OK, so she's been on the "must do" list for a while and thanks to a really interesting year I have decided darnit all to heck, I'm going to make something fun because life is too short! Also, I now have an overlocker to make some parts that much easier;)

In the aftermath of the fire my pvc has had to be aired out so I can actually use it. It was fairly unpleasant being Catwoman smelling smoke and Febreeze constantly (I don't think I'll ever be able to deal with that smell again!) I have also finally just sewn up a full body dress form with seams that will help me make this and an Imp Officer (for more formal events*). And I also found in amongst the rescued items my buckles and catsuit pattern. It was made from a catsuit that was also made from a two way stretch fabric so it should work for my PVC.

So PVC, buckles, pattern and sewing implements are in place. Now to start cutting. I also have some two way stretch panne velvet to ruin before cutting the real deal;)

I don't know if I can get goggles so it may have to be the cloak or sans all extraneous acessories version! Tonight I shall try and pattern.

*My friend's uncle is a tailor and I showed her the Bonham's pictures and she drooled almost as much as I did ;) Then again the opening of Tailor of Panama has to be costume pr0n if ever there was. Ditto with the opening of Dangerous Liasons.

i thought i was the only one who had to deal with unpleasant smells.......

the cowl i use for batman was owned by a smoker (i bought it offa him offa ebay)
........i have washed the cowl about 6 times now,ut every time i use it,my nostrils get stunk up with nicotine smells......"yuuucccckkk !!!"
i now understand the value of the phrase some ebay sellers use ie: "comes from a non-smoking home"..........
its a shame catwoman will be no more,but mara will be pretty darn tootin' cool regardless...........
looking forward to progress pix michaela...... B) B) [too cool]
scuse the off topic smell rant........

Yeah I had debated about an EU character for a long time, but frankly time is short do what you love as well as you can do it;)

Catwoman is not retiring:) I'm just going to rework her as the end version and make a new super shiny bodysuit over the summer. It'll match my new boots that much better;)

Right, off to cut fabric!

........pleased to hear catwoman ain't retired......... B)

:)

I did manage a half test pattern of the bodysuit last night. I'm quite happy with it. Not jumping up and down with delight "by George she's got it" happy but pleased with the added stretch cutting it on the bias gave it. I could move pretty freely in it and my final fabric is super soft too so should have an equal amount of ease.

I think I can remember that you've a regular haunter or a member of Flagship Eclipse.. so I guessing you'll be putting in the pipeing and ribbing?

You've probably already seen it, but Pam's Mara website has great photos of her costume step by step and heaps of reference pictures for the slight variations in her costume.

Will you be sourcing the leg armour (like the Shannon McRandle photos), or going to make it yourself to replicate the comic book version?

I am not sure if I was a member of the forum previously, but I rejoined just recently to make sure I was ;) Yes the piping is an issue I'm trying to wrap my head around. The long full length lines almost certainly depict piping in much of the artwork but some of the extra lines are almost certainly just seams. I am though doing my piping the proper way which is with seams rather than just a tuck, as piping is meant to be used to stabilise and support seams. In this case it actually makes physical sense as well as artistic sense to have that piping where it is. It also helps shape and give a close fit into the small of the back and at the front waist to make the seams involved in the shaping. I;d really like to do piping around the neck and armscye but I'll probably just do non-self facings instead.

I'm keeping my eyes open for shin pads but am also exploring ideas for custom making some of my own. It really depends on what winds up making most sense financially and timewise. And if I make them I need to decide what kind... I'll probably go with the most sensible for being able to move about like she is depicted, even if I don't move about that way ;)

My camera is now charged so I will get photos of the suit pattern as it is now and then laid out. It's white panne velvet, the least flattering fabric in the world.

Just wondering... Will you be using stretch-piping?

Heh, Mara Jade's one of those annoying character's that's drawn different by almost every artist... some artwork has piping, some doesn't :rolleyes:

And yay for panne-velvet mockups! :D

Oh heck yes :) I'll use self strips of the pvc going across for maximum stretch over an elastic "cord". The debate now is what stitch to use. Straight stretch which doesn't have much give but will allow the seam allowances to sit either side so be even, or a wide mock overlocker stitch or my overlocker in combination with something else, both of which will make all the seam allowances go to one side.

Stretch panne velvet.... Fluffies up the nose, in the machine....

Well that was fun..

I decided to cut the pvc today while waiting for my cat to show so I could give him some food, and my plan actually worked:) Do you know how hard it is to cut a pattern on the bias, alternating the panels and cutting both sides from just one pattern half? Good thing we did all those cross brain exercises at NASDA.... Basically I have it so the "grain" would create a chevron effect. The main stretch goes from top outer to bottom inner on the inside legs and top inner to bottom outer on the outside. This should help prevent the fabric from twisting (which cutting all the panels in the same diagonal does) and should allow for natural stretch around curves.

Sadly it turns out my fluffy bunny boy (my cat) has had a fight in the last 24 hours and had ripped his ear right through. I really hope it won't get infected over the weekend....

And once again I forgot to ask my brother if he has an old pair of hocky shin guards I can use. He use to represent NZ in Ice Hocky, so I'm not sure how much of his old gear he wants to keep as momentos. If there is a pair of scuffed training ones I can use they will be fine as I am happy to sand and bog and repad.

So I took photos of the pattern and the pvc cut out and put them on a new webpage:
http://costumes.glittersweet.com/other/marajade.htm Seems my site is down to view but I can upload... odd.

I realise I'm putting out there techniques I haven't yet fully explored but if this costume gets delayed even further I'd rather the info be out there for others to try rather than it not be available.

Oh the brilliant luck I have...

The only round elastic I could find today was just a little too narrow. Well it would be ideal except the Decipher card uses very wide piping even though much of the artworks shows more subtle piping if not seams... if not just lines the artists thought looked nice. Ehem.

This was a trip that yielded but one pack of plasticine in the entire mall ("we're expecting some by Christmas") and a walk bcak and forth and aup and down trying to find where to pay some bills....

But I just realised I have the perfect presser foot (woot, just found it- no idea what it is called but I think it is for sewing braiding) for getting a stretchy stitch right up againt the piping and can borrow a flasher newer overlocker tomorrow :D

Yes the presser foot is perfect! I can find a photo of it in a sec... but better than that.. I have shin guards! Woot! And double and triple woot even! These were what was stopping me before because I thought I'd have to make some myself. I still will eventually but this means I can most likely make this in time for 'Geddon:)

They are a little big what with all the padding. They are CCM SG300 Ice Hockey shin pads size 14.5". They will be a great height once they are divested of the padding and some black padding put in and oh.. a bit of a buff and the stickers taken off!

First thing tomorrow I am buying some leather machine needles because ball points (usually used for stretch fabrics) hate the pvc coating. Or I may find some 70 universals that like me still... they blunt very quickly and no two are sharpened the same degree in a pack, so they can take a little hunting to find.

And I worried that my elastic was too narrow but it is quite ideal for a balance between artwork and reality.

http://costumes.glittersweet.com/sca/valoisdiary.htm
Scroll down to August 11 2005 and you'll see the foot.

Sounds like you're making great progress - looking forward to seeing Mara at Armageddon :)

Thanks:) She's been a long time in the preparation :)

I also just noticed that my fabric is non stretchy along the stitch lines of the thighs. This is really good because I can just top stitch it to a base and not worry about the stress of the stitching on the fabric. This is why I went with piping rather than a welt/tuck to reduce stress and prevent the risk of the fabric ripping. A seam popping can be fixed, a hole in the fabric not so much...

I think the shin pads can be heated to shape so I can narrow the sides a bit and I may want to cut down the knee guard a bit.

I'm pretty sure this stuff is styrene it feels similar to the Biker Scout helmet Nick let me look around in at Christchurch 'Geddon.

Before and after I took knife to seams:
(IMG:http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2038/1532096434_bd80c79b11_m.jpg) (IMG:http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2188/1531228037_14ccc1d945_m.jpg)

They currently sit oh.. a good inch either side of my leg! So I will need to slim them down somewhat. I was very relieved the stickers came off immediately, no soaking required. They do need a bit of sanding and a coat of paint possibly. But Mara was an active lass really they probably got a little banged up ;)

The knee section will be trimmed down a little, the shin guards narrowed and if I can the curve down the front reduced, but that may require a little more work than i physically can manage. I seem to have some bone spurs in my wrists again- much too painful to do much heavy duty work.

Also I will make some more padding, shaped to fit me and offer some protection from the rigidity of the plastic.


I am not sure I'll have any props in time, but as she does wear her blaster at the back of her belt at times and I will have the cloak I will save that for later. Unless I happen across a square nosed toy gun somewhere..... I just don't have the time to make one as well as my major 'Geddon project.

I did buy some elastic for the piping today, well two lots... they will do but I'm hoping to pick up some wider stuff tomorrow. Not too much wider but just a little.

Ack! Now I'm all inspired to redo my Green Mara and all the other options like.. oh her TIE uniform and the other jumpsuit variants and....
Ehem.

Today I found my random fabric from Savemart that should overdye nicely or at the least offer me a chance to drape the cloak. And I also found where I had cunningly placed my belt buckles so I wouldn't lose them. Which took me until now to find them again of course.... ;)

Progress on the shin guards (look Ma no straps!):
(IMG:http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2305/1541861166_9d13dc0d3c_m.jpg) (IMG:http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2257/1541861432_1dd3223bdd_m.jpg)

Progress on the cloak:
(IMG:http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2049/1541861664_0d16016119_m.jpg)
This is either a pattern or I'll overdye it a nice warm tan colour. It's the colour of raw silk/cotton/linen with flecks of dark brown, like raw silk.