Captain America USO Dancing Girl-WIP

[laurend]

So for NYCC I'm working on my first replica costume and decided to go with one of Captain America's USO girls from TFA (the original costume from the beginning of his 'press tour' so no sequins and 6 smaller stars instead of 2).

So far I have the red-trimmed petticoat finished-lined with a white lining fabric to make sitting more comfortable. I may add another layer to this, depending on how it sits under the skirt, I'd rather have it a little less for now and be able to add then have to pull it apart later.

I've also done the base of the bodice, based on a slight modification to the Simplicity 3784 pattern (lowered/widened the neck line, made the back slightly lower, also had to adjust for my body type)

Now the parts I'm seeking some guidance with are the skirt, the belts and the lapels. I'm making the lapels out of the same blue satin as the bodice and I know a few people have made this costume before (I requested access to the Facebook group but haven't been let in yet so I figured here would be a good place to find someone). So basically, I'm wondering how the lapels were attached?
So far my thoughts are that I may have to pull apart the seam at the neckline and work them in to there-definitely should have thought out farther ahead of time. Or possibly finding some way to attach them as-is, an extra overhang of fabric that I can sew in to the inside of the neckline and then fold over and maybe tack the backs of the lapels down with some iron-on hem tape. So I guess basically I'm wondering how anyone has done this before? And if your process worked/didn't work well. ANy advice would definitely be welcome though.

And for the skirt, I'm thinking they look like 6" panels (plus seam allowance) of the red and white, pressed in half and then stitched alternating, sewn in to the waist still folded and then hemmed in one go. Can anyone confirm or correct this?

And I'm a little unsure the dimensions of the belt though, if anyone has that info I'd definitely be grateful. Otherwise I might have to just do some trial and error.

Thanks in advance for any input!

 

[charades]

Re: Captain America USO Girl advice?

It's called a peaked lapel. I won't be able to explain it in text without pictures and everything, so try looking up tutorials on Google. It actually shouldn't be too hard to do. I don't think you need to open up the back neckline, as the collar should attach around it and face it. Depends whether you want to open the seam allowance back up. However, I think it would look fine if you just sandwiched your finished collar between the lapel and facing.

The skirt looks pleated to me. Probably panels of alternating red and white to get the stripes, then pleated all the way around the waist.

My friend stole my Complete Guide to Sewing book, or else I'd scan it for you.

 

[AshleyD]

Re: Captain America USO Girl advice?

Hi! I've completed my USO girl costume and can help (as best I can anyway)

For the lapels, I did the sequin version. my original plan was just to let it sit around my neck, but once it was all made and I put it on, there was no way it was going to stay put haha. I ended up sewing little snaps on the back of the lapel and snapping it to my bodice. I used a snap at the point of the lapel and a snap about half way down on either side of the lapel. Now, with the sequin version, I only sewed the snaps to the lining of the lapel. I didn't sew into the actual sequin fabric. I would assume you are lining your lapel as well, so if you sew the snaps to your lining only, you shouldn't have an issue with seeing the sewn in snaps on the front of your lapel.

You are right about the skirt panels and and when I completed my uniform, we hadn't decided on the belt. The girls are currently doing a few tests runs of various belts of different materials. So as of now, there is no "official" belt.

 

[AshleyD]

Re: Captain America USO Girl advice?

I didn't mention this in my first post about the lapels...

I attached them via two small hooks at the top of each lapel (collar) and one hook at the bottom of the lapel (the point)

 

[AshleyD]

Re: Captain America USO Girl advice?

Hi! I've completed my USO girl costume and can help (as best I can anyway)

For the lapels, I did the sequin version. my original plan was just to let it sit around my neck, but once it was all made and I put it on, there was no way it was going to stay put haha. I ended up sewing little snaps on the back of the lapel and snapping it to my bodice. I used a snap at the point of the lapel and a snap about half way down on either side of the lapel. Now, with the sequin version, I only sewed the snaps to the lining of the lapel. I didn't sew into the actual sequin fabric. I would assume you are lining your lapel as well, so if you sew the snaps to your lining only, you shouldn't have an issue with seeing the sewn in snaps on the front of your lapel.

You are right about the skirt panels and and when I completed my uniform, we hadn't decided on the belt. The girls are currently doing a few tests runs of various belts of different materials. So as of now, there is no "official" belt.

 

[laurend]

Re: Captain America USO Girl advice?

Charades: thanks I looked it up and will probably just sandwich the finished collar in there rather than pull it apart and risk weakening the seams.
And yeah I figure I'll sew the pleats in by keeping the panels pressed in half as I piece them together.

AshleyD: I was hoping to find some way to actually see the lapel in so it wouldn't gap but I'll definitely keep the snaps in mind should that not go well/not look right

Thanks for the info on the skirt/belt. I'll probably play with it myself as well do I'd love to see what you guys come up with and will post mine if I find anything that works!

 

[AshleyD]

Re: Captain America USO Girl advice?

If you want to PM me your name (whatever you use on Facebook) and I'll add you to the Construction Group. We have patterns, examples, suggestions, etc posted that will definitely help you with your costume build

 

[laurend]

Re: Captain America USO Girl advice?

I PMd you my info AshleyD, I'd definitely love to see what the group has

 

[laurend]

Re: Captain America USO Girl advice?

Also, if anyone has any suggestions for the hat it'd be greatly appreciated, I've been playing around with a few things but none of them are really holdig the right shape and at this point I'm kind of at a loss there.
I don't have a picture on hand but I'm hoping to do one of the round blue hats with concave top and white star.

 

[zeroginc]

Re: Captain America USO Girl advice?

cant wait to see it finished

 

[laurend]

Re: Captain America USO Girl advice?

Thanks Zeroginc! NYCC isn't until October but I'm hoping to have it finished by the end of the month so I won't have to worry about it. Working on the skirt now and will hopefully have pics up by the end of the month.

 

[Lady Arwynn]

Re: Captain America USO Girl advice?

I had the similar problem to the FB group... although Kathy KayDee has helped me and got me into the group... check my message and find her either on here (she posted in my thread) and/or on FB to get an invite to the costuming group. All the patterns are on it.

If you dont get a reply send me a PM and I will do my best to get you in.... I do the moderator is on the way to two events before hitting DragonCon.

http://www.therpf.com/f24/cpt-america-uso-girl-costume-154197/

 

[Kay Dee]

Re: Captain America USO Girl advice?

I know I'm a bit late finding this post - If anyone is working on the Captain America USO Girl costume - just ask a current member of the Facebook costume group to add you. It's by facebook friends referral. If you don't have a friend in the group you will need to friend one of the members first so they can add you. (you can always PM me here, or Lady Arwen who is also in the group). There is a huge wealth of information there so it is really worth it to join.

2022 Update - the private costume construction group with tutorials is still around, I have had people message me about it. So if anyone would like access please just contact me through facebook messenger at Kathy KayDee Log into Facebook I also have a public costume page but I don't check those PMs as frequently.

I've seen the costumes in person at auction and so our tutorials and advise/patterns are pretty solid.

The peaked lapel does not have any seams across the front of it like most men's jackets. This is a decorative lapel that is only tacked on at a single point center front, and I believe a point on either side of the bodice neck line ease of taking on and off for laundering. It is not permanently sewn onto or integrated into the bodice construction. It's detachable and constructed as a separate interchangeable add-on, as there are versions worn with sequin lapels, and versions in other scenes worn with satin lapels.

 

[ileman]

Re: Captain America USO Girl advice?

wambat

 

[nasakat]

Re: Captain America USO Girl advice?

I've seen the costumes in person at auction and so our tutorials and advise/patterns are pretty solid.

I'd go beyond calling them solid and say they are amazing. A group of us in the Houston area decided to put these together and used the info from the FB group and ran into very few problems that couldn't be answered by information already posted in the group.

Also, I really recommend this as a project to do with friends to complete a couple of them together if you have friends who are interested. We have a diverse set of skills in our little group and it worked really well to piece out different parts to different people...it was also nice to have people to commiserate with when we got to the hand sewing on the &^%$ing hats

 

[steamshovel]

Re: Captain America USO Girl advice?

Hey, I am going to be there all four days as Cap! YAY! I got a professional pass that SHOULD be here soon in the mail! Will your costume be done by then?

 

[laurend]

Re: Captain America USO Girl advice?

steamshovel: Sorry for being so MIA but yep, definitely will be there in costume on Friday, still not sure about the other two days since the person who was supposed to buy the tickets waited too long and three days aren't available anymore. Checking at a few comic shops to see if they have any left.

Will absolutely be there Fri. though and will be updating with the (almost) finished pics soon!

Scratch that, just confirmed that I have 4-day tickets as well! May not wear the costume all 4 days but I'll see how that goes once it's all finished (and it gets close enough to see what the weather will be like, that skirt is short!)

 

[laurend]

Re: Captain America USO Girl advice?

Well now that I actually have my NYCC tickets I'm jumping in to full gear. Way too many distractions and other projects getting in the way of this one.

I've finished the dress, thank god, that skirt is a killer but I think the work that goes in to it really does seem to pay off, I like the way the pleats stand out and the french seams I added to the inside really finish it off in case the skirt ever flies up or folds over when I sit. Though I definitely should have used a stiffer satin, the costume satin I used buckled a little bit in the front seams. I'm hoping with some creative ironing and rubbing a bit I can work some of that out.

In addition to the dress I've completely finished the hat, though I had to take the base patterns available on the facebook group and modify to work for the materials I had. I couldn't get my hands on any buckram and the cast to get a whole yard mailed when I only needed a fourth of that didn't seem justifiable on my (very small) budget. So I used a plastic weaving canvas type thing usually used with yarn as my base and ended up having to sew it all by hand. I took some in-progress pictures but they seem to have been lost now. Due to the plastic though I wasn't able to sew in a lining, it just wasn't cooperating so I ended up resorting to glueing in a felt lining which doesn't look terrible but is far from professional, but thankfully it's only on the inside.

I've also managed to gather all of my little side pits and pieces. My belt is taped off, though I will probably have to make a new one at some point, I think my stripes are going to be too wide and the belt is more textured than I think it should be. I have to paint that and the shoes tomorrow (again, the shoes were a bit out of my price range so I'm taking a pair of white shoes I already had and am going to paint them silver) then seal both of them over the weekend, along with finish the lapels and cummerbund and if I have the time I'm thinking of making some kind of bag out of my left-over fabric so whatever I carry actually matches and makes some kind of sense.

 

[James Kenobi 1138]

Did you ever get any photos in this costume?

 

[laurend]

I did, here's a few from NYCC

I have to say though, that I didn't really like how this one came out, I've since remade it with a much better fabric and a top pattern that better matches the other girls. I've also done the both the satin and sequin lapels and hat and used snaps to attach the lapels to the dress so I can go back and forth between the two. I generally prefer the look that the satin three-star one has but when I'm in the group I'd prefer to match theirs. I've have since gotten the matching shoes too. Should have a few photos of it sometime in a few months.