Leafeon – How It’s Made – Part 7

Leafeon gijinka cosplay
Photo by Ben Gibson

Hey there, welcome back! This week we’re looking at the most fabric-consuming part of the whole costume, the skirts! The following is an excerpt from my make-book for leafeon. This book was handed to the judges of every contest for a look at the making of my costume. I managed to find a few extra photos since this book was made, so they are featured below in this article for the first time! Of course as always, part 1 can be found here, part 2 here, parts 3&4 here, and parts 5&6 here.

Part 7: The Skirt & Petticoat

 

I made the skirt and petticoat at the same time since they followed the same pattern. Both types of fabric, cotton and poly-cotton, were cut at the same time. Cotton was used for the outer skirt, and poly-cotton for the petticoat. The outer skirt was originally completed as a plain skirt with no decoration, and decoration was added later once the bustle underneath was also finished.

leafeon work in progress
Some of the pattern pieces were too large to fit on the table!

Leafeon work in progress
Cutting multiple pieces on a very tiny mat with a rotary cutter.

Leafeon work in progress
This piece just barely fit on my fabric.

Once the pieces were cut, I began work on the petticoat. I made it a plain skirt with a wide flounce at the bottom. This flounce was hand gathered using the yarn method. I pinned the gathered flounce to the skirt underneath and stitched it on. I then finished the bottom edges with ribbon: a decorative off-white and gold ribbon for the flounce, and a pleated cream ribbon for the inner skirt. The waistband closes with a large hook and eye.

Leafeon work in progress
I started the flounce by finishing the edges cleanly

Leafeon work in progress
I then pressed the edges nicely

Leafeon work in progress
Then the bottom edge of the flounce was given a decorative ribbon.

Leafeon work in progress
Once the flounce rectangle was prepared, I gathered it using the yarn method.

Leafeon work in progress
A string is sewn onto the fabric with a zig zag, then pulled to create a gather.

Leafeon work in progress
The challenge with this gathering method is keeping the gathers equal. I did that by using pins to mark equal points along the fabric.

Leafeon work in progress
Once gathered, the flounce was sewn along the bottom edge of the petticoat.

I made the skirt in much the same way, but with no flounce. Later once the bustle was complete, I picked open the front seams and added two dark green triangles of fabric into the open seam. I finished the edges with light green bias tape I made myself, and continued this bias tape up to the waistband of the skirt. I then decorated the bias tape with buttons and a handmade lace flower.

Leafeon work in progress
The flowers are removable for washing, as they are very delicate and made of lace.

Leafeon work in progress
I picked open the front seams and added some green decorations

Leafeon work in progress
I marked the locations of the buttons with pins and then stitched them on by hand.

Leafeon work in progress
The skirt before decoration

Leafeon work in progress
The skirt after decoration.

[1.] Arnold, Janet. Patterns of Fashion 2. London: Macmillan, 1977. Print. [2.] “Day dress, 1873-75. Museum no. T.112 to B-1938. Given by Miss M. Eyre-Poppleton” Victoria and Albert Museum. Web, March 1st 2015. <http://www.vam.ac.uk/users/node/5672> [4.] ArtStor. Web, < http://www.artstor.org> [5.] Carol Belanger Grafton. Victorian Fashions: A Pictorial Archive. New York: Dover, 1999. Print. [10.] Reader’s Digest Association (Canada) Ltd. Complete Guide to Needlework. 1979. Print. [11.] Truly Victorian Patterns

 

That’s all for this week! Tune in next week, August 17th, 2016, for parts 8 & 9!

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