Brad's Bow Tie

Prince Edward Stuart tartan!  Yup, Russ D. brought this to my attention, and I concur with his evidence. The bow tie has blue and green in it. And it's not even that hard to find!

Like all tartans, there seem to be variations with the same name - look for the kind with one yellow stripe (some have a double yellow stripe or even a white stripe instead). 

View the correct tartan on the Clan website. 

Pride Costumes...

Here's some of the stuff I've made for Pride month - I started most of these weeks (months?) ago but had to wrap them up quickly. Don't be fooled, I'm still spending most of my days working on Space Suit commissions. Most of these will appear on stage in Austin and Houston, TX.

Custom Printed Fabric

I've been tinkering with this for a good while now. I will have swatches at the 40th Anniversary Convention.  If you're comfortable with Photoshop, the process is fairly easy. When you upload your design you have the option to set the repeat how you prefer.

Columbia's Pajama Stripe - This was printed by Spoonflower. I have experimented with the colors a bit, and though I think my final result is a bit dark, it lends itself well to natural fading for a truly "worn" look (you can accelerate the process with sun exposure and many washings). Spoonflower will also let you modify the colors before ordering, however I strongly recommend getting a swatch before purchasing yardage.

Brad's Bow Tie Plaid - I tried this on Spoonflower originally and I wasn't happy with any of the results. Every effort looked dull and faded - as if getting a saturated red was impossible.  I tried using their color-picker, and talking with customer support on the phone. Always the same dull results. I had much greater success with FabricOnDemand.com - the only complaint I have about them is that they do not have a store feature to let other people buy my designs directly.

Brad's Cummerbund Plaid - Pretty much the same exact experience as the bow tie plaid. My final results were from FabricOnDemand.com.

Janet's 1/2" Pink Gingham - Gingham is technically a woven plaid, but I've done my best to simulate the effect with printing. I got great results from Spoonflower.com so it's available in my shop there. I also have a lighter version of the same print for Janet's that are working with a lighter pink dress fabric and still want a good match.

Brad Bow Tie

This is the current fabric I have for bow ties. It's missing the blue and white stripes (but at least there is no green). Mostly, I like the scale of the plaid - it's not too small. I think it looks balanced and appropriate next to the cummerbund.  There's a layer of tulle inside each layer to help it stay "full" and semi-stiff.

Brad Cummerbund & Bow Tie (Research)

This is a great screen shot of the (unmatched) bow tie and cummerbund Brad wears. Also a pretty good shot of Brad's shawl-collar tux and boutonniere.

The cummerbund is just black and red. The bow tie also has blue and yellow.  The bow tie is doubled. I've never found the exact plaid on the bow tie (notice there is no green in it).  I'm continuing to explore custom fabric options, but I have not had much luck so far.

Brad Bow Tie (Tartan)

This is my best guess at the plaid of Brad's bow tie. I may need to fatten some of the lines up. The problem is I haven't found any cost effective places to get it printed (most have a hefty set up fee). But I might try experimenting with some of those print-it-yourself fabrics on a home printer becauseI don't need very large pieces to make a bow tie.

Brad's Boutonniere

This is an easy project, but you'll probably have to buy way more than you need to make just one. The fern leaves usually come in a big frond at the craft store, and the pin back usually comes in a package of 10. You'll also need a roll of florist tape. Hey, at least you can make a second one for Ralph!

My fern leaves are a bit oversized, but they look fine on stage. It's really up to you how many craft stores you want to drive to trying to find the 'perfect' fern leaves.


I trimmed some of the fern leaves off the stem to wrap. I usually do a preliminary wrap with the florist tape before adding the pin back. The florist tape will stick to itself when you pull it taut. You'll want the pin back near the top of the stem cluster, point down - and you know me and my e6000 - glue that thing down first! Then continue wrapping.