Major Work - Thor: The Dark World Cosplay WIP

Other insanity I've been up to in the last month or two includes:

-Thor's armor ensemble from Thor: The Dark World
-Loki prison cell costume (for Lisa, both for Denver Comic-Con)
-camping road trip to Maui with my mom
-5-day wedding adventure in Idaho (never moving there; sorry, spuds)
-full-scale remodel of our local Sunglass Hut, starring large, rectangular grey tiles and badly designed cabinets full of glass
-keeping my Grandpa in line
-clearing out my costume inventory (I've sold about 60% of my costumes so far, and about 90% of what I had listed)

Thought I'd post a bit about my Thor cosplay, since that's been in-progress for about 5 months now. The chest armor took forever, otherwise I'd definitely have been done by now. Stare at the designs for too long and you go cross-eyed. Everything looks like pretzels.

Chest armor:
-tooling leather, leather glue, rivets, copious amounts of patience

Front

Back

Pattern

Pants / kilt:
-garment leather, industrial sewing machine, leather adhesive, metallic paint, double-sided hem tape, 500 hours spent online looking for the right metal buckles, blue linen, metal zipper stops, pliers

Cloak:
-red wool, red linen, going crazy with pleats, patience to tack everything properly

Rondels (3D printed; before smoothing: left, after smoothing: right)

Commission - Thranduil-Inspired Coat/Dress

Thranduil-Inspired Coat Dress

So... a casual glance at the dates between this post and the last should reveal I've mostly abandoned the "costume a day" blogging campaign. But a lot's happened since then. Big changes.

1- Livy and I went our separate ways. She's going to be back and forth between Oregon and the Czech Republic, where her partner is from. I wish her all the very best, and am grateful for the time we spent together and the adventures we were able to have. :) She might be less often in my life, but she'll always be my Tauriel.

2- I'm off to Australia, beginning July 2, for the Academy of Film, Theater, and Television in Sydney. Exciting times! My goal is to dabble in all the various aspects of film production before re-specializing. I'm definitely still going to be doing costumes - nobody panic. But I'd rather keep that more of a side thing, as well as a hobby. Who knows? I might end up working in more of a designing capacity.

On that note... my latest commission I've just completed for a wonderfully patient customer in Canada. She had seen one of my (in my opinion, awful) older gowns based on Thranduil from The Hobbit. That dress had long since been sold, so she asked if I could create a custom variation on it. She wanted one with detachable sleeves, archery lacing around the wrist, cap sleeves, and a stand collar. I was incredibly busy right around that time, but managed to finish it at the very last moment (after I'd gone to Idaho to attend a friend's wedding).

I think Thranduil-Inspired Gown Mk. 2 turned out reasonably well, even if I wasn't able to get very good photos of it before sending it off to its new owner. I particularly like the long skirts and the way the back is shaped. (I also love the mock-up I made in silver damask and silvery-blue crinkle taffeta. I'm so glad I get to keep it, haha.)

And the mock-up! Again, I really love this color combo almost more than the final version. (Wasn't quite done with it when these photos were taken, so it's not hemmed / fully sewn together.)

So much skirt! 

And a few more of the finished Thranduil-inspired dress. Most of these were taken in Jamie's (my model) father's front yard, right before the sun set. We were in a bit of a rush because we had so much wedding prep to finish, hence the various vehicles in the background. I'd photoshop them out if I had the time. ;) The others were taken indoors, some before I'd finished attaching the skirt to the bodice.

Lace ups on the lower sleeve for a more fitted look

Shoulder detail (cap sleeves and detachable long sleeves)

 

Day 8 - Snow White and the Huntsman Dress

So... due to some unforeseen changes, it seems the updating on this challenge may slow considerably. That being said, posts will still come pretty frequently, as intend to eventually have a page for every costume I've made. :)

Snow White Dress (Snow White and the Huntsman)
Modeled by Livia, made and photographed by Sarah

Trivia: 
Dress made circa 2014, after seeing Snow White and the Huntsman in theaters. I like the upholstery taffeta of the overdress, but to my everlasting regret, I selected the most hideous pink cotton for the underdress. *shakes head*

The bodice of the overdress is lined and boned, and features eyelets in the front for a functional lace-up closure and poofy, multi-piece sleeves. Other interesting features include the infinite button array on the lower sleeves of the underdress and a gathered ruffle trim around the square neckline.

The dress was never worn for any events, sadly. As the trend suggests, I was a serial wardrobe squanderer for many years. I have now seen the error of my ways: if I'm not gonna wear it, I'm not gonna keep it.

Day 7 - Eowyn Green Gown

(Inspired by) Eowyn's Green Gown, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Made and modeled by Sarah, photographed by Livia
Location: Rogue River Valley

Trivia: 
I made this gown back in 2012, when I was beginning to undertake more ambitious sewing projects. It was based on Eowyn's Green Gown, one of my most loved costumes from the Lord of the Rings films. It didn't turn out exactly as I'd hoped, mostly because of my fabric choices, but also because I neglected to anticipate technicalities of the multiple layers (chiefly that the overdress, unless secured, will simply slip down off the shoulders and look horrible. (The gown is carefully positioned and staged in the above few shots, believe you me....) Further, I didn't get a chance to make the iconic multi-piece belt, so I had to use a similar one as a stand-in.

The gown is made in green cotton velvet (which was probably too thick to drape as nicely as it might have), and a cheap curtain fabric which I came to deeply regret. The yoke was quilted, which took me two attempts to get right, and the trim quickly became one of my happier finds on the project, as it very closely resembles that used in the original. I think I may have spent 35+ hours on eBay hunting for it.

I certainly learned a lot through the making process, so I'm pleased with it on that account, even if I never did wear it to anything, or even technically "finish" it. I gained great strides in pattern-drafting, and in altering existing patterns. :)

Day 6 - Blue Elven Gown

Blue Elven Gown
Modeled, as ever, by Livia; made and photographed by Sarah

Trivia:
I made this gown around 2013, using some navy blue crushed panne I had lying around and some royal blue satin. The trim I bought especially for the dress, as I recall, and it's some of the nicest I've ever found, quality-wise. My inspiration was some elven-style dresses on etsy and a dress I made earlier with a lace-up feature in the front.

I never wore the dress to any events, sadly. Like many of my earlier gowns, it's been languishing in closets and various storage totes until the present time, unused and underappreciated.

We opted to feature Livia as Tauriel, wearing the gown, since it suits the character's love of starlight and the night. Also, I thought her red hair would complement the dark blue beautifully.

Day 5 - Galadriel White Gown From The Hobbit

Lady Galadriel, The Hobbit

Modeled by Maggie and Livia, made by Sarah, photographed by Casa Bay

Trivia:

I made this costume around 2014 using the Simplicity pattern. I don't know what my intent for it was, except that it appealed to me. As such, I never ended up wearing it to any events, and it languished in the closet for the past few years. The only use it saw was for a Hobbit contest video, and I think my younger sister wore it to Desolation of Smaug at our local McMenamins. I guess I never really saw myself as a Galadriel-esque figure, so I didn't think to complete the costume ensemble for her.

The main dress is in polyester shantung from Joann's, and the sleeves were cut from curtains I found at Goodwill. The brooch was my grandmother's (I inherited a generous amount of them). 

Regarding the photoshoot, I feel we kinda... rushed this one. The location would've been nicer in better weather, but it was freezing cold, drizzly, and windy (we were on a cliff overlooking a wide point of the Rogue River where the bridge crosses over). Also, we didn't have a proper wig or accessories to go with it, so Livy doesn't really look like Galadriel. Still, I'm happy this long-neglected gown got to see a bit of action. :)

February 2018 update: added some photos by Casa Bay that better showcase this gown; the model is Maggie Hartley, an accomplished ballerina and family friend. 

Day 4 - Daenerys' Wedding Gown

After a bit of a lapse in posting for our costume challenge, we're back on track. (We went on an adventure, which is as good an excuse as any, as far as I'm concerned.) It was a good thing for this blog, though, since during the excursion we were able to do a number of costume shoots in some beautiful and diverse locations in the southwestern portion of Oregon.

The first shoot we did was Daenerys' wedding gown, which we were able to capture in the snow and the sand (fitting, really). Our first photo session for the Mother of Dragons was in the forest below Crater Lake, while the second was in the sand dunes near North Bend.

Daenerys' Wedding Gown  
Modeled by Livia, made and photographed by Sarah

Trivia: 
I made this gown for Halloween three or four years ago, knowing very little about Daenerys and almost nothing about Game of Thrones. I just thought it looked cool.

The dress is hand-dyed silk, and made using a Simplicity pattern. It took me about an evening and a half to finish. I originally wore it with a custom-made Smaug "shoulder dragon."

As I recall, I spent most of the Halloween party reciting cheesy lines I'd probably seen in a trailer ("Fire cannot kill a dragon....") and trying to keep the dress from slipping down. I had a horrible wig that wasn't at all correct, and probably ended up looking more like Cersei than Daenerys. *shame* I have since mended my ways, though. I've now successfully completed all 6 seasons of GoT.