A bonus to the magnet on a telescoping stick, when not being used for Barbie, is picking up needles and pins off the floor. I keep one nearby and actually keep it on my desk leg. Maybe you could make a large version of the barbie want with the strong magnet? Create a space between the end of the magnet and the end of the recreated tulip wand end
If you are planning on building a little flower out of polymer clay or something to cover the end of the magnet to replicate Barbie’s wand I would keep the stronger magnet because adding the extra material will make the magnet weaker. You could try and control the strength of the magnet by how much product you add to make the rose.
Try out cutting the larger size butterfly out of the holographic paper you want and apply that to the smaller butterflies and see if it still flutters.
U could also use a magnetic wire to use in the fabric butterfly wings since if u go that route u need a wire to hold the shape anyway. They use it in automotive stuff sometimes and sometimes for decor shelves for magnetic clips
I recommend keeping the strong magnet. I use one like that to make sure I don't have pins or needles in my carpet and I adore it! And with the retractable stick you're not bending over to get them lol
For helping the butterflies stand up, maybe the kind of clear plastic from clamshell takeout boxes? It's pretty stiff but still has some flex for them to flutter.
My eleven year old inner child squeaked at the glitter with the flower design on top for the bodice that you’re going to do! It makes it an epic Barbie! Also, it’s Barbie- you can’t have too much glitter. lol specially in the awesome 90s.
I love the holographic sticker paper for the butterflies. I also Love the idea for the bodice I think the glitter effect will be a nice touch to this Barbie gown.
You can add wefts to give you more fullness. Drag queens have a technique about wearing multiple wigs. Glad you are going the hand drawn look. It most definitely fit the vibe. Canyou do a temporary add the skirt to the bodice? That way you can dismantle it if you decide to do another costume
No need to get a new, weaker magnet! Just wrap the tip (head) of the magnet with layers of fabric or similar so that the magnet does not make contact with the metal wing. Magnet fields get weaker the further away from the magnet you get. great idea! Maybe look up us patents by Matel from that range of years?
I actually did try to find patents for the actual butterflies, but no luck. And I'll be using foam clay to sculpt the wand head, but I'm pretty sure it still needs to be a little weaker.
@@LadyRebeccaFashions The magnetic force falls off as the square root of the distance to the wing so foam clay will probably work! Good luck! Will look cool.
@@LadyRebeccaFashions I was also going to suggest wrapping the magnet. Maybe try it out with fabric or something wrapped around it first, and see how that works? Then when you decorate it and make it look like the Barbie wand it should work fine.
I love the butterflies! If you want more of the details of the butterflies to show, try using a hair dryer to warm up the vinyl a bit and then smooth the vinyl into the details :)
This is looking so good! I love your ingenuity! The butterflies really remind me of those springy butterfly hair clips from the 90s. I still have one lingering somewhere…
A suggestion for the bracket - find a big plastic container, like a big peanut butter jar, something that is moulded in clear plastic. Cut it up, using the moulded angle from bottom to side, as the shaping.
You can definitely get a much smaller magnetic wand. You might want to look in the automotive section, they should have a little magnet on a stick that is maybe 12 to 18 inches long. And the magnet itself is about the size of a button battery. You may also want to look into more lawn ornaments for a floppybwing butterfly
I woke up my rabbit with my OOOOHHHHH!!!! when you flipped back the fabric on your sparkly freehanded sampler. That's so perfect. I feel like the telescopic magnet wand, once decorated, if you used something a bit substantial around the magnet like foam, might keep it away from the butterflies enough to not stick to them... and if not it's still going to be a great tool for picking up pins in the sewing room... And I realize you've probably already done it, but from an armourersmith's perspective the best way to get those brackets off the wings would be to grind out the rivet or grind off the spot-welds, we call the angle grinder at the shop the "rivet eraser". Might be able to drill it out if it's a rivet, or a very abrasive tip on a dremel tool. Wear safety glasses though, cause you never know. And I wonder if a hair dryer would make the vinyl melt around the texturing? I'm wondering if little rolls of fabric under the wings but attached to the body would keep them up, thinking like the body is the hotdog and the wings are the sliced cheese sticking out of the hotdog bun?
The fabric is called Super Shine Metallic and comes in a selection of colors including the purple I'm using in my Bridgerton dress right now and one called Serenity Blue that I used for a color shifting Aurora dress the Halloween before last
Honestly they made that shape bodice shape in the 1860s. Boning at the center front would keep it down. Also no matter what, that flower sparkle combo is gorgeous.
If you want butterflies in the back, you could do a more traditional sewing materials for the core of the butterflies that would be on the back of the dress. Some felt, stabilizer, buckram, something to that effect. Any butterflies on the back of the dress you probably wouldn’t be attempting to manipulate with the wand anyway, right? They’re in the back so you won’t be able to see what you were doing if you tried to reach them with the wand. So, they could be visual elements only, and they don’t have to be magnetic. Hmm. To that point, if you wanted a larger butterfly or two on the front as well, you could make them as non-magnetic ones too. Only you would know that only certain butterflies on your dress are actually magic butterflies. As for the bracket issue, you might try some thermoplastic. I’ve been using thermoplastic to make mounting brackets for epaulets and it works really well. I use hot water to heat just the area where I need to bend the piece, and this gives me more control compared to a heat gun. I have some photos on my Facebook about this, or if you have questions feel free to contact me.
A shaped yoke waistband was my first thought too, for getting the flat very low front point on the bodice hem to play nice with such a full skirt. To stop the butterflies from flopping flat, you could maybe use some craft foam to create triangle supports, which could then be covered by tulle scraps so they don't show? I don't know if this would be strong enough, but since it's pushing from the side rather than taking the weight from below, it feels like you shouldn't need anything Super Strong. That said, whatever it is will need enough support from below/inside that it won't just get pushed down into the skirt by the wings' weight and end up flat anyways. Maybe a horizontal bar under each butterfly, perpendicular to the body, on the other side of the skirt fabric; or a + shape, supporting the whole arrangement. Wig Option 3, with the diagonal waves, makes me think of Odette from 'The Swan Princess'. (Not the 'Barbie in Swan Lake' Odette, the 'Nest Entertainment' version.) I think Wig Option 1 still looks the most like the doll.
If you heat the vinyl with a heat gun (also possible with a hair dryer) the material will soften and shrink to the shape of the metal exactly. Thats what you do when covering furniture with vinyl. Thats the best way to avoid bubbles and wrinkles.
I'm wondering if you turned the head of your magnetic wand around if it would then change the polarity so the magnets would push away rather than attract
I'm wondering if you put soft springs where the wings connect might allow more flutter? If you placed it where they were sewn on they might not show much. just a thought. I'm a crafter, not a seamstress so I'm good for a dupe on other things. It's going to look fantastic finished.
I can't wait to see this all finished, Lady Rebecca!! I'm glad you figured out the butterfly fluttering issue too! 🦋🦋🦋 Maisy is just too funny, cuddling up in the fabric!! 🐱 I wonder if she was a seamstress in a previous life! 🧵🪡 (also you forgot the links to the butterflies and I think fabric(?) or fabric pens in the description 😅 I didn't see them... 😆)
An idea for the skirt - create a waistband that dips in the front like the Basque waist of the bodice will. It should work for both Glinda and Butterfly Princess Barbie. It should also help reduce bulk
Use a sheet of worbla for the bracket! Cut it to whatever size you need, double it up if you need it to be more stiff. And btw. Every return you do, generally does not get to be sold again. It's used. So it is put in a landfill or warehouse. The truth about Amazon returns is horrendous.
So my adopted furbaby Ruby has the same vertical half-orange nose that your Maisie has. They could be sisters! Love the dress and butterflies. Excellent work!
There is a method to make metals magnetic. Maybe you can make it not stick but reject and so work the same as the barbie’s. I make things out of thermoplastic beads. They melt together and then you can shape them in to what ever you want. Think that will work for the wings.
There’s magnet wands at Dollar Tree, they’re much smaller than yours, and only $1.25. I use mine in my sewing room to pick up dropped pins out of the carpet.
This is a great project. Why don’t you just use one of those large button pins like they used to wear in the 80s and 90s of your favorite singer or band. That way you can attach the button with the pin to the skirt. And it’s easily detachable too. Also, if you want butterflies in the back of the skirt, cut out the holographic material without the metal on the inside and you can tack it down. Then you have the butterfly look without tearing and crushing anything, because the more butterflies the better.
@katesmailes850 I think I had adapted it from my gunnesaxoween pattern - I have a video all about the making of it from two Decembers ago, which has all the info.
Funny that you mentioned repurposing this skirt for a 1939 Glinda cosplay someday.... Her dress has side hoops and a weirdly short waist and honestly kind of gives me English regency court gown vibes. I'm so sorry for that mental image 😂
Totally random thought-- for your Jane Seymour costume have you thought about using sticker pearls for the shoes? Really neat about the butterflies too!
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A bonus to the magnet on a telescoping stick, when not being used for Barbie, is picking up needles and pins off the floor. I keep one nearby and actually keep it on my desk leg. Maybe you could make a large version of the barbie want with the strong magnet? Create a space between the end of the magnet and the end of the recreated tulip wand end
If you are planning on building a little flower out of polymer clay or something to cover the end of the magnet to replicate Barbie’s wand I would keep the stronger magnet because adding the extra material will make the magnet weaker. You could try and control the strength of the magnet by how much product you add to make the rose.
Try out cutting the larger size butterfly out of the holographic paper you want and apply that to the smaller butterflies and see if it still flutters.
I did wind up doing a few that were about half a cm larger than the iron butterflies, but I didn't want to go too big and risk them bending.
@@LadyRebeccaFashions I was going to suggest this too, and also that you could use some light card in it to extend it out to a bigger size
I'm always so impressed how you figure out a solution to the problems a costume can bring up. The butterflies look perfect.
Thanks!
If you cut the butterflies out of the paper, and add a wire to their edges, you might get them to flap easier.
U could also use a magnetic wire to use in the fabric butterfly wings since if u go that route u need a wire to hold the shape anyway. They use it in automotive stuff sometimes and sometimes for decor shelves for magnetic clips
I'm amazed how imaginative everyone is about the butterflies, you're all amazing ❤, the dress is so cute so far.❤
I recommend keeping the strong magnet. I use one like that to make sure I don't have pins or needles in my carpet and I adore it! And with the retractable stick you're not bending over to get them lol
That's a fantastic solution! I love the sparkly bodice fabric, it goes so well! ✨💜
For helping the butterflies stand up, maybe the kind of clear plastic from clamshell takeout boxes? It's pretty stiff but still has some flex for them to flutter.
My eleven year old inner child squeaked at the glitter with the flower design on top for the bodice that you’re going to do! It makes it an epic Barbie! Also, it’s Barbie- you can’t have too much glitter. lol specially in the awesome 90s.
Put a cover over the wand to reduce the pull
It will have a rose sculpted over it.
I love the holographic sticker paper for the butterflies. I also Love the idea for the bodice I think the glitter effect will be a nice touch to this Barbie gown.
Those butterflies look amazing! I think the sizing looks realy good. Glad you got it figured out. It's going to be so cute when it's done!
absolute loved the sample you made for the bodice, so pretty!!!! 💜💜💜💜
Thanks!
You could attach the wings of the butterflies with springs out of a writing pen. They will move when you walk.
I love the sparkling bodice fabric and the hand-colored flowers work really well on it!
You can add wefts to give you more fullness. Drag queens have a technique about wearing multiple wigs. Glad you are going the hand drawn look. It most definitely fit the vibe. Canyou do a temporary add the skirt to the bodice? That way you can dismantle it if you decide to do another costume
No need to get a new, weaker magnet! Just wrap the tip (head) of the magnet with layers of fabric or similar so that the magnet does not make contact with the metal wing. Magnet fields get weaker the further away from the magnet you get. great idea! Maybe look up us patents by Matel from that range of years?
I actually did try to find patents for the actual butterflies, but no luck. And I'll be using foam clay to sculpt the wand head, but I'm pretty sure it still needs to be a little weaker.
@@LadyRebeccaFashions The magnetic force falls off as the square root of the distance to the wing so foam clay will probably work! Good luck! Will look cool.
@@LadyRebeccaFashions I was also going to suggest wrapping the magnet. Maybe try it out with fabric or something wrapped around it first, and see how that works? Then when you decorate it and make it look like the Barbie wand it should work fine.
I love the butterflies! If you want more of the details of the butterflies to show, try using a hair dryer to warm up the vinyl a bit and then smooth the vinyl into the details :)
This is looking so good! I love your ingenuity! The butterflies really remind me of those springy butterfly hair clips from the 90s. I still have one lingering somewhere…
A suggestion for the bracket - find a big plastic container, like a big peanut butter jar, something that is moulded in clear plastic. Cut it up, using the moulded angle from bottom to side, as the shaping.
You can definitely get a much smaller magnetic wand. You might want to look in the automotive section, they should have a little magnet on a stick that is maybe 12 to 18 inches long. And the magnet itself is about the size of a button battery. You may also want to look into more lawn ornaments for a floppybwing butterfly
I woke up my rabbit with my OOOOHHHHH!!!! when you flipped back the fabric on your sparkly freehanded sampler. That's so perfect.
I feel like the telescopic magnet wand, once decorated, if you used something a bit substantial around the magnet like foam, might keep it away from the butterflies enough to not stick to them... and if not it's still going to be a great tool for picking up pins in the sewing room...
And I realize you've probably already done it, but from an armourersmith's perspective the best way to get those brackets off the wings would be to grind out the rivet or grind off the spot-welds, we call the angle grinder at the shop the "rivet eraser". Might be able to drill it out if it's a rivet, or a very abrasive tip on a dremel tool. Wear safety glasses though, cause you never know. And I wonder if a hair dryer would make the vinyl melt around the texturing?
I'm wondering if little rolls of fabric under the wings but attached to the body would keep them up, thinking like the body is the hotdog and the wings are the sliced cheese sticking out of the hotdog bun?
The fabric is called Super Shine Metallic and comes in a selection of colors including the purple I'm using in my Bridgerton dress right now and one called Serenity Blue that I used for a color shifting Aurora dress the Halloween before last
Honestly they made that shape bodice shape in the 1860s. Boning at the center front would keep it down. Also no matter what, that flower sparkle combo is gorgeous.
If you want butterflies in the back, you could do a more traditional sewing materials for the core of the butterflies that would be on the back of the dress. Some felt, stabilizer, buckram, something to that effect. Any butterflies on the back of the dress you probably wouldn’t be attempting to manipulate with the wand anyway, right? They’re in the back so you won’t be able to see what you were doing if you tried to reach them with the wand. So, they could be visual elements only, and they don’t have to be magnetic.
Hmm. To that point, if you wanted a larger butterfly or two on the front as well, you could make them as non-magnetic ones too. Only you would know that only certain butterflies on your dress are actually magic butterflies.
As for the bracket issue, you might try some thermoplastic. I’ve been using thermoplastic to make mounting brackets for epaulets and it works really well. I use hot water to heat just the area where I need to bend the piece, and this gives me more control compared to a heat gun. I have some photos on my Facebook about this, or if you have questions feel free to contact me.
Are you wearing a ring with a butterfly to the hardware store? How clever!!
Lol yeah, I didn't want to bring the whole Barbie, so I brought the ring that came with her!
Great bodice fabric!
You could maybe do just vinyl butterflies without metal on the back!
Then they wouldn't be magnetic...?
@LadyRebeccaFashions right, but you wouldn't be reaching back there to flutter them, anyway. Just add to the visual.
@nixhixx Oh, I thought you meant on the back of the butterfly! Lol
Lol. What we have here... is a failure.. to communicate
A shaped yoke waistband was my first thought too, for getting the flat very low front point on the bodice hem to play nice with such a full skirt.
To stop the butterflies from flopping flat, you could maybe use some craft foam to create triangle supports, which could then be covered by tulle scraps so they don't show? I don't know if this would be strong enough, but since it's pushing from the side rather than taking the weight from below, it feels like you shouldn't need anything Super Strong. That said, whatever it is will need enough support from below/inside that it won't just get pushed down into the skirt by the wings' weight and end up flat anyways. Maybe a horizontal bar under each butterfly, perpendicular to the body, on the other side of the skirt fabric; or a + shape, supporting the whole arrangement.
Wig Option 3, with the diagonal waves, makes me think of Odette from 'The Swan Princess'. (Not the 'Barbie in Swan Lake' Odette, the 'Nest Entertainment' version.) I think Wig Option 1 still looks the most like the doll.
If you heat the vinyl with a heat gun (also possible with a hair dryer) the material will soften and shrink to the shape of the metal exactly. Thats what you do when covering furniture with vinyl. Thats the best way to avoid bubbles and wrinkles.
That happens even with the sticky backed vinyl?
I would just use a bit of bent wire on the back to hold the wings up.
I'm wondering if you turned the head of your magnetic wand around if it would then change the polarity so the magnets would push away rather than attract
Interestingly, the original ones also attracted! It does make more sense if they pushed away though.
@LadyRebeccaFashions that is interesting. My daughter just missed being old enough for this Barbie by 2 years so it's not one that I am familiar with
I'm wondering if you put soft springs where the wings connect might allow more flutter? If you placed it where they were sewn on they might not show much. just a thought. I'm a crafter, not a seamstress so I'm good for a dupe on other things. It's going to look fantastic finished.
Gorgeous so far!! I believe the sparkle fabric might be lurex metallic knit? It’s awesome that the sparkle shows through the pens!!
OMG why i didn't think about glinda's dress in this the only differences you need to make a pink bodice
I can't wait to see this all finished, Lady Rebecca!! I'm glad you figured out the butterfly fluttering issue too! 🦋🦋🦋 Maisy is just too funny, cuddling up in the fabric!! 🐱 I wonder if she was a seamstress in a previous life! 🧵🪡
(also you forgot the links to the butterflies and I think fabric(?) or fabric pens in the description 😅 I didn't see them... 😆)
Oh thank you! I'll go fix the description.
@@LadyRebeccaFashions You're welcome. 🙂
Would not the magnet you got be weaker when you cover it so it looks like the flower wand Barbie has?
It will probably weaken a little, but likely not enough to counteract how strong this one was.
I still have my Butterfly Princess Barbie but I lost the ring. Always one of my favorite dresses, so glad you're making it!
An idea for the skirt - create a waistband that dips in the front like the Basque waist of the bodice will. It should work for both Glinda and Butterfly Princess Barbie. It should also help reduce bulk
The flower is gorgeous! Can't wait to see the finished bodice,
Use a sheet of worbla for the bracket! Cut it to whatever size you need, double it up if you need it to be more stiff.
And btw. Every return you do, generally does not get to be sold again. It's used. So it is put in a landfill or warehouse. The truth about Amazon returns is horrendous.
Ugh, that's awful!
One of the many reasons I don't use Amazon 😢 and rarely return anything. Definitely makes me think harder before buying!
Superglue should lock the hinge in place if you go with that method.
add vinyl only ones to the back so you get the look but not the discomfort?
Amazing!
Thanks!
So pretty!! For the wand, I would put a Styrofoam ball over the tip so that it can't contact the butterflies and stick to them.
So my adopted furbaby Ruby has the same vertical half-orange nose that your Maisie has. They could be sisters! Love the dress and butterflies. Excellent work!
There is a method to make metals magnetic. Maybe you can make it not stick but reject and so work the same as the barbie’s.
I make things out of thermoplastic beads. They melt together and then you can shape them in to what ever you want. Think that will work for the wings.
There’s magnet wands at Dollar Tree, they’re much smaller than yours, and only $1.25. I use mine in my sewing room to pick up dropped pins out of the carpet.
This is a great project. Why don’t you just use one of those large button pins like they used to wear in the 80s and 90s of your favorite singer or band. That way you can attach the button with the pin to the skirt. And it’s easily detachable too. Also, if you want butterflies in the back of the skirt, cut out the holographic material without the metal on the inside and you can tack it down. Then you have the butterfly look without tearing and crushing anything, because the more butterflies the better.
You are amazing!! Definitely cosplay engineering 😮 Are you thinking about entering it in a contest?
Thanks! I don't think so, tbh. Mostly because then I'd have to make a hoopskirt for it too (mine is purchased).
What if you cut the vinyl a bit longer than metallic butterfly? Would it still flutter with magnet?
I did a few where it's slightly longer, but I also don't want it so long it can bend.
Oooo. I love the dress pattern you are wearing. What is it?
Not sure which one you're talking about!
@LadyRebeccaFashions the tartan one
@katesmailes850 I think I had adapted it from my gunnesaxoween pattern - I have a video all about the making of it from two Decembers ago, which has all the info.
I think pink is just sold out due to Wicked
No, that's what's crazy - they weren't offering it to begin with!
Cute suPURRvisor!
You keep talking about iron butterflies and i have Innagoddadavida running in my head...
Funny that you mentioned repurposing this skirt for a 1939 Glinda cosplay someday.... Her dress has side hoops and a weirdly short waist and honestly kind of gives me English regency court gown vibes. I'm so sorry for that mental image 😂
Did I miss the video where you introduced your new kitty?
I introduced her in the life update video from a few months ago, where I talked about losing Dora.
Hmm… you could cut a breathing hole in a clear plastic bag, then put it on over the wig cap and try on wigs so you don't contaminate them 😂
Totally random thought-- for your Jane Seymour costume have you thought about using sticker pearls for the shoes?
Really neat about the butterflies too!
Are they just like half-dome pearls with a sticker back?
@LadyRebeccaFashions yes. I've seen them on Amazon or sometimes the dollar tree (for 1.25)