Professor Minerva McGonagall is my favorite Potterverse character. She’s the true hero, and anyone who says otherwise can fight me. She has many classic looks in the films, but the one that captivated me the most was her outfit at the Yule Ball in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Stunning olive dress robes […]
sewing
Copying Beca’s Rhinestone Collar from Pitch Perfect 3
Pitch Perfect is one of my favorite movie franchises ever. I watch one of the three films every time I fly, quote all three movies in normal conversation, and I’ve made several costumes over the years. So on a recent flight last year, I zeroed in on Beca’s rhineston collar in Pitch Perfect 3 and […]
Costuming Claire from Outlander: Season 1 (WWII)
As if I don’t have enough Claire costumes from Outlander, I have one from season 3 that is unfinished, and since the beginning I wanted to put together this casual costume she wears in the first episode of season 1. Claire was a nurse in the 1940s and when World War II ended, she found […]
Costuming Quidditch from Harry Potter: The Uniform
“Those cunning folk use any means to achieve their ends.” And so we did. We made a damn near close to film version of Slytherin quidditch robes from Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince using screenshots, pitcures from studio tours, and striped sheets from Amazon. I am smugly proud of these uniforms, and I’m pleased […]
Costuming Quidditch from Harry Potter: Training Robes
Before heading to DragonCon last year, I made three Slytherin quidditch uniforms for myself, my husband, and my bro/fellow costume maker Aimee. Deciding we’d eventually need emotional support Hufflepuffs, I had my niece cut the pattern/fabric pieces for herself and our friend Katy. And then earlier this year I made a matching Ravenclaw uniform for […]
Costuming Quidditch from Harry Potter: The Pads
One of my most comfortable and fun costumes to wear is my Slytherin quidditch uniform from Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. The robes were easy to make, but the black pads were either hard to find or priced higher than I was willing to pay. So I’ve made 5 sets of black pads […]
Feeling Fancy with Fitted Face Masks
It seems this pandemic and the requirement to wear face coverings in public is going to be around for a while. I made over a hundred of the pleated kind for myself and my husband, close (read: nearby) friends and family, and donated to our local vet, all able to drop by for a porch […]
Sew You Want to Make a Cloth Face Mask
With recent CDC recommendations to wear cloth face coverings in public, people are scrambling to make masks for themselves, others, and to donate to medical facilities. So I made a handful for myself and my husband, and close (read: nearby) friends and family that could drop by for a porch pick-up. And then I must […]
Grand Pannier: What Not to Do
Have you ever screwed up a sewing project so horribly that you want to burn it, and the house down? Just me? I made every mistake possible while attempting my 18th century grand pannier, because although I have pocket hoops/side panniers for my sack-back gown or robe à la française, I wanted options. I’ve no business giving any advise […]
The Art of Saying No Commissions
I’ve been crafting all my life, costuming for about a decade, and last month my blog, Red Shoes. Red Wine., turned four. And for at least the fourth year in a row, especially in the months leading up to Halloween, I’ve politely declined an overwhelming amount of requests for costume commissions. Thank you, truly… I’m […]