montmartre-parapluie reblogged
I can’t help but think that the Ascot sequence in My Fair Lady must have been some sort of awakening for Tim Burton as a child
Long time, no posts, my Tumblr friends! Apologies for being gone AWOL so long! With spring turning up the heat here in the UK, I’ve been getting ready for a couple of comic-cons and so I’ve been chaining myself to my sewing machine recently. Not only am I making a Super Secret Surprise Costume for myself, I also took on a little something for my younger sister.
We’d bought the TIm Burton Alice in Wonderland fancy dress costume for her that you see on Ebay, but... oooh boy, were we disappointed. The picture made it look great...
As you can see. (Not sure about the rave boots, Alice, but hey, it’s Wonderland after all)
But when it arrived, it was a saggy nylon nightmare! It had no floof, the cheapest possible poly-acetate lining for the fabric, and a velcro closing that was already coming unstitched. It was super disappointing for my sister, and it showed.
But being insanely dedicated to my sewing, I looked at the film costume a couple of times and decided this wouldn’t be too hard to replicate. So I armed myself with some sky-blue taffeta, and a few metres of lace and got to work.
I frankensteined this, as there was no pattern I could find that fitted exactly. The bodice was a mash-up of the puffed sleeve pieces from a Regency gown, and this Simplicity pattern:
The skirt urffle and buttoned bodice was very similar, I just had to alter the sleeves and lower the neckline a little. I cheated with the buttons up the front and gave it a zipper at the back.
I also finally bought myself an overlocker for this project, and let me tell you, it is like owning a fleet of magical fairies who help finish your seams for you. No more rolled hems! I was cackling like a maniac as I whizzed away on my new infernal machine.
Because I’m a terrible completist, I also bought a black and white striped ruffled cotton petticoat, to recreate the one Alice wore in the movie. Add to that a pair of blue striped socks and these very cute Bordello shoes:
And you have a full on cosplay!
My sister seemed to like it too when she got to try on, if her photos are anything to go by...
Sewing Update! or What’s M-P been up to? Well, on the sewing front, not much, until my little 11 year old cousin very shyly asked me if I’d help her with her Corpse Bride Costume for World Book Day. She’s currently going through the “Tim Burton” I remember as a rite of passage from my own schooldays - so I wasn’t going to say no to making a costume for it! And there was very little actual “making” on my part! I bought a small plain 1980s wedding dress that had the same silhouette as the gown in the movie, took a tonne of blue acrylic paint and ‘Burtonized’ the beaded bodice with those trademark blue swirls, before dip-dyeing the satin skirt with blue paint and water for a nicely ‘mouldered look’. I then dyed some old pieces of leftover muslin I had a soft light blue for my cousin to paint the edges with the leftover poster paint/acrylics - and voila! With the inclusion of a blue lace top underneath, because March is a cold month. She was absolutely OVER THE MOON with her dead bride dress-up, and after I made her a quick veil with some muslin and a blue flower headband, I was firmly established as the coolest cousin ever. Where actual costuming for myself is concerned, I’ve started making a “cheater” 18th Century quilted petticoat out of a matelasse throw I’ve been meaning to repurpose. It looks good, it’s very warm and its basically the 18th century skirt equivalent of a Snuggie- you’re wearing your blanket!