Malotke Sews

If you read the first part of this blog post you would know that I had finished the Juniper Skirt, but it wasn't quite what I wanted out of a skirt. It was a little too short for my taste and I felt like it needed something extra. I decided to add a ruffle to the hem.  I sewed two long strips together and serged all four edges. I then finished one of the long ends that would be the bottom hem. Since I had serged it I simply turned it up and stitched it, you can see the finished hem in the picture above on the left side of the fabric. After this I sewed two gathering stitches along the other long side (as seen above). After sewing the gathering stitches I pinned the piece to the skirt's bottom. I sewed them right side to right side and then pressed the seams up. Pictured above is me sewing a top stitch, securing the seams to the skirt. Final look! I took the "Juniper Skirt" pattern from Mood Fabrics blog, and added a ruffle hem to it. I actually really love the end res...

Finishing the waistband. This past weekend I wanted to make a simple skirt to add to my closet. With the temperature getting warmer and warmer every day I decided I needed some other options for my work attire besides my go to ankle cropped dress pants. I went through my pattern stash and discovered I didn't have a simple skirt pattern in my size. I went onto Mood Fabrics blog - Mood Sewciety - and searched their free patterns for a simple skirt option. I landed on their short A-line skirt option called the " Juniper Skirt ."  I printed out the patterns and then based on their size measurements chart I selected my size and cut out the pattern pieces and tapped them together. I was hesitant on the over skirt flap that was shown with the pattern and actually ended up not adding it to the skirt. I decided that instead of following the directions, I would treat this as a mock up skirt for my personal body type and fashion tastes. I used a black/brown/gold cotton fabric with ...

"Shoes: A Celebration of Pumps, Sandals, Slippers, & More" by Linda O'Keeffe is a small, lovely book I snagged at a used bookstore forever ago. It may be small but it has over 1,000 photographs of shoes. Written by Linda O'Keeffe with photography by Andreas Bleckmann, I thoroughly enjoy using this book as a reference when trying to describe to others specific shoes. It was published in 1996, but it's still one of my favorite shoe specific books in my reference section of books. Cover Shot It has great images and each section has a good variety through history. For example, when discussing sandals you don't just start at discussing Salvatore Ferragamo's straw sandals from the 1930's, the book takes you back to Egyptian sandals in 2000 B.C. and walks you through the history around the sandals and how they evolved over time. The book is broken down by types - Sandal, Heel, Slippers, etc - and each type has a "Master of Design" and a "Sh...

For Goblins and the Gravedigger I have started diving into research for the 1840's and working on my Mood Boards to get in the zone for designing costumes. I enjoy using mood boards as a solid starting point for characters' looks. 

One of the things I love about costume design is all of the research that goes into creating the looks for the characters. There are a lot of things to consider when designing a character's look for a show. For example, yes you need to think about the time period and the setting, but beyond that you need to consider the economic status of the character within that setting & time period. This can factor into what colors you can or can't use due to social status, as well as fabric choices and even accessories. Everything from sock height to button sizes, vary going from one time period to another. You need to consider sleeve variety, when women wore corsets, when did the zipper become popular, and more when thinking about a character and what would be a reasonable outfit for them to wear within the show. Now not every show's director is going to want you to be so time specific, maybe you're not doing historically accurate or you're doing a fantasy show. But, it...

Due to the virus situation, Music Man has been cancelled for this CUTC season. I was still in research and mood board mode, but it is still a bummer. I was really excited about the production and the opportunity to create some lovely 1910's styled women's hats. Hopefully it will be performed next season, but we shall see what the theater  company decides. So at the moment I am currently just working on the production of The Goblins and the Gravedigger . I am switching gears time period research wise and I'm now diving right into working on Goblins. Stay tuned!

For "Bus Stop" I had really wanted to make Cherie a wonderful, flashy costume for when she performs her musical number in the show. However, due to the overall look (set/lighting/other characters) and the fact that Bo then picks up and carries Cherie, I needed to scrap my strapless boned bodice idea for a top that would guarantee to not fall down. I ended up using a black tank top and adding some pink floral lace to it that was from the skirt's original hemline. I had constructed the original boned bodice but wanted to be safe and make sure there was no chance for a costume malfunction.  Below are some progress pictures for my bodice. Once I tried it on the actress (it looked spectacular!) I knew that if Bo grabbed her even just slightly in a different position, we could risk it slipping down. While it was tight I didn't want to risk it and we went in a different direction. The top ended up barely being seen due to the actress really loving the dressing robe and i...