Maleficent is the perfect example of a costume I can’t seem to leave alone. I have been wearing it to Dragon Con for 5 years now and every year I give it some update. More Steam, more comfortable, repairs, really whatever strikes my fancy.
From the Beginning
The first thing I found was this purple tab fabric which I fell in love with although it was a bit of a monster to sew. I decided to use on the edges of the costume mimicking how the color played out with her costume in Sleeping Beauty. You can see how I was deciding what to do in the sketches. eventually I paired it with a ruffle like black fabric for the skirt using a copper belt to delineate the two. The skirt has not changed too much, mostly some decoration to the belt across the bottom. I have made a few repairs and added a bustle to the back as well as some metallic threading for majesty.
The hat was made with paper clay and memory wire on a felt hat base. I really like the shape I got. The changes here are the addition of more steam and some more hand pained decoration as well as some repair work.
The ruff was originally sculpted off a collar of shame then covered with fabric and held in place with a thin leather belt. It had a tab that went into the collar of the bolero. eventually the bolero / collar combination gave me muscle strain so last year I decided to change it for ease of wear. I switched the ruff to be directly attached to the bolero adding horsehair ribbon and lots of feathers. Also I added a choker to the piece. I removed a belt from the bottom of the bolero that I felt was pulling the jacket too strongly onto my shoulders. and added chain to the cap sleeves of the bolero.
2018 This year I repaired the headpiece and added another touch to it. I softened the ruff on the inside with a strip of velvet and added copper painted wood tines. I updated the staff again as I lost another topper last year. ( two glass globes down ) I made this piece really tall so I need to be careful when going through doorways. Going with a spindle topper and steaming it up. This makes the staff supper tall. I also added wrist cuffs to the outfit which were simple and fun.
Charlotte Cat Murphy Designs 