Tale as old as time...

I haven't updated my blog in a while, because I've been busy with a project. I know, I know, I should have been documenting it as I was working on it, but I was under a bit of a deadline, inspiration was bombarding me, so there was no time for eloquent commentary! So, I'm posting this after the fact ;).

We decided to attend a Halloween party this year, as opposed to our usual staying home and decorating the garage. I was hoping a friend of ours would attend with us, and I had an idea for the two of us - Cinderella and Belle meet Scarlet and Giselle (Scarlet and Giselle are the two 'working girls' from Pirates of the Caribbean) ...form your own opinions of what this might have looked like ;)

...but unfortunately, she had out of town plans for that evening, so I switched gears and decided to do Beauty and the Beast (my husband loves it when I drag him into my delusions!). I had three weeks in which to pull this off, in addition to everything else I have to take care of in my daily life...late nights were a given.

For inspiration, I scoured the Internet for pictures/videos of the Broadway production, as well as the animated motion picture. I decided to opt for a shorter version of Belle's dress, as opposed to the full ball gown. This allowed me to save money on fabric and save on time. Several months before, I had purchased some yellow fabric...actually a couple of different yellow fabrics with different textures. At the time, I didn't have anything in mind to make with them. I just liked them and knew I would find a use for them in the future. They worked out perfectly in my Belle dress.

For the Beast's outfit, I used this photo as inspiration:



I really liked the embroidery on the sleeves and tail of the coat, but not having an embroidery machine and no time to hand embroider all of that, I cheated - I bought bridal appliques that had beading, pearls and roses (fitting in with the Beauty and the Beast rose theme) and hand sewed them to the sleeves and tail of the coat. It was still time consuming, but a lot less than the other option.

For the vest, I used leftover fabric from the sofa I reupholstered in the beginning of my blog! It worked wonderfully! I modified Butterick pattern B3648 for the coat.

For Belle's dress, I used a combination of Simplicity pattern 5724 for the top and 3618 for the skirt.

The bodice has spring steel boning inside and laces up the back. I had to hand stitch all the eyelets in the back for the lacing. There were about 20 eyelets on both sides! You can see them a little bit on the sides of this picture.

I finally finished up all the little details on Friday, the 26th (our party was on the 27th). I made a tail for the Beast, although you can't see it in any of the pictures (I forgot to have him turn around ;), tacking on the ribbon roses on the swags on the skirt. The only store-bought details I got were a wig for the Beast, shoes for Belle, which I embellished with ribbon roses to match the swags on the skirt, Beast hands and Beast make-up (which was actually werewolf makeup). The final touch was the "purse"...I made it from a birdhouse gourd, covered with fabric inside and out and made to look like Mrs. Potts from the animated Disney film. When people at the party realized what it was, they were amazed because you can actually put things in it. The little cup (which is Chip from the film) I had made by painting a little kid's plastic teacup and attached him to the side of the teapot.

Whew! Finally done! The big day arrived...I did my husband's makeup...it was the first time I had done it, and I think it came out pretty good! I figured...how hard can it be, it's like painting, only on someone's face ;), and here is the finished product:

Oh, and...we won first prize!!

Crocheted Baby Sweater

A couple of young ladies I know both had baby girls this past month, within days of each other. Annabelle Lee, who was a first born, and Violet, who joins her big sister, Honey Rose. I wanted to make something for them rather than purchasing something. I always find it more personal that way. I decided on sweaters... something that I could make up fairly quickly. I found a cute crocheted sweater pattern here:
http://www.crochetme.com/Feb_Mar_2005/patt_baby_sweater.html

I wanted to make them in colors and yarns that weren't the traditional "pink" baby weight yarn, so I chose Lion Brand Homespun in violet for, of course, Violet...and I chose a varigated blue, purple, green version for Annabelle. I then bought some contrasting Fun Fur to use around the neckline, sleeve cuffs and down the front. Here is the finished one for Violet. I'll probably make some sort of matching hat as well. This is a really easy sweater to crochet, and makes up fairly fast. It only took me two evenings of working on it for a few hours while watching movies.

I figured I would make larger sizes, since babies tend to grow so fast, and that way they will have something to wear in the colder weather.

Reupholstering a Loveseat continued

Well, I've been spending most of my spare time trying to get this loveseat done. After getting the deck attached, I then did the inside arms and outside arms. I ended up using a tack strip, which is a piece of strong cardboard with tacks already attached to it. This goes up under the curved arm piece, allowing you to "seamlessly" attach the outside arm fabric. Then I put on the inside back piece. This was a little tricky, as I had also added some fresh padding to the back and had to really pull and stretch the fabric to get it to lie smoothly over the new padding.

After I got the inside and outside arms and inside back done, it was time to put the outside back on. I was a little nervous about this part and with good reason...there is an aluminum tack strip that has to be stapled/nailed all along the edges of the back, and piping (or in my case I used a rope trim) needs to be stapled on as well.

You then have to fold the edges of the fabric piece over one side of this aluminum stip and then press/hammer that down, sandwiching the fabric between it so that the back is attached and no raw edges of fabric are showing.

I was able to salvage and use the strip that was already on the loveseat, so I didn't have to buy a new one. The hardest part was getting it smooth, and making sure there weren't any puckers, especially at the top, where there were these little "tab" shapes on each side. I'm pretty satisfied with the way it turned out, although it's not as smooth as I would have liked it.

Once I got the back on, I just had to finish up some of the "trimming", like adding piping along the bottom edge, recovering and nailing on the arm fasciae (those are the curved, decorative pieces that hide the staples/nails on the front of the arms), and covering a new seat cushion. I really hated doing those fasciae! They are made of several layers of cardboard (so they can curve), to which I had to not only staple padding and the new fabric cover, but also an edging of piping. I improvised on the piping and used some thin, nylon rope that we had lying around in the garage as the filling for the piping. It turned out really nicely! Then trying to nail the fascia onto the arms without marking or damaging the fabric, and getting it on straight was a nightmare! I had to nail them on and take them off two or three times in an attempt to get them on straight. I'm not 100% happy with how it finally turned out, but I didn't want to make the attempt too many times and mess it up even more. As it was, I had to totally recover one of them after ripping a small hole in the fabric from a nail.

I thought covering the cushion would be pretty straight forward, and it was for the most part; however, putting in the zipper properly was a bit of a challenge...not so much putting IN the zipper, as I have done that numerous times in clothing, but the exact placement of it, and the fact that the top and bottom have to be "closed", unlike in clothing where the top is "open". My main concern was if the cover would fit the cushion snugly with the measurements I took. It did, although I think it could be a little tighter, as it has a tendency to wrinkle slightly when someone sits on it. I may take the padding out and take in the seams a bit to make it fit more snugly. Well, here is the finished product. Not too bad for my first one. Of course there are a few things here and there that I'm not entirely satisfied with, but I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist. All and all, I'm happy with it and best of all, no cover to have to mess with!

Reupholstering a Loveseat

This cute little loveseat was going to be thrown away by my neighbors, but seeing the potential in it, I rescued it. I have been meaning to reupholster it for the last...oh, five years...but never had the guts to actually start taking it apart, for fear I couldn't put it back together. Well, about two weeks ago, I decided to take the plunge and started pulling off staples and carefully peeling away old fabric. I think whoever built the loveseat either had stock in staples, or just liked the cha-chink sound of the staple gun...either way, it took me about a week to pull out all the staples! I took pictures every time I took something apart.

The original fabric I chose to reupholster it in was a real bargain at $5.00 a yard! I really liked the neutral colors and the slight hint of sage green, which matched the green of my family room walls. Unfortunately, since it was bargain fabric, there was only a total of about 5 yards of it. I bought it anyway, hoping I would have enough...but I didn't. However, if I am successful with this loveseat, I have a chair I'm going to try next, so the fabric won't go to waste. I ended up having to purchase 10 yards of a different fabric. I went for a purely neutral color...in case I ever put it in a different room, or paint the family room a different color. I can always dress it up with colored and textured pillows.

I picked up an upholstery book in Barnes and Noble..."Simply Upholstery" by Sunset Books. It is very well illustrated and has photos as well, taking you step-by-step in taking apart and putting back together a wing back chair. This book, along with the pictures I took when taking apart the loveseat, should be a big help when I put the new fabric on. I have never done this before, and have taken no classes, so this should be a bit of an adventure! I do have to say, though, that taking apart a piece of furniture does allow you to see how it is constructed, and it is mostly "common sense" in how the fabric is applied to the frame. It's not quite as scary as it sounds.

The stain on the legs was scratched and rubbed off in a few spots, so I got out the trusty Dremel and sanded them down to the bare wood. I then restained them a slightly lighter color. Today, I began "reconstructing" the loveseat. I began with the "deck and lip" cover...so far, so good.