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#1092 - sewing the puffy parts

6/22/2015

4 Comments

 
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More about the sewing of this Anime costume.

Some parts are very sculptural, specifically the padded sleeves and hip roll. Let me show you how I made these ...
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Each sleeve is made up of 2 identical pieces in order to create the long columns that will be stuffed. Sew the bottom edges together first and turn to the right side for a clean finish on the bottom. Then stitch the two layers together from the outside along the lines marked on the pattern to form the shaped columns.
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Stuffing has to be pushed into each column. I used the eraser end of a brand new, unsharpened pencil to do this. (no chance of graphite getting onto my snow white satin) I find that the rubber of the eraser grabs the stuffing while pushing it into place. A chop stitch or other narrow pointy thing will work, too. But, the stuffing tends to slip away from the ends of those implements and make the process slower.
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After stuffing, machine sew the ends of the stuffed columns closed. Notice there is no stuffing under the arms and at the top of the sleeve.

This is for comfort under the arm and to allow the collar to lie flat on the shoulder.
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Now the little short underarm seam can be sewn up. 
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Ease the top edge of the sleeve so it can be pinned to the armscye ready for sewing.
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Which is a little awkward because of the bulk and stiffness of the sleeve!
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AND, there is this nice padded roll that gets inserted in the low waist seam.

The double skirt needs to be made first and sewn to the finished pantie part of the costume. The pantie is made of spandex and it will be stretched to fit the woven fabric of the skirt. This is so the costume can be pulled over the hips and no zipper is needed.
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Then polyester batting should be loosely piled onto the piece that will become the padded roll.
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Bring together the long edges of this piece and pin 5/8" from the cut edge for the seam allowance.
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Continue this way down the length of the piece, being careful not to allow it to get twisted.
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Machine stitch the long edge closed to keep the stuffing in place. A zipper foot needs to be used for this step to get close to the roll.
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Now the prepared padded roll can be pinned to the skirt which is sewn to the pantie. Matching notches is REALLY important here.
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And, again, a zipper foot is needed to get close to the roll and sew it on.


I would LOVE to see what some of you do with this pattern.  If you ever want to share your work with me. You can send images to this address

scheweandrea@yahoo.com 

I'm thinking of starting a gallery of costumes made using my patterns here on the website.
4 Comments
Laurie Taylor
6/22/2015 05:41:48 am

How cool to see this! One of my students did this in our costume construction class (community college) and had to figure out her sleeves with several attempts and variations.

Reply
Kami Latorre
6/27/2015 12:04:15 pm

You totally should make a gallery of readers versions of your costumes!!! That would be so fun to look through and see other ideas of how people used the patterns. And you should post ALL your costumes you've ever designed because that would be fascinating as well. I've always loved your patterns (I collect costume patterns like some people collect fabric.) And I LOVE your blog. I think it's so interesting to learn why your do some of the things you do and how the industry works, etc. And so, so, helpful to learn how to you sew them up. Anyway, I'm carrying on but I've meant to comment for a long time and never did. Ever since all your decluttering inspired me to clean up my own sewing nook. But anyway, pretty please start a gallery!

Reply
Angela
10/27/2015 09:06:25 am

Thank you thank you thank you for this pattern and for this blog! I lost my last page of instructions for this and I had no idea why the **** the skirt was so big on me and now I understand! The anime convention is in two days and now I've been saved!! I just learned how to sew a year ago and I still have no idea what I'm doing half the time... anyone who posts anything on the Internet about sewing is in my debt. So thank you again.

Reply
Andrea
10/27/2015 09:36:00 am

Best of luck with your sewing adventures. Send me a pic when you are finished to scheweandrea@yahoo.com

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    From Andrea 

    I am a commercial pattern maker who is now "sewing over 50"!
    I love to sew and hope to encourage others to come back to sewing.
    The water is fine!!

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