how I suffer the sweetest condition

something completely different

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 23:10:34 GMT

Sorry I said I'd respond to comments and then haven't done so. My work is really stressful right now because the show we've been building for has to be done in like, 2 days and there's still a lot to do. I don't think I'll be doing much of my own stuff for a bit because I'm away from home most days and on my day off I just don't really feel like sitting in front of the sewing machine when I do it every other day. I think things will lighten up after this stuff is done though.

I did finish a different ( for me) project that I had been working on to give my friend Greg, who I will be visiting in Kentucky next weekend. Conveniently, this years Botcon (transformers convention) is in Cincinnati this year, so we'll be going to that together. I'm not really looking forward to the long greyhound bus ride from Canada, but it's a lot cheaper than air- and my passport is expired.

I wanted to make him something kind of medieval/fantasy like, so I made these arm braces out of veg-tan leather. I carved the celtic design into them and did a bit of stamping on it too. This is the first time I've ever done leather carving, so it's not exactly a masterpiece, but I think I did alright. The first brace I kind of cooked a bit too long in the oven after falling asleep, and it went a bit wonky in places. The pic shows one of them after drying but before I dyed and painted it. The weird stripes on the leather are from where I wrapped it in elastic to keep the leather on my makeshift arm form. Fortunately the dye covers them up.

I still have lots of leather left so I might do something else later. It's pretty fun once you get the hang of it.

more corsets

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:59:36 GMT

I took a few more pics today since I had another day off. Still didn't turn out exactly how I wanted them, but it's fine for now

I made this corset for myself for Halloween (I won't even mention how many Halloween's ago) thinking I could make a corset collar that resembled a nun's habit to go with it. I never got around to it, and I don't think I did anything for Halloween either. The front panel is made from a slightly better quality of thin pvc- the kind used for clothing, which I really don't like using. The black is the thick shoe-grade vinyl I prefer to use, but I haven't been able to find it in white. The vinyl cross is just appliqued onto the front.

This corset looks a lot better in real life, it was too big for my form and didn't photograph well. Things with metal bits never do. I love military stuff, so I'd wanted to do this look with the metal buttons for a while. I don't know what those stripes on the front of uniforms are officially called, but if anyone does, I'd love to know. I'm thinking of doing something similar with a coat with leg o' mutton sleeves in the future- also in olive leather and patent. This corset also only has 8 panels, because I didn't have much leather left to do my usual 12. I think I would have preferred it my usual way though.

I made this overbust out of a crocodile (alligator? who knows) embossed patent leather I had sitting around for around 5 years. It's a bit too reflective to get a good picture of. It's actually the same pattern as the leather overbust from the previous post, I just graded the pattern up a few sizes. I was in a rush and made this in about 2 days to wear to an iron maiden concert. Generally I don't think patent leather really works that well with corsets that curve over the bust- as opposed to being straight like an 18th C corset. It just seems to wrinkle more.

corsets and my new toy

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 06:46:28 GMT

pre-amble: I met with someone last week to buy a hand press (the device that assists in applying grommets, snaps, rivets etc.), and he also had this foam woman's torso that he was selling for $40. It's high-density foam with a O-ring on top to hang it in a store, and then it's covered in black spandex. Of course I couldn't resist buying it for displaying corsets on- my corsets can't be appropriately displayed on a hard dress form, which I also have. The only problem was that it was super small, probably about 34-24-34, and I just don't have that many corsets that would be appropriate for that figure. So, having the day off today, I bought some quilting batting and bulked the form up to make it more useful. I then made a new cover for it out of stretch velvet. It actually turned out quite nicely, although I might go back and make it even bigger, because it's still too small for the size I usually make.

Some photos I took with my new form (and recently finished corsets). I'll probably re-take these because the lighting in my basement where I work is horrible. I need more natural light and no flash.

I had this partly sewn together leather shell of a corset sitting around forever. I was just going to toss it out but figured I'd use it to experiment with my new walking foot machine, as well as some thin patent leather I'd bought. I also had these cute locking buckles that tandy leather just got in, so this is the mash-up of those efforts.

the back

This is something else that had been lying around forever waiting for the finishing touches. Not that I have anything against plain leather overbusts, but I've done a lot of them, so this is a bit boring for me. I'm not sure why I didn't do something else with it at the time. The stuff I have planned for the future (whenever that is) is a lot more exciting.

and just because, the little seen 'side-view corset'

I'll try to catch up on people's comments soon. Thanks to those who've said hi.

edit: I forgot to mention my attempt to screen print on leather... ya.. didn't work out that well. I think the main problem is that the leather doesn't absorb, well, anything, so the paint just sits on top and distorts the print as it's going through the screen. I'm going to keep trying different techniques though because I really, really want to print polkadots onto leather.

some older pics

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 16:37:08 GMT

I just wanted to post a link to a video of the fashion show I posted pics from previously- it's very short and can be seen here. The ridiculous camera work may give you a seizure, so you've been warned.

To make this post more interesting, here's some really old work from when I graduated from Ryerson, which was.. 2 years ago now? I did an all leather line, because I like that kind of thing. I had no say in model selection or how things were worn though, I just handed the clothes over.

behold the world's most tragically ugly shoes on corset girl. I like that big bow on the corset, but practically it didn't work that well construction-wise. I need to think of a better way to do it because I'd like to put a big-ass bow on everything.

This dress was supposed to be worn with the straps off the shoulder. And I don't know why they didn't bother to attach the garters to the stockings. All those pink leather polkadots were applied by hand to the leather. I'm going to try screenprinting them on in the future though.

last entry of the day- film stuff

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 05:53:34 GMT

Here's some older pics from a fitting for a film I worked on last summer/fall. I never actually read the script, oddly enough, but I know it was a sci-fi fantasy thing done on greenscreen. The director gave me some pics from the comic book "Dawn" and asked me to interpret them within the modest budget (around $150- I donated a bunch of the supplies though). This actress was lovely and very pretty, but by the time they got to shooting she wasn't available and was replaced with someone else who thankfully fit the costumes. I still need to get actual photos from the shoot.

The first costume was a white spandex bodysuit (which I made, although I probably could have bought one), and then I made a white leather corset to go over top, and some leather 'armour' for accents. It's not real armour made of thick veg-tanned leather, but it looks good enough for film. It also happened to match some boots I had bought from winners the previous year.

this is a pretty awful pic of the whole thing together. Love the one white glove.

This was the other outfit, which was all 4-way stretch pvc, with heavy netting in the sleeves to keep them puffy. This was a fun outfit to make.

Saniya Khan fall/winter 2009

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 05:19:12 GMT

A few pics from the fashion show I contributed to a few weeks ago. This is the second show I've worked on with designer Saniya Khan and was part of L'Oreal fashion week in Toronto. I got started on this line pretty late, only a month before, basically because she didn't know I was available, so I only did a few pieces and the evening gowns she puts at the end of her shows. Saniya is an artist who had done mostly accessories until recently. I do her patternmaking and sewing of the more complex pieces. The gowns will most likely never be reproduced to sell in stores, they're more to get attention during the fashion show (kind of like how couture sells perfume for major designers).

sorry these are kind of big:

Draped gown of painted silk chiffon. We finished assembling this dress the night before the show. We had a pizza party.

Halter gown of silk velvet and ribbon. I love this model, Shannon, she's so sassy.

Gown of painted silk chiffon. I really like the colours of this gown, but it was a bitch to sew. A side note: this model was reeeally tall so I had to add that panel at the bottom at the last minute. I think it looks kind of nice though.

edit: sorry I forgot to mention that I do not have the rights to these pics, and I'm not sure what individual does.. so if they see this and are offended I'll take them down. I was backstage at the time and didn't get any of my own photos.

I bet you thought this journal was dead

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 04:50:10 GMT

Well, you were pretty much right. I'm going to try and post in this thing again, although I don't know how successful I'll be. I'm just going to keep it to photos of my work and things related to fashion/costuming. I'm working full-time, and I do freelance things on the side, so I'm not sure how much time I can devote to this. I probably won't be responding to comments very often unfortunately.

To explain what I've been doing in the past 2-3 years.. here's the condensed version: graduated school, went to school again, graduated again, did some fashion shows, did some movies, worked at a costume shop, now I'm working at Canada's Wonderland as a costumer. I've been making corsets again lately for fun (and because I had lots of materials), not sure where it's going yet though.

To anyone who kept me on their friends list, hi again.