem to resolve the rolling issue. So fingers crossed that after I spend hours stoning this, it does work when I stitch the lining it. Kinda thinking I should maybe go ahead and do it before stoning so I can do it on the machine for safety instead of doing it by hand at the end…)

I also had one of those nights before I start a new stop of a project where I just overthink everything at 2am. I was going to do these rhinestones freehand but then got to thinking do I want to make a guide? Since I’m using heatfix rhinestones there’s no “oops that’s misplaced let me kinda slide it over in the still wet glue” moment. Thinking about making a little guide out of some cardboard and a hole punch? Marking on the suit through the guide holes with chalk? I don’t trust any kind of wash out pen option on this dyed fabric. I dunno.

Anyway I’m just glad to have it at this point after the drama last week.

Since that was mostly done, on Friday I moved back over to Belle.

Between Friday day and Saturday morning I got the zipper sewn into the skirt, the waistband made and attached, and the entire skirt hemmed by hand (It took me listening to all 6 episodes of You Must Remember This’ “Six Degrees of Song of the South” series to hem this. To be fair I listen in x1.25 speed, but still. Great way to Am I going to regret leaving it long in the front? Probably. But I love how it looks like that. I can always hem it shorter later.

Saturday afternoon I started working on the skirt swags. I made patterns using some scrap fabric and once I liked the shape, I cut my taffeta/cotton lining. Sewed them together, flipped them and pressed.

Aaaaand after sitting looking at the first 3 I made, I decided my silk taffeta was reading as brown against my other colours instead of gold. They felt too dark and heavy and seemed to weigh down the whole look. And I just kneeeewww even though in person you can see all of the colours making up this gorgeous fabric shifting and it doesn’t read brown in person as much, in photos it totally does – and I knew some 12 year old on tiktok would say “ew i hate the brown”

So I tested putting it in some dye. I hated to dye this very expensive fabric, but it was just a scrap as a test and while that dried, I crashed out shopping for a replacement fabric.

(Also crashing out because our loud neighbor over and behind us had another pool party and was just BLASTING music all afternoon. The bass was inescapable in any room of our house and I felt like I was losing my mind. We ended up leaving the house to run errands early to get away from it.)

Got home and hey – I think I like this?

So really quick before we left for the movie, I threw it in some yellow dye outside and hung it to dry while we were gone.

I also made the swag mockup/pattern pieces smaller so they wouldn’t feel so heavy.

The before and after. The dye kinda removed the blue undertones and help it look more golden. It was a BITCH to iron.

I had a lot of plans for this piece. I had planned to do a base taffeta swag, then decorate it with the same embroidery I’m doing on the swags, maybe some pleated trim made of my velvet, and little puff sleeves of the velvet with a gathered chiffon overlay. All very inspired by various mid-1800s berthas I had saved as inspiration. But I do just kinda love the simplicity of just… that.

I do think it needs a little bit more, so I think I’m going to do a secondary swag of the chiffon underneath it (tucked some scrap fabric underneath it just to get a visual here), and still do the embroidery. I miiiight still make the sleeve puffs just to see how I like it. We’ll see what happens.

Overall feeling much better about things.

Let’s do a to-do list round up:

1. Troi (still in same shape as last to-do list)
-style wig
-try on
-paint shoes

2. Scarlet Witch (my fabric for the skirt came in this week so I’ll probably be doing the skirt this week)
-style wig
-make skirt
-finish finger loop on shirt
-attachments for everything Chase is modding/making

3. Lorne
-finish adding trim to neck bow
-closure on apron

4. Belle
-close up swags/shoulder piece
-embroidery
-attach all pieces
-make secondary swag for shoulder piece
-add roses
-find gloves
-style wig
-decide on shoes (thinking about just wearing my 2012 shoes.)

5. Lover Padme
– experiment sewing in lining to see if it helps roll over issue
– rhine stone everything
-make necklace

NOT BAD.
I mean I do still have a lot to do for other people. We have mom’s skirt made, the waistband needs attached, I have a mock-up for her top. She’s working on her hobbit too. For Chase, I dyed a bunch of stuff this weekend, I need to make his Radagast vest, cape, and sleeves, those should all be pretty straight forward. For Beast I need to make his vest and modify the jacket he’s bought.

Luna likes Chase’s dyed Radagast curtains.

Ok look I don’t want a Labubu but I’ve seen people open those Street Style Stitch blind boxes from Miniso and we were at the mall Friday to check out the new Primark and OMG they had them and I had to get one!

I got ANGEL and she’s so freaking cute. I had tried some kind of strawberry hand lotion at Bath and Body Works, and in the car ride home I could smell that Strawberry scent, and I had this cute little new vinyl toy, and just the smell (which was a very 80s toy smell) combined with the toy made me feel like I was little kid, like Mema and I had just left Zayre and I’d gotten a new Strawberry Shortcake doll and I was happy LOL

Our homechef delivery is every thursday. It usually gets there between 9 and 11 in the morning. By noon it hadn’t arrived, and Chase checked and it was delayed. It never left the MS FedEx location, dunno if it missed the truck or what. So we knew it wasn’t going to be any good when it arrived Friday, it’s been 100 degrees out everyday. Waited on it all day, hoping they put enough ice packs in it it would be ok. It was on the truck for delivery at 4am. It didn’t arrive at our house til 8pm, and they dumped it on our porch upside down.

The box was coming apart from the melting ice blocks. So basically FedEx dumped a box of trash on our front porch. Homechef refunded us of course but I hope they get their money back from FedEx because what was that. I dunno why but it was dumping it on our porch upside down that really sent me over.

Anyway, that’s all for this week. After work gonna be messing with the Lover suit again. I’m really hoping to start stoning today.