As I mentioned before, I'm a costumer. "Cosplayer" I suppose we're called now - still getting used to that term. I suppose I've been a cosplayer since I was a wee little one (but then again, weren't we all playing dress up/make believe at some point in our childhood). Memorable costumes of my youth:
the Lone Ranger, generic cowboy/sheriff, Indiana Jones, Catwoman, and Luke Skywalker. As an"adult" (ha!): generic Jedi Knight (maybe 3-4 versions, I've lost count honestly), Asajj Ventress (twice), Katniss Everdeen, Indiana Jones (again), Lara Croft Reborn, River Song, and my Renaissance Faire garb. Man, I am really proving my nerd status here with this beginning paragraph. Word.
Because of my interest in cosplay, the costuming side of the runDisney races has come to really fascinate me. I love seeing what people have created or how they've come up with their interpretations of characters based on items they find and craft bits they buy at stores to embellish their designs. It's pretty darned awesome the amount of creativity out there in the world, and I like to see projects like this get a lot of attention. I think all too often we get caught up in the idea of "I can't do that or make that costume because I'm not talented enough, not smart enough, don't have enough money, etc.". I've never liked to hear someone say that because I believe that you can do it because there's always a way to make it work - even if it's not perfect. You just have to think about things differently sometimes.
I spent a lot of time looking at different runDisney costumes on Google and Etsy and ooing and awwing and smiling over some of the designs. I knew that because of this element in the runDisney race culture, I would have an even better time at an event of this nature. I do admit, though, I was a little concerned when runDisney announced some changes to their costume policy. However, upon reading through the policy, I personally don't object to any of the changes. Now, I also fully admit I'm not a runDisney veteran, so I fall in the category of "the newbie who doesn't remember the good old days". I feel bad for the folks who are having to rethink their costumes now because of the policy, but I am grateful that my current idea falls within the rules.
Last night, I spent my hours from 9:30pm-12:00am working on the running skirt I was planning for Asajj. I don't have a lot of experience working with knit fabrics, so I knew off the bat this would also be a learning experience. But it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it might be. I picked up a $1 Simplicity pattern #1201 during a JoAnn Fabric's sale, and I decided I was going to use skirt B as my running skirt. Based on the measurements on the back of the pattern, I should have been a size 16 (I hate pattern sizes - I really do). However, based on the "ease" of the garment, I figured I could get away with a size 14 (I was happy to find out I was right - woohoo!).
I played with all sorts of designs at first - eliminate the seam in the front and back, don't make the elastic casing and stitch directly to elastic. Finally, I just said, "Follow the pattern - that's easiest." So I layed out my fabric and started cutting in accordance to the pattern. My cat tried to "help" me by hiding under the pattern pieces and batting at my scissors. I finally had to call the NH to take her downstairs with him to play videogames so I could finish up. Once I had everything cut, I picked out my thread, and then sat down at my machine and remembered - I don't have a ball point needle.
Apparently, ball point needles are an important thing when sewing knits. I won't presume to know the science behind it, but I know that the right needle will make the difference based on what I've read. I just had a plain, regular ol' needle. I took a gamble and tested a seam with two scraps of fabric using my stretch stitch on my Kenmore machine. Looked good to me - no ugly, punched holes because of the sharp needle, and everything looked to be in order. I figured, hey, if I screw up, I'm just learning a lesson. On I went!
I stitched up the skirt and then decided to add the casing and the elastic. I had a bit of an issue with the elastic because I wasn't 100% sure how or where I wanted the skirt to sit. After some testing, though, I was able to get a fit I liked. I sewed up my elastic, stitched up the casing hole, and then looked at the next step. It was something like, "To prevent elastic and casing from shifting during wear, stitch through all thickness of casing into each side seam." To me that meant stitch through everything, including your elastic. I thought that was a little weird, but I did it anyway (who knows if I interpreted it correctly). It still fit and fit well, so I figured it's still a win!
I still have to hem the skirt, but I'm going to wait until I find some good running short. As I said before, that'll probably be an "in person" purchase eventually - but I'm having a hard time finding them in stores this time of year.
Back to the drawing board!
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