Standing!

Stuffed and standing. The legs are sewed to the torso; the arms just pinned. I usually don’t sew the arms until I complete the costuming on the lower half (sometimes it is easier to costume without the interference of the arms). In any case, the next step is to costume the lower half with underwear, stockings and shoes.

The neck is obviously too long. About half of it will be inside the head on the finished piece. Also, he is currently standing on a piece of styrofoam that includes an anchor tube that extends partway into the leg support tube.

I have read that you should costume only what will show in the final piece so why the underwear? Well, in my experience when I bring my completed figures into work, half the people don’t dare to even touch them and the other half can’t touch them enough which includes lifting skirts and peeking under. I want the piece to be finished no matter where anyone looks. With that said, my costumes are not removable so sometimes I do only construct what will show, for example if making a shirt that will be beneath a vest I will not make the entire shirt only the collar and sleeves.