Burlesque Costume - Kiss of the Cobra Woman

Today I'm posting about one of my burlesque acts, called "Kiss of the Cobra Woman", specifically the costume and how it came into being. It's a homage to the Sci-Fi Queens of 1950s B movies and to date is the most complicated costume I've ever made. It took months of head scratching, frustration and eye twitching before it was ready for the stage.

I had a picture in my head of exactly how I wanted the costume to look and even though at times I thought it wasn't physically possible to achieve it I kept trying and am very proud of the finished results. It's had a few tweaks since its first performance and there are still little bits that I think could be better. I like that it's evolving as it goes along though.

In my last post (found here) I showed a picture of the pattern I used to make the dress, which was to be the outer layer of the costume. After I'd pinned the pattern I deliberately left extra fabric below the original calf length line, tapering it along the seam lines so that I could turn it into a longer, almost hobble, dress. Once I'd decided on the final hem length the back split was altered so that a zip could be inserted right to the bottom, although not being able to find a zip long enough I had to compromise and use a couple of heavy duty press studs to close the few inches gap above the hem. Above the waist I followed the pattern exactly and after the pieces were sewn together it took a few adjustments (ok about 6........ish) to make the waist sit as tight as I needed it to be. I was pretty smug pleased with how neat my darts were! To finish off the bottom hem I attached gathered layers of bronze netting to make a stiff frill which took the whole length of the dress pretty much to the floor.

Vintage pattern pile

Today I'm sharing the contents of my pattern box. Some were happy charity shop discoveries hidden amongst hundreds of gawdy 80s knitting patterns and a few were snapped up when Nottingham's Kathleen and Lily's unfortunately decided to close their doors and have a mass clear out of all of their stock (I came away with an unbelievable fabric and haberdashery haul that day but it will need a post all of its own so will save it for another time).

It's the little things....

It struck me yesterday how important the little things can be sometimes........ and also how goofy I can be when I think no one's watching.

One of the things I decided to make, while I was lazily contemplating the day ahead from under my duvet, was a new case for my iPhone. I had a small piece of pink flamingo print cotton hidden in my fabric stash and knew it would be perfect. For extra protection I decided to use some medium weight wadding and quilt the lining with some pretty mint green polka dot cotton.

New project

Tomorrow sees the start of a new project. I've been commissioned to make a pretty, ruffle edged, 50's inspired apron with embroidery and sparkle so I'm off to source some fabric and will then probably spend several hours rummaging through the many jars full of sequins and beads that I've inherited from my Grandmother looking for exactly the right colours!

Colour inspirations

In other news, my second guest blog for Creative Nottingham is live! Click here to read some ramblings about my love of craft and all things handmade.

x

Introductions

I've been meaning to start this blog for such a long time and being confined to the house because of the never ending snow has finally forced me to pull my finger out and get on with it!

Red Anchor Emporium is the name of my new business. After 5 years of working in the NHS and countless mundane jobs before that, I've decided that enough is enough and I'm going it alone. I never imagined that I could make a living from the textile based crafts that I love but with the support and encouragement of my friends and family I'm going to give it a go. If I don't try I'll never know and I'll always regret it.

Primarily I'll be making handbags and adorning them with print, embroidery, cross stitch and pyrography. I'll also be creating accessories and homewares and customising/revamping existing pieces that I find beautiful but that might need a little TLC.

I have so many influences, design from the 20s through to the 50s, rock n roll, rockabilly, tiki, vaudeville and all sorts in between so hopefully there will be something that you like and if not I'll be taking on commissions so send me an email if you're after something specific!

So I'll be posting my progress as I design and and create new items for my Folksy shop, posting photos along the way and hopefully picking up new followers who like what I do.

Thanks for reading!

Scarlett x