Padme mummy

Uhoh, a new pregnancy cosplay has been researched! As we are attending an Anime Convention I tried to avoid movie costumes but as news of Natalie Portmans baby boy spreads I find it hard to resist!The beautiful steel blue night gown is stunningly simple with pearl details and a waterfall back - I've fallen in love! A lot of the techniques (draping, home made accessories) I have used and the details such as the heirloom faggot stitching and the hand made broach will be challenges for me. I also like the idea of not having to wear a wig, my hair is naturally long and curly.

One of my costumes requires a bright scarlet wig which would itchy and un-comfortable for the day, the other -despite being only cotton - is a rather warm Victorian dress with layers. Perhaps I can wear the wig gown to the ball and wear this Padme costume during the day? Its Grecian inspired floating looks really comfortable :) There is a dress pattern but it is now out of print and costs a small fortune.

Its all very exciting and for me planning and researching, sourcing and sewing the costumes is the best part. Now I have given up looking for work I have plenty of time for a new project, the only issue is with so many other things demanding money that we simply don't have costumes are on the bottom of our list. I already have 2 anime costumes and a sci-fi TV show, would adding a movie one be too much for a Japanese convention?

Sophie Hatter

This costume will be easy as pie to put together, I have been given a dress by a friend and neighbour that is nigh on perfect for the job. The only thing is the fabric has a small dot detail all over it, but the shape cut and style of the gown is still wonderfully accurate :)

I will dye it the correct colour, take it in at the waist, the hips are free so bump should fit underneath. I can easily buy accessories such as ribbons and a hat, make and attach a lace collar and voila!

Patch work part 2

My fabulous cowboy patchwork is starting to take shape! After I pinned strips of patches together I could start sewing, I started with the individual strips and then sewed the stripes together. You don't know if they will be straight intill you have sewn them and by then it is too late. There are few squares that are tiny milemetres out but I was expecting that and am quite pleased to have surprised myself by not being bothered by it, it adds character :)

I'm hard at still work - it has taken 4 hours to get this point!

I hope that in 100 years time someone will say - great grandma/auntie Em made that quilt from scratch at the turn of the 21st century. In my generation is quite rare to find people who like to sew or some of the otehr old fashioned hobbies I enjoy, although growing veg has made a massive come back! For me its about sanctification and a sense of pride, plus I love being quirky and living up to my hippy name :)

Atm I am awaiting on some more fabric for the centre piece and the rear patchwork which will be a plain motley. Once I have made the monogrammed centre piece I'll attach it its neighbours, and sew the 3 sections together and then main patch work will be complete. After that I'll sew the embellishments and make the simpler motley rear patchwork, fix the wadding and then quilt the whole thing. After adding the trim it will be complete and hopefully ready in time for babies arrival :) I will keep you updated but want to share progress photos for now :) More update to follow!

Patch work part 1

Although not strictly a costume I thought this project warranted a spot on my wardrobe blog :) As the due date gets nearer we are starting to prepare for baby; DH has been sanding the cot and renovating furniture for the nursery, we had a massive clear out of junk, and I've been sewing gifts for the baby. I have curtains cushion as well as a couple of embellishments to sew and an awesome quilt project which I say is for the baby when really its for me!


The main project is a patchwork quilt, a traditional American hobby from frontier times that uses scraps of fabric or fabric from old clothes to make an interesting and practical quilt. Although I love anything from the old west and admire the complex quilts I have veered away from this hobby as I know how hard it is to get the edges straight -I'm just to much of a perfectionist! But with a baby on the way I know its the perfect time to create my very own future heirloom, and set about planning such a project.

I devised a theme that I love in colours I like, I was not prepared to go half's on a "neutral" coloured quilt suitable for a boy or girl, I wanted something I could get excited about not to mention with a nod back to the origin of said hobby. My quilt is navy and maroon, feathers paisley strips spots and check, I plan to make raised embellishments out of felt on alternate squares but this won't be done intill stage 3.

I had a pair of bandanna's as a starting point and went from there! Mother in law loves quilting and has a cute shop near her house, she took me and help to pick the fabrics. It is a pricey hobby these days with special small squares in a wide range of fabrics setting you back a pretty penny. Once I had fabrics I planned out my quilt (which took a good while, its like a crossword with no clues) then I marked the fabrics and cut them to size. My quilt uses 7 inch squares with half inch seams so the finished quilt has 6" squares. This is quite large for a baby quilt but I want it to be used for many years to come, and as I said it is not in traditional "baby" colours or theme. I cut each square individually and pinned them together in strips ready for sewing, so far so good :)