Nightshade Red (Pirate Mermaid) Top

[SINicallyTwisted]

Hello! Thought I would share my work in progress of my pirate mermaid costume.

Started off with taking apart a bra of mine and reassembling it in a few areas, then stenciled out a skull pattern in the center of each cup...
http://mernetwork.com/index/attachment.php?attachmentid=15142&d=1381774312

I wanted red netting so I purchased white spooky netting for a door from Michaels in the Halloween section, bought some red dye and dyed it then added pieces of it to the top...
http://mernetwork.com/index/attachment.php?attachmentid=15143&d=1381774321

Here's a back view...
http://mernetwork.com/index/attachment.php?attachmentid=15144&d=1381774330

I will be adding black, white & red sequins to fill in the cup section, following the design as best as I can. Leftover netting is going towards a belt piece that I plan on adding shells and other goodies to. I'm also thinking of adding some of the netting to the handle my sword as well.

I'm also on the hunt for drilled white cowrie shells and white sharks teeth to add to it. Suggestions are welcomed! ;)

I'll post more as I go. I'm hoping my sequin order will come in this week. So yeah, here ya go. Hope you like it errr so far. lol XD

[Mermaid Lorelei]

I found some bulk drilled cowrie shells on Ebay for 10 dollars. I've seen shark teeth on there as well. :>

[SINicallyTwisted]

I found some bulk drilled cowrie shells on Ebay for 10 dollars. I've seen shark teeth on there as well. :>

Thank you, Mermaid Lorelei! I think I found the one you were referring to, which I've purchased. I don't think I was searching for these shells correctly. I kept finding bulk shells but none drilled. Amazing how one word changes everything! :$

I'm checking out the shark teeth auctions but having a difficult time finding ones that I have in mind but I'll keep searching!

[Mermaid Lorelei]

Glad I could help. :D

[SINicallyTwisted]

Glad I could help. :D

Yes, it was a great help and I truly do appreciate it! I will definitely make note to anyone that asks me, that lovely mers from mernetwork helped me locate some of the materials that was needed to create this costume. ;)

Thank you again! I promise that I will post more as I progress with it. I'm still waiting for my orders to come in so there isn't much more I can do other than wait at the moment.

[Mermaid Lorelei]

Haha. No problem. :X

I love the skulls that you drew on. Are you outlining them with red sequins, or making the skulls red? Just curious.

[SINicallyTwisted]

Haha. No problem. :X

I love the skulls that you drew on. Are you outlining them with red sequins, or making the skulls red? Just curious.

Thank you! I asked my hubby to sketch me out a skull on cardstock paper and then I cut it out as well as the eyes and nose part and then used it like a stencil. My game plan is black opaque shiny sequins for the majority of the bra, antique white luster sequins for the skulls and metallic hologram red sequins for the eyes of the each skull.

These are the ones I've ordered and hopefully will recieve soon...
151821518315184

The top of the bra will have a strip of the red netting with parts of it dangling down just a little bit so I'm not covering all the sequin work, the cowrie shells will run along the top edge with a faux pearl bead inbetween with a small wired white shark tooth dangling at each bead.

In the red netting along the sides and bottom, small shells maybe even some starfish (items I need to search for) and I plan to peppered it with red and clear rhinestones.

My hubby thinks I should put shark teeth along the bottom edge but I'm a bit leary of that idea. I want the look to be beautiful, enchanting yet deadly because she is after all a pirate but kids will also be hugging me and I don't want to accidently cut them with the teeth. I'm considering filing down the teeth (when I located the ones I'm searching for) or do something to protect the edges, just in case.

[Mermaid Lorelei]

Just be careful with starfish. They fall apart when the hit the water. Loving the ideas though. :3

[SINicallyTwisted]

Just be careful with starfish. They fall apart when the hit the water. Loving the ideas though. :3

Thank you for the tip! Should I be considering some kind of sealant for the starfish or anything that is as fragile, to (hopefully) prevent them from falling apart?

I don't think I will be in water any time soon with this but the pirate group that I'm with are working on doing some kind of tank for me for events. I honestly don't think that's going to get done right away though. In the meantime, they are trying to create comfortable seating areas for me. A few suggestions was a giant shell, part of a sunken ship or a giant treasure chest filled with treasure. LOL

[Mermaid Lorelei]

I love the treasure chest idea! I so want one now!

As for the starfish, if they might just get splashed or briefly wet, a sealant should be just fine.

[SINicallyTwisted]

I love the treasure chest idea! I so want one now!

As for the starfish, if they might just get splashed or briefly wet, a sealant should be just fine.

LOL Yes, I like the treasure chest idea too. That way the 'treasure' could be individual little pillows and I'd be comfortable sitting for long periods. ;)

AH Ok starfish, splashed or briefly wet, sealant should be ok. Got it! I'll remember that! Thank you!

[PearlieMae]

That's going to be so cool!

[SINicallyTwisted]

That's going to be so cool!

Thank you! I'm hoping my sequin order comes in tomorrow. I'm dying to get started on it! It's been teasing me from across the room! lol XD

[SINicallyTwisted]

:yay:
YAY! My sequin order was just delivered today! I can finally start working on it! Progress pics to come!

[SINicallyTwisted]

Finished one cup with sequins tonight. Each individual sequin was hand stitched on, one by one.

http://mernetwork.com/index/attachment.php?attachmentid=15243&d=1382151342

I also added a little glitter to the red netting areas for a little sparkle. I still have a lot more to do but so far so good! ;)

[MerEmma]

WOW. You're quick! It looks awesome :D

[SINicallyTwisted]

WOW. You're quick! It looks awesome :D

LOL! Thanks! I'm a little swamped at the moment and I'm trying to get this finished as quickly as I can for the pirate group that I'm in because they're booked for a bunch of events and I'm temporarily using my Ariel / Mermaid skirt until I can get this finished. Plus I have other costumes to work on as well AND I have art commissions to finish up on top of all of this. I need like way more arms and hands! Xp

I have another version of this pirate mermaid for walking purposes to do. I have my new mermaid dry tail to work on and a new mermaid cross over costume. My hubby wants to do a costume of a character from the comic Tarot called Thornwic which is kind of pirate like looking plus he just added a Blackbeard costume that he wants as well (good luck to me on those ones! ugh!) and on top of all that my 16 yr. old wants to join the pirate group too, so he needs a cabin boy costume, which I think should be easy enough to make.

Soooo yeeeeah, I'm going as quickly as I can to finish everything. :O_o:

[SINicallyTwisted]

Update....

Unfortunately I ran out of black sequins, so I had to order more to be able to finish the sequin work on the other side but in the meantime I decided to focus on the finished side. When I held up the dyed red netting to the top, it didn't look right to me so I canned that idea altogether. I thought that it looked a bit too much. I ended up finding some 3 ply Jute cord and since my double drilled cowrie shells came in yesterday, I started playing around with them. What you see is just me pinning things here and there, nothing stitched yet until I have it the way I like it. I'm still trying to decide which way I want to go with it but so far I'm really liking this look better than the netting idea I had. ;)

http://mernetwork.com/index/attachment.php?attachmentid=15309&d=1382463056

[Mermaid Lorelei]

I love the jute look.

[SINicallyTwisted]

I love the jute look.

Thanks! I am too. I'm currently playing around with the jute along the sides, creating a swirling design. I'll get pics when I have it all figured out. ;)

[SINicallyTwisted]

:yay:
Sweet! The rest of my sequins just arrived! Now I can finish the other side, hopefully before I have to run to work since there isn't that much left to do. So on that note, I'm off to sequin like the ocean current! XD

[SINicallyTwisted]

So I finished the sequin work (not seen in pics) and now I'm just trying to figure out how I want the cowrie shells and jute to look on the top. I don't want to sew anything down until I have it juuuust right.

I like the idea of using the jute as a design on the sides though I might tweek it a bit so it doesn't just end, maybe loop it back back around so that there are no ends showing but I'm not sure I like the cowrie shell along the bottom. The shells wouldn't be dangling like you see in the pics, I've just pinned them there to kind of give me a visual. What do you think?

1547015471

I'm also not sure if I like the jute going complete around the cup area either. Maybe along the bottom and the side but I'm not really digging it going down the front. :thinks:

[PearlieMae]

I kinda like the dangling shells...just be careful, that jute gets itchy FAST.

Otherwise, it's GREAT!

[SINicallyTwisted]

I kinda like the dangling shells...just be careful, that jute gets itchy FAST.

Otherwise, it's GREAT!

Thank you! Yeah, I noticed that the jute is a bit on the itchy feeling side. I'm trying to keep it more on the top then on the sides where my skin will be touching it. I doubt that will make it less itchy for me wearing it but I'm hoping it will be a little bit less itchy doing it that way. If not, I have a pirate hubby to kiss away any boo boos! ;)

FYI - Love your avatar!

[PearlieMae]

:D I have a Jack Sparrow, too.

Isn't she great? There was an artist who did Grumpy Cat as all the Disney princesses...I HAD to use this one!

[SINicallyTwisted]

Unfortunately I ran out of time since the event is this weekend but the top is almost finished! I figure I can add more to it later on since this will be a regular costume for the pirate group I'm in. I still need to add a few random sized rhinestones to the sides but that shouldn't take too too long to do. ;)

http://mernetwork.com/index/attachment.php?attachmentid=15916&d=1384887819

[PearlieMae]

That looks great! What attention to detail!

[Mermaid Lorelei]

Looks great!

[LittlePolly]

Cool, love the rope arround it.


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