6 of Spades ♠︎ - #5

light blue tulle petticoat panels and half circle skirt.

Yesterday I finally got the twill I needed for this costume’s apron and hat. Fabric prices have risen... a lot! After that, I went to the new flat to cut the skirt and the petticoat panels.

For the skirt, I cut two quarter circles, the bottom a little bit longer, to make room for my butt, lightly following the Mad Hatter's skirt size, without the frill. But I should have made it wider. In my fear of not having enough fabric, I didn't pattern it to use the most of the fabric I could, instead I almost just cut a simple half circle skirt, and it won't ruffle as much as I'd like to...

For the petticoat, I cut the 4m tulle into 4 strips, lengthwise, for which I will use one, folded lengthwise, for the top tier, and the other 3, again folded lengthwise, for the two bottom tiers. Then I'll add folded ribbon for the waistband, to which I'll add repurposed leggings elastic. It's fairly the same thing I did for the Mad Hatter's petticoat, except this tulle is softer and thinner, it won't add as much bulk. But the skirt is also lighter, so it'll be OK. I still have to check if the petticoat will be at least the length of the skirt, as if I need to shorten it, I'd rather shorten the top tier.

Cutting the tulle on the cutting table is a breeze! I simply folded it in half, aligned it with the table's corner, put the weights on top, and cut it. Pulled a bit more of the folded tulle forward, and repeated the process.

Meanwhile, I also bought new red spray paint at Lidl, and, after sanding the edges a bit, started painting the paint lid, and paint brush drip. My "painting booth" is a large cardboard box, so I placed two toothpicks to hold the brush drip, and a yoghurt cup for the lid. First I lightly painted the lid on the bottom, and one side of the drip. Then, after a few hours, I turned the lid over, and turned the drip to the other side, and painted the 1st coat.

apron rectangle with thick felt hat structure
and cut hat and ♠︎ on top.

Made the hat pattern and, although it turned out a bit too wide on top, the fit of the sides to the top came out so perfect, I don't really care. It's made of three pieces, two siees and one top. Cut the hat pattern both on the thick felt and twill, adding seam allowances to the twill. I started sewing the sides of the felt to each other, with a herringbone stitch, and then the sides to the top, with a blanket stitch.

top stitching the trump to the hat.

Before sewing the twill hat, I placed the ♠︎ on the hat front, and temporarily glued it with  glue stick. I usually use glue stick for these, because it's water soluble and doesn't melt the vinyl or stain the fabric. Then I top stitched it by hand, so it comes out neater. Besides, my machine would swivel a lot on top of the vinyl, and it would be a mess.

I cut the apron, according to the vectorial software's measurments, adding 2,5cm seam allowance. With a hot iron, I folded the apron hem twice, and the corners at a 45° degree angle. I machine hemmed the apron rectangle all around, and sewed the hat together.

sticking the 6♠︎ to the fabric.

After thoroughly ironing the apron, I placed it on a flat surface and temporarily placed the trumps and 6 on top, until I was happy with it. Took the measurements from the borders to the trumps, and took note. Glue stick doesn't glue fabric very well, and manipulating the fabric to sew them on, would unglue the trumps, so I'm glueing and sewing them one at a time. I started with the 6♠︎, and will work towards the inside.

This new crafting enthusiasm comes partly from attending IberAnime and being amongst many cosplayers all weekend. But I believe it's also because I needed a simple and quick project, without other compromises, to get the mojo back. I also reached a bit of a dead end concerning the Foxy Lady costume, and I haven't been in the mood to make the needed alterations to the Mad Hatter... I hope this crafting itch doesn't go away after.

+ I've been working on this costume at my usual rhythm, which is quite surprising while I've been procrastinating for two years, or so. It's also an easy costume to make, with little error margin.

- I'm a bit bummed about the skirt,  I'll try to correct it the best I can, as I don't want to go buy more fabric, even though it was cheap.

THE CUNNING PLAN 

Keep hand sewing the trumps to the apron, while painting at least two coats on the lid+drip set.