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TMR Coat
I gave this coat to Japanese pop star T.M.Revolution at his autograph session when he performed at Pacific Media Expo in Anaheim, CA in 2004. It took me many hours to complete, and it was a bit of an obsession when I was working on it. It’s made of cotton blend twill, with cotton inset panels and a cotton liner. The sleeves are made of 30 pieces of fabric each! The cuffs on the sleeves are alternating black and orange triangular panels, which form a full circle when open. The liner on the inside of the sleeves is orange. There are inset panels on the elbows and back, which open to reveal the orange interior when the wearer moves. All of the orange panels are decorated with orange and red Swarovski rhinestones. There are over 1200 rhinestones, all of which had to be glued on by hand! I hand-stitched the mesh fabric overlay on the collar and inside front facing to keep it in place, and applied more Swarovski rhinestones in “Crystal Volcano” color to make it sparkle. This coat was very heavy when finished- almost 10 pounds! I apologize for the poor quality photos- I did not own a digital camera when I made this coat, and I actually finished sewing it the day before I left for the convention, so all I have is a few pictures I took with my non-digital camera while in my hotel room.
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Zechs Merquise
I made this costume for myself to wear at an anime convention. It is a recreation of the uniform worn by Zechs Merquise in the anime Gundam Wing. The coat is made of polyester, which resists wrinkles and hangs beautifully. I created the epaulettes on the shoulders from an inner layer of wool felt with piping details, and covered them with gold quilter’s lame. I hand-stitched all of the gold ribbon details onto the epaulettes. I made the belt buckle from aluminum bracelet blanks, which I cut with tin snips and glued together. The boots are actually spats made of stretch vinyl that meet the under boot at the ankle. They have wires inserted into the upper flaps to keep them rigid. The pants are a stretch cotton twill, and the under shirt is polyester.
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Wedding Dress
I made this wedding dress for a good friend of mine after she and her fiancée flattered me into sewing it. (I was quite nervous about making a wedding dress!) It took me months to complete, and was a valuable learning experience for me. The front panel is made of tapestry fabric decorated with an Art Nouveau William Morris Rose design. I bought the fabric while on vacation in Ireland, and lugged it home in my suitcase. I quickly learned that tapestry fabric is quite heavy! The body of the dress is Dupioni silk, and the sleeves are organza. I made all of the cording between the seams from the silk dress fabric. Since the dress has no shoulder support to help carry its weight, I heavily boned the bodice with an inter-liner for invisible structure and support. The inter-liner is located between the outer dress fabric and the liner, and has casings to hold the boning for the bodice to prevent visible seams on the outside of the dress. The entire wedding dress is lined with crepe-backed satin. All of the Swarovski lead-crystal pearls and rhinestones on the front panel were applied by hand. This dress was my first attempt at hand beading, and I am very happy with the end results.
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Brown Viking Tunic
This tunic is one of several that I was commissioned to make for Hanger 18 Studios. They will be used in an upcoming short Fantasy film with Viking-like characters. Since the characters will be wearing armor over their costumes, most of the tunics that I made were very plain, and not worth posting in this gallery. This particular tunic, however, will be worn by the main character, and therefore has a little bit of extra decoration. It is made of wool, and has hand-sewn decorative crosshatch details to separate the different colored fabrics.
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Purple and Cream Viking Tunic
This tunic is one of several that I was commissioned to make for Hanger 18 Studios. They will be used in an upcoming short Fantasy film with Viking-like characters. Since the characters will be wearing armor over their costumes, most of the tunics that I made were very plain, and not worth posting in this gallery. This costume is for a female Mercenary Character, so the client asked me to make it a little bit different from the others. It features plum-colored textured cotton for the body, and cream-colored raw silk for the yolk and sleeve details. The curved appliqués on the sleeves and yoke match the shape of the scalloped bottom hemline.
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T.M.Revolution Doll with Suit
I was commissioned by Unofficial International T.M.R Fan Club Winds-Turbo to make two plush dolls of Takanori Nishikawa in his costumes from his Broadway performance of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. They were to be given to him as part of a fan-based project on the opening day of the musical. His character begins the play as a window washer, and eventually shoots up the corporate ladder at a company after buying a book that is the title of the play. The dolls are made of wool felt, with cotton clothing, and hand-painted faces.
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T.M.Revolution Doll with Jumpsuit
I was commissioned by Unofficial International T.M.R Fan Club Winds-Turbo to make two plush dolls of Takanori Nishikawa in his costumes from his Broadway performance of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. They were to be given to him as part of a fan-based project on the opening day of the musical. His character begins the play as a window washer, and eventually shoots up the corporate ladder at a company after buying a book that is the title of the play. The dolls are made of wool felt, with cotton clothing, and hand-painted faces.
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T.M.Revolution Nesting Dolls
Even though this isn’t a sewing project, I though it was interesting enough to share. I made these T.M.Revolution Russian Nesting Dolls, or matryoshka, as a birthday present for a dear friend of mine in Japan. Each one opens and holds the next smaller one. The smallest one is only about half an inch tall, and was a real challenge to paint! The most difficult task was deciding which of his many costumes to feature. I eventually decided on Ignited, Hot Limit, Alberio, Vestige, and White Breath.
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Blue Pirate
The customer who ordered this costume wanted a “governor-turned-pirate” sort of look. He wore this costume with a powdered wig and golden eye patch! The coat is made of woven jacquard with a dupioni silk liner in neutral beige. It has working pockets, decorated with buttoned flaps. The vest is heavy tapestry fabric, and I took great care to make both sides, as well as the back of it, symmetrical. The pants are made of ultra suede with silk lining, and the shirt is cotton. The removable jabot consists of six layers of hand-gathered lace, and buttons at the back of the neck. The wrists of the shirt are finished with lace to match the jabot, and button with the same buttons as the coat.
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Gold Pirate
This pirate costume was for a lady who wanted a little bit of a feminine touch to a traditionally male style. I made the coat in a bold gold and green jacquard with a dupioni silk liner in contrasting rust color. The entire coat was cut out one piece at a time, in order to make it perfectly symmetrical. The back of the coat has a pleated flap for extra flare. The bodice is lightly boned for support, and is worn instead of a traditional male vest. The ultra suede pants have an elastic waist for comfort and ease of wear. The blouse is made of crinkle cotton, and has elastic channels in the sleeves that sit above the elbows for a puffy layered look. The removable jabot consists of 3 layers of hand-gathered lace, and buttons behind the neck.