It's done with mirrors!

[ladyofthethread]

Yay! I now have a full length mirror for my sewing room! My father had a big piece of plastic mirror cut at the store and even made little plastic brackets so he could hang it on the back of the door without drilling holes into the mirror itself. ^_^ My brother was complaining that it’s not completely flat against the door though and that it makes me look thinner as a result. :-P Also got some pretty curtains on sale for the sewing room but haven’t hung them yet.

The clothes for D’s new costume are nearly done and they look great. ^_^ I finished the tabard and now I just have to make the sash.

However… ARGH! I’m having pearl issues again and wondering if I picked the wrong thing when I got those light blue pearls. >_< I figured I should get a lighter color after finding the medium green pearls I did my first set of necklaces with came off looking very dark on camera. But seeing everything that I have now, the light blue kind of looks out of place with all the rich colors; I think it’s too pastel next to all the more saturated colors in the fabrics so I’m wondering if I need to go out and get another color.

And I’m finding that the weight of the pearls is making my layers bunch up unattractively on the right side of the costume. -_-; Going by the reference , the shortest strand should loop around the skirts with the ends at the left side of the waist and the center dipping down to about knee level while the longest goes down to the lower calf. That’s how long I’ve made my strands and the weight, especially on the longer strands, is pulling all the fabric against my legs and wrecking the A-line shape the skirts should have.

I’m annoyed because stringing pearls should have been one of the easier parts of the costume. >_< But I need a few sizes and resin pearls don’t seem to come in color larger than 8mm, which are too small to be the proper scale. (I’ve only been able to find the bigger ones in white, cream, and black and I don’t think any of those would be the best with my colors either.) So, that only leaves me with glass and Swarovski since they come in larger sizes and colors. My options seem to be either shorter strands or smaller pearls, neither of which would be as accurate. Suggestions on what to do, anyone?

Still tempted to try to put together that Kaleido Star costume I mentioned last week in time for NYAF. It’s this one:



I doubt anyone would know who the heck I’m supposed to be since Sarah doesn’t get much screen time in her stage costumes. XD; (Hmm… I wonder if anyone has even cosplayed Sarah before. I’ve never seen one and Kaleido Star cosplay in general is rare.) But it’s a pretty design and possibly doable within a few weeks. Plus, I should be able to cosplay the series with Carrie at some point in the future since she’s making a Sora costume. ^_^

Comments

[mellifluous-ink.livejournal.com]

'Suggestions on what to do, anyone?'

I would suggest wooden beads painted to look like pearls. I imagine they'd be much lighter in weight, and therefore not bunch up the skirts.

[ladyofthethread.livejournal.com]

Thanks for replying. That idea was suggested before when I was initially hunting for pearls and although it’d solve the weight problem, it’s just not a solution that appeals to me much. ^_^;;; I cosplay and do crafts mainly because I enjoy making things. I can spend hours embroidering or embellishing but I hate excessive preparation work and individually painting the hundreds of beads I would need for the strands is just not my idea of fun. :-/

[mellifluous-ink.livejournal.com]

I googled it, and they sell pearlescent spray paint, which of course makes painting the beads a snap.

[ladyofthethread.livejournal.com]

Hmm... Do you have a link please? I've only seen it in white before and I'd like colored beads for this project.

[mellifluous-ink.livejournal.com]

Testor is a hobby brand. My dad suggests going to a hobby/modelling store--they will have all sorts of colours.