Next generation of the catsuit.

Woot! I fixed the fit and am now ready to head into the actual style! There's a tiny bit of work in the crotch, but I think I can fix that in careful sewing. This is a mock up once again, hence the ridiculous fabric. The next iteration will be in final fabric and have the look of the final character. This will be probably the most comfortable cosplay I've ever worn. 

I'm just going to wear this around the house now...

Earrings, Cat Suit and Work Toward an Actual Goal

Project updates, in no particular order - 

Code

I'm getting pretty confident in my ability to create basic web design.   I use Codeacademy.com to learn basic html, CSS and Java. I'll be starting Ruby soon. If you are looking for work in ANY field, I suggest doing this, even if these skills seem completely unrelated to your job. It shows you are interested in building you skills in your downtime and gives you more terms to use on a resume.

Earrings, now in BUNNIFORM!

Plain

Gilded

Costume

Remember I'm making this: 

Here's a bizarre pattern, made from scratch per my measurements:

Here's a cat suit, made from said pattern:

This is the mock-up prior to adjusting the pattern. Note, no side seams, no center front seam. I shortened the crotch extension and trued up the leg seams on the pattern after this fitting. One more mock up, and I can start adjusting the pattern to contain the style lines of the actual costume. 

Nightstand

I threw a few more coats of paint on the interior of the nightstand project while I was patterning. It should be ready for the complete exterior stain and polyurethane coat soon. 

Upcoming Projects

In a few weeks, we'll be making a spice rack on wheels for my kitchen and a set of Roman shades for the living room. 

Another Daily Awesome - Gold Leaf

So, what's going on here? Well, I've made some of my cardboard designs more awesome by applying gold leaf! It was easy enough to follow the instructions on the package. 

Here are some boring bits, waiting for something to make them more interesting. They've been coated with sealant. 

That's a sheet of gold on the left. The earrings on the right are all prepped with sealant and adhesive. 

The earrings on the left are adhering to the gold. on the right are the stages of buffing the leaf onto the surface with the brush. The tough part is getting it to clear from the holes.

Here they are with fully applied leaf!

These are the finished product with sealant and findings. 

Please let me know if you are interested in any of these or a custom product. I'm also happy to share any knowledge on applying gold leaf.

Daily Awesome - Sleep Mask

You may recall that I purchased a paper mache mask a few weeks back. Here's how it went. I used purple quilted fabric and black satin, plus flannel bias binding for the edge and satin ribbon for the ties. This took several days of spare time, but could be done in a day if someone were so inclined.

The mask as purchased.

As it's going to be a sleep mask, I needed to close the eye holes. This is just paper mache made from newspaper and flour/water paste. 

Here I glued some quilted fabric to the interior for padding. 

I stuffed some extra fill into the cheeks to close the light leaks.

Glued and clamped the cheeks to the form.

Same image from the front.

Glued the front fabric to the front of the form and pinned the excess to the back. 

Same view from the front.

Same view, with the fabric rolled down. I next ran glue down the eyes and on the cheeks to make the fabric tight on the face.

In order to smooth the fabric over the nose, I slit the fabric down the length of the nose, then added a triangular piece to cover the hole. 

First was to sew the nose fabric to the glued on front fabric...

...then roll the excess to the back.

Here I am stitching around the edge of the form to keep the fabric rolled away from the face. The nose has a seam where I closed the hole around the nostril edge. It will be hidden later.

The finished edge.

A prettier view on my counter top. The back is still raw. 

I trimmed and tacked the fabric at the back, but the edge won't conform to the interior as the front fabric is not stretchy. I used Fray Block to keep the raw edges from getting too stringy.

 I employed some flannel bias binding to cover the raw edges and decorate the front. Bias tape conforms to curves and flannel is very soft. It was first stitched to the front, then to the back. You can also see that I added in the ties under the bias tape. This is the finished interior.

And here is the finished front, complete with adorable sleepy eye lashes. 

 I slept in the mask last night. It's a bit stiff and there is still a bit of a light leak at the bottom. I think that I'll wear a gel mask under it and see how it feels.