Contest Couture Contest: The Witching Hour! Winners Announced!

Crying all the cries because this theme was PERFECT for a doll of mine whom till december/january will remain a floating head (I bought the body a couple weeks ago).
I'd like to participate, we'll see if I can think of something for one of my others dolls.

 

What a fun concept, I actually want to try my hand at this! I've never entered a contest before and this is really good motivation

 

Can you use fabric re-purposed from human clothes/table runners/etc. as long as you're just using it as raw material and not using the structure from another garment?

 

39 inches is a very odd width... is 1 meter the standard in places outside of the USA? Or did it just seem like a nice round number? (just curious)

Anyway, this contest looks like fun, and I'm diggin' that theme!

 

Yes, you may use recycled fabric. Make sure to include it in the photo as a piece laid flat for measuring though!

@BabySnow Most of the world does use the metric system, so the choice wasn't arbitrary.

 

Love this theme, I'm really excited. I have never done this before, so I have a some questions:

Can we include props (such as a wand or broom or book) as part of the outfit and/or in the style shot? If so, do I need to make them myself and are there any material restrictions?

Could I use custom printed fabric? Would that count as a textile that I made myself and thus would have to describe in my entry? I don't actually see any text field in the submission form that would be suitable for describing the process of creating my textiles, so where would I put that?

Thanks!

 

Just to be on the safe side, we CAN use sewing patterns, right?

 

Does the doll entered need to have a full completed face-up?
Would using a blank doll lose points????
This is so exciting, I love the theme can't wait to see everyone's work on this

 

It's not the use of the metric system that surprised me. Most fabric here is 45", 55", or 60", so I was going to say, if a standard fabric width in the rest of the world is 1 meter/~39", that would surprise me. Unless it was designed so that everyone would have to trim down their width. Sorry, I worked in a fabric store for over two years and while I had to break out the calculator to convert from metric for length a fair number of times, I never heard anyone comment on the width, so it's just curiosity (Google brought up some conversion charts but it didn't help me figure out what was typical). I guess I'm just being nosy

 

This sounds awesome, and I can't wait to vote on all the entries!

That said, I'm confused about what a "style shot" is. Does this mean a diorama with background and props, or is that outside the scope of this contest, an outdoor shoot, or just a posed photo of the doll?

 

A style shot can include props and appropriate settings. Think of the front and back shots as standard catalog illustration and the style shot as the fashion editorial spread.

 

Most fabrics I get are at least 1.1m wide up to 1.5m wide but I know quilting fabric is usually only about 0.9m wide so it is a wee bit off.

I've grabbed some of my smaller pieces of fabric and I am working on a concept now

 

@BabySnow I think they were figuring most people would cut out their pattern pieces and then lay them out showing it fits in the fabric limit. not use 1 meter X 0.6 meter of one piece of fabric.

 

Ah, ok, thanks! Curiosity satisfied That is interesting, too- quilting fabric here is ~45 inches (1.1 meters).

I'm sure you're right, based on the photo requirements. But when I initially read "choose a fabric that measures 1 meter (39 inches) or less in width" it got me curious.

 

What about adding things like beads or embroidery to decorate? Are buttons or snaps okay?

 

Thank you, that's exactly what I needed to know.

 

I am probably overthinking this wayyyyy too much now .. and the answers are will be pretty obvious to some people, but could you help me out please, and check out my questions...
Can I ask about the doll used...
Does it need a full face-up to enter competition???
Also regards material...
Within the rectangle limit picture, you include ALL fabric pieces used, plus trimmings like ribbon and lace....Do you include fasteners ( Velcro, zips, buttons, snaps), Elastic, All or Any Embelishments???
Regards the photographs submitted....
For the collage pics, photoshop can be used for that? It's just the Style shot which prohibits photoshop, right???
Thanks

 

Now for the difficult question can you enter more than one doll?

 

What about materials that are not fabric?
Foam?
Paint?
Feathers?
Metal pieces like claps or buttons?

Are the allowed, if so are they restricted?

 

Hello, I live in Mexico, we always use meters/centimeters as measurement units. Although, most fabrics sold here are 1.5 meters wide, a few are 90 centimeters wide. I think it was like you said because it seem like a nice round number :P

 

Yeah the metric system is pretty much the standard the world over at this point. (I believe the metre was originally a fraction of the world's circumference, though of course the definition is more accurate nowadays)

 

Just to be super clear!

as long as our fabric fits laying flat in a .6 meter by 1 meter rectangle (for a 1/3 doll) we can use any variety of material? (and photograph it)

I need to shoot two basic (front and back) images with a simple background that show only the outfit (fabric pieces)]

I also need to shoot a stylized image that can include props and accessories I've made

Thank you so much for any help! Sorry I tired using the Ask the moderators but I kept getting an error message

Actually I have another question! How do the moderators feel about using real fur? I don't want to give away my full theme but my witch persona for my doll would hunt and live in the woods

 

Yes, props are allowed in the style shot. A field has been added to the submission form that allows you to describe your creation process and the materials used, so please use this to discuss all items you created. Materials for all handmade items should be shown with the fabric yardage photo. The front and back photos should include all items you made, shown on the doll. The style shot can be as elaborate as you'd like, short of photoshop witchfire.

Yes, please mention that you used an extant pattern in your process discussion.

A face-up is not necessary, and could probably be used to good effect in a spooky style shot. Points are entirely up to the voters to assign.

These are all okay. Please include the materials you use to embellish the fabric in the photo of your fabric. We all know what snaps look like so don't worry about photographing those.

See above for the answers to your other questions. You may use photoshop to create the collage and do color correction and cropping. Just no special effects on any photos.

Get started on the first doll and we'll get back to you on that.

Anything that is flat and can function like fabric such as fake fur, soft foam sheets, hackle pads (feathers glued to fabric) counts as yardage and should be included in your measurement allotment. Any other embellishments are not restricted but should be shown in your materials photo.

Yes, Yes, Yes (though you don't have to make all of the props), and we aren't judging anyone for any of the materials they use.

 

Thank you for this wonderful competition, I'm so excited to get started! Three questions:

1. Can PhotoShop be also be used for the style shot (only color correcting, cropping and resizing) - only the collage was mentioned above.
2. Fray-check is not available where I live. Can fabric glue or other glue be used to stop the fraying?
3. Can hot-glue or any other glue be used to glue on beads or other embellishments to the costume? Feathers were mentioned above, but just checking.

Thank you for the answers!

 

Would structure altering fabric like interfacing have to be included in the allotment?

 

Photoshop can be used for basic color correction, cropping etc on all submitted photos.

If you have some other kind of thin transparent glue to use as a fray check substitute, that's fine.

No hot glue or glued on embellishments. This is a sewing and tailoring competition, so if you want to add beads and feathers it's time to pull out the couture sewing techniques!

Interfacing and stabilizers used to stiffen your chosen fabrics do not need to be calculated in your yardage allotment, but they may not be used as fabric or embellishments.

 

Quick question. Heat transfer vinyl, yes or no for it being ok to use in the contest? I'm guessing no but I wanted to be sure.

 

You mentioned that the fabric for an SD must fit in a rectangle of .6m by 1m . What is the measurements for MSD?

 

This is going to be AWESOME! I'm so excited to enter, but really I just can't wait to see what other folks come up with

Is there a place where we can look at past couture contests?

Edit: I have another question--

Can the term 'witch' be applied to any magic user? Are we required to use 'witch' instead or sorceress, warlock, etc?

 

@security16 Yes, you may enter more than one doll, as entirely separate entries, but you can only win one prize. So the entry that earns the most votes would be your winner and the other entry would not be eligible even if it got enough votes to place.

Could you give us more details via Ask the Moderators? That's hard to answer without more info.

Max width is 1 meter, max length is:
1/3 size doll or larger: 2/3 yard (0.6 meter)
1/4 size doll: 1/2 yard (0.46 meter)
1/6 size doll: 1/3 yard (0.3 meter)
1/12 size: 1/6 yard (0.15 meter)

All past contests can be found in the Events Archive.
Those terms are fairly synonymous to most people, so that's fine.

 

Images aren't loading for me in the Events Archive D: is anyone else having this issue?

 

Is it ok to use such decorative elements?


Are cosplay or replica acceptable?

 

@St. James HTV or heat transfer vinyl is a thin vinyl material that you cut out in your desired shape and iron on to your fabric. It comes in many colours (and glitter!). I use it also for costuming. Hope that explains it better

 

Will the story/concept be included/published in the voting submission, or will it be judging by Photos ONLY?? I am trying to figure out how literal or abstract I want to go for this.

 

Not loading for me either. All broken.

 

A lot of things broke during the forum migration, and it looks like this might have been one of the casualties. I have a lot of the past event images saved and can restore them at some point, but not at this time.

Yes, you may use decorative studs. Please include them in your list of materials when you receive how you make your entry.

Cosplay is up to you. Your peers will be voting based on creativity as well as skill in execution.

Since it is used in the context of making your own custom textile, yes.

Your description will be posted along with your photos. (We may have to edit for length.)

 

Just wanting to double check here... For SD, the amount of fabric that can be used is 24x39"? And as fabric bolts are generally doubled, it's two layers of that size rectangle?

I just want to make sure before starting to cut and plan out. Thank you!

 

Your fabric, laid flat in a single layer, must fit in a 24x39in rectangle. Some fabric is folded, some is rolled on tubes, but how it is shipped doesn't matter because you need to show it in a single layer.

 

Okay, so you cut out all of the pattern pieces, and lay them out in a single layer, so if you had the back and front of a skirt (identical in size/shape) they would need to be laid separately from each other, so it's all in a single layer?
Also, thread doesn't count in the allotment, or does it?
Thanks! ^_^

 

Yes, the measurements are to ensure everyone is working within the same constraints regardless of their pattern or fabric type, so all pieces must be laid out in a single layer.
Thread is considered a notion, and does not need to be measured.

 

Okay, thank you!! ^_^

 

Thank you! That is very helpful to know. I will be certain background story is not too long. One paragraph, tops.

 

Call me stupid but i don't seem to get it and need to know for sure, if you make a sort of textile by yourself does it count for your total yardage or not?

 

ahhh, if i already started construction can I submit a photo of the paper pattern pieces laid out across the 0.3m of fabric I am aloud?

 

Hello again I tried using Ask The Moderators but the link still doesn't work on my computer, sorry it's an old pc I'm not sure why it's acting up

I have another question concerning material. I saw fake fur was mentioned but how do the mods feel about real fur? It was donated to my elementary school and about to be thrown away so I kept it (it seemed wasteful not to). I've never used it before but it will fit with my character/theme. Will this be acceptable?

Also I saw that we're not supposed to ask for people to vote for us via other cites. Can I post my images though just for fun to something like my instagram? or should I wait til voting is over to be safe?

Thank you !!!

 

You may use real fur if you like, it just needs to be within the yardage limits. But no, you may not post images of your outfit anywhere else, even just for fun. The first post here says:
"Describing your entries, posting photos, or soliciting votes (either on DoA or on offsite blogs or forums) before the contest voting has closed will result in disqualification."

 

thanks so much, that was exactly what i needed to know!

 

I'm so excited for all these events! Thanks so much to the mods for organizing them.
Quick point of clarification. I know you dont want accents like beading glued on, but I have some accent pieces I would love to include that cant really be sewn on, would it be acceptable to glue those elements to buttons or snaps and sew those on?

 

Yes, that's a good solution to the problem.

 

Alright...I've cut out all my pieces and I'm ready to sew (inspiration hit me like a tonne of bricks when I read the theme). I nearly had a heart attack trying to tetris all my pieces into the yardage allotment, but it's done and I can exhale. Onward...good luck everyone!

 

I'm so baffled, how can you just cut out all your pieces without doing any sewing, and then just put them all together and have them magically work?? I'm also quite confused about how they could possibly ask us to photograph all of our fabric pieces at once, I'm trying stuff out and redoing it and adjusting it and adding to it as I'm sewing....

 

I tend to work that way too. My plan of attack is to cut my pieces out a little on the large side so I can always trim it down more. I guess ability to do this depends on how tight you push it with your fabric allotment, though. Alternatively, you could baste things for a test fit, take them apart for the picture, and then sew them up.

 

I also tend to pattern as I go. I think I might make a rough version with some cheap test fabric, and then take it apart and use it as my patterning for the real version.

 

I make estimates by wrapping the material around the doll and eyeballing it, always leaving a little extra so I can cut it down later if I need to. The fact that dolls don't mind if you accidentally stick a pin in them also helps. Photographing the fabric pieces is easy - get a bunch of rulers or measuring tape and use them to create a rectangle of the fabric allowance you'll be using. Then play tetris with all the little cut out fabric pieces and you're done!

 

I usually pattern as I go too. It will be good for me to have to plan ahead, for a change.

 

So I uh...I've finished my outfit already. Finished it off after work this afternoon. I'm impressed at how decent it looks (to me at least). I could see myself using this once the competition is over. Taking photos of the actual outfit in nice light will prove difficult though. Ah well... *cheers on everyone else*

 

It's not that I don't plan ahead. I typically go through several iterations, and make 1-2 bad pieces before I eventually happen to sew together one that fits the way I intend. At which point I have in my possession a finished piece and a paper pattern. I don't know whether the piece will be good until I sew it together, so I can't photograph my fabric pieces all at once because I won't know if those will be the ones I will use until it's already put together. Unless I just sew the whole thing twice. Which I could do. Not sure if y'all have mad pattern eyeballing skills or some other secret weapon.

 

@Marjie I see what you're saying because I work that way myself, normally. Would it work to just baste together your test pieces?