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!

Glamazon

Missing James is honoured to create a unique costume piece for the glamazon herself, Miss Holly J'Adoll! Tune into Miss Burlesque Australia to see what Missing James has created for her.

Check out Holly on her Website:
http://misshollyjadoll.com/

Alice's Talking Flowers

For my next act I've decided to create the most amazing flower costume yet. After designing PIPPIN last year, I have a garage full of unused fake flowers that were bought to make gorgeous burlesque costumes for the production but were never used. The sexy rendition of "White Rabbit" by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals creates the best narrative for an onstage performance by one of Alice's talking flowers. The costume will consist of a large head piece, flower covered bodice and skirt - very eastern influence with a belly dancing touch. The piece-de-resistance will be that the skirt unravels into a flower garland to show the bits all audience members want to see - a c-string underneath! This is the furthest I've ever gone, and I'm feeling quite comfortable about it because I'll have full body paint done by the amazing Nick Plummer (MUA). Nick and I have been friends for years and have worked together closely on many productions (including PIPPIN) as costume designer and assistant. With the costume by Missing James and the make-up by Nick Plummer, I don't think Alice's flowers will have ever looked so good!

Check out Nick Plummer's work on his facebook page and please 'like' it!

http://www.facebook.com/NickPlummerMakeupAndSpecialEffects?fref=ts

Oh so sweet!

I am proud to announce that Missing James by Maple Rose will be collaborating with the amazing Bella Bee Sweet for her costume designs for Miss Burlesque Australia! Bella and I have been incredibly close friends for a number of years and actually met on a corset making course - so we've both been experimenting with similar styles in costuming since. Bella is another amazing burlesque performer, songstress and fire dancer, and is incredibly classy as her stage persona leaving the audience grasping for more with her choice to keep clothes on. Some incredibly sassy and elegant numbers will sure to be the result of this career-changing collaboration.

Follow Bella's quest towards MBA on her blog www.bellabeesweet.com 

Ahoy there!

Just had a quick coffee date with the adorable Sparkles Ahoy to talk about her costume for the upcoming Miss Burlesque Australia! Won't give away any hints, but it's an adorable little number that will be a hit with all the boys!!

New Studio, New Look

I have to apologise for the lack of activity on this blog for the past year. I've been working on many theatre shows and even went back to uni, so time has become quite precious. I am now back to only creating costumes and burlesquing over the summer months, so activity will pick up on this blog. In the meantime - check out Missing James on Facebook and Maple Rose's Burlesque Website.

On another note - I finally have my own sewing studio! More and more corsets have been designed that they will start coming out of the wazoo!! Missing James is also taking custom orders for performers, so if you are in need of a costume, please contact me via Facebook.