Wore Shepard at Fanime today :) Overall I’m very happy with it! I could always nitpick it, but that’s the case with any costume.

It may be a while before I get any glamour shots taken/posted, so these will have to do for now.

Front detail work tonight, need to buy another thing of bias tape after work tomorrow :)

I had to sew the sleeves shut after opening them up to satin-stitch the forearm detail, and holy crap I forgot how quick a sewing machine can be. Have I mentioned how much I love sewing machines?

No costume is complete without a shouting match with the sewing machine. This time it was pretty much my fault. I have found satin stitching to be pretty sensitive with regards to how much thread is on the bobbin, and when it was getting low the top thread wasn’t catching with the bottom. Thus, shouting match.

I’m not the happiest with the stitching I’ve done. I have a half a mind to go over some of the white a second time, but I’m honestly not sure I’ll have the time. I still need to match and install the lining, in addition to buttons/snaps/closing items and the front design piece.

Sleep beckons so I can get to work and not be dead tired… not gonna lie, I’m really really tempted to take an extra day off (if they let me) so I can be happy with this costume and still have time to pack.

Oh yeah, the plastic ring that keeps my dress form up cracked so I have to put it up on a table or chair -shrug-

I have watched so much Buffy today, you have no idea…

I love weekends! No progress yesterday/Friday due to getting a haircut (yes, I’m going to match my first-run fem!Shep :) ) and seeing The Avengers a second time in IMAX/3D. Definitely recommend IMAX, don’t recommend 3D.

I’ve been pretty happy with the appliqué process so far, although I’ve forgotten about how long satin stitching takes… the back-and-forth movement of the needle is a bit hypnotizing and I can’t afford to lose focus. The back piece is a bit less than half ironed-on, and while I was a bit worried about the side wing things, I think they’ll turn out okay.

I still have a lot to do, but assuming I don’t get a later start tomorrow (like I did today), I should be in good shape to getting this done :)

I’m hitting that point in this costume where I start to lose confidence. Not that I won’t get it done, but that I won’t be happy with it when I am.

There are two (maybe three) techniques I’m considering to add the giant color panels: actually seam it in (the top two, and if there’s a word for this, please tell me) or cleaning up the edges and sewing it directly on (the bottom two). The former option could get very complicated very quickly, but has a better result. The latter will essentially add layers upon layers and won’t be nearly as clean visually, and since the jacket is already going to be lined… well, let’s just say this is going to be a very warm costume. The third kind-of technique would be to just use heat-and-bond to get it all on, but I’d be worried about making sure the edges were clean… I may use a combination of the second technique and heat-and-bond…

Scratch the nerves, I think I’ve figured it out! All I need to do is buy copious amounts of heat-and-bond. I can have my clean seams, but I’ll still be pretty warm, which I think I’l be fine with if it looks good. I need to make some test panels (like what is pictured) to be sure, but yay!

Another lovely challenge for myself: since I want to have it shaped to fit my body properly, I have the lovely bit of making flat cloth fit a curved pattern. It’ll be easier than fitting paper because cloth can actually stretch and move, but that doesn’t mean I’m not nervous about actually getting everything installed.

Still need to buy/mod pants (I need a nice new dress-pair anyway) and find/buy a skin tight black shirt, maybe Under Armor to help keep cool.

Sorry about the excessive amount of typing today, thanks for sticking with it if you made it this far :)