Lady A

A Hem filled with metal?!

2012-02-27T02:14:00.000-08:00

I am now getting to the bottom part of the dress,

The hem and the decorations on the tulle.

The dress needs to be finished by next week so it will be all late night sewing action for me this week.

Here is where I am at.

I have created the bottom part but not attached it yet, and I have filled the hem with bottle tops but not secured them yet.

Now I have to add the colourful tops to this tulle piece, that requires me sandwiching them between two pieces of tulle basting around them and then sewing them onto the piece.

I am also waiting on the spring steel to go in the hem, it needs a hoop so it wont be stepped on it too fragile to just drape.

So I shall show you more as I keep getting closer to the deadline. :S

all the tops Basted

2012-02-21T02:25:00.000-08:00

I have made some progress over the weekend, and now all the bottle tops are basted on.

as you can see it was a big job

but I stuck at it and got there in the end

This is how it looks at the moment.

Now it is time to add the bottom part of the dress and also to actually sew on the bottle tops.

More news soon because the whole thing is due on the 6th of march. :S

Bar styled progress

2012-02-17T23:17:00.000-08:00

The dress decorated with bottle tops is coming along,

its slow moving work but hopefully it will be worth it in the end.

I have basted one side now and I am ready to replicate the other side.

As you can see it looks very different, but with any hope not too bad when I am done with it.

here goes another weekend of bottle top applying I will up date next week with more images.

with luck I will have the bottom part attached too. (fingers crossed)

;)

Saddle bag

2012-02-11T05:37:00.000-08:00

This is my fisrt thing that I have sewn on the machine, and it did very well.

It is a saddle bag for my boyfriends retro looking bicycle, it his birthday tomorrow and I will give it to him then. ( oh and don't worry he doesn't follow my blog ;))

Hopefully he will like it, it was fun working it out and working with the leather.

I should do it again.

until next time :D

2012-02-10T03:22:00.000-08:00

This is my new rather old sewing machine,

she doesn't do anything fancy but she runs.

Soon you shall see what I will be making with her.

Over water swimming ??

2012-01-27T06:18:00.000-08:00

Well this is the bathing suit that really isn't made for swimming

Its stretchy crushed velvet, (don't ask me why I have so much of it)

But its great for performing in, and my lovely friend will use it just for that,

and as soon as I have some photos I shall share them.

Fun with ETSY

2012-01-13T21:15:00.000-08:00

I have been on etsy alot lately, browsing for something special as a birthday present.

I naturally have also been looking at things that I could like or require.

I found this lovely shop

http://www.etsy.com/shop/brownpigeon

She hand carves rubber stamps, and they are very sweet.

I hand a custom one done and only just got my proof, she is very quick and is happy to answer any questions. I can't wait to receive this stamp and make little tags and cards with it.

lets just say its nice to find lovely people making thing all over the world.

I really love etsy for that.

New Year Eve Dress ups

2012-01-06T21:02:00.000-08:00

I work at a jazz club at times next to all the other jobs I do, and so does my boyfriend he is the sound man.

Because he works NYE I try to get a shift to so we can spend the night in the same venue.

This year the theme was a Hot NYE Ball, which gave us the excuse to dress up, or more me to him and me up ;)

This is my dress I made at the first fitting

And here are some photos of the night, unfortunately I don't have any of the whole dress I was too busy working most of the night.

The photo's were taken by Angelyne Wolfe (thank you again)

Maybe I will do a photo shoot one day with it, and then I shall show it off.

Bicycle dreams

2012-01-05T05:57:00.000-08:00

I have been looking at the Dutch style bicycles for a while,

They are comfortable to ride, have a skirt guard most of the time and space to carry shopping or my stuff.

I have looked around but there isn't much around under $1000, and I can be picky when it comes to what style I like.

Like this beauty here is a little more than $2000 a , what really interests me is the internal gears.

I know nothing about them, how they work, how you maintain them and if they are any good.

Then there is these guys, cheaper versions build it yourself and choose the colours.

But will 3 gears be enough?

This is another brand, mojo bikes also 3 speed.

My question is has anyone got one of these bicycles? Or do you know some with one.

I have my white one but there is so much I can't do with it I would just like to own one that works.

Anyways any hints tips please let me know. :)

the smallest thing I have ever made

2011-12-22T23:11:00.000-08:00

These are some little baby shoes I made for my boyfriends Niece. As you can see she is a baby and he didn't know what to get her for Christmas.

So I decided to step in and look on a tutorial or pattern online for something simple. Or so I thought, they are simple enough just very fiddly and tiny.

If you would like to make the same ones have a look on this link;

http://www.fleetingthing.com/handmade/baby-gifts/the-mila-baby-shoe-tutorial/&2_10_12

Very simple and a great scrap fabric user ;)

Have a great Christmas and new year until 2012!!!

Getting close to the finish line

2011-12-15T04:41:00.000-08:00

So I have made progress, and I have only got a few days to finish this one.

the antlers have been covered

the top part of the wings ave been made

Some of the feathers have been added, hemming will be done tomorrow and then the rest can be done.

Hand here is her wing span, so glad it says up ;)

I hope to show some completed one soon too.

Shakespeare Costume update

2011-12-09T06:08:00.001-08:00

I am just showing you what I am up to with the Shakespeare Ariel costume

I have started with the leather on the bodice.

I have had to glue the leather bits on the bra, let hope it sticks :)

And there will be more :)

Remember if you would like to come see it here is the address for tickets

http://www.shakespearewa.com/tickets

And if you like the design have a look at Ingrid Proos

Shakespeare costume

2011-12-06T03:37:00.001-08:00

I have been working on a show for Shakespeare WA, the Costume designs are by Ingrid Proos

I am making the costume For Ariel in the Tempest.

Here is the amazing design

I have been wiring the wings

Then the bias cut skirt will be getting its layers

And this is where I am up to now

If you would like to come and see the show, its at kings park (perth Western Australia) and here is how you can get tickets http://shakespearewa.com/tickets/

I will try and show you more as I get along and hopefully those that can't come get to see what happens too.

update on the next thing

2011-11-24T21:59:00.001-08:00

The fabric has been purchased, the pattern has been drafted and the work has begun.

Here are some of the beginnings of this artistic dress.

I hope the standard size I chose isn't too big or too small, I may regret it later.

We will see how it goes, more as soon as I have more.

The next thing

2011-11-14T00:05:00.001-08:00

I am now working on many things since uni has finished, but this is a dress for next years urban fashion.

The dress design I wont put up yet, I haven't found out yet if I got in.

The dress will be made with lots of bottle tops, tulle and a satin.

Here are some samples

I think the bottom one is the better looking arrangement.

Now its off to the fabric shop to look for the fabrics.

I will show more as soon as I can. :)

The next Burlesque Costume 1.4 the skirt and bodice

2011-10-19T04:54:00.000-07:00

Just a few photos of what I did on the dress today,

I put the skirt together and cartridge pleated the back so it fits onto the bodice.

the train turned out to be nice and long, this hopefully will help with the performance.

Its all about getting time to practice with the garment

there will also be more gold added, I am still looking at where I can place all this trim. The waist does make sense, it would accentuate all the best female features ;)

the stomacher will look something like this, with more decorations to be added once sewn on.

It is starting to look like a garment, and that is the exciting part. Now a few more long days and it will be display ready.

More photos to come :)

The next Burlesque Costume 1.3 starting the garment :)

2011-10-17T03:23:00.000-07:00

I went Fabirc shopping on the weekend and found out that there isn't much in this town to choose from :(

So I decided to use a simple fabric and decorate it elaborately instead.

(I wonder why I do it ?)

Here are some of the beginnings of this garment.

The sleeves is something I started to put together

the trim really makes the red look richer

I need a bent arm to do this properly, silly manikin ;)

this is what you can see, the under sleeve, its not finished yet either.

And here is the front panel of the under skirt being draped.

I am working on this garment this week and next week, there will be lots more photos to come in the next two weeks. :D

until then...

The next Burlesque Costume 1.2 the stay/corset

2011-10-08T23:36:00.000-07:00

Moving on with the corset

I have now got all the seams done,

the front bones are in and the back ones are too.

the dummy really isn't the best for showing this off,

but hopefully I will have more photos with the model soon.

Its all coming together now.

Working on my first Tailored Mens coat.

2011-10-08T00:38:00.000-07:00

One of the final project at uni is doing a period tailored Men's coat or jacket.

I have enjoyed the look of the frock coat from around 1880 for some time now and finally get to make one for my boyfriend. (lucky him)

This is the basic design, I must say I have cheated a little in the way of trying to make it loo a bit more modern. Mainly because men these days don't like looking too different and this man has those views too ;)

The image isn't that great but that is all I have at this point, hopefully I will get to make him a top hat too at some point :)

Then I had the first fitting with a calico Toille, by the way the pattern came from the R.I. Davis book of period mens wear.

It looks a bit silly really in calico

But when its your very first its always good to try on cheap fabric before you do the real thing.

Then alterations were done and I cut it in the wool.

My lovely boyfriend lost a bit of weight in between, so I had to do more alterations after this fitting. But that is life.

The things you notice when tailoring something to a person is how they stand and how they are angled.

It's interesting

and so much time can be spent making and studying this field I am not sure you could ever get bored.

I hope mine turns out okay I am in the finishing stages soon.

And will put more photo's up when it is done.

until then

enjoy :)

Retro Bicycle - rideable and ready for summer riding.

2011-10-01T03:50:00.000-07:00

Here are some first photo's of me testing the gears on the bicycle I have been building.

I have some plans to put more things on it and do a small photo shoot with a dress I am yet to make.

with any hope I will have some photo's in November to show.

The next Burlesque Costume 1.1

2011-09-26T04:21:00.000-07:00

This is the next step, fitting with the star herself.

The corset fits, when the bones are in even better.

And the Farthingale look as it should.

Now I can start looking at making the Dress to go over the top

Any ideas yet who this dress is inspired by?

I will welcome any guesses....

The next Burlesque Costume

2011-09-19T19:22:00.000-07:00

The Next Burlesque Costume will be inspired by a TV series, Movie and a Lady from History.

These pictures are the start of the undergarments.

I still have to put the waistband on and give this beauty a press.

And this is the corset with slight 21st century finish for ease of removal on stage. ;)

There will be more....

And hopefully you can guess who this is inspired by :)

The White Swan, another creation for Cécile Mimieux

2011-09-18T03:59:00.000-07:00

This is my latest Burlesque costume I created for Cécile Mimieux

performed at the Burlesk Safari in Fremantle not so long ago. It made an impact.

And there will be more to come.

Please go and check out Cécile Mimieux on Facebook, she is an amazing performer.

Vintage Bicycle building

2011-09-16T21:49:00.000-07:00

I have nearly finished building the ladies bicycle I started a long time ago.

the frame had to be cold pressed because I had to purchase a new rear wheel, the old one was rusted out.

once that was done the fun part of putting everything back together was done.

Then I had all the new accessories to put on and trying to get it to work, I am still having problems with the shifting and I am trying to find some bolt to fit the rear rack on securely. But hpefully that will happen soon and I can show you some photos of me cycling in a lovely 50's dress :)

European visit

2011-06-02T07:49:00.000-07:00

I am at the moment in Europe doing my Secondment at a opera

I am very glad I chose the nicer months because I am not sure how well I would cope with winter in my Australian jackets and shoes.

Here is the outlook on the weather so far

But I have high hopes that it will pick up

and when the houses are so well warmed its all good
So until I have some photos of people and places that are sunny

best of time

Lady A

Retro Bicycle - Frame painted

2011-05-03T06:51:00.000-07:00

I have finished painting the frame
it was a rattle can job and I wouldn't say its brilliant but it will do.

This is the primer

And then the top coat

And now I have to let it cure for a bit,
then the re assembly will commence :D
I am really looking forward to riding it to uni hopefully soon.

Cheers for reading and please stay tuned because I will be doing my secondment in Switzerland in the month of June and there will be some photos of the people and the landscapes.

Retro Bicycle fixing

2011-04-08T01:11:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I have blogged,

Lots has happened and there is so much exciting stuff coming up.
At the moment I am trying fix up my old retro bicycle and make it work well again.

This is the state I got it in a long time ago.
It needed new tires and tubes then it was ride able.
So I got some nice white walls.
Now I am getting rid of the rust on it, I have bought a new rear tire, and pulled it appart to sand it back and re spray it.
These are some photos of the bits.

I started painting the chain guard

I got some new grips

A new front basket

a new saddle

Painted the front forks

Still lots of things to clean and repair

getting help cleaning the bearing to see what needs replacing

So hopefully next time I will have more done and it will start to resemble a bicycle again. :)

Cécile Mimieux's English Rose

2011-01-03T01:21:00.000-08:00

This is a new burlesque costume made by Lady A,

It consists of a bodice over a corset made from a Victorian pattern, with a mini crinoline holding 14 different sized petals via press studs. and underneath a garter belt, G string and petal shaped pasties.

To keep my blog clean I wont be showing you all the layers, but you can see the beautiful performance once it gets uploaded onto youtube. I will keep you posted on that event :)

Aprons for Christmas

2010-12-25T19:10:00.000-08:00

I was wondering what to get for some of the ladies in the family
then I remembered a saying my grand mother told me once;
"a hand made gift is always closer to my heart than anything you can buy for me"
and since these ladies enjoy cooking and baking what would be better than a apron with their personalities in mind.

The green apron, for a lady with a big heart

The Blue on for someone with a slight rebellious streak

and the purple one, for the sweet young lady ;)

I hope they will be well used and many lovely baked goods and dinner will come from wearing them. :)
Until next year having a great new year ! :)

Rococo Garment finished

2010-12-01T03:04:00.000-08:00

Finally it is finished and I have been graded for it, guess what I passed!
Anyway I am planning to have some better photos taken but here I am in my kitchen without makeup or hair done.
the side
the back
and the front
there are a few more things I would like to add to finish it off a bit more but for now this is it. :)
So glad I made one, so would like to make more.

soon I will have another project to show you.

Rococo Garment update

2010-10-19T16:50:00.001-07:00

On the bodice I have added the stomacher and the trim, the stomacher is hand painted and embroidered.

All the trim has been pleated, mainly box pleated.

The sleeves have also been pleated

I can see there is still lots to do, I have a little more than 3 weeks to finish this and once it has been marked I will try and find a place to have a photo shoot so you can see the finished product. :)

Rococo garments update

2010-10-12T05:46:00.001-07:00

Here it is, I have put together the skirt and bodice. Now the embellishments and finishing, there is lots to do.

This is the skirt so far, more to come.

The printing I had to do on the hem, and hopefully it will still be seen after all the box pleating is done.

More to come soon :)

The Rococo bodice

2010-09-15T06:46:00.000-07:00

I have been working on the Rococo gown and forgot to up date my progress. At my next fitting I will bring the real camera and take some decent photos.
So here is where I am at;
I have cut out and put together the bodice, I have also started on the large amount of trim box pleating that has to be done.

The Skirt is still to be printed and sewn together completely, the stomacher is also to be printed and embroidered.

The Colours came out a bit lighter than expected but it is growing on me, and with the embroidery done there will be more texture.

More images to come soon :)

Designing for Dance

2010-08-25T04:36:00.001-07:00

Last week the dance piece I designed for was performed, it was a interesting process working with the choreographer and the dancers. I was lucky to have a great understanding of what the Dance piece was going to be about and being able to design something simple but good for the choreography.

Some photos are movements shots so they will be blury

Here you can see the 3/4 pants with the strapping on the torsoes, it was a all male cast so the bare chest worked well.
It was about the masculine qualities, made into dance. It was funny but also interesting to watch, I enjoyed it :)

Some very expressive movements

Hopefully these great boys will go onto doing lots of fun things in the future :)

Burlesque Costume for Cécile Mimieux

2010-08-19T08:35:00.000-07:00

I make all sorts of Costumes, burlesque is one of the more interesting areas of costuming for me.
This Costume was made for

Cécile Mimieux

And under the Brand
V & V

The costume includes Bra, Torsolette, Garter belt, skirt and detachable tulle. Then a g string and pasties both in a white and silver.

There are more such things in the works so please stick around to see what we make next :)

Me in my under garments

2010-07-22T06:01:00.001-07:00

So here we are me in my Rococo undergarments, as you can see the corset is very tightly laced and the panniers are rather large. :)
I hope you enjoyed, there will be lots more coming soon.

Rococo undergarments

2010-06-23T04:36:00.000-07:00

Okay I received the undergarments back from being assessed and here they are on one of our dummies. (please note the corset doesn't look too good on a dummy because it changes a persons shape drastically when worn and dummies don't squish)

from the front

a close up on the flossing

from the side

now with the panniers and petticoat, the panniers have 18 meters of string steel in them and the petticoat needed only 12meters on fabric.

here it is from the side

and here is the close up on the pin tucks I had to do because I am a bit of a shorty :)

Thank you for looking I hope to put up my design for my dress soon :)

Rococo costume update ( CORSET )

2010-06-15T07:24:00.000-07:00

So here is where I am up to with the corset, I have the binding on all the bones in and all the cording is in.

And now I have started the flossing

these will become more elaborate

But it gives the idea of how it could look

Soon I'll be able to start on my dress, and there will be photos of that also.

Rococo Costume corset fitting

2010-05-19T04:37:00.000-07:00

Today I had my final corest fitting for the rococo costume I am making. It went well, everything fitted I just need to fix some of the boning channels to make sure the bones don't have a chance to escape.

I have also finished the panniers and fitted the petticoat to suit these panniers. There is still lots of work to be done but I am nearly finished with the undergarments.

See for yourselves :)

for some reason I can't keep a straight face but if you were being squeezed by one of those corsets you would understand hopefully. ;)

More up dates soon

Rococo costume update

2010-05-17T06:27:00.000-07:00

here is where I am up to with my Rococo garment, I am having a fitting with my corset panniers and petticoat on Wednesday. So I have a lot of bones to cut and round off, eyelets to put in and bias to dye.
Here is how the corset looks now

the 16 meters of ruffle I box pleated for my petticoat

the petticoat on the table, without the top yoke attached

and here it is draped over my panniers, I probably will have to put some tucks in to shorten it a bit. the waistband isn't on yet either.

There will be more to come soon, I will have some photos of the fitting soon.
I hope you enjoyed what you saw.
:)

Long hours working on stundent films

2010-05-01T04:42:00.000-07:00

I am sorry I haven't been blogging but I have been very busy with uni stuff, working on the student films doing costume stand by.
yes its not all glamorous work, its long hours and sometimes dusty work, but it can be really rewarding.
here are some pics of me on set, sorry but I can't show you much more.
and here I am as stunt driver with some serious camera equipment in the back :)
hopefully I can update on my corset soon and then there will be more photos :)

My Period costume version 2

2010-03-24T02:03:00.000-07:00

This is a continuation of the introduction to my costume classes at uni, there will be many more until the end of the year.

here I was fitting my corset toille and making alterations to the pattern, then I had to measure the length and width of the petticoat I will be making over the pannier.

this is the three views Back

Side

Front

And this is the pattern after I have made all the alterations

I had to take in 6cm in the waist, when I originally thought I would only need to take in 2cm. amazing how much our bodies compress.
stay tuned for more stuff in the next few months. :)

My period costume classes

2010-03-15T07:49:00.000-07:00

At uni we have to research and construct a period garment of a specific era, this year we are doing 1700 - 1800 so this will include the rococo or what most would recognize as the Marie Antoinette time.
At the moment we are researching our dresses shapes and making the undergarments to suit that shape.
Here is a photo of my panniers that I am finishing.
there is nearly 19 meters of steel in this, all of it had to be covered and forced through the channels. 11 meters of drill at the base for box pleating.
This may look simple, and it is, but it is just time consuming. :)
Hopefully worth the time once it is finished.
Don't worry I will up date you on the corset and other things as I go along.

My Romper

2010-03-09T07:48:00.000-08:00

my first romper suit, it is bright, sweet, and comfy.
specially good for hot summer days on your bicycle :)
Please note this was made for my shape not the dummies, I have a little bit more "bootee" and a longer torso this is why the bum is saggy and the straps too long. ;)
Photos of me in it will come soon, (fingers crossed)

Waapa things of slot 1

2010-02-26T16:35:00.000-08:00

Here are some thing I have made for the show the trial

the cuff of leni's blouse,the back of lenis blouse

the back of skirt and blouse

the side view

and the front view

a part of the big suit for Huld

the actor in the unfinished suit

front view of him in suit

and the process of attaching all the pieces to him.

And I am sure there will be more to come. :)

The Hats I made last year

2010-02-15T05:26:00.000-08:00

First there is the cloche, made from wool felt dyed and shaped by me.
back

the side

the front

Then there is the fabulous air hostess replica blocked with 20/20 and then covered
I only have one photo at this point.

And thanks to the lovely Emma for modeling.

some of my wearable art

2010-02-04T02:19:00.000-08:00

There is this thing that I take part of every year called montana world of wearable art, it is held in new zealand in september. Check out the site for more info- http://www.worldofwearableart.com this is a 2008 entry Watertextures
this is also a entry from that year called leaf fairy

and don't forget to check my etsy shop
http://www.etsy.com/shop/LadyADesign

Introducing Valma Ivy

2010-02-02T05:11:00.000-08:00

This was my burlesque graduation with the costumes I made.

this is the Space Hostess
Jacket, skirt and unfinished hat.

The set with the bra and garter belt
the hat finished complete with wig and make up.
and a shot from stage a little tease :)

The shimmy showgirl one piece, this was so much fun to wear you can't help but shimmy and wiggle. :)