JJTober 2025 - Day 25: Thread

For the grey undershirt: I had this long sleeved shirt with the PERFECT fabric texture, sleeves, and color. I modified the fit on the torso area and neckline so they could layer easily with the other pieces without extra bulk.

For the red blouse, I went with this pattern from Otome no Sewing. The highlights were: puff sleeves that seemed easy to adjust, super easy raglan construction, free sizing on the bust/waist. I forewent the original underbust tie/drawstring since it wouldn’t be visible anyway. I adjusted the sleeve length and constructed the ruffle hem using the paperbag elastic band method from this tutorial. The ruffles turned out really nice!

This pattern I bought on a whim was the perfect one for the job. Construction-wise, I only needed to adjust the length and account for top stitching the stripes, but basically these were the PERFECT PLEATS for the volume I wanted to achieve. I did a mockup with cheap broadcloth I had lying around to double check the fit and plan out the stripe placement. I ended up with 4cm height stripes spaced 4cm apart.

The upper and center stripes were topstitched to the front and back pattern pieces before I started assembling the shorts. The bottom stripe was a little bit of a cuff-like construction, sandwiching lace in between, to get the cleanest possible result. The stripes proved a bit tricky to line up because I had chosen fabric with stretch. The side that is visible is a tad off, but it’s not glaringly obvious.

I had a moment of self doubt and messed up the zipper installation using my machine. It's a very small imperfection though – I'm SUPER happy with how the shorts turned out!

I used this pattern from Otome no Sewing as the base due to the back zip design and collar style. I made a mockup so I could adjust the armhole cuts and the hourglass cut for the back. I modified the original collar pattern to be taller and built in some box pleats.

I waited until I had the belt completed so I could place the buttonhole embroidery designs. I know I could have done the embroidery better, but I just went for it freehand in my speedrunning stupor. It’s messy, but it will do. It’s fine enough for photos.

The pattern base I used is from a skirt waist piece. I looked to my Otome no Sewing books for ideas, but ultimately I wanted something simple but with a bit of stretch. I think the taffeta looks really nice when it catches the light or gets scrunched with the elastic, but it was a pain to work with. It’s not very forgiving with being punctured, so it looks a bit more beat-up close.

I went with standard spools because the size worked perfectly with the giant skirt pins I used to hold them in place. The pointy end of the pins are covered with clear enamel pin backing pieces. They hold the spools secure enough for convention walking.

When worn with all the other layers, the spool holders work well enough. I wish I had planned for a stiffer inner support layer for the belt itself to reduce the slight warping with the weight.

Unflattering late-night WIP photo time! Mockups for the pieces mentioned above. I had enough leftover cheap broadcloth from old projects to put these together and adjust accordingly. You can see the stripe placement marks made on one half of the shorts and adjustments made to the back cut of the vest.

I wanted to give this as much volume as possible for maximum twirl and butt cape mileage. I drew up a rough pattern and made a mockup to test the amount of gathering, placement of the pleats, etc. (No WIP pictures, sorry!) I went with a simple side-tie, and it held very secure with the fabric type. The pocket pattern I took from a Otome no Sewing pattern and free-handed the placement.

I think my star pattern is a bit simplified compared to the intended design, but this was my very last bit of sewing so I didn’t care too much. The grey fabric had stretch, so I spent a lot of time ironing and baste stitching the 12 individual rectangle pieces before top stitching them on.

I spent a lot of time trying to think of what to use as a base for these, and in the end I settled with these bamboo coasters from the craft store. My partner offered to help with sanding them and drilling them. They are a tad heavy, but they turned out very nice. I originally thought two broach pins superglued to the back would suffice, but I ended up sewing them directly to the outfit pieces to really secure them for convention chaos.

Monster face hair pin: I know this guy should be orange for accuracy, but I got this aluminum badge from a Listen Flavor lucky pack ages ago and it's perfect otherwise.

The earrings are some diy crafting.

The wig: This was towards the end, and I was getting exhausted. My approach was haphazard: cut and style the wig while wearing it, YAY. I did not have the patience to properly curl the pieces that needed it. (I told myself I am leaning into the setting/character.)