Clara’s Toy Soldier Outfit – The Nutcracker and the Four Realms 2018 – Part 1: The Skirt
Clara’s Toy Soldier Outfit – The Nutcracker and the Four Realms 2018 – Part 1: The Skirt

Clara’s Toy Soldier Outfit – The Nutcracker and the Four Realms 2018 – Part 1: The Skirt

Bella-12

Bella-9

“It’s Christmas Eve. A time of mystery, expectations, who knows what might happen?”  ~ Drosselmeyer

Do you get that overwhelming feeling that you’re about to do something crazy and should probably stick to your plans, but want to do it anyways?  Of course, I’m talking about sewing.  In this area of my life, I’m a go-getter + perfectionist + diligent + a wee bit of crazy (or maybe; a whole lot of crazy!)

When I first glimpsed the costumes of “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms”, I didn’t think much about them.  I’m not a huge Nutcracker fan.  To be 100% honest, I don’t think I’ve ever seen the ballet, either in-person or on DVD.  As a matter of a fact, I don’t even know the storyline!

THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS

First thought “Hmm, there’s a Nutcracker movie coming out…scroll onto the next post.”

But then I kept seeing the sneak peak, then the trailer, then the posters.  I finally saw the Lilac dress…”Oh, now I’m interested…dive into a rabbit trail of pictures, videos, stills, etc.”Character-Posters-the-nutcracker-and-the-four-realms-41607433-682-1000Mackenzie-Foy-walking-through-court-in-The-Nutcracker-and-the-Four-Realmsla-1535582196-tv4pdt6au9-snap-imageMV5BZDQ3ZmQ3NmQtODE4MC00NDE1LThlOGQtMTljMzA2OGZiYTEyXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjc5MTgyODY@._V1_

After the rabbit trial, I realized how spectacular the costumes were.  They sparked a bit of inspiration for my seamstress heart!  The whole movie seamed to scream Alice in Wonderland type costuming and I got hooked!

After some deliberating, I decided the costume I wanted to eventually recreate was the solider costume worn by Mackenzie Foy.

Untitled 1

And then it happened… I spotted something in my fabric stash.  Red wool, peeking out of a Mood bag.  It was several yards of extra fabric from a project years ago.  Thanks to overestimating yardage, I had the perfect fabric for the skirt of the soldier outfit!

I pulled a few misc supplies from my stash and ordered the other supplies needed.

I was on my way to creating a costume I really didn’t have time for…but as they say, where there’s a will, there’s a way!

~ The Supplies ~

Red Wool from mood.com

Dark Forest Green Velveteen from fabric.com

Gold (faux) Platted Brass Buttons from eBay.com

Metallic Trim from JoAnn.com

~ The Progress of the Skirt ~

I have a love/hate relationship with circle skirts.  The fullness of these skirts are wonderful, but the hems… 😛

For this outfit, a circle skirt was the way to go.  It’s a full circle!

Progress Toy Soldier Nutcracker-1

One of the main features of the skirt is it’s gold appliqués.  I zoomed up on a picture of the design and printed out the section (in black and white.)

The next step was to trace the outline on a fresh sheet of paper.Progress Toy Soldier Nutcracker-2

Then outline it with a Sharpie.Progress Toy Soldier Nutcracker-3

Enter; the fat Sharpie to fill it in!Progress Toy Soldier Nutcracker-4

Now’s the time to use the scanner.Progress Toy Soldier Nutcracker-6

And then, the magic!  I have Brother PE Design as my digitizing program.  It does the job!

FYI, it’s a Windows only program.  If you have one, great!  If you have a Mac (like I do), not so great! 🙁  Fortunately, I have a program called Parallels that allows you to have Window’s only programs on your wonderful Apple computer!  (And that’s no joke, I truly love my MacBook Pro! <3) Progress Toy Soldier Nutcracker-7

While I sewed the skirt together, I got my Brother embroidery machine going with a test design.

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Progress Toy Soldier Nutcracker-12Progress Toy Soldier Nutcracker-13Progress Toy Soldier Nutcracker-15

~ The Skirt Pleats ~

Another one of the skirt features are it’s pleats or darts, or whatever you’d like to call them.

For my replica, I decided to do upside down darts!

I’ve decided to not explain with words on this process; let the pictures speak a thousand words!Progress Toy Soldier Nutcracker-17Progress Toy Soldier Nutcracker-18Progress Toy Soldier Nutcracker-19Progress Toy Soldier Nutcracker-20Progress Toy Soldier Nutcracker-21Progress Toy Soldier Nutcracker-22Progress Toy Soldier Nutcracker-23Progress Toy Soldier Nutcracker-24Progress Toy Soldier Nutcracker-25Progress Toy Soldier Nutcracker-26

Did the photos speak to you? 🙂

Progress Toy Soldier Nutcracker-29

In case you’re wondering what I thread I used for the embroidery design, here’s the link!

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And for that very frustrating part of circle skirts…

I decide to use a bias bound hem.  It was a good decision!
Progress Toy Soldier Nutcracker-68Progress Toy Soldier Nutcracker-69

Progress Toy Soldier Nutcracker-71
A tiny stitch into the outer fabric…
Progress Toy Soldier Nutcracker-72
Then a larger (about 1/2″) stitch into the bias strip.

Progress Toy Soldier Nutcracker-73

∧ The finished hem! ∨Progress Toy Soldier Nutcracker-74

That’s it for this post; round two of this outfit is coming next week!

Thanks for looking and learning with me! ~ Bella Mae

Bella-10

Psst..If you happen to like the links I shared and decide to purchase the product, I’ll make a small earnings. Just FYI!

 

 

4 Comments

  1. Pingback: Aurora’s Blue Gown – With a Sparkly Twist – Sleeping Beauty Costume Replica – Bella Maes Sewing Corner

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