Finally, some progress.
I thought the challenges I would be facing when I took on this project were technical but this is already challenging and I haven't even started sewing yet.
It is scary how expensive it is, even though I have made as many cutbacks as I can justify.
I truly SUCK at sewing, and the idea of making this set makes me break out in a cold sweat, but there is no going back now, because I have spent big bucks on fabric.
I cannot describe quite how hard it was to find a yellow silk taffeta. My usual supplier provide high end silks to designers. They have a huge selection of amazing silks and I am thrilled with the service I receive from them, so I never really look elsewhere. However, they have every colour under the sun EXCEPT any shades of yellow that are even passable for a wasp. For a while I considered using a gold but it's quite a sandy gold and I decided it has to be striking yellow for the costume to work. I looked around for a long time, expanding my search to include faille, moire and silk poplin, which are all period accurate. I eventually turned to everyone's favourite retailer for 1001 different shades of silk - Silk Baron. Last time I used Silk Baron they only had a few shades of taffeta - I am so happy that they now have more, because they had exactly what I needed. Thanks to a certain live action Disney movie, this is actually a shade people WANT now. Who'd have thought Canary Yellow would ever be in vogue?
I also got the material for the bustle - cheap polycotton to stick to budget. Black and yellow to stick to theme. The corset is going to be plain black coutil with yellow stitching - both wasp like and period accurate :)
I have finished the cage corset I mentioned in my last post, but I am not happy with it as a competition entry - it has zero 'wow' factor. That puts more pressure on me to actually do something spectacular with this project.
I also finished "apoidea" a sheer corset and babydoll set. Also not happy with it as a competition entry, but I'm loving where the Hymenoptera bee/wasp themed collection is going, and the centerepiece is all thanks to the competition!
It is scary how expensive it is, even though I have made as many cutbacks as I can justify.
I truly SUCK at sewing, and the idea of making this set makes me break out in a cold sweat, but there is no going back now, because I have spent big bucks on fabric.
I cannot describe quite how hard it was to find a yellow silk taffeta. My usual supplier provide high end silks to designers. They have a huge selection of amazing silks and I am thrilled with the service I receive from them, so I never really look elsewhere. However, they have every colour under the sun EXCEPT any shades of yellow that are even passable for a wasp. For a while I considered using a gold but it's quite a sandy gold and I decided it has to be striking yellow for the costume to work. I looked around for a long time, expanding my search to include faille, moire and silk poplin, which are all period accurate. I eventually turned to everyone's favourite retailer for 1001 different shades of silk - Silk Baron. Last time I used Silk Baron they only had a few shades of taffeta - I am so happy that they now have more, because they had exactly what I needed. Thanks to a certain live action Disney movie, this is actually a shade people WANT now. Who'd have thought Canary Yellow would ever be in vogue?
Whilst it was really expensive, I did spend a very long time sourcing silk taffeta of the right shade, and this was the best all round. The main fabric was one thing I wouldn't compromise on, because I feel that it is important to use a fabric that would have been used in contemporary garments to guarantee it will drape properly, which is obviously very important in a bustle gown. I've used a very good quality faux taffeta in the past, which was barely cheaper than silk and looked the same but handled really differently. The cheaper faux taffetas I have used feel like sewing through static-y plastic, and the more expensive one was only slightly better, which made me concerned about how it would drape, even if it looks like taffeta. This is a ridiculous project, I might as well go overboard.
I have finished the cage corset I mentioned in my last post, but I am not happy with it as a competition entry - it has zero 'wow' factor. That puts more pressure on me to actually do something spectacular with this project.
I also finished "apoidea" a sheer corset and babydoll set. Also not happy with it as a competition entry, but I'm loving where the Hymenoptera bee/wasp themed collection is going, and the centerepiece is all thanks to the competition!
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