The making of Maleficent Scissor Hands

Today's post briefly outlines the build process of my latest costume and set of props; the maleficent scissor hands mash up. 

In its completed glory it's a sight to behold, however, many of its finer details representing hours and hours of work end up missed in brief glances. So I'll outline it for you all!  

First off, the cowl. This is the piece everyone notices first, and gives the signature silhouette. 

This started with a slush cast of the horns made from smooth ons simpact resin. Simpact resin is often regarded as useless because it bubbles badly and is  very heavy. That said, it's sturdy stuff when cast and as the name suggests, it can take an impact. 

After the horns are cast next comes a custom head cast to fit the wearer perfectly. This is rarely a fast or clean process but a required one all the same. Here's VampireNomad herself getting her head cast after me marking horn placement!

Sassy. 

The cowls base was fibreglass reinforced and then leather wrapped to match the style in the 2014 maleficent film. 

Next was the neck corset, which is a very altered version of one of Ralph Pinks patters, I adore his patterns, they are wonderbar!

The corset is an altered version of VampireNomad's previous custom corset from me, this time with more of a nipped in waist, an extreme pointe neckline, no busk closure instead it features a heavy duty metal zipper closure under the arm and a straight bottom. In addition to these patterning changes, this corset like the neck corset, features a PVC fashion layer with belted detail throughout. The belts made for a new challenge and sewing considerations! All in all, the entire outfit required four fittings to get just right. 

The outfit also includes belted gauntlets which attach/detach from the side of the neck corset. Also included is a belted A-line dress and tattered hemline cloak with train. As well as scissor fingers made from thermal plastic;

The staff presented interesting design considerations as it needed to be both huge and small- huge to be imposing. Small to be transported in its owners smart car. With that in mind I made the staff leather bound in the midsection to hide a split where it can be disassembled. Mounted atop the staff is a sphere with a scissor perch for Diablo the raven whom was made from a taxidermists bird form, feathered with goose and rooster feathers. 

When assembled the staff measures up at 8 feet tall. 

All in all, this is a wickedly intense outfit that used a wide range of my skills both in the realm of prop construction, sewing and pattern adjustment. Challenges like this piece are what allow me to grow my skills and I'm thankful for amazing clients that give me the freedom to make pieces like this become reality!

You can see Maleficent scissor hands in person at my booth or panel at this years Edmonton comic and entertainment expo!

Everything you need to know about smoothing worbla!

I  I When I first began working woth worbla I hated it. Hate is a strong word but suiting. It took me many tried and a grey deal of wasted material to make anything worthwhile from the stuff. 

Of all the skills needed to work with worbla, smoothing the seams is both the most valuable and hardest earned. So, dear reader, in the interest of saving you some time, frustration and wallet strain I give you; everything you need to know about smoothing worbla! 

You'll need:

-worbla

-a good heat gun (just pull up your pants and invest in this tool- if you buy the crappy ones you'll just kill them constantly.) 

-a pressing tool- some people use the pressing thingy from a mortar and pestle (not sure if the pressing thingy is the mortar or pestle...). I personally use a long since dead portable USB charger- it's got a metal casing and it serves the purpose, plus I would have thrown it out anyway! 

-a buck to press the worbla over. I use a variety of bowls for round things and glass heads easily acquired from any antique store for mask type applications. 

First things first, heat a pice of worbla and spread it over the pressing buck as best you can. There will be wrinkles and that's okay, those will be smoothed later. Look at this wrinkly piece of junk! It's still salvageable! 

Secondly, get your handy pressing tool and heat gun- apply a bit of heat only to the spot to be worked on. 

Now it's time to go to town with your pressing tool. I both roll out the seams like you would cookie dough with a rolling pin: 

And I use the end of the tool to more or less bash the thing into submission with small taps and dragging motions: 

It takes time, and a bit of patience, but this is the bestetiod I've come across for making seamless joints. Not to mention it saves a ton of prep work with filler material at the pre painting/paint prep stages. 

For inquiring minds, this is the rest of said project coming to life:

With filler and ready for paint prep;

Happy worbla working!

As always, all information and photos from this blog are the intellectual property of dark knits boutique and may not be reproduced or copied without express written consent. 

Creature couture collection

The release of the 2015 DKB creature couture collection was not only a huge launch for me and DKB but it represents a huge leap in my skill sets. 

This collection has it all; my usual corsetry has been pushed to the next level with new shillouhettes and shapes,  this collection introduced new options to the DKB line up that have never been seen before- wings that span five feet, huge headdresses, creature shoes, huge gowns and saucy skirts- the whole nine yards is covered here form head to toe! 

The best part? The collection is on tour so you can see it in person! The creature couture collection will be on display at the upcoming RAW artist collective show on June 4, 2015- at union hall in Edmonton. Tickets for RAWs "Splendor" show are only $15 and that includes a live band and art gala! You can contact me for tickets if interested.

Take a peek at the collection here; 

Special thanks to show hosts, all the models, photographers, hair and makeup folk who helped make this a reality. 

All content shown here, including photos is the intellectual property of dark knits boutique and may not be copie or reproduced without express written permission. 

Shipping day how I love thee!

Today is shipping day here at the DKB studios, and for me that means it damn near like Christmas. 

Instead of a partridge in a pear tree the wonderful mail man brought to me; 

ten stitch rippers for a tearing, 

Nine different feet for sewing machines,

Eight yards of metallic PVC,

Seven boxes of DKB branded stickers,

Six rolls of stabilizers,

Five yards of printed silk faille,

Four packs of bobbins, 

Three double needles,

Two rolls of boning 

And a new pair of gingher tailors shears!!

(I've long since given up making this rhyme) 

I should be good to go for awhile with all that!!  Now if only I had a place to store it all. Sewing problems. 

Crystal maiden cosplay build

We were recently commissioned to build a complete Crystal Maiden cosplay from DOTA 2. We couldn't be happier with how it came out, it was an intense build! 

The finished product, and it's happy owner! 

The entire build included;

-staff with LED lighting 

-faux fur leg warmers with straps

-purple leggings with cut outs

-gauntlets with straps

-belted skirt with appliqué

-hooded cloak with appliqué 

-corset with roushing and appliqué 

-shoulder pauldrons 

-bra with appliqué and trimmed in purple 

The whole thing took us six moths to build from start to finish. 

All of the appliqué was done by hand in a heat set arcylic fabric paint. 

This is the staff in all its glory, and various stages of lighting: 

And the complete cosplay;

The gemstones are embroidery wrapped with worbla, the same for the belt buckle. The pauldrons are heat formed EVA foam painted by hand to match the fabric and appliqué. 

This one has levels up our skillset so te speak, and now we are working on even more intense cosplay builds- stay tuned for those in the future!

As always all contents and photos are property of dark knits boutique, they may not be copied or used in part or in whole without express written permission. Email us at darkknits@gmail.com if you have any questions or would like to share this content. 

Headdresses, masks and props- oh my!

I've been putting together a lot of headdresses, props, wings and ear sets recently for my upcoming creature couture collection launch on April 17th 2015. I thought I'd share a few of those with you all, and remind you that a little ingenuity goes a heck of a long ways when building these sorts of things; there's no right or wrong way to do it. Hech there is t even a written way to do a lot of these things, so let your creative juices flow and go nuts! 

 

Wings. One can never really go wrong with wings. They make a statement, they are surprisingly hardy, and have the added bonus of sometimes keeping crowds from getting too close out of fear of being whacked. That last one is super important to those of use who dislike crowds. 

Unicorns and all things mythical leands themselves to headdresses and even costumery since you can go as simple or over the top as you want, after all, no ones ever seen a real unicorn to tell me any differently. 

These antlers were tough. You've got to sculpt them, balance them on the headdress, paint and texture, install and hope it all holds up. Is it worth is? Hell yeah! It makes one hell of a show stopping piece when someone walks out onto a runway in antlers. 

Masks, oh how I adore thee! They are elegant and unexpected, easy for the model, makeup folk love them, and it's a breeze for hair folk to get them attached. 

What's your favourite outfit spice em upper? Let us know in the comments! 

Green screens are amazing

Having never worked with a green screen before, despite having attended countless photoshoots for my many dark knits boutique pieces to be seen by the world, this thing blew my mind. 

It doesn't look like much when standing in front of it, and it's not the most flattering thing in the world, but damn are the results amazing. 

I gave it a whirl for my portal cosplay shoot and at the photographers request, I also brought the TARDIS corset and cosplay. 

Like I said- holy crap, this is awesome. And to make it even better, if in edmonton, the Stanley A. Milner library downtown has one available for use, for FREE. Yes free. You just can't go wrong. 

I honestly could not resist posting this. It's David effing Tennant! 

I also checked out glaDos' cake dispensary. Turns out its a lie. The cosplay however, that's a triumph- making a note here; huge success!