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Dr Jekyll & Edwina Hyde

stitch-1

SUBMITTED BY:

Zoe Axford-Whitaker

LINKS:

(click images to to enlarge)

Other Credits

Model Harley Axford-Whitaker

Outline the story …

Entry inspired by Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. I've wanted to take part for a few years now and am always to busy. I decide last year while my business is struggling with the pandemic that i would do things i wouldn't normally have time for, like taking part in shoots, challenges and competitions.
At first i wanted to do something based on Dracula or Frankenstein but i kept thinking male or female, i spent a good few days not knowing what to do, should i do a male character but change it to female or visa versa, i thought i still want to do both but knew i couldn't enter twice, then i thought about doing half and half, i needed a character with a split personality. I then thought Jekyll and Hyde, i decided to jist concentrate on the split personality not the fact that Hyde was depicted as evil and that is when Dr Jekyll & Edwina Hyde was born. My Daughter loves drag queens and is always showing me them in and out of drag and doing her makeup like her favourites, I told her my plan and drew up a quick sketch to show her on the back of an envelope that I had lying around, she agreed to be my model (I have since learned trying to do fittings on a 14 year old that can't stand still is like fitting clothes to a chimpanzee)

Outline the construction…

Once I decided on my character I had to make sure I had enough fabrics in to make what i wanted being as the shops are all shut and I couldn't really afford to put any money into it. I knew i had some pinstripe somewhere but wasn't sure on how much and i had some gorgeous rainbow satin and some black lace left over from previous makes.
I had a few patterns that I'd made previously for customers that where of similar size to Harley so i got them out and altered them to what I wanted. I made the corset first originally I was just going to make half in the real fabric and half in calico as it was being covered by the waistcoat but Harley mentioned she would like to keep it so i made a full one and hand stitched all the lace on. I then made what I call the trouskirt and i feel they worked well (although a little draughty on the skirt side as the splits so high) The half waistcoat set me a challenge as i didn't want the back to cave in so I ended up putting boning into it. I wanted the jacket to be half tailcoat half ladies riding jacket and i needed to make sure they flowed into one another nicely. I wanted someone to cover the photo one side and see a man and then the other and see a woman.

COMMENTS

Divider_GoldMoth

28 Comments

  1. Avatar Maeri Certo on March 11, 2021 at 6:57 pm

    I love this! Great colors, shapes, etc… and I love your description of your fidgety teenager. Another fun character for a split like this is Mistress Split in one of Jeanette Winterson’s books. Half the character is male, the other half female, and set in a loose Elizabethan period, with half and half clothes described by the author. It’s a fun thing to picture and you did a great job designing the half and half!

    • Avatar Zoe on March 15, 2021 at 9:20 am

      Thankyou for your comment.
      I’ve not heard of mistress split, i shall have to see if i can find the book your talking of xx

  2. Avatar Elowen Blackthorn on March 12, 2021 at 12:14 am

    Wow, this is amazing! So creative! I’m a huge fan of drag also and noticed the draggy undertones straight away! I fit my dress on a six-year-old so I empathise with fitting a 14-year-old! At least I could bribe mine with cartoons and candy!

    • Avatar Zoe on March 15, 2021 at 9:22 am

      Thankyou for your comment.
      Gosh i don’t envy you doing a fitting on a six year old, kids are so wriggly x

  3. Avatar Aimee - Lady Hilda on March 12, 2021 at 7:24 am

    Brilliant, this is so clever. ‘Like fitting clothes to a chimpanzee’ had me giggling. 😁

    • Avatar Sammyra on March 12, 2021 at 6:36 pm

      this is such a cool idea ♡ the colours give it a fantastic pop alongside the black of the outerlayers. fantastic job ♡♡♡

      • Avatar Zoe Axford-Whitaker on March 15, 2021 at 9:36 am

        Thankyou, i really appreciate it, sorry i seem to have replied to someone else’s comment and it posted several times under your comment x

    • Avatar Zoe on March 15, 2021 at 9:24 am

      Thank you, i really appreciate it.
      I don’t know where my daughter gets her energy from, i wish she’d give a bit to me x

    • Avatar Zoe on March 15, 2021 at 9:26 am

      Thank you, i really appreciate it.
      I don’t know where my daughter gets her energy from, i wish she’d give a bit to me x

    • Avatar Zoe Axford-Whitaker on March 15, 2021 at 9:27 am

      Thank you, i really appreciate it.
      I don’t know where my daughter gets her energy from, i wish she’d give a bit to me x

  4. Avatar Laura Wemyss on March 12, 2021 at 8:49 pm

    A great interpretation of your chosen story! And a seamless construction (figuratively, not literally, obviously). Your solution to the potential crumpling of the half-waistcoat looks immaculate. Very nicely done.

  5. Avatar Amanda on March 13, 2021 at 12:52 am

    What a cool idea! I love the rainbow ombre corset, it’s very striking.

  6. Avatar Carly Van Groeningen on March 13, 2021 at 9:48 am

    What a great concept, and so wonderfully executed!

  7. Avatar Stanislava Pilkova on March 13, 2021 at 9:07 pm

    Drag Edwina, so cool and the back of the tailcoat/riding jacket is *chef´s kiss*

  8. Kayren McKnight Kayren McKnight on March 14, 2021 at 7:00 pm

    so creative!

  9. Avatar Zoe Axford-Whitaker on March 15, 2021 at 9:31 am

    Thank you everyone, all your comments are much appreciated, i tried to reply to all but some of my comments have end up under the wrong comment, I’m not good at technology

  10. Avatar Rebecca on March 16, 2021 at 5:26 am

    this is great! each half looks so crisp! particularly that shot from the back, where the bow looks like it was laser-cut in half– it dosn’t look tacked in place. tricky! and that’s just one example. the look is great, your daughter looks great, and comfortable in her clothes, which is another trick. good luck from icarus!

  11. Avatar Kikkii von Fustian on March 21, 2021 at 3:21 pm

    This is super cool! This gemini loves half’n’half looks, lol. I legit want the femme tailcoat, so gorgeous!

  12. Avatar Suzanne Egan on March 23, 2021 at 3:39 am

    This is a really clever combination of the two characters and you have pulled it off with style and elegance! Well done! Also glad to hear the corset will get a second life!

  13. Avatar Giorgio Ronchi on March 27, 2021 at 4:26 pm

    I love it, great idea and well done.

  14. Avatar Lizzie Blake on April 1, 2021 at 8:50 pm

    This is an amazing interpretation of Dr Jekyl & Mr Hyde! I love it

  15. Avatar Sana on April 6, 2021 at 4:40 am

    This is just beautiful. Amazing work!!!

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