Nevermore - Ellowyne's story behind my challenge.

Nevermore
A dark cloud lingers over me,
And revels in my misery
A cold wind blows and whispers afore
“Remember Ellowyne, Nevermore”

Well, I’m sitting here at the table, it’s grey outside, of course. It looks like it could rain but the clouds really can’t be bothered and go rushing on overhead.
I have a busy day ahead myself but am in no mood for it, I hate to rush, it leaves me no time to think.

I shall have to wrap up warm against that cold wind, I will wear my coat and matching hat, very grand I know but I like to create the right impression. There is a portrait in the hallway, in a place I often pass, of my Grandma in her coat and hat, very similar to mine but she looks so grand and full of class.

I have some books that need to go back to the library first thing. Libraries are no place to be rushing either, you simply have to linger and read a little here and there, grazing among the books and soaking in the quiet, peace. It seeps into my soul and leaves me feeling rested.
Dr Bantam didn’t understand this, she said it can’t do me any good spending so many hours in such a gloomy place. But I like it there, so I’ll wear my long dress to keep out the chill while I sit and read.

After the library I am meeting up with Prudence at Rose’s house. I didn’t want to help with the garden, I have problems classifying plants as weeds, they have as much right to be there as the other plants, just because they don’t show off in bright fancy colours doesn’t mean they have to die.
So I agreed to meet her for afternoon tea instead. prudence has been trying to get me to meet Rose for a long time, she says we will get on well, so for her sake I will have to make the effort. I won’t have time to be going home to get changed so I will take my blouse with me to wear, after all I will have to look a little more demure, Rose is getting on a bit and I would like to look pretty for her.

Prudence has arranged for us to go on to a cocktail party that Amber is having at her place, I don’t really like Amber, I try to, but she makes it so difficult. I will wear my new skirt, it matches the colours in my blouse, sometimes it is red and sometimes it is blue but mostly it’s kind of grey, a little like me I suppose.
I need to look stunning for her party. I expect Rufus will be there, Amber will no doubt be in the latest styles from the most expensive boutique in town but I like to be different, I have my own unique fashion sense that others try to emulate. I think this upsets Amber, Prudence says she’s obviously jealous and will be scouring the shops next week looking for my outfit. She won’t find it of course! I have my clothes made especially, I once made the mistake of buying a garment from one of Amber’s favourite boutiques and almost wore it to one of her parties, thank goodness I didn’t!! For what was she wearing? Oh yes! The very same outfit!! That was a very close call and from then on, on days like these when the dark clouds are lingering over me and seem to be revelling in my misery, when the cold wind is blowing and whispering to me …“Remember Ellowyne, Nevermore!”

Challenge Two - The Ellowyne Challenge

Well, here’s a challenge all right!

One I am looking for ward to as well, I might add!

The Ellowyne doll is a lovely doll and well worth owning! If you don't have one already, you need to think about getting one!

So, the challenge, to create a five piece ensemble that transitions from day to night…
Not easy to get five garments all working together to create an ensemble especially for evening wear.

After many hours research looking through countless images, my inspiration came from a picture of an old 1900’s style coat…which looks right up Ellowyne’s street!

Then I thought well what happens if the coat actually becomes the outfit?

This is where all the layers began to evolve. The sleeves would become the dress, the foundation of the whole ensemble and also the underlying darkness.

The shorter sleeves and the collar became the blouse underneath and the coat became a sleeveless jacket to over the top!

The dress had to be kept to a minimum, it is the foundation of the ensemble and the only parts that really needed to be shown were the very bottom of the dress and the sleeves.

I also had to keep the bulkiness down or poor Ellowyne would have a very matronly figure by the time she had all her other garments on top.

I like the long lean and simple look on Ellowyne especially with the bright flash of Nevermore’s red hair falling down the back.

The waist was kept high, in line with the coat, nothing worse than several different waist heights!

The top part of the dress was made in the black and white checked fabric which matches, and later becomes part of the coat.

The sleeves are tricky on Ellowyne as she has her fingers quite wide apart and thus needs wider sleeves.

The sleeves on the dress have to fit quite tightly for this design so they had to have an opening at the cuff, this fastens with press studs and is trimmed with gun metal coloured glass beads. The wrists are trimmed with black lace.
Her waist is trimmed with black satin ribbon and the back of the dress fastens with press studs and is trimmed with tiny black buttons. The inside of the bodice is lined in grey fabric.

Next came the blouse, this was tricky, if I didn’t do it in a very sheer fabric, Ellowyne would look like she was wearing a maternity outfit, not something she would enjoy! So the fabric I chose, (which must have been the most difficult in the world to work with) was the "barely there" organza.

A fabulous colour which, if you look at it one way is red, or blue if you look at it another.

Very much like Ellowyne, you can look at her in many ways and no two people will see her the same.

(Actually, as I worked on this blouse late into the night, it also looks different under different lighting conditions!)



The difficulties with the fabric were many! You couldn’t always see it, it was so light and airy that you couldn’t always feel it!
My sewing machine took one look at it and ran for the hills, the fabric would slip around over
itself and the seams wouldn't hold due to the fabric fraying!

At this point, any sane person would have given up, but I wanted that look of the colour changing fabric and besides it went really well with the fabric that I had lined up to use for the skirt!!

So, I wasn’t giving up! I tried several ways of over-locking the seams to see if they would hold and eventually they did!

This meant all the seams had to be done on the over-locking machine. Not very easy on something so small.

Here you can see Ellowyne, "patiently" waiting while I make several different versions of the blouse!

The collar was a joy (!) to do keeping the fabrics together with the gathered lace in between, finding enough pins to hold it and then trying to feed it through the over-locker without hitting the pins - took time I can tell you!

Then it came to fastening the blouse, it had to fasten down the front as the dress had fastened down the back and I wanted to keep bulk to a minimum. I decided to fasten the blouse edge to edge with tiny buttons and loops, big mistake!

The edges of the blouse were over-locked and were holding nicely but they wouldn’t stand having loops worked down the edge. The over-locking stitches pulled away from the fabric and the whole of the front of the blouse came apart!!

So, start again, blouse two, this time I allowed for extra fabric down the front of the blouse to make a larger overlap! Then sewed press studs down the front and trimmed the front with tiny beads and sequins to give a little bit of glitz to Ellowyne’s ensemble and also to hide the press studs.

Well, on with the skirt. This had to be drop dead gorgeous and a really eye-catching addition to Ellowyne’s ensemble for her evening attire.

It was made in a soft silky fabric that matched the blue/red colouring of the blouse fabric but in a much more subtle way. The black lace was used to add a touch of drama.

Ellowyne likes a touch of drama now and then!

The seams were all top stitched in black and the back of the skirt laced right up the back with black satin ribbon.
The skirt is a salute to her grandmothers corsets only fashionably longer and a lot more practical (and comfortable).
It finished just under the bust so that the blouse became the top half.
Originally I was going to make this with a small side fastening but Ted said the outfit had to be worn on a Catwalk and I had visions of the poor model hobbling about trying to get it off!!
In that case, I decided to have the whole of the side as the opening, then the model could whip it of in a very dramatic fashion!!

Ok, in this picture Ellowyne is over dramatising slightly!! Her corset wasn’t as difficult to get on as her grandmothers would have been, she is just empathising!!

Next the jacket, fairly simple you may think!
Oh, no it wasn't! For some reason the fit just wasn’t quite right on the first version, it just looked too tight and uncomfortable, and there is nothing worse than an uncomfortable looking doll!

So the second jacket was made bigger, and as I wanted to keep the bulk to a minimum, I clipped and trimmed all the seams as I went along, another big mistake!!

The lining of the jacket with all it’s neatly trimmed seams couldn’t cope, the fabric frayed and the seams all opened up!

So on to jacket three, (by this time Ted had voiced understandable concerns about the ensemble being too period. Ellowyne likes period, in my opinion!) so I decided to update the jacket a little.

I tried buckling the front instead of spending hours with tiny buttons and beads. But somehow it just looked too bulky and slightly too gothic, I think it over modernised it, but I wish I had taken photo’s of it at that stage!


Anyway, I decided the buckles just didn’t work and went back to plan A.

Time by now was very tight!!

Otherwise I may have re-done the jacket again as I still wasn’t too happy with the fit across the chest but hey, deadlines, deadlines!

On to her hat, this was actually quite fun to do, my great grandmother was a milliner and boy, did I wish she was here!

The hat had to be Ellowyne’s “dark cloud” but I didn’t want something as miserable as a black hat!

I wanted the underlying darkness again.

So lined it with the black dress fabric, the actual hat fabric was the black and white check to match the coat, then it was trimmed with the floaty black feathers to pick up Ellowyne’s “cold wind” as it blows.

Then the fabrics from the skirt and the blouse were made into roses to finish off the hat.

Now the worry starts again! Did I get this one right ?

Challenge One - The Gene Challenge

Well, after several months of waiting, here it is “The Big Day”!!

This competition is really wonderful and it is such a thrill to be chosen as a contestant.
The nerves hit badly a couple of days ago but they soon gave way to the excitement again.

I printed out the brief and took all the key words, jotted them down on my “thinking pad”, then asked myself as many questions that I could think of regarding the outfit.

Surfed the Internet for a while and came out with Renee Zellweger - ? How did that happen??
Well, just have a look at her outfits for the Oscars they are stunning! I had already done a lot of “homework” for this challenge, I found out all I could, (without actually resorting to stalking), about Mel Odom, what he likes who inspired him, how Gene came about.

Then found all I could about every silver screen goddess, who ever walked the boards.
I have a scrap book full of images and learned some very interesting stuff along the way!
I have set about the design and come up with something that ticks all my boxes!
It is a very fitted bodice in 7 panels. It has to be shaped to flatter the distinctive figure of the Gene doll.
The top of the dress is shaped to frame the face and shoulders.
It plunges deeply both at the front and the back.
The top and bottom of the bodice will be trimmed in the most luxurious lace and beading.

It will be worn/photographed against a back drop of a red carpet, so I want to use the red carpet to flatter the dress and act as a backdrop.

If the dress was bright red it would disappear into the carpet but I want to use red and black to add drama.
As the outfit is for a red carpet awards type ceremony I don’t want too much glitter. Obviously when you go to collect your award you want everyone to notice the award, therefore I want no gold or silver or anything shiny.

The dress will go from having the red carpet as a back drop, to the dress being a back drop to the award. How good will it look with a large golden accessory??

So, how do you make it glitzy and eye catching now??
Well, the richness of the colours make it look luxurious, the lace adds quality and wealth and the jewellery and trims are all glass, reflective and eye catching without detracting from the longed for award!!
Clever eh??

I want her to look like she belongs to or is part of the red carpet, therefore she has to have a train on her dress which will sweep the carpet behind her. I have kept the bottom of the dress quite plain almost as though the red carpet is part of her dress.

She has to look good from the front (as she stands to accept her award) and she has to look good from behind as she walks down the carpet.

Every aspect has to be covered.
The shaping of the dress is cut to flatter and highlight her figure and is reminiscent of the corsetry worn “in her day”.

The skirt is sheer and flowing moving with her as she walks, and hanging beautifully. Her shapely legs can clearly be seen through the black chiffon.

Now to the Shopping!
So, the basic design is in the bag, it is time to go shopping for fabric. I have a lot of fabric and accessories already but needed some black chiffon. I always think it is a good idea before you commit yourself to the design to have a look at some new fabrics and have a rummage in some cheap jewellery shops.

Whilst looking for the chiffon, I found two types, a plain black, and a crinkled. They both looked good but the crinkled won the vote as the scale of the crinkles was tiny.
I initially intended to use black velvet for the main body of the dress but had concerns about doing so many panels which would cause thickness around the seams. Also the shop had the most luxurious silk dupion in a deep rich red which solved my reservations about using velvet.
I found the black lace ready beaded with tiny black beads, (saves me a bit of a job) and bought a variety of beads and sequins.

The pattern was the next job, I wanted the panels shaped and fitted perfectly.
This involved lots very small pieces of paper pattern, shaped and fitted to Gene’s body. Checked constantly for the fit.
They were cut out in the red silk dupion and black lining fabric. They all went together very easily, checking each seam as I went along and pressing each one flat.

Then the skirt was added sewn between the silk and the lining. The skirt was pretty full with lots of gathers around the top, which looked ok, but, I wanted to be able to see through the skirt to give it a more up to date look. The skirt came off again and was re cut and shaped so that it hung more or less flat down the front and then gathered round the back to allow it to fold and drape better.

The inside was finished off, sewing the lining down over the raw edges of the skirt keeping everything neat , hooks sewn down the back and the eyelets worked in chain stitch.
Before I sewed the lace to the dress, I tried out a few ideas.
If you put the lace straight on to black fabric, the whole thing just disappeared, this also happened when the black lace was overlaid on the dress fabric.

However, when red ribbon was behind the lace the detail really stood out and as I wanted a touch of red to come through the black lace, I have sewn red satin ribbon to the dress where I want the lace to go.

The bottom edge was sewn in place and the top one pinned into position before sewing to get the shoulder straps in the correct position, not an easy job as the back has to be deeply plunging as does the front and the straps have to sit in the right position and it all somehow needs to flow seamlessly!

Time to add the beaded lace.

The black lace already had black beads sewn on it so all I had to do was sew on the red beads and the sequins.

I used the bevelled sequins as they glitter more than the flat ones and two different kinds of red beads. I also used droplet beads just to give a little more movement to the dress and make it a little more eye-catching.
To work out how the beads were going to go on, I laid out the lace and just placed the beads on top of it until I decided it looked right.
Then the ipod was turned up full blast and the beads were sewn on, very relaxing actually!
Now the dress is just about done, one final, and quite tricky pressing and that’s it.

Time to move on to the accessories.
I wanted to keep these to a minimum, the shoes were very simple black strap shoes with just a bead and sequin trim to match them to the dress.

I decided she would need a handbag, one usually needs a tissue and lipstick at least when attending red carpet events!

I had to check and make sure Gene would be able to hold a handbag with a strap.
I didn’t want a chain as this would have to be either gold or silver and would not go with the dress so a beaded handle was decided upon.


The bag was made in red silk from the dress fabric and trimmed with the beaded lace to match the dress trim.

Jewellery was actually quite tricky, it looks as though a ribbon choker would go, but this immediately dates the outfit, making it look very old fashioned.

A necklace no matter how plain, just detracted from the neckline of the dress, so after several attempts with different styles of necklaces, I decided not to bother at all, the dress has such a detailed neckline that it really didn’t need one.

Because of this her earrings had to be quite large, small ones just looked like she hadn’t bothered.

So earrings were made with tiny black roses and red Swarovski beads.

So now it is time to get it into the post and send it on its way.
It was posted on the morning of the last day!
Now the worry starts again, did I get it right?