Dreamy Marbled Pastel Veils!

So I just posted a new veil for sale, and thought it might be a good time to share a little tie-dye tip I discovered on accident!

I was making a large batch of veils a few months ago when I had a veil that I had tossed into a large plastic container. As I finished each color, I'd put some water into the squirt bottle, swish it around, then squirt it over this veil. I kept adding color upon color and it probably sat there for over an hour as I worked on other veils. Imagine my delight when the dye, having "puddled" on the bottom of this container, gave it kind of a marbled appearance.

So next time you are working on a large batch of tie dye, throw one into a big container and use it to collect your leftover dye at the end of each veil. These "casserole" veils as I like to call them are sometimes my favorites! Here's another example of one from my shop, which sold a few months ago:

Lovin' The Lavender Blues and Feelin' Lucky Treasuries

One of my veils is featured in these fun treasuries by the lovely ALJDesigns and annayakavenka!

Kaylee from Firefly Costume

So, instead of sadly moping around my house, lamenting the fact that I was not at ComicCon last week, I decided to post some how-tos I discovered when making my Halloween costume from this past year--Kaylee's coverall outfit. Yes, I'm a bit behind schedule, but given the Firefly reunion panel (sniff!) I thought it would be timely.

A good starting place is always Maggie's Costume Site--she does an amazing job of documenting costumes and gathering pictures into one place, and I used many of her tips in making my own outfit. Look at her Kaylee Costume page first!

Coveralls
I lucked out with my eBay purchase, an olive green pair of coveralls that, while a bit oversized, were tall enough. (I'm not very tall, but have a 36" inseam--you get the picture.) Their surplus shop sells a variety of coveralls, if you want to check them out--they also offer free shipping. It will take some persistence to find the right color/style depending on which version of her coveralls you're doing. Some good keywords to try are mechanic, coveralls, flight suits, army, military...you get the idea. Or, shop local and see if a military surplus outlet near you has them. The added bonus of buying them used is they already have that worn-in look.

First order of business was to hack off the sleeves and re-hem those armholes. I then took a few box pleats in the back to make them a bit more fitted, but you could also experiment with an elastic and casing to cinch in the back.

The cute teddy bear patch is easily found--I bought mine from Wash-o-saurus and was very happy with it. I had terrible luck finding a heart and flower patch, so I actually ended up making my own patches. If there's any interest, I'll make up some more and post them for sale in my Etsy store (leave me a comment below, or convo me). I tried to make the flower look homespun--I designed the stitches to be a bit "off" because I wanted it to look like it was hand-worked to cover a bullet hole!

The shirt is just one I had on hand, and I had a pair of Sketchers combat-style boots that worked well. You can't see the Chinese characters on my coveralls because I did them in pencil--I was a bit short on time, and being kind of a perfectionist, I didn't want them to be permanently messed up. And speaking of messed up, my coveralls should be much more grungy, but I had a hard time wanting to ruin them after spending all of that time on making them cute! =) I'll add a wig next time I wear it, unless by some miracle I actually let my hair grow out for once!

Parasol
Unluckily for me, I was in a bit of a time crunch so I couldn't order a white parasol in time. But if you have an Asian market nearby, try there. A trip to Hobby Lobby uncovered all sorts of colored parasols--no white, but they did have a lovely shade of pink. So my parasol was done rather backwards--I taped off the pink swirl, spray painted the rest of the parasol white, then painted in the yellow and green swirls. I don't recommend it because the paint tends to flake as you open and close it, but in a pinch it worked.

Necklace
Kaylee's actual necklace is different, but I wanted something with a little more obvious Firefly tie-in. The necklace I'm wearing in the photo is a shrinky-dink pendant with the Chinese serenity symbol. Since then I've made a fancier version in a laser-etched acrylic that I really love. I'll be posting those for sale in my Etsy shop as well.

So there you have it--the tips and tricks I discovered in putting together Kaylee's outfit from Firefly. Stay shiny!

A Lovely Ocean Spray Treasury!

I am so grateful to people who feature my veils in their treasuries! The water wave pattern seems to be a favorite lately.

Etsy Belly Dance Veil Sellers, Together!

I love the idea of this treasury, Dance of the Many Veils... I love seeing the diverse group of dye fans on Etsy and how differently we all use the same materials!

New Treasuries!

Two New Treasuries!

Many thanks to Phyllis on Etsy, who featured one of my veils in her treasury For the FUN of it!



And this one, Belly Dance Raqs, by engineerandthegypsy (love that name!)

I'm In a Treasury (or Two or Three)!

A Coupon!

If there is a belly dance veil in my Etsy store that you've had your eye on for awhile, now's the time to buy! I just posted a coupon to my Twitter feed (see the right hand column). It's only good until September 30 (Friday!), so don't delay!

And yes, you could also use it on the medieval gown I have for sale. Wouldn't that be a steal?

My Shiny Dell Mini

So I was playing around on my new Cricut and made some vinyl decals for my brother, who is the browncoat who spotted Miranda on the new Star Tours ride. I did a few extras for myself, and dressed up my little pink laptop a bit. I think it's super cute, and it's a great barometer of people's taste. I get two reactions--either "Do you speak Chinese?" or "Hey, are you a Firefly fan?"

Why yes, yes I am a fan. And I only know swear words in Chinese. =)

A Medieval Gown, For Sale on Etsy

This is a one-of-a-kind, ready to ship, fabulous medieval gown. I don't sell costumes very often, so snatch this one up while you have the chance! Click on any of the pictures to see them full-size. To purchase this gown, visit my Etsy store.

It's of a stunning mid-weight burgundy upholstery fabric with a gorgeous sheen--it used to have a watermark design in it, but I washed the fabric before sewing it and most of the design washed out. (Yes, this costume is machine washable!)

Gold metallic embroidery encircles the neckline and both wrists, and I finished them off with a hand sewn gold metallic bias tape binding for a bit of bling. Bright gold two-piece machine set grommets run down the back and are laced with a gold cord. A simple double strand knotted metallic gold cord belt draws the gown in to fit you perfectly!

Speaking of fit, medieval gowns from this era are not traditionally form fitting. My dressform is set to a 37 inch bustline, 29 inch waistline, and a 37 inch hip line. As you can see, this isn't tight fitting, and by leaving a gap in the lacing it could fit a variety of sizes. I included underarm gussets for ease of movement and visual interest. The sleeves are made overlong, so they should just reach your knuckles and gather beautifully along your lower arms.

The skirt flares out from the hip line from four inset gussets. This makes the skirt unbelievably full! It is also overlong, in the medieval style, so you can pick it up and walk princess-like or let it pool around your feet. The hemline is serged and double turned--you can leave it long, or have a local seamstress hem it up for you if you'd prefer to have it floor length.

Although this is based on a historical t-tunic pattern, there are some decidedly non-historic aspects to it. The metallic machine embroidery, metallic bias tape, and metal grommets are definitely not authentic to the time period. The seams are also serged for durability. (Can I do historically accurate? You bet. But I chose not to for this one.)

If you're looking for a stunning Halloween costume or a head-turning Ren-Faire outfit, this is it! Transform yourself into Rapunzel, Maid Marian, or Guinevere for the evening! Or add a pair of fairy wings and be the prettiest girl in the realm of the fae!

A Zumba Fairy Costume. . .

I got an interesting request last month--my sister is a Zumba fan and her instructor was going to a convention and needed a costume for a party they have there. She had three requirements--it had to be white (to glow under black lights), it needed to look good with a set of fairy wings, and it needed to be funky and floaty.

My first thought was a handkerchief skirt, so that's where I started--two layers, one of a sparkled bridal fabric, and the second of a polysilk. But then I needed something else underneath it, since as soon as you spin in a handkerchief skirt it goes flying. Really flying. (And leaving little to the imagination if you aren't wearing something underneath.)

So taking my inspiration from those wrap pants you see everywhere in the Caribbean, I fashioned some funky bloomers out of the polysilk and integrated them into the skirt. So the bottom layer you see is actually the points of those wraparound bloomers. I put the whole thing on an elastic casing, because I hate fighting tons of layers and making sure nothing is slipping or showing when I'm dancing. I then took some scraps of the organza and serged the edges to make some cute spiraled accents that I could layer on top (the organza is a separate skirt, since it's dry clean only.) Voila! One funky, floaty, fairy skirt.

On top is a simple peasant blouse out of the same polysilk, with slits up the sleeves (oh yes, her face and shoulders were also going to be painted so they needed to show--so I guess that was the fourth requirement). I had this leather obi belt in my stash to tie it all together. I think it turned out pretty cute. I may whip up another one of these fairy skirts in a bit longer length to wear to belly dance class--I hate wearing a ton of layers when it's summer, and the breezy design would keep you comfy while you dance!

Click on the photo to see it much bigger if you'd like to see the costume's details.

Any interest in me adding these skirts to my Etsy store inventory?

My Absence, and My New Goal: I Need a Sewing Room!

Part of the issue with my absence the last year (aside from just too many projects, too little time) is that I moved. My sewing room is in a corner of an unfinished basement. And the sink in my kitchen is WHITE. Ack. A tie dyer's worst nightmare!

Veils have been on hold, sewing has been on hold, everything's been a bit packed away and forgotten. That's been bad news for those of you who needed veils during the past year, so my apologies. The good news is that I have a lovely unfinished basement with room for a sewing room AND a shop for doing all of my dye experiments in. (With a stainless sink, of course.) But it's going to take some work. So in order to make that crafty dream come true, I'm doing some massive projects in the coming weeks. This includes a lot of veils, but more importantly, a lot of costumes.

I don't usually post my costumes for sale, I know. But I'm gearing up for Halloween, and relentlessly raiding my fabric stash, so now is the time for you all to take advantage of my temporary lapse in sanity. =) Now this isn't a you-send-me-your-measurements-and-I-stress-like-crazy bunch of costumes. Right now I'm planning on offering them in pretty standard sizes (the 36-28-38 and 38-30-40 ranges) and hoping they'll fit the majority of the people interested. If you are interested in one in a different size let me know ASAP and I may be able to work it in.

So what do I have in the works?

A burgundy medieval gown with gold embroidery at the neckline and wrists. It laces up the back with gold grommets and has a skirt you wouldn't believe! (Obviously, not SCA-style with the machine embroidery and grommets, but based on a medieval pattern.) This one is almost done and will likely be posted for sale first.

Arwen's farewell dress from Lord of the Rings. Yes, this is the one I posted pictures of here ages ago. My friend jokes that it's really not a costume, just a decoration for my dress form. It's finally getting finished! I need to add the collar and sleeves on, finish the under dress and sash, and this one will be ready to go. The bonus with this one is that the under dress will be a stand alone princess-seamed purple gown that you can wear on its own--so you'll be getting two gowns for the price of one.

The blue gown from the new Red Riding Hood movie. I loved the costumes from this one, and I have the perfect worn-looking blue cotton for her dress. I have some red that may work for her cape but it's silky, not wool. (Do you really want to wear wool to a party anyway?)

Belle's gown from Beauty and the Beast. I have two different fabrics to work with, so I may do two. One is a beautiful heavy daffodil yellow watermark fabric, the other is a lightweight faux silk in a brighter golden yellow. I may kick myself for even attempting these, but we'll see how it goes.

Steampunk outfits! Oh my goodness, do I have a beautiful new pattern that I can't wait to try out. A long flowing coat, a smart bustier, and bloomers! (Come on, do you really want to wear a long skirt? You have to show off your cute shoes!) I have enough fabric to potentially make four different outfits, with the following for the coat material:

• Plum microsuede
• Grey microsuede
• Olive microsuede
• Brown pleather (but a gorgeous pleather!)
  

A handful of Regency dresses. There are a few casual day dresses, but also a couple of absolute stunners for your next ball. One is out of a beaded sari from India that is going to be fabulous! These will be based on Sense & Sensibility's historical patterns.

A couple of flirty overdresses. Picture a Renaissance style bodice with a poofy loopy skirt. Perfect for ANYTHING--a pirate, a fairy, a wench--you name it, this is the most versatile costume piece you'll ever own.

Eep! Not quite sure I'll make it, but that's the current plan. Follow me on Twitter if you want to be the first to know when each one is posted for sale! (http://twitter.com/dintarmawen)

Potato Chip Hats!

This semester I had the opportunity to teach my first 4H class! Called Costuming for Beginners, we learned about everything from figure drawing to basic sewing. We did a brief overview of historical fashion from Egyptian to modern day, and did a bunch of fun projects. The kids were great, and it was an excellent experience for me too!

At our parent night, I had one of my colonial dresses on display. I had a request for some instructions for a colonial hat, from the sister of one of our students who needed something for a school project.

I like to call these potato chip hats, because they resemble a Pringle perched at a jaunty angle on your head. =) So, if you'd like some instructions on how to make one, here is a handout I put together with some basic instructions.

Stay tuned for another method for potato chip hat making--involving placemats and IKEA! Will it work? I'm not sure. In the meantime, happy snacking. . .um. . .millinery!

Turquoise and orange make. . .ooooo, pretty!

I did a custom order this week and got a fabulous surprise! The customer wanted a turquoise and orange scrunch pattern. This orange usually turns out to be a bright tangerine, almost like a vibrant orange creamsicle. Well, when combined with a turquoise in the rinse-out, it turned to a beautiful burnt orange--like a coppery sunset! I thought it was just stunning, and luckily she did too!

Want to create your own unique color combination? I take custom veil orders at my website, http://www.dintarmawen.com.

New website!

Wow, have I been absent lately! A lot of time (and a lot of costumes!) have passed--I will try to catch up slowly over the next few weeks.

I do have a bit of exciting news--I've set up a new website! Visit http://www.dintarmawen.com to check it out. You can view my costume portfolio and some of my favorite links. Most importantly, this will now be my main venue for selling my silk belly dance veils and costumes. I'll also be posting things for sale that I've found as I've stockpiled costume supplies, including fabric and accessories that I purchased for costumes that I'm no longer planning on making.

If you're interested in ordering a custom veil, it's now easier than ever! Just click on the "Veils & Skirts" section under the Salesroom link. You can choose your own custom colors, and within a week have your own unique veil shipped to you!

Costume Fabric Destash

This week I have come to a sad realization. . .my fabric collection has gotten seriously out of hand! I have a weakness for a bargain, and for something I can see potential in. So when I spot the perfect piece of fabric, and can think, "oh, that would be perfect for. . ." I snatch it up. Just in case I may need it some day. The truth is, if I started sewing tomorrow 24/7 it would take me years to get through it all. With Halloween approaching, I thought it would be the perfect time to post some of it for sale. Perhaps the fabric for your perfect costume is hiding at my house! If you are interested in any of the following, let me know and I'll be happy to take pictures of it and post it to my Etsy store for you to purchase. Most are going to be no more than $3 a yard--as I said, I have an eye for a bargain!

• Belle from Beauty and the Beast or Jane from Tarzan: a gorgeous soft yellow light upholstery weight watermark fabric. Crisp and beautiful! I would guess I have close to 10 yards of this.


• Arwen's chase dress from Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring: a deep gray microfiber suede. I must warn you, this is very static-y, but a little fabric softener may tame it. 60 inches wide, five yards.


• Obi-Wan or Anakin Skywalker Jedi robe from Star Wars: Rich brown crinkled cotton--yeah, the originals were wool, but what kid wants to run around in scratchy wool? I underestimated my brother's height when I bought this, but it would be perfect for a smaller Jedi. 6 yards, 45 inches wide.


• Aayla Secura from Star Wars: Am I really ever going to paint myself blue? Not likely. I have a few yards of brown snakeskin print cotton for her top, and some beautiful faux leather for the contrast and her accessories.


• Jane Austen fans wanting to be Elizabeth Bennett or Emma Woodhouse: I found some gorgeous windowpane check sheer fabric. I think it was supposed to be for drapes, but can you imagine how beautiful it would be as an overlay on a Regency gown? I have six yards each of white and creme.

That's it for now. . .let me know if anything catches your eye!

Twice as Nice

Here's one of my experiments in over dying. You can see what a difference using an acid dye vs. a pigment dye makes. A pigment dye washes out to a soft, stonewashed looking gray--the acid dye remains a vibrant black. I then over dyed this one with a fiber reactive dye. A little extra work, but a nice effect!

Matching Skirt and Veil Sets. . .and Finally, Red and Black!

I finally have a few more things to post! I've been experimenting with acid dyes, and have gotten some interesting results.



Here's one of my favorites, a black silk belly dance veil with fiery red borders. I've also made a handkerchief skirt to match this one. It's the same pattern I used to make our troupe skirts a few years back, so see my previous post for instructions. I've made up eight of these skirts in total--while a simple design, they take a lot of work so I'm not sure if I'll be offering them in my Etsy store very often. (In other words, they may go fast so if you'd like one dyed with a matching veil in a certain color, email me!)


Here's a much lighter version of the same red dye--it turned out more of a bright cherry red. Still not quite the stop sign red I was hoping for, but it's getting closer at least. click on the photo to see where this one has been posted in my Etsy store.

More belly dance goodies to be posted soon!

Two more!

Another silk bellydance veil or two for your Etsy shopping pleasure!

Silk Bellydance Veil Hand Dyed Fuschia Pink and Purple



Silk Bellydance Veil Hand Dyed Turquoise, Purple and Fuschia Pink