I guess I should actually post something once and stop lurking.  Everyone's updates & contributions have been so inspiring as well as educational.  So I had this crazy idea. I wanted to do something different from the traditional Victorian reproduction costume but I want to do it with a twist. So I had this idea to create fun neo-Victorian/Steampunk version of a Mario Bros character.  I settled on chosing Toadette for two major reason.  First one is because she is my favorite character to use.  Second reason is it would be really fun to see bright absurd colors from her outfit turned into.  I thought to myself it would really be spiffy if Nintendo made a steampunk version of Mario Kart with all the characters garbed in turn of the century fashion.  So rather than just settling on making Toadette ala neo-Victorian, I decided to take it an additional step further and create my interpretation of a Victorian racing ensemble.  Thus the idea for Steam Kart Toadette was born.



    I wanted to try my hand at a petticoat.  So I found some awesome striped fuschia cotton fabric over at Fabric.com. Using tweaked  Simplicity pattern 5006 I set out to make my pinky pretty petti. First off I had to make cut a crap ton of strips of fabric to make the ruffles @_@  This a new experience with I have never dealt with before.  Needless to say I HATE make ruffles.  In an OCD fit I decided that I had to make sure the stripe pattern repeated perfectly when I sewed each piece together.  Yards up yards of fabric were harmed in the creation of the ruffles.  Many a night was spent watching mindless stuff on tv as I pressed and hemmend the entire length of it.  Next time I will make sure to roll the hem to make quick work of it (mental note get a serger).  At this point in time I was hand gathering all of that unruffled ruffles.  So life was unbearable for me and my sanity. I ended up stabbing self multiple times creating bloodshed.  A few months later I invested in the almighty ruffling foot.  Best sewing machine foot ever!  Eventually I finished it up and made the confounded petticoat. in all of is striped technicolor goodness. Yay!  I placed elastic in the waist so that I can easily wear it without worries of weight loss.  I paired it with a hoop on the dress form because it looked more impressive that way.  Definately NOT wearing a hoop under it in reality.
 
The walking skirt was pretty straight forward.  I found a perfect shade of hot pink poplin over at Hancocks late last year.  I wish everything was that simple.  I have yet to complete the waistband because I've been slowly losing weight since the beginning of the year.  I did place French seams on the left and right sides of the skirt so that I can insert ribbon inside the channel created by the seam on the wrong side.  Makes for a simple way to rusche up the walking skirt if I wanted to show off the pretty petticoat hidden underneath.  The that top in the pic will not be worn with it.  However, the vest may be paired with it at some later point in time when I just want to be steampunk Toadette and not steam kart.  So yeah ignore everything above the waist.  But I do love the vest I created.  Pics for that at another time.


Next I needed some inspiration on how to make it really look like a racing outfit.  Time to google reference pics.  I do love the vintage style 60's racing jackets so I shall go with that look.



Now to find the perfect top.  I decided to go with version B of the sporting jacket (the on pictured on the right).  From a practicality stance a high necked garment would make sense to keep one self protected from road debris and such hazards.






Again another trip to the local Hancock Fabric led me to find some lovely cotton sateen.  Thus far I only have sewn the main body of it together.  To mimic the stripes on the racing jacket I will sew on a band bias.  I'm thinking of yellow/white/yellow.  Perhaps white insertation lace in the middle. Dunno.  I have not quite decided yet.  Need to soon because Dragon*Con is barely 68 days away (because I plan to leave early it's 68).  I used quilters tape to temporarily affix the bias to the basque so I can get a visual on how it will look when finished.  Additionaly I will use a  similarly sized patch in place of the racing logos.  Also think about having Toadette's name or Mario Kart embroidered on the left had side (my right) of the breast  and completely ditch the pocket that is shown in the pattern.  This reminds me I need to pad my dress form so that it will be the same size as I am. Persephone looks anorexic wearing that.


One day it's all done I will add some pretty cotton lace along the hemline of the jacket. I picked up the lace from Sirs Fabric in Fayetteville, TN.  I am glad that I live close enough to the state line to be able to drive there.  They do have an online store if anyone is interested in seeing what they have to offer.  Well that's it for now.  Almost time for lunch.  I think I will hide in an empty cubicle and cut out the sleeve pieces.  =) 

Maybe more pics after the weekend because Friday I'm taking a day off to sew with a friend.