Spartacon!

Time has flown. It's been more than two years since I last posted on this blog, which really is a shame as I've been doing more sewing recently than I have in the past 8 years.

My latest project was designing and making costumes for 16 gladiators of the DC Stunt Coalition (and myself) for the convention, Spartacon!

The most exciting part about this project was delving into leather working. I had basic knowledge from a few projects I've worked on in the past with leather components, but this was the first time I'd ever made armor.

I loved working on this project but the real challenge was making sure the costumes were stunt safe. Many of the performers did flips, tricks, and rolls across the sand (yes, real sand arena!) and their costumes had to hold up to the stress. We had at least 2 full costumed dress rehearsals of the fights and that really helped troubleshoot any potential problem areas.

Finally, I'm very grateful to George at Tandy Leather who took the time (3 hours!) to walk around the store with me and demonstrate techniques while shopping for the supplies. I also read countless blogs and watched hundreds of Youtube video tutorials to figure out construction techniques. I took a lot of in-progress photos while I worked and plan on sharing them here so others can learn too!

In the meantime, enjoy these gladiator glamour shots by Mythology Studios, LLC:

Click the photo to see the entire gallery on Facebook