Monday, August 25, 2014

The Final Update Before Dragon Con...

Dear readers, this is it for entries until after Dragon Con.
It's just a few days away and I still have a lot of finishing touches to complete on both the Lagertha battledress and Elsa's gown. However, I do have a couple of images to share as a teaser, and plenty of photos of the final products to share after the madness of con is over.

Here's a sneak-peek of the completed chainmaille tunic body. This was before I added the maille shoulder pieces, and had tried it on for fit...and it fit! (whew!)
I left the left shoulder section of maille detached but laced to a small strip of leather. From the closeup photos I had, I noticed this was used. A genius move on the part of the Vikings costume dept., so that way the entire left side of the tunic can open up for ease of dressing & undressing. When put on, that small strip of leather with the shoulder chainmaille piece simply gets tied back onto the rear shoulder section...if that makes any sense. If I have time later today, I can post a closeup of the original showing this detail.

 This was also before I had dyed my leather side laces a darker brown.


There are little to zero clues as to how Lagertha's blue leather dress closes in front. From some of the hi-res pictures, I was able to discern that it closed in front, but how was a mystery. So, once again using my own imagination, I decided to re-purpose a few of the extra rings leftover from the chainmaille as lacing loops.
Even further with my own stylistic leanings, the little holes you see punched in the leather will get some of the brass studs later. or maybe some fancier ones if I can track any down.
I still need to treat the leather to darken and weather is a little, too


I've been taking my own path with the look of the shirt. Keeping a similar color pallet to Lagertha's, but since it's so hard to make out details, or get a clear view of her undershirt collar, I am using my imagination. For mine, I'm utilizing a flax/hemp cord in a slate grey with some of the deep brown leather flat lacing also used on the leather dress. I've also done some extra decorative stitches in a flax thread along the neck seam.
It's definitely rustic looking, but then I'm portraying a Viking queen, not a Disney princess....at least not the entire time ;-)

The beginnings of the armored arm braces...

**Edited to add: Unfortunately the shield is not a go. We were trying to construct it so that it could separate in half for travel, but we just need more time to perfect it and make it hold together more solidly.**
A shield in the making, thanks to my friend Anders. Nearly complete; it just needs its handles at the back and paint. I have a sword he carved from wood and painted to look like the real thing, complete with leather scabbard.

So, stay tuned. There will be a ton of photos to share very soon. Perhaps even during Dragon Con!
XOXO





Thursday, August 21, 2014

Frozen Shoes

Taking a quick break from the Lagertha project, I've finished the shoes for my Elsa ensemble.
These are the same shoes I wore for the Disneyland event a few months ago...for a little while at least. They were brand new and while pretty comfy, I hadn't had time to break them in. My feet were ok with them for about 3 hours but after a few blisters started to show up, I switched to some flats I'd painted a similar color.
Now that these are properly broken in, I decided to give them a facelift since the original paint job was rushed (over a navy color) and none of the "Frozen" modifications I wanted were done.

What follows is truly my own version of Elsa's shoes. I'm not attempting to be dead accurate with these, but I wanted them to at least reflect the general look and colors used on hers.


Using some softer scraps from the tooling leather I used for my Lagertha armor, I created extensions on the vamp of the shoe in a spiky icicle design. Before adding these, I sanded down both shoes thoroughly so that both the glue for the additions, and the new coat of paint would have a surface that they could adhere to.
(Please excuse all the thread, blue clippings and hole punch confetti on my carpet from the leather Lagertha tunic)

 Tools of the trade; sandpaper, glue, hairpins, super sharp scissors and Dutch licorice cats...which have zero to do with this project except that they are tasty. 

To glue these pieces on, I used Aleen's Foamtastic. This is the same brand that makes the Jewel It glue I use to decorate my burlesque costumes in all those Swarovski crystals. I needed something strong that would not only dry clear, but flexible. Normally I would have used some kind of shoe repair glue, but I didn't have any on hand. Alternately, Foamtastic works for this sort of thing because it's made for porous materials. Leather is porous, and this glue is super thick and tacky. It holds while it dries, and doesn't soak away into materials that tend to make more fluid glue vanish before it can stick.
As you can see from the top photo, I still used a few hairpins to clamp the pieces in place while it set. Once that was done, I broke out the paints.

The first coat.

I mixed two colors of Lumiere paints; a plain turquoise and a frosty white metallic to get the shade you see above. After that was dry, I added more of the metallic frost white to the tips of the spikes. Building and blending the layers of the frost for more intensity at the pointy tips, this definitely gave the shoes an icy look.

The finished product! Or do I add more sparkle?

I also shaded some of the frosty white onto the small heels and along the top edge at the back.
Eventually I'd like to find a diamond shaped hole punch, and do a cut-out design on the interior of the spiky pieces for a snowflake look.
I know some people have added glitter to theirs, but I want to keep the snagging effect to a minimum. Granted, spiky things similar to what I added can catch on hemlines, but that's why I used a soft leather that is unlikely to be a problem. Glitter, when glued to a surface, becomes like sandpaper. I really don't want the inside of my hem & the satin lining to catch, scuff or stick to my shoes. Swarovski crystals are an option though ;-)

Monday, August 18, 2014

Lagertha's Battledress: Making Progress

Just a taste of what I've accomplished today with my Lagertha armor...


Of course, some delicious homemade tiramisu helped immensely.


Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Still Kicking

 The Dragon Con sewing has kept me so busy, dear readers that I have had little time for updates.
With the days slipping by toward the zero hour, I need to really utilize my time down to the minutes it seems. I also want to have time to pack up all these costume bits!
With that said, I do have a couple of random progress photos to share here and will have plenty to share after Dragon Con is over. I'm taking photos as I go, and will try to post a full rundown on the creation of both the Lagertha battledress and Elsa's gown.
XOXO

The bodice portion of the Elsa gown is finally getting its sequins, and I'm making really good progress. I may even finish it this weekend.


Here's what I've been doing on my lunch breaks this week; trimming and sanding.
I not only trim the corners to get the right shape of sequin, but to also take down some of the sharpness that could catch on the rest of my costume, my flesh or on other people. I'm roughening the backs of each one with a nail file because I've chosen to glue them on (with Aleen's Jewel It) instead of sewing, and this gives the glue something to grip more securely. For me personally, without little thread stitches holding them on, it gives the icy sequin design a much cleaner look that's closer to how Elsa's bodice appears in the film. It also happens to make the application process much faster!


The Lagertha armor...so many little lacing holes...ouch. My hand hates both me and my hole punch, and I still have two more leather pieces to punch holes in. Funny to think that the tooled designs were actually the easy part. Almost there. I still need to put the little round Norse sun wheel design on the center front of the below piece, but this chainmaille & leather tunic will also likely get completed this weekend!


Thursday, August 7, 2014

Lagertha's Battledress: Leatherwork and Linen

Just a quick photo update on the Lagertha project.

The leather waist piece in the making, with the design inspired by one from an ancient Norse axe head...


 The undershirt (before the sleeves were attached)


Film still of original costume

Sunday, August 3, 2014

Lagertha's Battledress: Blue Leather

Today I was able to get a lot done on the leather dress worn underneath the chainmaille tunic.
Last night I made a muslin mockup using the below pattern as a guide for the seams, omitting the bust dart and shaping the curve a little tighter. Today I got so far along that I have all my pieces cut out of the blue leather hide.

 I got rid of the built up neckline and left it a plain round neckline with a straight opening all the way down the front. I can shape this later once the dress itself is constructed. The neckline on Lagertha's leather dress can't be seen, and I have very little to go on as to any specific shape. So, I may use my imagination and find something that works for me.

'Gee, I wonder if I'll have enough leather' I said to myself in the weeks leading up to this...oh yes, there was plenty. There is a ton hiding under those folds to the right of the photo, and I already have other plans for the remaining scraps. I want to use every last bit.

I briefly pinned the back piece to my form (only on the seam allowance edges) to get an idea of how the leather behaves. it's a heavy garment weight and also intended as a super soft upholstery leather, which makes it the perfect Viking weight.

 Some of these shots might show up as *holy frack that's blue!*, but this leather is a really nice muted lapis blue.

Also, joy of joys, the correct size boot arrived yesterday! I had to exchange sizes after I received the wrong one, but it was easy. Thanks DSW!
They also happen to match the vintage brown suede pants I found on Etsy perfectly.

Friday, August 1, 2014

Lagertha's Battledress: An Early Update On The Leatherwork

Earlier in the week, I began a mockup of the leather pieces that are incorporated into Lagertha's chainmaille armor. Working with a few hi-res images, some heavy cotton denim and a little luck, I set about replicating the shapes onto my not-quite-right dress form to get a general idea of placement.


Yesterday evening after a few adjustments, I traced the pieces onto a giant roll of tooling leather I'd picked up at Tandy leathers in San Bruno. Now that all the pieces are cut, I get to do the tooling designs on each one, with the exception of the back belt piece.

 I've also included the little 'V' section in the center back yoke piece.

 An example of the placement for the front pieces


After I'm finished with the tooling designs, I'll stain the leather a deep brown shade. 

I wasn't sure if this should be curved or straight along the right edge.
It's the piece that goes over what is essentially the 'side boob' and looks curved in the stills I have...

I think a little curve is correct for this, since it will pull the rest of the front into the correct shape to accommodate for a bust line.