FOUNDATIONS REVEALED COMPETITION ENTRY
Feyre of the Night Court
Content Warning: Mentions Torture, Rape
(click images to to enlarge)
Outline the story …
The character I chose was Feyre, first female High Fae of the Night Court in Sarah J. Maas's Court of Thorns & Roses series. Over the course of the this series we follow Feyre- initially a human huntress and provider for her destitute family- as she is taken to a world of faeries, eventually becoming a proud member of their race and world. Feyre is one of the strongest female literary characters I've ever known; a huge part of why I chose her. The reader is confronted with countless examples of her strength as she grapples with and learns to cope/thrive in light of significant traumas (death of her mother, imprisonment, rape, torture, just to name a few). Having experienced similar trauma myself, I found myself relating to her and resonating with her evolution, as I too have been forced to undergo similar healing and learning to live/be proud of who I am. All this to say, I wanted my costume to reflect her character's strength, elegance, and and her willingness to be vulnerable, sensitive, and delicate, as she learns that loving her broken self is simply another form of strength. To make this reality, I chose a knit fabric to represent her chosen home of the Night Court, where stars and dark blue are deeply symbolic. The breastplate and woven scales represent her huntress past, with the base collar and shoulder pads I sewed from cabbage represent her humble upbringing and rising from the ashes.
Outline the construction…
I learned SO much in this 5 month long project! Although I had made some garments (skirts- super simple items with a few seams), and knew how to read patterns, but I had NEVER drafted my own pattern, attempted sleeves, or draped a garment before. To make my vision realty, I knew my end costume would involve learning these skills, as well as learning to weave scale mail and feathers into fabric. Additionally, I knew that all of this would have to happen over a long period of time, as I have a chronic tremor in my hands that make delicate work such as sewing (this garment is entirely hand-sewn) and weaving scale mail extremely difficult The mail alone took me 40 hours to complete, as my tremor would cause me to drop the scales, jump rings, etc and have to start over. I learned to make a kirtle pattern using Morgan Donner’s tutorials, learned the value/practice of mock-ups, how to make and alter sleeve patterns from the Foundations Revealed videos released in the fall, and even how to make shoulder pads from cabbage using Wearing History’s videos. I learned how to make scale mail using AlisinChainMail’s instructions, and taught myself how to make “feather fabric” for the pauldrons, all while trying to control my hands. As someone who lives with anxiety and MDD, I also had to learn when to put the project down and step away; something I am NOT good at! This project taught me so much!
You look ready to take on Hybern! Fantastic job!
FEYYYREEE!!! I love the “Court of Feelings and Tears” series so much! I love the swirls that remind me on Rhysands/Feyres tattoos, the scales to show her strength and the feathers that I felt represented how Feyre grew and triumphed over her traumas. Great job!!
This book series is amazing and your depiction is awesome
Love those shoulders ❤
Gorgeous !
Oh my….this is simply beautiful! very well done. Thank you!