I drew up all the patterns for Byuri's Cheyenne costume, cut everything out of chamois, sewed all the fabric facings, cut all the fringe, and wet & stained everything with diluted paint. The fringe is now all nicely, realistically crinkled, and the separate parts of the outfit are ready to paint and bead. Byuri is posing with just the fringed "jacket", which does not have the side seams sewn yet since it's a lot easier to paint when it's still flat. I had considered making the main areas red, but Byuri's Haida-style regalia is red and black, so instead I'll go with blue, and it will be a smaller version of Miki's "Little Bluebird" made this past spring. I realize Cheyenne is a grasslands nation, and not from the Southwest, but we will be crossing the great American Grasslands to Yellowstone before heading south to the Grand Canyon, and I really like this style, so that's what I'm making.
2 Comments
christina
9/13/2012 01:11:17 am
I'm interested in what the 'wet & stained everything with diluted paint' is all about -- sealing the chamois for painting? providing background color? aging? -- and I'd love to hear more about this process.
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Martha
9/13/2012 01:21:06 am
I wet and stain the the chamois so it has an aged look and the fringe isn't perfect straight little strips. I wet the pre-cut costume pieces, then work in some very diluted brown paint here and there in places that would have gotten most dirty - like the fringe. Then I crinkle the fringe with my fingers and let it dry. As you can see from the photo, the leather and fringe no longer have that "fresh-from-the-store" look of cheap souvenir Indian doll costumes.
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AuthorMartha Boers is an award-winning Canadian doll maker and costumer specializing in fantasy and historical-style costumes. Archives
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