Naiomi's Closet Commissions

So sorry it has been so long since I've been here, life has been insane, stressful, and feeling like a freaking roller coaster. All the while I've been continuing to work on Naiomi's Closet, my DD store. I have been scrambling so hard to get 'enough' patterns drafted and finished clothing posted before the store opens (when I'm not trying to conquer the webpage.) I'm a perfectionist so I'm beginning to really doubt that I'd ever have enough and that has a lot to do with why Naiomi's Closet has been pending being opened for a year and a half! So Raven and I were talking today when I mentioned the idea of opening with commissions instead of having a bunch of stuff 'off the shelf' to get this crazy endeavor started.

 

What Naiomi's Closet will offer:

Clothes for many DD, DDdy, DDS & MDD sizes! (I also have Obitsu 45cm & hope to get the Smart Doll Boy)

DD scale fabrics, designed by Sister Kyoya and her sister (available on the clothes as well as by the yard!)

3D printed items (so far only glasses have been tested, but DD scale porcelain dishes that you can actually bake in are likely to be tested soon)

 

Available items once the store fully opens:

Pre-made outfits (with the option of choosing your own fabric prints from the available NC fabrics)

Sewing kits (Clothes, bedding, & anything fabric related)

Seasonal items (like Christmas stockings)

Cut & assemble paper kits (just some food boxes so far)

Craft kits (currently a retro suitcase is being designed, but I might consider a kit for the couch I made if there is enough interest)

 

So this is what I want to know: Would anyone be interested in me opening commissions for Naiomi's Closet if there was a base commission fee of $50 USD (before shipping)?

 

Now let me clarify what that means. I can think of things from really basic pieces of clothes to hugely extravagant outfits. Obviously the price range for each is drastically different, but the $50 base price would cover a lot of the kinds of requests I'm expecting while still giving me the option to take a look at the more complicated requests that people might have. I feel like this way I have the chance to assess a project before agreeing to it and calculating the total cost if it is more than $50. On the flip side if someone wants something that doesn't justify such a high price, we can negotiate if there is other things they would want to add to the commission so the cost is fair. If the cost of a single product has already been calculated it will already be listed on the site making commissioning that item much easier. And as expected it will be first come first serve.

 

Doing commissions will allow me to see what people are really interested in while allowing me to work on projects that will eventually be up for sale in NC once the full website is functional. For the moment if I do the commissions I'll have a small version of the site open mostly set up as a gallery to show the work I have done up to now so you can see what I do. I've had a lot of projects I've wanted to work on that have been put on hold as I try to set up the store in more of a traditional way. After so long I just need to do something different so I'm not always just talking about the store instead of everyone just being able to see it for themselves!

 

Plus with commissions you have full access to my wide range of talents that include: 25 years of sewing experience that I continue to expand my skills on, I'm an artist (although I have my unique style, cartoony but not anime), 3D modeling (I spent about 8 years working on converting 2D objects from Sims 1 into full 3D objects for Sims 2), I design my own custom DD packages (milk carton, ice cream box, baking mix, & bakery box so far) and the original artwork they use, I've designed over 50 fabric prints in DD scale already with more still waiting to be done, I make furniture and have MDD scale appliances planned (Tama keeps waiting to have his kitchen done), I've made polymer clay food that is convincingly real (although I don't expect that anyone would require this, it does illustrate my level of accuracy and attention to detail), I've done my own faceups including 3 boys with another two waiting to be painted (another thing I don't expect anyone would use, but I can do it so I listed it! LOL!), I can do cross-stitch & plastic canvas (What?? ), I've made many hybrid DD (some of which need 3D printed neck adapters), I'm working on designing the neck adapters and hope to have metal internal replacement pieces eventually (MDDII knees anyone?), I'm slowly working on making my own DD props so I can do photo shoots in proper DD rooms, and I'm interested in all sorts of crafts.

 

The reason I list all this stuff is an attempt to really illustrate the stuff hiding in my 'bag of tricks' that I kinda have a hard time knowing just how to show off. Naiomi's Closet is not just a clothing shop or t-shirt shop even though that's mostly what I've been able to show off so far. Once the site is fully open there won't be a $50 minimum for non-commission products. Part of the reason for the two step opening of the store is so I can find out how much interest there is for what I want to offer. I've been thinking about this for about two years now and I'd like to know if all this effort is really worth my time.

 

Knowing that enough people are currently interested in this option would mean that commissions would open in 2-3 weeks! Look through my Flickr project album to see the kind of things I've made so far. I'm aware that some of the above mentioned items that I have completed need to be photographed and uploaded.

 

Lastly, I'll answer this question before it's asked: International (outside of the US) commissions? YES! as long as what you want can be shipped to your country from mine.

 

~Sister Kyoya

Sounds good. I'll be interested in commissioning something, from a glance at your gallery you have already done the kind of thing I am after for my next girl.

 

A base price seems alright to me. I am sure some people will complain about specific costs, but we have to acknowledge this is an expensive hobby, and your time and materials are not free. So I don't have a problem with it. ^^

It'll be great to see you take on commissions until your shop can fully open $50 is very reasonable and like you said if there's something someone wants made that would make it less than that you can discuss extras to put it up to that amount. Or if it would be more then you'd give a quote of what it'll end up being~ You've done many things that I would want my girls to wear

 

Things I would want commissioned would be Love Live School Uniforms for my Maki (DDS M-Bust). Both winter & summer versions:

 

http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/love-live/images/7/7b/R_33_Maki.png/revision/latest?cb=20140717081214

http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/love-live/images/e/e9/SR_132_Maki_August_Ver..jpg/revision/latest?cb=20140717132105

 

And that's just the tip of the iceburg haha~ Basically I would want a lot of stuff made for my Maki Hope I'll be able to commission you for these sort of things once your commissions open up

I am also interested in custom clothes. I need some Love Live! Nozomi outfits.

Thank you so much for the quick feedback. I nearly cried in relief just simply by hearing that I wasn't being unreasonable. (I really am too hard on myself even when I try not to be.) It has been exceptionally difficult for me to figure out where the balance would be for me between all the effort put into what I do and feeling like I was getting paid reasonably in return.

 

A couple of things I forgot to mention in the first post:

 

#1 I won't do outfits for body types I don't have because I'm bad at guessing sizes (Don't worry though, I have lots of busts and they will be listed on the site so you don't have to guess.)

 

#2 Anything school related (especially school uniforms) will have an extra $5 charge added to them. I'm not trying to be snarky or mean, the extra charge will be added to a fund so Ravendruid (my husband) can attend college. It's a long story but in short he can't qualify for financial aid so all the cost of him going to school comes straight out of our pocket. The fee will apply to anything school related even after the store is completely open and was never intended to be a 'hidden' fee. I feel like it's the least I can do for him since he's such a smart guy and deserves so much more than the job he currently has.

 

Eustia: You've got me really curious as to what you might be wanting. I read your post in another thread that you thought you might not be able to do the girl you have wanted because of the lack of someone to commission the clothes. I nearly PMed you right then! I have 13 finished DD, 6-7 floating heads (LOL! I can't remember...), and 4 more on preorder (only 1 isn't a custom), and the excitement of a new DD still has yet to wear off. I'd be really happy to help you finish your girl if it is something I'm capable of.

 

It was hard for me to decide on a minimum for the commissions, but I figure if someone isn't willing to pay that, it just isn't worth my time, stress, and worry. That's hard for me because I always want to be nice to everyone, but I knew I had to set some boundaries so I wouldn't be used as a carpet. I don't understand people who purposely take advantage of people, but I'm also aware that I'll have to deal with it at some point.

 

Innocentsake: I can't thank you enough for being my #1 cheerleader/fan for so long. If it wasn't for your continuing excitement for this insane idea of mine, there were two points where I was a step or two away from abandoning the whole thing. I really hate to disappoint people and when I was contemplating giving up and returning to a quiet hermit life, I just couldn't bear the thought at how disappointed you'd be. Frankly I'm stunned that I'm still at this 1.5 years later because I've never managed to hold a conventional job longer than 3 months... Every day I still wake up with more things I want to do, more projects I'd love to complete, more things added to the list of what I want to eventually have in Naiomi's Closet. Even in high school I was pretty sure that the only sustainable job I'd ever had would be one I'd created myself. I shouldn't be surprised at how true that is, but I often am.

 

Something else I shouldn't be surprised at is how you continue to challenge me. Pleated skirts I've done. Button-up shirts I've been thinking about for some time. But a blazer? Never once crossed my mind. After the initial 1/2 a day mentally railing that I couldn't do it because I had no idea where to start, I couldn't get it out of my mind. Frankly in the beginning it seemed completely impossible. (Don't worry, I just get this way sometimes.) I found that in my pattern drafting book they have the steps to draft a blazer, and to my surprise, Ellie's (Yui from K-ON) default jacket is nearly identical, even the color. So it is starting to make a lot more sense now especially since a lot of the seams of the jacket that give the fitted shape are similar to Naiomi's '50's Witch' dress. I put Ellie's default shirt and blazer back on her (she's an S bust) and was a little surprised to find how poorly it fitted. She's positively swimming in it because it looks like it was designed for an M bust. It won't be fast nor easy to draft a Love Live version, but I'm pleased to know that I should be able to make it fit properly unlike Volks.

 

As for the summer uniform, I'm still trying to figure out what fabric I'd use for sleeveless sweater (it is a sweater, isn't it?) because fleece is too thick, but the pic shows that it has some drape and movement to it. I'm pretty sure Spoonflower has a fabric that will give that look but it is pretty thin, or there is the jersey that I've used for the t-shirts I've made that would be a better thickness but it doesn't drape so nicely. Any thoughts?

 

I have to say that I hadn't watched Love Live so I had no idea what it was even about. But the print on the skirt was driving me nuts. Is it plaid or just wide blue stripes? Doing image searches didn't help much so I looked up the anime on Crunchyroll last night. I've seen the first four episodes and I find it rather entertaining and funny. I'm curious to see where it leads. (I heard that there is also a season 2?) The bad part of image searching is seeing a lot of the various outfits... and already calculating how they would be assembled and what fabrics to use...

 

 

Hiyono: Do you have any specific outfits in mind? What body type would they be for?

 

~Sister Kyoya

Like Innocentsake, I would want lots of Love Live outfits. But my Nozomi is still in planning. Still need to find a place to buy her wig,head and eyes.

 

It would either be for DD L or DDdy.

 

Her base outfit is like this

 

 

But would love to have more complex outfit like these two if they aren't too difficult.

 

Innocentsake: I can't thank you enough for being my #1 cheerleader/fan for so long. If it wasn't for your continuing excitement for this insane idea of mine, there were two points where I was a step or two away from abandoning the whole thing. I really hate to disappoint people and when I was contemplating giving up and returning to a quiet hermit life, I just couldn't bear the thought at how disappointed you'd be. Frankly I'm stunned that I'm still at this 1.5 years later because I've never managed to hold a conventional job longer than 3 months... Every day I still wake up with more things I want to do, more projects I'd love to complete, more things added to the list of what I want to eventually have in Naiomi's Closet. Even in high school I was pretty sure that the only sustainable job I'd ever had would be one I'd created myself. I shouldn't be surprised at how true that is, but I often am.

 

Something else I shouldn't be surprised at is how you continue to challenge me. Pleated skirts I've done. Button-up shirts I've been thinking about for some time. But a blazer? Never once crossed my mind. After the initial 1/2 a day mentally railing that I couldn't do it because I had no idea where to start, I couldn't get it out of my mind. Frankly in the beginning it seemed completely impossible. (Don't worry, I just get this way sometimes.) I found that in my pattern drafting book they have the steps to draft a blazer, and to my surprise, Ellie's (Yui from K-ON) default jacket is nearly identical, even the color. So it is starting to make a lot more sense now especially since a lot of the seams of the jacket that give the fitted shape are similar to Naiomi's '50's Witch' dress. I put Ellie's default shirt and blazer back on her (she's an S bust) and was a little surprised to find how poorly it fitted. She's positively swimming in it because it looks like it was designed for an M bust. It won't be fast nor easy to draft a Love Live version, but I'm pleased to know that I should be able to make it fit properly unlike Volks.

 

As for the summer uniform, I'm still trying to figure out what fabric I'd use for sleeveless sweater (it is a sweater, isn't it?) because fleece is too thick, but the pic shows that it has some drape and movement to it. I'm pretty sure Spoonflower has a fabric that will give that look but it is pretty thin, or there is the jersey that I've used for the t-shirts I've made that would be a better thickness but it doesn't drape so nicely. Any thoughts?

 

I have to say that I hadn't watched Love Live so I had no idea what it was even about. But the print on the skirt was driving me nuts. Is it plaid or just wide blue stripes? Doing image searches didn't help much so I looked up the anime on Crunchyroll last night. I've seen the first four episodes and I find it rather entertaining and funny. I'm curious to see where it leads. (I heard that there is also a season 2?) The bad part of image searching is seeing a lot of the various outfits... and already calculating how they would be assembled and what fabrics to use...

So sorry for the late reply! I read it the day you posted, but wasn't able to reply back since I didn't have access to my computer (I was visiting a friend). And I certainly didn't want to attempt typing out a long reply on my cell phone But it really makes me happy to know that my cheering you on kept you on the path to Naiomi's Closet and not away from it I really love being able to support people who have wonderful talent which is why I continue to cheer for you because I want to see this happen 100%!

 

Bwahaha! I'm glad I provide you challenges Good to see that the blazer didn't keep you going crazy for too long and will indeed be possible! Not surprised that the Volks blazer from Ellie's default set wasn't fitted for her. Even if it will take awhile for you to draft a Love Live version of the blazer I'm happy to wait for it~ That just means you're going to put all your effort into making sure the quality is spot on!

 

For the vest on the summer uniform the fabric should be very breathable since they are wearing it during the summer to keep cool. My husband said it would probably be made of cotton and I looked up Japanese school vests and found a bunch of listings on Aliexpress. Here's one example (which is Love Live based haha):

 

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Love-Live-Cosplay-Kotori-Costume-Beige-Japan-School-Uniform-Vest-knitted-vest-sweaters/32315114265.html

 

I looked through a couple of listings and all of them always listed cotton by itself or sometimes paired with nylon or lycra (I'm assuming for the stretch in the vest). And speaking of fabrics and Spoonflower I stumbled upon these prints for Love Live skirts & ties:

 

http://www.spoonflower.com/collections/109480

 

When you order from Spoonflower are you able to size down the print of the fabrics? Because the designs done by this person are correct, but the size won't work for dolls as is. At least this will help you somewhat visually

 

And YAY! Glad you started watching it~ It's a really fun & cute anime that I still can't get enough of! I've already watched all of it and want to watch it all over again Yup yup there are indeed 2 seasons along with a movie that will be coming out soon As you continue watching you're going to see all these wonderful costumes they have and know that I will want all of them Glad you're already thinking of how to construct these outfits as you watch & find images Just like Hiyono I'm going to want many of their lovely stage outfits (which will range from easy to extremely detailed). Hope you like those challenges continuing to be thrown your way

I think the $50 fee is fine, it's around about what I have ended up paying for doll commissions in the past. Anyone who thinks it's unreasonable is probably the kind of person that doesn't realise the time and effort spent making things like this.

 

I don't need anything to be made as I'm only just getting back into the hobby after a looooong absence anyway but I thought posting might be helpful to reassure you if nothing else

Hiyono: Just because I'm curious do you know why there is a difference between the two uniforms? As for the performance outfits, the first one I already have a good idea on how to do that one because the basic style is one I've been pondering for my Naiomi for a couple of years. I know the purple star fabric is something she would love. Every time I look at it I keep thinking how easy it will be to design it.

 

The only thing I'm trying to think through is the gloves. The difficult part is the DD hands themselves and how they can't wiggle their fingers to get gloves on. This is why Volks usually casts them in colored vinyl. But then there is the issue of the fabric pooling between the base of the fingers since there isn't much room between them on the basic hands. I'm not saying it's impossible because it is possable. Both Macross girls have fitted fabric gloves, Ranka with the default clothes and Sheryl with her 'Lion' outfit. I'm thinking that part of the key is stretchy fabric that's also thin. I hope the solution isn't glove specific hands. The only reason I mention this is because I did a google image search for 'Dollfie Dream glove hand' and found these thumbnails from an old Ebay auction:

They definitely look like DD hands, even though they look funky. The fingers are too skinny and the spacing at the base between the fingers is wide, both are adaptations to compensate for the thickness of fabric gloves and the seams. The thing is I have no idea who's hands they would be. Of course that's only if the seller wasn't wrong. So the gloves are the only thing with that outfit I'm unsure of. It is one of those things that I won't know until I try it.

 

As for the second outfit, I'm slowly getting it figured out on how it would be pieced together, but with the print on the skirt fading into the layers underneath I'm having a hard time finding the lines. HA! Google image search to the rescue! Now I wish all reference pics were this big: Nozomi. Now the skirt makes sense. I can tell you right away that the colored fabric print is going to be a beast to recreate, although the size of that pic at least makes it possible. It also depends on how exact you want it to be as well. A print that is 'good enough' takes much less time (like from many hours to days) than the best recreation I can do. It just depends on what level of accuracy you are looking for and your price range. All that aside, the print really intrigues me. It would be challenging as anything and give me more than a few headaches, but the more I think about it the more excited I get. Plus I can already think of some other uses for it if I were to also turn it into a repeating print, but I'd do that on my own time. The only real thing that bothers me about the outfit is the black fabric & garter that would be in contact with the DD body. If it was for one of my own girls I would put another white skirt underneath and fuse some white fabric to the back of the garter. This would change the look just a little but it would look a lot better than a body stocking! (Seriously Volks, I find that to be as bad of a solution as dressing my girls in a granny's housecoat! ) So what do you think, lining or no lining? As for the rest of the outfit it would definitely be lined.

 

When I was watching a couple of episodes last night I was trying to think about what would be the ideal DD body type for Nozomi. She surely has the curves, but her shape still falls between a DD and a DDdy. I think it just depends on if you would want more curves or less. (If you weren't looking for input you can just ignore me. LOL!)

 

Innocentsake: It feels a bit strange to me finally being at a point where I can really show off my wide range of odd talents to people who can appreciate it. This is one thing that interested me about doing commissions is that DD owners want so much more than Volks can/does do. So many of us are painfully aware of what's missing and we tend to obsess over it as we keep staring at that one photo or collection of pics of the current obsession, absorbing all the small details. What? Don't tell me I'm the only one... Well I still think that they should make the Ouran boys and it would work too! Just as long as they did the crossdressing in ballgowns version. Just as long as they don't screw up 'sister' Kyoya and they make the one boy exception so they make Mori too.

 

That just means you're going to put all your effort into making sure the quality is spot on!

 

That right there was nearly the single thing that I didn't know if people would understand about me, and why for a very long time I was totally against doing commissions. Seriously, I can't do things half-assed even if I end up annoying myself like crazy over it. Cheap and quick clothing is not in my vocabulary. The part that makes me nervous is that along with quality comes the price. That's the biggest complaint I've heard in the hobby is the cost, even more so than broken joints and Volk's lack of replacement pieces! A lot of times the negative arguments pop in my mind that could could be summed up as "I could get that cheaper at Alice Collections" or "That's more expensive than Volks!" And I just want to holler back that, yes they can, but would it even remotely be what they wanted as a 'good 'enough' replacement? I have clothing from both and in my opinion, the process that the clothes are sewn in a way to be finished as quickly as possible so they can be cranked out. With as many years that I have sewing and being my own seamstress, all I can see it as is cutting corners. I don't have a machine cutting out all my fabric for me, nor do I use a serger because I want to be able to hide the ends of the thread in the garment without it even being noticeable or sometimes even found. I'm only one person making one outfit (or whatever) at a time. It is hard knowing that there are people out there who would see my work and would put a value on it close to what the base materials would cost, not taking into consideration the cost of labor or how made. I've done the math and I could easily earn nearly 3-4 times as much per hour if I was able to hold a minimum wage job. (I'm sorry for the rant, it has just been the thing that continues to eat away at me and making my mind go in circles. I didn't intend for it to sound so negative.)

 

The thing I was trying to figure out about the sweater vest is since a person sized one would be knit but I don't think it would easily be possible to find it in DD scale. Basically the knot gives it some texture. I was looking at the Spoonflower fabric types and saw the performance piqué that I actually have a test swatch of. I think it should drape properly and also has a little bit of texture to the fabric even though it isn't identical to knitting. Yes, I do think too much about these things.

 

When you order from Spoonflower are you able to size down the print of the fabrics?

 

I had to grin just a bit at this. All the fabric that I'm going to use for Naiomi's Closet through Spoonflower are prints that I've specifically designed for DD scale. I've already been mentally working on how many stripes go across the front of the skirt, how deep the knife pleats should be, and how all of that relates to the plaid print. In my google searching I did finally run across a pic that showed enough of the repeat so it isn't hard when it comes to making it. Plus if I have the vector format of my fabric prints, it means I can recolor them to my heart's content for other projects.

 

It is much appreciated that the suggestions so far are from the same anime, it just makes it easier to think about things in a single art style. As you first started talking about wanting the Love Live outfits I was getting a clue that you weren't implying just one or two.

 

Aquilla429: Welcome back! Thank you for the reassurance, I've really needed it. I'll be glad once I can just start working on things and not having to fuss with the website so much. I want to do something with my hands that isn't typing!!!

 

~Sister Kyoya

 

When you order from Spoonflower are you able to size down the print of the fabrics? Because the designs done by this person are correct, but the size won't work for dolls as is. At least this will help you somewhat visually

 

 

I know I really should be replying to more in this thread (as well as the forums in general), but this stood out as one thing that I saw that made me say "Yes, something I can answer!", lol. Plus, SK has been covering everything else pretty well, long before I even get a chance to jump in.

 

Anyways, the answer to the question is "Sometimes". It really depends on how the person designed the pattern, and what programs/ file format they originally used. If they did it as a vector image, with a program like Illustrator, it's usually very simple to scale it up or down. If they did it as a raster, using something like Photoshop of Paint, it's more difficult, though it is almost always easier to scale an image down than up. There are also ways of laying out the image to make it easier or more complicated to scale. Regardless, either way they'd have to upload a new file to the site with the re-sized image in order to have it available.

 

TL;DR, yes, it should be possible but it may or may not be easy and/or as good a quality print.

 

 

The part that makes me nervous is that along with quality comes the price. That's the biggest complaint I've heard in the hobby is the cost, even more so than broken joints and Volk's lack of replacement pieces! A lot of times the negative arguments pop in my mind that could could be summed up as "I could get that cheaper at Alice Collections" or "That's more expensive than Volks!" And I just want to holler back that, yes they can, but would it even remotely be what they wanted as a 'good 'enough' replacement?

 

The thing to remember is that this IS a collectors hobby. It IS expensive. Yes there are some people who complain about pricing, but for every one person who I read complaints from there are numerous users just on this forum, not including Facebook and the other doll forums out there who are perfectly willing to just shut up and buy. Most of those complaining about pricing that I see are younger collectors just entering into the hobby, too. Collectors items come with collectors price tags, and anyone who spends much time in the hobby learns that. It's why a Figma Storm Trooper is vastly more expensive than a Kenner/Hasbro one.

 

Biggest thing to remember, you are NOT making these outfits for everyone, you are making them for people who appreciate the ability to get a quality custom one of a kind product. But it's like the difference between buying your own clothes at Wal-Mart, or a small upscale boutique. There WILL be plenty of people who will decide not to buy from you, but that's ok. You're not working for them. You are sewing for those who want what only you can do (and honestly, $50 for a basic simple full outfit is right in line with Volks standards).

I hope the solution isn't glove specific hands. The only reason I mention this is because I did a google image search for 'Dollfie Dream glove hand' and found these thumbnails from an old Ebay auction:

They definitely look like DD hands, even though they look funky.

 

Oh my god, I remember the creepy old DD glove hands! They came with the very first bodies as an extra. They are mentioned in the Den of Angels Wiki with the following statement.

 

DD Basic Body

 

The first Dollfie Dreams used the DD Basic body, which was strung with elastic. The body pieces were 'hard soft vinyl' with the hands and bust being 'flexible soft vinyl'. The original Basic Body was sold with a blank featureless head and optional hands with slender fingers, meant for gloves. The original price was ¥18,900. Optional heads were available separately and were attached with elastic, similar to resin BJD heads. The DD Basic Body is no longer available from Volks.

 

I never knew anyone to ever use the hands and I haven't seen them for a loooong time so I'd imagine they're quite hard to track down these days.

I know I really should be replying to more in this thread (as well as the forums in general)

 

Yes, yes you should!

 

It really depends on how the person designed the pattern, and what programs/ file format they originally used. If they did it as a vector image, with a program like Illustrator, it's usually very simple to scale it up or down. If they did it as a raster, using something like Photoshop of Paint, it's more difficult, though it is almost always easier to scale an image down than up. There are also ways of laying out the image to make it easier or more complicated to scale. Regardless, either way they'd have to upload a new file to the site with the re-sized image in order to have it available.

 

That's true, but if I buy from someone else's shop, I have to buy it in an 'as is' state. Because of how my patterns are designed and what I've done to remove the ink on the inside of the clothing, I can't simply buy fabric by the yard to use. This was actually one of the major benefits of Spoonflower for me and what originally made Naiomi's Closet be possible.

 

TL;DR

 

What the heck does that mean? Looks like your fingers stumbled across the keyboard. That's worse than leet! On the other hand, it looks like programming, but I still have no idea what you are saying.

 

The thing to remember is that this IS a collectors hobby. It IS expensive. Yes there are some people who complain about pricing, but for every one person who I read complaints from there are numerous users just on this forum, not including Facebook and the other doll forums out there who are perfectly willing to just shut up and buy.

 

I just wish the meanies in my head would shut up.

 

Biggest thing to remember, you are NOT making these outfits for everyone, you are making them for people who appreciate the ability to get a quality custom one of a kind product.

 

I try to remember that, and I tell myself all the time. I think my brain is coated in pan spray, nothing sticks. Well, a lot does, just not that apparently.

 

Oh my god, I remember the creepy old DD glove hands! They came with the very first bodies as an extra. They are mentioned in the Den of Angels Wiki with the following statement.

 

So they are DD hands?? Oh man, I'd be happy to have these if they fit the modern DD wrists...

 

I just wanted to add that I'll be reading this thread if anyone else posts but I may not reply for a while. Busting my butt to get the website finished before Monday. Wait... I think I forgot to mention that (even though I updated my sig...) Naiomi's Closet is opening on June 1 (Monday) for commissions!

 

~Sister Kyoya

Sorry forgot to answer your first question. I think $50 fee is fine. This is an expensive hobby and pretty much everything easily starts at like $30+. Custom work takes lot more time and effort to make. If its good quality then its worth the price. Lot of times I had to spend way more in 2nd market for certain volks outfits. Just let me know when your actually planning to start and I'll plop down a deposit for one or two outfits. That Spoonflower site looks really useful. Never knew such a thing existed.

 

I actually don't know the difference between the two. I know the first one is more commonly used since its the anime uniform. I personally prefer the 2nd uniform. 2nd uniform shows up in some games or cards. But the skirt and the necktie bow on 1st uniform is more useful since reoccurring theme. Sometimes they have the skirt with different top. Here is Umi's for a different view.

 

Umi SR by Hiyono, on Flickr

 

If the gloves are too difficult. You can make mitts too. My Sakuya comes with 2x mitts and 2x gloves also. If you need photos. I can take some. Think they might be kind of made for certain hands it comes with to fit properly.

 

For the 2nd outfit. I would love to have it as similar as possible but if its going to cost a fortune then would need to skimp. I found this one YAH the other day. If it was a Nozomi color. I would be bidding already. https://flic.kr/s/aHskcz5L9C

 

I am really afraid of staining. I never had to deal with staining yet. I've don't use any dark wigs unless taking quick photos. I use bodysuits and wig caps. I been really careful. If I did get a stain, not really even sure what to do. Usually after I dress them up, they stay in same pose and outfit for awhile. I mainly been buying volks clothes so they are usually lined and the skirts usually have an inner skirt. I prefer lining.

 

Nozomi's size, I am not sure which to use. She does fall between the two. Maybe DDL. Since I have a 3rd DDL girl coming in soon. Then they can share clothes. Maybe we need to measure her.

 

Nozomi PR by Hiyono, on Flickr

 

Since I am getting started on Nozomi. You have any recommendations for which head would match her?

 

Found the star pattern for the skirt. http://www.spoonflower.com/fabric/4083278

 

Hiyono: Just because I'm curious do you know why there is a difference between the two uniforms? As for the performance outfits, the first one I already have a good idea on how to do that one because the basic style is one I've been pondering for my Naiomi for a couple of years. I know the purple star fabric is something she would love. Every time I look at it I keep thinking how easy it will be to design it.

 

The only thing I'm trying to think through is the gloves. The difficult part is the DD hands themselves and how they can't wiggle their fingers to get gloves on. This is why Volks usually casts them in colored vinyl. But then there is the issue of the fabric pooling between the base of the fingers since there isn't much room between them on the basic hands. I'm not saying it's impossible because it is possable. Both Macross girls have fitted fabric gloves, Ranka with the default clothes and Sheryl with her 'Lion' outfit. I'm thinking that part of the key is stretchy fabric that's also thin. I hope the solution isn't glove specific hands. The only reason I mention this is because I did a google image search for 'Dollfie Dream glove hand' and found these thumbnails from an old Ebay auction:

They definitely look like DD hands, even though they look funky. The fingers are too skinny and the spacing at the base between the fingers is wide, both are adaptations to compensate for the thickness of fabric gloves and the seams. The thing is I have no idea who's hands they would be. Of course that's only if the seller wasn't wrong. So the gloves are the only thing with that outfit I'm unsure of. It is one of those things that I won't know until I try it.

 

As for the second outfit, I'm slowly getting it figured out on how it would be pieced together, but with the print on the skirt fading into the layers underneath I'm having a hard time finding the lines. HA! Google image search to the rescue! Now I wish all reference pics were this big: Nozomi. Now the skirt makes sense. I can tell you right away that the colored fabric print is going to be a beast to recreate, although the size of that pic at least makes it possible. It also depends on how exact you want it to be as well. A print that is 'good enough' takes much less time (like from many hours to days) than the best recreation I can do. It just depends on what level of accuracy you are looking for and your price range. All that aside, the print really intrigues me. It would be challenging as anything and give me more than a few headaches, but the more I think about it the more excited I get. Plus I can already think of some other uses for it if I were to also turn it into a repeating print, but I'd do that on my own time. The only real thing that bothers me about the outfit is the black fabric & garter that would be in contact with the DD body. If it was for one of my own girls I would put another white skirt underneath and fuse some white fabric to the back of the garter. This would change the look just a little but it would look a lot better than a body stocking! (Seriously Volks, I find that to be as bad of a solution as dressing my girls in a granny's housecoat! ) So what do you think, lining or no lining? As for the rest of the outfit it would definitely be lined.

 

When I was watching a couple of episodes last night I was trying to think about what would be the ideal DD body type for Nozomi. She surely has the curves, but her shape still falls between a DD and a DDdy. I think it just depends on if you would want more curves or less. (If you weren't looking for input you can just ignore me. LOL!)

Sorry for the long wait Hiyono. My brain is kinda rather fried at the moment because the last two days I've been working on this nearly every waking moment I had (and more than a few when I was asleep...)

 

NaiomisCloset.com

 

After so long, I can't believe that other people can see it. I'm sure there are a lot of things I need to fix and plenty enough more to add, but it's a beginning.

 

Making mittens would definitely be a lot easier. I'll have a chance to see Volk's made DD gloves when I get my Macross girls this fall. (Don't worry though, I wouldn't expect you to wait that long. It is more just a point of information.) As for the second outfit, I've been thinking about it a lot and no matter what way I look at it, it's going to be a challenge. Don't worry, that's not a bad thing. I've also been thinking over what the difference would be in quality and cost between a basic version (that would still look close) and the 'reproduction' version (the best version that I can do.) When you are ready to place a commission order we can figure out the nitty-gritty stuff so I can make you something you'd be happy with.

 

As for worries about staining and the importance of outfits being white on the inside, I've got some info on that in Naiomi's Closet. Most of our girls have been wearing the skirts and shirts that are also in NC for months on end and I have yet to see staining from the Spoonflower fabric.

 

As for Nozomi's head sculpt, it really depends on what pics you want her to look like. Sometimes she looks like a DDH-04, but other times she looks very much like Yui Hirasawa from K-ON but I'm really well aware of how hard she is to get and why I cherish my Ellie so much.

 

Smile by Sister Kyoya, on Flickr

 

Pondering by Sister Kyoya, on Flickr

 

Another possible choice could be a DDH-08 but since they are only available in Japan, it might be a bit tricky to get a hold of.

I'm so very, very sorry it took me so long to respond.

 

~Sister Kyoya

@Ravendruid Hehe thanks so much for answering the technical part of my question! It's good to know it can be done depending on how the pattern was designed. And that the quality may or may not be as good as the original

 

And going from there~

 

@SisterKyoya Forgive me because I totally had a brain fart when I wrote my last post. I know you've been making your own DD sized patterns & read it on the list of things you're doing for your shop. In my excitement in finding someone who has drafted a human sized pattern for the Love Live uniforms the knowledge just vanished from my mind So yeah please forgive me for that one! It's great that you've already figured out how the patterns should look and this makes me even more excited to commission you in the future

 

And as Ravendruid said that there will always be those who think your prices are too high, but you shouldn't worry about them. You're making one of a kind creations for those who are willing to spend the money to do so. Whenever I'm about to commission someone for anything I'm ready to pay the price to get a really nice quality product out of it. If someone thinks the price is too high then they just need to move on and look elsewhere. In a hobby this expensive I can understand people trying to save money and get things at a lower price. Totally understandable! It's the reason I only buy dolls/clothes/etc at retail, close to retail, or for a deal. But anyone looking to commission someone for a specially made item that is not readily available needs to be ready to pay for it So yeah don't let those worries seep in and just focus on those who want to commission you

 

That different uniform that Hiyono posted is simply for them to have another outfit in the line up of outfits and costumes they have They never wear those for the show and were definitely just created in order to create more variety for the vast amounts of merchandise being sold for Love Live along with the games for them.

As promised. I sent an email for the 2nd uniform. ^^

Not quite in a position to do so yet, but I'll definitely have to commission you sometime soon! It'd be for my newest girl as I'm not finding much that's her style and in the correct size.

I can't wait to hear what you have in mind! What body/bust size is she? What style might you be looking for? I'm insatiably curious so I just had to ask.

 

The soonest I'd be able to accept a new project would be in November. I gave myself the challenge of making Halloween costumes for all of our DD with bodies (we have 14...) Luckily some are wanting to wear costumes they already have, Raven is going to work on Miku's (and Dolly's, but he wasn't counted) and I might need to recruit my sister to help me by cutting out patterns and other things like that. So it leaves me with 10 to do: 4 finished, 1 mostly done, 5 waiting to be worked on, and still needing some time to take photos to post for Halloween. I feel a bit insane at the moment but I'm already proud of what I've managed so far that includes shoes, a mask, half finished sword & shield, and a new wig. Then this morning I realized that Dakota's dress requires an overbust corset so she won't be flashing everyone. If all goes well, the pattern draft will be finished by tomorrow.

 

I keep trying not to think about that the two most difficult outfits are yet to come. If I think about it too much I panic. Ralph, why couldn't you have been happy with a remake of your previous costume? Yours is even more difficult than Hanna's, and hers is far from easy.

 

One of the underlying purposes to this crazy fiasco was to give me a chance to rapidly work on a bunch of outfits to show off what I'm capable of. Every one of our DD have pretty distinctive styles that cover a vast array of styles. Lucas was pretty dang lazy with his, while Hanna's would be best classified as formal, Tama and Daisy are cosplay, Rainie's is a straightforward costume, Ellie and Ralph are retro, Dakota lives up to her DDdy body, and Sohi pretty much made hers into a DIY project. I don't often surprise myself with what I can do, but this definitely qualifies. Especially if I manage to get Hanna and Ralph's costumes done. I really can't wait to show off the outfits in the Halloween photos and it will be fun talking about all the little details. It's been lots of hard work but lots of fun too.

 

~Sister Kyoya

Celia is a DD3 L bust and the clothing style is going to be rather casual. Not really cutesy though which seems to be why I can't find what I'm looking for, I think. A lot of casual doll clothes are very cutesy and pretty and Celia doesn't see running around in heels and a mini skirt as a practical idea. I have been able to find sneakers for her so at least that's taken care of.

 

I know I want some form fit capri length rolled up jeans in a medium-dark blue color, a t-shirt (Not sure about color or designs yet) and a hoodie in a sky blue sort of color. If that doesn't come to the 50 dollar price I can think of other things it might be a good idea to do that anyways since I've had trouble finding good clothes for her and a few different outfits would be awesome. I probably won't be ready to make the commission until sometime in November anyways so no worries there!

 

Another thing, I found shoes that would be good for her this time around so no worries there but would you ever make shoes, just out of curiosity?