Custom Costume for Jillian

My original design for Jillian’s costume.

The silk kimono front.

The silk kimono back

Close up of the silk lightening bolt piecework.

Jillian’s romper, before she took it in to fit her much more snugly.

Close up of the button-front closure.

Close up of the shoulder pad. I spent so much time making these shoulder pads- I love them so much!

This costume is a successful execution of my original idea for Jillian Gayle, the lead singer for David Bowie tribute bad: The Goon Squad. When she first reached out to me to design something for singing in a David Bowie tribute show I had a million ideas. David Bowie is at the heart of my creative identity, so it came naturally. Working together from Texas to Maryland I shared fabric options with her through pictures and she sent me measurements. This romper and kimono are the brainchild of two huge Ziggy Stardust fans. It also was a multi-week process building the shoulder pads and creating the romper and kimono pattern. Lucky for us both, Jillian can sew proficiently and was able to take the romper in when she received it. She is much more petite than I understood when working, something that a fitting in person would have really helped. The process of designing, sewing, and seeing this costume come to life on stage is a dream come true. Jillian rocked it and I hope David Bowie is proud!

Jillian Gayle

Great view of shoulder pads on Jillian.

Her shoe choice was perfect for the mixed palette of stripes.

The Goon Squad!!! https://www.facebook.com/The-Goon-Squad-/

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Incredibly Dead! Costumes

 

One of the most exciting characters that jumped to life from the script, for me, was Claude. He is an escaped criminally insane cannibal. He would be in a straight jacket and rolled on stage like Hannibal Lector. I wanted his costume to be textured like a dirty bandage. I created the fabric by tearing strips of old bedsheets and sewing them down in a few different ways. What really intrigued me about making his straight jacket was that it needed to be tear-away. In his solo number he reveals a Wes-Anderson tailored suit to sing amongst his undead victims.  This scene had me dying laughing!

Lucky for me, I found a Pierre Cardin jacket at the Value Village that looks fantastic on my actor!

DryBones Emporium craftwomanship!

Work was excellent today at DryBones! I created with wire, bones, crystals, beetle wings, coral beads, and various teeth.

It is taxing on my wrists, hands, and shoulders to do wire work. However, I find the exact perfectionism of my Boss Cat’s designs to be well worth the effort.

This work makes me so proud to be an artist and a skilled handmaker. It took weeks of training to learn from the DryBones mastermind. Her designs are completely origional and cruelty free. If you are curious to shop in person: everything you see here is available at the Maryland Rennaissance Festival!

Worthy Threads Fall Launch and 2018 Best of Baltimore

It was over a year ago that I began sewing Worthy Threads Classic Pinafores. The sun comes up, I brew coffee, and my rotary cutter meets fabric. Shit gets done. The pattern has changed ever so slightly, but my familiarity with it is expert. Positively, the new Fall fabrics breathe new life into my daily sewing practice. The new jungle pattern tends to click with my nail polish color and the vintage cars print is designed for straight cuts. Boy, does that make my life easier.

One of the biggest changes I get to finesse is sewing the new Peter Pan collared dress! It is so much different than the Classic Pinafore in the pattern pieces and execution. The adventure is real. My favorite aspect of the challenge so far is sewing sleeves in the dress with these tiny little armpits. Serious maneuvering required!!!!

Check out pictures of the new patterns and styles at worthy-threads.com

PS: Winning Best of Baltimore for Kid’s Online Clothing was a wonderful surprise this year. Of course, this motivates me to sew perfectly and as much as possible. Time to get back to work!

Incredibly Dead! Opening soon!

Dress parade was a joyful success! I am so happy that all 26 costumed characters are accounted for. Of course, not everything is done. Final critiques and edits are being made this week. The major badassness is real in the Marauders and the suave sophisticated characters are looking ravishing. It’s going to be a great show.

To read more about the show and get tickets visit BROS: Incredibly Dead!

Worthy Threads 2018 patterns

Sushi and Llama prints

Cakes

2017 Limited edition Beach

STEM

Barbershop

Moon Cycle print

Sushi and Llama prints

DINO

As I say goodbye to the exciting and smartly picked prints of 2017, I also say hello to a spread of equally tasteful fabrics. 2018 Worthy Threads patterns stay true to the brand mission: “Worthy Threads is a new line of kids clothing that highlights the individuality of our children and the people who dress them.” There are car blueprint dresses, dreamcatcher dresses, bustling beach dresses, and adorably doodled chickens.

Automobile Blueprint

2018 Beach print

Chickens

Dreamcatchers

At a rate of 2 dresses a day I have 52 more to cut, press, and sew by the end of the month.

Time to get to work!!!

 

Baltimore Rock Opera Society begins: INCREDIBLY DEAD!

    

     Prepare to scream and laugh at the next BROS production of Incredibly Dead! Michael Ziccardi, Kathy Carson, Chris LaMartina, and Matthew Pie are the creators behind the ruckus script. There will be badasses, there will be body parts, and there will be re-animation.

   I’m thrilled to be designing for a large cast of funeral parlor folk. As Costume Department Leader I have just begun measuring the cast and sketching their looks. Asia McCallum is a Howard college student whose focus is primarily in costume design and production. She will be assisting me through the process and I am so happy to have her help as we get things started! 

Sunday January 21, 2018 is an all hands volunteer meeting. If you are interested in making sets, props, or costumes reach out to me and I will share time and location with you. (My email is kzotti@mica.edu)

This will be an unforgettable show! I can’t wait to get sewing!