This is a closer look at the materials I'm using for my Hannah Alexander Art Nouveau Katara! I'll be updating this post as I start working on the various elements of the costume!
DirectoryFabrics
When I was choosing fabrics for this project, the inspiration was "water". Hannah Alexander describes this design as "a dress ... like the crashing of a wave". Water is an ever-shifting entity, changing colors, textures, and patterns from moment to moment. In order to create that effect, I chose fabrics that draped gracefully and had various dimensions of sparkle, from the blinding white of crystal organza to the glint of the iridescent lace to the subtly shifting colors of metallic chiffon.
Material: Metallic Chiffon
Source: Jomar Price: $2/yd Quantity: 2 yards
First up is the main fabric of the dress: a metallic polyester chiffon. It's light, flowy, and reflective, and looks exactly like water when the sun glints off it! I originally didn't have a plan when I bought this fabric; I purchased it at Jomar, a fabric thrift store. If I find pretty fabric there, I buy it, because it won't be there for long! Later, when I stumbled across Hannah's Katara design, I knew that this fabric would be absolutely perfect for it.
Material: Crystal Organza
Source: JoAnn Fabric & Crafts; Casa Collection Organza Price: $10/yd ($6/yd on sale) Quantity: 2 yards
Organza is one of my favorite fabrics. It's shiny and sheer, but also sturdy. I'm going to be using organza for the bunny suit that will provide the structure for the dress! I'm also using it as an overlay for the white sections of the arm cuffs.
I've been in love with this type of tulle since I first discovered it at Hancock Fabrics (before they went out of business). The tulle is woven with a really shiny, metallic material that makes it look glittery without actually shedding glitter everywhere. It makes a fantastic overlay that gleams when it catches the light just right!
I'll be using it as an overlay on the bodice to keep the pleated/gathered metallic chiffon flush against the body suit. It will also be used for the upper sleeves!
Material: Matte Satin
Source: JoAnn (I can't find a link, sorry)! Price: $6/yd Qty: 1 yard
JoAnn's matte satin is one of my favorite fabrics. I used it for my classic Meg cosplay, and now for Katara! It has a beautiful drape and a subtle sheen that photographs incredibly well. This will be the trim on the bottom of the dress.
Material: Stretch Lace (Two types)
Source: Jomar Price: $3/yard Quantity: 2 yards of iridescent lace (right) and three yards of floral lace (left)
These laces are going to be used for the white detailing on the bodice! I'll be gathering it to make it look like crashing waves. I'm primarily planning to use the iridescent lace; the floral lace is a backup just in case I don't have enough of the iridescent lace to complete the detailing.
Both laces are slightly stretchy, which will help quite a bit when attempting to manipulate them into shape on the bodice.
Material: Blue Satin
Source: JoAnn Fabrics (remnant; can't find an online link!) Price: $4/yd Quantity: 1 yard
Finally for our fabrics, we have a beautiful blue satin. It's a bit shinier than I usually prefer, but the sheen does give a very water-y feel to the fabric. I'm only using it for the arm cuffs, so I didn't need too much fabric.
This fabric was pulled from the remnant bin at JoAnn for 50% off! Bless the remnant bin. <3 Necklace
I spent a good amount of time researching how to make Katara's pendant, which you can read more about in the 'Materials' master blog post. Most people make it out of a polymer clay or resin, but I wasn't particularly fond of that method. Hannah's design is a couture version, and I want something that could function as jewelry on a runway.
I scoured the internet looking for an acceptable material. I started by researching what materials the Inuit and Sireniki used for jewelry. According to this website, bone, ivory, shells, mother of pearl (a subset of shell) and turquoise. From these, I narrowed it down to turquoise and mother of pearl.
Turquoise, while beautiful and reminiscent of the blue sheen of Katara's necklace, presented a few problems. First of all, I would have no way to carve it. None of the tools I have in my craft dungeon have the ability to cut turquoise. Plus, while shiny when polished, it doesn't have the multiple sheens that Katara's necklace appears to have.
Mother of Pearl (or MOP), on the other hand, is built up in layers on the inside of clamshells, giving it a beautiful multi-layer sheen when polished. It's often used for inlays and can even be carved with a simple Xacto knife. The only problem is that it's more white, whereas Katara's pendant has a distinctly blue tone to it.
BUT, while looking at a forum post regarding custom mother-of-pearl banjo fingerboard inlays (the places cosplay takes us to, amirite?), I discovered that you can custom dye MOP with fabric dyes! After all, it's generated by living things, just like the fibers of plants and animal by-products used to make silks, cottons, linens, and other natural fibers.
So, all I had to do was grab some 30mm mother of pearl pendants (courtesy of Fire Mountain Gems) and some iDye in Turquoise and I was ready to get started!
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