Flying Horse or Flying Fuck

It's very simple but the idea came to me and I've had very little else to do but sew lately.

I'm obviously not styled here. I just think it's best displayed worn.

I was inspired by this Maxicimam headdress, as well as some bunny themed h.NAOTO accessories.

My personal stylistic preferences in lolita tend to lean less OTT, so I wanted something that would sit flatter on my head than the MAM bunny headdress.

The end result is obviously quite plain, though I don't think it's *too* plain for me. I wanted something to compliment the bunny patch pockets on the Bodyline piece I'm in the process of altering, so the simple white cotton was an intentional choice.

As a bonus, here's a doodle I did trying to explain this piece to my friend when I was visiting him yesterday.

I've been struggling to find old school appropriate blouses within my size range that also fit my criteria for purchase (second hand as a first priority, new from an ethically manufactured source as a second resort).

Eventually when I'm more confident with my skills I'll get around to sewing myself a nice cotton blouse from scratch, but until then I decided an appropriately frilly detachable collar can serve make some of my thrifted blouses that extra bit more egl-passing.

Please don't mind the wrinkles. It's cotton and I had to wash it to get the tailor's chalk out. I'll press it when I feel like it.

I specifically wanted an oversized Peter Pan collar with a stand, which I couldn't find a pre-made pattern for. I ended up tracing a detachable collar I already owned and altering the shape, as well as scoring tabs around the inner curve to later tuck into the stand.

I sometimes feel guilty for using heirloom lace remnants in my stash for amateur projects, but I think this was a worthy sacrifice as I should get plenty of wear out of this collar.

I spent my day yesterday hand sewing this half bonnet. I'm really happy with how it came out, and it is now my third completed project using this fabric.

I made this crown headpiece and skirt for a royalty themed ILD meetup a little while ago. I had one week to come up with something to wear without access to my sewing machine, which is why you won't be seeing these pieces up close :-) the workmanship on the half bonnet reflects my hand sewing skills much better I think.

This fabric (and the big lace used in both headpieces) was a duvet cover that I actually used on my bed for some time. It got a little damaged in storage but the fabric was still usable for my purposes. I think the print lends really well to old school sweet as well as my own personal taste.

The heart applique on the skirt was also salvaged, one of my local charity shops was selling it for 50c. I think it was once a pillow, but it was unstuffed and the back panel was torn.

Dressing like grandma's furniture is more of a classic stereotype, but dressing *in* grandma's furniture? I don't know, I like it.

A lot of things changed in the few years that I wasn't actively keeping up with egl, one being that Bodyline - both new and second hand, is expensive now?

Anyhow, I managed to find somebody selling an older Bodyline jsk for a pre-fallout price ($30AUD after postage). It's a medium. I've squeezed myself into a Bodyline medium before, but it's not the intended fit on the bust by a longshot and I wouldn't dare try it with a blouse.

This, I thought, was fine! I just recently sewed panels into the bodice of my other Bodyline dress using the fabric from its waist bow! This new dress doesn't have a waist bow but it's gingham, so I'm confident I can find a passable fabric match.

This is Bodyline's bunny patch jsk from 2011. A cute dress that I failed to realise is A-line!

This complicates my plan to add bodice panels, since there is very little gathering around the waist. This leaves no space for the bottom of a rectangular panel without gathering the panel itself, which would look strange.

As an amateur sewist I felt like my best option was to replace the back shirring panel with one with more stretch, though the lack of flexibility from the waist might create an awkwardly conical bodice shape?

I sat on this for a while before I landed on completely bisecting the dress into a two-piece set, a bustier and skirt.

The waist of the dress already fits me just fine, it wouldn't be much work to add a waistband. Once separated from the skirt, I would also be free to sew full rectangle panels into the bodice (and probably an extra ruffle at the hemline for balance).

I'm finally in a position where I'm able to have my sewing machine set up, so once I find a sufficient fabric match I can get to work on those alterations. Until then, there are a few cosmetic changes I can make by hand.

Those patch pockets are sad. They make me sad. If an impractically small opening is what makes this pocket cute, that's what it will get.

I'm also not the biggest fan of the faux-laced ribbons on the front. I'm not quite sure yet what my fix is but it may be as simple as adding an eyelet lace and creating an actually laced front.

The strap buttons are also mismatched. I'm always endeared to an imperfect home repair but I got the idea to replace them with bunny shaped buttons and I haven't been able to shake it.

He was! Pretty much as soon as I left the store the first time I realised how perfect he would be as a handbag, similar in style to Angelic Pretty's pony bags and milky chan plush bag.