Hatsune Miku Shirt Prog DoOver

As part of a commission for I am collaborating with on a cosplay of Hatsune Miku from Vocaloid.

I wish I could model the shirt myself. It looks so much better on a real person, but unfortunately this is a size too small for me. I can only just about hold it closed to get a feel for the shape.

Aside from a few touch ups, the basic shirt construction is complete. I've actually had to pull emergency cram sessions and late nights in order to get this accomplished.

This is because this isn't the same shirt that was pictured in the previous progress pic. The other night I was finishing up the last few stitches and was having an extremely hard time doing so. I discovered that I had managed to horribly screw up the lining somewhere along the way and because of it, the shirt would not lay any sort of flat and raw edges I was trying to stitch would not line up. On the mannequin it looked all sorts of horrible. It was not wearable in the slightest. I don't understand how it happened, but I'm sure a big part of it has to do with my work not being perfect. I'm a mostly self-taught cosplayer......not a professional tailor.

Because the shirt had been so close to completion, backtracking would have meant taking apart A LOT of seams and even then, it didn't mean I could fix the problem. After a little while of trying to salvage the situation, I decided I would save more time and aggravation if I just started over.

For as upset as I was and for as much as I'm now exhausted trying to get everything done on time, this start over has had some benefits. I became familiar enough with the pattern and the shirt construction that I was able to perform alterations during earlier steps, thus making it much easier and cleaner in the long run. I had enough leftover lace to redo the bottom trim, while salvaging the armhole lace from the first shirt. I did save myself a little time since I was still able to make use of the original collar.

All I have to say is, thank god for automatic button hole makers and button sewing on sewing machines.

Essential I managed to get the entire thing remade in a 2 day time.

Tomorrow will be another long day entirely focusing on details and constructing the light up panels for the sleeves.