Queen of Spades Costume, Royal Flush Spades

I can't believe I'm still catching up on blogging about my costuming efforts from last year's DragonCon, but then again the internet is kinda timeless, so what does it matter. My post on how I made my green Jeannie costume remains my number one most view post of all time.

So, last year 2012, I wanted to do a Dark Alice in Wonderland sort of thing for our group. I knew I wanted to be the Queen of Spades. As the idea evolved, we became A Royal Flush of Spades with me, Mike (King), Reid (Ace), Guy (Jack) and Grace(ten). Then we added Eva and James because they were coming in from Little Rock. SO now we were more like...the royal family of spades plus the nine and eight? I wanted to make this make sense and thought the royal party would of course include a dark "cheshire cat" and their wizard or suitable prognosticator, right? So the Nine (Eva) became a kitty with nine lives and a cat o'nine tails accessory. The Eight (James) carried a "magic 8 ball" for offering future predictions. Here's a picture of the whole party.

 You can see the colors stuck to black, white, purple, silver and harlequin.  Each person has every one of those colors and patterns, though it is hard to see on the Kitty. She has a purple bow on her ears and she had a harlequin bow on her tail. My Queen underskirt is purple. One important element I designed is the sleeve insets on the men. I will tell you how to make those later. The men's vests are all from the same pattern. McCall's 4321 View D.
   I sat down and wrote out a list of each character and what the main color of their vest would be, the lapels, and the lining. Then what color was missing from the vest and so what color shirt did I want to use, making sure each was different. Mike's King lapel and shirt insets had to be silver because he is the King. I knew I wanted to make the back of Reid's Ace shirt into an Ace Card, so his needed to be white. The Jack just had to be purple, and so that made sense for the 8 to be black like an 8 ball.

I wanted to use military style insignias and "collar devices" to signify rank. The men's collars have spades made of felt and outlined in glitter. The shoulders all have rank patches, including mine, that say the rank of the card. Mine said "Q", naturally. You can look for these details in the pictures.

 Eva did her harlequin mask in makeup. The hats and crowns were a big part of the costumes.
Guy and Reid had tophats already, so I just made hat bands for them, and the large cutout spades from glitter scrapbook paper backed in white paper to make them pop.

 Below you can see the Kitty's cat o'nine tail, which Eva and James made from pieces of black suede that I had and part of a dowel rod. James put in a huge effort on this!!!

 Kitty has rhinestone claws...

 Grace (ten) is getting her shoulder insignia painted on by Guy, since she didn't have sleeves. He had to meet us there, so he had a stencil precut to do this with.

 Grace's vest is made from McCall's 5682. All of these vests are lined, including the men's vests, and they all have coordinating lining, even though it rarely shows...that's just how I roll!

Her petticoat is two crinolines layered with the shorter, sequin on on top of a longer full one. The one underneath is the Leg Avenue 15" black crinoline.  I made our choker necklaces from things you can get in the scrapbook department at Michael's crafts. You can see that her hat has the number 10 cut from glitter paper, and the same spade as the men's hats. The crowns are custom made and I will discuss that later as well. You can see my shoulder "Q" in this picture. The white hat is a Leg Avenue top hat, and my Queen dress is also a Leg Avenue costume for french maid...I got in on Amazon, the only place I have ever seen this particular dress.

King of Spades and Medieval Batman

I bought both my sons the purple and black checkered Vans shoes for their costumes.  Guy made his staff...Jack has to have the staff!! He hand painted the design on a long dowel, and hand carved the spade on top.

With my friend Rob, who I only ever get to see at DragonCon!

I think you can get a lot of ideas from these pictures, about all of the details I put into the costumes that really brought it together.

Ok, the sleeve insets. The shirts were just regular dress shirts. Iron the sleeves flat. Mark two inches down from the shoulder seam and two inches up from the cuff. Measure that. Now take a piece of inset fabric you choose , approximately one foot wide and the length you just measured. Mike's jacquard metallic insets were less wide because the fabric was so stiff.

Pleat the inset fabric longways in about 3/4" wise pleats. Adjust to suit yourself. Stitch the top and bottom across to secure the pleats. Make sure the outer two folds of the pleats are not inverted, meaning the right side of the fabric is out. Now use a seam ripper to slit the sleeve in the center from top to bottom between the marks you made. Turn the shirt inside out. Insert the inset pleated piece. Now it's time to sew it in.

I have to tell you, this doesn't make a perfectly neat insert. At the top and bottom, it sticks out a wee bit.I have been sewing a long time, so I was able to finesse it pretty well. Stitch the top first, then proceed around. Don't try to do top and bottom, then the sides. That doesn't work. If you have to do a few stitches in tight areas, you can do that by hand or use hot glue. Once you turn it back right side out, it really looks fabulous.

The cuffs looked dull, so they got glitter paint treatments of spades, as well.

The crowns were custom made by the incredible Guy Martin!!  He has built his own forge, where he bent the sheet steel to make the head rings. He cut the spades from the same sheet steel and riveted them in lace with copper rivets. Mike's spades are all large sizes, where mine is large sized in the front only. Guy painted the head rings black, and added shadow detail in purple paint with a spade design. The bridge in the back that holds the ring together is a double sided spade cut from steel. Originally they didn't have the fur on the bottom, but they are on the heavy side and needed some padding. I attached the fur on the inside with something like gorilla glue that James gave me. Guy is pretty much a genius fabricator. I tell him what I want..we have a meeting to get measurements and work out the design elements... then what he gives me is better than I ever expected!!   Though you probably don't have your own metal work genius, you could make crowns out of other materials. Just don't ruin all your effort with some crappy pre-made crown. the King and Queen have to look the part!   

As always, let me know if you have questions you need answered. Have fun!

After the Next

Another Sunday comes,
promising shiny strings of beads from Mardi Gras,
or feasts of epic proportion,
it all looks so enticing.
Sundays should.

The menu, written in hieroglyphics,
these are pictures I know,
but I cannot place the words into the puzzle,
my skill at deciphering has deserted me,
there must be something to be done, but...
I do not speak the language.

Sunday should be something else entirely.
Such a big day, such a special name,
I would toil all year for a day,
named for a celestial body that gives us all life.
Were the sun worshipers so misguided?

I will leave this life with exactly what I brought in.
Some Sundays remind me that I am no more and no less than the elements,
but, I don't think these thoughts in a bad way.
Only in the way that lets me see the truth of my being,
one day after one day,
after the next.

No Burden at All

Into this sea I cast a note
much as a bell rings with no sentience of the listener.
I can see a crowd of fishes and loaves
but I cannot hear the whispers of heaven.
I am escaping pieces of vestigial skin I do not use
Layers dwindle to flakes and off into the tide, and pieces
become specks.
God hears me all the time
In response I try to watch what I say,
mostly,
as best I can.
I could say I am only human...
as if that is any limitation of any sort,
when indeed it is the greatest power
ever given
ever granted to any creature
to have a mind infinite enough to perceive
that God exists.

He has his eye upon the smallest sparrow,
and indeed He must, for the sparrow knows Him not, after all.
But I do...I know the sparrow, and the shark
the rose and the latin names of the trees surrounding the world
with oxygen. I know the chemicals, too, and I 
know them in the body and how they balance delicately 
more subtle and influential than you would care to realize.

Knowing becomes the essence of humanity
because we know that we know,
sapient,
and much like the bell that cannot be unrung,
self awareness becomes the purest humanity of all.
For that reason, I do as I do in this life...
and thanking God is no burden. No burden at all.  
               

Steampunk Saloon Girl Costume

I am "off" for Christmas Break, which is kind of a laugh because of the volume of stuff I have to do (as we all do at Christmas), but I want to catch up on a few blog things.

The post with details on my Green Jeannie costume from last year at DragonCon is so popular, that I promised way back to give details of my Patriotic Steampunk Saloon Girl and how I constructed it.

First pictures so you know what I'm talking about.

the jacket I purchased. It was from the American Icon collection which came from the American Idol TV show. The hooks that are the closure are a part of the jacket, but I wanted them to show, so I pinned the lapels back with antique pins. It also allowed more of the corset to show. I have a "real" (expensive!) corset that MJL bought me at the Renaissance Fest, but I also have a lot of corsets from Frederick's of Hollywood. They are definitely more costume and not authentic, but one can also afford to have a bunch of them, as they run from $ 40 to 60, depending on the fabric and pattern.

Doing research, I found that fishnets didn't exist at the time of the Old West frontier, they actually wore cotton or wool stockings. Well...I wasn't wearing cotton or wool to DragonCon. I chose these nude hose from Target. They had a woven pattern in the nude color and then the black dots. My boots are actually a very dark brown.

The skirt I made. It starts with a pattern, which I shortened. This is the pattern. Even if they don't make this one any more, you can see what sort of thing to look for. It is a full circle skirt with a yoke (like the two on the bottom). The yoke is very important. A full circle without a yoke will make you look like you are in a poodle skirt. If you shorten it, you will look like a 60s majorette. Plus the yoke allows you to attach things and stays sleek.

Here are the fabrics used. They were all from JoAnn fabrics, so you don't really have to always spend a lot of money or go to a special fabric store to make costumes.

The patriotic fabric was a big inspiration.
When I saw that fabric, I knew I had to do something with it.
The plaid is red, blue, green and a homespun looking brown.

This is a cotton quilting print.
The red was just right, and the background was cream. I didn't want any white, because white was
very expensive to obtain back then.
Less expensive fabrics had that homespun look of
natural color cotton.

This one was a bridal fabric.
It had the scalloped edge that you see on the skirt
already as part of the fabric. I got it on clearance for 8$ a year and I only bought 2/3 of a yard, so very
cheap to add a really nice element.

 I did use a modern zipper.
One, for convenience and time savings.
Two, because I've made this pattern before as a real skirt and I like the zipper in the back. It adds stability to the yoke. I went through my collection of buttons and pulled out all the metal ones to add as accents.

 I purchased keys and chains and these accents
at Micheal's in the scrapbooking section.
In the full picture, the antique gold watch is
real and it belonged to my great great grandmother.

 The tiny hat started as a $1.99 teddy bear hat from
JoAnn fabrics. They come black made by Darice.
I spray painted it bronze gilt.
I found a belt at a thrift store for one dollar.

It was a size 2x, so it had a lot of  these square metal
pieces. After putting two long pieces with two squares each on each side of the skirt, I had one left over. I had to sew it to the top of the hat, because even metal glue wouldn't hold it to the felt.

 I did hand gathering at two points in the front of the skirt, and more to the sides.

I did it by hand with a running stitch. It looked like a girl might have done back then.

I really wanted the natural unevenness of hand work.

The ribbon tail was just something extra. Most of the time it didn't show, but I always keep adding little things on a costume till
I just feel that it is finished.

 Feathers and embellishments all from Micheal's

You can see how it is constructed.

 This natural cotton is two layers. Stiffened with interfacing. I glued on on, attached the headband with hot glue. Reinforced that with ribbon. Covered that with the second piece of natural cotton. I could have spray painted it, but with all my hair...I didn't bother.

Originally, I thought I would do something in
Red and blue that perfectly matched the costume.

In working with the patriotic fabric, it has a rosy pink element in the background of some scenes and on the cheeks.

I just decided I wanted to pick up that element in the hat and also the neckpiece, which...if you look back,
is constructed of the buckle from the dollar belt!
Pink velvet ribbon is the accent on the choker, and it ties in the back with brown grosgrain ribbon.

I have to say, I loved this costume. I felt fabulous, and I received so many compliments from DragonCon attendees. It was comfortable. My favorite comments were from fellow seamstresses. They liked the
idea, the design and the execution. That's the best feedback!!

The skirt is layered panels that are really all curtain valance treatments in their construction. I used to make a lot of curtains, so I used those techniques. The front panel is a pleated center jabot, and the back lace panels
are trapezoid shaped side jabot panels. It is easy to google simple directions for these once you see what I did. The side jabot face each other instead of facing out as the would on a window.

The rear swag is just done like a long scarf valance would be over a curtain rod. I just did the side gathering with ribbon instead of the way it would hang over a rod.

Hope this inspires you if you are looking to do a steampunk short skirt!

Track

Nothing stands alone. 
It doesn't does it? 
Locomotives run on steel rails of strength disproportionate to imagination.
What if you could be the locomotive.
What if you could be the engine of all that happens,
your essence and force steaming off the top,
magnificent weight of words and deeds trailing behind farther than sight.
Wouldn't that be powerful beyond description...
looking down at the manacles on your wrists,
imagine naked pain and youth as they melt away into leaden trails
to form your track.

And this is when you find the fuel to overcome the friction and the gravity
of your situation.
This is when you move inch by inch 
until you are flying and pulling the world along with ease.
You do not stand alone, for
you stand for too much.
Accompanied, though...and beloved.

River Bend

She sold herself down the river
in such minute quantities
the fish never even got sleek or fat,
but simply swam away
in ignorance of what they had eaten.

The water too clear to reflect
anything but what she wanted to see;
it would remain a vision to haunt her,
of who was blind,
and who was left to see...
when she was there no longer.   

"It's Alive!" New days with GANS

Yesterday was my first day as a State Board Member of the Georgia Association of Nursing Students (GANS). It was one long day, let me tell you, in what has become a progression of extremely long days with little break. "Welcome to Nursing!" needs to be tattooed on my arm or something.

I used to say, Welcome to nursing school!" Now I realize that this is the pace of nursing in general, so I'd better just get used to it. Now one free hour can seem like an entire weekend's rest, if applied properly.

MJL and I went to see Frankenweenie late last night. I love, love Tim Burton movies. I knew it was a short movie, and I just needed to rest my brain. It wasn't as good as other Tim Burton faves of mine, but, the dog was so adorable, and the movie had real charm and quite a few inside jokes (example- the town Mayor is Mr. Burgermeister.) 

Our school is "Kaplanized, " meaning we follow a Kaplan structured curriculum (in general), and take Kaplan Integrated tests throughout our courses. Kaplan administers the NCLEX, so this is supposed to prepare us for familiarity with Kaplan style questions. It's nothing like the review sessions that Hurst and ATI put on...we get regular lectures, powerpoints, etc all taught by our instructors. It's just every so often we take one of these standardized tests which are "normalized" to the whole country. It allows our professors to see how we stack up against other schools and students at our level, and also to predict how well we are learning the material for the NCLEX. We had a big Kaplan in health assessment this morning. 

It's funny because we all come out moaning and thinking we did terribly, which is exactly what I hear about the NCLEX. 

I think this experience with State GANS board will be an education that is trial by fire, much like these Kaplan tests. Are you ready to lead as an RN? Can you take the lead in the face of little information and an incredibly short transition from past Director to...Hey! You are the Director now!  ( I got a 1.5 hour transition roughly, though I know the previous director is available to me for help...but she is a busy nursing student who has served her time.)

I had a moment of panic in the middle of Frankenweenie. I had let my mind rest in the movie, following the little doggie with the stitches and the bolts in his neck. Suddenly, I remembered what I had just gotten myself into...on top of school and everything else I do...thank goodness no one was there to record my heart rate and respiration!

In those situations, I have to stop and ask myself some questions, no matter how much I am doubting myself:

1. Is anyone else here going to do this job if I do not?  (maybe? No?)

2. Is there a reason I was given this job and not someone else? (usually yes)

3. Do I believe that anyone I can readily think of can do this better than I can-

    right now, right here?     (usually not. they have their own things to do)

4. Are people looking to me to take charge and handle this? (always yes)

5. Can I think quickly and creatively in this situation? (usually yes)

6. Do I trust myself, my incredible support system (you are all the best!!) and God? (emphatically yes)

Then everything else will work itself out. Maybe a better mantra is:

If I work my hardest; it will work out.

My hardest and best effort may be different on different days. School comes first- for the benefit of the patients. But I may sacrifice a few grades in this effort for GANS. Maybe that is a good thing. Maybe I focus too much on grades. Potential future employers will not ask me much about my grades. They will ask me what things I have done to develop myself into a leader? what makes me different than other candidates? And how can I show that I am patient centered, not self-centered. 

All of us on this new GANS Board are giving up so many other things we could be doing with our time..because we want to be better leaders. Who is it that we need to lead as RNs? Other nurses and patient care personnel. And for whose benefit? The patients.

I got into nursing to care for the patients. Being an effective leader will benefit the patient every time.

One last anecdote...I remember when Jason and I brought Reid home from the hospital; he was three days old and in his little car seat carrier. We set him on the coffee table and sat on the couch looking at him.

I already had a two year old son, so I had been through this before. Jason turned and looked at me questioningly. I looked back at him and said, " Don't look at me! I don't know what to do with him, either!"

We both died laughing. It became an oft repeated phrase of ours in relation to Reid, who has always been smarter than we knew how to handle. It just serves to remind me, that even though you may have successfully done something before, or many times, each new time is its own challenge.

But I look at Reid now, almost done with high school and driving himself to Engineering orientation session at Ga Tech, and I realize I still don't know just what to do with him....hhahhahah.

I don't have to. All I had to do was my job to the best of my ability with both my sons. And the rest takes care of itself.

Just in case any of my fellow board members chance to read this post, I love you guys already.We may be a little stitched together right now like Frankenweenie, but the lightning has struck.

T. Sylace