Remember those plushstaches from a while back? It turns out making your own mustaches is dangerous, because it’s hard to tell when to quit. At first it’s fine to have just a couple, but soon you find yourself asking “do I really have enough mustaches?” Today I will be the villain, but what if tomorrow I need to be a stoic cowboy? Black and brown are so droll, what about pink or teal? Or sparkles? It is truly a dangerous path.

Lucky for you, in the ongoing quest to fill-out my cache of ‘staches, I have created some new patterns! These are made the same as the previous ones, but in case you need help, here is my handy tutorial.

For your wearing pleasure, I introduce to you:

The dapper “Little Belgian Detective”

And the sure to impress “‘Boh ‘Stache”

You can get both patterns (it’s a two-in-one) right here:

Good luck and remember, a girl (or boy) can never have too many mustaches! Especially if they are horrendously trendy.

]]> https://jefita.com/2014/04/14/fashion-tips-for-supervillains-part-2/ Mon, 14 Apr 2014 15:18:10 +0000 http://jefita.com/blog/?p=873 Or further tips for the thrifty costumed caperer.

 Lord Baron Von Partyfoul and The League of Evil

I survived my weekend of villainy, only to be struck down by an unknown malady. Curses! Now that I seem to have made a recovery, I shall continue this tale.

Armed with my concepts I set about formulating the plan of attack. I typically break the down process down into three main categories:

What do I already own?

What can I make myself?

What do I have to buy?

After gleaning what I could from my rather considerable stash (who would have guessed it would be so useful for villainy?), I proceeded to the fabric store to for further resource acquisition. This is always the most dangerous part for me, both for my budget and the space in my apartment. With practice I have gotten better at navigating its pitfalls and emerging mostly unscathed. I try to keep these things in mind and usually end up alright:

•  Start at the remnant bin. Best way to get small pieces of expensive fabrics.
• (Almost) Always go for the cheaper option.  You are making costumes, not high fashion.
• Stay out of the “special occasion” fabrics. Again, costumes, not ball gowns. Unless you are some sort of diabolical debutante…
• Am I going to want to set my machine on fire attempting to sew this? Pleather and slinky knits can do wonderful things, but are tricky to sew. Just keep that in mind.

And as I learned this time, beware the trim aisle! This is where I got in trouble. That big fancy chain on Lord Baron? Twenty bucks a yard. Fortunately I only got one yard, and had a half-price coupon to mitigate the damage.

He knocks the cups out of the hands of society!

Materials acquired, I set to work. I made all the  lovely armour first. I have become quite adept at cereal box armour. It’s amazing what you can do with some beer boxes and some spray paint.

 Next I did all the sewing. Most of it was pretty simple and went smoothly. There were only minor altercations with the sewing machine. A plumbing leak and subsequent emergency rearrangement left my good sewing machine trapped behind my bed, so I had to make do with my mediocre machine. We had a few disagreements. It realllllly wanted to eat the fantastic silver fabric I bought for traffic safety. I realllllly wanted it not to do that. We somehow muddled through it without mutual destruction.

 All told I ended up making:

• 1 helmet
• 2 sets of shoulder armour
• 3 capes
• 2 pairs silver under/over pants
• 1 pair pleather spats
• 1 pair fancy arm guards
• 1 set epaulets
• 4 hench hoods
• 4 traffic safety sashes
• 1 faux fur wrap

And assorted costume assistance for my villainous compatriots. Inevitably I change my designs as I go along, and some elements get left by the wayside. I didn’t do a fancy collar, and I didn’t make boot thingies for my henchmen. I was also too cheap to shell out for red gloves for them. I spraypainted kitchen gloves instead (with mixed results). I did however make a nice fur wrap for myself to keep off the spring chill. I may be a cold-hearted villainess, but I hate being cold.

 The lovely Lady MacDeath and I

 The only things we ended up buying pre-made were some black leggings, a black shirt, rubber dish gloves, and the ridiculously awesome henchmen goggles.

The Lead Hench also got fancy epaulets…and a balloon.

 I ended up spending about $70 on fabric (without coupons it was over a hundred bucks). Goggles and extras probably brought the total for supplies up to around $100. That seems like a lot (and I did splurge a bit and ignore my own advice on a couple of items), but that was enough to make costumes for me, Mister, and four henchmen. Pretty good for budget villainry! I bet would could have afforded some more henchmen. Because you can never have too many henchmen.

I’m pretty sure they’re conspiring to get health benefits.

 (And many thanks to Henchman Frank, Miss Demeanor, and Lady MacDeath for some of the excellent pictures.)

Okay, I’m back! I spent last week down visiting the storied Grandma, down in North Carolina. I thought I’d be able to wrangle out a post while I was there, but as is often the case, my ambition and reality didn’t align. C’est la vie.

While I didn’t get any writing done, I did do a lot of plotting…nefarious plotting.The Mister and I have decided to turn to a part-time life of villainy (this may or may not coincide with a pubcrawl next week). As most of our dastardly plans revolve around making a public spectacle of ourselves (such is the wont of supervillains) we find ourselves in need of some dramatic costumes. Otherwise people might mistake us for regular villains. Or drunken louts. One of the two. Maybe both.

Designing a villainous costume is certainly fun, but it is also more challenging than one might think. You have to strike a careful balance between menace, flair, and utility. There are many important practical considerations that are often overlooked. I tried to address these questions while designing our outfits:

• Will I freeze my a$$ off in this outfit? (or alternatively, overheat?)
• Am I going to lose any parts of my outfit?
• Can I make most of this out of bargain fabrics and cereal boxes?

And perhaps most relevant in this case:

• Can I comfortably drink in this outfit?

After a week of plotting, I think I’ve hit most of the important elements. Of course a super villain is nothing without minions, so I didn’t forget about properly attiring my underlings either. The state of dress of a henchman says a lot about you as an overlord.

So I’ve got my concepts down. What now? Stay tuned for next week when I realize my drawings!

]]> https://jefita.com/2014/03/26/fashion-tips-for-supervillains-part-1/feed/ 1 https://jefita.com/2011/11/04/instant-gratification-mustachery/ https://jefita.com/2011/11/04/instant-gratification-mustachery/#comments Fri, 04 Nov 2011 17:11:11 +0000 http://jefita.com/blog/?p=598

To be the owner of a handsome mustache is quite a thing and seems rather popular these days.  However, life is very unfair leaving some of us genetically powerless to grow our own or forbidden to do so by the edicts of fashion or significant others. Long troubled by this problem, last year I finally created my own solution to this age old inequity without the need for razors, wax, or hormone treatment. It turns out it is quite simple (and inexpensive) to create your own facsimile of awe worthy facial hair. All you need is some felt, a needle and thread, and some sort of stuffing. Although perhaps not as satisfying as the real deal, a plush-stache is still very enjoyable. In fact, if you are already a mustache bearer, you can even increase your coolness without all the maintenance.

Plushstachery

or
How to Make Yourself an Awesome Mustache

This project has a very good satisfaction to effort ratio.  It takes very little work to make one of these mustaches, but they are very fun to wear around.  Even though this project does involve hand sewing, it is super simple and doesn’t take too long.  It doesn’t matter if your stitches are perfectly neat and there is no tricky business.  In fact I would say this is a very good beginner sewing or plush making project.

Materials/Tools

• Felt (one sheet is usually enough)
• Thread (preferably matching the felt)
• Stuffing (such as polyfill or felt scraps)
• Thin elastic cord (I recommend the clear stretchy kind for jewelry/beading)
• Paper (for pattern)
• Marker (I’m rather fond of fine-tip Sharpies) or white gel pen (something that will mark felt)
• Needle (a large embroidery sized one and a regular sized one)
• Scissors

Optional

• Pipecleaner or wire
• Embroidery Floss or other decorative thread

The Making

1. Print and cut out one of my mustache patterns (Plushstache_pattern1.pdf) or design your own.  I would recommend checking out the design on your face in a mirror after cutting it out.  It’s less trouble to redo the paper than the felt. Also, remember that the easy way to make your design symmetric is to draw half the mustache then fold at the middle and cut it out.
2. Trace two copies of your ‘stache onto the felt and then cut them out.
   
3. Place the two pieces together (put the marked side in if you don’t want it to show), pinning if desired.  Start sewing at the top middle, using a whip stitch, moving towards the tips.  When you are almost back to the middle on the bottom, stop and tie off, leaving a gap so you can stuff it later.  Now do the other half the same way, but wait to tie off until you have finished the next step.
   Optional:  If you want, you can put a pipecleaner or wire inside your ‘stach to help keep it’s shape better.  I like doing this so I can shape it to my face too.  Shape your wire beforehand, and then insert when you stuff on very straight designs or just after coming around the tips on complex designs.  Hopefully the diagram makes sense of what I said.
4. Start stuffing! Starting with small pieces gently push the stuffing into the tips first with a pencil or other pokey tool.  Continue stuffing just until desired amount of “bushiness” is achieved. Don’t add too much stuffing! My villainous pattern only has a tiny amount in the middle, under the nose area.  Sew closed the opening after you are finished stuffing.
   
5. Thread the embroidery (or other large eyed needle) with a long length of elastic cord. It’s better to err on the side of excess here. This is what is going to keep the mustache on your face so it needs to be long enough to loop behind your ears after attached to the mustache. Following the diagram, thread the elastic through the back of the mustache and then knot the loose ends together.  Now check to see how your mustache fits.  You should have a large loop on either side that fits over and behind your ears. It should be just tight enough to keep the ‘stache right under your nose, but not so tight it cuts into your face (otherwise it will look like you have cat whiskers). Adjust the position of the knot until the right fit is achieved then trim ends to 1/2″ or so.
   

   This is the type of cord I used along with a large embroidery needle

   

   The back should look something like this when you finish

6. Go awe the world with your newfound mustached glory!
   

If you create your own glorious mustache, I would love to see it!

And remember, don’t let hipsters dim your enjoyment of mustachery.  Frankly, proper mustaches have always been cool.

Long ago when I first became a maker of plushies, all I used was craft felt because it was well suited to the tiny creatures I made.  Also, I was dead broke and that was all I could really afford to work with.  As I got further into the world of plush I dreamed of the days when I would have a vast array of fabric at my disposal.  Having inherited my mother’s weakness for outrageous colors and fabrics, I yearned for all sorts of exotic materials.  In particular I lusted after a stash of wild and colorful faux fur.  I was terribly jealous of my fellow plush makers who used the stuff all the time.  Finally, the day came when I stopped being broke all the time and I made up an excuse to start my own glorious collection.  These days I am finally starting to have a respectable stash.

Recently I have received a few inquiries as to where one starts acquiring said wonderful fur.  I remember being stuck at the beginning too.  Where do you actually buy the stuff?  I was horribly disappointed by the paltry selection I first encountered at my local fabric store.  It usually only comes in black and white and is of a dreadfully cheap quality.  I wanted to find that fantastic stuff I saw other people using.  I turned to the extensive knowledge base of the wonderful Plush Team (of which I am a member)  and I discovered that to get the good stuff, you are probably going to have to do your shopping online.  In the beginning I was very hesitant about buying fabric that I couldn’t touch, but this was soon outweighed by the ease and selection of online shopping.  Since I know how frustrating the hunt for right material can be, I have attempted to put together a small guide of sorts here.  It is based on my own shopping experience so it isn’t terribly extensive, but it should be a good starting point.

Part 1

Where to shop

1. Fabric.com
   This website doesn’t have a wide variety of furs, but the stuff they do have comes in a wide range of colors and is reasonably priced.  I also use the site a lot for ordering other types of fabric.  Shipping is super quick.
2. DistinctiveFabric.com
   This place has a great variety of furs available.  The prices are pretty reasonable.  Shipping is usually pretty quick, but I’ve heard from others that it can be slow sometimes.
3. Mendel’s
   I haven’t actually ordered from this site yet, but it is well recommended.  They have a fantastic selection.  If you can’t find what you need at the first two sites, you can probably find it here.  Unfortunately it is a bit more expensive that the previous two.

A few tips on shopping: Just a warning, nice faux fur, the stuff that is thick and soft, is a bit pricey.  The $20/yard range is pretty standard.  However the fabric is usually 60″ wide so a little goes a long way.  Also, many of the above sites will let you buy in half yard increments.  You can also get a swatch for very cheap (sometimes free) if you want to know what a particular fabric is like.  And if all else fails, the first two websites have very generous return policies.  Personally I haven’t been disappointed yet, so I haven’t had to return anything.

If shopping online really isn’t your thing, try finding an independent fabric store in your area.  The good ones will generally have a better selection than the big chain stores.  I don’t drive so I haven’t gotten around to investigating the ones on my area yet.

Part II

What to buy

For this part I am going to turn things over to an expert in fuzzology.  This is Professor Fuzzwald, a researcher at the Bunny Hopkins Advanced Fuzzics Lab.  He has agreed to talk about some of the properties of faux fur to better inform your shopping decisions.

Good day, makers-in-learning.  Today we are going to talk about properties of materials.  The proper selection of materials is an important part of any project.  For this discussion we are going to be looking at the contents of Jefita’s faux fur stash.  I will be evaluating the various furs based on two main factors, the Softness Scale and the Fuzz Index.  The Softness Scale is a gauge of how pleasant to touch something is, or how coarse the fibers are.  The scale ranges from 1 (scruffy dog) to 10 (chinchilla).  The Fuzz Index is from a combination of fur thickness and fiber length.  It is essentially how dense and furry the material is.  Now let us begin!

First we will cover the cheap stuff.  These samples came from the local Jo-Ann Fabrics.

This one here has a Softness of 3, and a low Fuzz Index.  It is rather long and shaggy, but not very thick.

At first glance this one seems cotton soft and fluffy, but it really only has a Softness of 4 and low Fuzz Index.  It is somewhat stiff and much thinner than it looks.

This sample is a bit surprising.  Despite its origin it has a Softness of 6 and a medium Index.  The fur isn’t all that long, but is decently thick  and pleasantly scruffy looking.

Now we have seen what is at the bottom of the scale, we can move on to the nicer stuff.

Faux Fur Luxury Shag Fabric from Fabric.com

This is a lovely variety of fur and comes in a wide range of colors.  It has a Softness of 9 and a high Fuzz Index.  Fiber length is only about 1-1.5″, but is nice and thick.  Look at that lovely sheen too.  Example use: the Monster Bag

Pay attention to cross section here.  See how thick that is?  That is indicative of a high Fuzz Index and good quality of the material.

Extra Long Hair Fur Fabric from DistinctiveFabric.com

Here we have a much longer fur.  As you can see it has a stringier texture.  Despite this appearance it has a Softness of 7 and a high Fuzz Index. Example use:  another Monster Bag.

3 Tone Fur Fabric from DistinctiveFabric.com

Moving into the more exotic furs, we have this long multi-colored sample.  The base color is rather short so the accent colors seem to “spike” out.  It has a Softness of 8 and an high Fuzz Index.  Example use:  the Kitty Bag.

Sparkle Fur Fabric from DistinctiveFabric.com

This is an interesting mix of properties.  This long glittery fur has a medium high Fuzz Index, but a Softness of only 3 or 4.  Fortunately the Sparkle factor balances out the low Softness.  Example use:  Murf the Monster.

Lastly I would like to cover one more category, the not-quite furs.  These materials wouldn’t really be considered furs, but they have their place in the world of fuzzology.  They don’t have a Fuzz Index but instead just a Softness rating.

Soft Fur Fabric from Fabric.com

This material carries the name “fur” but as you can see is very short and not really furry at all.  However it does have a nice sheen and a Softness of 8.

Minky Solid Fabric available online and locally

While not a fur in any sense of the word, it has a somewhat of a furry appearance.  As the name would suggest it is “minky” soft with a very high softness rating of 10.  Example use:  Zoe the Soft Rocker.

That is all I have to cover today.  Hopefully this lecture has helped enlighten your fabric choices.

Thank you Professor Fuzzwald!

That’s about all I have for this segment of Fuzzology 101.  Sometime in the future I hope to have another session covering the makeup and handling of faux fur.  I’m not an expert on working with faux fur yet, but I’m going to share what knowledge I have.  If any of you have questions about this topic please let me know.  I would also love to hear if you have anything to add!

Where’s Waldo?

Of course to attend such an event me and my accomplice, Mr. Boy, decided it only fitting we have our own awesome costumes.  I didn’t end up having a lot of time to work on his costume, so it had to be fairly simple.  With this in mind Boy decided to be a “modern” Zulu War British soldier.  This seemed rather appropriate for our adventure.   Fortunately he already had a pith helmet, and a red t-shirt was used instead of the traditional red jacket.  Then I made him a giant plush mustache out of felt.  The mustache was very simple and fun to make and I think I might steal it from him.  Next I took care of the sash which was just two long strips attached at the waist.  I lucked out and found some white “pleather” in the remnant bin in the home decor department at my local fabric store so it was super cheap.  Unfortunately, I was in a rush so I used hook and eyes as the waist band closure.  They didn’t stay put very well and I am going to have to replace them with Velcro at some point.  Last of all I made the epaulets.  Once again the home decor department was very handy and I found the perfect fringe material.  This actually turned out to be the most expensive part of the whole thing.  Since the epaulets were going to be worn on top of a t-shirt I made made them sort of soft and used safety pins to attach them.  Even though this was a simple costume, I felt it was very successful and his mustache was greatly admired.  Seriously, who doesn’t respect a fantastic mustache?  I was very pleased since it was pretty easy to put this costume together.

Indubitably!

At this point, it became tragically apparent that the merciless beast of poor time management had finally got the better of me.  There was no way I was going to finish my own get-up.  I had been working on it piecemeal in between commissions, but as usual it was on the back burner.  Fortunately, because it is very satisfying to make costumes for Mr. Boy I didn’t feel too down about my own humdrum appearance.  Okay, maybe I wasn’t that humdrum.  I still had pink hair and my big furry purple monster bag.

Anyways, thus prepared for our adventure, we set off to enjoy the spectacle and all in all it was pretty fun.  I was far from disappointed by all the costumed goodness.  I really do love costumes and seeing the creative ways people bring their favorite characters to life.  Since most of the costumes are handmade, it was fascinating to see the different skill levels and ingenuity that was employed.  Of course there was the vast sea of anime and manga cosplays (of which I could identify embarrassingly few), but there was also everything from sci-fi to video games,  Disney to (disturbingly accurate) Rockso the Rock and Roll Clown.

Alas poor Totoro, I barely knew ye.

One of my surprising favorites were the people dressed up as various player classes from the video game Team Fortress 2.  All of the “characters” in the game are supposed to be male, but there were several female cosplayers who fit their costumes to their own gender.  I liked that out of all the costumes this group best seemed to take the roles beyond the literal interpretation, but remained true to character.  While I appreciate the effort and artistry of a very accurate cosplay, I think it is important to remember that you don’t have to be completely literal with your costumes to do a good job and have a good time.

The Red Team

I apologize sparseness of photos.   Mr. Boy was not as handy with a camera as I thought he was.  I’m headed to a huge con up in Toronto next week though and hopefully will return with all sorts of wonderful pictures.

Hmm, maybe I should get back to work now.