The Fairy Godmother (2015) - Part 3

Welcome back!

My next task was creating the ruff. Again, this was a completely new experience for me. I started by creating the main section of frame work by bending wire in the desired shape. I made sure to leave a few inches at each end to tuck into the top of the bodice. I used masking tape to keep the pieces in place until I decided on the final design.

I added the wire around the neck edge and added smaller pieces of wire in between to both support the frame and create a design. Some were straight pieces and other were bent in the middle.

I then used thread to tie the connecting wire sections which were later glued to secure. I cut off the excess edges and finally had a finished frame!

I sprayed the frame white and added the fabric. Each layer had to be hand stitched around the frame edge. I used iridescent organza, crystal organza (with the holes in) and a free standing layer of spider mesh. The was only attached at the lower edge. I also used some of the crystal organza on the back of the ruff, which was folded at the edge and hand stitched. 

The entire ruff took a total of around 7 hours work, due to all the hand stitching. Once it was complete, I added some Swarovski crystals.

On to the wings!

This was a similar process to the ruff. I created the wire frame first in 4 separate sections.

Again, they were sprayed white and covered in iridescent organza and crystal organza on the front and back (with holes burned into the front). After the tedious amounts of hand stitching, more Swarovski crystals were added and they were complete! I didn't add them to the bodice until later...

I then looked at the wig. I bought this wig from WigIsFashion as my base. It was a little too long and the curls weren't tight enough but it could be fixed! This was my wig when it arrived...

I started by cutting it to length and creating the far side parting. I used heated rollers in the smallest size. Sadly I only had 6 rollers in this size so curling took a while...thankfully I had Netflix and Once Upon A Time to keep me going.

Once the entire wig was curled, I sprayed it with some dry shampoo, as the colour was a little too 'yellow'. I then sprayed as much hairspray as it could take (I used Got2B Freeze Spray - the yellow one! It's amazing!). This was the result.

I added Swarovski crystals to the entire wig and it was complete and ready for wearing!

I then went back to finishing the bodice. I added the piping along the bottom edge of the bodice and hand stitching the hem in place. I was originally going to use a zipper for the back fastening, however I decided to opt for a lace up back for a nicer fit. I created a modesty panel and added silver grommets to the bodice edge. I used a silver cord for lacing. Sadly I have no pictures of this, as time got the better of me as the LFCC approached. 

To insert the wings, I created 4 buttonholes on the back of the bodice. Each wing section was inserted and stitched on the inside in various places. I also added a couple of stitches to the outside to secure the wings, as they became a little top heavy. Personally, if I was to do this again I would create another option for attaching the wings. I really wanted them to be 'hidden'.

Swarovski crystals were added to the entire dress too. It's so sparkly!

As you are unable to see her shoes in the movie (except for a split second if you can pause that quick! And even then, they're in the dark!), I had to make a creative decision. I opted for pure white Victorian style leather boots. So cute!

I also did a small make up and wig test. I used a dark purple shadow around the crease of the eye, black eyeliner and lots of mascara. I also used false lashes on the outer edges on the day. Depending on your reference pictures, she wears two different lip colours. In promotional images, she wear a deep plum colour and in the movie it is more of a pale coral. I opted for a pale coral gloss. I also bought some diamante earrings from eBay. I searched for days and days to find something close to hers and finally decided on some that only cost me £2.99! I also bought some diamante hair pins for eBay, which unfortunately you can't see in this picture. They were stunning and super sparkly!

And the dress was finished! Here is the final result.

(Yeah, that's OUAT on in the background again...it has been my rock)

And here is a closer look at the bodice details...

Then it was off to LFCC for the Championship Masquerade with Ella (otherwise known as Ashleigh)!

And here is the dress complete on on! (Ella's dress was also created by myself, with the butterflies and crystals done by Ashleigh. I must say, I am NEVER creating anything blue again. Trying to match colours was a nightmare!)

And here you can see our small performance at the masquerade. Please watch the entire video, as there are some beautiful cosplays. Panterona Cosplay as Akasha was the much deserving winner (she still gives me goosebumps!) and the amazing Chameleon as Daenerys, who recited an entire speech in High Valyrian, was runner up. Unfortunately, on this video, you can't appreciate entirely the detail on both of these cosplays but they were stunning.

I hope you have enjoyed following my process for this costume. If you have any questions at all, please ask!

I am currently in the process of researching my next cosplay for NFCC Winter 2015 - Snow White (OUAT Season 2). Obviously all of that re-watching has left it's mark...

Toodles! :)