Sewing for Humans: Recurve Bow Case

Hey hey all! 

Isn't it hot? The Makies have shut themselves in the bathroom with the giant squid and a bottle of prosecco. Sounds like they're having one heck of a pool party. 

I've been working on a soft case for my recurve bow. It's got nice squishy quilt wadding for snuggliness, is lined with pink polka dot fleecy fabric and has the most amazing Hello Kitty waterproof outer. 

Best thing is, once the bow is out and assembled, I can use it as a cushion! 

YOU GUYS!

Dudes, I'll interrupt your regularly scheduled Makie Mischief to announce that I've been invited to the best wedding ever! 

One of my oldest friends is getting married in September which is in itself epically cool. But the coolest thing yet is that she's having a sort of 'pick your own historical costume including LARP and Steampunk and oh, there are PENALTIES for not dressing up' theme for the wedding which means, oh yes, I GET TO DRESS UP. 

I'm plotting already. 

I could rock the Steampunk look? 

Perhaps a bit Victorian?

Or... well. There's not contest really, is there? There's a certain lady who's been completely rocking the cosplay scene this last couple of years, and I reckon she's my greatest fashion inspiration at the moment... 

HELL YES CERSEI LANNISTER

I know. I KNOW. Short, rather plump things like me shouldn't even bother trying to out lion the lioness, but I've got a corset, a few months to think about it and some plans involving hedgehogs... oh, and dressing the long-suffering boyfriend up as Littlefinger. Har. 

This space, you should watch it. 

Sewing for Humans: Borogravian Army Costume

Aha! I knew the photographs would surface sooner or later.

Here's a little peek at my Borogravian costume for Miss Discworld.

Yes, I'm the one on the right... 

Stitches are, of course, optional.

So this number is put together from a combination of reproduction and modern patterns. The underpinnings are my Laughing Moon Victorian corset, chemise and bloomers, with a thrown-together petticoat of no particular pattern, with some 6mm plastic boning tucked into horsehair braid to hoop out the hem a little. 

See? Given the general theme, I'm relatively over-dressed... 

The skirt is (believe it or not) a Colette Ginger, lengthened to the floor. It could've done with being a little wider to go over all the underwear, but I think it worked well. This was actually skirt version 2; the first was a black velvet elastic waist number, but it really didn't work with the top when I put it on in the pub 15 minutes before going on stage. Thank goodness for contingency costumes! 

Particularly pleased with the bodice; this is my second time making this costume top and it's come out very well in both versions. The pattern is Truly Victorian's 1875 Ballgown Basque and is so ridiculously simple to make it's untrue. Because this is only for one-off stage wear, I left of the sleeves and omitted the lining, overlocking the edges. The front and lower edges are covered with black bias tape, and the top edge and sleeves with gold ribbon and sequins. I used more gold ribbon to make the front false frogs. It's held together (just) with hooks and eyes. 

Yes, the skirt has gone missing. It came back later.
Yes, I was beaten by a barbarian. 

The costume must've had some merits, because I was awarded 4th place and got a crown of flowers (which are sat on top of my hat in the above photo) and a certificate! Don't think it'll be going in my CV, mind you...

(Oooh, and here's what the hat looked like in 2010...

Costume recycling! A boon for the Igorina with a busy REALJOB.)

Sewing for Humans: Underpinnings

So, Hogswatch.

Essentially, twice a year, a load of fans of Terry Pratchett's Discworld books meet up in an unsuspecting little town in Somerset, book out all the hotels and have a jolly good time. A large proportion of us dress up 'specially for the occasion, and I'm quite fond of taking myself along and pretending to be an Igorina. Drinks are drank, money is raised for charity and occasionally, the man himself swoops in for a short visit.

Tools of the trade... note the boltcutters!

None of this is making any sense, right? Don't worry. After a few beers, none of us make sense.

The look tends to be sort of pseudo-Victorian with a bit of steam and a lot of odd. I decided this year I'd go for a underbust corset, blouse and long swoopy skirt for 'general' wear. The underbust is adjusted from my classic Victorian overbust corset pattern, appropriately sized for one of minimal height.

Of course, you need appropriate underpinnings...

And given we're meeting up at the end of November, layers are the order of the day!

Sewing for Humans: Stethoscope Cover

A bit of a digression from Makie-ness today, but I decided it's time to make something for myself again!

Us doctors are rather fond of our stethoscopes. They're an essential bit of kit for day-to-day work, and they get a fair bit of abuse.

Unfortunately, my previous model took rather too much abuse over the last 4 1/2 years, and has just ended up doing the above...

Boooosplit.

Yeah. Split. This means the acoustic is stuffed and I can't hear a thing. Not so good when you're trying to hear whether or not there's a pneumonia or heart murmur. It's happened because I tend to drape my tubes around my neck, where the lipids from my skin have reacted with the plastic and made it brittle.

So after a delve into the bank account for a new model (ouch), I've decided that a funky fabric solution is needed to avoid further splittage and financial distress.

Classy!

If you've got a medic in your life, why not make them one of these? It's dead easy.

You will need:

• Fabric strips 2.5" wide, 14" long. 
• Needle and thread
• Iron
• Snap fasteners

A sewing machine is helpful.

First, gather your fabrics. These are from a Moda "Jelly Roll", which is a type of quilting collection. They're the perfect width for making stethoscope covers. 

Funktastic

With your trusty iron and without ironing your fingers, fold all the edges under 1/4" and press. 

Fold and iron.

Take a moment to get distracted by the squirrel attacking the bird feeder in the garden.

You are a squirrel, not a woodpecker. Note the bemused pigeon.

Sew around the edges. I find you get a neater finish if you do the long edges before the short edges. 

From sewing and snapping.

Grab a needle and thread, chuck something suitable on netflix and sew on your snaps. One on each end and one in the middle will do. 

Attach the cover to the stethoscope and go strut your stuff on the wards. When the fabric gets a bit grubby, just snap it off and sling it in the washing machine. 

Long time, no sees...

Umm... I'm still alive, honest. Really, I am. It's end of Real Job rotations at the moment, so that unfortunately means that time is on the short side as there are loose ends to tie up, and there's also an unfortunate rota collision in the works that means I'm working two weekends in a row (boo hiss)

To cheer myself up, I went online fabric shopping. The first parcel was waiting for me when I got home today; a gorgeous hairbell print floaty light rayon, a silky jersey dragonfly print and a soft blue jersey. I'm thinking two comfortable dress-them-up-or-down tops and possibly a jersey skirt... We'll see how brave I'm feeling!