Another look from 2015. It’s going to take me a while to catch up with all these costumes. This was Chester’s look for both The Secret Garden Party as well as the Sink the Pink Heroes and Villains Ball. I’m only sorry this gif is a few seconds long, I could watch him dance forever.
I keep trying to put this catsuit pattern away but it refuses to take a break. It’s the hardest- working pattern I have ever encountered.
This kind of wet look lycra looks great on but takes a bit of patience. It’s a bit of a contradiction, it sticks to itself but also slides easily. Sometimes this works in my favour, but mostly not. Unsurprisingly, sewing with it can be a bit of a faff. The presser foot sticks to the fabric if it’s right side up and it can feed unevenly. For this reason, putting a zip in is a special type of a nightmare.
I know there are teflon feet and fabric lubricants but I stuck a bit of tape on the bottom of the zipper foot and got on with it. A few months after I finished this, I bought a set of (cheap) feet online. Jokes on me because when they arrived, the only description on the box was in Chinese. Lots of fun with translating apps trying to claim I was looking at a “Frog Kebabs” foot. For all the Frog Kebab sewing I do.
Frog Kebabs aside, as long as I went slowly, it was OK. The tape on the bottom of the foot worked well enough for the zip as well as the decorative stitches.
I’m not sure if it’s visible but I added a light mesh panel running along the inside of the sleeve seam and down the body and outside of the leg. This fabric doesn’t beathe that well and the panel made it less sweaty (and allowed for more stretch since it’s more forgiving than the lycra).
First fitting went well, even with the tag still on the mask!
Such a fun ball. I can’t quite get my head round the fact that the next one is 6 weeks away and has sold out already!
You’ll spot Chester slinking down the stairs on the right. Full video is over here
Sew Smitten 