The plan is to make two costumes from classic Dr. Who. More specifically, from an episode called Destiny of the Daleks in season 17 with the fourth Doctor, Tom Baker. His companion at the time is Romana II (Lalla Ward) and trying out new looks.
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Actually, this is the second plan. The first plan was making Bryan a costume sometime during the fourth Doctor and making mine be a modified scarf costume.
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Right now, we're going through the episode and trying to get reference photos. Then the quest for the right fabrics will begin. And so will the knitting. Lots of knitting.
December 10, 2006
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I found the yarn that I am going to use, unless I change my mind again. I went through four different yarns before deciding on the fifth. Of course, I'm still somewhat debating between the fourth and fifth but I'm going with the fifth for now. I also tore it out at least four times to get the right pattern, still not sold on it but I think it will work. The color is closer to the bottom picture, a nice barely cream color, but the design shows up a bit better on the top. It's knit three, purl one and then the opposite on the way back. I'm not really a knitter - I can manage a scarf and only that - so that's the only way I know how to describe it. |
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Last weekend, Bryan and I drove around to six local Jo-Ann's stores to find all of the skeins that I need. I knitted one skein and determined that I needed 15 skeins. The last store had nine skeins and that brought my total to 16 but I figured one extra would be a good thing since it seems that this yarn is being discontinued. The picture only shows 11, the others are knitted already or stashed in my knitting bag. There is a box below the 11 skeins that holds some of Bryan's yarn. |
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I have just barely started on the fourth skein and it's approximately four feet long. I will have to block it when I'm done because it is curling up and making a very nice tube, or pair of tubes, but since I don't want a tube, I get to figure out how to block. |
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I thought I had all of the yarn for Bryan's except for the rust and then I found other colors on the website I was going to order it from. They might have a better green and brown so I ordered all of them. Something will have to be returned but I'm not sure what will make the better combination. I'm also still looking for the eggplant color. I'm using Wool-Ease by Lion Brand but their plum color - that looked to be perfect - was discontinued and I can't find it anywhere. I have a substitute but I'm still looking for that plum on eBay on the off chance I can get it there because that would be the best. Hopefully the other yarn will arrive this week and we can decide on those colors so I can be ready once my scarf is done. Knitting is the perfect take-to-work project.
December 18, 2006
My scarf is now just over 6 feet long and I'm nearly done with the sixth skein. It looks the same as it did last week except it's a bit longer so no new pics.
Bryan's yarn came in and we decided on the colors. We're replacing the green but keeping the brown. I'm still on the hunt for the plum but if I can't find it, I will use the one in the picture. The picture is only a representation of the colors, not of the quantity. I have most of the yarn hidden away in a box underneath all of my yarn. Once my scarf is done then I will take a pic of all the yarn just because it's funny to use so much yarn just for a scarf, a very long scarf though.
January 8, 2007
It's been awhile since I've updated this page even though I've worked on it quite a bit. It's just a little boring to say that I've knitted yet another foot or so. So the update on the scarf is that it is now 10.5 feet and I've used 8 skeins. I think I mis-calculated how many skeins I had used last update. There was at least one skein hiding when I did the count. Anyway, I'm over half done knitting the scarf and it is getting rather long.
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I've also found a lovely blue wool. The costume is supposed to be pinkish/mauvish but I'm not too keen on the colors and have always considered making it blue instead. Blue is my favorite color so I have a tendency to think that everything should be blue. Right now I don't think I have enough but it is a clearanced fabric so I'm not sure that I will be able to find more. If so, yeah! If not, back to the pink wool quest. |
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We also found a hat for Bryan's costume. I thought it was necessary to complete the look but in going back through a few episodes, the Doctor doesn't seem to wear a hat with this coat/scarf. I'll be watching more episodes and might decide to go with the hat anyway. There is one running around the Tardis because Romana wears it at the beginning of Destiny of the Daleks. This is a completely 'packable' hat and if we keep it, we will be scunching it to make it more worn and floppy. |
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February 5, 2007
Trials and
I have decided that I do hate gauges. Knitting is only fun if you can completely make it up as you go. It's not so much fun if you have to restart the silly scarf 6+ times just so it can be long enough and the right width. I actually lost count of how many times I tore it out and started again but I think it was at least six. The first time I started, the scarf was only going to be 12 feet long and it's supposed to be 19-20 feet long. The next time, it was way too wide so I started over before figuring out how long it was going to be. Not the best idea because it was only going to be 15 feet. Then I needed to get new needles because mine weren't getting it right. And then I lost count.
I do remember that I started over once because I decided to change the eggplant color. The color was good but the yarn was much too thick and didn't hang right and I just didn't like it. The new yarn is the right weight and plays nicely with the other yarns which is a happy thing. I didn't want to track down yet another skein of yarn. I'm going to have quite the graveyard of discarded skeins as it is with my scarf. So after all the restarting, I haven't actually gotten that far. But, I think this time will work so I'm going ahead. At least until I change my mind. Again.
But speaking of yarn graveyards, I started another scarf for me out of one of the discarded yarns. I knitted out more than I had before and decided I liked it quite a bit more than previously thought. So, we'll see how far I get on it but it's way down on the list. The white of this scarf might look better with the blue wool than the cream scarf so it's an option until I run out of time or find the perfect shirt fabric.
And just to prove that I am still working on the cream scarf, pics of the blocking process!
I'm not too keen on blocking either. I tried dunking it in water and then pinning it down and letting it dry. That sorta worked. I wasn't too happy with it though and talk about time consuming. I'm too impatient. I read online that ironing would work too. However, my scarf is somewhat squishy and I didn't want that to go away, I just want it to stop making a tube. So, I'm using my steamer now. It seems to be working but I'm not done yet so we'll see.
February 20, 2007
Very slow progress on my scarf. I keep forgetting to steam it so it just sits. I'm down to the last two sections though so I should be done by the end of the week, done with the steaming that is.
Much progress has been made on Bryan's scarf though. I am currently a bit over half done with the knitting. Lots and lots of weaving ends in will follow but I'm trying not to think about that part. I meant to do an update last week so I have pics from last week, when it was more than a quarter done, and pics for this week. And please ignore the half done skirt on Anna. I put it on her to hang overnight and it's been hanging for over two weeks now. She should be dressed a bit more decently next week.
In other news, we are now the proud owners of sonic screwdrivers. Bryan's will move and is rather heavy for what it looks like. Mine is much more delicate, as is appropriate. I won them off of eBay after losing the first auction. Thankfully the seller had more and I was able to get a set afterall. I think they will be the perfect finishing touch to the costumes. Of course, I don't think Romana gets her own screwdriver in this episode (shoot, going to have to watch the episodes again to find out when she gets her screwdriver) but recently I've been wanting to make another one of her costumes so it might be perfect for later on as well. I'm still going to have it with this costume just because I like it. =)
March 25, 2007
The scarf is finished!! Okay, not quite but I only have the tassels left so it's as good as done, right?
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I also made a trip to the LA fabric district. Well, two trips but the first trip wasn't very helpful. The fabrics are both wonderful wools but the coat fabric is a bit lighter than I would like. I think I'm going to try to dye it slightly darker but it's a lot of fabric and I don't have anyplace to dye fabric other than the tub. So, it may happen but it might not. |
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The fabric trip was useful for Romana's costume too but possibly not as useful as I was hoping. I've decided that the scarf isn't going to work. It keeps curling up no matter what I do with it and it's really thick and when will I ever be happy with my scarf? I've started it at least ten different times with just about that many different yarns. Anyway, I found the shirt fabric, it matches the yarn for the scarf just about perfectly. However, since I've decided that the scarf isn't going to work, the shirt fabric prolly won't work either. I didn't like the fabric so much anyway, it's poly. =) Then I found the rayon for the trim and it looked good there but I don't like it at home so much.
I'm thinking of going with the dupioni that I had planned to use for an Elizabethan doublet. I think I prefer to make Bryan stuff. I dont' seem to be nearly as picky for his stuff. The first pic is with the dupioni and the second is with the rayon.
May 22, 2007
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Not much of an update because I haven't done anything other than change my choice of fabrics...again. I found this 'lilac' suiting that is polyester so I'm not too keen on that and it really does look purple in some lights - but always a pinkish purple - but it should be much more recognizable than blue. I'm not planning on doing anything with this until the end of June so it will be awhile before this is updated again. However, with the way I update the website, it will prolly work into the next update. =) |
February 11, 2008
This set of costume obviously didn't get done in time for anything last year since I'm still working on them... I have plans for them this year though so hopefully these will be done by the end of July for ComicCon. So far, the only thing new that I've done is work on the scarves and find more new fabric for Romana's costume.
Bryan's scarf ended up dwarfing him. It was just too wide and too much scarf. Which does make sense, the scale is for a person over six feet tall so it might work out quite nicely for my brother if he was interested, but Bryan isn't quite that tall. So, new scarf! I didn't tear out the old one since it is basically done and I have a ton of yarn. I'm nearly done with this new scarf and I still have enough yarn left over for another scarf, with the exception of the purple. Right now, I'm hoping there is enough purple to finish this scarf.
So, the scarf was started at the end of October during the wild fires here. I was too nervous to work on anything else so knitting won. I also switched to using bamboo circular needles. These are so much lighter than those huge metal ones that I had been using and it's a lot easier to knit. A few progress pics...
Just a few rows left and then it's onto tucking in the ends. And finally finishing the tassles on the old one as well as this one.
As far as the Romana costume...
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Found yet another new shirt fabric... |
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And finished the scarf!
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June 1, 2008
I drafted out the jacket for Romana but instead of doing what I thought I should, I did something slightly different. So now I have to go back and do what I thought I should do. =P Someday I will learn to trust my instincts but until then, I need more muslin.
So the jacket needs some more work but the shirt muslin is good to go. At least it looks good so far but I want to see how it looks with the jacket before just going ahead with it. The pants needed a lot of work - that was expected. These are some pretty weird pants in comparison to the pants I normally make. The waistband extends above my natural waist and I normally make pants a couple inches below my waist. I'm not too concerned about it since they will be pretty much totally covered up by the jacket but I do tend to be a perfectionist so the second muslin is ready for a fitting. That will have to wait until later today - hopefully I can get it finished up before work.
Quick update -
The pants muslin is done! A few last tweaks that don't really affect much so they're ready to be cut out. That just leaves the jacket muslin and then I can get started with the sewing!
June 10, 2008
Yay!!! The muslins for Romana is done!!!! I'm ready to cut it all out and get to sewing!! I tried the jacket muslin 2.0 yesterday and while closer, still not good. The muslin part of a costume is my least favorite part most of the time and I was so ready to be done with it and then it wasn't done. I kinda threw a fit, balled it all up, and ignored it for the rest of the night.
In a much better mood today, I went back to work on it some more. Changed the dart slightly and changed the angle of the waist. Tried it on and all the problems from yesterday were gone. Crazy how small changes can make HUGE differences but I'm taking it. The waist is a bit low but that's easily fixed without another muslin so I'm good to get started for real!!! Not enough time to cut it out today before work so that will have to wait until tomorrow.
June 14, 2008
I have most of Romana's costume cut out. Of course, I'm waiting for some organza before I can finish the shirt and I can't get too far on the jacket until the shirt is done. That leaves just the pants. The silly ridiculous looking pants. Some progress is good, more would be better but what else is new.
June 15, 2008
The shirt just needs the sleeves set in and then I'm done! Well, as done as I can get until the organza comes in anyway. But only the front edge/neckline, hem, and closures will have to be done then so it will be mostly done once I finish the sleeves. I haven't quite decided what to do for the closures either. In some of the pics, it looks like the shirt just overlaps and there aren't any closures of any kind - especially in one pic... However, that cuts rather low then and I just don't trust the shirt to stay overlapped properly the entire day. Then again, the fabric is really quite sheer and modesty might dictate the necessity of a cami and then it really doesn't matter what the shirt does. =)
So, the progress pics (with the silly Abby petticoat just showing)...
All seams are French seams and the hem of the cuff is bound in the same fabric. Right now elastic is gathering it up and I'm not sure that I like that but it seems to be the best I can come up without making it crazy complicated. Trying to simplify the way I do things especially when they're items that will barely be seen. Of course, the neckline is anything but simple... Baby steps...
June 18, 2008
Started the embroidery for Romana. btw, it is a huge PITA! It's going to look great once it's done but matching it up so it looks continuous is such a horrid process. The worst part is that no one will see it. The embroidery is on the suspender things that are completely hidden under the jacket. But I am strangely compelled to do the embroidery anyway. Also, I kinda forgot that I ran out of bobbin thread so I can only do one more stitch out before I have to run out and get more thread. Can't wait to put in my needle order and then I can order a cone of bobbin thread instead of these silly little spools that I get here. 10000yd cone vs 500yd spool. Yeah, I like the cone.
June 20, 2008
Not much of an update but I'm excited! I have bobbin thread so I can continue the embroidery and the organza came in and actually matched my shirt fabric!! So now I can finish that up.
June 21, 2008
The silly embroidery that won't be seen except for the maybe grand total of five minutes that I won't be wearing the jacket is done! I did need a decent amount of the bobbin thread so it was needed - I love it when I buy something and then actually need it because I have very often bought something because I suspected I would need it and then didn't. The main thread color - slightly off-white - came from stash because I happened to have that color. And since I had the color, I didn't bother calculating out how much I needed like normal. Good thing I happened to have two spools because the first one was nearly gone after the first half. =)
The embroidery is an off-white and the centers of the flowers is a thread that matches the fabric just to break up the off-white a bit. It's not an exact pattern but close enough since I didn't want to hand embroider it. I already have one hand embroidery project that's taking forever.
The only problem is that my marker is not washing out like it normally does. I had finished a little bit of it earlier this week and sprayed out the markings and it looked fine. Came back tonight and saw that it wasn't quite gone. Sprayed it again and again and it's better but still not quite gone. Most of it will be cut off and it is very pale now. I've sprayed it yet again and hopefully it will be gone now but at the very least, it will wash out when I throw it in the washer rather than just using a spray bottle. Lesson learned - always check to see if the marker will go away on each and every fabric no matter how many times it's been used without a problem. =/ I'm just glad that it is coming out. I had visions of the stupid Kaylee sleeves all over again.
June 22, 2008
I managed to get the fly done and that's it. On the plus side, it turned out quite nicely. It can't be seen that well which is a good thing in my mind. Also there is a strange white-ish line going across the top. It kept appearing when I was taking the pics and I couldn't figure out what was going on until I sat down to edit them. It's the reflection from the iron. =P I'm too lazy to get the camera ready again though so it will stay like this.
And in really happy news, it looks like the marker is completely gone on my suspenders. Yay!
June 27, 2008
I managed to sew the contrast to each side of the suspenders before work so I took them to work to finish them up. Pinning it down always takes longer than I think it will and we had a meeting so I didn't have that much time to work on them. I still managed to get one side of one strip sewn down and started the other side. Shouldn't take too long to finish them up and then I'm back to the machine and things should go fairly quickly.
June 29, 2008
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Yup, the silliest pants I have ever made are done! No pics though because there really isn't a good way to take pics of pants unless they are being worn. I'm waiting until the shirt is done and then I can take a pic of everything but the jacket. =)
And the shirt is getting much closer to done. I have to finish pinning the binding around the front and then sew it down, finally set in those sleeves, and sew on a few snaps. That's all, so getting there. It did take much longer than expected (of course) but progress is progress. I should be able to start the jacket before I head off to work so while I haven't gotten nearly as far as I had hoped, at least some significant progress was made. Quick pic of the shirt...one side is pinned... |
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And I finished the suspenders yesterday! Well...except for clipping the threads in the embroidery...ooops...forgot about that...
June 30, 2008
Yesterday before work I managed to get the jacket body sewn together. Sounds kinda impressive but it's not. Now I have to figure out the pockets, lining, facing, binding, buttons, sleeves, and those cursed darts. I don't really like darts as a general rule but when I have to use them, I prefer to make a curved dart rather than a straight one. However, when I made a curved dart in the muslin, it looked horrible and the straight dart looked good. So I'm using a straight dart and I hate the way it looks so far. There's hope that it might look better once everything is put together. Otherwise, I'm changing it. Actually I've figured out how to make the jacket completely - except for a little bit of handsewing and the hem - and still be able to change those darts because I know I'm going to end up changing it. Stupid darts...
The shirt is going much better though. The neckline binding is completely done (slow-ish night at work so lots of sewing while watching Jeeves & Wooster) which leaves me with setting in the sleeves and sewing in a few snaps.
July 1, 2008
Romana's shirt is done!!
That is all.
July 4, 2008
Pic update!
The silly pants - bad pic but I'm not up to trying them on to get a better pic so this will have to do. And the shirt - with sleeves! And a closeup of the collar because I'm really happy with it despite it being horribly uneven. =P
| It doesn't look like much and I don't plan on wearing it closed like this but I felt the need to have pictorial evidence that I have in fact started the jacket. |
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July 10, 2008
I really do like to make things difficult for myself. I've really cut back on what I'm trying to do this year - by quite a bit actually - and there's still no chance of getting it all done because I have to make things all complicated. It takes virtually no time to whip up a jacket but not when you decide to try tailoring it properly. Why do I even get these things in my head? Who tailors a polyester jacket for a costume that will be worn once or twice?
*sigh*
Anyway, I started working on the jacket last weekend hoping that the long weekend would let me finish the jacket and start on Bryan's Doctor costume to match this one. It started off well enough. However, the book that I'm using to teach myself proper tailoring says that padstitching should be considerably smaller than what I did on my last jacket. Started in on that and one whole day later, I wasn't even half done with one side.
I finally finished the padstitching for one side last night at work and pinned it in place on the jacket. I was kinda hoping that it wouldn't make that much difference so I wouldn't have to do the other side. =) Of course, things didn't work out that way. It looks MUCH better with the padstitching. Now I have to decide if I want to do the jacket properly or be able to wear the Dr. Who costumes to ComicCon. Of course I want to wear it to ComicCon but I hate not doing things properly - it takes the fun out of sewing for me. Plus if I don't do it properly, I'll never like it very much. But it's so close!
July 17, 2008
The jacket is finally showing some progress! I finished padstitching the main part, got it basted into the jacket, and I have one lapel padstitched. I'll do the other lapel at work tonight and then I'll be ready to make the jacket really look like a jacket.
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Bryan's Doctor costume will have to wait until next year unfortunately. I could whip together something but I have such a gorgeous wool for that jacket that the very thought of 'whipping' something out of it brings about cringes of horror. If it were a poly, sure, no problems. But wool? Nope, I need to have time for that and while I am much faster at padstitching than I was, I'm not that fast. So, he will just have a shirt with a Dalek on it and it will be funny. Okay, it will be funny to me because I am easily amused.
July 22, 2008
Still working on Romana's jacket. I really hope that I'm doing all of the 'support' stuff now and the 'fashion' stuff will come together really quickly because it's not looking at all finished right now. I don't have any more padstitching to do (THANKFULLY!!) but still quite a bit of handwork and I haven't started the sleeves or the pockets. It will get done though. Sleep is totally overrated.
Jacket collar is next. Undercollar is in place and I just have to sew on the upper collar and I'll have a collar. And then binding and then it might look like a jacket. A sleeveless, pocketless, button/buttonholeless, unhemmed jacket but a jacket nonetheless. Okay, I'm going back to work now...
July 24, 2008
That jacket will get done!!!! Last night I even whipped up a bag (that would match my costume) so I could bring the jacket with me and work on it at the con. I'm completely breaking my rule but I want this costume done! It has sleeves now (the first pic is from yesterday) and I'm cutting out the pockets - two of the four won't actually be functional pockets so I'm cheating there but I think it's an acceptable cheat. And apparently I can't decide which way it should overlap... Anyway, back to the jacket since it will get done.
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