...Or Not (Days 450 - 455)

1:20am - So I guess I'm still "almost" done with Franziska ("almost" is really a relative term here). Some time in the past few days, I decided that I was still not happy with my Franziska ruffle, and so I took it apart. Well, I took some of it apart. And now I'm super annoyed at it because it's fraying and I remember how much of a pain in the butt that fabric is to work with. It just won't stay still! Sliding all over the place..

Anyway, I think I figured out what I want to do with it to get it to be the right shape and such. I can't quite explain what it is that I'll do, I'll just have to try it and hope that it works.

Still haven't straightened my wig, but I'm hoping to do that some time in the next week or so. My grandma has been staying with us, and I didn't want her to have to deal with a random blue wig laying in the shower all of the sudden. I'd much rather wait until I have my bathroom all to myself again.

READ MORE - ...Or Not (Days 450 - 455)

More Ruffles! (Days 443 - 445)

My new neck ruffles for Franziska von Karma are finished! Well, until I decide that I want to remake them again, which I might. No matter how hard I tried, I could not get any of the fabric that I tried to mimic the exact shape that Franziska's ruffles are. I just plain don't know how to do that. Suggestions would be lovely.

In any case, I'd like to think that my result is a real-life equivalent to what Franziska's was intended to be. I'd like to think that, but I really have no idea. And what's worse, I can't find a single other Age 13 Franziska cosplayer to ask about this or even compare results with.

All of that being said, I think that I like my new ruffle better than my old one. I just like the material better, really (as much of a pain as it is to work with..). It's lighter and just looks more elegant, though, yeah, in the picture, it looks almost exactly the same as the old one. But I swear it's different!

I probably do need to mess with it some more to get the pleats to stay so that they'll have depth on-camera instead of being all flat.

READ MORE - More Ruffles! (Days 443 - 445)

Ahead of Schedule!? (Day 442)

I'm not entirely sure that the phrase "ahead of schedule" is in my vocabulary, and yet it's true. Since I finally decided that I'm going to wear Franziska to AOD, I actually started fixing her up. I needed to make a new neck ruffle because the one I had was too big and flawed in various technical ways, and I need to shorten the outer vest by about two to four inches. Shortening the vest shouldn't be a problem, since I'll just be opening up the bottom and re-sewing it. Now, if I had to re-do the arm holes or something, I might have a problem, but, nah.

Today, I began remaking the neck ruffle. I got as far as pleating and poofing the actual ruffle part and cutting out and hemming two sides of the part that goes around my neck. Throughout the process, I was reminded of how much I hate pleating, especially box pleats that are only two inches wide on a piece of fabric that just refuses to be a perfect square.

I also used a different type of fabric this time than I did last time. Last time, I used this lovely fabric that creased like paper, yet ironed out really well, and was rather stiff. It was sort of a cop-out to get the volume that I wanted. This time, after wearing the cosplay and seeing photos, I realized that it didn't need that much volume. So I returned to what was actually my original fabric for it. I found it in the section of JoAnn's where the fabric for suits is (the fabric I used for Franziska's vests), so it also mixes well with the fabrics I have and just makes sense.

I like the texture and weight of this fabric a whole lot more too, but it's a pain to work with. It's somewhat stretchy, so when I pinned it down to the ironing board to measure or iron it, I needed a bunch of pins, and yet it was still nearly impossible to get straight lines (which is how it refused to be square). It's also sort of slippery and clingy at the same time. It would slip against my fingers, but then cling to itself and it was hard to get it to fold the right way. It also didn't like the iron and doesn't crease easily. Yet once it does get a crease, it's hard to get it out.

I'm fairly certain that I'll be able to finish both the collar and the vest in two days' time, the only thing that's left to be determined is what two days I'll actually work on it. Then all that's left is to continue the hunt for a brown riding crop and black leather women's gloves. I actually found a brown riding crop online for only $5 (forget what shipping was), but I'm very suspicious of it, since their usually between $25 and $50.

READ MORE - Ahead of Schedule!? (Day 442)