--- In F-Costume@yahoogroups.com, Judy Mitchell <judymitch@...> wrote:
> darth_eagle wrote:
> > I guess I ended up with that cause I wring(sp?) it dry to get rid of
> > the excess water?
>  oh yeah, wringing it out will put big, 'broomstick' creases in it!

A couple of random thoughts on air-drying fabrics:

In my experience, hanging fabric out to dry on an outdoor clothesline
(as compared to hanging indoors over your bathtub, say) tends to
result in slightly less wrinkling if you have a breeze: the wind
constantly fluttering the cloth will shake out some wrinkles. To
duplicate this effect inside, consider pointing an electric fan at
your hanging fabric,and adjust the speed until you get a nice
ripple--not flapping. Blowing your fabric may stretch some fibers a
bit. It also dries most yardage MUCH faster than just hanging.

--Try to hang fabric in the shade, not the direct sun, to avoid
excessive sun-bleaching (as Judy said). Some dyes will show
significant effects in just one exposure, some not for a while.
--How you pin matters: You will still have one big crease if you tent
the fabric over your clothesline, and hang an equal amount of weight
on both sides.
--You may have little pinches where your clothespins catch the fabric.
--There may be rules/laws in your neighborhood/town/city about when
and where laundry can be hung. Check if you're not sure.
--When I was in Christchurch, New Zealand 25 years ago, my flatmates
(and all our neighbors) mostly hung their laundry outside: why waste
the electricity to dry it? But in the winter, most people still heated
with coal, so laundry left out to long in the winter had black spots
from the coal ash! While this may give you an nice "period" effect,
consider what kinds of particulates your local air has before hanging
out your precious silks. ;-)

Having returned, and mostly recovered from CostumeCon-I'm looking for
suggestions on new costumes to build for myself.
I have a habit of going to the same basic silhouettes/styles as a comfort zone,
and want to *push* myself a bit more.
For ease in determining some workable concepts--I'm 5'6", 34-24-40 and a
brunette who is very attached to the jewel tones in purple, blue and green.
I tend to wear a lot of long flowy gowns that are fitted to the waist or
otherwise fairly covering...but did branch out for CostumeCon with a Fashion
Folio entry that was none of the above.
I've had recreating the black gown from Legend suggested and am looking for a
couple of other ideas as well. I don't mind if it's from a book, tv series,
movie, comic/manga, or piece of art-I'm simply looking for a bit of outside help
on thinking out-of-the-box.
Thank you,

 JonnaLyhn Wolfcat
aka Angharad verch Reynulf, BAO, An Tir



      
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...lost to lack of sleep, that is.

If you would like to read my Costume-Con 26 diaries, please check out
<http://bovil.livejournal.com/tag/conventions>

andy

--- In F-Costume@yahoogroups.com, Angharad ver' Reynulf
<dragonwolfcat@...> wrote:

> I have a habit of going to the same basic silhouettes/styles as a
comfort zone, and want to *push* myself a bit more.

JonnaLyn, have you done any Victorian bustle-style stuff? Small waist
and hourglass figures often look quite good in those styles, but
they're not necesarily "flowing"--often "tailored" and "upholstered"
are better adjectives. Another period I've been looking at recently is
early Victorian: 1830s-40s stuff with the big sleeves and pelerines.
Of course, the 17th and 18th century have some lovely styles as well
that are an interesting mixture of structure (hoops, panniers, stays,
and bum rolls) and flow (watteau or sack-back gowns, polonaises, and
fichus).

Of course, you don't need to do strictly historical gowns: from
Pirates of the Caribbean to steampunk musketeers from Mars, there are
a lot of possibilities for updating a look to fit a modern taste or a
particular theme. I've seen a number of mini-length bustles and
lolitas on LJ, and I've a number of friends who twist toward goth and
Tim Burton style.

Another trend I'm seeing more of is Bollywood-lush: tropical colors
and intricate sari fabrics are appearing in the major fabric stores,
and more exotic costume patterns from the major pattern companies are
making it easier to do ethnic-inspired costumes. If you like the jewel
tones, try pushing your color-sense with a complementary contrast:
orange with teal, yellow with purple, etc. The complementary color can
be a small detail or a trim, and can really make your favorites shine.

I did a gown in variations of olive, one of my least favorite colors,
as a "stretch"/think-outside-the-box project: and I must say, it came
out rather nicely! Made me happy that I took the challenge, as it were.

Does anyone happen to have any info on the fabrication of the armor
for "Iron Man"?  Anything would be helpful.

>>Does anyone happen to have any info on the fabrication of the armor
for "Iron Man"? Anything would be helpful.

I haven't been following it, BUT it's on display at the Archlight
Hollywood right now.  Don't know if anyone would be going down there in
the next couple of weeks who could take photos.  Seeing them might help.

A few pics here: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/iron_man/photos.php

-Cat-

There are quite a few of us over on the League of Heroes that are
working on making armor and such, http://theleagueofheroes.yuku.com/

I'm actually modifying Halo Pepkura armor to do mine, you can check
out this site here:
http://405th.com/forums/index.php?s=c0ebac74a97f4547bb11f64e9608862d&showforum=2\
5

A lot of the same techniques would be used for both so you should find
a lot of helpful info there.

--- In F-Costume@yahoogroups.com, "rebekahmcampbell"
<beckie.campbell@...> wrote:
>
> Does anyone happen to have any info on the fabrication of the armor
> for "Iron Man"?  Anything would be helpful.
>

I am making a variation of this Versace dress
(http://img459.imageshack.us/img459/8639/dress49fe.jpg) for a show I'm
designing for.  I was wondering if anyone had anytips for making it.
I have a corset pattern for the top, but how does one get a corset
this stiff?  Should I make it out of a canvas and then cover it with
the silk fabric?
Also, how should I attempt to do the shirring/ruching on the fabric?
How do I get the folds this tiny?
Lastly, would I make the whole corset first and then wrap the silk
fabric on it or would I wrap the silk on each piece/panel of the
corset and then sew it together?

Thank you for any help you all can offer.

>>I am making a variation of this Versace dress
(http://img459.imageshack.us/img459/8639/dress49fe.jpg
<http://img459.imageshack.us/img459/8639/dress49fe.jpg>) ... I have a
corset pattern for the top, but how does one get a corset this stiff?
Should I make it out of a canvas and then cover it with
the silk fabric?

A corset is normally made from canvas, or a cotiel.   When it's covered
with a fashion fabric, that fabric normally has a bit of thickness too.
The corset needs to be boned... for this, you could use sew in polly
boning or cable ties.  They get sandwitched between the layers of
canvas.  Your corset instructions should tell you where/how.  It's
weird, in this dress the boning seems to be showing though.  Ick.
Better on the inside.

  >>Lastly, would I make the whole corset first and then wrap the silk
fabric on it or would I wrap the silk on each piece/panel of the
corset and then sew it together?

As mentioned above... the fashion fabric is normally more study.  The
silk almost looks like a wrap around.  It's probably just fitted in
back.  So you want it separate, or mostly separate from the corset.

  >>Also, how should I attempt to do the shirring/ruching on the fabric?
How do I get the folds this tiny?


It looks just like crinkling/wrinkling. IF that's the case, you could
twist it really tight and wash and dry it in a nylon... just like a
broom stick pleated skirt.

But maybe those lines that show are actually stitch lines instead.  In
that case you just gather up the fabric then stitch it to a full size
piece that's not wrinkled.  Then stitch together the two pieces treating
them as one.

-Cat-

Thanks very much for the reply.  Is there a difference between
ruching/gathering fabric on the bias and on the straight of the grain?

--- In F-Costume@yahoogroups.com, Cat Devereaux <CatDevereaux@...> wrote:
>
>  >>I am making a variation of this Versace dress
> (http://img459.imageshack.us/img459/8639/dress49fe.jpg
> <http://img459.imageshack.us/img459/8639/dress49fe.jpg>) ... I have a
> corset pattern for the top, but how does one get a corset this stiff?
> Should I make it out of a canvas and then cover it with
> the silk fabric?
>
> A corset is normally made from canvas, or a cotiel.   When it's covered
> with a fashion fabric, that fabric normally has a bit of thickness too.
> The corset needs to be boned... for this, you could use sew in polly
> boning or cable ties.  They get sandwitched between the layers of
> canvas.  Your corset instructions should tell you where/how.  It's
> weird, in this dress the boning seems to be showing though.  Ick.
> Better on the inside.
>
>  >>Lastly, would I make the whole corset first and then wrap the silk
> fabric on it or would I wrap the silk on each piece/panel of the
> corset and then sew it together?
>
> As mentioned above... the fashion fabric is normally more study.  The
> silk almost looks like a wrap around.  It's probably just fitted in
> back.  So you want it separate, or mostly separate from the corset.
>
>  >>Also, how should I attempt to do the shirring/ruching on the fabric?
> How do I get the folds this tiny?
>
>
> It looks just like crinkling/wrinkling. IF that's the case, you could
> twist it really tight and wash and dry it in a nylon... just like a
> broom stick pleated skirt.
>
> But maybe those lines that show are actually stitch lines instead.  In
> that case you just gather up the fabric then stitch it to a full size
> piece that's not wrinkled.  Then stitch together the two pieces
treating
> them as one.
>
> -Cat-
>

>> Is there a difference between ruching/gathering fabric of the bias
and on the straight of the grain?

  >> http://img459.imageshack.us/img459/8639/dress49fe.jpg
<http://img459.imageshack.us/img459/8639/dress49fe.jpg>

On that dress... it looks like the gathering has been pulled tight... so
I'd say straight would work best.  You're not going to notice bia
gathers.   Where you will see/use bias is on hanging pieces or flat
pieces that you want to clink on curves or swish around curves.  Else,
you're just wasting fabric to to cut it on angle, gather it up and smush
it down.

-Cat-

I am looking for an affordable, easy to find way of making t-shirts
glow in the dark (on stage, which means it wouldn't be all that dark).
  Is there a type of fabric paint I can get to achieve this look?  Or
should I just go buy fluorescent fabric?  Thanks for the help.

--- In F-Costume@yahoogroups.com, "la_atran" <la_atran@...> wrote:
>
> I am looking for an affordable, easy to find way of making t-shirts
> glow in the dark (on stage, which means it wouldn't be all that dark).
>  Is there a type of fabric paint I can get to achieve this look?  Or
> should I just go buy fluorescent fabric?  Thanks for the help.
>

Most glow-in-the-dark paint produces a very low level of luminosity:
fine for up-close-and-personal, or when-woken-in-the-middle-of-the-
night experiences, but highly unsatisfactory in a stage situation,
where the darkness is incomplete, and the object is seen from farther
than arm's length.

There are several kinds of active illumination, like EL wire, LEDs, and
fiberoptics, and each has its advantages and drawbacks. They are not
exactly cheap, but some are less expensive than others, depending on
your skills with soldering, programming, etc.


EL wire allows you to "draw" one or multiple glowing lines.
Potentially, one whole line of one color can blink on and off
(depending on your micro-controller) in various sequences. Google "EL
Wire", or prowl around coolneon.com, thatscoolwire.com, and similar
sites.

LEDs produce spots of color: they can be very "directional"--only the
tip facing directly at you is really bright--or frosted for a more even
glow. You can buy the component LEDs singly, or already-built bars, or
strings of christmas lights. Google "LEDs buy", or prowl places like
superbrightleds.com, digikey.com, alwaysbrilliant.com and similar sites.

Fiberoptics typically produce tiny little spots of color, or slightly
glowing strands, and they need a light-source (usually an LED) at one
end of the strand to make the rest light up. However, there are some
area-effect fiberoptic products out there. There's a really cool fabric
woven of fiber optic threads called Luminex that sells camisoles that
light up (http://store.luminex.it/) but they are not cheap--175,00 Euro
a piece.
There's also something called "glowfur" at fiberopticproducts.com--hard
to say if LEDs under any synthetic fur would work the same way, or if
the fur itself is fiberoptic material.
Google "fiber optic buy" or prowl trinorthlighting.com,
fiberopticproducts.com, or similar sites.

I have not bought materials from any of the sites mentioned in the last
two years, btw, so I know nothing of their particular customer service
practices or pricing.

tide!
for some reason the powder tide glows in the dark when left on costumes
it has been a long time since i have done this but it works under black
light.

--- In F-Costume@yahoogroups.com, "la_atran" <la_atran@...> wrote:
>
> I am looking for an affordable, easy to find way of making t-shirts
> glow in the dark (on stage, which means it wouldn't be all that dark).
>  Is there a type of fabric paint I can get to achieve this look?  Or
> should I just go buy fluorescent fabric?  Thanks for the help.
>

mafgreene wrote:
> tide!
> for some reason the powder tide glows in the dark when left on costumes
> it has been a long time since i have done this but it works under black
> light.
>

	 Actually you need the powdered Tide with 'bleach alternative'. yes,
that does glow under black light the dark when 'painted' or sprinkled
around - but as to how well it could be seen from a stage.. you'd have
to experiment to tell.

	 -Judy

A group tried this trick at Shoreleave a couple of years ago and it
only worked in the first couple of rows. After that it just didn't
read to the rest of the audience.

Kath the Puppeteer

On Thu, May 8, 2008 at 7:46 PM, Judy Mitchell <judymitch@...> wrote:
> mafgreene wrote:
>> tide!
>> for some reason the powder tide glows in the dark when left on costumes
>> it has been a long time since i have done this but it works under black
>> light.
>>
>
> Actually you need the powdered Tide with 'bleach alternative'. yes,
> that does glow under black light the dark when 'painted' or sprinkled
> around - but as to how well it could be seen from a stage.. you'd have
> to experiment to tell.
>
> -Judy
>

I don 't know what you want to Tees to look like, but if you take  some glow
sticks, activate them  and break them open  and shake onto  or draw on the
Tees, they will glow really brightly for several hours.
I don't know  if this washes out or stains, we did it on throwaway coveralls
, and dumpted them at the end of the night.

shalazar

Just keep that off of your skin. It can be very bad in both the short
term and the long term.

On Thu, May 8, 2008 at 8:01 PM, Shalazar <SHALAZAR@...> wrote:
>
>
> I don 't know what you want to Tees to look like, but if you take some glow
> sticks, activate them and break them open and shake onto or draw on the
> Tees, they will glow really brightly for several hours.
> I don't know if this washes out or stains, we did it on throwaway coveralls
> , and dumpted them at the end of the night.
>
> shalazar
>

I think you need black lights on stage, then fluorescent paint would
work.  White glows very bright in black light, too.

Namarie,
Bonnie Half-Elven

--- In F-Costume@yahoogroups.com, "la_atran" <la_atran@...> wrote:
>
> I am looking for an affordable, easy to find way of making t-shirts
> glow in the dark (on stage, which means it wouldn't be all that dark).
>  Is there a type of fabric paint I can get to achieve this look?  Or
> should I just go buy fluorescent fabric?  Thanks for the help.
>

On May 8, 2008, at 5:39 PM, bonmothma wrote:
> I think you need black lights on stage, then fluorescent paint would
> work.  White glows very bright in black light, too.

Some whites glow bright in blacklight.

White acrylic glows in blacklight, as does white cotton. Other white
fabrics may not glow as brightly.

andy

Greetings! Thomas here,

I feel your pain. When I first did glow-in-the-dark clothing back in, oh, 1986,
I had no
end of trouble just trying to communicate what it was that I was trying to do.
Nowadays,
the situation isn't much better. It doesn't help (especially with internet
searches) that
people use words like "glow" and "luminous" when what they really mean is "ooh,
pretty!".

If you can find actual glow-in-the-dark paint, dry pigment, or fabric, it will
glow even
more brilliantly under black light. If your production can afford it, I'd
recommend that
combination. If at all possible, your blacklight should be an actual
professional stage light
and not the sort of fluorescent tubes sold in Halloween stores. UV stage lights
have
limitations (they take a little time to warm up, need a "reset" time between off
and on
again, and can't be dimmed), but they're much more effective than blacklights
sold for
parties and whatnot.

With glow-in-the-dark t-shirts, of course, they'll keep glowing after the lights
go out --
that might be important to remember when you want them to disappear.

White fabric is not guaranteed to glow under black light. Tide and other
detergents
contain fluorescent pigments so that white clothes washed in them will look
whiter under
a strong UV source... like sunlight.

Here's a link for you:

http://worldaglow.com/default.asp

I haven't dealt with these folks, but they seem to have the greatest variety of
lighting
effects of the sort you're looking for. Try also here:

http://glowinc.com/

And here:

http://www.readysetglo.com/

Those last two deal in (among other things) glow pigment powder, which may be
better
for making t-shirts glow without the stiffness of paint.

I've seen some impressive glow effects done on stage, so it is possible. Break a
leg!

-- Thomas

--- In F-Costume@yahoogroups.com, "la_atran" <la_atran@...> wrote:
>
> I am looking for an affordable, easy to find way of making t-shirts
> glow in the dark (on stage, which means it wouldn't be all that dark).
>  Is there a type of fabric paint I can get to achieve this look?  Or
> should I just go buy fluorescent fabric?  Thanks for the help.
>

in some of the books i read there is some really cool costumes

Here's a fab corset handout from Jana that she used at the last Costume Con.

http://costumepastimes.com/pages/cost_projects/corsets/Quickie_Corsets.pdf

She gives 3 variations.  The first is just how to convert a standard
store bought merry widow... which is great for fantasy costumes that
just need a bit of shaping.   Then you get tips in making a single layer
corset and one with fashion fabric layered.

Save the link.  Very useful.

-Cat-

Hello, everyone:

"The Sartoraeus Chronicles" is a record of the characters and costumes our
ICG Guild chapter created for our "airship" (frequently used to describe a
group of people costuming as Steampunk together).   Any of you who were at
CC26 might've even seen a couple of our outfits on stage in the SF & F
masquerade.

Check out our page(s): http://www.casamai.com/slcg/sartoraeus.htm

We had a lot of fun putting all this together, and we're only getting
started.  We plan to have more character stories, a photo shoot just for the
tech, more costumes or characters as they're created, and a musical
surprise.  I'll let you know about the additions as we make them, but for
now, have a look!

Bruce

Just wondering the best method of dying a lycra (spandex) unitard?
Unitard is white and I want to dye it black to make a Batgirl costume!

I can't use a washing machine for this one because I'm doing it at a
friend's place and I've no idea what I'm doing outside using machine dye!

Resha

I don't know if this would work for spandex/lycra, but I did manage to
dye tricot and polyester this way.
I pinned the garment to a large piece of cardboard and then covered it with a
quantity of the powdered Rit dye--I believe I used 3 boxes of the dark green and
one of purple (I was doing a swirled effect).
Next I liberally added salt over the entire garment, enough that I could really
see it everywhere.
I then slowly saturated and dissolved the dye by spraying straight vinegar onto
it until the salt and powdered dye dissolved and let the garment air dry - which
was a couple of days in Washington state.
Turned it over and touched up a couple of spots on the back, and then finally
rinsed and heat set it in the dryer.
I got DARK green and purple on it, and 10 years later it was still fairly dark
when I finally donated the outfit as it didn't suit my tastes anymore.
Your mileage of course, may vary.
 JonnaLyhn Wolfcat
aka Angharad verch Reynulf, BAO, An Tir



----- Original Message ----
From: Naresha Ninya <north_shore_fruitcake@...>
To: F-Costume@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, May 13, 2008 6:23:11 AM
Subject: [F-Costume] Dying lycra?


Just wondering the best method of dying a lycra (spandex) unitard?
Unitard is white and I want to dye it black to make a Batgirl costume!

I can't use a washing machine for this one because I'm doing it at a
friend's place and I've no idea what I'm doing outside using machine dye!

Resha






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Greetings & Salutations!!

Like a long-period comet, I'm back on F-Costume! I'm an amateur
costumer via Halloween costumes, the SCA, Folkwear patterns, and
dressing my husband as a wizard for Harry Potter book and LOTR film
releases.

I bought Simplicity 5363 last fall, was looking for something pretty
but 'witchy' (and simple) to make for party wear this week, and pulled
it out (S5363, view C).

I'm making it from crinkly cotton gauze (and shortened the underskirt
to just-below-the-knees), but I have a question about one of the
fabrics recommended on the pattern evelope:  What *is* 'Crystal
Pleating'? The folks at the local Jo-Ann's didn't know.

Any assistance is gratefully appreciated, and if you know someplace on
the web to get it, even better!  I'm getting *real* tired of khaki
chino slacks, so linen and silk is the way to go this summer!!

...my road goes ever on and on...
Miranduviel the (wizard-groupie) Elf-Hobbit

Greetings all!
   I was hoping that someone could tell me where I could find a clear close up
picture of Maid Marion's necklace that she wore during the 1980's version of
Robin of Sherwood with Michael Praed and Judi Trott.

   I have done a google image search and checked costumers's guide as I always do
when looking into a costume. But as of yet I can't find a picture that is clear
enough to tell what it is. Or if there aren't pictures does anyone know what it
was?? It appears to be on a black thong and have a reddish stone on one side.

   Also is there a place for the study or reproduction of those costumes?? I
think I'd like to try out a few. Luckily have found some decent pics on the net,
but would be interested to see what others have come up with.

   Many thanks, hantale,
   Neume


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi. I have an immediate need for reference photos for two costumes from
Serenity: Zoe and the Operative. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Kent

Hi. I've been asked by various girls to make them bloomers. However,
I am at a loss as to what to charge for them. I've seen them being sold
for anywhere between $36 to $90, depending on style and fabric, though
many were just a cotton muslin or print. That low price still seems a
bit much though. Any input would be welcome. The girls who are
requesting the bloomers are in high school, as am I, so that would also
affect my pricing.
Thanks!
~Jessica