Help Me Obi-Wan Kenobi...

Well I finally have pictures of the hubby in full Obi-Wan regalia. I think it turned out rather nice. I do want to remake the whole thing or at the very least pull the collar stitching out and redo it. I made it too wide and there's a slight burp in it that most wouldn't really see but well you know, every artist sees every single tiny little flaw in their work and are never happy with it. But I'll hold off for now, seeing as how I've got my hands full with sewing projects!!



The next step with this costume of course it to completely re-do the pants, which will probably happen some time after Estrella War. these are usable enough for the next event if I don't get them done. The next big DSG shin dig is the MS Walk in March, we'll just have to work on getting Klaus some better boots since what he has in the pic are simple galoshes from Wal Mart! Hey they worked great in a pinch!

Addiction Continued...

Word to the wise. If you suspect you have an addiction to fabric, DO NOT keep going to fabric stores! I did it again. This afternoon, after posting my "fabric-aholics" post I went to JoAnn's AGAIN and bought four more cuts of fabric. They coordinate very nicely with the fabric I bought earlier but still! Now I have to figure out how to continue to feed my addiction. I do have plans for all the fabrics now though, with bolero jackets, cute little tops and sexy skirts, I'll post as I work on each project. I only hope to finish them before it gets too warm to wear them and here in AZ, that's two months away!

The good news is I have three costume projects in process for pay so it will help offset my mad fabric hoarding. Now, if I can just stay away from the fabrics!!

Fabric-aholics Anonymous

I just have to face it. I'm completely addicted to fabric. I made a trip to JoAnn Fabrics to specifically buy two cuts of fabric and came home with eight. I don't know how I do it. On the plus side I have some nifty fabric combinations for some awesome outfits. No not costumes, but hey I have to look good when I'm not wearing costumes too.

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I have some embroidered microsuede, some embroidered linen, some embroidered satin, some silk boucle suiting...gee, I guess I'm on an embroidery kick. I've yet to completely figure out which ones will be skirts/pants which ones will be jackets and which ones will be shirts. I'm totally psyched about them though and hope to have at least two outfits finished by next week. Oh yeah and some viking garb too. I've also got a sewing party tentatively scheduled for Saturday the 28th. I just hope I can get the house clean by then and my sewing area at least somewhat organized. I've got at least four Rubbermaid tubs in the storage shed full of fabric and at least one in the guest bedroom and two under our bed. I have fabric coming out of every orifice...well not really, but I think I have enough to open my own fabric store at least!

A long time ago...

I finally decided that this was a good time to start documenting all my sewing and costuming. I've taken a page out of my best friend Audrey's book (or more accurately blog) and journal my projects as I go along. I have a few projects going and not all of them are Star Wars. The impending Estrella War is just around the corner and I've plenty of viking tunics and medieval garb to keep me busy for that.

My most recent project was an Episode III Obi Wan Kenobi for my husband which turned out amazingly well (first row far left). I used a heavy twill for the pants and an Indian gauze for the tunic which I lined. According to research, the lining is detached from the tunic and so I left it un attached for the most part. All in all the costume turned out spectacular and made it's debut at the PF Chang's Rock N Roll Marathon and the AZKids Rock portion sponsored by Phoenix Children's Hospital. I'm still waiting for pictures of it and will post them as soon as I get my grubby little hands on them. The pants pattern I used was one that was drawn up by my friend Joanne who is a wiz at patternmaking. I am going to make a second version of the pants because they weren't originally fitted for Klaus. I have to make adjustments in the waist so they don't quite threaten to fall at any moment as he specifically told me they were doing. Good thing the fabric only ran me 1.99 a yard. The color match seemed right so I should be able to pick up two more yards and re-do them at a more appropriate size for the hubby. For the tunic and obi's, I used Simplicity Pattern 4450 and had to do quite a bit of alterations. I completely eliminated the "shoulder armour" pattern and simply cut long rectangular strips of cloth and stitched together. The belt I also did the same way as the one in the pattern was way too small anyway. I also widened and lengthened the "collar" portion of the tunic and curved the ends of the tunic itself so they wouldn't be quite so angled and would hang a bit more naturally. I'm not completely satisfied with the way the inner tunic turned out, which in the original costume is nothing more than a dickey sewn onto some white fabric. I'm presuming the sleeves are also attached to the white fabric. In my version I sewed the sleeves which I free hand cut to an old t-shirt of Klaus's and simply pinned my version of the inner tunic dickey to it before layering the tunic and obi's over it. All in all the effect was fairly nice and he was definitely recognized as that dashing and wise of Jedi Master's by just about everyone (helps that he grew his beard and sort of resembles Ewan McGregor). More pictures to come soon!