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My Animation Blog
Have you ever considered making a costume out of paper? I did.
*dusts off blog*
Obligatory backstory:
There I was, stuck in rural Pennsylvania, where shopping was hard enough in normal times, so when the pandemic hit, I became a regular stop for package deliverers. The cardboard boxes and packing supplies started to pile up, because I knew we were going to move again when things settled down, and I knew I would need them.
In my defense, I had no adult supervision and a house full of cardboard and kraft packing paper. Things happened. Things like this tree shelf:
It was a fun time, full of creativity, but I was looking forward to getting back to wearable art.
I'd been wanting to do a wood elf costume for years now. I wanted it to be organic looking, comfortable and practical. If you've ever tromped through the woods, there are millions of tiny branches and brambles and leaf debris to trip you and snag your clothes. It's often cold and damp and things drip on you, so gauzy gowns are out. Boots and tight leggings and tunic for the win.
I also wanted a project where I could use worbla or similar thermoplastic sheets, and I was excited when I finally envisioned a way to use one goal to achieve another. Bark bracers! It would be perfect!
This post is not about Worbla. I saw the price per sheet and stopped short. But there were rolls and rolls of brown kraft paper just sitting in the corner of the kitchen, waiting for . . . what? Me to make another tree?
What better material to use to make bark than paper?
Nah, it'd never hold up.
On the other hand, that pirate hat I'd recently made for Maxwell out of packing paper and Mod Podge was surprisingly hard and sturdy.
It's me again.
Then I had to decide on fabric. I went to Joann's, hoping to find something that looked like stone. The original pattern calls for fleece or minky, but I thought it would make up just as well with cotton. Ideally, I wanted a reversible sequin fabric, but there was very little in the stores and I wanted to be able to see it in person to make sure the sequins were to scale. (hah!)
I did try to make him with an open mouth. It didn't go well. It looked like he got stung by a bee, actually. I probably could have tried harder, but the next head I made was so perfect I no longer cared about accuracy.
- You need a tiny bit of iron-on interfacing for behind the eyes. I'd recommend it for the spikes, too, if you want them to be particularly spiky.
- A washable fabric marker and Fray Chek will come in handy, too. Draw out your sewing lines and go slow!
- Increase your sewing tension. I used 6.
- I used a 1/4" quilting foot. It made it easier to guide.
- Decrease your stitch length, especially on the head. I shortened it to 1.5. I found it easier to navigate the curves this way, and it kept my stitches from showing after I stuffed it.
- The iron is your friend. The iron is your friend. Obey the details, don't rush, it will show in your work on a piece this small and detailed. Iron and clip.
- Stuffing tools (i.e, a pencil or chopstick) will come in handy. Do not skimp on the stuffing.
- I stuffed him with rice and cotton. I thought the extra weight would help keep him in place on my shoulder, so I focused on filling the tail and front with the rice.
- I ignored the instructions about cutting holes in the legs and body and sewing them on that way. I just hand stitched them on, according to instructions for making plushes found on other websites. There are numerous ways to do this. Do a web search and pick your favorite.
- I used 12mm eyes, mostly because I couldn't read when I was in the store. I thought the 15 mm were too big with the cotton fabric. It's also possible the pattern on the fabric played a role in how he looked.
- I twisted together a number of chenille stems/pipecleaners and used them to reinforce his neck. See below for more details.
I didn't give him wings initially, because I had vague ideas of giving him steampunk style wings. Then my mom randomly sent me an adorable embroidery link for bat wings, designed to be laced to your shoes, asking if I needed them. Yes, please! We spent a few evenings making him two pairs of removable wings to wear.
He has his own twitter feed now, too. We'll see how that goes.
Without further ado - the finished 1:144 scale Willowcrest.
I wanted to add just a bit more detail to the exterior, since there was a base for the house to sit on and the batteries to hide in. I kept it simple, though I had plans of flowers. I couldn't get the flocking to stick to the foam!
I blame the kitchen for most of my frustration and inability to finish this project. Or, more accurately, the big windows that prevented me from putting in a kitchen in the first place. It took me until last week to finally figure out how I could do it. I ended up blocking up one of the windows, and put half of the kitchen on an interior wall.
I have a kitchen set, but they're made out of some sort of heavy resin, and it made the house much heavier than I wanted, so I went ahead and designed my own out of cardstock, with a bit of wire for the faucet.
After verifying that yes, my sofa pattern works, I set out to test paper. What would happen if I used something thinner? Something thicker? Something patterned? Something textured? At this scale, every tiny bit counts.
I went through my paper stash and picked three pieces of paper that I thought might look good as a sofa. It was easy to test, I simply held the page I had cut my test sofas from over the potential pages and looked through the holes left behind.
I looked at all the tiny print pages, but also the ones with big, busy prints. Sometimes, something can be so big that the little bits will work, too.
I haven't yet attempted to print my own, but it seems perfectly reasonable to do so, if your printer can do the fine work on cardstock. Both the chair and sofa fit in a 1" x 2" block, so you don't need much!