Jessica Smith Creates (Plus Fun!)

About once a year I start itching for a new hobby (foam, watercolor, app building), or revive a long-hibernating hobby (leatherworking).

This year’s hobby is brought to you by a developing interest in how the consumable items I reach for in making a garment are made, combined with an interest in the history of clothing in the past.

For many years I’ve been collecting vintage notions, like…

I’m in the theater, one of my small local theaters which has thin walls, but my movie is going to be the loudest anyway. There’s a pretty good crowd, but there’s only about 4 people in my row 3/4 of the way to the back.

I am shocked by the time jump, but liked the plot device. I enjoy the Bruce Hulk combo, and Scott’s time travel banter. I like Morgan. I can see why Clint has changed. I cry over Black Widow. And then they create the gauntlet. The Iron Man/Hulk/Nano gauntlet to take the strength of the infinity stones to make another snap. It’s a great team up of all the sciencey people of Marvel!

And then the “twist.” Thanos comes back to the future from the future past, and wants the stones, so he blows up the Avenger’s HQ. And suddenly, the person who has possession of the gauntlet is the least powered person on the team. Clint Barton.

In the MCU, he’s survived on wits, on archery skills, and on hand to hand combat. But he doesn’t have a super suit that flies or shrinks. He doesn’t have sorcery or superpowers. He’s just a guy. A guy with skills, but just a guy.

That was the image that stuck with me when I left the theater. Sure, I cheered over the “We’ve got this” moment, I cried over Tony, I was heartened by the win, and was pleased by the dance. But a guy playing keep-away with a seemingly unbeatable alien. That’s what stuck.

So when I realized I could go to DragonCon in August, I decided to make a Hawkeye/Ronin costume and carry around a gauntlet to recreate that moment. It’s maybe two minutes of the story, and probably only 30 seconds of screen time total. But that’s what DragonCon is for! Recreating beloved moments, and someone will get it.

Even before making the costume, I knew I needed to make the gauntlet, and I knew that would take the longest time, mostly for drying and waiting and mistakes.

Foam was new to me. I found my local Harbor Freight and bought the two different types of floor mats they had, and used both for the costume, but only the thinner rolled one for the gauntlet.

I found this awesome 3D Pepakura model for the gauntlet from MasterMod, and printed off a cardstock copy so I could test out the size and how it fit together. Cutting those pieces nearly broke me, and I hadn’t even gotten to the foam yet.

Deciding to size up a bit, I printed out a new copy, and set to work cutting the foam. I was using a couple of fresh X-acto blade, and was still having trouble, so next time I’ll follow suggestions to use a scalpel.

I would cut out some pieces, and glue some pieces, and cut some pieces and glue some pieces. At the time I was living in a townhouse where I only had one room for both living and crafting, so I didn’t have the space to cut and arrange all the pieces at once.

Contact glue was my weapon of choice for assembly, and boy is it smelly and sticky like mis-made caramel sauce. The stick, not the smell. Something I didn’t consider until it was too late was that the edges of the foam should probably have a specific angle in order to fit together properly. Oops!

Also, don’t let the can of contact glue fall over and spill into the bottom of a bookcase. I got lucky, and the carpet underneath the case wasn’t affected, but it could’ve been disastrous. And eternally smelly.

Cut and glue and cut and glue and cut and glue.

Okay, so then it was assembled and I needed to get a move on, as DragonCon was coming up quick.

Plastidip and North Carolina humidity in August doesn’t work well together.

Average spray paint is actually worse.

Masking off tacky spray paint and mildly tacky Plastidip is less than ideal.

So I grunged it up with some black and brown acrylics.

The jewels. Those were a treat. I found them in a grab bag of rhinestone jewels at Michael’s. I spent about 20 minutes sitting on the floor of the young craft kit section one night after a work shift making sure that I had the correct colors and shapes if I was going to spend 15 dollars after a coupon on a bag of jewels I might never use afterward. Massaging a bag of craft jewels 15 minutes before closing is… not a pretty look.

I think I used contact cement to attach them, then used some kind of puffy paint (craft supply hoarding for the win!) to really cement them in.

For the inside, I decided to keep my super glue, and my wallet inside the glove, which would mean that I needed a pocket inside.

I found some scraps from the Merida skirt, made a zippered pouch, then glued in the pouch and some lining to black out the inside of the glove.

And that rounded out my Nano Gauntlet! It now graces my curio cabinet in a tribute to Ironman.

I fully realize this is arbitrary, that I don’t make party dresses (with the potential exception of 2016) and for the most part these are purely descriptive and meaningless to anyone except me.

With that said… Welcome to Birthday Dress 2020. And here is my novel.

Normally I make these garments prior to the day, and then parade around in them on the day.

We went into what I over-exaggerate to a lockdown maybe a week before my birthday, can’t quite remember. (It was voluntary but strongly suggested stay at home… You could have left the house for a walk, past Jess. It would’ve been fine). Wasn’t that three years ago?

So I was less motivated to make ahead, and instead made it on the day. And the next day. And the day after that. I was a little scattered, but also made so many noms. If I couldn’t celebrate my birthday out, I was going to over-celebrate in. Also, Marvel movies.

I can’t get into the first day until we talk about the fabric, though… I think I had a good dose of panic when the college I work out announced it’s decision to do online learning, and no, I did not buy large quantities of toilet paper. (I’m not an animal. Also it was all gone by that point. I’m not getting desperate). No, I decided to go craft supply shopping. I bought altogether too much fabric (I have plans, I promise), some foam for some props, a mystery yarn bag from my local yarn shop, pins for more intricate lace making (oh yeah, I’m making lace now. This is something I do now), and too much snack food.

When I got home from that massive shopping trip, I was still amped and antsy, so I ended up doing a ton of random crafty research, probably Pinterest fueled, and then decided to do some ice dyeing. I still had a lot of linen/rayon from a purchase last year, the same stuff I used for my green Flints, so I decided to use that. It’s been cut down into 2 about-2-yard lengths, and the first one I dyed was in the color scheme that I have called “Van Gogh” for awhile now. Think the sunflowers and the cafe terrace and the many of the famous self portraits. Light aquas and blues, soft greens, rich golds and light oranges. That’s what I aimed for here.

I followed the general directions from Dharma Trading Co, which is where I’ve gotten all my dyes, and I think it turned out pretty well. I love the flow of the shapes that come out of it. It doesn’t look quite like tie dye, nor painting. It’s unique, and I love it.

Back in November, I bought two new sewing patterns, and this one is the Hannah Dress from Victory Patterns. After a muslin from a bed sheet, I was ready to go, knowing that I had to shorten it by a couple inches. For the main body fabric, I used a sunny linen/rayon blend from Joann’s, and for the side panels I used the ice dyed linen/rayon.

Sewing it up went well, and I tried to keep the process as calm and level as possible, which was mostly successful. And I know this because I filmed the whole thing. (Cue the nervous laughter). It’s hard to remember how much ironing there is in sewing until you edit a video about sewing a garment… Please enjoy!

This was a great first project in this crazy time, and it’s been a great thing to put on when I need a bit more pep in my stay at home step. In the future I’ll definitely lower the neckline. It hits right at or above the collarbone, and will hang awkwardly when seated, and I also get a little claustrophobic with a high neck. But otherwise I love it!

See you next time!

Last year after the Jasika Blazer was released I jumped on the bandwagon and made a “wearable” muslin. As in, it was wearable, but not particularly professional in real life, and at the time I had an interview scheduled, and I really wanted to wear a blazer, and I didn’t want to try to go and purchase one if I knew I could make one myself.

So the second one was made in just about a week, and I’m super proud. Also, I haven’t worn it since. More on that later.

The fabric for the main body of the blazer is a lightweight cotton from IKEA (Main fabric). Honestly too lightweight for it. Hindsight. The lapel is made with a brocade from Joann Fabrics (Option 1). Also not my favorite. When I moved, something must have caught on it, because there’s a big pull of thread on one side. And the lining is from stash.

Looking back at my Instagram posts that I made during this period, it seems to have been pulled together smoothly, and sure, it seems like I took a day off after I saw Avenger’s Endgame, but I didn’t announce to the world that anything went wrong, at least?

I remember wearing it made me feel both like a powerhouse, and self conscious when it buckled in weird places.

The first one was made from a true medium weight fabric, and so it stayed solid in areas that caved in this second one.

I also think I should have shortened it a bit further, and maybe used a different cup size, as when it’s buttoned I get some weird gaping between button and bust.

So you are seeing it unbuttoned, as that’s where I’m most comfy photograph-wise.

If it seems like I’m feeling down about it, I’m not. I’m proud of this blazer. I’m proud of the journey that both of them took me on, because I’m definitely more comfortable with speed-tailoring.

But I just don’t wear blazers in real life, I did not get the job that I interviewed for right after making this blazer, and that’s hard. The job that I’m currently working was possibly my next interview after the blazer one, and it involved an online interview, so I ended up wearing a nice sweater instead.

Plus, I just now tried on both blazers a year later, and they’re more snug at the waist than I’d prefer. We’ll see what happens when the world has reached an equilibrium again, but I think these might be destined for a thrift store.

I think it’s also that I’m really enjoying a more cropped silhouette for my upper body garments. And these blazers are full length, which hit me (in my eyes) at a weird place and makes me feel and look shorter.

But I learned so much, especially with this one, and the next time I make a blazer (that’s more my style) I’ll have the confidence to make it! Now that I’m up north, and I found a store that sells reasonably priced wool, I might even try to make a tweedy one! Not anytime soon, but you never know!

So you’ll likely hear a lot from me in the next month or two, and maybe that’ll kickstart my old blogging energy!

And back to the regularly scheduled- Wait. This dress was made in 2017. That’s three years ago! That’s a whole blog changeover ago. While I go hang my head in shame, enjoy my post about this Peggy dress.

A loooooooong time ago, I made a dress based off of Peggy Carter’s purple dress in Agent Carter’s episode, “A View in the Dark.”

I remember very little of making it, or the muslin that is shown here in green, but I do remember a few things.

The material that I chose for the green muslin was a relatively medium weight linen/poly blend that had some nice drape, but could hold it’s shape rather well. The purple was instead a very heavy polyester corduroy, and shed like crazy. It’s almost no wonder that the dresses didn’t fit the same.

I modified the dress from the Deer and Doe Belladone, which I had used for a binge of dresses earlier that year, by changing so much that it’s almost not the same garment. This is why I made the not-common for Jess move of making a muslin (I know, I know. Muslins are useful, but sometimes I just want to jump into the real thing and just try it!). And I love the muslin, and one day I will actually line the bodice of the muslin, so that I can wear it again.

The belt was made out of some gorgeous lace that I inherited from one of my mom’s friends. I painstakingly cut flowers from the lace, handstitched them to a silver painted sew in interfacing in black, then attached the interfaced flowers to a fleece backing and stitched on ribbons and hooks and eyes for the closures. It’s still my go to belt for dressing up relatively plain things that need waist definition, like my Future Dress.

I wore the costume to DragonCon in 2017, but only on Monday, when only super obvious costumes get recognized (because nearly everyone is hungover from excitement and non-stop parties and new friends), and it was too hot for Atlanta on Labor Day. Remember heavy polyester corduroy?

Later that year, I tried to wear it to a swing dance, and it… Well, I kind of hulked out of it. It was near the end of my Master’s degree, or perhaps right after, and I had gained a bit more… numerically…  in the tummy region. I managed to slither into the dress, and then when I got into the car and drove down the block (picture reversing and the automatic twists of the torso to make sure you’re not hitting the neighbor’s car when coming out of the driveway) before the side seam split, and the waist seam gave way. Not my proudest moment. But the material lives on in my ottoman-pouf, and the green dress lives on, and is definitely more my normal style anyway… Polyester corduroy is decidedly not.