I got into Wimbledon College of Arts!

 

This is a post I could have written early February but as I hadn’t received official confirmation or a written offer I decided to leave things until I knew I was in for sure.

Lets start at the beginning, through UCAS I applied for 5 universities/colleges all for their offered costume courses. My main two choices were Wimbledon College of Arts and the London School of Speech and Drama. I had thought about applying for RADA but decided not to later on.  I received interviews from both of these courses as well as interviews for two of the other courses outside of London (The last school asked for more documents from me which I didn’t send as they were last on my priority list). Wimbledon (my first choice) offered me an interview second to LSSD but as the interview for Wimbledon came first it was the first one I attended. This was on the second of February, and to my knowledge it was apart of the first sets of interviews they were offering.
The second of February came around and I went to London with my portfolio and my other costume related documents as well as my 1500’s ensemble. My interview went really well and there were defiantly a few times during the interview where I could see the tutors eyes light up at my response to her questions and when I explained my method of work. This left me pretty happy afterwards and was told I would hear back from them in about two weeks. Which I didn’t think was too bad a wait. So I left my interview and hoped on the tube ready to go home. it took about 50 minutes to get to my stop (after a few station changes) and literally as I got off at my stop my phone rang. I almost didn’t answer as I was really tired after the day but I’m so glad I did.
A woman was on the phone from Wimbledon and she said that they had just finished up the interviews for the day and wanted to give notice to those they were offering places to. She said that the tutor (who’s name I’ve forgotten!! I’m terrible) was very impressed with my interview and my portfolio and wanted to notify me that I would be receiving an offer from them. I nearly cried when I hung up the phone, I’m not kidding. To be offered a place so quickly at my first choice school was mind blowing and has really given me a confidence boost in terms of my work.
After receiving my offer from Wimbledon I withdrew from my other applications and accepted Wimbledon’s offer. Which makes me ridiculously happy, I’m going to study costume in London!
But, yes of course there had to be a but.
Because I haven’t lived in the UK for three years I must pay international fees. I’ve been a British citizen since I was born and all of my mothers family live here but that three year rule tripped me up.
The fees literally double to nearly £19,000 a year as an international student which is something I really don’t want to pay.
However if I defer my entry to next year (September 2018) I will only need to pay one year as an international student as by the time the second year rolls around I will have been here for three years depending on how they calculate everything. I’m currently waiting on a document from NZ to arrive so once thats here I’ll ring the International department and talk things through with them and possibly a tutor.
Regardless of all of this, IM IN. And will be attending if its this year or the next.

But I want to know what other people think, should I go this year or wait a year to cut my costs slightly. If I do wait for next year I want to speak to one of the tutors and ask what I can be working on during my year away. That way they know I’m 100% interested but also keeping with costume making. I will be working during the year and would love to travel around Europe before study but this will all depend on what my fees look like.

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Ana Amari update coming soon followed by a new costume.

Thank your for reading and feedback is always appreciated!
-Nivera

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Pattern & Fabric Haul (February 2017)

This post is a little late but I decided an update on Ana was more exciting!

Late in February Mum and I went to Hertfordshire to visit my grandmother and other family there (a trip we try to make once a month). While there I decided to have a look for some fabric shops as I needed to buy some fabric for the crinoline pattern I recently purchased for my 1860’s ballgown.
I used Pinterest to look for crinoline patterns and found mostly discontinued patterns or companies that wouldn’t ship outside of America. I found simplicity 9764 (apart of the Fashion Historian collection) and immediately saw that it would be perfect for my ballgown as it’s silhouette was made for the 1860’s but also found it was discontinued. I really wanted this pattern and found it for sale on a few sites although some of these listings were selling used/cut patterns which I wasn’t a fan of. I eventually found an unopened pattern on Ebay for around £15 which I was more than happy to pay considering USED patterns could sell for £30 upwards. It arrived a few days later in perfect condition as described and I took t with me to Hertfordshire and then on to the fabric stores to help with fabric measurements.

The store I went to was called Neddle Craft, its a small stores but has a lot of different fabrics and notions pilled in. I was really pleased to see they has sewing patterns in stock too. Because of this is decided to look through them and see if I could find the matching Simplicity corset pattern to make and wear with my 1860’s dress. I had been unsure about making the corset previously but felt having a pattern would make thing much easier. And amazingly the store had all patterns marked down to half price that day so it was was an easy decision to get a few more while I was there.

The Patterns!
Simplicity 1139

The perfect match!! These ‘Fashion Historian’ patterns have been around for a while from what I can tell so there will be some variation on what their code numbers are depending on what pattern books they were released in and the country, I think? Thats the only reason I can think of that would meaning change the code numbers!
So if your looking to buy these patterns keep that in mind!

I also decided to get a skirt pattern that would fit over a crinoline and petticoat and found Simplicity 1818.

I decided to buy a skirt pattern because it would give me a better idea of what the shape and construction of a historical garment should look like. Looking back on my 1500’s dress where I drape drafted a skirt pattern (god the initial shapes were awful) I decided following a proper patter would be a better option. It also meant that for future reference I’d know more about shape and silhouette and how a pattern contributes to that. Just looking at the construction notes on pattern shapes in this pattern has already mad me go “Ah! that makes more sense” a number of times.

Next up is Simplicity 8286 a bodysuit pattern that closely resembles the McCalls Yaya Han bodysuit.

I also own the Yaya Han bodysuit pattern but as its disappeared on me (probably in a box thats apart of our overflow furniture yet to be delivered) I decided to give this one a go. Bodysuit patterns are really useful in cosplay and there is something I’d like to make in the future that would require one. Though it is low on this list of priorities right now!

And the final pattern in Simplicity 8276, a onesie pattern!

I’ve wanted a new onesie for a while now and I was sooooo damn happy to see Simplicity release this pattern last year. I’ve seen so many cosplayer in the past (post pattern release) try to construct and pattern a onesie trying to replicate the original Kigurumi onesies. And I can defiantly see why it would be so difficult. But this pattern cam along and a sigh of relief was herd among all cosplayers.
I would like to make one based of the Pokemon Vaporeon. I will take inspiration from 4Kigurumi’s Vaporeon Onesie but I can tell you now my material cost will not amount up to what their onesie is listed as in price. I’ve already looked at material costs for this and I’ll be WELL under.

 

Fabric and Notions!

For the crinoline I bought 4 meters of bleached calico.
I wanted a really sturdy medium to heavy weight fabric and this was just perfect for that. I did consider buying it in another colour but as the crinoline wouldn’t be seen in most is not all of my photos white was the perfect natural colour to go for.

24 meters of inch wide twill tape.
Yup 24 meters, did I stutter?

A you can see the lady in the store gave up rolling it neatly, I don’t blame her. I probably would have tossed it in the bag un-rolled!!!. You should have seen her face when I told her I needed 24 meters. She asked if I read it wrong and really meant 2.4 but after viewing the pattern she believed me.

I also decided to get some new thread for this and took into consideration that there would be a lot of sewing involved so a lot of thread was needed. 800 meters should do?

This threat will be used for the petticoat (9764) and corset (1139) as well which will be made in white as well. Maybe I’ll add some trims to the corset, I’m not sure at the moment.

And lastly some hooks and eyes.

I could only find large hooks and eyes in my collection and as the pattern called for small ones I decided it was best to buy these ones.

And that it for this haul, I will be ordering some fabrics online for my next costume(s) so if I get enough I’ll do a review of sorts for the website.
Ana will be finished in about a week I’m thinking so I’ll have an official line up for what I’m making over the next few months up when thats complete.

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Have any suggestions? Or prior experience with the patterns I’ve bought?
I’d love to hear it!

Thank you for reading,
-Nivera

Ana (Overwatch) Work-log 2

Its been just over a moth since I last updated on my Ana cosplay and I think I’ve covered a lot since than and would say that the base costume is now complete! Yay!

After completing the coat I made a start on the jacket thats worn beneath it. I unfortunately don’t have many photos of its construction as I completed the base in one day but it was pretty simple. (loose threads I know)

It’s essentially a large ‘vest’ pattern with an diagonal opening on the front. I purposely made it extra large so it would look baggy. I also satin stitched the faux leather on to trim the zipper and around the edge of the collar. The collar is lined with interfacing and then padded with one layer of quilt batting to thicken it out, the middle portion of the collar is sewn with faux leather to add some more depth. In the above picture its only pinned so it does appear bulky.
On the collar you’ll spot a little triangle emblem.

This was sewn on with top stitching thread and I guess you could call it embroidery ? Maybe, its my first time doing anything of the sort. My grandmother was excited to see me trying this technique out but had some constructive criticism for me in the future.

The zipper I used was a chunky 18″ black zipper I dry brushed silver to give a worn look, it only needed the one coat. Even after frequently using the zipper I haven’t noticed and paint chipping or loss of colour.

The hood was again pretty simple, I traced a previously used hood pattern and made it a little larger (I wish I had made it bigger now) with the details cut from faux leather, ironed on with heat n bond and satin stitched down to create that bordered edge I love so much.
I think I’m obsessed with satin stitch, but it just looks so nice.

I also made her pants. I used Simplicity 8134, the crotch was really low for some reason
(I honestly don’t know why, I didn’t change the pattern at all and I did not get the patterns around the wrong way so that was a little confusing) so I had to bring the crotch up a little not too much as I did want some baggy-ness going on.
And I’m actually really pleased with the result.

I also sewed little belt loops onto it and added cuffs to the bottom of the legs so they would sit close to my knee. I made a belt as well from left over brown fabric I had in my collection  the colour was different to the others I had used which I like, I think it makes a nice contrast.

This photo leads us onto her pack which hangs off the belt. And boy did I make this hard for myself. I basically didn’t think about layering what so ever and ended up with six hours of hand sewing to pay for it. Ugh.

I drew up the pattern for it on A3 measuring as I went and I was pretty happy with the size and shape of it. Excuse the paint, its what I used to eventually paint the real thing .
I used faux leather vinyl (you know the seriously thick stuff that’s like sewing rubber) for the top (facing side) and then black heavy weight cotton (possibly canvas, I can’t remember) for everything else.
Please don’t sew vinyl by hand, you will destroy your hands.
For the top details (I have no idea what they are!) I used vinyl backed with the cotton, this gave it enough thickness to spring away from the base layer giving it a 3D effect.
I then just used normal (thin) faux leather for the loops below that.
All sewn by hand, Haha ha…

The paint job isn’t finished just yet but its the right size and shape and for that I’m really happy with it. I wanted the paint to match the blue fabric I used elsewhere on the costume as much as possible and was lucky to find one of my tubes (without any mixing) was an exact match.

It’s pretty well perfect!! I usually hate mixing paint so this saved me a lot of time.
To get the lines perfect I use painters tape along the lines I drew to ensure there would be no leaking. Though there was little it’s easy enough to remove.

I also sewed little loops onto the top of the pack so the belt could be threaded through them which would hold it up.

I’ve also made a start on her rifle which I made using the blueprint from my previous post.
I’m just waiting on some contact cement (glue) before I can put it together. The parts that have been cut out are what I consider to be ‘main pieces’ and once those are together I’ll build on it with the smaller details.

I got to use my Dremel for the first time on this so that was exciting and a bit of a learning experience. I messed up a few times but the holes and gashes I made can be fixed easily with Apoxie Sculpt later.

And that’s it for now!
My next goals are her armour, eye patch and gloved sleeves. With those done the cosplay will be finished with only her rifle left to make. I’ll buy the wig the next time I get paid. I still need to hem and weather the coat but that can wait for now.

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More updates coming soon , I’ve half written a fabric/pattern haul post so that will be out in the next few days too.

Thank you for reading
-Nivera