Poison Ivy for the Rose

The amazing Drea Rose Deville requested a custom order from Missing James to feature in the first issue of JYNX Alt Lifestyle Magazine coming out this North American summer. A while back she died her gorgeous locks blood red and was inspired to do a poison ivy shoot, so requested a Missing James take on the Batman Vixen. The result - an underbust long line corset dress with matching pasties in an emerald green Chinese brocade with satin panels, velvet boning channels and sequin vine detailing.

The Chinese brocade was bought from a vintage fabric seller off Etsy to create a one of a kind piece. Carefully, I cut out all the panels of the corset - alternating in brocade and plain emerald satin.

Two layers of thick calico in each panel make the corset really strong and a final satin lining keeps it smooth on the skin. The panels are all cut and ready to be assembled.

The first step of assembly is to sew in the busk. Because the corset is a long line corset dress, I used the longest busk available - only 16 inches! There are an extra 4 inches of hem along the bottom under the busk, but this allows the wearer to sit down. For instructions on how to insert a split busk, review an old post from 2010 - http://missingjames.blogspot.com.au/2010/11/inserting-split-busk.html .

A zipper foot makes it easier to sew in the busk.

To make it easier to sew so many layers together, I basted each of the panels so they wouldn't slip and slide while I was making the boning channels.

One all of the panels are sewn together, the boning channels can then be stitched into place.

The corset then begins to take shape:

To be able to tie up the back of the corset, eyelets need to be punched along the back 2 panels for the lacing. I was lucky to have just received my new eyelet punch, so this step of the process was much easier than it has been in the past. 

The corset can now be placed onto a model for a fitting and only a few minor changes had to be made.

After hours of hand finishing the inside seams and sewing on the velvet boning channels, the final sequin details and velvet bias binding could be added to finish the corset.

The finished product!

To top off this gorgeous underbust and make it slightly more modest - a pair of handmade custom pasties to match!

Voila! A burlesque take on the vixen, Poison Ivy.

Bella's MBA Costume

The amazing Bella Bee Sweet and I collaborated on her stunning canary yellow costume for the Miss Burlesque Australia Sydney heats and the photos are finally out!! The event was on Friday and supposedly was amazing, but unfortunately I was still on the plane back from Japan. I had made this gorgeous yellow silk under-bust corset for Bella and she finished the rest of her costume with yellow chiffon and lace, and blinged up the whole deal! She looked amazing, and in my opinion, one of the best.


xx

Photo by Nadine Garland

Strut your stuff!

The amazing Monica Strut, head vocalist of the Sydney band, Vanity Riots, asked me to make her a custom rock outfit for their first ever music video that was filmed a couple of months ago (see below). Monica has been incredibly supporting of my work, and I of hers. We've been friends for years and it's great that our passions (costumes, burlesque and music) can colide. I performed at one of her gigs about a year ago as well. Artistic friends always seem to support their artistic friends.

This cute outfit for the star of the show was a collaboration between both of us. I ripped up an old t-shirt and stocked up on every colour of metal stud I could find and created this adorable cute custom denim outfit for this sexy vixen.

This goes to show that Missing James isn't just for showgirls. I have training in design for theatre, so anything goes!

Monica organised this photoshoot. Photos are credited to the stunning photographer, Fiona Grace MacDonald.

peak a bloom!

Here's another peak at the photo shoot of my Flower Act with Zoran from Dream Photography with make-up by Nick Plummer!

dancing in the dark

Below are photos from my recent photo shoot with Alex from Hoi Images. It's our take on "20s fetish burlesque" with make up by the amazing Nick Plummer.

I'm wearing the classic Black Beaded Fringe Waist Cincher by Missing James. Custom orders for this corset are available at the Etsy store.

Bloom me up, Scotty

I've been dying to create a flower costume every since I designed the perfect flower tutu for Pippin that was cut even before we started making it. Luckily, all the materials were already bought by the production, so when it came time to make a flower costume for myself I had everything I needed already! The only good thing that came out of that production :D

So when the final Peel for 2012 came up, I knew it was the perfect opportunity to break out the flowers. Dancing to "White Rabbit" by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, a tutu wasn't quite appropriate so a belly dance costume was made and moved tantricly with me.

The final piece-de-resistance was the unravelling of the skirt, which was a design element from the beginning. The final piano solo of the music works perfectly for this act, and stripping down to the breathtaking c-string.

Below are the preview shots from my photo shoot with the amazing Dream Photography. Make up and Body Paint was done by Nick Plummer.

more ruffle to my backside

After a bit of though I added more ruffles to the ruffle undies I made yesterday to create more a tutu effect. More is always better!

ruffle my bum

Today I spent the day sewing a cute pair of ruffle undies for a client. I thought this would be a fun little project to share as the final result are adorable yet modest, and quite easy to make.

For this specific project I modified the Colleterie's pattern of these adorable bloomers. Go to the website below to download this easy pattern.

Colleterie's FREE Bloomer Pattern Download

I've used this pattern a few times for costumes, but this pair called for something shorter and sitting higher on the waist. I used tracing paper to drafted a new pattern with these specifications.

Then I cut the pattern out of red satin.

To stop the fabric from fraying during the sewing process and wear, all edges of each piece were overlocked.

I then placed both A pieces together and both B pieces (with wrong sides out) and ran the front and pack seams of the undies to create a front half and a back half.

I then attached the front to the back by creating a crotch seam and the side seams. Again, making sure wrong sides are facing out.

Now after only a few easy steps - I've made a pair of shorts!

To create the bloomers, a hem along the top and leg seams was made large enough for the elastic to be pulled through to scrunch up the fabric. I made sure to leave a gap in the seam so you can pull through the elastic.

To create the ruffles, I cut stripes of black fabric and sewed them together to create a really long strip, almost 2m long! Folding it in half, I ran a seam along the long edge to create a tube and then turned it inside out. This process took a while and was a little bit frustrating - but a good TV show always makes it a little bit easier.

Then, I sewed along the middle of the tube in large stitches and pull to scrunch up the fabric. I pinned the ruffles onto the undies while doing this to save time and to find out how much tubing I needed to go around.

I hand stitched all the ruffling down and added a second strip. You could do this on the machine if you wanted to save time - but I don't like how a sewing machine flattens the ruffles in this process.

To finish the panties I pulled the elastic through the waistband and the legs and VOILA!

Bigger than Bells

I'm currently working on some amazingly LARGE bell bottoms. Research for this project has just been mind blowing - how much fabric can really go into a pair of pants!?!? Just type in Wide Led Large Bell Bottoms in Google Images and the most extravagant pants appear.

It's amazing what you can do with a pair of pants! They can be so big you can make a skirt out of them, or the bell is so large they wing out, or you cross the front and back over to create the most amazing slit up the side of the leg!

On my travels through cyber space I came across this handy little blog post on how to make your own Bell Bottom yoga pant! It's easy to follow and the results look fantastic! My bells are quite larger than this and a teeny weeny bit more sparkly, but it's a good place to start!

Check out Me Sew Crazy and cute tutorial on DIY Bell Bottom Yoga Pants!

Below is a collection of my image research. It was a blast looking at all of these - some are amazing and some are just hideous!

Wish me luck on my time travelling trip back to the 70s!