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craft log

page for random stuff i make





nail set

tags: beauty, 0324



not really considered "crafts" by any means but it's something i made with my hands so...
a nail set i did for E •ᴗ• undid all of the work i put in at physical therapy in one go as my shoulder and back really deteriorated after this. we restarted aot from ep 1 and we were done by ep 8. whew



work team stickers

tags: design



some vinyl stickers i made for me and my coworker for her christmas present. i also got her a snow peak bag but it was all lovingly lost in the mail. go usps! censored out workplace + team name



maid dress

tags: sewing

since i was in high school it had been my dream to create a fluffy ruffly bunny maid cosplay that would fulfill my desire to feel like a poof. i took on this challenge in 2022 asking my good friend to be my maid partner for my first anime con in like.. a decade. spoiler: it was a total failure and tbh i'd write about it but even thinking about it sends me into some kind of spiral (which sounds like a hugely dramatic reaction for some costumes that didn't turn out to my liking but i have my reasons, OK)

some reference images:



realizing now that the end result didn't even come looking remotely close to any of these :l

the design i came up with:



i didn't want it to feel too 'tacky' so i descided to go for an all white look! the challenge then was finding the right fabric for a good price. i really wanted to do one plain white cotton for the entire thing, from dress to apron but my friend disagreed. we purchased a dual sided fabric with a sheen one side and plain cotton on the other. for the apron, we bought white tulle.

a rough breakdown of the steps:

1. finding/drafting patterns for the:
- sleeves, bodice, collar
2. started with the bodice. i should have finished the bodice before i moved onto anything else but i get antsy forcing an order
3. cut out skirt
4. sewed collar and sleeves ; attached them to bodice
5. attached skirt + bodice
6. put in zipper
7. created fabric apron
8. created tulle apron



i was using this mannequin my mom purchased for her business… i'd still love to have a bodyform one day because i like pinning and revising drafts that way much more and it would actually encourage me to draft patterns to fit me (excuses, excuses!!!)




anyway some notes:

- i don't think it needed the tulle apron as it ruined the silhouette further (though that was on me for misjudging how poofy the ruffles would be at the top)
- tulle is a very hard fabric to work with
- i NEED to start drafting patterns to fit me
- if it looks too short that's because it (intentionally) is; there were bloomers to go with the outfit
- we decided to axe the animal ears last minute :(
- i didn't add ruffles to bottom of skirt (i should have)



(the closest picture i have of it done)


mistakes i made:

- i lined the dress. it turns out i did not need to
- i didn't hem the skirt (could not be assed)
- did not redraft any of the patterns i used to make sure it fit me
- i wish the dress used the cotton side
- didn't use the right petti for the line of skirt
- the silhouette of the skirt was so, so bad
- couldn't control the overall shape and size of the ruffles

all in all i really hated the end result but it gave me exactly what i needed: the inspiration/motivation to keep sewing! i had the realization that as a basis i do have the ability to make things and it's really fun! i ran out of time in 2022 to really make anything more but i am hoping that i can make a couple of daily garments for myself to wear in 2023. and maybe one day i will re-tackle this costume again.



bonus: some poorly quickly edited rakka photos. i think my friend's reki cosplay turned out a lot better than my rakka but i don't want to upload without her consent!