We bought black cotton broadcloth yesterday, along with the embroidery floss in all three colors.  I was thinking of doing our emblems on top, instead of simply edging the alter cloth.  But in my 'wisdom' (i.e. lack thereof), I only bought half a meter of fabric.  So while there is enough for a 41 x 100 piece, there's not enough to double it.

So where and how do I go looking for 'quills'. I want them black and curved, like you sometimes see on those necklaces. If I look for spikes and studs they're all silver and only the cat's claw comes close, but that's not quite what I'm looking for.

Sahi wrote:

So where and how do I go looking for 'quills'. I want them black and curved, like you sometimes see on those necklaces. If I look for spikes and studs they're all silver and only the cathttp://www.tadwilliams.com/images/banner/Message.gif's claw comes close, but that's not quite what I'm looking for.

How about real quills?

Last edited by Em (2010-08-22 06:20:57)

Sahi wrote:

Em, real quills would be awesome, but kinda hard to attach to the top of a bandana. The idea is that I'm going to create a leather bandana with a mohawk of 'quills'. (To go with my vengeance maiden costume.)

There's lots of information on the web on how to work with quills. There should be something there you can adapt to your use. The indigent American peoples use them in their costumes.

Sahi wrote:

Yeah, but so far what I saw was beadwork, and what I want is the 'quils' to stick up. If you know of a site that tells me how to do that, please let me know.

Sounds like you'll need some sort of structure to keep the quills vertical.  But first you'll need to determine how your 'bandana' will attach to your head.  If you mean to tie it to your head like a head-scarf, I'm not sure that's secure enough to hold the sort of structure that you'll need.  Those quills that Em linked to are 25-30 cms long!

Sahi wrote:

I was definitely not thinking of quills that are 20 cm's long or longer. I was thinking more of something like 5 cms...

How about something like this?  It may be best for you to first determine what sort of 'quill' you want to use and how you want it look (angle of placement, arrangement, etc.).  Then you can determine what sort of attachment method and/or structure you'll need, which would then dictate the kind of head-garment you'll need in order to support it.  The type bandana you are considering does not offer much in the way of stability.

Last edited by cyan (2010-08-25 19:36:49)

*bump*

Costume ideas are already being considered for WFC 2011...

So...

I'm gearing up to tackle the next costuming challenge.  It shall be quite redolent of aquatic influence.  The design is a remake of a costume that I did over 20 years ago.  It was a beautiful costume, but I cannot for the life of me remember how I did it, and am now doing a boatload of reverse engineering to figure it out.  And I'm totally flummoxed.
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P.S.:  Otherland re-readers - sorry for effectively abandoning the re-read.  I fully intended to see this endeavor though to the end, unfortunately RL had other plans for me.  Mom is doing well but the situation is still worrying, and I am falling back into my comfortable bailiwick, i.e. making stuff with textiles.  The costuming allows me to feel simultaneously creative and in control, which is exactly what I need right about now.  Not the best mindset to participate a re-read project though, so please forgive me.

*hugglesmagpie*

Thank you for understanding.  I appreciate that more than you will ever know.

I think that much of my worrying has to do with the fact my youngest brother was taken by cancer in the second go-around.  This is Mom's second go-around, and while she's doing very well, there's that thing in the back of my mind that just won't go away.

I mean, I'm not so deluded as to expect my mother to live forever.  That would be creepy.  And scientifically impossible.  I would just much rather she pass away in her sleep at a ripe old age, rather than going through what she is now.  With the chemotherapy and feeling so drained because of it, and losing her hair, and still always trying to be as resilient as she is.  And I would have time to learn all of her mad cooking skills and ....

And take care of her.  As she's always taken care of me.  But I can't be there, and that's the most frustrating part of this whole situation.

Soooo.....

Since my last post here, I have dove (dived?) into the new costuming project.  Which is quite a bit different than the what I thought I was going to do a month or so ago.  There was an idea in my head that harkened back to something that I did over 20 years ago, and I was struggling struggling struggling, to revisit it with a new and fresh and modern approach (and could not remember how I did what I did waaaay back then).  And it occurred to me that I was prolly barking up the wrong tree.  So I had a discussion with our dear Libra about my concerns with my initial idea, and the conversation inspired me to come up with an entirely different design.  I have a sketch and pics of some of the fabrics involved, which I'll put up on the Picasa-thing in the near future.  *makes note to do so*

One of the primary elements of this "new" costume is a corset, but one very different from that which I made for Calgary WFC.  This one is more 19th century-ish.  Initially, I thought I could use one of the patterns that came with the pattern that I used for the Calgary corsets, but after constructing one for a test fit, I didn't like it at all.  The problem is that these commercial patterns are meant to recreate a 'historical' garment, which is to say an under-garment.  That is not the role that I intend the corset to play in this particular costume.  It would be fine if another garment were to be worn under said corset, like a chemise or blouse as in my previous costuming projects, overflow of bodily bits would not be a concern.  This time, the corset is a garment feature all on it's own, and it must function accordingly.

So I drafted the corset pattern that I want, and made up a test-fit sample for myself last Sunday.  It fits 'perfectly'!  By 'perfectly' I mean the areas that are impossible for me to fit on myself because the physical movements required to do so entails contortions that are not natural and any fitting done that way is inherently inaccurate, are perfect.  The not-so-perfect bits are simple pattern adjustments, done!

This is my long-winded way of saying that my corset pattern is totally spot-on!  *glees*

I've ordered all of the materials that I need, I think, including a heavy-duty 'tool-thingy' to cut the holes and set the eyelets like Libra and Sahi and I saw at Castlefest.  It was kinda pricy, but I think well worth the cost.  (So Libra, you don't have to move the tools that I sent you, just throw them out!)

Last edited by cyan (2011-06-16 22:45:10)

Sahi wrote:

I still have a skirt lying around since before Christmas. Not even half-done...

The number of unfinished knitting projects that I have lying around is an embarrassment of riches.  ;-)

Hmm, let's see... Two knitting projects in progress. (One of them is actually still progressing near daily.) Then there are my sewing projects: one skirt, one vest, one pair of tights, one cloak (although that's truly long-term as it needs lots of spare bits of fabric), one cover for my bicycle crate, some shirts that need mending, and possibly some others that I can't even remember anymore... Oh and I've also already bought fabric for a dress, but I don't even have a pattern for that one yet....