Peggy Trousers

Peggy Carter is my hero.

Granted, my favorite Avenger is Iron Man, and I only watched the first Captain America a few times, but I knew during the first watch that Peggy was awesome.

And then they gave her a show. Cause she’s brilliant.

My costume situation is currently… complicated. My Claudia was basically finished, but I wanted to switch out the zipper on the vest for a separable one, and that’s when I saw the massive pit stains. Why must white be so terrible? Belle is essentially finished sewing and stuff-wise, but I’m deciding/working on the hair. I’m keeping my hair shorter, and its just to short to be both curly and Belle-like, so I’m working on a hairpiece to assist. Susan is being painted, and the TARDIS needs a skirt, so I’m currently fully booked on costuming.

full

But I couldn’t resist starting another costume.

I have a problem.

I’m rationalizing it in this case by saying that these are work appropriate, surprisingly comfy, and very fun to swish around in.

Cake Patterns has always been a favorite of mine, even if I haven’t made much from them. I love the designs, even if I don’t want to wear all of them. So when they put out a woven pants pattern, I knew that I had to have it. Plus, they’re wide legged, and I wanted to try that style.

side

I had just cut into some fabric for a Ginger Jeans muslin (the fabric of which was a bad choice because it had no stretch. Trust me, you want some stretch for that.), and after getting some whiskering, I wanted to take a break before cutting into my really expensive denim.

There’s been this brown twill sitting on my shelf for at least half a year. I’m not even sure where I got it, but it was perfect for the Endeavor Trousers. Just a little stretch, and its quite a lovely bottomweight. I realized that it was the perfect color for a Peggy costume, and these wide legged trousers fit into that theme too. So on the 4th of July, I started this Endeavor. Hee hee. Puns.

pants

I made up the pattern with the side zipper, and pretty much followed the pattern exactly. It’s very high waisted, which is a lot on my small frame, but that made it a little easier to fit, since the way the waist laid made the crotch drop just a smidge, and that solved the fitting problems there. I did take off around 3 inches from the side seams, and the pockets are much too deep for me, so I’m going to need to shorten them on future pairs. The side seams might have been because of the stretch, though. And I had to use a normal zipper, so eventually I’ll need to find a heavy duty invisible zipper. It bubbles a bit, which creates these weird bumps, as you can see on the right side below.

backside

I was also getting some creasing at the back yoke, so I ended up making a horizontal dart. My swayback game seems quite strong.

waist

The waistband and pocket lining are the same quilting cotton as my project satchel, and I love it!

heels

The hem requires some sort of heel, though, since I knew I’d want to wear heels for a costume. It doesn’t limit them, but it does limit my comfy footwear. Gave me a chance to wear my original Belle heels! The hem is only held up by Steam a seam, though, and it might not be holding up well, so I could shorten it if I want.

makeup

I also did a makeup test, and it was my first time contouring. Not sure it worked/was worth the effort, but I think it’s a snazzy face. The red lips are definitely fun, at least. I’m working on pin curls, but I will probably want to do one of her ponytail styles anyway. This was not a good hair day, and without pin curls, but it is generally what I’ll probably be doing. The makeup might also work for Belle, though I need to decide if a more costumey contouring could give me more rounded cheeks… Choices…

The week that I decided to do this costume, I found a lovely red fedora on Ebay, and I couldn’t let it go, so with a blouse and a satchel, I could complete this costume. Sure, the red hat would be a little out of place for that outfit, but it would be a valid way to identify as Peggy! Once I get a bit further into the costume, I’ll show you the hat… AKA I forgot to take a picture…

Blouse draping is hard, though, so it might be awhile before the next update on this costume. But is that news for anyone?

Peanut Butter Cups and Chocolate Bars

I thought I’d be cute and pose with candy, related to my new garments. But then I’d have to buy some candy. I’m currently on a Starburst kick, and they just wouldn’t fit the bill.

Plus, gas is expensive, and that whole I don’t currently have… employment, thing.

So anyway, here are my two new creations!

Netties!

brownfront

So my first one, Chocolate Bar as I like to think,  is a lovely cotton-lycra (probably) simple version. I made it up just like the sewalong says to, except for the snaps… I finished it hours before the snaps sewalong post was uploaded.

It fits like a dream, and is comfy and cute, and though there is some room in the butt, I find that weight for me likes to transfer between stomach and butt… So I believe that when it’s the butt’s turn, that extra room will be helpful.

backandbow

To add some drama, I made a cute little bow and attached it to the center back. I’m not sure if you can see it… I promise it’s cute up close, and even a little off kilter, which matches with my personality!

Ahem. I love making excuses for minor mistakes, I’m sorry I got carried away!

front

My second Nettie is a deep chocolate brown with peanut butter dots that’s a polyester lycra blend. It was too good to pass up, even though it was polyester! The only problem, it was not exactly 4 way stretch. It only has a bit of stretch in the opposite direction.

back

So I thought to myself, how would I fix such a problem… ooh, add in extra fabric periodically through, to account for the lack of stretch! Well, it looks like I shouldn’t have exactly bothered, because I ended up cutting that much off, but I like to think it helped in the bustage region. A little extra space to account for the drop underneath.

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I love my Netties, if only because they’re comfy to wear on their own when I’m alone in my home… which is a lot since the whole, you know, unemployment. But I’m sure when I do venture into the world they will get a lot of use too!

How many people do you hear say they can’t wait for school to start?

Perhaps I can waste  time getting better patternweights…

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And for my costuming fellows, never fear, I’m working on some stuff to show you soon!