Bella Costumes

My first Etsy sale! And new projects.

Isabella Rayne — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 03:32:46 +0000

Over the weekend, I had my first ever sale on Etsy (a blue gingham vintage apron)! Exciting! I shipped it this morning. It was my first ever online sale, and I was so pumped about it!

I’ve got a few new projects coming up over the next week or so. Gotta finish an apron that I’m making for a friend, a new corset to put up on Etsy, then I can finally start on triple lacing underbusts (a project that I’ve been looking forward to for ages!). They’re going to have interchangeable front panels, allowing for a range of different looks at a lower price than buying several corsets (I.E, black base corset, but being able to change the front panel for tartan, prints, etc.) Can’t wait! I’ve been so distracted lately though due to World of Warcraft (if anyone here plays – I’m Faarx on Jubei’thos)

More sewing! Yus!

xxBella

New listings on Etsy (and aprons!)

Isabella Rayne — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 10:01:15 +0000

I’ve got a few new things up on Etsy – a pinstripe bombshell dress and two new aprons. I just made the aprons today, after wanting to make vintage aprons for a while now.

To have a look at them, either click on the pictures or go here

xxBella

Pinstripe corset for sale!

Isabella Rayne — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 08:19:27 +0000

I finished the pinstripe corset just an hour ago, and I’ve just put it up on Etsy.

It’s definetly a bargain – I don’t think I’d sell another corset this cheap. It’s mainly because it’s my first item up on Etsy. It’s to fit someone with a 28″ waist, steel boned, three layers. To have a look at it, either click the images or go here

xxBella

Pinstripe corset progess

Isabella Rayne — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 16:19:40 +0000

So I’ve been working on a new corset the past few days. Instead of doing a custom order, I decided to make just a basic pinstripe overbust to sell on Etsy. I started it a few nights ago, and it’s nearly finished! I’m very happy with it so far. I just need to drop by Spotlight in the morning to grab some bias binding, then do the grommets. I’m hoping to have it up on Etsy at some point in the next few days. After this one (and a few more unfinished projects), I’ll start taking commissions for custom corsets. I have two bombshell dresses that aren’t quite finished yet. A pinstripe size 12 that I need to re-do the zipper in (the bane of my existence!) and a pink Betty Boop print one that I need to hem, then do the zipper.

At the moment, I’m looking to get a few things up on Etsy. I’m thinking of making some circle skirts and things like that, so I can fill up Etsy a bit. Here’s hoping it does well!

Pinstripe corset

Isabella Rayne — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 06:43:05 +0000

Ever since I bought a fairly large yardage of pinstripe suiting last year, I’ve been aching to make a pinstripe corset. I don’t really wear pinstripe, though. I would like to make one for sale, but would rather wait for someone to express an interest (so I don’t make one with a 28″ waist, and someone with a 22″ waist wants one!)

So, if you or someone you know are interested in a custom pinstripe corset (either overbust or underbust), let me know either in a comment or at isabella-rayne@hotmail.com

Pinstripe tatters and rags skirt

Isabella Rayne — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 13:27:34 +0000

It’s been a while since I’ve done much sewing. We recently had the floorboards polished at home, meaning I was without a sewing machine for a while. Yesterday, though, I decided that it was time I made a new tatters and rags skirt. I recently got my hips pierced, and needed some new skirts that don’t sit up on my waist.

Anyway, voila!

It took probably close to 10 hours. I spent about 1.5 hours cutting out all the tatters and rags (made from scrap fabric left over from pinstripe bombshell dresses), pinstripe suiting and satin lining. It’s actually quite heavy. There’s at least a few hundred pieces of fabric on it. The last one I made, the waistband was a triangle of velvet that tied shut at the front. This time, though, I made a proper waistband. It’s lined with stiff denim and has 8 silver grommets at the front just to give it a bit of zazz. It’s also fairly open at the front, but angles down to just above my knees at the back.

Also, I’m planning to put a few bombshell dresses up for sale soon, so keep an eye out!

New Year’s Eve

Isabella Rayne — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 04:40:12 +0000

Ah, the holiday season. A good time to take a break, sit in front of the aircon, and watch movies… right? Wrong!

For New Year’s, I decided to go to a Magic: The Gathering costume party at the local Good Games store, and then down to Guf for a night of gaming. Yep. I can do that. Wait… I don’t have a costume!

Panic ensued this morning, and I started searching through my deck, trying to find something that I could pull off. Thankfully, I have a Vampire deck, which leaves me with a little room for fun costume wise. I chose Malakir Bloodwitch. It seemed simple enough. Plain black evening dress, chuck a corset on top for good looks, and I’ll be good to go. Until I realised that my plain black evening dress was too big for me these days.

Off to Spotlight! I grabbed some satin, a strapless evening dress pattern, and a couple of meters of chiffon to make a tattered shrug out of.

As for the little bits and pieces to go with the costume, I’m going to bleach and dye my hair bright red, dig out the Blood Vial pendant I bought on my most recent order for fangs (also being worn), some fake eyelashes and some bracelets. I was going to wear red lipstick, but can’t find it. And I don’t have any glue left for my fake nails. Ah well. Close enough is good enough!

Now, to actually go start the dress…

A week of productivity

Isabella Rayne — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 08:08:36 +0000

I’ve been a little busy the past week, mostly being unproductive (I’ve been sucked into the world of Magic: The Gathering!), but I’ve gotten a few things done!

I finished my 1886 black rose overbust, but sadly it turned out a little short at the bust, so it ends up like more of a mid-bust. Apart from that, it’s extremely well fitting, and very comfy! I promise I’ll get around to taking pictures eventually. It doesn’t really look good on my dress form, and I always forget to take pictures when I’ve got it on.

I also finished a bombshell dress that I’ve been making for a friend (another one in pinstripe! Woo!). And I found a pink Betty Boop fabric, which will be made into a bombshell dress for consignment I hope it turns out as well as I’m imagining! I’m about to get a start on it tonight, as I was supposed to have the dresses in between Christmas and New Years. I also really want to make one in white cotton with small black polka dots, and some bodices in black with white dots. So many things to make!

As for Christmas, most of my Christmas present was my sewing set up that I got a little while ago, but yesterday I also got a Spotlight giftcard (which will be spent tomorrow morning!) So that’s gonna be a big help, since I’ve been spending most of my money on fabrics and making a tonne of things that I don’t really need to. Woo hoo!

As for the pinstripe, I bought 10 meters a while ago for a bargain basement price. When I bought the Betty Boop fabric, I was told that they had more pinstripe in. So I’m gonna have to go grab some more! It’s just such a great fabric, and there’s so many things to make out of it. Yay!

xxBella

Grommet press and tapered awl and all these new toys!

Isabella Rayne — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 10:19:14 +0000

I got off to a pretty slow start today, but I ended up getting around to my corset eventually. I was up to putting the busk in, and I was procrastinating it a little bit (okay, a lot).

Awls might be a pain when it comes to grommets, but omigawd, they make busks a lot easier! It went in like a dress, without all the tedious messing around and Fray Stop and things like that. I bought a tapered awl a little while ago, planning to use it for grommets. But trying to get it through coutil and two layers of brocade just didn’t work.

When it came around to doing the grommets, I used my new Homepro free-standing grommet press for them. My favorite part was the way that it cuts the grommet holes without messing around with awls and scissors (I have a scar on my left index finger from working sewing shears through the fabric, and slicing my finger open in the process.). I had a little trouble getting it to work properly, but once I figured it out, they went in like a dream! I did about 20 grommets within just over half an hour (normally it’d take me an entire evening!). I’d previously used eyelets from Spotlight, using a little hand press tool, but it hurt my hands too much, and didn’t press the eyelets in properly.

Tomorrow, I start on the boning! Woo hoo! I’m nearly there!

xxBella

Pinstripe Bombshell – take 2

Isabella Rayne — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 05:40:41 +0000

So, I ended up finishing the pinstripe bombshell for commission last night. It’s shorter than the one I made for myself, and a few little changes here and there. Pictures? I think so!