Commercial Sewing Pattern: Simplicity 8383
Working Time: 7 1/2 Hours
Materials:
Lilac Georgette Fabric, 6m
White Cotton Fabric
Purple Trim, 0.5m
Lace Trim, 2.5m
Yarn
Total Cost: 83,22 Euros
Bringing my Favourite Childhood Movie to Life
When most people think about their favourite childhood movies, they usually think about Disney. My favourite, however, is The Last Unicorn without a single doubt. About two years ago I finally read the book, too, and fell in love with the story all over again. It is such a beautifully melancholic story and a marvellous fairytale that I couldn’t help but try to bring a piece of it to life by cosplaying Lady Amalthea.
Compared to some other projects I’ve had in 2021, Lady Amalthea was fairly easy. Nevertheless, even though I ordered the materials in January, I didn’t get around to making it until December. Whoops! Still, this sewing project was very straightforward from start to finish. I found a nice, suitable sewing pattern: Simplicity 8383, which is a vintage dress pattern that had the off-shoulder look. I also experienced a true Christmas miracle with it because I cut out the size I thought would fit (without measuring, of course) and IT DID. I tested this on the white cotton fabric that I still had lying around from my stepdad’s Christmas gift (he got a baroque undershirt) and ended up using these pieces as lining. The georgette fabric I chose is very see-through and I needed some sturdy cotton for support. Then, I cut out all the pieces from the original lilac fabric and was ready to go.
Making Lady Amalthea’s Dress
As I’ve said before, the process of making my Lady Amalthea cosplay was so easy compared to my other projects that I still can’t believe how quickly it was finished. After the pieces were cut and run through the overlock machine, I pinned them together, realised they fit near perfectly and started sewing. Bit by bit, I attached the top first and added the off-should sleeves. I sewed the skirt together, which was so long I had to lay it around my sofa to fit it into my living room and then attached that to the top.
Once the main dress was practically finished, I put in the zip and added the lace trim all around the neck, back and sleeve area. Now, only the purple trim remained. Obviously, The Last Unicorn is an animated movie and an old one at that, so there is a bit of room for interpretation when it comes to the details of a costume. I am assuming that the purple things in the front symbolise that the dress is laced there, but I decided to keep the drawn/animated character and just added what looks like little bars. I could have sewn them on, but I had a package of unopened fabric glue lying around that I had never used before, so I thought to myself: Why not? I glued the pieces on and I was positively surprised by how strong fabric glue is. After that, Lady Amalthea was finished after only 7 1/2 hours.
Finishing my Lady Amalthea Cosplay
Sometime during the summer, I made a TikTok account. I didn’t have the intention to use it, but hey, I do and while I was making my Lady Amalthea cosplay, I filmed the progress a little and ended up with this making-of TikTok video. For some reason, that became my most-viewed video so far and gained me 40 followers. I guess I’ll be filming my sewing progress in the future if you’re interested in that type of content.
