Work It, Girl!

Who doesn't love words of encouragement?

So today, I worked on my male doll's bodysuit. Took a couple of tries to take it in about where I want it, but the belt ought to solve his little ghetto booty issues, where it sticks out a bit between the shoulder blades and booty at the small of the back. I've got the zipper on and started the sleeves, but I'll finish those up tomorrow. I sit like a mountain troll when I'm hand sewing so my back could use a break. After I've got the sleeves on and he's all fitted, I'll glue some nifty appliqués to the upper thigh and put his boots on. Then it will be a matter of doing the armor pieces and embellishments to get the outfit finished up. Easier said than done. It'll take some time. 

Aside from that, I did some writing today, but I'm still a couple of scenes shy of finishing Part II, if only because they are large definitive scenes. A lot to tie up before I clear the way for the plots of Part III.

I haven't yet worked on the cover art this week, but I'm hoping to get to that tomorrow and Friday, if not through the weekend. My dad's birthday is coming up so I have a few surprises for him coming in the mail, so I'll be on edge, waiting for those to arrive, trying to work on things, but likely jumping up every time I hear anything resembling a truck outside.

lol My dad doesn't read my blog, so I can spoil it here: I got him a new barbecue grill with a smoker. My sister also bought some grilling tools and smoker accessories; rubs, different kinds of wood, etc. that will leave him with everything he needs but the meats/veggies. He retires on his birthday too, so we wanted to set him up nicely for this one!

Well, I'm all caught up on my work for today, so I promised my nephews I'd play video games with them. I'll catch you later with more updates and, hopefully, some pics of the finished bodysuit.

See ya!

Full Size to Doll Size

The pattern for the catsuit came today, so it seems like a great time to go into details again...

First, I had to scan the pieces on my office printer which is the equivalent of trying to scan tablecloths made of tissue paper. About 25 pieces. Twice. There were two. The catsuit makes sizes 16-24 in women's sizes so a bit on the larger side of things as well. So once that's done comes the piecing together. I saved them as jobs and the next step is simpler than it could be. Because I've set up my Actions for this in a prior project.

From Actions, I made a set that turns sketches into transparencies, leaving only the lines. From there, I'll command-T the pieces to drag and turn them into the completed pattern. Then will come the basic resizing and printing to cut the pieces.

I'm going to see them as is then take them in on the doll. Loose baste with a temporary thread, flip through, sew, liberate the temporary threads, cut excess fabric and it should be good to go.

Hours and hours of work but I'm eager to see how I do with the plan. I have plenty of fabric to make mistakes with so no worries. Just frustration and eventually triumph. 

One can hope.

Wig Quest

Didn't think I was done going on the quest for making the perfect wig, did ya?

Okay, not really 'perfect'. Perfection is an idea I rightfully murdered long ago. The best for my ideals is plenty, but I digress.

Came up with this:

Well, these. The first came out taller than I wanted and a little shabby at the part. I've since hot glued the part a bit more flush, but she's going end up with some sort of crown to cover the mess. As for the redhead, it did turn out beautifully, but I originally intended it to just be bangs and a ponytail. The seams were too visible so I ended up laying braids over the spot I didn't like. Turned out very well, even if it wasn't what I set out for.

What's next? Well, I said 'quest', so that's not all I had in mind.

I bought some pre sewn wig caps to sew wefts. I've seen some interesting tutorials on blanket stitching wefts and using a hand sewing machine, so naturally, I ordered what I need for both to try at a later date. AliExpress can be slow but it's worth it to buy crafts there. Amazon overcharges and I'm just not a brick and mortar shopper.

Resting for the remainder of the day since I work the next couple of days but more projects to come!

Glue, Yarn, and Madness

Crafting!

Fucking crafting...

I love it, all trials be damned, because successes are as big as the obstacles. Today, I did exactly what I hoped to do.

Sort of.

I started by making a wig cap for the new 1/4 girl I don't really have plans for yet. No sweat, just the usual glue and power mesh.

Then came Rienna's wig.

I love/hate it. Insofar, I've yet to find a glue that doesn't piss me off for wefting but sewing wouldn't exactly be easy either. With the tacky glue, ugh, it just never wants to hold right away so I've taken to just squirting a bunch of glue down, waiting about a half hour for it to firm a bit then sticking the hair on, just so I'm not playing weft chicken as they try to slither away from the wet glue. E6000 was not better. I've yet to figure out how to keep that bitch from oozing away when not in use. I managed, over the course of the day, to get the wefts on until the hair's off-center part so I'm leaving it to dry and I'll tackle it again tomorrow after work.

Crochet... What. The hell. Did I do. With the rest of the polyfill? I'll have to buy some more anyway, but I once again hid it from myself so I've yet to finish the cupcake. So on to the Ezio plushie. Wonderful world of flying by the seat of my pants. Masochist... I crocheted eyelash yarn into a crocheted head to make facial hair. Looks fantastic, total pain in the ass. Then I started sculpting the neck, body and an arm. Again, looking great, but yarn sculpting is one of those things where you kind of hold your breath and hope you don't fuck up. I haven't, so far, and I can undo mistakes, but that doesn't make it less precarious.

So yes, productive day, and hoping for more of those this week. Writing? Drawing? Who knows? I rather like this thing I do where I'm just working on what I'm in the mood for. And there's always something. ADHD is a mental playground. Mixed with talent, it's a whole carnival. Or circus. Either way, it's a wild ride full of imagination, anxiety and victory. I'll run with it.

BJD Clothes: Swimsuit Part 1

This one might get broken up over time a bit, but I'll keep the tags going so they can be found easily.

For this one, I just took a PDF of a bathing suit I found and put it together in Illustrator then modified it. Rienna's body piece has three panels, dark blue on the sides of her body, light blue in the middle. The pattern I found only did the split panel in the front so I took the back pieces, split them and redrew them as separate pieces. It ended up looking something like this:

This, but with the right piece split.

Insofar, I've only cut the pattern pieces, pinned the pattern to the fabric and cut the pieces, so I can't show a finished product just yet. What comes next is a matter of fussing and altering to get the benefit of the stretchy fabric I'm using, as well as any difference between a doll's torso and the design being made for an actual person. I edited out the chest lining and I'm not using the piece at the top of the pattern either, the bottom lining, since a lining in a doll bathing suit is both way too extra and would deform the streamlined look I'm going for. The fabric I'm using is semi-transparent so if there's too much show-through, I do have a solid suit pattern and can reinforce it with a different fabric.

I guess, just in review, I can at least list off what else I have planned for the outfit. Plan may change but for now, the shoulder guards, breastplate, and hip plates will be modeled out of clay (trying both baking and air dry varieties). The sword may similarly be a clay sculpt, but I have decided on that yet. A cape with neck draping is probably the simplest element, to be done with blue velvet. I'm also making thigh high boots with rubber soles. As for the adornments to her outfit, I have an assortment of rhinestones and pearls so that part will just be on a whim. Also, still working on the wig, but I need to order more glue.

I'm also planning Talia, but so far, I've only planned her scarves, leotard and hair. Her design is meant to be simple but stunning, all fiery colors with only her eyes the hottest part of the flame- blue! I'm anxious to see it done, but in no hurry to throw it together since patience and precision is far more important than haste.

Will I be selling these? I've already been asked, but no, not my 'prototypes'. Once I'm confident in the build, I may be up for selling some customs, but for now, call this one purely a hobby. I tried to rush into making a business out of crochet and it nearly crushed my love for it. Having people back out and haggle and nag has made me seriously think out how I will sell my art and to whom. I keep my selling circle very small, limited to those who truly appreciate and understand the time and talent that goes into a great piece. I earned the right to call my work professional and one can call it arrogance, but let them. Hand-crafted pieces are treasures and the prices are a motivation to treat them all the more irreplaceable. Expect to pay a living wage for any craft you obtain.

In any case, I'll get to more blogging as I get it done. Hope you'll find it helpful or just enjoy the updates to the process!