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| Photo by Ashley Foster |
The evil Ice Queen was casting curses over the majority of
the characters in the panto, but who doesn't love a good panto villain.
The Ice Queen was the only costume I made from scratch for
the recent Juniors panto. The idea of the design was to be able to use the
same dress for two costumes, for example the main dress worn whilst playing the
Ice Queen would be worn with the icicle crown and cape. Then when pretending to
be Snow White at the cafe with Prince Charming and his page, the icicle crown
and cape would be removed and a shawl worn covering her head and shoulders in
order to hide her face from the Prince.
At the wedding whilst still pretending to be Snow White, we
ditch the cape and Icicle crown and instead a veil and a floor length
elasticated waist skirt which is worn underneath the main dress, and a bow is
added with a belt: this creates the wedding dress.
The Main Dress:
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| Design by Katie Pollitt |
The original idea was to make a simple elasticated waist
dress, with a point to one side due to the script making a joke in Act 1 Scene 1 "...you've got a
point." "No, it's just the way her skirt hangs". However before
designing I was 'umming and aring' about whether she should be wearing a
handkerchief skirt or a skirt that hangs as a point at the centre front and
back, but decided to go for an asymmetric look instead.
In the script, it was described that the Ice Queen had to take
two apples out from under her cloak during the performance. However because of
the material I wanted to use for the cloak, I didn't think that the apples
should be held within the cloak, in some kind of pocket; as that would cause a
lot of stress on the organza itself, in time creating holes around the line of
stitching. Also seeing as the production's costumes were supposed to be modern,
it seemed perfectly fine to have pockets feature on the dress. Funnily enough I
actually had a dress with a similar cut so I used the dress as a template to
make the right sized pockets, to make sure they could hold an apple in each.
However for the rest of the dress I took measurements from
the actress and made the bodice pattern and skirt patterns myself, using what I
had learned at a pattern cutting course a year and a bit ago. The patterns would then be altered depending on how the fitting went (as can be seen in the photo of the bodice patterns to the right).
The colours I had intended on using were a silver lining and
a see-through white top layer; giving an icy look through the use of the
colours.
However when toiling, I had used a light blue fabric (I tend
to use supermarket bedding, because it usually works out quite cheap for the
amount of fabric you get) because it was what I happened to have around at the
time as a toiling material. Did my fitting with the actress and in the mean
time the silver lining fabric I had ordered online had arrived; but was actually much darker than
the silver advertised and looked more like a dark grey which wouldn't give the
right look. I had a think about what I should do whilst staring at the toile which
was next to the organza, so I placed a layer of the organza over the blue toile
and decided that the combo worked just as well, and still gave an icy look,
just a fresher ice...if that makes ANY sense...
Now I could say that the toile was perfect... but what's the
point in this blog if I'm not going to tell you the mistakes as well...so the
rest of the dress was pretty good, except the height of the waistline. This was
because during one of the weekly rehearsals I only had a couple of minutes at
the end of the session to measure the actress up; and in the rush of things
forgot to take the' nape to waist' measurement. However, I couldn't wait till
the following week to take the measurement because I needed to get the pattern
and the toile done by then, so I thought if I use the measurements I have and
use my 'nape to waist' measurement, as I'm a bit taller than the actress. This
would mean the measurement would be slightly longer, which in the case of
altering, would be much better to adjust as we'd have spare fabric. Whereas if
it was a shorter measurement...well then we would be in trouble.
Tip: ALWAYS write
down the measurements you need to take before you have to, in order to make
sure you take all the necessary measurements, and don't forget any. (This is what
I do, however this time I thought I had packed the piece of paper in my folder
before I left for the session but clearly didn't or at least I couldn't find it
in my folder.)
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| Photo by Ashley Foster |
When fitting the dress to the actress all I did was find her
waist and mark directly onto the toile how much I needed to move it up. Once
the dress was taken off I re marked the
marks of the true waistline at the same measurements, to ensure it would be
level, and not sloping up on one side.
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| Photo by Ashley Foster |
The neckline was
marked on during the fitting, as I wanted to make sure it scooped nicely, so
wanted to do this whilst it was on the actress; it also meant that I could
discuss the height of the neckline to make sure the actress was comfortable
with it. I would normally use a 'tailors chalk' triangle or 'dressmaking
pencil' (basically tailors chalk in the form of a pencil, giving a more precise
line because of the chalk being more pointed) however these didn't show up as
well on the blue material without pressing really hard. Instead I used a light
pencil, but don't worry, during a fitting I make the actors wear their costumes
inside out if it needs altering, as this allows me to take in seams but also put
on markings that won't be seen on the right side of the costume. Another marker
you could use is a 'Water Erasable Pen', but before using it you should always
test it on a scrap of the material you will be using, just in case the water
doesn't completely take off the mark, as the pen is coloured (mine is blue, I
don't know if you can get any other colours). However I wouldn't really want to
use this in a fitting because it goes straight through the fabric so if the
actor/actress if wearing something underneath, it could stain their clothes
because I wouldn't have tested the material of the clothes they're wearing. I
also don't know whether it would stain skin.
I had found these lengths of small silver balls threaded
onto wire at intervals, and I thought they would have to appear on the Ice
Queen's costume somewhere because they would just fit in so well and add
something more to the outfit. So I took a couple of the lengths and bent them
into shape round the neckline of the dress; weaving them in and out, reaching
up to the shoulders. I then sewed them to the dress at intervals to secure them
but also keep the shape.
I finally attached a detailed silver button on either
shoulder, for the cape to be buttoned onto.
The Cape:
Now because the main dress was going to have a layer of
white chiffon to give that icy look, I decided her cape would be made out of the
same top layer fabric. This meant buying even more fabric, because we'd need at
least 1m 1/4 just for the cape, if not more. So I searched online trying to
find the cheapest deals. Found some very good priced ones on Ebay, however
cannot vouch for the quality, seeing as I didn't actually have to buy any; as I
later looked in the group's 'stock shed' again and came across a box of organza
and netting. Had a route around and luckily enough found some white organza
with a slightly lilac tint. Perfect for the top layer of the dress and the
cape, and just enough for both...what a lucky find!
The left over amount of organza was literally folded in
half, and angled slightly so it overlapped in the centre but not all the way
across. I then fastened a strip of organza ribbon into a loop, to the cape,
putting a piece of fabric in between the layers in order to make it just that
bit sturdier. I then ran a thread though a section of the cape from the edge to
about a fifth of the way in on either side and pulled the threads to gather the
fabric so it fell nicely against the back of the dress. I had pinned the centre
of the cape to the centre back seam, to make sure the amount of material on
either side was equal and wouldn't move whilst gathering. Stitching the gathers
into place around the button loops, created a lovely little shoulder cuff,
making the cape sit nicely on the ball of the shoulders.
The Icicle Crown:
I came up with the idea of making an icicle crown for the
Ice Queen, so started thinking of ideas of how and what to make the crown out
of. I was originally thinking of using the plastic icicles from
the icicle fairy lights that you see around
Christmas time, but couldn't find any cheap enough really. Instead I tried to
think of a cheaper and more resourceful way of making them, using stuff around
the house. I found this website explaining how to make icicle decorations for
the Christmas tree out of plastic bottles,
http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/icicle-ornaments-from-plastic-bottles-2.
Had a go myself and thought, "Yep. This is a winner", and we'd just
happened to have a few plastic bottles of lemonade, which worked great. Which
also decided the drink that would be accompanying me whilst I worked.
Tip: If you have a go
at making these icicles (which you should because it's fun and you get a great
outcome, as long as you don't singe your fingers...ouch!) I would suggest going
for the cheaper supermarket's own brand, where the bottles are more rounded,
and the plastic seems softer. These tend to give a better effect of an icicle I
personally think, but try with different plastic bottles and see which ones you
prefer and give better effects.
After making numerous
plastic icicles , it was time to somehow turn them into a crown of sorts...
I was originally going to use the head measurement of the
actress and thread the icicles onto a length of thread a bit longer than the
measurement, and do this three times, making three rows for the icicles to hold
on. However when holding it up to a head the way it would be worn, the icicles
pointed out more than I would have liked, which quite a few people liked, but I
wasn't quite happy enough with it. Instead I got a heads widths amount of the
organza material, doubled it over and made a head band backing to sew the
icicles on. Again sewing them on in three rows, making them more stable.
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| Photo by Ashley Foster |
I still had some lengths
of the wire with the silver balls on left, so I also attached some to the
icicle crown. Using a couple of lengths, shaped them round the bottom of the
icicles and sewed them on in intervals, just to secure them but so it could
still keep its shape.
I then used more of the organza ribbon I had used for the
cape button loops, to attach to the ends of the organza band to make it easy to
tie to the actresses head measurement, and make tighter/looser if needed. Again
I added a little swatch of fabric in between the layers to make it sturdier,
especially as these stitches will be tugged, depending on how taught they have
to be pulled in order to tie to the actresses head.
The Wedding Outfit:
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| Design by Katie Pollitt |
Now to save time and money, I decided the main dress would
also act as part of the wedding dress. Which would also save on the time needed
to make the costume change.
The wedding outfit was created by wearing a floor length white skirt underneath the
main dress, putting a bow belt around the waist of the dress and of course
adding a veil to the hair.
Again to save time and money, for the white skirt to be worn
underneath, I searched in the stock shed, but didn't find any, however did find
a white satiny dress, with an empire line making it just the right measurement
for the skirt needed! I grabbed the dress and started unpicking the waistline,
I then sewed up the back seam which previously had a zip in part way down. I
then sewed the lining and outer fabric together, stitched another line; making
a chamber for the elastic to be threaded through, making the skirt quick and
easy to just pull on. I made sure the elastic was cut to just a bit less than
the waist measurement of the actress, so the skirt would fit well underneath
the dress.
Now in order to not have to faff with making sure the bow
was tied nicely/neatly, and wouldn't come undone; I pre tied the bow separately
and stitched in place to the belt. I then sewed on a popper to the back of the
bow, and at the measurement where they would meet to fit well to the size of
the actresses waist.
Originally I had also planned to use the cape of the main
dress to be used as the veil of the wedding costume as well, thus saving more
money. However after looking in the stock shed I found several veils so the
cape was no longer needed to be used as a veil as well.
As a finishing detail, on the day of the performance I also
drew on some snowflakes around her eyes. I would have liked to have done more,
but I am in no way a make-up artist and this wasn't the time to have a go at it
for the first time. I thought it would be nice to have something more fitting
than the group's usual performance make up of foundation and lipstick.
Well that's all for now...
The Links:
Thank
you to Ashley Foster for the character portrait and 'behind-the-scenes' photos,
if you want to have a look at his other work or more photos from the junior production please visit his website at
http://ashleyfosterphotography.co.uk/
Talk to you soon.
~ K
As I didn't have
enough of the foam board to fit the whole of the design on, I decided to cut
out the inner oval of the mirror with a craft knife. I then cut the oval in
half lengthways and attached these to both sides, where the design would
stick out the most. I did this by
sticking duct tape down the seams on the front and back of the foam board. I
used duct tape as this is what the adult member had used to attach the top
part, he then wallpapered one side for
me to draw onto, so I re- wallpapered the front of the foam board and the back just to make the sides I'd
attached more secure.
I left the wallpaper to
dry overnight and then went back to the easel to draw the design on again,
using the extra space I had created. Once I was happy with the symmetry of the design
it was then time to cut it out...ahhhh!
