Mademoiselle Marionette’s Comfy Christmas 2019 Part 3

Mademoiselle Marionette’s Comfy Christmas 2019 Part 3

I now have the main Body and Shoulders of the Pyjama Top but I still have to add the Arms

4 Inch Arm

I cut two pieces of material and after Hemming the length was roughly 4 Inches in length. The width was approximately the same as the Shoulder overhang. See below.

Open Shoulders

I now opened the Shoulders back up so I could sew the Sleeves in place.

General Election Cock up

I frequently mention how distraction can lead to Errors. In this case it was watching the results come in. I inadvertently carried on Sewing after adding the Sleeve.

When I looked down I was Sewing down the Edge of the Sleeve. This meant that the Marionette would not be able to lift the Arm properly so I had to Unpick.

Sew On Sleeves

I now have both Sleeves attached. All that is need to finish the Pyjama Top is to close the Press Studs again.

Dionne’s Draught Excluder 2019 - Part 2

Dionne’s Draught Excluder 2019 - Part 2

From time to time all Crafters no matter what tools or materials they use will have one of those days when things just don’t want to go right. This week it is my turn. I haven’t got nearly as far as I intended.

Cut off Sleeves

It started off alright. I had cut off Sleeves which would do for the material that I wanted. These I washed and pressed ready for cutting.

13.5 Inch Circumference

The first Problem I encountered was that my Tape Measure had disappeared. Therefore I was forced to use my Metal one which does not like bending into a Circle. This End was not too bad and I managed to get the measurement of 13.5 Inches.

Other End

 

The Other End simply would not play ball. It kept springing all over the place. Normally what I would do in this case is use a piece of String to follow the Curve and then Measure that.

Of course even though my place has enough String, Thread, Wool and Yarn in it to knit jumpers for a flock of sheep not one piece was available to hand. Typical!

Trio of Circles

Once I obtained the Measurements (which incidentally were not equal and therefore a challenge I will have to sort another day) I needed to find something to Draw around.

I need not mention how much fun it is to Measure half a dozen Circular objects with a Metal Measure, especially when quite a few were at a gradient like plant pots.

Rough Cut Circles

I couldn’t find a single object of the right size to Draw around. Eventually I decided to pick a larger version and once cut I would shrink using a combination of Trimming and Hemming.

Naturally as soon as I wanted to Draw around the pot I found that my Chalk had disappeared. After spending 20 minutes finding another piece and Cutting out I decided to quit Crafting before anything else could go wrong.

Little Red Number – Blast From the Past

Little Red Number – Blast From the Past

Due to a finger injury I haven’t been able to do much crafting. Therefore I have trawled through my archives. This blog is about a costume I made for a weekend Hen Party many years ago.

The weekend was themed and all attending were dressed as Disney Characters. I chose Madame Medusa the female protagonist from Disney’s film ‘The Rescuers’.

Front Red Dress

First I needed a Red Dress. Rather than start from scratch I bought a cheap Dress from a local charity shop. Now I had to completely butcher it to get the desired effect. I am sorry but I didn’t think to take a photograph of the original Dress.

There was a tie around the Waist which I unpicked. I removed the Shoulder Sleeves and put them to one side.

Back Red Dress

Now for the Back. I cut out a large curved piece of material from the Back of the Dress as the Costume was Backless. I then proceeded to add elastic and Hem it.

Next I had to sort out the Straps. Since I had already unpicked them from the material all I had to do was sew them together. This changed them from ordinary Straps into a Halter-neck.

Medusa Earrings

I also needed some Blue Earring for the character. Again I went to the charity shop. I got some ordinary cheap dangly earrings then proceeded to papier-mâché into the right shape then paint Blue

Medusa Staff

My original photograph has disappeared so I have had to retake it. It may look a bit battered now several years on but it still gives you the idea.

This was made from an old mop handle which I placed a tumble drier ball on top. I then papier-mâché all around the ball to cover up the spikes. Once everything was dry I then painted the Ball Gold and the Staff Black.

Boulder Holder

That concludes making the Costume. However I am not one to let stuff go to waste. I had a pantomime to do where I was taking washing to the Dame. I quickly whipped up a couple of novelty items to put in my washing basket.

The Bra was made from the Shoulders that I had taken off. I used more of the Belt to make into a Halter-neck. The two ties at the Back were pieces of Hem. It didn’t matter that it was flimsy as it wasn’t intended to be worn.

Teensy Weensy

For a touch of hilarity I made a matching G-string. A size 0 would struggle to get in them.

Little and Large

The above photograph gives a better indication of the difference in size between the two items.

Madam Medusa

Here is a photograph of me on the Hen weekend in my Madame Medusa Costume complete with Red hair and Purple Stockings.

All in all I think I did a good job