Let the sewing commence!

[auntiemeesh]

Costume plans keep changing and changing but I bought fabric today so I'm pretty much locked in now.

I finally gave up on the Gangers outfit, for now, because I couldn't find the orangey-brown vinyl/pleather/what-have-you anywhere. So, eve11 did some brainstorming and thought about going back to femme Five and femme Turlough.

Now, there were a couple of stopping points for me on this originally. One was a difficulty in conceptualizing how I wanted to feminize the outfit. I kept coming up with little pleated school uniform skirts and skimpy sweaters. Being closer to forty than twenty, that really wouldn't look so good on me. The other problem I'd been having was just trying to find a sweater that gave the feel of Five, without spending hundreds of dollars on a cricket sweater.

But then, last night, I had a brainstorm. I came at it from another direction and POW! there it was. Instead of going with a modern female version, go with something a bit more period. That led me to looking at pretty Victorian dresses and then another POW! right in the face. Steampunk, baby. Oh yeah. I've been wanting to do a steampunk dress for ages and this is the perfect time to do it. I found a pattern that I like, which has most of the elements of Five's costume (in one way or another).

I did a little online research, found a hat and half-moon specs (the specs are on order, and I'm going to put the order in for the hat tomorrow) and a lovely breakdown of Five's costume on dw_cosplay which had great info on the fabrics and styles of his costume. Most of which I'm now throwing out the window. I was a bit concerned about finding a good pattern for the skirt, to match the strip on his trousers (this was another stopping point in the original idea - it's a hard pattern to match), but I did not despair. Eve and I headed out to Joann's this evening and after some searching I found this:



Compare to the actual fabric of Five's trousers:



It's certainly not exact. Mine is a little darker, the red and green are reversed in the wide stripes, there's a thin line of blue in the skinny stripes, and the texture is different (this is upholstery fabric), but the colors are very close and the pattern is almost exact. If I was actually doing trousers, the fabric would have too much sheen and texture, but I think it will work well for the skirt. Thank goodness it was on sale for 50% off, because that stuff isn't cheap. I also got considerably less of it than the pattern calls for. The one thing I don't love about the pattern is that the dress has a whole band at the bottom, probably about a foot in length, that is completely pleated with maybe one inch pleats all around the bottom of the skirt. So that is going and I'm just going to slightly lengthen the upper part of the skirt panels to compensate. I'm so short to begin with that I probably won't have to lengthen them much, lol.

The Doctor's coat is, I believe, some sort of wool, but aside from the fact that wool wouldn't work well with the dress pattern I have, I'm going to be wearing this thing in a parade in Atlanta in summer weather. Just say no to wool. I picked out a nice linen for the coat. It's slightly too buttery in color, but the more beige/taupe fabrics just looked dirty and dingy next to the skirt material, while the buttery color looks fantastic. Some concession must be made to how it works together. The pattern I'm using - Simplicity 2172 - doesn't have an equivalent piece to the sweater, which I'm totally cool with, because the sweater was killing me anyway. And the bustier will serve for his shirt. I picked out a clean white for that, and I'm going to put some red accents on it to replace the placket and collar linings.

We ran out of time at the store before I was able to pick out lining materials and notions, so I'll have to make another trip fairly soon, but I have enough to get started on the skirt and feel like I'm accomplishing something. DragonCon is fast approaching!

I'm really excited and pleased to have found a way to do the Female Five costume and to be able to combine it with the steampunk look that I've been lusting after for years. I just hope I'm able to make it look in reality at least close to what it already looks like in my head.

Comments

[whtmtnwmn.livejournal.com]

Glad you're so happy about it! Enjoy the creative process.
=D
p.s. I have to admit, most of your post made absolutely no sense to me, not being a seamstress or Dr. Who fan--haha!

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

Lol, don't worry! I'll take pictures as I go, and post them at the end, to show off what will *fingers crossed* be a fabulous dress.

[eve11]

For the record, I'm going to be doing some kind of steampunk femme Seven. I have a couple of good leads:

This bodice which I might just make as a vest and wear with this shirt which I can purchase instead of having to make. Found a paisley ribbon tie at the same site, and of course I'm not going to be able to find zig-zag question mark material wholesale but look what I did find! Thinking I can use it as an accent and embroider some question marks on it. I could either make it into the little vest panel in the bodice or use it as the lapel material. OR I could make the whole bodice/vest out of it, although it is just cotton so it might have to be lined and I'd want something shiny to go with it.

That's all I have so far. I also can't decide if my Doctor should wear a skirt or some kind of "sporty" outfit with high boots and pants like the one on the right here. Then I could wear gaiters and get a version of that saddle-shoe look that he has.

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

Puffed sleeves! I love the idea of getting a split skirt. Seven's look is a bit Country Gentleman (with an extra large helping of ??? thrown in for good measure) so the riding skirt style would be perfect! I really like that whole outfit, honestly. I think it matches Seven's style more than the more formal bodice you linked to (which is beautiful but very formal - and you might need a corset with that style).

That paisley ribbon tie is great, too. A very nice way to evoke the scarf.

[eve11]

I don't like the jacket for the riding outfit as-is because it does not allow for any kind of layering. For Seven to be recognizable I think I need to incorporate the zig-zag sweater pattern and I think that to do that whole top zig-zag would be too much, and to do just the belt would be too little. It's a pretty top but there's no way I can see to have the jacket as an outer open layer cover.

I do like the cropped pants look though. I think I can modify that bodice pattern so it does not need a corset (just give it more room in the back/side panels) and build it as a vest only. From the look of the outfit on the left, the riding outfit can sustain a big wide collar I think. If I could do the shirtwaist, vest, riding pants and high boots, then find maybe a cream-colored duster and accent with a paisley scarf I think that would work for Victorian. Not sure how steampunky it would be though.

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

I don't think my dress is going to be all the steampunk, either. It will be down to the accessories to make it work as steampunk as well as Victorian.

Yeah, the bodice as a vest, without those huge sleeves, will look a lot less formal, and you're right about the hunting outfit's top. It doesn't provide for the proper layering.

[eve11]

Well your pattern is at least a steampunk pattern as opposed to straight Victorian; the overcoat definitely has a goth-y look to it.

For me I think that altering the bodice and just going with the puffy sleeve from the shirtwaist will still make a good line and not clash with the riding boots/split skirt.

Now I just have to see if I can find a good final layer/overcoat that can take being fitted over the puffy sleeve from the shirtwaist, and possibly *under* the big wide lapel from the vest. Maybe a short cape? Gotta think about that.

[eve11]

here's a pic of a lady in a cycling outfit that actually looks very similar to the puffy-sleeved bodice paired with the bloomer-type pants. Something like that might work. Although again I think I want to be lazy and not have to sew that big puffy fitted sleeve!

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

I guess the big puffy sleeves just make it look more formal, to me, than it really is.

As an aside, I can never see puffy sleeves without thinking of Anne of Green Gables. Her deprived, orphaned little pre-adolescent heart yearned for puffy sleeves.

[eve11]

Ah well I think everything in the Victorian era was rather formal :D The ripple bodice is definitely more formal than the riding top in the pattern, yeah. I was a bit worried they wouldn't go together well until I saw the picture there, but I think they will work okay. Ha, I am unfamiliar with Anne of Green Gables--I suppose puffy sleeves is some kind of status symbol?

I wonder if I could do the bodice as a vest in the zig-zag pattern, with a lighter solid pattern for the big lapels, and then do the three button clasp things somehow as red question mark buttons.

[eve11]

what do you think of this cape? Not perfect but would be a good place to start?

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

I suppose it depends on what look you're going for. It's very Victorian but not at all steampunk (same for the shirtwaist blouse).

I've spent the morning looking at things that are labeled Victorian and Steampunk and I've managed to come up with a slightly better idea of what steampunk is, at least to me. It's a sort of stripped down Victorian for women who want to engage in a man's world and want to look pretty damn good while they do it. They strip out all the frou-frou that would be found in a group of ladies sitting around sipping tea and discussing the latest Parisian trends. They want to look sexy but be able to climb the rope ladder up into the airship when needed. Tops are form-fitting, without extraneous fabric. It's not straight-up Victorian, it's Victorian with modern flair and sensibilities.

Taking the sleeves off the bodice and turning it into a vest is a nice steampunk element. The blouse is nice but very straight up Victorian. If you're looking for a ready-made blouse to cut down on the sewing, have you checked out Steampunk Emporium's Ladies Tops (http://www.steampunkemporium.com/store/steampunk_ladies_tops.php?__utma=1.1686573528.1310433731.1310572179.1310574743.6&__utmb=1.1.10.1310574743&__utmc=1&__utmx=-&__utmz=1.1310572179.5.4.utmcsr%3Dgoogle|utmgclid%3DCID9gIjS-qkCFct95Qod3RPhaQ|utmccn%3D%28not%2520set%29|utmcmd%3D%28not%2520set%29|utmctr%3Dsteampunk%2520hats&__utmv=-&__utmk=91149338)? If you scroll through, there are a few blouses that are more on the Victorian end of the scale, without the huge sleeves.

This, by the way, is not at all me telling you how your costume should look, just my thoughts on the difference between steampunk and victorian, since I'm on vacation and doing nothing with my day but websurfing and thinking about steampunk vs. victorian, lol.

[eve11]

Thanks for the links; I'll give those a look :) I was not sure how steampunk vs. victorian I wanted to go but I think that a victorian vest without the crazy sleeves would look good. They also have a nice cream duster but I could go with a coat with a little more goth flair to it as well.

It would be nice to keep something with a high neckline so I could use the paisley tie (there is also a paisley bow tie instead of the ribbon tie). I might have to modify the size of the lapels on the ribbon bodice if I don't have something with really puffy sleeves. I can experiment and see what looks good.

Do you think the cycling outfit (bloomers and leggings like that uk pattern) would still look good with a more steampunky top? (ETA: I could use gaiters with the leggings to give it a more steampunk look)

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

I think the bloomers/legging would absolutely still work with a more steampunky top.

Incidentally, I was browsing around, looking for some plaid tweed to see how close I could get to Seven's trousers and found a site with lovely tartans that came pretty darn close -- for $80/yd. Yikes!

[eve11]

Check out this person (I think it's actually a guy in drag? maybe?) who said they used the bloomers from that laughing moon pattern in this outfit. The jacket there also looks kind of like the one ripple pattern that has the panel in the front. I was thinking I could do something like that but make the panel there from the zigzag material and have the buttons be question marks :D

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

The jacket does look really good with the bloomers. I think the pattern you have would work really well like that, with the zigzag pattern material for the panel. Also, did you see the sleeves pattern on Reconstructing History? (http://www.reconstructinghistory.com/products/TV495-1890s-Sleeves) The pattern gives you lots of good alternatives for how puffy you want your sleeves to be.

[eve11]

Yeah, I saw the sleeve patterns but honestly if I can get away with making a vest and then wearing a blouse underneath I think I will do that just for brevity. The ripple bodice might not be the right thing to do for that but I'll find something. I ordered that zigzag fabric so I'll see what it looks like in a few days I suppose :)

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

Oh, and that Laughing Moon pattern on the left - the bicycling outfit - with the fabric they chose, is such an awesome Ten! <3

[eve11]

That would make a pretty good victorian Ten, yeah :) And hey, until you posted the pic up there I had no idea how much that stripey fabric really really mimics Fivey's trousers. Even if the colors are a teensy bit different, the pattern itself really evokes the look well.

[ani-no-mouse.livejournal.com]

I can't wait to see pictures - among other reasons because I can't begin to envision either what the 5th doctor looked like or what your steampunk femme version will be - except that I'm sure it will be fabulous. I'm very impressed by the fabric match for the skirt!

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

Here's a pic of the Fifth Doctor:

(http://s17.photobucket.com/albums/b80/auntiemeesh/?action=view&current=doctor5a.jpg)

[ani-no-mouse.livejournal.com]

Yes, now that I've seen the doctor I can see how it might work. I'm a bit surprised. I didn't know that any of the doctors ever wore any color other than black.

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

At least six or seven of the Doctors wore colorful clothes, some of them rather painfully colorful clothes. Maybe only four of the eleven so far consistently wore black or very dark colors. Now, the Master on the other hand, he was very fond of black and almost all of his regenerated selves wore black, as far as I can remember.

[(Anonymous)]

Well, there you go. Another Dr. Who misconception has been banished from my life!

[(Anonymous)]

BTW, that over-14-years-old-anonymous-(ani_no_mouse)-but-human viewer was in fact me!

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

Hm, apparently my lj is currently screening anonymous comments. I don't remember setting it to do. Weird.

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

And a link to the pattern I'm using. (http://www.simplicity.com/p-6060-misses-costume.aspx) Obviously very different from the Doctor's actual outfit. The striped material I bought will be for the skirt. the buttery linen will be the jacket and the bustier will be white. There's going to be red trim in places, as well.

[ani-no-mouse.livejournal.com]

Oh my. Definitely steampunk, yet pretty! Good luck with it!

[antbee362.livejournal.com]

I must admit that most of this Dr Who stuff goes over my head. However, I love the pattern even tho I have no idea what steampunk is. I see what you mean about the pleats at the bottom. The fabric looks like a terrific match to me. Are you aware that Joann's often has 40% off coupons? I used to get them in the mail but since I haven't shopped there since I started working at Granny's they no longer send them to me. You could get on the mailing list tho. I think you can get them online. Upholstery fabric is very expensive.

[maypanic.livejournal.com]

I LOVE this idea! Saw that fabric at my Joann's recently, it's gorgeous. You're going to look amazing.