Doppelganger Project

By: Elise Delgado

The Magic Makeup Mirror:

I based my project for-scale on my makeup mirror. I chose to keep the size as is because it was a pretty good size already. I enjoyed to learning of patterning an object and how hard it is! I had to tweak things along the way, but I think my project emulates the original object. I had success in making an enjoyable and cute piece that I feel is representative of femininity and glamour as a woman should feel beautiful (all genders too!). I thought the challenge of using pleather was a good one and I learned a lot about how things can be pieced together and that not always do we think the pieces will turn out the way they actually do.

Process:

I wanted to piece to have the rigidity of the original plastic mirror, so when I was looking for fabric, this blue pleather stood out to me as super cute, very rigid, and a new type of fabric that I wanted to experiment with. I made the mirror part first to get a feel for the pleather and how I may need to adjust my sewing to the smaller pieces. I chose a glitter fabric to be the “mirror” part as we always look spectacular after doing a full face of makeup! I hand sewed the pieces together after placing a dowel in the middle to keep the structure and to help support the mirror “head”.

 

Hand Sewing

 

Glitter fabric and machine stitching

 

Ability to twirl the mirror head 

 

Happy Person: Magic Makeup Mirror edition

Challenges:

The main challenge was hand sewing the leather as it is so hard to get through! I also had trouble getting the tape off the mirror, so the patterning was also difficult. I enjoyed simplifying pieces and having to change the way the mirror spinned. I also wanted to have sand on the bottom to help it stand up better. I’d put wire in the “arms” of the mirror too to help it be more rigid. In the end, the piece looks very welcoming and happy – it could be a prop for a drag show as Olivia mentioned, or just a piece to remember that beauty and fashion are colorful and playful! We can’t expect perfection.