I'm back! But I've decided to move my craftiness to Simply Sarah. Please change your subscriptions and bookmarks to www.simplysarahblogs.blogspot.com and watch for more creative adventures!
I never win these things but there is a great giveaway going on at Lila Tueller Designs. She is giving away a Jelly Roll and Layer Cake from "Eden" Fabrics. Check it out!
It's finally finished. The Joker costume has safely arrived in Atlanta and Adam is at Dragon-Con as I write this. I hope he's having a blast!
We had a photo shoot with Adam in full costume/makeup/hair about a week ago. It was awesome to see something I made in action like that. I'm still shocked that I've actually pulled this off.
They aren't pictured here but I did make spats and I believe he found white gloves before he left. If he doesn't get any really good pictures at Dragon-Con then we may need to take a few more with the whites.
You should hear that boy do the laugh. It's so creepy when combined with the costume and makeup that I was afraid that my kids might have nightmares! They were fine by the way.
Here's Bubby with his Batman sunglasses on protecting us all from the mayhem of the big bad Joker. He has said that he wants to be a car for Halloween (only my kids, right?) but I think we should dress him up as Batman and have Adam walk him around the neighborhood in his Joker costume. That would be sweet!
I will be taking a brief blogging break. I've gotten myself in over my head with my daughter's Girl Scout troop. I love that she's super excited about this year's troop and I love working with this organization but I've taken on a bit too much at the moment and the sewing room will have to wait a for a few weeks. I plan to be back once in a while to update but no big make-it-myself plans at the moment. I'm sure it won't be long before I take on another challenge. It never is!
I've finished the shirt and vest. They look fabulous! After finishing the pants, these were a breeze.
I used Simplicity pattern #7030 for these two pieces. The shirt is green polyester charmeuse and the vest is yellow taffeta. Of all of the pieces, these have turned out the most like the original artwork. 
And I love that tie! It makes me think of Gone With the Wind and Kentucky fried chicken at the same time. It's such a perfect fit for the rest of the costume. This tie is a velvet ribbon I bought but I'm not liking it for this costume. I'm going to be making a black ribbon from some poly linen I have in my stash. I think it will look better.
Based on Adam's measurements, I graded the shoulders. The sleeves, also based on his measurements, were about an inch too long but I was too worried that I hadn't figured that right so I made them as the pattern stated and left off the cuffs for the final fitting. After the fitting, I marked where I needed to cut and attached the cuffs. Turns out that I was right except that I was just measuring the sleeve and not the added length of the attached cuff so in the end I needed to take off almost two inches instead of just one. I'm glad I waited.
Here is a sneak peek at the suit jacket with the shirt, vest, and tie. I think it's looking pretty sharp. I'm attaching the lining to the jacket today as well as hemming the pants, making spats and a new tie, and pressing everything really well. Later tonight we'll have a photo shoot with Adam in full makeup and costume! I'm so excited to see the whole look put together! I'd better get back to work!
The purple pants for the Joker costume are, at long last, finished! Well, okay, so I still need to do the final fitting and hem them but for all practical purposes they are finished.
First, here are the test pants I made to perfect my pattern before I cut into the purple cotton. Adam had brought me a pair of pants that fit him well and I traced the silhouette onto muslin and drew out the pattern pieces from there. I used his measurements and the picture in my head as a guide. These test pants were a HUGE success even though they were embarrassingly tight across the hips. I forgot to add the darts in the back and didn't add any ease to his measurements. Naturally, he looked like a disco dancer in the test pants. After fitting the test pants I added length to the crotch seam, ease to the hips, darts to the back, and took off some length from the hem.
See that? That is my very first zipper fly! Not bad, huh? Also pictured here are my first hip pockets and fitted waist band.
Here is my first bound pocket. Not too bad. I still need some work on these but I'm getting there. The only pants that I had attempted up until now had been elastic waist and only one pair has been able to pass as wearable. And by wearable, I mean that they were comfortable enough to put up with as pajama pants.
And now for the real pants! Ta-da! Here is the front of the purple pants. The fly is much neater and the pocket looks pretty sweet if I do say so myself. I think the belt loops turned out pretty nice too. Also a first for me. No button yet. Since I had to alter my original pattern, I want to fit them before I add the button.
And then we have the poorly executed bound pockets. Honestly, my first one was better than the second and third one (the actual pants have two pockets, only one on the test pants). This one still has the basting stitches holding it closed. They will come out later. Well, the jacket will cover these so it's not so bad. It's a costume after all, not high couture.
Finishing the pants for this costume was a huge accomplishment. This was the single hardest part of the costume especially since I had yet to produce a wearable pair of dress pants in my life. With the hardest part behind me, I'm moving onto the shirt and vest!
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