🎸⚡The BEST EVER Mini Ziggy Stardust You'll Ever See!⚡🕷
âš¡Turn and Face the Strange!âš¡
I've made a lot of super fun, ultra rad, kickass stuff in my sewing lifetime... but this, THIS, is at the top of the list for me!!! Nothing could inspire me more to put on a good show than the starman himself, David Bowie. Yesterday marked the first anniversary of his death and so I have been planning this grandiose ZIGGY STARDUST homage for the past year! My 5 year old muse is one of the biggest little Bowie fans out there so I made a commitment to myself and to her to make her a capsule wardrobe of iconic Bowie outfits!
âš¡We Can Be US, Just For One Day!âš¡
Self-drafted Handmade Fashion:
Kansai Yamamoto-inspired romper
Kansai Yamamoto-inspired cape (custom design printed through My Fabric Designs as part of an affiliate program)
Blue shredded fabric boa
Ukulele strap
Stuffed fabric rings
Ziggy Stardust and the Romper from Mars.
First came the romper, about a year ago, which started out as just a shorts-style romper. I took pictures, and it just didn't do enough for me... it's David f*#king BOWIE!! I knew it had to be taken to the next level (but at the time I was in big blog redesign and move mode!); it would be a while before I got to realize my true vision.
Once I buckled down and focused on this project, I knew I wanted to change the look of the original romper to one more like the original... it's a little kookier which is much more like my family of bandits! I picked out my hem and added in a leg. This girl has always been obsessed with wearing her "david bowie romper". All the time she asks if she can wear it to school (ha! it's 20° here😆) and around the house because she likes like how it feels on and how well she can move in it! I will most likely do a pattern for it soon, as it is unlike any pattern I've ever seen out there! Suffice it to say, it gets worn lots!
Screwed Up Eyes and Screwed Down Hairdo, like some "Cape" from Japan...
If I had to name one thing as the most important edit of the chibi Ziggy outfit, it would definitely be the white silk cape. It was no easy feat trying to decipher and then match and edit the font on the cape for the design I made (and in the next coming weeks I will be doing a slew of freebies on this outfit, the cape kanji as one of them, so make sure you sign up to the secret freebies clubhouse to get the scoop! details at the bottom of this post!) It took most of a day just trying to get that right!! I then sent the design off to My Fabric Designs and had a yard of it printed in their cotton silk. The length was just right for her and I used the space between the top and bottom negative space for the collar's fabric!
The lining was a serendipitous moment when I scoured my bed-sheets stash and stumbled upon a solid red, toddler bed fitted sheet! I love when the linen closet grants my wishes, don't you?!!!
Currently, I am working on a step-by-step tutorial on how to make your own Ziggy Stardust Cape by making a freezer stencil template and drafting your own cape pattern!!! I can't wait to share it with you and see a sea of Ziggys all across the lands!
an homage I put together as a nod to the newest Bowie album, No Plan, which came out yesterday. Yes- he is SO cool that he planned an album with new music to come out a year after his death. Man, he is just the best, isn't he?!
Oh, You Pretty Things! The Accessories That Brought It All Together.
It's all in the little details, amiright?! There's nothing that transforms an outfit from clothes to fashion statement like accessories.
Working with things I already had, I made some fabric rings just like Bowie wore with his Ziggy outfit! And then, when I realized just how important it was to have the blue feather boa to complete the look, I raided every vibrant, solid blue cotton fabric scrap I had and cut 'em up, stitched them together, then shredded them (oh so carefully!) to give off the effect of an electric blue fabric boa. I'll go into detail more when I do the tutorial for the freebies clubhouse 😉.
🎸The red ukulele was a birthday gift and has been one of her favorite things! But as a precautionary effort and added *pop* of excitement, I decided to make a silver ukulele strap. I tried searching for a proper ukulele strap DIY, but was disappointed with what I found. So, yep, I figured it out on my own and wrote down all the instructions so that I can share it with you all! So if you ever were bummed you couldn't find a proper ukulele strap tutorial that was sturdy enough for your liking, I got you covered!
Rebel, Rebel, You're Face is a Mess... Behind the Makeup and Stying.
A little note about the makeup, I went as close to Bowie's costume makeup for Ziggy because I just couldn't imagine it any other way! My courageous, badass 5 year old has been rocking the side-shaved head (totally her decision on her own!) for well over a year now, so slicking her hair back to make a faux mullet was half easy, half meh, hahaha. We had a lot of fun with it.
The makeup was essentially blended white costume makeup, powder, and a M.A.C. pigment in crazy vibrant red. The gold emblem with glitter makeup just gave me a case of the giggles because it was the last element I added before stepping back and looking at my ultra-chuffed, super-thrilled, chibi Ziggy look-a-like! It seriously gave me chills. I can't even with all the feelings, you guys!
The photoshoot was shot completely indoors in my sewing room, with a spotlight. I took most of my pictures under my cutting tables to get the depth of field with my beloved fixed 35mm lens and flash (can you envision what I looked like under there!?! 😆). We listened to the Starman singing all his songs and we scream sang them together... it was the most fun and raucous photoshoot I've ever done; I didn't want it to end! But then I thought, "You have more Bowie outfits planned; we'll be doing this again very soon" and that made me okay with stopping!
I am on top of Mars excited about this outfit and I really hope you had fun seeing my crazy vision realized! I hope you sign up to my newsletter to gain access to my Secret Freebies Clubhouse where I keep all my new tutorials, freebies, updated patterns, and everything! I'll be adding new things very soon and more and more as I post all the DIY's of my chibi ZIGGY outfit so stick around to check out all the latest stuff!!
First time checking out Sew Chibi Designs? Maybe it's your first time since I redesigned everything?! If you just want even more: more explosively colorful and silly handmades or are really keen to making super cute stuff, you should sign up for my Sew Chibi Designs Newsletter which keeps you up to date with all the willy antics I'm up to, PLUS exclusive access to my new SECRET FREEBIES CLUBHOUSE! created for sharing free patterns, updated content, printables, etc.
It's like a secret sewing club for kawaii inclined! Make sure you sign up so you get...... deh secret password!
"...is there life on MARS...?"
Need more Bowie!?! You should click over to one of my favorite blog ladies, Delia from Delia Creates to see what she made! I can't even handle how adorable her blazer on her little girl is and the fact that she too sewed for her little girl, speechless! 🖤🖤🖤
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