game of thrones costume

game of thrones is another tv serise what i watch that i think the costume are just amazing and some of the detail that they have put in to the costume i think that is why i like to watch it and the thrill of the show

 

here are just some of the  costume on display in a museum and you can just see some of the detail in the costume and sometimes they are only on the screen for a brief minuet 

now just look at the detail that has go in to this on the shoulder piece of one of the charters costume which they have machine embroidered on to the sleeve and them just go ove it with hand embroidery to give it the finishing touch that it needed. 

walking dead

when i comes to the walking dead i love watching it but i also love all of the age and distressing that they have put in to the costume all the blood, mud and bullet hole.for cut and construction we had to go thought age and distressing as a class and it is harder then it look when i come to making it look realisticand making sure that you put the stains in the right place and making sure that the bullet hole are the same.
there are different way in been able to do different things her are just a couple of thing what i have found.

Distressing is making an outfit look old and there is may different ways to distress different fabric and in different ways like Leather the tools that are used to distress leather are sandpaper, acetone and alcohol  the alcohol takes the shine of the leather and the acetone help dry out the leather and you will get different result depending on how the dyeing proses of the leather has been done.

Fabric there are many different way to make fabric distressed by putting it on a hot wash or a hot dryer this will damage the fibbers making the fabric look used then using sandpaper and wire brushes will rough up the fabric. Using paint and dryers can also make the fabric look like it had been worn and it is stained

Black fabric is different in the way that you that you distressing it you have to mix some bleach in a I container of water and the fabric in there watch it carefully until you see the shade you are after

needles and threads

Needles and threads

1.       Needles – need to think about the properties of the needle and what you are using it for

2.       Sharps needle- the bigger the number the finer the needle size 2,3 and 4- medium to heavy fabrics, size 5,6,7,8,9 and 10 is for a light medium fabric, size 11 and 12 suitable for fine fabrics or creating small delicate stitches, size 16,17 and 18 carpet needles strong and sharp.

3.       Tapestry/cross stitch – these large eye needles with a blunt end,

4.       Quilting- the short length needles allows you to stitch quicker go from 1 to a 12 by is know 11

5.       Milliners/straws- there needles are now more commonly used for pleating, fancy decorative stitching. Similar to sharps needles but are longer sizes from 1 to 10

6.       Leather/glovers- triangulated pointing to enable them to pass thought materials without causing unnecessary abrasion, when using leather and suede and soft plastics

7.       Darners- long and sharp with elongated eyes as their name suggested these needles are use for darning or mending size 14 to 18

8.       Embroidery\ crewel needles – longer eyes than stranded sharps needle make the more suitable for threading stranded cotton

9.       Beading- made from finest steel wire enabling their use beads, sequins and pearls, made from a different diameter of wire.

10.   Curved needles- upholstery where a straight needle would struggle to function easily.

11.   Bodkins- generally used for threading cord or elastic though a fabric casing

Machine needles

·         Type of need it will tell you on the front of the case and the sizes on them such as 70/10,80/12, 90/14 left if the slash is European size the number on the right is the American size

·         Smaller size needle that pierces your fabric easily

·         A needle too small can shred the thread and continually brake

·         Size 9\70 suitable for light fabrics, silk and taffeta size 11/80 suitable for medium fabrics, cotton, lineing and satin size 14\90 medium to heavy fabrics heavy calico size 16\100 heavy fabrics denim, Leather

·         Change needle after 8 to 10 hours of use. Always change the needle before using expensive fabrics

Threads

·         Is your fabric woven or knitted, lightweight or heavyweight polyester thread will work best, you want the thread to be weaker than the fabric?

·         Try and stay away from cheap thread you get what you pay for

·         You can use thread the same colour it is recommend to get one shade darker for it to blend in easier, for you could use a different colour for decoration

·         Cheack the top or the bottom of a spool for the thread fibler content- is it polyester, cotton or all purpose

·         Check the thread strength or thinness the higher the number the finer the thread fine size 60, medium size 50 and heavy is size 20

·         Polyester thread- is an all-purpose thread size 50 medium small amount of give. Most polyester thread has max or silicone finish to help them slip through the fabric with minimum of friction. The finish of this thread however can appear waxy or shine. Manmade they cannot handle the same level of heat as the cotton thread so keep that in mind when pressing.

·         Cotton thread –  medium thickness size 50- wide range of colours the lack of give in cotton thread make it an unwise choice for knits or stretch fabrics, can take an incredible amount of heat from an iron

·         All-purpose thread medium weight size 50- suitable for all types of fabrics, it can be used on knits or woven fabrics of synthetic or natural fibres or blends, it is also a little bit Strachey

·         Silk thread – silk is a beautiful thread to work with for sewing and machine sewing, ideal for using when tailing as it can be moulded into shape with heat of an iron and because of it natural fibres it won’t snap easily due to excessive ironing, silk thread is very smooth so travels through even the lightest most delighted fabrics without leaving a mark as well as being very strong, great for basting because of it elasticity, silk can also be suitable for sewing any type of knit fabric

·         Cone thread- over locker thread – cotton, polyester, stretch, it is often too fibrous for use in conventional machine causing fluffing build up and snapping of the thread

·         Invisible thread- is now softer and lighter than former years, attaching multi-colour binding and bias tape, where selecting a convention thread, invisible nature the thread can be use with any colour fabrics, make sure that you change the tension it is available in both nylon and polyester you can get it is either the clear or a Smokey colour nylon is more pliable the polyester fibres holds up better to uv light and higher temperatures

·         Metallic thread – cotton or polyester core with an aluminium covering, remember to use a specialist metallic needles when working with it

·         Buttonhole twist- great for hand sewn button holes some buttonholes threads can also be used in the sewing machine, make sure that you select the correct one for your project.

·         Mercerised thread- simply mercerised cotton thread has been put through a series of processes causing the thread to swell became rounder and straighten out 

self profile

my name is Amy O'Connor and i am 19 years old and my birthday is December the 20th 1996
i love making costumes and walking my dalmation leo

charles James

chales james is just amazing costume designer i think that he was the one that got me in to making costume some of his designs are beautiful i thought that the butterfly dress is amazing and all the colours that he used and the contrast that he picks are beautiful



this is the beautiful butterfly dress which i just think is amazing and so detailed even thought is dosent have and bead work or embroidery



this is the way that he made this dress just because it was so big  to be able to stitch together and i still think that this is a beautiful dress

the huntsman

i went to go and see the huntsman earlier this week and some of the costumes that where in the film where just amazing i couldn't describe how breath taking they are so i am going to put some photo on and talk thought what i like about them

the white queen had quite alot of costume changes thought out the film the second photo i loved the jacket that she was wearing because the back of the jacket it had a long train with what looked like iceicals that where handing around the rim of the cloke which i thought was beautiful and just fit her character for the film 

 this was the gold queen i thought what the costumes that she wore in the film the first one that she wore was the second i also thought that this was amazing as well the throws that where over her shoulders where all made out of beads and all down the front of the dress to this full dress in nearlfullof beads. 

for the huntsmen they where in really all black thought out the fill so you could really see much detail but when she was wearing it i really like the costume that she wore with the feathers on the shoulders that where made out of leather because with them running around all the time i dont think that real feathers would be really effective.

 

and then with chris hemswearth costume nearly looked the some really there was only little things that where wrong with it 

toile jacket

this was my first attempt at doing a jacket so i didnt want to use my good fabric when doing so i just used anything i could get hold of really . but when doing this practis run just everything that could go wrong went wrong i stiched the sleeve on the wrong way and then i took it of and them stiched it inside out when when i finally got the sleeve in right i did the same to the other sleeve so fair to say that this wanted going well for me right at the start of doing it the more and more i stiched the more i stared to go right for me. but with tall the pannels been different colors it was easier for me to put together .

bin bag dress

when i was at collage we had a lesson where we had toy use what was in front of use to make something so i decided to make a dress out of bin blag i thought that it would of been simple but it wasent  the plastic didn't go the way that fabric would go so i had to wrip in to it and do many different things just to make it get the shape i also used black electricians tape to be able to stick it all together then when i was looking at it i thought that it would use a bit of detail and when i was looking thought the box to see what was in there i found some white lace and white pearl beads and then i was doing this that is when i relised that i wanted to go in to costume and start mking cloths and vintage dresses.

army badges

when doing my army jacket i wanted to put all of my family members army badges so at first a bought some iron on army patches and then i went and printed out all of the photos of the army patches and just them out al laid them on the top of the patches and then started to hand stiche them on the the patches which was quite difficult because the patches where soo thick it was hard to get the needle thought the thickness of the patchs

army jacket

when i was at collage for my final piece i made a little black dress and i also did an army jacket that represented my family and all the people who where in my family and what regnant they where in. first i just cut out the jack out of the fabric that i had chosen.after i cut the jacket out i attempted to stitch it together which did take me a couple of times.

this was just alittle bit of my jacket that was getting stiched together after i did this i then went on to stiched the sleevs and the other side of the collar on the jacket. 

this was the jacket once i neaten it put and then it was ready for the pockets, button and epaulets which was very difficult to put on the button you had to use a machine that only someone qualified to be able to use the bottan hole machine.after i did this this was my jacket near another finished all i did next was neaten up the insides and the out sides sleeves.

Amsterdam

Amsterdam prostitute museum

start of the 19th century

prostitutes used to dress in undergarments. underneath the corset a batiste chemise is worn. the one on display here was produced around the year 1910. the garment is a one piece gown without a crotch. in those days knickers were rarely worn by women. urinating or defecating was done without undressing. you would crouch down or relieve yourself legs astride.
up untill the mid 19th century physical hygiene was not a priority. the outer clothing were change at the best once per month. only after the discovery of the plague bacterium, people gradually became aware of the necessity to regularly wash the body and garments. the corset however could not be laundered as the steel frame would rust. to protect it from dirt the chemise which would get washed - was worn.
the chemise is part of the legacy of an old family from the dutch town wassenaar. the original stockings date from 1890 and originate from a noble family from utrecht. the boots are replica
in photographs from this era, we frequently see prostitutes wearing such an under garment paired with a pair of conspicuous stocking. around the turn of the century of the last centennial these eye catching stockings carried an air of eroticism. if you wanted to look sensual and sexy you would wear these kind of stockings: they covered your legs as was expected in the times yet everything could be seen. these stocking are also often depicted in the visual arts from that era.


the 1950's

during the 50 fashion underwent a trnsformation. again prostitutes led the way
this type of underwear is characteristic fort his period. the bra and gridle were part of the former inventory of a drapery shop in the southern area of rotterdam. towards the end of the 1970's the shop owner became too old to continue running the shop and she organised a big clearance. however in the 70's no one was interested in the corsets , girdles and the oversize bras from two decades earlier. for the shop owner, throwing the undergarments away was not an option and she stored the items in two big card bored boxes. only years later after passing her children opened the boxes, by then the outdated garments had become collectors items.
these days , we probably find this sexy fashion prudish. but these designs still inspire the leading names and trendsetters of the world. for he blond ambition tour in 1990 madonna and jean paul gaultier let there designs be inspired by the prude style of the 50's and gave it a contemporary look. the underwear is not worn under but over the cloths. it no longer remains hidden but is in full view.

Amsterdam museum

Amsterdam museum

when i went to Amsterdam they had a couple of wired museums the first one i went in to was the sex museum even thought i thought that it was going to be funny in thought that is was very interesting they showed the lingerie what they use to wear throughout the years. they didn't have alot of information on the corsets but it thought that they where intersecting to look at and then you are just looking at them you get a lot of information yourself . 

this was the first corset that i came across i thought that this under garment was beautiful i thought that the old vintage lace all around the garment was beautiful and also the vintage silk that was used as the belt around the waist .


this was the next under garment that i came across now for this corset i loved all the detail that they have put in to it the way that the corset is shaped and all the detail that they have put in to it like all the lace that is around the bottom and the top of the corset i also like the was that all the detail of the corset is on the front of the corset. i also like the way that when you are lacing up the corset it also had a panel.


this one was one of the more plainer corset but i thing that it is still beautiful but must be also a newer corset as there in a zip in the middle front then it also has a bra attached to the top of the corset.

making my corset

making my corset

for my first course when i was at university was my corset course when first starting the lessons we did a lot of meathored and way to be able to do the corset and different way to be able to draft up the corset after we finished all the lessons we then went on to do the draping which i written about in another one of my blogs . After i had done this i drew out my pattern and then cut it out of calico to be able and then stitched the full corset together to see if the the toile would fit my model and after i did that i had to make where it need to be bigger and where it needed to be longer i went back to my patterns and made the the size that they needed to be and then i did another toile with my new patterns and the went to see if it fit my model and then i would cut it out of my fabric which i piked satain fabric and then i had to basted it with the black fabric i had to go on the inside of the corset.after i did that i had to put the bust in the front of the corset and when stitching that it it was quite difficult . first you have to put the fabric wrong side to wrong side but before stitching it i had to make on one side where the hooks are going to poke thought the fabric. so where i make it i had to not stitch over it and once i got one half of the bust in i had to stitch down the other side of it to keep it in to place. now for the other side of the bust i had to put it wrong side to wrong side again and then mark where the pins would come though and put a little hole for them to get pushed thought which was quite difficult and then you had to stitch down the flat side to keep them in place. after i did that i then went on to stitch the other sides on.

it then came to doing the back and putting the ilets in the back of the corset first you have to stitch three lines in one 2 cm ways from the edge and the another one about 4 cm away and the the same again 2 cm away and the the ilets will go in the gap that is 4cm wide you have to go on an ilet machine to be able to put them in and but first you have to put the holes in using the machine once you have put the hole in of how many you want to use then you have to change the foot on the machine to be able to put the ilets in then you place the bottom of the ilet on the bottom of the hole and then the top bit on the top and then use the machine  to push them in to place.


i then went on to put the rest of the corset together and then once that was done where the fabric was sticking out the front one side you have to cut right down but make sure that for everone you cut down make sure that it is the same for everyone you do after you have done that the side that you havent cut down you have to fold in half and iron but make sure that no fabric is sticking out when it is ironed you have to put a one sided foot on the sewing machine and then stich down the folded of fabri quite close down the folded edge and repeat this for all of them. after i put my binding on the corset i was using black  silk biding i stitched it in one side useing the sewing machine and the the other side had to be hand stitched on you have to do the for the top and the bottom of the corset. theni wanted to ad some final touches i added lace around the lace the top and the bottom of the corste i also hand stiched the lace on to my corset and once i did this my corset was done and my modle was able to wear it.

fisherman costume

fisherman costume

for my next project i we are making a ghost for a street. we got our characters picked for use and i got the Victorian fisher man for the street. then i was doing my research i found a big bagged top with a high ruff collar with suit trousers.


when i came to my costume i got out a big baggy top block and it wasn't quite big enough so i had to alter the shoulder because i wanted a low shoulder on the top with puffed out sleeves. when i started to stitch it together and but it one my model i relised it was to big with the two center meter seam allowance so i decide to make a full new top and with out the seam allowance and that seamed to fit better and the way that i wanted it to fit.then when my model tried it back on i cut the sleeve down to size and then i stitched the pleats in to the top around the neck line.

after i did this i added the ruff to the collar when i did it i measured the neck line of the top all the way round and then but the measurement on to the fabric and went up two center meter in a diagnel. then i crinkled up the light weight calico and then steamed it with the iron to be able to get the crinkled affect on the ruff.


the next step on getting the top the way that i wanted it was to added long cuff's and when i was putting then on i wanted the puff out the bottom of the sleeves out. the one problem i had with the calico because with it not been washed it was quite stiff when trying to work with it. 

then it when on to doing the trousers the first set of trousers i did they where again about 2cm to big and about 4cm to big on the bottom.and then when i did my second pair of trousers i did the don't really look right in the photos because  the calico wasn't washed  and they where quite stiff  and didnt look right on the body.