Time for Tea?

Well it was for the March Hare at the Mad Hatters Charity Tea Party. The Character played by Molly Dore was a fun, eccentric and slightly crazy hare who enjoyed tea time. In accordance with designer Elizabeth Cooke’s designs the character, the costume couldn't be anything but a little balmy.

Fake Fur Breeches

I started of with fake fur breeches. Taking into account the actress had to be in these all day and the weather was very hot, trousers were not an option. The fake fur breeches were lined with hypoallergenic lining to prevent any skin irritation as well as draw sweat away from the skin. Pink tights were allocated to the actress which were placed underneath the breeches to help give the over all appearance of a hare.

Knitted Waistcoat

To match the breeches came a green checked shirt with oyster shell buttons which related to the walrus and the oyster story and a knitted waistcoat with 9 pockets placed all over it. These were used to hide various clock faces, nik-nacks and personal items for the actress.

Hat and Ears

My favourite part of the costume was the hat. The hat began as a basic boater hat which was then transformed by adding fake fur march hare ears and crochet tea cups. The ears were made out of a milk bottle, fake fur and hot glue. The sides of the milk bottle were the perfect shape for the ears, was lightweight and allowed the ears to keep there rigidity.


Each of the tea cups were made out of donated wool that was crocheted with s size 6.5 hook. The cups were made into 3 sizes and then attached using a ladder stitch at various angles. I also made a little crochet doily using double crochet to expand. The final touch was a bright green ribbon with various buttons sewn on, placed around the centre of the hat.


The over all costume was very effective and Molly pulled of the character fantastically. I was rather happy with the outcome for this and look forward to seeing it used at more events.

Felting

Getting to know new materials and techniques are always a fun experience riddled with complications and achievement. Everyone has a different way of attempting each technique.

I learnt how to do basic felting during my days at college and over time honed my skill to create articles of costume and pieces of artwork. Each attempt I made had a different result. I found that my personal preference was using merino wool tops and a bamboo place mat to make felt and then cut everything by hand after.

Of Bees and Mist Costume

In 2010 I was commissioned to make a costume for a character called Eva in the book ‘Of Bees and Mist’.

Eva’s character was a manipulative mother in law who liked to control everything. She kept a rose garden that she was very proud of and the bees were her constant drowning.

Part of the costume was a headpiece, which I decided to make partly out of felt. I started out making the base for the headdress and decided to use sinamay as my main material and manipulated it with a thin silver wire to create the shape needed.

Using the cuttlefish method I cast bees out of pewter which were then drilled and wired with a thick steel wire to hold the weight. I finally made various sized rose petals out of felt using the method below. These were then sewn to the base of the headpiece, and beaded where needed for surface decoration. The wired bees were twisted into the base and then, using a dab of hot glue I added the felted petals to hide the attachment.

The overall finished piece included a dress to go with the headpiece, and communicated the character's personality effectively, while suggesting there may be more to her than meets the eye.

I enjoyed making the felt as it allows you to watch the material being made right before your eyes and you get to judge on the over all density of the material. I went for quite a thick density as it helped bulk out the base and gave added texture to the piece.

How to make felt 

You Will Need

• Merino wool (or other fine wool tops)
• Plastic bubble wrap
• wool yarn (if wanted)
• thread (if wanted)
• water
• bamboo matting

Instructions

• Using merino wool or other fine wool tops, pull the end fibers out gently and lay them down on plastic bubble wrap in a square with all the fibers in the same direction. 
• Repeat the process above but with the fibers laying in the opposite direction. Make sure that you cannot see the previous layer through the second layer but still keeping the wool tops fine. 
• Repeat this process with the fibers running in the direction of the first layer to create a third. 
• In addition to the basic felt it is possible to create a design on top of the third layer using whatever colours you like as well as using other fibers such as wool yarn and thread to add a raised effect. 
• Sprinkle a very small amount of soap flakes over the piece and then add a small amount of hot water. 
• Place a second piece of bubble wrap over the whole piece with the bubble-side downwards and rub over the plastic to disperse the water evenly. If necessary, add some more water to ensure that the wool is "wetted" out but not too much so as to drench the piece. 
• Carry on rubbing until the fibers start shrinking together. To increase friction it is possible to roll it in bamboo matting. 
• Finally roll the piece in a ball in your hands only when you believe the felt is nearly complete and throw it down onto the mat repeatedly, This shocks the fibers into shrinking more. 
• Rinse out the piece and leave to dry. 

If you are interested in learning more about felting, please contact me to discuss either private lessons, or attending one of my future craft workshops.

My first cosplay commission

I really enjoy it when clients ask for something a bit different or out of the ordinary for a bespoke costume, it always sparks my curiosity. When Becki from S&S Cosplay approached me and asked me to design and construct her costume for Eurogamer 2012, I was really intrigued and ready to try something out of my comfort zone. The character she chose was Elizabeth Comstock from the game Bioshock Infinate.

 As someone who doesn’t know much about games my first job was to research the character and find out what the costume entailed. After about an hour I had found that the character was a 19 year old girl whose costume consisted of a Victorian style royal blue dress and bolero and, my favourite part, a white and silver corset.

Material Choices 

As my client has sensitive skin, I had to take into account fabric choices and what trimmings would be appropriate. I also had to make sure the corset was boned correctly as Becki suffered with a bad back.

I chose to use a royal blue cotton for the dress and white polycotton for the trim with white lace as there was 7m of material alone in the skirt and as the garment was to be worn for an entire day, it needed to be as light as possible.

The bolero matched the dress in materials and the corset was made of a white herringbone coutil with silver binding. Each of the garments were lined with hypoallergenic lining to accommodate Becki's skin. 

Whilst making this costume... 

I found whilst making the outfit that the corset was the trickiest partas I had to use two types of boning, steel and spiral. I had to take into account the seam allowances changed per panel and the length of boning needed varied per panel.

The dress was quite simple to make once I gathered the skirt, and there was a lot to gather with 7 meters of material encased in the waistband. I also took into account Becki may like to wear the outfit again for a different event so I allowed room for a crinoline to be placed under the skirt.

The Final Piece

It was lovely to see the costume worn and Becki even sung on stage with the song Will the Circle be Unbroken from the game, and she has also recorded this song and put it on YouTube while in costume. 

Working on a cosplay outfit was something I never thought of doing but I really enjoyed it, and I have taken on another cosplay commission recently.

 Becki says:

"Tanya made the perfect outfit for me, including a fully boned corset - she even supplied me with ribbon for my shoes! She was thoughtful and inventive throughout the costume design and making process, always checking with me before making a change from the original. I wore the costume all day and it was so comfy and easy to move in - I love it! I won best skit as well, and had loads of people tell me that my costume was fantastic."