Snowflake Outfit

  Have you seen the idea floating around to cut a paper snowflake and use it as a skirt on a paper ballerina? I keep seeing and admiring it, but have never actually cut the pieces myself. Sometime around November, I started wondering if the look could be translated to work on a real person! Then the Project Run and Play theme for November was announced... textile manipulation, and it occurred to me that a skirt like that would definitely work for that category. I fleshed out the idea by planning a quilted jacket and a vinyled shirt to go with the skirt, and went so far as to purchase the materials for the skirt. But the link-up party closed unexpectedly early (mere hours after I'd bought the fabric), and I decided to back-burner the project.until the new year.

  A few weeks ago, I pulled the materials back out and got started! First, I made a tulle-and-satin skirt. As usual, I shot myself in the foot by not buying enough tulle, but it still turned out well!

  Then, I used a shirt that's been in my upcycling box for about 6 years that was the perfect color, turned it into a child-sized shirt, and added vinyl snowflakes:

  I love how these two pieces turned out!

  Then it was time to work on the jacket! This one was the most time-consuming part of the whole project, but I absolutely love it!

  I spent hours quilting it, and it turned out even better than I'd imagined. =)

  And when worn, it has a sweet, vintage vibe that I adore!

  Then it was time for the piece that started the whole outfit, the snowflake layer of the skirt!

 However, the stiffest white felt sold at Joann's turned out to be too fluid to hold the shape I wanted. So I added a felt hoop-skirt... it's not perfect, but it helps.

  Here's Booper wearing all three skirts:

  And then, to top it off, I added a felt beret with a tulle pom-pom:

  I would like this a little bit better with narrower elastic, but this glittery stuff does add to the snowy feeling of the outfit!

  And finally, because I'd decided not to add pockets to the jacket lest it spoil the design lines, I made a fully-lined faux-fur muff:

  Which makes everything look even more vintage-y!

  Well, but then I needed some fun photos to go along with this fun outfit, so I used a whole lot of paint on some background paper that had just arrived in the mail to create a winter scene. (Background paper wasn't the best choice for painting on. Next time I'd probably try canvas with a layer of gesso on it.)

  And then I put some cushions on the floor and covered them with white fabric, then batting, to create 'snow drifts'. The batting was too sheer to use by itself, but with the second layer underneath it worked quite well!

  And finally, I strung white pom-poms on some invisible thread (which isn't always quite invisible) along with a few paper snowflakes, and hung them overhead. =) That last bit turned out to be the most difficult part! I suspect my ceiling is made of rock.....

  I love it! It's a whole lot more outfit than is typical for me, but most of the pieces are totally wearable for everyday.

  And now... the current theme at Project Run and Play is "Inspired by Cosplay". This outfit began because of paper snowflakes, but it was definitely influenced by the elaborate costumes I've seen in a few places lately. So, although it's not recreation of any character, it is definitely inspired by cosplay!

  I'll be back before too long to share the details of each piece, the fabrics and patterns I used, and what I wish I'd done differently. =)

  But for now, here are a few more photos of my sweet snowflake:

Thanks for stopping by,