5 weeks to go

I was going to go count the days until we leave for Dragoncon but I decided that would be detrimental to my mental health, so we’re just gonna say 5 weeks.

I did get a decent amount done this past weekend. Not quite to where I want to be but a big hurdle crossed…

The main skirt is WEARABLE!

I say wearable and not done because I need to tweak the hem again. Like I said in an earlier post, it stretched MORE even after letting it hanging originally, so some areas ended up a little longer.

But I finished the flower embroidery — I probably should’ve done a few more, but I needed to move on, I can always add more later. And I do still need to add more sequins, but I got it gathered and sewn to my waistband, back seam closed up, hook and bars on. To line the waistband I found this old pale pink rose cotton in my stash – I think it came out of my great aunt’s sewing stuff. Discovered it was actually a tube of fabric sewn together LOL So I had to unpick it to use it, but it looks cute.

This was it just pinned together before I sewed it. I’m going to have to wear my nude shorts under this even with the lining layer – you can see the dressform through both in the less gathered areas!

I did finally redo the lining layer. To recap, I had originally just cut it as a bunch of big squares I was going to gather onto an elastic waistband. Then I decided that would be too bulky but I hated cutting off that much expensive fabric. So I’ve sat on it for a while. Yesterday I decided I was going to do it. Started unpicking all of those french seams and then was like… I’m going to end up cutting most of this off when I reshape the panels, so why waste my time unpicking? So I just cut the finished edges off LOL I recut each panel into a more A-line shape. I ended up with one extra panel so I put it in the center front.

I got them all sewn together once, tonight I’ll clean up those edges, press them and do the french seam. Then one day this week I’ll get them dyed. Not looking forward to that, because it means I have to douse myself in Off to avoid getting 100 mosquito bites, and the “real feel” temp here right now was like 112 yesterday? So my glasses are GONNA be sliding down my nose nonstop. I hate that.

I did also finally make myself get back to the bodice. I’ve been avoiding it because I realllly don’t want to do those little square cut outs. But I did one whole panel Saturday! And decided I didn’t like it, unpicked it, cut a new panel rethought it all. I decided that firstly, I needed my magnifying jeweler’s glasses so I could really see these tiny cuts and make sure they are clean and right to the edge of the square I’ve drawn on the backside. Couldn’t find them ANYWHERE. I looked everywhere I would’ve put them, nowhere. I ended up borrowing the ones my parents have – dad dropped them off yesterday. Chase cut some new little square guides out of stabilizer for me, so tonight I’ll get those all applied again. I want to get them all laid out on the wrong side, pin it to the bodice base and put it on the dressform to make sure they visibly look right — they’re not going to be even, because if I lay them out in a perfect grid, they fall into the seams and I do NOT want one on a seam. So I’m just going to eyeball it and move them slightly as needed.

Once I’m happy with the placement, I’ll trace around the stabilizer squares as my cutting guide and get to it.

In Morticia news, I totally re-configured the bodice. I decided I was way over thinking it and over complicating it for a piece that is never going to even be seen. I did want to have it to use for other costumes, but we can do that as a winter project if I want to make a new one, for now I’m under the gun and I need to just take the easier path. I bought a cheap bra on amazon and it actually fits good enough, gives me the look I want without me spending house shaping a cup into a corset. I cut the bra cups off the corset layer and turned it into an underbust, closed it all back up, sewed the bias tape on the edges and moved on with my life:

I need to finish the inside edge of the bias tape and install the grommets, and put in a modesty panel, but other than that, that is done. I’ll be able to actually start the dress in the next couple of days – which I’m hoping should go pretty fast, it’s not a complicated dress.

Goals this week:
Padme:
1. Finish skirt lining layer
2. Finish the cuts squares in bodice outer layer
3. Start bodice embroidery
4. Get capelet fabric dyed

Morticia:
1. Finish bodice
2. Dress mockup

Ok now let’s get onto life updates. Had the big scary dentist appointment Thursday. It wasn’t great. But I don’t have to do anything more until November – though hoping a cancellation comes up and I can get this done sooner, but either way it’ll definitely be after Labor Day, so I don’t have to worry about this anymore til after Dragoncon. Big load off my mind, but still not completely, because we still don’t know how bad it’s going to be until the dentist gets in there and sees how bad it all is. Not knowing what my mouth is going to look like afterwards is kinda messing me up in the head. Leading up to this, none of this has been hurting me much, off and on a bit in the last 2 weeks I’d say? But after the thursday appointment I’ve been in a lot of pain and having to take regular pain meds to stay on top of it and it’s messed my stomach up already. So this should be fun having to live with this until November. But at least the pain meds work and right now I feel normal… except my stomach hurting LOL

Chase has been spoiling me, even with me being a grouchy grouch 24/7.

He surprised me with this beautiful Amidala print earlier this week! Need to order a frame for it.

And then Friday he came home with this??

I’ve admired these Hot Toys figures for ages but never thought I’d have one. He found someone on fb marketplace selling this and went and snagged it.

She’s so beautiful!

With her moms!

I love her. It’s like looking at my own costume in miniature, it scratches the itch in my brain that wants to make doll clothes…

Sewing room vibes.

All right so now let’s get to art corner. I have more Leias today!

I said I wasn’t going to do the hospital gown from Last Jedi, but in my desperation to find enough Leias to make it to 75 (current goal), I did it.

Leia from the Hisao Tamaki manga. If you’ve been around my blog for a looong loooong time, you know how influential that manga was to me, and I just got the art book for it, so I decided to include it in the project even though technically it’s the same as ANH senatorial. But I love the hair variation. And I felt like it could represent her wearing the same outfit, but younger.

I forgot about this Dark Empire action figure, I even have it somewhere!

There were several sketches I found for sith Leia concepts – I think they were from the scrapped Battlefront game? I could’ve done like 3 more variations on this using those, but I picked the one I thought would be the most fun to draw. Hot Topic Leia!

Another Princess & the Scoundrel look – this one the umber dress with leather trim and a hood she wears early on in the book. Maybe a little fantasy looking but I feel like that’s ok for those Endor scenes.

And we are really digging deep here… the gold bikini Carrie wore on SNL lol
I wasn’t sure what to do for shoes, I couldn’t find a good shot of what she had on her feet for that… so I felt like the whole look was very 70s-does-20s so some basic gold Mary Janes seemed on brand for that.