craft project -working with fake fur. (sci-fi geek)

[Gizmo]

I do have tribble noises. which I can work with. Especially if hubby has any of those greeting card recorders around...

[Gizmo]

Well the fur has arrived and I'm started... only about 170 tribbles to make working on how many patterns I could get out of the first piece of fabric! (Yes, the fur is already all over the house.. you can see the trail from the door to the chair before the fur got out of the bag! lol)

[Gizmo]

I just had to post these -so cute! I couldn't quite make a full one out of the material left on one bit so I made some baby ones out of one shortened figure-8!(The large ones are made out of two elogated figure-8s - basically a tennis ball pattern)

I'm about 105 out 160 tribbles in so far!

[Dreamstalker]

I love the striped ones Can't wait to see the final product.

[Gizmo]

Ok... I have *all* the 200ish tribbles made. and I've started sewing them to the skirt and each other.

I made one small miscalculation/lack of thought though! One tribble weighs virtually nothing... lots of tribbles weigh LOTS - especially when they are on a verticalish surface! So this costume is going to need a wheeled frame underneath otherwise I'm not going to be able to keep it up!

The current thought is to get a cheap wheeled zimmerframe or to make a frame with some odd plumbing bits, chickenwire and wheels we have. I could then make it 'stepoutable' so other people could step into it too.

I'm mildly amused right now.

[Andara Bledin]

Unless the weight is too excessive to carry at all, you might look into attaching the skirt to some sort of upper body foundation garment that would put more of the weight on the shoulders as well as the hips while also providing back support.

^-.-^

[Gizmo]

I'm going to see what the weight is when I've finished most of it. We were thinking braces but I don't think they'd carry it well. I had pondered about basically making it a 'dress' and working it so the uniform top can be slipped inbetween the layers to look like it isn't.

[AccountingDrone]

I made a heavily embellished underskirt for an elizabethan. By the time I had the basic material [velvet] the crossbanding [grosgraine ribbon in quarter inch] the 'charms' on the intersections of the ribbanding and the odds and ends of waistband, the protector [a banding of plainer fabric at the bottom of the skirt, intended to mask any dirt from brushing along the floor/ground] the damned skirt weighed 35 pounds. [not counting the hoops or any underskirts]

She wears it with suspenders supporting the weight from her shoulders under the bodice and over the stays/pair of bodys/corset.

this is a printed repro of the patterning for quilters. I frequently cheat and buy flash from Fire Mountain Gems. People don't seem to realize how everything mounts up weightwise.

I am really not surprised how heavy the tribbles are. Ever think of using balloons or carefully trimmed large bubble bubble wrap instead of fiber fill?

[Gizmo]

I am really not surprised how heavy the tribbles are. Ever think of using balloons or carefully trimmed large bubble bubble wrap instead of fiber fill?

Wow.. 35lb? youch!


some use fiber fill, some have fabric inside (mostly socks/scraps of stuff) and one or two have bubble wrap in them. Most of them are relatively lightly stuffed to make them maleable too.

The skirt so far (about 40% covered) weighs 9lb and I have tribbles left that weigh ~12lb. I was wondering about velcro or braces as an option already since I do want to make it easily removeable.

Two more photos attached: the three boxes of tribbles and the skirt so far. There is another layer at the top you can't see which is helping it hold over that board.

[AccountingDrone]

Wow.. 35lb? youch!


some use fiber fill, some have fabric inside (mostly socks/scraps of stuff) and one or two have bubble wrap in them. Most of them are relatively lightly stuffed to make them maleable too.

The skirt so far (about 40% covered) weighs 9lb and I have tribbles left that weigh ~12lb. I was wondering about velcro or braces as an option already since I do want to make it easily removeable.

Two more photos attached: the three boxes of tribbles and the skirt so far. There is another layer at the top you can't see which is helping it hold over that board.

Can't wait to see it finished. I really like the little tiger stripe tribbles

I will say that 20 pounds can be easily supported by suspenders, and you could attach them on the inside of the skirt. Though I almost would have made a dual layer uniform shirt, a canvas inner layer attached to the skirt, and an outer layer attached to look like it was tucked into the skirt but not part of the support layer so it would still wrinkle and move when the torso moves.

I am torn, Rob said that we are going to WorldCon when it is in London in 600 days [] but most of the really fancy stuff I have is elizabethan and takes a suitcase unto itself. So I may not actually have a hall costume

[Gizmo]

Can't wait to see it finished. I really like the little tiger stripe tribbles

I will say that 20 pounds can be easily supported by suspenders, and you could attach them on the inside of the skirt. Though I almost would have made a dual layer uniform shirt, a canvas inner layer attached to the skirt, and an outer layer attached to look like it was tucked into the skirt but not part of the support layer so it would still wrinkle and move when the torso moves.

I love the tigers - they stand out so well! The ocelot (the fancy ones I posted before) blend in a little too much in photos, probably just due to the light but they are fab too!

I'm wondering about braces and a velcro belt of some sort (perhaps on the underneath trousers I'll be wearing) so that it can't sag in too many places as I think the braces/suspenders will allow it to do that too much. The suspenders will help carry the weight and the velcro can stop it falling off of me.

I was wondering about having a fake layer underneath the top skirt with room to tuck the uniform overtop into but I think it will make the uniform too bulky - I'll already have the undershirt and over top to deal with. (Its the Sisko grey/red of this one that is being made for me: http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Starfleet_uniform_(2373) )

I do have a hoop skirt if I can find it which might help - I know its quite a tight waistband. I think half the problem is that the skirt I'm building on was a little big to start with and I've now lost another size and a half or so (I'm sure I'll gain it back though!!) so its got nothing to hold on to really. As usual now I've been thinking about it and garnering opinion I'm slightly less worried.

It would be funny to build it round a rolling frame too though - I could step out and walk away leaving a pile of tribbles behind!

[wolfie]

I made one small miscalculation/lack of thought though! One tribble weighs virtually nothing... lots of tribbles weigh LOTS - especially when they are on a verticalish surface! So this costume is going to need a wheeled frame underneath otherwise I'm not going to be able to keep it up!

The "whole lot of virtually nothings adds up to a lot" is a common phenomenon. It's the basis for "salami" computer fraud (steal little bits that are unlikely to be noticed, such as the roundoff errors that don't add up to a full cent in interest calculations). Also, a sheet of looseleaf/printer paper doesn't seem like much, but a paper load will "weigh out" (reach the maximum weight that can legally be carried) while occupying less than half the volume of a 53 foot dry van.

[AccountingDrone]

I do have a hoop skirt if I can find it which might help - I know its quite a tight waistband. I think half the problem is that the skirt I'm building on was a little big to start with and I've now lost another size and a half or so (I'm sure I'll gain it back though!!) so its got nothing to hold on to really. As usual now I've been thinking about it and garnering opinion I'm slightly less worried.

It would be funny to build it round a rolling frame too though - I could step out and walk away leaving a pile of tribbles behind!

If you add a bumroll it helps make a shelf to hang a heavy skirt upon.


And I actually like the idea of a rolling conical skirt of tribbles on a frame

[Gizmo]

If you add a bumroll it helps make a shelf to hang a heavy skirt upon.


And I actually like the idea of a rolling conical skirt of tribbles on a frame

That is an awesome idea and might just be what I need to make it stand up on its own! Since the bumroll is tied at one end that could help tighten the waistband enough that with braces as well it will work!

I found the hoop skirt and that does nothing for it but I tried clipping it so it was tight around my waist and it did roughly stay where I put it. I'd want some support for safety and weight distribution but the braces should easily be able to do that I hope.

I do like the idea of the rolling pile too... gives many photo oppertunities!

[Gizmo]

I did get hold of a walker that would have been just right - it just fitted my hips inside so it wouldn't have looked too bulky and I wouldn't have to worry about steering it as my hips would lead it where it needed to go.

Except I'm sad to say that for now this has been cancelled or at least postponed. I'm not attending the event it was meant for after having my other volunteer work for them treated with disrespect as if it was totally and utter crap (its not, a few lines need a bit of a tidy but otherwise it at least acceptable and one piece of it looks almost printed. Its certainly up to what has been done before without issue.) and then being told that I'm not allowed to be upset and take it personally even though it was communicated exceptionally rudely and without actually giving me detail on what was *so* wrong until we really pressed to find out.

As such I'm not attending the event, won't be providing the stuff I've done so far (after all if its so bad it shouldn't be used at all), and am barely dodging the depression bullet that has been heading my way all year. I'll deal with the depression, it will just take some time.

Hopefully I'll one day manage to complete the costume but I can't even go near the thing at the moment.