Costume Work in Progress: Gaiters (Greaves) for Liberacicus mk II

This weekend has been productive. I've finished the gaiters (or greaves, call 'em what you like) for Liberacicus mark II:
( photos beneath the cut )

I have to admit, I'm glad I'm done working with the leather and oh-so-sticky-in-the-sewing-machine sparkly blue vinyl.

Costume Work in Progress: Gaiters (Greaves) for Liberacicus mk II

This weekend has been productive. I've finished the gaiters (or greaves, call 'em what you like) for Liberacicus mark II:
( photos beneath the cut )

I have to admit, I'm glad I'm done working with the leather and oh-so-sticky-in-the-sewing-machine sparkly blue vinyl.

Costume Work in Progress: "Laurel Wreath" for Liberacicus mk II

The final piece of Liberacicus mk II: a silver "Laurel Wreath" for his head. I wanted something that actually looked like foliage, so went shopping in the floral department at Michael's. No laurel or olive leaves, but I found something I thought would serve.
I made an armature by braiding heavy floral wire into a band, and then wove the stems of the leaves from the fake foliage into it:
( pictures under the cut )

In the course of weaving the leaves in, I discovered the enamel was still slightly soft, so the whole thing is out curing in the sun right now (and is *very* shiny!). I'll add a lining (craft foam, or felt, or something after it's hardened a little more, as otherwise I know the aluminum wire (and pigment in the silver paint) will leave black/grey marks on me.

So all the pieces are done well in advance of packing for Montreal!
( Of course, there's one minor bit of other sewing to do... )

Costume Work in Progress: "Laurel Wreath" for Liberacicus mk II

The final piece of Liberacicus mk II: a silver "Laurel Wreath" for his head. I wanted something that actually looked like foliage, so went shopping in the floral department at Michael's. No laurel or olive leaves, but I found something I thought would serve.
I made an armature by braiding heavy floral wire into a band, and then wove the stems of the leaves from the fake foliage into it:
( pictures under the cut )

In the course of weaving the leaves in, I discovered the enamel was still slightly soft, so the whole thing is out curing in the sun right now (and is *very* shiny!). I'll add a lining (craft foam, or felt, or something after it's hardened a little more, as otherwise I know the aluminum wire (and pigment in the silver paint) will leave black/grey marks on me.

So all the pieces are done well in advance of packing for Montreal!
( Of course, there's one minor bit of other sewing to do... )

Hurrah! The sewing, she is all done!

It took 3 tries and about 3 1/2 hours, but the top of the front zip in my SlickItUp racing suit is no longer askew.

I had to disassemble and re-fit the suit from the waist up shortly after I bought it in February, as it was a good 2" too long in the waist for me. This was an interesting design challenge, as the suit is raglan-sleeved. Somehow, one side of the collar ended up 1/4" higher than the other, and I hadn't had a chance to go back and fix it.

Fixing it proved to be more than simply picking out the zipper and re-stitching it (I thought I'd stretched one side slightly when installing it); it turned out the top edge of one front panel had to be shaved down, and then I had to re-stitch the top 4" of zipper. This is patent-finish coated black spandex with a BRIGHT SCREAMING RED zipper, so mistakes would be obvious. I was smarter this time around and hand-basted the whole works instead of pin-basting, and I *still* ended up redoing one side 3 times. I finally hand bar-tacked the neckline seam of the uncooperative side to match the side that went in smoothly, then let the stretch of the spandex ease the remainder onto the zipper tape as I stitched it. Then, finally, I could stopstitch the thing down.

Unpicking was always challenging, because I'd copied the original stitching by using black top thread and red bobbin thread *which blended into the zipper tape perfectly* when I needed to find it to pick out a bad seam.

In any case, it's done and I'm happy with it. I even had time to go back and move the straps on one of the Liberacicus bracers.

bovil shot some good photos of all three outfits, I'll post them soon.

Hurrah! The sewing, she is all done!

It took 3 tries and about 3 1/2 hours, but the top of the front zip in my SlickItUp racing suit is no longer askew.

I had to disassemble and re-fit the suit from the waist up shortly after I bought it in February, as it was a good 2" too long in the waist for me. This was an interesting design challenge, as the suit is raglan-sleeved. Somehow, one side of the collar ended up 1/4" higher than the other, and I hadn't had a chance to go back and fix it.

Fixing it proved to be more than simply picking out the zipper and re-stitching it (I thought I'd stretched one side slightly when installing it); it turned out the top edge of one front panel had to be shaved down, and then I had to re-stitch the top 4" of zipper. This is patent-finish coated black spandex with a BRIGHT SCREAMING RED zipper, so mistakes would be obvious. I was smarter this time around and hand-basted the whole works instead of pin-basting, and I *still* ended up redoing one side 3 times. I finally hand bar-tacked the neckline seam of the uncooperative side to match the side that went in smoothly, then let the stretch of the spandex ease the remainder onto the zipper tape as I stitched it. Then, finally, I could stopstitch the thing down.

Unpicking was always challenging, because I'd copied the original stitching by using black top thread and red bobbin thread *which blended into the zipper tape perfectly* when I needed to find it to pick out a bad seam.

In any case, it's done and I'm happy with it. I even had time to go back and move the straps on one of the Liberacicus bracers.

bovil shot some good photos of all three outfits, I'll post them soon.

As promised -- Liberacicus photos

bovil did a quick photo shoot of the costumes I finished.
( photos under the cut! )

There are photos of the racing suit, too, but I have to decide which ones to share.

As promised -- Liberacicus photos

bovil did a quick photo shoot of the costumes I finished.
( photos under the cut! )

There are photos of the racing suit, too, but I have to decide which ones to share.