Sif (The Dark World) - Completed (Mostly)

[andveryginger]

Re: Sif (The Dark World) - WIP

Yes, I am extremely glad the shield is formed and detailed! I shaped it a bit today and added some more detail using the puff paint. Waiting for that to dry so I can toss a coat or two of primer on it and get on with it.

I started a couple of experiments with adhesives -- E6000, E6000 spray, and contact cement, testing them with some craft foam and some worbla scraps. (Note: The contact cement and E6000 spray look very similar. Hmmm...) Hoping I can figure a way for it to work. For the back of the shield, the bare worbla, when heated, may be enough to get things started; Heaven knows it was sticking to the wax paper enough last night while I was working on the detail! I think I read, though, that contact cement works well with it. Just have to see if the kind that I bought (low odor LePage's) will work.

I should probably also investigate some high heat glue guns and construction adhesives. I'd honestly just glue leather to the foam and then to the back of the shield if I had enough. Going to have just enough to get the skirt and bodice done, as it stands, though. I'd order more...if I thought it would get here in a timely fashion.

 

[stigmorgan]

Re: Sif (The Dark World) - WIP

Have you considered using silicone as an adhesive? Its simple cheap and sticks to most things well

 

[andveryginger]

Re: Sif (The Dark World) - WIP

I haven't actually considered that, Stig, but I'll add it to the back up list. For now, I picked up some contact cement and gel super glue. The E6000 seems to work fairly well thus far in my tests, and the low-odor contact cement does okay when one actually follows the instructions... =D

Worked on the skirt today, testing out the pattern before taking a chance with the leather. Turns out it was a good thing: I'd originally drafted the skirt to be screen accurate, with 5 panels in the front and 5 in the back. When I put it together today, I discovered that, size-wise, it was two panels too big. I remedied this by taking out the two "side front panels, leaving me with 3 in the front and 5 in the back. So, not entirely screen accurate, but it still looks pretty good:



I'm still struggling with the details. I'd like to do the corded ladder stitch, but ( a ) I'm finding it difficult to get the cording threaded through the stitching and ( b ) I'm running out of time on the clock, and the ladder stitching takes a long time, even on the sewing machine. I've always been of the opinion that if something is worth doing, it's worth doing properly the first time... but I also have to recognize what details are important, what aren't, and when I'm letting my OCD tendencies get the better of me.

On the other hand, taking out two panels saves me that amount of work... right? =D

I really can be my own worst enemy!

So, left to do:

- Bodice. This will not take long, but I will need to be careful, working with leather.

- Skirt. Again, shouldn't take long, but my construction method may need to vary, if my spiffy press cloth doesn't show up from the States soon. And it will take longer if I decide to do the decorative stitching. I'll feel better tackling this, I think, if some of my other things are checked off the list.

- Add velcro and other attachments to armor. I realize now that I should have done more of this prior to painting. The interior will be bare worbla, however, so interior attachments won't be difficult. The exterior -- I was planning on using rivets/brads and combining that with some super glue or E6000. I also have a hot knife available for the tough jobs.

- Weather armor. Oh, the details...!

- Wrap sword grip.

- Finish trimming lace front wig.

I would really like to get this done for DragonCon... I have about 2 weeks. I can do this. I think.

 

[stigmorgan]

Re: Sif (The Dark World) - WIP

Plan to succeed and you will succeed in your plan. Anything is possible if you put your mind to it.

 

[andveryginger]

Re: Sif (The Dark World) - WIP

Still waiting for my package from the States, I opted to tackle the armor again today. Got a few coats of primer onto the shield and started weathering on the pieces I've already painted. So far, I've got the lower breastplate, the backplate, the bracers, and the shoulders to a decent stage; I haven't started the top breastplate yet:



I've been using a black-brown acrylic wash, then following with a black acrylic wash. In the cracks and crevasses, I took a fine, wet brush with black paint and then used a dry brush to help soften it and spread it around. I made sure to dab the dry brush into some dark brown paint and worked most of it off before using it to fan out the black. It adds a bit more dimension to the color, and is closer to what I see in the high res photos I'm using for reference. I'm learning, too, that I need to go a little further than I think I do if I want the effects to show up well on camera. At the same time, I don't want to ruin the piece by over-doing it, either. A fine line.

Tomorrow, I'll touch up the backplate a bit more before tackling the top breastplate. I'll also throw a coat of paint onto the shield, provided the rain holds off. Yes, I can paint in the garage -- and do -- but when the coastal "breezes" kick up, it blows the rain all over the place. Figures that we're scheduled for a chance of rain the rest of the week.

Looking forward to getting the weathering done so I can finally get the paint out from under my nails! =)

 

[andveryginger]

Re: Sif (The Dark World) - WIP

I think I've finished with the upper and lower breastplate, the backplate, pauldrons, and bracers. Still have to paint the shield; touch up the sword; and make the wierd little collar pieces, from fab to paint. A couple of shots of the armor so far -- with apologies for the lighting and cellphone camera:



The bubbles still show up, but I'm learning to live with them. Too late to completely redo everything now, anyway! Looking forward to getting the red leather onto the inset portions, to break up the silver and help set off some of the weathering a bit. Overall, though, I'm fairly happy, as it's shiny, but not overly so, and the texture has helped with the weathering process. If I have time tomorrow, I might bust out the DSLR and take some pics to see how it looks with a real camera.

 

[stigmorgan]

Re: Sif (The Dark World) - WIP

Looks stunning. I know the bubbling is not intentional but personally I think it adds to the weathered look. Great work I cant wait to see it completely finished

 

[Stinkape]

Re: Sif (The Dark World) - WIP

Very nice work !!

 

[PunisherNC]

Re: Sif (The Dark World) - WIP

How'd I miss this thread? WOW..you are really knocking this project out of the park

 

[andveryginger]

Re: Sif (The Dark World) - WIP

Thanks, guys! =D This is probably the most complicated build I've attempted, so the warm fuzzies are definitely appreciated! (Can't wait to see your Supes all put together, BTW, Punisher!)

My DH will be going overseas this week, so I'm going to make the final push to get everything done, starting with the last of the (main) weathering today -- mainly a bit of touch up on the backplate. Once I get the collar pieces done, I'll have to do them, but I'm not overly concerned with them at this point. Layering over the two different washes doesn't take long, and a perfect color match isn't required.

My rajah cloth shipped from the States on the 31st of July. It's now 16 August. Since construction of the bodice won't require too much turning, I'm going to to ahead and start it...even if I really would like to press some of the shipping wrinkles out of my leather. I'm hoping the press cloth will at least get here before I have to start the skirt.

There are somethings I won't miss about living here when we finally move back to Texas. Slow shipping speeds is one of them!

 

[andveryginger]

Re: Sif (The Dark World) - WIP

Not much of an update for the moment, but.... MY PRESSING CLOTH GOT HERE!



I feel like Steve Martin in The Jerk...

Hope to have a bit more of an update later. For now, I think a bit of a break, and then back to it.

 

[coregeek]

Re: Sif (The Dark World) - WIP

FINALLY!!!! That's gotta feel pretty good after such a long wait.

 

[BGefrich]

Re: Sif (The Dark World) - WIP

Every time I get back to this thread, all of my expectations are far exceeded and I have to recalibrate to how awesome this is.

 

[andveryginger]

Re: Sif (The Dark World) - WIP

Thanks, BG -- I really appreciate that. I often look and see what's wrong, rather than what's right, so the kudos are helpful in breaking that mindset! =)

So I actually broke down and started cutting fabric -- and leather -- for the bodice and skirt today. I realized that, in order to figure out what leather I had left for the straps and insets, I needed to cut the rest of the pieces first. Logistics! Who knew?! =D I started with the interlining/lining for the bodice and skirt, then finally shifted over to the leather later this evening:



The leather you see there is the one slightly off-color hide I have, which has the tiniest bit more orange in the coloring (in daylight) than the other hides. I'm trying to save them for the larger, more visible pieces, so I cut the side panels for front and back from this hide, as they'll likely be less visible under the armor. And, because this is (sadly) also the largest hide, I opted to cut a test panel for the skirt from this bit as well.

Most patterns annotate placement of buttonholes, pockets, or embellishments. And, most of the time, when using patterns that have such things, I mark them in chalk or disappearing ink. Unfortunately, as I lack the lovely disappearing leather marker Tandy makes, I can't do the same for the finished side of the leather; I've had to come up with an alternate solution. Since I'll need to use some sort of stabilizer anyway, I opted to trace the stitching guides onto tear-away stabilizer. I can put that on top of the leather, giving me guidelines to sew over and helping the leather feed properly through the feed dogs:



I'm still not sure if I'm going to do the embellishment. I'd really like to be done with everything so I can do a test fit on Sunday; Monday at the latest. If I do the corded stitching, that will probably add two days onto the construction process (at least). I'll be able to better judge the time sink -- and the construction method -- after I work on the test panel tomorrow. The muslin tests were okay, but I never did manage to get the cording threaded through the stitching. And of course I forgot the cording foot back in Houston. Meh.

The end is in sight... but the devil is going to be in the details over the next few days.

 

[andveryginger]

Re: Sif (The Dark World) - WIP

So while I'd intended to spend the day working with the leather bits, I ended up working with the "chainmail" bits instead. I drafted a skirt pattern, cut it, and stitched it all today. Nothing fancy, and I think I would have preferred some different finishing techniques but the material was kind of a PITA to work with. Easier than I thought it would be, yes, but still difficult. It'll work fine as a base layer:



It wasn't until after dinner that I finally turned my attention to the leather. First thing I discovered was that this leather is so lightweight that I cannot start too close to the edge, else everything gets sucked down into the feed dogs. The second thing I discovered is that, also because the leather is lightweight enough, I don't necessarily need the teflon foot when sewing with the right sides together, and the "suede" side out. It stitches very nicely and, with the press cloth, presses fairly well, too.

That out of the way, I started playing with the skirt test panel. I found it was necessary to have the stabilizer with the leather to get the machine to feed the project through, though it didn't matter if the stabilizer was on top or bottom. I used a knitting "finishing needle" to thread the 1/8" cording through the stitching. A bit of finagling, but it did finally work. I actually realized about half way through the process that the whole thing really was going to work and it was going to look pretty darn cool:



The whole process, however, took a little over an hour. Add in room for error, and it clocks in somewhere around the hour and fifteen mark. Multiply that by 8 panels, and you end up with about ten hours -- just to assemble the skirt panels, and not even the skirt itself. That also doesn't take into consideration that each panel really has at least 2 rows of corded stitching; both the center front and center back have three. If I had gotten my press cloth on Thursday or Friday of last week, I think it would be possible. At this point, however, I think I'm going to have to forego the decorations and just go with plain skirt panels... which totally bums me out because it does work and it does look really awesome. I just don't have the time. =(

I wasn't happy with the way the sword blade was looking, so I tossed another coat of silver on while I was out painting the collar armor accents. Tomorrow, I think I'll finish up the weathering process for all that and test out a finish. Last year, for Valkyrie, I used a satin acrylic finish. Not quite sure what I want to use for Sif.

So. freaking. close....and yet so freaking far. ::headdesk::

 

[andveryginger]

Re: Sif (The Dark World) - WIP

A late start in the sewing room today meant I didn't get nearly as much done as I would have liked. Still, I managed to get the bodice and the skirt cut out of the leather hides and start fitting the insets for the leather. I'll start construction tomorrow, I think... after I decide whether or not I'm going to interface or interline the bodice.

I'm rather pleased with the way the insets are shaping up. I only got the lower half fitted, as the top insets are going to be much more fiddly and require more fine-tuning. Nothing is glued in place yet, but I'm definitely getting excited about seeing the whole thing together!



Trying to decide, too, whether I should do a satin finish or a gloss finish on the armor. I'm leaning toward satin, as it worked well for me before, and would tone down some of the shiny from the metallic paint. (The crappy overhead lighting in the pic above doesn't tell the story.) Might have to use the collar pieces as the guinea pigs.

Still trying to figure out the strapping for the shield, too. It may be time to recruit my engineer husband to help me think through a couple of solutions. Thankfully, he'll be back from his work trip this weekend and can pitch in. =D

 

[Earendil]

Re: Sif (The Dark World) - WIP

Awesome job!

 

[andveryginger]

Re: Sif (The Dark World) - WIP

All done!

Well, mostly.

Finished the shield in the courtyard of the Hilton on Thursday morning, as to avoid stinking up the hotel room with the liberal amounts of E6000 I was using. Really, really proud of it; moreso than the armor, I think.

The armor... needs quite a bit of work. It did not get shaped as well as I would have liked, and ended up making me look quite a bit wider and blockier than I am once layered together. I'm not a waif, but should not look like Gimli. I also did not wear the front hip plates I made, nor the collar pieces. Overall, I've decided that female armor is a PITA...and I'm going back to spandex next year. Granted, that means a better diet and exercise, but oh well. Moving back to the US at the end of the month will make that a lot easier. (Age of Ultron Black Widow and B:TAS Batgirl are currently on the menu, with an Age of Ultron Hawkeye for my husband.)

I do love the way the leather insets turned out, especially once I layered the satin coat over everything, including the leather.

Got knocked down by a migraine on Saturday, so I only ended up wearing the armor and all for a couple of hours on Sunday night. I was, at least, able to get a few shots in. Just wish I'd been able to make better use of my multi-pass, and meet up with another photographer friend whom I missed this year!

Photos (of course) by the illustrious Bryan Humphrey.

 

[Yrien]

That turned out pretty spectacular, I think! Your shield is gorgeous​, and the leather looks fantastic!

 

[andveryginger]

Thanks! =D Glad to be fairly well done with round one, I must admit.

Still need to work on the posing thing. I hate having my picture taken, darn it.