Wearables Volks x BTSSB but pink...IN A WEEK?!

One of the things that got me into the BJD hobby was the Volks collaborations with Baby, the Stars Shine Bright. As a lolita, BTSSB makes some of my favourite clothes and the idea of twinning with a mini-me is delightful! One of their biggest collaborations was in conjunction with the release of Kamikaze Girls (Shimotsuma Monogatari) with the release of a SD based on the main character Momoko and a few of her outfits in the film. My lolita community is having a private cinema screening on this film, so obviously I need to wear one of my favourite pieces featured, the Elizabeth onepiece. Momoko wears this dress when she first meets Ichiko and it is the most instantly recognisable piece in the whole film.

Luckily, this is one of the pieces Volks released for the SD too!

Wouldn't it be fun if my SD could wear a matching outfit with me? Unfortunately, even if I owned the Volks set, the Elizabeth I own is pink! I then had a mad thought: what if I made an Elizabeth for my SD? Not only is this one of the more complex dresses BTSSB has released, but I'm working on a deadline; the cinema screening is Saturday 28th September.

I got to work researching the Volks dress and compiled as many reference images from old sales listings as I could on a Pinterest board. I noticed a few minor variations between the 2004 version and later versions, including the ones worn by the memorial models last year.

Aside from the variation between releases, this dress is based on Momoko's one which actually has modified sleeves. I now have to make a decision; do I try to accurately replicate the Volks version or do I try to make something closer to the BTSSB original? In the end, this decision was dictated by which laces I could buy as while I found a few very similar to the Volks dress, it was easier to reference the original design sketch and lace samples listed on Lolibrary

To make scaling the design easier, I'll only stack one "D" lace on the sleeves and cape rather than two. Another design change I'll be making is the fabric. The Volks dress is velveteen like some of the early Elizabeths, but as far as I know all the releases since 2006 have been cotton twill. While I do have some spare velveteen from a project I've been making for myself, I really don't want to work with it at small scale, and my full-size one is cotton so it'll match better. I picked up a plain weave cotton at my local fabric shop and checked out their lace, but the selection wasn't great. I decided my best option was looking online, and I know for torchon lace my best bet is Japanese stores. I placed an order from rakuten.co.jp/lace-factory through Buyee and, after Fedex took forever getting it between France and the UK, my lace arrived today!

I didn't buy a rose lace as I had a suitable one in my collection already. Other than a mini zip (which should be arriving from eBay in a few days) and ribbon (which I was waiting to get until my lace got here) I finally have all my materials and *checks calendar*...only one week to make it?! This is going to be quite a challenge but I think if I manage my time well, I should be able to pull it off!

 

This evening has been spent working on the pattern by modifying the AATP (BTSSB sub-brand) pattern from Dollybird 8 and heavily referencing my Elizabeth for the proportions. Now to head to bed, and hopefully tomorrow I'll make it to the craft shop to get the last bits I need.

 

I feel like I couldn't make as much progress as I'd like on the dress today, as I went out to the craft shop and then had other tasks that needed doing, so I didn't get to work until quite late. Unfortunately, both the craft shop and my local haberdashery had a very poor selection of ribbons so it looks like I'll have to order some. I did however find some tiny flower shaped buttons that should work for the collar closure, as seen in this old Mandarake stock image:

Once I could get to work this evening, I started with giving my fabric a good ironing and then cutting the pattern pieces. I started with the ruffles and skirt by pulling a thread and cutting along the grainline of the fabric. I could then fold the fabric and pin the paper pattern pieces.

A few pieces need to be cut multiple times so I traced them onto the fabric. I used my pinwheel and carbon paper to mark the seamlines and then cut all the pieces.

With all the pieces cut, I marked the seamlines with frixion pen to make them easier to see. Tomorrow I can make a start on stitching!

 

Finally I have time for an update! It's been a slightly chaotic few days (my sister had an emergency hospital visit for minor burns; she's all good though!) so I've been focusing my attention on sewing rather than writing about sewing.

As I was waiting for a few materials still for the bodice portion, I decided to start with the skirt. I overlocked the necessary edges on the ruffles and then basted the hem in place.

I then slightly gathered the lace to the hem edge and stitched it down.

Next I gathered the bottom frill to the skirt and overlocked the seam

Then I pressed it and topstitched it

I then seamed up the back to where the zipper will end

Next I had to seam the other frills, although I made a mistake and managed to put a twist in one ‍♀️

I'll have to unpick and redo this seam. In the meantime, my ribbons and zip arrived, although I quickly realised the mini zip is intended for smaller scale dolls and doesn't even go the full length of the bodice so I popped down to the haberdashery and bought a regular zip.

 

Dawn of the Final Day
I have only about nine hours left to finish everything now, and it that time I need to shower and feed myself too.

Right after my last post I finished assembling the skirt section. I've run a gathering stitch alone the top edge in preparation for attaching it to the bodice.

Next I pinned the rose lace onto the piece that need it and stitch it on.

I then assembled the waistties and basted the pleat in place to insert into the side seam later.

I basted the bodice darts,

and stitched them, then pressed them open.

I then overlocked the hem on the sleeve flares and layered the two laces together. I basted the hem under and ran a gathering stitch through the lace. I also did the gathering stitches in a few other pieces while I had the machine threaded and set for it.

This is where I'm at now. I stitched the ladder lace onto the collar and basted the other lace to it. I gathered the upper part of the sleeve to the middle part, and layered the lace for the "capelet". With some focus, I should be able to get this all done! I also have a velvet cape I've been working on for myself which I'd really like to finish too, but that might be pushing it if I want to go to bed at a reasonable time.

 

Unfortunately, I did not finish this dress for Saturday. It got to 11pm and I decided I'd rather get a good sleep and enjoy myself than work through the night and probably end up with something subpar. I did really enjoy my day out and then took a few days break from sewing for the sake of my back. Now to get this finished!

I gathered the top and bottom parts of the sleeve to the middle, overlocked the seams, and applied ribbon before overlocking the underarm seam allowances. I switched my overlocker threads to white for this as it'll be visible on the cuff lace.

I then did the shoulder seams so I could attach the sleeves and stitched the waistties to the front bodice seams.

I then had to work on the lace "cape", which ended up taking more time than I'd expected. I first tried with the same stack of lace as the sleeves, then found I need to stack a second "D" lace to get the right length, and then I found I hadn't cut a long enough piece to wrap comfortably around the shoulders. I think I'll need to gather the second "D" lace a bit to get it to fall properly, so that's my next step.

 

Thank you everyone for your kind words. I took a short break from sewing (I got Echoes of Wisdom and Hyrule needed saving) but I'm back now and I have a new deadline for myself; my parents are flying home for a family funeral so my sewing room will have to be a dining room again while they're here. They arrive on the 17th so everything will have to be packed away by then. Fortunately, I can see the finish line and I reckon I only have an evening or two of sewing left on this project!
The first thing that needed tackling was the lace cape, and I belatedly realised I can measure my full-size Elizabeth and scale it down. This required lightly gathering each lace tier, which took a while, but in the end it looks great.

I then stitched lace along the front darts and used this to encase the raw edge of the cape. I stitched the outer edge of the lace, trimmed the cape lace, and then stitching the inner edge.


Now the tricky part; the bodice yoke! I ended up hand-stitching the point at the centre of this piece because it was so fiddly. The seam allowance got overlocked and pressed towards the neckline, then stitched down with the ladder lace applied on top. I threaded the ribbon into the lace and stitched it at the point to keep its shape. I then added the lace around the collar.

I could then close up the side seams by carefully lining up the seams and basting them before machine stitching. The sleeve seams were tricky to iron flat and I ended up using a tightly rolled piece of scrap fabric as an improvised tailor's ham. It was finally time to combine the skirt and bodice! This was pretty straight-forward; I pulled the prepared gathering threads in the skirt and matched up the centre and back points. Running this seam through the machine was a bit tricky because the skirt was just so full, but I went slowly and carefully. I then set my overlocker for a 4 thread stitch as this seam is wider. After pressing the seam towards the bodice, I topstitch it.

The next step is to insert the zip, which I've been delaying while debating whether to use the white one I already have or buying another one in pink. Once the zip is in all that's left to do will be the collar and button closure, applying the bows, and making the headdress too.

 

Thank you everyone! Today I finally, finally took photos of us wearing our dresses together
Since finishing this project I've acquired a little sister for Maddie, so I suppose my next project will be an iconic BTSSB dress for her too!

I think the photos should work if you refresh the page, or if you click through you'll see them on flickr