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Chat Gift Exchange -- Val's Capelet

Wed, 03/21/2012 - 09:48 — Maggie

Yea, I know I've been horrible about blogging lately.
So finally I'm getting around to posting about the capelet I made for Val for the PR chat gift exchange. I forgot to take pictures before mailing it, so the picture is Val's.

In the questionaire for the gift exchange, Val said she has fitting issues so she didn't think clothing was do-able. So I figured that she wouldn't be expecting clothing, and the Simplicity 3921 capelet doesn't require much fitting.
I used a turquoise wool gabardine and a light purple dupioni for the lining. Originally I was planning on using these two purple appliques I had from a mystery box as a front embellishment.. but then I realized that they were identical, not mirror images of each other, so there went that idea. So I dug through my trims box some more and pulled out the ruffly white lace, which was excuse to use the jar of purple dye-na-flow that had been sitting on my desk since some sale a year or two ago. So I got experimental and dyed the lace purple. First I tried painting it on, but then I realized that for bright color it needs salt, so I ended up mixing it with some water and salt in a plastic container and letting it soak. I still have to figure out what else to dye purple, assuming that the dye-water-and-salt mixture is still good. It's sitting on my kitchen counter.

The instructions on the dye say to iron it to set the color. Obviously this wasn't particularly practical with ruffly lace. Happily, a hair dryer works too! I soaked, hair-dryed, repeated a bit to get the color where I wanted it. Then hand-washed it with some detergent to get off the salt and excess dye. Water ran clear, and lace was still purple. Yay!
Then I hand-sewed that flowery trim (another mystery box item) over the seam where I'd sewn on the purple lace, so that the seam wouldn't be visible.

Val thinks it could be reversible. If I'd thought of that I would have put a button on the other side too! Val had told me awhile ago that she was allergic to wool but that she could wear it so long as it was lined. For some reason it didn't occur to me that as I was making something that she'd wear over other clothes, the wool allergy was irrelevant anyways. And the lace isn't exactly the same color as the lining.
But Val was all happy and so I'm all happy.
And now I've finally blogged it!

*Perception* Damask Corsets

Sat, 03/10/2012 - 12:29 — Maggie

I've released another set of rigged mesh corsets, this time in damask. (Plus that turquoise straggler that belongs with the dupioni set.) I used a cream-colored damask jacquard from a FabricMart bundle as the base texture, which I think turned out quite well.
*Perception* Damask Corsets*Perception* Damask Corsets
I actually put them up last week, but I've been procrastinating about blogging them. Partly because I needed to update my Drupal version (which I did this morning) and partly because I've been having issues getting pictures I like.
I'd really much prefer to take some pictures with a decent backdrop instead of just cutting out the solid background, but nothing seems quite right. I'm not even quite sure what it is that I want for a background.. just that whatever it is, I don't have it. (Suggestions on that would be appreciated..)

My corsets use standard sizing XXS-L, plus the M+ size intended for very curvy avatars. (Based on Inhandra's shape.) The M+ here isn't actually as different as it is for some other garments since I made them with the intent of using alpha layers to nip in the waist.

Corsets and demos are available on the Marketplace and in-world at *Perception*.

Corsetry in Second Life

Tue, 02/28/2012 - 08:35 — Maggie

Bejeweled Sky Corset: On the Marketplace and In-World at *Perception*!Bejeweled Sky Corset: On the Marketplace and In-World at *Perception*! Black Dupioni CorsetBlack Dupioni CorsetThe first of my mesh corsets are now up in-world and on the Marketplace!

So far I've done versions in black, white, "blue raspberry" (purple,) and "bejeweled sky" (A dark blue with rhinestones.)

I'm still fiddling with fabrics and embellishments. Ideally this will be a good way of planning future corsets.

My Skirt in a Video!

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 16:02 — Maggie

*Does happy dance*

Mesh Corset (No, not mesh fabric.)

Wed, 02/15/2012 - 22:39 — Maggie

Mesh Corset: In-progress mesh corset.Mesh Corset: In-progress mesh corset. Yes, I'm still making digital stuff.
I've got most of the modeling on this corset finished, but currently it's just got basic baked textures. (I baked with 0 margin so that the seams would at least be visible, but besides the UV unwrapping and baking the textures, that's all I've really done so far as texturing it. I did get quite detailed with the modeling on this one, though.

*Perception* Shetland Wool Skirts

Mon, 02/06/2012 - 14:24 — Maggie

*Perception* Shetland Wool Skirt: Available on the SL Marketplace and in-world at *Perception**Perception* Shetland Wool Skirt: Available on the SL Marketplace and in-world at *Perception*
I've finally finished some rigged mesh!
It's up on the marketplace and at my in-world shop, currently in five colors (grey, black, red, navy, and purple.) I'll probably put up some additional colors too.

I finally caved and started using the Standard Sizing, largely because I didn't have any better ideas. The parametric deformer should make sizing less of an issue once it's implemented, but it hasn't been yet and I may as well go with what's available. They're saying it's going to be specified on upload, so meshes made with standard sizing now shouldn't break when the deformer goes live. (And may continue to look better, depending on how things go.) Besides the five standard sizes, I did an additional one I'm calling "Medium plus" that's based off of Inhandra's shape, meant to fit a curvy shape that seems to have been left out of the standard sizing.

Eku and Ame were my guinea pigs, and great guinea pigs at that! Eku had some really great advice, although seeing her in-world was rather disorienting; I'm used to that adorable little-girl-with-a-giant-strawberry-stuffed-in-her-mouth forum avatar.

For you seamstresses thinking I'm crazy, it's Shetland wool because I used the GIMP resynthesize plugin to create the base texture from a photo of some Shetland wool. :P (Yes, I know, you still think I'm crazy.)

More Second Life Shoes

Thu, 12/22/2011 - 16:34 — Maggie

In-Progress Sweater BootsIn-Progress Sweater BootsIn-Progress Wedge BootsIn-Progress Wedge BootsIn Progress WedgesIn Progress WedgesRandom Shoe Parts in BlenderRandom Shoe Parts in Blender Yes, I know it's strange, I'm not a shoe person in real life. But SL shoes are fun. And SL heels don't make my avatar fall on her face.

So I've been sculpting shoes, in various phases from half-started to half-finished. Some of them are getting there, though! I've worked on the sweater boots a bit more since I took this picture, I should have them up in-world soon.

I'm doing these as sculpties. It doesn't really make sense to do rigged meshes here-- between fitting issues and the fact that plenty of people still aren't using mesh-capable viewers, the advantages of rigging just wouldn't be enough.

New Sculpties

Sun, 12/11/2011 - 14:32 — Maggie

Sculpted Ballet FlatsSculpted Ballet FlatsFree Christmas Ballet FlatsFree Christmas Ballet FlatsSculpted FurnitureSculpted FurnitureSculpted Display FurnitureSculpted Display FurnitureSculpted CurtainsSculpted Curtains Yes, I've been working on stuff.. but most of it has been digital.
I bought the development version of Primstar 2 so I've been doing mostly sculpts rather than mesh. A lot of people still aren't using mesh viewers, and sculpties are more efficient for a lot of purposes.
I finished up the sculpted ballet flats I've been working on, although I've only got the black up for sale in my shop, Perception. (And the free Christmas version, which is sitting on the desk.)

I've done some furniture sculpts, mostly stuff like the clothing rack, shelves, and easel that I wanted to use in my shop.

The sculpted curtains still need a bit of work; they look fine, but the angle is off so they don't really stretch easily. I've also been doing them as planes, which makes them one-sided. I should probably try them as cylinders, but of course then there won't be as much detail. Eventually I'll have both plane and cylinder versions, I guess.
The bottom pieces of the jeans are also sculpted. Weird things happen at the ankle in SL's standard system pants layer, especially on anything that's not skin-tight.

Penannular Brooches

Thu, 12/08/2011 - 10:50 — Maggie

Penannular Brooches: From Thorthor's HammerPenannular Brooches: From Thorthor's Hammer
Alright, well here's a belated post.
Ever since I made the cloak-ish looking big cozy sweater cloak last year, I've been browsing the internet for penannular brooches.

So after I finished my velvet-and-wool cloak I decided it was time to finally buy one! I found this lovely little site called Thorthor's Hammer that has a nice section of penannular brooches.
I actually ended up buying two, because the really simple ones were nice and cheap and it occurred to me that they'd work well for fastening a medieval belt as well.

I'm impressed. They're quite nice, and the shipping was inexpensive and quick.

Pink Simplicity 4079 Vest

Thu, 12/01/2011 - 12:55 — Maggie

Pink Simplicity 4079 VestPink Simplicity 4079 Vest Really, I haven't been doing nothing.. I just haven't been posting. Bad me.

So I finished this Simplicity 4079 lined vest. I used that pink cotton basketweave that was on sale for $1/yard from FabricMart awhile ago, and lined it with a pink cotton/linen blend.

It's somewhere between a mockup and an actual project. It certainly has its share of problems, not the last of which being that I sorta didn't realize that there's supposed to be a little slit in the bottom of the sides. I was having trouble visualizing how it went together. How to turn it by pulling it through the shoulders is just really hard to imagine until you do it. And the bulky cotton suiting certainly didn't help with that.

I didn't have anything suitable with which to make Chinese frog closures that would match, so I used shell buttons and ribbon loops in the front. The suiting is also too bulky to work with any appropriate buckles I have, so currently the back tabs are just held together with a safety pin until I figure out what to use.

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by Dr. Radut