Monday 24 March 2014

Tauriel - Bodice progress

Using one of the two leather coats I originally bought for the Kili project, I started cutting out the pieces for the new bodice. I also made an extra set in a thick cotton and polyester mix material for lining. Pinning them together, I sewed them together:


It then ended up looking a bit like this. Now, I know the original doesn't have a seam in the middle of the front panel, but I was running out leather and had to compromise.

















Having stitched it all together, it looked like this. I'm currently working on boning and the lining, so there will be a new update as soon as I've got that fitted. :)


Tuesday 4 March 2014

Tauriel Upgrade

I did it. I bought tickets for HobbitCon 2014. And now I've started the stupidly time consuming task of upgrading my Tauriel costume! The one I made for the premiere of The Desolation of Smaug carries all the hallmarks of being a de-prioritised side project, so I feel like I owe it to the costume to make jt better!

I'm starting with the leather bodice, which is the part of the costume I was the most unhappy with. The upgraded version will be made out of thin, napped leather from an old leather coat, and lined with thick cotton canvas. I'll be probably add some spring steel boning as well to give it a bit more rigidity.

I have already made a pattern for the mock-up,  mainly by making test bodice in cotton and then cutting it up again for the correct placement of seems, pretty much the same way I made the pattern for the tunic sleeves. (I only cut up half of the test bodice, leaving the remaining half as a pattern for the lining.) From here, I'll need to cut the pieces for the mock-up and sew it all together to check for any adjustment requirements that may pop up.

This is how it looks so far:



I'll give some more updates when I've done more! :)