what the hellyonce

For as much work as I’ve done on stuff for the last week it feels criminal that I have so few photos to show for it.

I got the swatches for my last bit of fabric I need for Belle.

I got 10 swatches to look at and the other 8 were too brown, but these 2 were closest to what I had in my head. I definitely think it’s gonna be the more buttery one on the right. Now just have to wait til I have money to buy it, since I just had to blow my budget for this costume on the $150 for hooping supplies.

While waiting on the hooping stuff to arrive, I did get the outer velvet layer of my bodice assembled. I got it to the point of ready to attach to the inside layer but my hooping stuff arrived so it’s now on pause.

Glad I bought 4 yards of cotton randomly at walmart because that’s what I used for the lower part of the hoopskirt. I did have to do some cartwheels and use some supplies that weren’t exactly what the pattern called for. Why is it every time I follow a pattern that requires any kind of specialty hardware, be it boning, hooping, millinery wire, etc, what the pattern calls for doesn’t exist anywhere that I can find online? So tiresome. I had to use a different size hoop wire than what the pattern called for and I’m still sitting with fingers crossed it works ok.

Anyway, I got the fabric parts assembled, hoop channels stitched in, Chase helped me get the hoop wires cut. I started to do the part of the hoops that required boning casing — I had bought a roll of boning casing that was a little bit bigger than my hoop wire on amazon. Got it out and… my hoop wire wouldn’t fit AT ALL. Chase tried and had the same experience I did – the wire would go in about 1/4 inch and then just would not go in anymore. And since I had 17 yards of this stuff to deal with, this wasn’t going to cut it.

That was Saturday night, so Sunday morning I decided to just run to Walmart and grab some bias tape to use instead, hoping they’d have enough of one colour to work.

And I came face-to-face with the reality of a post-Joann sewing world:

All our closet Walmart had was 1 unopened pack of black and an opened pack of yellow satin blanket binding.

So went back home and waited on Michael’s to open. Went there… and Michael’s doesn’t have any bias tape AT ALL. Yeah so glad they “saved” Joann.

Drove out to the Super Walmart and thank GOODNESS they had a much bigger bias tape section. I was able to get 3 packs of white and 2 of cream. Close enough. I mean yeah I could’ve ordered something online and waited a day or 2, but I was in a flow on this! There has never been a time in my sewing career where I couldn’t just leave my house and go buy something as simple as bias tape within an hour!

Anyway, back home and back to work.

I sewed all the bias tape lengths closed along the horizontal edge so I could use them as casings. Got all of my hooping installed. Got all of the rings pinned onto the ribbon supports. Then just had to sit and hand-sew for hours.

Here’s where I left it last night. Still sewing the joins together. Should be finished tonight and then I can put the petticoat on and see if I’m going to need to alter it, and then the skirt. Excited to see it all together.

This hoopskirt isn’t pretty. It’s (hopefully) functional and that’s all I care about.

In other news:

We celebrated Luna’s birthday this weekend! We stopped at the grocery and got her some shrimp. Chase cooked and chopped it up. I let her have a few bites of this, then put it in the fridge and have been sprinkling it on her regular food.

Tried a new bakery for breakfast Saturday morning. Got a free bag cuz it was the grand opening, nice! It was good.

Picked up a case of the new Star Wars cokes, and lucked into a whole case of Leia!

I am disappointed they aren’t mixing characters in the cases like they did with the Marvel ones. But glad I got a whole case of Leia. Now to find the Padme.

Chase’s car is in the shop so we’ve been driving the Cooper around. Found a sibling and had to park by it.

Yesterday Chase burnt his hand really bad on some hot glue, just like I did with that hot pan last August right before Dragoncon. Kept it iced all evening, got take out instead of cooking, and he just rested the rest of the day. Thankfully this morning the pain is gone.

That’s all I got this week. Goals next week:
-finish hoopskirt
-edit petticoat as needed
-get main skirt seams finished
-pleat skirt
-hem skirt
-start figuring out swags
-finish basic bodice
-get back to mockup for 5th costume
-take pics of Lorne now that she’s done (I painted the jewelry yesterday)

I’m off Friday so I’m hoping to get a lot done!!