Posts

Showing posts from April, 2013

The Sorcerer: The Mothers

Image
    The Sorcerer Lady Sangazure, Mrs. Partlet, Villager Mother Completed March 2013 Items made: Jackets The Sorcerer is Gilbert & Sullivan operetta written in 1877.  The great thing about G&S operettas is that they're quick, quirky, and fun!  It's pretty much the SNL of opera.   For this show, we (the costume designer and I) went kind of Victorian but not completely and set it in the Spring so lots of color!   So the fun bit about the Mothers in this show is that one of them was double cast -- meaning that there were two actresses playing Mrs. Partlet.  So when an actress wasn't playing Mrs. Partlet, she had to be in a different costume.  But that's not the fun bit.  The fun bit was that one of the Mrs. Partlets got sick the week the show opened and never performed.  So one of the costumes I made (The Village Mother) never got worn.   With the women playing the mothers, we wanted them to stand out visually from the maidens

The Sorcerer: The Sorcerer's Apprentice

Image
The Sorcerer The Sorcerer's Apprentice Completed March 2013 Items made: Coat, Skirt The Sorcerer is Gilbert & Sullivan operetta written in 1877.  The great thing about G&S operettas is that they're quick, quirky, and fun!  It's pretty much the SNL of opera.   For this show, we (the costume designer and I) went kind of Victorian but not completely and set it in the Spring so lots of color!   This particular character isn't actually in the script, but was added by the director.  Basically I had a sewing pattern for a Steampunk costume that I hadn't made, and since the show was set sort of Victorian and since this character was an eccentric, magicky type, we went with it.  (By the way the pattern is Simplicity 2172 ).  This was everyone's favorite costume from the show. For fabrics we went bold, bright red to really make her and the Sorcerer stand out from the other characters.   The jacket is done in velvet floc

The Sorcerer: Aline

Image
The Sorcerer Aline Completed March 2013 Items made: Bodice The Sorcerer is Gilbert & Sullivan operetta written in 1877.  The great thing about G&S operettas is that they're quick, quirky, and fun!  It's pretty much the SNL of opera.   For this one, we (the costume designer and I) went kind of Victorian but not completely and set it in the Spring so lots of color!   Aline is the lead female role and it's her wedding day, so for fabrics we went with a white cotton embroidered with orange, green and pink polka dots.  Then we layered a floral embroidered chiffon over it.  The bodice is a 6 panel bodice with princess seams and a scoop neck, puffy sleeves with banded cuffs.  We called it the wedding cake dress because it reminded us of one.    

The Three Musketeers: Capes

Image
  The Three Musketeers Capes Created November 2012 See all of the capes in this picture.  I made ALL of them.  They weren't hard, there were just so many... Thirteen in total... I think. The Reds are made from twill microsuede with satin jacquard crosses on the fronts and backs.  The pattern called for these capes to be lined, but lining wasn't in the budget so all of the raw edges has to have rolled hems.  Seriously, that's what took the longest... oh... and cutting out crosses -- which are just heat and bonded to the fabric.   The Blue cape is the one the Musketeers give to D'Artagnan at the end of the show... when good ole' Darty becomes an official Musketeer.  The sad thing, it's only on stage for 5 minutes, but it's kind of a showpiece so it had to be special.  So it's made from blue velvet with gold sateen lining.  The cross is the same as the Reds -- white satin jacquard -- which was appliqued on.

Renaissance: Green Doublet

Image
Renaissance Green Doublet Created: July 2012  Another use of Simplicity pattern 4059.  This time I combined the button down doublet with the tabbed peplum from the laced doublet.  The fabric is a beautiful green jacquard.   

You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown!: Snoopy

Image
You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown! Snoopy Completed Sept. 2010       Items Made: Hoodie, Cargo Pants.   This was made for a theater production of the musical You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown! which is based on the Peanuts comic strip. The character of Snoopy is typically conceptualized in modern dress that's representative of the character rather than using a dog costume. Here, the hoodie was made from a white curly chenille with Snoopy's signature markings done with the same fabric in black. The trousers were done in twill microsuede with black top-stitching and black patches.