This is the homepage of Nancy Hootman's sewing business. Photos posted on here are examples of my pa
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One of my friends is a manager at the Animal Welfare League in Port Charlotte, FL. They are having a Fairy Tale Endings fundraiser tonight, so I had my daughter send her the Cinderella costume I made for her last year. Shipping was an odyssey, as those of you who are friends on my personal page know, but it made it - with less than 4 hours to spare!
It’s ALMOST recognizable as a garment! That yoke is only basted in, because there’s a b***d lining that has to be attached before the final seam. So obviously the seam hasn’t been trimmed or pressed, so it looks a little uneven
Despite a valiant defense by the sequins, I managed to attach sleeves to yoke. Oof. We’re all exhausted.
Sequins 2..sewing machine 0..,
Ouch
I started working on Elsa again today - made the bodice yoke and one of the sleeves, which does NOT sound like a lot of work for a 3 1/2 hour shift. But Whoo Bo, is this fabric labor intensive! (I wonder how you say laborious in Arendellese?). But JUST LOOK AT IT!
My scissors and sewing machine will probably never forgive me, and I'm pretty sure my vacuum wants to have a word.
Look what I found in our hospice resale shop!!!!
The other day my daughter sent me a message that said "you gotta make a Madame X dress at some point" and now I can't stop thinking about it.
'Cause you know, there's nothing illogical about making a black velvet formal evening gown in the era of no social gatherings 🙄
Ok, what do you all think? Will this shape work for Elsa? I wanted to make the front a little fuller than in the film, for ease of walking (and fitting). Is it too full?
The back should be fine, as there are several scenes in which the back of her dress billows out like this. I just want to make sure that the front isn’t so full that it’s unrecognizable.
The P.O. just deducted several years from my life. I mailed a package to Amanda's P.O. box last week with both the Anna and Ann Boleyn costumes in it, and according to the online tracking, it was delivered to a package locker on Monday. She went yesterday to pick it up, and there was NOTHING in her P.O. box. No note, nothing. I spent the night fretting that the package was lost, and I'd gone to all that work and expense for nothing.
She went back today, and there was a key to a locker in her P.O. box. It took them 5 days to put a key in her box!
😐
When a bedroom is 65% sewing studio, 25% photographer’s storage unit, and 10% bedroom, this is about as uncluttered as it’s going to get🤷♀️
Ann Boleyn(ish) is done! AND Roger agreed to set up his camera equipment and take a couple of good photos for me, of that AND the Anna costume - whoo!
Funny that my last two costumes were queens named Ann or a version thereof, huh? One real, one fictional. I wonder if there's a mythical queen Ann out there? That would complete the set.
ANYWAY - here they are!
Ann Boleyn(ish) update: I pinned up the hem before work this morning. Once I sew the hem (still trying to decide whether to do that by hand or not) she'll be done, except for pressing. I ordered the velvet online, and it arrived pretty creased, so pressing should be fun.
Last week I found two partial spools of grey thread that exactly matched the velvet, so I used those for the eyelets and to whipstitch the trim to the neckline. This is what was left when I finished! I was keeping all 20 fingers and toes crossed towards the end🙂
Also- here’s my cat “helping” me sew on that trim.
Construction is done. Now on to the eyelets for the back closure, and the hem
And we’ve got the beginnings of a gown🙂. Starting on The Sleeves after lunch.
Bought the sleeve lining fabric today. Black velvet with red and gold (shiny gold!) embroidery. If I can pull thus off it will be so beautiful!
Ann's undergarments. Amanda wants a red underskirt, and I debated with myself for DAYS AND DAYS over whether or not to make it using the chemise pattern included in the undergarments patterns. Practicality won out, though. Chemises are basically just granny nightgowns, so she'd probably never be able to wear it again. A red taffeta skirt can conceivably be used for other things, though, so that's what I did.
I used the skirt piece from the gown pattern for the underskirt, to make sure I didn't accidentally make it to wide for the gown to fit over, and then gathered it into a waistband stiffened with duck cloth instead of interfacing.
Bum roll. I probably should have stuffed it a little more firmly, but it will do. And how great is that fabric? I found it in my stash!
I realized (while I was asleep, I think) that the bum roll I've been thinking I HAVE to make is actually not period accurate. From everything I can find, bum rolls became a thing during the late Tudor period, at least 40 years after Ann Boleyn.
Ah well, I've got the pieces cut out - I might as well make it. She'll have it in case she needs it in the future :-)
Whelp, I received the fabric swatches - neither of those would work, but I found a fabric that will, at a crazy low price. And I received both patterns, BUT....I decided I really need to make the undergarments for one of them, so I had to order THAT pattern, too. That one is out for delivery, so I'm hoping to go to JoAnn's this weekend to buy the fabric I'll need for that.
So, the two costumes I'm going to be making are:
Elsa, which is the next one in my Princess Amanda series, and for which I already have some GORGEOUS fabric. That has to wait, though, because...
Ann Boleyn. Amanda wants me to make an Ann Boleyn ex*****on dress (similar to the one in the Wolf Hall film) for a Halloween video she's planning. Not going to lie, I'm a little nervous about this one. It's been years since I made anything even vaguely historical, and the patterns I ordered are designed to be historically accurate. But the pattern pieces in the gown pattern seem to be fairly standard shapes, so I'm going to stay positive. BESIDES! Since she's not wearing it for any kind of reenactment, it only needs to appear fairly accurate.
I have two different costumes I need to make, but I'm waiting for fabric swatches for one of them, and patterns for both of them. So in the meantime, I'm just being lazy :-)
I made this costume for Amanda in 2007. Proof that costumes will hold up better if you use good fabrics, not costume fabrics. You get what you pay for.
https://twitter.com/hoot_little/status/1416643552910532612?s=20
“Cat Person, colorized, 2019.”
Ok, I need opinions, please! Should I add some of the gold bias trim to the top of the modesty panel? The top of the panel is just slightly lower than the top of the actual bodice, so I can't decide whether adding the gold would make it look better or not.
I think I'm going to buy some different cording - satin, hopefully, and definitely longer. This is a remnant I had on hand, and it's not QUITE long enough - I couldn't loosen the lacing enough to get it on over the shoulders without having it come out of the bottom two sets of eyelets. That would be a pain in the neck to put on/take off.
Princess Anna Prototype🙂
I'm going to try to convince Roger to take some good photos, but in the meantime these will do.
There definitely were some errors made in this one, because, well, prototype. Still, I'm pretty proud of it, all things considered.
Anna's done! As soon as I iron her (and figure out how to make my dress form stand upright) I'll take some photos. :-)
Hey! Anna's almost done! It's all finishing work now - eyelets for the bodice back; hem and hooks and eyes for the skirt. And ironing.....lots and lots of ironing.
Ok, I think this will work. It’s so hard to tell without arms in there🙂. I may have to break down and buy a mannequin one of these days. The dress form just doesn’t cut it for the sleeves on Belle, Anna, or Merida.
Speaking of the dress form. ARGH. Look at that thing. I bought it this past fall, and it already won’t stand up straight. It’s almost as if the opening in the base is too big for the pole. Those things aren’t cheap!
Annnd… the embroidered velvet bodice is now assembled. I have to figure out those weird draped “sleeves “ and baste them in place, before I can attach the bodice to the lining/interlining section.
Fort Myers, FL
33913
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