LOWER HALF:
This portion of the costume is the part where it should resemble the jellyfish the most.
Starting at the most bottom layer, you want to make the jellyfish arms. These the big ornate pieces of the jellyfish, usually there’s about 3. For these you want to make extremely long flounces from the waist to the floor (or longer if you want). If you don’t know how to make flounces, that’s okay, another option is making a really long and narrow “circle skirt” pattern, except only sew the side seams together. After making your arms, sew the upper corners onto a waistband.
Next comes the jellyfish tentacles. First make a circle skirt layer, it can be short as it won’t be seen; think of it as a petticoat. On the edge of this layer, I sewn on long pearl trims. I chose this because there’s a nice weight to the trim to contrast the jellyfish arms.
Now comes the visually seen layers. You will need to construct two layers of a full circle skirt. The first layer is a solid lavender satin. I did eventually change my simple skirt into a 2000’s balloon-styled skirt, but a simple flat layer will work just the same.
The second layer, made of organza, should be about 2+ inches longer than the solid color layer. This is also a reminder that sometimes your hems/edges might be uneven, in this case that is completely okay. We’re doing a space jellyfish mermaid; there are no rules!
Finally for the entire lower half, bedazzle as you please. Make constellations, make galaxies because this character is a nebula being.
UPPER HALF:
This part is also easy, but slightly complicated.
The general idea is that you are making a corset top; no shoulder straps.
First make your base corset layer; all the panels sewn together.
For the top, my inspiration was the movement of galaxies, sea shells, and ocean waves. All in different shades of purple, lavender, and white. I was also inspired by the recent Met exhibit that was inspired by fashion falling apart due to time, so I wanted the edges to be unfinished so the fraying would also create a texture (that will eventually come undone).
This is where it can get tedious. Gather all the materials you want to use to decorate the top. I used all of my scrap fabrics (waste not, want not) and ribbons. It’s a lot of pinning and sewing, but your strips of fabric anyway you want them. After sewing on your fabric strips, finish the top by properly lining it and whatnot.
Finally, like the lower half, decorate your top with crystals. This is where you can also hide all of your stitching with sparkles.
And there you have it, a space jellyfish mermaid to go with your summer reading! I also got to show this dress to the author, which is pretty awesome. And now you can too, thanks to Janome machines because I’m not sure how I can make this without them.
