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The Fairy Godmother
(click images to to enlarge)
Outline the story …
Bella is a character in Mercedes Lackey's The Fairy Godmother. In the book fairy tales happen because of "The Tradition." It surrounds people who fit archetypes. The protagonist is a "Cinderella" with evil stepfamily, but the prince in her kingdom is a small child. Because it's impossible for her to get a happily ever after, she ends up getting taken as an apprentice of Bella. The origin story for godmothers is they use the magic that has built up around them and the tradition to help other people live happily ever after.
Bella is described as gaudy. She has a very dear friend named Sergei who happens to be *the* little humpback horse. This tells me is that Bella spent time in a place similar to Russia. One of her greatest concerns would be keeping warm in Siberia, so I made a winter coat and an enchanted cloak. In Bella's house is a plush carpet of flowers. That made me think about the Russian tradition of putting carpets vertically on walls. Then I got thinking about the Soviet trend painting the floor to look like carpets. So that's why painted flowers on an enchanted cloak carpet.
The style of the coat I wanted "Imperial Army" without being literal. The embroidery ties the in with the cloak while referencing Russian embroidery on black fabric.
The dress I made a couple years ago to wear to the Russian ballet, so I felt it tied with the theme and Bella's style.
Outline the construction…
Dress: Made of dupioni silk using Vogue pattern 1043, based off an original design from 1953.
The coat is a wool blend, and the trim is upholstery fabric, the collar is lined with recycled faux fur, and the lining is flannel. I adapted Burda pattern 7565.
The cloak is a faux fur fused with faux suede, and I adapted Burda 2566.
The challenges faced were many. The coat features my first ever welt pockets, and the 4 fabrics for the coat needing some coaxing to play nicely together. The wool would not hold a press, so every seam has been "pressed" open and top stitched on both sides of the seam. Time was a significant factor, as we were in lockdown for much of it's creation and I ended up having to school my children at home. In addition to that, I had to wait until it was no longer -40 to properly photograph it. Also, we recently moved to a much smaller town with no fabric store, so I was limited to fabrics and notions I already owned. This was one of my first times *actually* painting, and finding a paint that the fabric didn't immediately absorb was a process.
I watched a couple YouTube videos on welt pockets, but the most valuable resource was actually Cathy's motivational videos. This project was the catalyst to me creating again after a many years long hiatus, and her videos really pushed me to try and make my own magic happen.
You have a great imagination, there’s a lot of lovely ideas in that costume. Congratulation
The inside of the cloak is painted? It looks fantastic.
All the pieces go so well together! And such beautiful details. I love it❤
Wow, your outfit is truly incredible, how you created each piece to resonate with the story, and how you made it, amazing !
Elegant, warm and magical: well done!
Gosh, I love the decorations of the outfit, all the embroidery and hand painting are gorgeous, and I really like the different fabrics you used for the coat too! Great work!