Wednesday, 22 July 2015

The Fairy Godmother (2015) - Part 1

So after being privileged enough to be placed first in the Newcastle Film and Comic Con Cosplay Regional Qualifier Masquerade with my Drusilla from Buffy the Vampire Slayer cosplay, part of my prize was a reserved spot in the Championship Masquerade at London Film and Comic Con in July this year. My partner in crime, Ashleigh and I, decided to compete as a pair again and our choice of cosplay was the Fairy Godmother and Ella from Disney's live action remake of Cinderella. This blog will look at how I constructed the costumes and hopefully give you helpful tips for your own cosplays. So, here it goes...


I started with Simplicity 4092 as a base. The bodice seemed to be the closest and would need the least amount of altering. The skirt, however, would need a little more. My fabrics were a white liquid satin (it didn't matter too much for quality, as this was more of a base for the colour), iridescent pearlised organza, white spider mesh and white polycotton for lining. 

This would be the final result of all the fabrics together:

I then followed the pattern instructions for the bodice (totally ignoring the skirt for now!). For the central panel, the spider mesh wasn't needed. 

Each section was then overlocked and ready to be sewn together.


My next challenge was recreating the embroidery design on the front panel of the bodice. I started by sketching it by hand and scanning it into Adobe Photoshop. I then redrew the design in Photoshop and cut it into five individual sections. Each section was transferred into PE Design Plus and uploaded to my embroidery machine. (The greatest investment ever!)




As the fabrics were quite delicate, I used an iron on stabiliser on the back of the panel. This also allowed for no hoop burn on the fabric. I also used a water soluble stabiliser on the top. I decided to use white embroidery thread, as I thought I fit my fabric choices better. If I was to do this again, I may be inclined to opt for the light gold. This was the result:


I then added Swarovski stars onto the design. I used a clear thread to secure them. Look at those sparkles! 



I then hand stitched tiny silver beads across the entire piece. This would later be filled in with Swarovski crystals too.


In part two, I will explain the process of piping and finishing of the bodice. 

Toodles! :)




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7 comments:

  1. Patty Wolfenbarger29 September 2015 at 16:43

    Beautiful work! I am making this costume for my granddaughter, and I have 2 questions:
    1. Where did you find the Swarovski stars?
    2. I don't have an embroidery machine, and I plan to Kantan/Tambour the stomacher design, and you did an amazing job recreating it. I was wondering if you would mind sharing the pattern file? Please!! :-) lol
    Again beautiful work, you are truly talented!!

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    1. Unknown3 November 2015 at 14:27

      Thank you so much! That really means a lot! I'm so sorry for the delayed reply (I hadn't received any notification that you had left a comment!).
      I purchased the stars from eBay in 2 different sizes. For accuracy, there are around 3 or 4 different sizes but they were difficult to find and they were quite pricey.
      Sadly the embroidery is actually split into 5 different sections due to the overall size. The only files I have are in PES format. Would they still be useful to you?

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  2. Unknown3 November 2015 at 14:26

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  3. Unknown1 February 2016 at 03:58

    Hi there, this looks amazing! I love the layered fabric you've got a really good effect there.
    I'm in the process of making this gown and I actually have the same questions as the other commenter haha.
    I was wondering, which size of star did you go for for the larger ones? The swarovski ones seem to jump in price significantly between the 20mm and 40mm and I'm wondering if I'll need to go that large given that there seems to be about five across the top.
    Do you still have the files for the embroidery pattern as you have replicated it really beautifully and it would be a godsend to get a copy of it?

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    Replies
    1. Unknown2 February 2016 at 12:18

      Thank you so much! <3
      I just had to double check, as I couldn't remember the sizes I bought. The larger stars are 28mm and the smaller stars are 20mm. For accuracy, I think she also has a couple that are in between those sizes but I struggled to find any. I got mine from eBay.
      I should still have the files. They are 5 separate .PES files that are compatible with Brother embroidery machines. The pattern is quite large, which is why I had to separate it into 5 different pieces. Providing you line them up, it should work no problem. Would they still work for you?

      Delete
    2. Unknown4 February 2016 at 04:02

      ah thank you! That's good, they aren't nearly as big as I thought!

      Absolutely, I sadly do not have a machine that does embroidery (sob) but I should be able to convert them into something I could use, they would be so much help!!
      What's the easiest way for you to send them, would email work? My email address is eowyn61 @ hotmail.com
      Thank you so much for replying and for your help, you're a legend, a very talented legend <3

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  4. Unknown5 September 2018 at 10:40

    Emma, aw some embroidery. I was wondering if you still have the embroidery files and are willing to share? I’m planning this costume for a Halloween ball. Let me know. Again, awesome job on the costume!

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