Bias tape, OH bias tape, why must you be so wonderful

This is Rainbow Dash's progress so far! Still waiting to get ahold of my model so that I can measure the length and put a proper zip in, but all in good time I suppose!

*this was featured on tumblr, I just wanted to share for those of you who might have been curious.*


So a lot of people 

well no. no one cared, but STILL we're going to pretend they did

The premise of my show as it stands right now is this. Let's pretend that my actual explanation is less wordy and that I can condense this down. OKAY!

It's 1879, small town england. A circus is well on its way to making it to the sleepy little town. Word on the street is girls and boys all over the country are running away to join these crazed spectacles and it's been advised to keep the children inside as to hedge this behavior off. In mid winter when everything becomes stagnant and the wind has even abandoned its own voice flyers for the most magnificent show on the earth, the Cirque des Ames is on its way to breath life into the otherwise sleepy town. Featuring an all female cast of characters the show promises to be the biggest show England, and the world has ever seen. 

Little known yet is this circus has a nasty of habit of girls mysteriously disappearing, and the ring leader has a taste for virgin girls who are much too eager to run away from home. 

After arriving in full spread the circus is well under way and the town is well under it's spell. It's at this time that the ringleader announces he has a little surprise for his beloved guest, not only are they invited to his show, but they will get to enjoy a double feature! Something never seen before, heard of before, done before, the introduction of a new act and the invitation to a wedding, one to rival even the Queens! Everyone becomes over joyed as the female performers seems to light the stage on fire with glitter and light. No one seems to notice anyone missing, all heads seem to be accounted for so the anticipation of the coming bride is almost too much for them to bear. 

As each performer ascends the ring in fantastic show, the weight of the moment begins to overwhelm the audience as they become a rancorous pit of vicious spectators. First the Calliope player, then the Clown, the Elephant Rider, the Big top, the Aerialist, and finally the Lion Tamer all line the make shift aisle awaiting their bride. The crowd becomes more entranced and vulgar as the Ring leader approaches the center of the ring trailing off a red satin ribbon behind him. "Ladies and Gentlemen..." he urges to calm them down as the performers contort under his command. "I wish to present to you, my bride...and newest act, a very special little girl who's going to be my biggest achievement yet, The Liberty Horses..." tugging on the slacked ribbon as he walks forward he seems to drag out his unwilling jewel. Dripping in gold and scarlet, the vision of a veiled girl wanders out as the crowd erupts in antagonistic pleasure. Her dress drags behind her and the Ring leader attempts to coax her towards him. Closing in on what remains of her freedom she makes it to his side. Lifting her veil as the crowd becomes uncontainable it's no strangers face staring back at them with pleading appeal, it's the face of one of them. A girl who was perhaps too eager to throw away her life and safety to the wills of the circus. As the crowd continues to roar he kisses her hands bound by red ribbon and presents his prize to the intoxicated crowd. Her life has all but ended as he sweeps her off into the sequined shadows of the circus.

that was tragically bad wasn't it. I thought so. WELL HERE'S WHAT YOU MISSED BECAUSE I DIDN'T FEEL LIKE WRITING IT OUT AT 2 AM

• he's an agent of hell sent to collect the purest hearts from the innocent. 
• He feeds off the energy of the unintelligent and vulnerable crowd by putting them into some unspoken trance.
• each girl in each act is a bride he once seduced in much the same way he did the final prize.
• Each girls costume is indicitive of when she was kidnapped.
• no one can die because they're bound to him for eternity, even though the Aerialist would REALLY like to. 

a break down of the cast

1. The Calliope Player - She doesn't remember her name anymore, or when she was first abducted, but she thinks it may have been Cora or Coraline, and she remembers a time before there was a queen. More willing than most of the girls she is very happy to please the ring master in anyway she can so as to steal attention away from the other girls. She also has a superiority complex over the others as she considers her self the first and only bride. She adopted the colors of red and gold. 
2. Elephant rider - She is almost sure her name was Abigail, or perhaps someone called her Abby. She is extremely subservient to the Ring leader and assumes all blame on herself. She is seen wearing blue and gold. (working on her since she's the newest)
3. Big Top - Adelaide knows her name most of the time, and sees the brides above and below her as her sisters. Her mouth is sewn shut as she is to be strictly seen and not heard. She is red and gold and her ribbons say, "He promised me I'd be a star, and I believed him"
4. The Clown - She gave up her name a long time ago, but the ring leader still lovingly calls upon her as Beatrice. She has gone completely mad in her role as a middle bride and like the big top has sworn off most if not all speech. She uses her face make up as a way to display her emotions, sometimes drawing on a cheshire cat grin and angry looking eyebrows to convey her anger. She is styled in the Augustine Clown facade, yet she often strips away her layers to reveal her more deviant and mad side. 
5. Aerialist/painted Doll - Julia's specialty is surviving death from any height. Of all the brides she is the most hate filled and aggressive. She lusts after her old life, and when she's reminded that she will never be free, she stages suicide attempts during her act, though she knows she will never be successful. Her claim to fame is that she is the amazing dame who can hang from a noose and come out better than before. She brings in most of the audience and for that she is looked favorably upon by the ring leader, though her resent for him often leads her to fighting with him. Her ribbons say, "He took my breath away"
6. The Lion tamer - Vivian the dominatrix welcomed the fate she met with requited joy. She, being the last bride has enjoyed the perks of unlimited access and dominion over the ring leader, she sees herself as his queen and his one and only need. However, when talk of the final bride arises she is faced with the reality of her mortal favoritism to him and she becomes much more aggressive and desperate for his attention and affection. Her ribbons say, "He told me, "It's all just a game of cat and mouse'"
7. The Ring Leader - the (so far) unnamed agent of satan. He lusts after the title of all high ruler and wishes to collect the most souls so that he can over throw Beelzebub. He has spent his entire stay on earth searching for the purest heart and it seems he has finally tracked her down in a tiny town in england. 
8. The Liberty Horses - Evangeline is the final bride in the line up and the featured bride in the stage. In her human life she was a prudent victorian woman who lusted after the free life of other woman not in her cast. When the circus came to town, she was swept off her feet by the impressive suitor that was the ringleader who insisted she be his one and only. Seduced by the idea of a run away marriage to a ring leader who would give her all the freedom she ever desired and lusted after, she agreed to run away with him. Her ribbons have the prayer to Mary inscribed on them 

links to existing illustrations. Features painted doll/aerialist, liberty horses, and lion tamer

http://fashionmajorsunite.tumblr.com/post/32498504294/yoursoverign-concept-art-from-my-dark-circus#notes
yup

this is a runway show people

i am this involved with my runway show

we have a problem and that problem is me. 

A while back I mused on about how I always wondered what happened to the bygone clothing I've made through the years. The irony of this is, today while I was looking through my computer, I ACTUALLY found photographic evidence to show my growth as a seamstress, and I think it's really important that I share it with all of you.

 Little known fact, I didn't REALLY start sewing independently until about 2007/08 and didn't actually produce things until about '09.
 With that said, I give you a brief timeline of significant creations from Dear Dahlia. 

Also, some of you may have seen the abridged version of this on Tumblr. 

This was when I got my first sewing machine and I decided "HEY HOW HARD CAN THIS POSSIBLY BE RIGHT." Looking back, it's not as bad as it could have been...

All of this was fine and good, it was the summer between 11th and 12th grade, and as I always do, I got bored and made this. 

This may seem VERY insignificant but this entire garment was a serious turning point for me. It was light when Madame Gres began to play with Jersey, I learned (incorrectly mind you) how to garther a skirt. And let's not ignore that those are 3 parts sleeves with layered peplums and a leg-o-mutten puff. Good stuff. After this, things got a bit...better. 

Both of these dresses (not to toot my own horn or anything, were REALLY REALLY more advanced that I guess I realized at the time. It's really weird to me that I did these and in 2009!? really?!

I also did that. I was and will always be an AP english student. 

2010 was significant for two reasons, it was a. my first anime boston, and b. the year I graduated high school. So in sporting style what did I do in early february? I made a waist coat and lined it. That's right, lined it. Of course, when I say LINED it, it was the most unsophistacated form of lining as I sewed it together in the waist seam, BUT ALL IN ALL IT WAS A GOOD THING. This lead to some other significant things...

2010 WAS ALSO AMAZING, because I made my first Miwako dress!

Oh yeah, and I went to prom. If you see blue anywhere in the picture, it's because I made that. That's right, my purse, dress, his tie and vest. WHAT WAS I DOING WITH MY LIFE I USED TO BE SO TALENTED!

OF course there were like 3 cosplays, and like 15 dresses leading up to this magical moment in time, but of course, they are sadly lost to the world and will never been seen from again. 

of course I graduated, GOT pictures in the news...and began to work on, DUN DUN DUN!

of course there were many MANY dresses, none of which i feel like showing anyone mainly because they riddle this site.

This year LITERALLY changed everything.

that's like, my entire site, do you realize that? 2011 was crazy. Just crazy. 
Oh yes! in 2011, I welcomed Bambi into my life. 

2012 was quite possibly the most significant time in my entire life. 

Need I say more? Some other pretty cool stuff happened too! Like all of this: (please note that there's apparently a TON missing)

in comparison I have gone from this

To this...

This concludes my entire life story, thanks for sticking around and reading it!

As many of you know, our designer Martha is abroad in London for a semester, and as many of you DONT know, she broke her Elna.

Most of you are both horrified and saddened by this event, but in typical Dahlia fashion, Martha bought a child's sewing machine and is making 2 wedding dresses on it using bed sheets and scraps from cosplays for the Design Museum's Ball this friday.

Make do and mend in deed.

Literally all that's left is to put the closures on the bolero/skirt and like, make the pink sleeves. Maybe I'm forgetting something, but yeah that's all I have left. 

Is there a reward for a person who can get a huge costume like this done in like 5 days? Can I have that award now??

 

Not gonna lie, I'm diggin that back ground light, makes it look more ethereal. 
ANY WHO, this is the Goddess Madoka progress that I was able to do tonight. I got the top white dress pretty much finished, it's boned, lined and it's REALLY just missing a zipper.

As for the bottom skirts, I'm gonna have to get some black fabric in the morning to make the black cosmos stand out a bit more, but all in all the skirt just needs to be gathered into it's waistband and then well you know the rest.

The only thing that ISNT somewhat sewn, is the bolero, but it's sitting on the table waiting it's turn. 

All in all I'm a little surprised that I got this far in like 5 hours. I'm concerned I may be a robot.

Good night folks! This designer is past her bed time.