Post the Ninteenth: Back in the Pattern Mines

You know this is a fantasy depiction because there is no 
way in real life a tissue pattern would be that flat.

 

 At the beginning of any project there's always that uncomfortable moment of potential energy clashing up against an inability to cash in on that inertia. Details have to be designed, patterns have to be bought--as does fabric once it's been hemmed and hawed over enough.

  All on a budget.

  This has come up before. I've toyed with the thought of setting up a patronage system of sort. Lots of folks do that to get the funding they need. However one: I personally don't think I'm producing on a level that justifies any of that and two: not sure I want to make cosplay a second job. Been bit by the burn out bug once, thanks, that was enough.

  Anyway, enough of my grousing. As I wait for stuff to come in, we can at least talk patterns.

  Base patterns for the coat are Butterick 3830 and McCall's M6819.

 

Many burgers yeehaw vs disco sword

 Thinking of mixing the top of the duster with the bottom of that Once Upon a Time Snow White dress. Plus maybe that vampy collar.

  Both are physical patterns, which is always a little nerve-wracking for me because they're so delicate. Some folks, however, are practically giddy at the opportunity.

Excuse you.

  In the meantime, work can be started on designing the actual quilting pattern.

 

  See, there are a myriad of quilting styles and curves are definitely one of them. But what I had in mind was something a bit more geometric. A bit more throw-back-y.

 

  To start, I copied down one of the smaller patterns, imported it into Clip Studio, and traced it using straight lines only. Tried to keep scale in mind here. One, the chunkier the segments are the better the effect. But also, the smaller the piece the harder it's going to be to sew with any accuracy. 

 

 

  Next is slicing it up into polygons. I've tried to limit how many times one line crosses another to, again, make it easier to sew. You can probably see a few "pain points" below that I may go back and tweak. But once it's sliced up you can add some color in.

 

 

  I will no doubt fiddle around with color placement a bit more before cutting, but this gives you the basic idea. Thanks to the paper piecing method these sharp corners should manifest intact. That's the thinking at least. And now I have a much better idea of what colors to look for as well.

 

This is a mock-up that gives a better idea of what the piece would look like as a 
finished product. Since, y'know, not planning on outlining everything in black. 

 

  For the plush carbuncle merging two patterns into one ought to get me 90% of the way there. Both, coincidentally, from the same creator. Well, that makes things simpler, doesn't it?

  

In theory, at least.

 

  The thinking is to use the head from the chibi fox and the body from the snow fox. The tail(s) and ears will have to be altered, but that shouldn't be egregiously difficult, right? Yes?

 

  Which brings me to the fur. Which color to go with? Or something completely different? There's already a lot of red and yellow in the outfit, so maybe not them. Same deal for moonstone/diamond. So emerald it is.

And by emerald I mean aquamarine.

 

  Typically the fabric you go for in plushies are things like fleece, fur, or the gold standard--minky. Sometimes called cuddle fabric, minky has a super-soft short pile and is fairly stretchy for a non-stretch fabric.

Synchronize swatches.

 

  So, another reason why set up takes forever and is sometimes agonizing. Since, unsurprisingly, nowhere local sells minky (let alone several shades in a particular color) I'm left looking online and ordering swatches. It's always tempting to just skip this step and order the full amount right out of the gate. After all, samples aren't free and S&H isn't getting any cheaper. ...But every time I've done that in the past it's bitten me square in the rear. Either the color comes completely different than what was on the monitor or the quality of the fabric is waaay off from what was depicted. It just really isn't worth the risk.

 

  This fabric though, feels like decently good stuff. And all these pieces are a hair more green in person, but even still that middle one on the left (technically called "Arauba") is a good base color. The pieces are already shedding like mad, despite the pinking, but that is another thing about minky.

 

  While I'm here, making a note of other things that need to be added to the supply list: safety eyes, nose, and whatever-the-heck I'm going to use for the head jewel. Could always just use fabric, but it'd be cooler if it was an actual jewel-ish thing though, wouldn't it? Mouth can be stitched in with some thick black thread.

Block update:

  With the pieces cut and pressed, the next step is getting the individual pieces sewn into quarter blocks. The easiest way to do this is to transfer the pattern to a piece of freezer paper so you can temporarily adhere the pieces as you go. Beyond that, set up ironing/cutting/sewing stations, grab yourself a coffee, and plow through as many of these pieces before your brain starts to melt.

  As mentioned before, I'll go into more detail when handling the actual project, but again this should give you the basic idea.

  So the quarter-blocks are finished and ready to go! But that's for some other time. Or maybe next time if things get delayed in post. 

Next time - So, when I was going on about making the pattern more throw-back-y you may have wondered why I didn't just make the thing pixelated. Well, hold on to that thought...

Material Directory

Butterick 3830 and McCall's M6819 patterns: simplicity.com

Chibi and Snow fox plush patterns: Etsy (SylenisCrafts)

Clip Studio Paint: www.clipstudio.net/en/

Current background music: Chief Adjuah. "Sunrise in Beijing." Stretch Music 10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition.