Chocolat Meilleure - Picnic Dress #5

 

the only photo I took while wearing the costume, but missing
the pointy ears (I wore Lum's ears), and the hoop earrings

I'm writing a final post, to talk about some smaller details I took photos of, I didn't want to include in the other posts, since I adopted this costume piece by piece post format now.

First, the leg ribbons. I initially didn't order enough ribbon for the braid bows, and the legs, so I went to my local Chinese bazar and got extra grosgrain ribbon, and, for Festa do Japão em Lisboa, I wore the alternative grosgrain. I ordered an extra length of velvet ribbon, which I then wore for Fórum Fantástico. The stick glue held on very well both times, even in the swealteing heat. Great! Just the velvet ribbon left a bit of residue on my legs, and I haven't checked if it's damaged yet. I hope not. Need to wash them.

the pendant's inside

I wasn't planning on making the inside of the pendant just yet, but I had all the materials and, when I needed to wind down a bit, I made it in short stages.

I first traced the opening on a piece of paper, cut it, and adjusted it to fit the inside. Then I traced it onto a piece of cereal box cardboard, and cut it. Tested the fit, and when it was OK, I painted it with acrylic paint. As I don't have a pink, directly from the tube, I mixed a bit of crimson with white, and it was fine. I really didn't want to go downtown to buy a paint tube, to paint 4cm² of cardboard. Then, also because I temporarily didn't have Affinity Design installed, and wasn't in the mood to walk 30 mins to have a small design printed, I traced the gold design from an anime image of the pendant, and adapted it to the heart pattern I had traced before.

I chose a red ruby heart from my stash, to make the inside heart, and used some of the transparent crystals I bought for this (and many future crafts), to finalise the design. I traced the outer heart shape and the swirls, to a separate piece of paper, and carbon copied them to the back of a scrap of gold mirror vinyl (from Mimikyu's eyes). I patiently cut the swirls and the heart. I glued the ruby heart and the small crystals with superglue to the gold vinyl heart, but it didn't look convincing enough. There is a visible line around the gold heart shape in the anime design, so I cut a small length of thin gold wire from my stash, and shaped and glued it to the heart shape. I calculated the position by eye, took the backing off the gold vinyl, and glued it to the pink heart. Finally, with thin tweezers, I took the backing off the gold swirls, and postioned them in the pink heart, pressing to glue them on. The final step, before gluing the heart inside the pendant, with UHU glue, was to add a layer of glossy varnish, to set everything. Now my chocolat can catch her hearts!

As I said in a previous post, the hat doesn't fit properly on top of the wig. While my own hair is longer, I need to find another way to pin it to my head, so it doesn't add more bulk to my head, at least around the rim of the hat crown. I also think I will add a very thin wire to the hat's brim, so it stays in place, as it's quite floppy right now. Maybe, maaaaybe, if I find a similar cheap hat, in plain straw colour, I'll buy it for Chocolat. The same for the basket, if I ever find one of that style basket bags, which is a very 70's design and quite hard to find nowadays, for a good price, then I'll think more seriously about getting a new hat.

Since I first styled the wig, I changed how I pin the bangs, pinning them to the top, not to the sides, more like Chocolat herself usually wears. When I first wore this costume, I didn't wear the pointy ears, as I thought they wouldn't be visible, under the hat and wig. But I already have Lum's ears, so I wore them the second time around, and will wear them in the future. It's more fun! The ear hoops are comfortable and stay secure, but I need to take them off after some hours, I have sensitive ear lobes.

I think I will try to widen the sandal front straps a bit with the heat gun, they're comfortable, but I'd like for them not to be so snug.

Overall, I loved making and wearing this costume, it's probably one of those where I fell most comfortable wearing. Need to stop being antisocial, and have some decent photos taken.

I hereby declare the Chocolat - Picnic Dress FINISHED!

Chocolat Meilleure - Picnic Dress #4

The Dress

the sleeve mock-up

I've been so busy finishing the thesis (it's almost done, now being reviewed by my coordinator), that I didn't have time to post Chocolat's dress, and it was the saga it wasn't supposed to be.

I already had the fabric, I bought it to make a dress for myself, but then realised I wanted a twill, instead of a poplin for said dress, and got "stuck" with 4m of black poplin. Not stuck for long, as that's what made me go ahead with Chocolat's dress.

Using the burgundy poplin my friend Ana gave me, I drafted two sleeve patterns, as I always have issues with sleeves. The first mock-up was too voluminous, so I redesigned it, taking off  a bit of volume, especially on top. Eventually I took a bit too much on top, but I still like the final shape.

the cut dress

Based on my mid-length flower dress, I drafted the top part pattern, and the skirt, as that was the basic shape I was aiming for, a slightly loose fit, with no closures, just a slip-on dress, but with pockets!

the top piece

the top piece, with the sleeves

Sewing the dress was quite easy and straightforward, I'm just not entirely happy with the neck opening bias tape, I always get the angles wrong. I wanted to sew it quickly, so I didn't pay enough attention to that... and the aforementioned sleeve tops, which should have a bit more volume, and one notices the hasty sewing. I also added little ribbon straps, with a snap, to attach the shoulders to my bra and hold the shoulders in place, as the neckline is quite wide, with a loose fit.

the full dress, still no bottom pleated ruffle

Fortunately I cut the skirt full length, and, as I didn't have time to deal with the pleated ruffle before the Festa do Japão em Lisboa, where I wanted to wear the costume, I hemmed it, and wore it without the ruffle to Festa do Japão. I used the invisible hem stitch, the "heartbeat" stitch, on my sewing machine, and I loved it. Onde has to go slow and steady, but the results are quite fine. Admittedly, this poplin is forgiving, and although the stitches are somewhat visible, the black thread on the black cotton is hardly visible 30cm apart.

pleating with a fork

the pleated ruffle (the reverse side)

The problems really started with the ruffles. I had enough fabric left for 3x the hem length, which should be enough, but it really wasn't. I first pleated the ruffle using the fork method - you slip the fabric between one fork prong, twist the fork, and you have a very nice and quick 2,5cm pleat - but when I was pinning it to the skirt, it wasn't enough, I needed at least one more meter...

I quickly went to Tavares & Tavares to buy a bit more (in late August), and, oddly, it was sold out, it's never sold out! They were having sales, they never had general sales before, as they're speciality is basic fabrics, which never get out of season, and the top shelves were empty... The clerk told me maybe by mid-September they'd get new fabrics in, as then the manufacturers were closed for Summer holidays... more on this in another post. Well, I couldn't wait, I was very, very busy, and wanted to wear this costume at Fórum Fantástico, in early October, for my presentation about the Mahou Shoujo.

the finished dress

I gathered all the bigger fabric scraps, managed to find one about 60cm wide. It wasn't enough. So, I unpicked all the pleat stitching, and decided to cheat the pleats, making the inner fold a bit shorter, by 3-4mm. But I couldn't use the fork method again, as it's not the most precise, and I was short on fabric... So I started the painstaking hand pleating method, with a cheat gauge. I first hand pressed every fold, pinned it, and, after pinning about 5 or 6 pleats, I hand basted them on top and bottom. It took me a while, a long while... I finished pleating days before Fórum Fantástico, while writing the thesis, making the Mahou Shoujo Powerpoint presentation. And, when finally I put it in the machine to sew it to the skirt, my sewing machine started to act up, and wouldn't sew properly. So, the next few days, I finished the pleats hem (fortunately just the added panel), and hand sewed it to the skirt, with a backstitch. I just had enough time to press everything the evening before. Need to overcast that seam, but I'll try to see what's wrong with the machine first, and sew it in the machine later, it's not a pressing matter now.

The dress is very comfortable, this costume is overall comfortable, just the shoes start getting a bit uncomfortable after a while, especially if the weather is very hot, as it was both times I wore this costume. The hat doesn't fit very well over the wig, and, as I have longer hair than usual right now, it also adds unwanted bulk. I guess it's the universe telling me to cut it! Strangely, the leg velvet ribbons felt like knee socks, but it only disturbed a bit, by the end of the day. I didn't take any proper photos, as usual...

+ This is one of my most comfortable cosplays, and I'll definitely wear it again. Besides, Chocolat is a lot of fun!

- Apart from the pleated ruffle fabric miscalculation, all the other mistakes were stupid mistakes, originated by the rush. Mental note: improve time management!

THE CUNNING PLAN

Just overcasting the pleats seam, and remake the pendant cord with a more resistant thread, like torçal, which will also make it a little bit wider.