Cosplay Conspiracy

Bing Ting, Painting Warriors

2012-01-28T23:56:00.000-07:00

Bing Ting, Painting Warriors
A "war correspondent" during the first Crusade.

All righty, so revelation time: I am making Bing Ting from Painting Warriors. It's a lesser known (at least here in America) Chinese Manhua by Suen Wai Kwan. I figure I might as well "let the cat out the bag", it's obscure enough that I don't think anyone had an interest in guessing. Bummer. I've been trying to find other Painting Warriors cosplayers, but without luck. Maybe i would find some if I searched on Chinese sites. I would like to meet some others.

Either way, I have made some definite progress this week:

First, I cheated with the first batch of leather leaves and dired them in my food dehydrator. The principle behind drying them was really the same as making beef jerky, so I figured there wasn't any harm. And I didn't want them sitting around my cool apartment for ages trying to dry totally. I had to keep a close eye on them while doing this though, so the leaves weren't cooked. Leather has some natural moisture to it and if all of that was leached out would become brittle and cracked. Not quite the effect I'm going for. So the first batch is done. The second batch is cut out and awaiting the hole punching process (nothing more fancy than taking my eyelet tool to them). I'll boil them through, dry them, then start sewing them on the tunic.

Speaking of tunics, I have the under-tunic nearly ready. Tunics are fairly simple items, they consist of a few rectangles and some straight stitching lines. I was not paying attention when I cut out my under-tunic and cut the arm holes to large. I didn't see this as a major problem since I wanted to make it a bit form fitting. This worked in theory, but I took it in too far around the bust, and not need to determine how best to "let it out" since it's already been trimmed. Funny, I never have to worry about the bust being too small.


The under-tunic initially	Current state of the under-tunic

Marking for the eyelets	Installed eyelets, will be over-sewn

The pants have been even more troublesome. To make the under-tunic and the pants I have been using a wool gabardine, which would be rather period. It was decided from the beginning that I would make a pair of slacks from the wool. Under a tunic, no one is going to know that they are not quite period, and this allows them to do "double-duty" so I can wear them at other times. The pattern I chose was one I purchased sometime ago from McCalls and Palmer/Plestch for "The Perfect Fit Pants". This sounded, well, "perfect". I have an absolutely dreadful time finding pants that fit me, there are only three or four brands that actually fit. Knowing this difficulty being able to make pants that fit properly sounded positively amazing. However, this pattern is ridiculous.


Back and front of pants	Pants as they are at this moment

It's much better now that I have the pants mostly constructed, but the "get-go" has rough. First off, they want you to pin the tissue pattern peices together and adjust them to fit you before you even cut out the fabric. It's a good theory, in it's way, but doesn't work. Tissue doesn't hang the way fabric does, so it's hard to determine what the issues are. And it's nearly impossible to be able to see the parts that need adjusting without bending or twisting and moving them. It did not take me long to abandon the attempt.

After a bit more issue with getting the right pieces stitched to one another I have finally reached a respectable looking pair of slacks- though it's still somewhat theoretical. I have adjusted the waist band, and the hips. For making the right size according to the envelope they were sure big! I had to take the hips in by two inches! Now the problem is, they have a distinct "poofiness/pouchiness" in the front, which is an issue I have with most pants I try on. I assumed I would run into the problem, but I have not determined how to best to address it. Maybe extending the front darts? And/or taking in the inseam? Ideas?

So I will not be finishing the pants until I get the front fixed (obviously) and procure fabric for lining. They are much to thin to wear otherwise!

The pattern pieces for the tunic

The upper-tunic was today's project, and did not take much. I used a yard of cotton canvas (also period) that would be heavy enough to handle the leather leaves. I used Butterick pattern #4131B, and grabbed a dress pattern to give me an outline for extending it. I deliberated a bit over the closure. Bing Ting is shown slipping off this leather armor, which has no buckles or other closures. In real life, this doesn't work well if you want it to be properly form fitting. My options were to either:
A) Use a zipper, so the ability to open the tunic would be hidden- but this is not period
B) Add buckles, which would be period, but not true to character.
In the end, probably due to laziness more than any other reason, I put in a zipper. It's a large, fully opening zipper, that I had tucked away in my notions box. It won't be seen by anyone though, so it really doesn't matter.


Sizing the completed tunic	Taking in the bust	The re-sized bust

The corset pattern I used would usually having boning in it, but I am uncertain about whether or not I will use any. I've sewn up the casing, but it may be stiff enough, with the leather on it, not to require boning. Plus it will have the shoulder straps to keep it on. So, we'll see. And I had to take it in at the bust- surprise, surprise. Barring the under-tunic, when have I not had to take the bust of a costume in? Ha ha... Simple enough, really.

How to finish the top of the armor is a puzzle right now. I have a few theories, but am unsure of what I will put into use. Once the leaves are all [hand sewn] on I will have to cover the rough ends on the top, I can't just leave them hanging there- how ugly would that be? My primary theory is to hand sew pseudo-leather bias tape over the edges, but we'll see if anything else develops in the mean time.

And don't forget to stop by our Facebook page! And our new ACParadise page! Though, honestly, that second one doesn't have much on it right now. I really need to find a way to get more picture of my cosplays, and fast!

Today's clue: Leather

2012-01-23T22:43:00.001-07:00

All right, we are diving in to a new cosplay!


Crocheted? Seriously?

Last week a dived into a search for a good character, specifically something intense. To that end I began asking people for suggestions and sifting through manga. What I found was something I was not looking for: a Medieval European cosplay. I loved the outfit immediately: it was period (always a bonus), modest (how many female outfits can boast that?), and sophisticated enough that I can compete with it. Pretty soon things began falling in place.

Wait! How is this, you ask? Well, we're playing guessing games again. Have an idea of who it could be (it's pretty obscure)? Comment here or at Cosplay Conspiracy on Facebook. ^w^

I ran into a thrift store early last week on a quest for some new skirts. Well I didn't find anything fitting my precise hunt, but I did find a skirt- of sorts. Seriously, I think it was hideous. Do you agree? But I was not particularly concerned crocheted garment, I wanted the leather. I promptly took this skirt home, dismantled it, and began to trace the shapes of scales all over it.

The scale shape was drawn from two different sized circles I found to trace, then melded together. I was not too concerned with the symmetry of the scales, because I knew that the they would not stay their perfect shape when I began boiling them. They are about the size of a large egg.

These were hodgepodged through on each of the pieces leather so that I could use as much of the material as possible. To be as practical as possible, the flat, fatter end was placed along the already punched holes so that I would have fewer to make later.

I was able to get 313 leaves out that skirt. I laid these out on a tunic I had from another costume in an attempt to estimate how many my armor was going to require. The round figure from this is that I'm going to need about 500. Right now, from this batch and my second I have 458. I'll be working with these as I can, and I'll make more if I need them. Leather is expensive and I don't want to over do it. ^^;;

So, I'll reveal who this is soon, but guess while you can! I will also be posting a tutorial about the cuirboilli process, along with some fantastic references for the process. Look forward to it!

Sewing Presents

2012-01-16T00:50:00.001-07:00

I had decided that I was going to make a yukata for my best friend, that she could wear when going to matsuri and all. This process was easier said than done though, because I was being very particular about what fabric to use. I was insistent on finding something that was properly woven and nicely dyed. I did not want the simple stamped cotton with a white back. No.

Sadly, the images here do not do the whole yukata justice, because my dress form is too small to fit my friend. I promise to display better pictures once I have it on her!

When I realized that I still had so much of this purple left over from my Renaissance dress I wondered for only a few moments before realizing how well it would work for this project. It is not, perhaps, perfectly traditional, but fits the personality of the person for whom it has been made perfectly.

The whole thing when together in just over three hours. I made the obi on Friday, before sewing my dress. By the way, I used Simplicity pattern #5839, simply because I had it and it did not make sense to go through the trouble of sorting out the measurements for a handmade pattern, when I owned one already. (In truth, yukata patterns are pretty simple.) I admit being somewhat disappointed by the length of the obi. I did not think to measure it against my own, and when I went to tie it, found that it was much to short for an sort of knot. So, it will just have to be worn as shown here. I'm sure my friend won't mind.


Stitching together the obi.	Ironing out the obi	The completed obi and tie

On an amusing note: When I went to cut out the sleeves I had to go through each of the larger portions of remaining fabric to find pieces large enough for the pattern. Only when I went to start sewing did I realize that this was the inverse of my dress: the sleeves being of the smooth material, and the yukata of the more textured.

Quatrefoils and Crosses

2012-01-15T00:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my day off, so I spent some time working on my reorganization project, then turned my eyes to sewing. I ended up working on this for twelve straight hours, and it turned out great! (Even if I do say so myself.)

Well, nearly twelve hours. I had to cut everything out, eight large pieces for the skirt and 4 pieces for each sleeve. Then I had to cut out the pieces for a different pattern out of the same fabric, then I ran to the store, and then I started working more. ^-^;;

This is fabric I purchased about a year ago when the JoAnn's in Flagstaff reopened. They had all sorts of sales (of course) and I purchased nearly a dozen yards of this lovely purple brocade for something like $3/yd. Two funny things about this:

First, there were two different bolts of fabric, both the same shade of purple, both with quatrefoils and crosses. One bolt was not enough for what the pattern called for, so I bought all of the larger one, then a few yards of the lesser. Only a year later, when I went to sew the whole thing together, did I find that they were not identical! I'm trying to figure it out how I missed it for so long! But, they're similar enough to be on the same garment, especially since the dress itself is all one style, and the sleeves the second.


This is the fabric the dress is made of.	And the sleeves are from this one.

Second, the pattern I used for this dress is McCall's #4997. I purchased it several years ago, when patterns were on their usual $1 sale. I've purchased tons of patterns this way, assuming that I'd find a use for them eventually. The dress calls for 10 3/4yd of 60" wide fabric and I purchased accordingly. This proved to be way too much, because the only measurement given was "with nap". Well my brocade doesn't have a nap, so I could switch pieces back and forth at will. I had no need to do so with the skirt, but I certainly did with the sleeves and bodice. So, in the end I had several extra yards of fabric. I decided to use that extra fabric for a yukata. More on that later.

So I'm trying to decide on eyelets up the front and on the sleeves, or frogs. I like the idea of frogs, but eyelets would allow me to change the color of the laces to match whatever under-dress I'm wearing. But then maybe metal clasps would be a good way to go. I'll need to go the the store and see what's available.

Working, Working

2012-01-12T12:45:00.000-07:00

I mentioned the other day that I spent my time reorganizing my sewing room, but "organize" might be closer to the truth. When I first moved in six months ago, that was the room that all the boxes were put in while I worked on putting everything else way. Then, of course, all of those random boxes without immediate homes just ended up floating about. I would move them one way, then another, but never did anything with them. Finally tired with the whole situation I decluttered, got rid of large boxes by hanging up my costumes, and rearranged everything on my shelves. I'm designing a way to get my wigs off the last shelf, so the rest of my boxes can go there, without putting too many holes in the wall. But everything else in there is done!

This enthusiam at having things finally organized has been carried over to ther aspects of my house. It's not like it's filthy or incredibly disorganized, but there is something exciting about having everything in it's place, for once. The thing about organizing spaces: it takes some much time! But, I haven't completely neglected my sewing, so (no pun intended) on to the exciting stuff!

I readjusted the widths of the sleeves on my Temple Dress. Satin brocade really have no give to it at all. Next time I make anything out of said material, I need to remember to make it a bit bigger to account for the lack of stretching. Yesterday morning, before work, I stitched the trim around the sleeves and collar. This means I have very little remaining: attach the frogs, slip stitch the collar facing, add a hook & eye to the back, and hem the whole thing. So excited for the finished product!

I've been working on a few other things as well:

First, this fishtail hem skirt from Vogue Pattern #2810C. I fell in love with it the moment I saw it, and just had to have the pattern. Finding a fabric I wanted to use for it took a while, I finally decided on something on Black Friday a year ago. I began working on it not long before I moved, and then, of course, it got packed away and I only just pulled it back out.

The trouble from the beginning was that the hips did not fit right at all. It took a lot of back and forth to fix it all. I would put it on, right-side-out, to decide how much to pull in; then I would put in on in-side-out, marked it up, then sitched along the lines. It took four or five time of this to catch all the puckering. It would have been easier if someone could have done the marking for me, or if my dress form was the right size. Sadly enough, the form is just a bit too big. Nothing major for everyday sewing, but it won't at all work for form fitting garments.That said, I don't have a photo yet, because I can't easily photograph myself in my skirt. ^^;;

I have also started working on my tie skirt. This is a project that has been several years in the making, because I spent time to find ties I want to use. When I first told my Dad I was going to make a tie skirt, he was not impressed. He'd seen the fabric concoctions of other women with multitudes of odd, mismatched (and frankly) ugly ties, and thought I had more sense than that. XD Don't worry, Dad, I searched and scoured for a set of a ties that have a similar theme, and would not look out of place next to one another.

Right now I'm working on the the prepping. The ties need to be dismantled and the proper length determined and all before I start the actually sewing. I'll upload photos and a "how-to", once it's done. ^^

Arwen Undomiel - Coronation Dress : Progress

2012-01-09T00:19:00.003-07:00

Arwen's Coronation Dress, with matching slippers.

Progress photo on Arwen, you know, since I dismantled her to fix the collar. X"D

I need to stitch the lower sleeves back on, and then add the rest of the silver trim. I've decided to finish the embellishments around the collar and upper sleeves with embroidery. It's going to take some time, but will look amazing when it's done. The more I thought about it, the more I disliked the idea of using a pre-made embellishment. I want them to be the same shape as the official one!

More coming on my other projects soon! I spent my free time this week reorganizing my sewing room- so there was progress, just not of the viewable variety. ^-^

Lessons

2012-01-02T13:04:00.001-07:00

I'm sitting at Amara's kitchen table right now, helping her with her Kurama costumes. *Squeel* For Christmas she received several sewing notions, one of which was an invisible zipper foot. I came over today to show her how to use it, and she has done a fantastic job!


I decided to use the trim on the left.

Sadly she will be debuting the Dark Tournament/Karasu-fight costume at Taiyou, and I won't be the to see it on her. Major bummer right there. Still, I'm hopeful that she'll wear it at one of our cosplay days. ^^

I'm nearly done with my Temple Dress. The zipper is installed, the seams reworked, and I had the sleeves on. Past tense, because I had to pick them back off. This pattern runs insanely small. I double checked my measurements, and then double checked what the pattern calls for. Sure enough, I cut out the right one, but even the sleeves were too tight!

Thankfully, all I need to do is slim down the seam allowance. Once I readjust the sleeves I can reattach them, and then start on the trim. So, to put it succinctly, left to-do:

Adjust the sleeves and reattach
Attach the trim
Install hook and eye on the back
Sew on frogs
Hem the dress

Actually, the hardest part will probably be the finding the right frogs. I insist on using small white ones, not the larger more commonly found assortment. But alas, the small frogs are so elusive. Wish me luck!

So much for Taiyou

2011-12-29T18:31:00.001-07:00

That's right, I'm not going.

I can't say I'm surprised; my superior's schedule writing abilities are abysmal. And they never want to give me a weekend off. You'd think that regularly working six days a week and being trained in 10 different departments would be worth something, but no. As the saying goes "never be irreplacable or you'll never be able to move up". Or something like that.

In any event, I'm glad I held out on purchasing a ticket. I saw this coming, and would have been really irritated if I spent forty dollars and then could not go. Let's face it, it's not as if the company would say, "Oh, we're sorry you can't attend because we need you to work. Here, let us reimburse you for the ticket you are unable to use". Hahahaha, yeah right. As is I had to cancel all plans with Amara, Den, Sylvia and the rest. Sorry everyone!

Well, enough moaning. I have attached the collar to the dress. It took two tries because the pieces shifted when I was sewing, and gaped in the front. The second time around was much more successful, mainly because I pinned the heck out of the that one inch section on the front and stitched it down before I re-pinned everything else.

I also picked out the straight stitch seams down the sides. Oddly enough, the dress is a bit too small. Actually, it fits almost perfectly, but odd strains on the brocade would just make it fray, so I'm making it a bit loose. Better safe than sorry, after all.

I'll ease the stiching back into place, and fix a few lengths that missed the serger, then we can start putting the trim on- after I buy it. I'm thinking something thinner that the average 1/4" trim, but we'll have to see what's available. I'll be going to the fabric store after work today, or tomorrow morning, and we'll go from there.

Changing Tracks

2011-12-28T19:38:00.001-07:00

So the current sewing project is not cosplay. =o It's more along the lines of fashion, if on the formal side.

This is my Temple dress- or it will be when it is finished. See, I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (aka Mormons) and will soon be entering the Temple. When inside the Temple we wear white clothing, and the apparel of the women is long sleeved and long skirted. But we are still able to wear clothing that suits our individual tastes and personalities, and I was determined from the get go to make what I would wear. I thought that I would be using a cotton, or a polyester satin, or wearing something I had purchased until I found what I wanted- but those ideas were dispelled a few weeks ago.

I was out running errands one afternoon when I ducked into Hobby Lobby for a moment. I had not had any intentions of stopping there, but decided to dash in and check a price. While there I found this gorgeous brocade on clearance for $7/yd! I was stoked, and quickly purchased four yards.

I had already decided on using Simplicity pattern #9891. I knew what I wanted the dress to look like, then went searching for a pattern that fit the bill. I did not want the flouncy sleeves though, and chose instead to add on the pointed sleeves from Butterick #4571.

The contrasted collar is made of white satin I had leftover from Sarah- hoarding all those scraps comes in handy. The construction of the collar was taken care of first, then I zipped up the rest of the dress. Princess seams are so quick and easy!

Once the collar and dress were past the initial construction phase they... sat on the dress form for several days. How's that for anti-climactic? It was not without reason though. Brocade frays worse than just about anything else and there was not point in making a dress if it frayed to pieces the first time I wore it! It clearly needed to be serged and this disastrous process stopped in it's tracks. I do not own a serger (I'm saving my pennies) so waited patiently until I went home for Christmas so I could use my mother's.

I serged the dress, the collar, the sleeves and the pockets while I was at my parents, and now can continue with the project. Remaining work to do: attach the collar and sleeves, install an invisible zipper, add frogs and trim, And hem the dress. Not too much at all!

I'm considering focusing on a couple of historic and fashion projects next. I would like to make Quorra, but I will not have EL wire for a while yet, so there's only so much I can do. I do need to make my Starfleet uniform dress before we go to the Renaissance Faire in February or March, so that's pretty high on the list.

Other costumes with potential for being made soon:

Amalthea, for whom I already have fabric, but no wig. I'm trying not to spend money right now, so if I make her I still will not wear her for a while.
Rapunzel, who does not require I wig, since I'm insistent on being her with short brown hair. I'm supposed to be on a fabric fast right now though. Going to the fabric store to buy my trim and frogs is going to try my will amply. I really should not be going to price materials for a new dress, I'd just end up giving in.

Utena Complete

2011-12-28T01:23:00.000-07:00

A few more comments on the making of Utena.

The cuffs for Utena weren't very difficult, once I modified my original plan. The pattern I made (on the left) was cut on the fold, and two were needed for each cuff. What I had initially intended was to have that smaller lip fit within the coat sleeve, but this came to naught. There was no way to cut an sew thing without have strange angles, raw edges, or large gaps. To solve this the lip was cut away, and a separate ring of material stitched within the cuff. This ring slips right into the sleeve, and is currently pinned to the hem. Eventually I'll have attached snaps so that it is simpler to add and remove.

The ring is something I began designing years and years ago. The rose was a button from which the back loop was removed, but I never got any further than that. Thankfully it was still sitting in my jewelry box. I pulled it out, and sifted through all my other old charms and found the ring. It was one I have had since I was eight or nine, and while I does not fit my pointer finger any more, it perfectly on my ring finger.

To combing the two I popped out the mood gem that no longer functioned, and filled down the top. Likewise, the back of the rose was filled down smooth. When I was sure both were flat enough to sit together, I super glued them in place. Honestly, I was not expecting the glue to work so well, I thought I would have to solder them.

To fix my petticoats I pulled them all apart and looked at several different options. The length of fabric was about 90", and clearly that much fabric about the waist was too much. I decided to cut wedges from one end so that the length about the waist would be 32 inches instead. I admit not being perfectly exact in my measurements, but no matter. in the end I cut out ten wedges, about eight inches deep and 6 inches wide at the highest point. All the layers were sewn together, then the triangular sections removed. once again a waistband was attached, and a skirt hook and eye set was used in front.

Along with this adjustment in fabric, a strip of horsehair boning was placed in the bottom most layer. The amount is unsure, because I did not measure it. The petticoat and coat were both on the dress form, and I adjusted the boning to the desired stiffness, then cut it off. All together, a great improvement over the original!

The problem with the shorts was indeed the fact that cotton does not accept acid dyes. Since I was on a schedule I did not want to wait for my mother to send me some dye, and instead tried Jacquard's iDye. Disclaimer: the only reason I was willing to try this is the fact that Dharma sells it, and I trust them. There was no way I was going to use Rit dye, or anything else.

The iDye was not used the way all the other procyon dyes I have experience with were, but it was a simple process. Again I was worried as I rinsed out the shorts, but this time I was afraid it would be to dark. It took three rinsings to remove all of the dye, but they ended up being the perfect color! When the coloring process was done, I cut them off, then hemmed them.

A few other things that were done (that I have no pictures for):

The lining and shell were stitched together and the collar added.
The bias tape was put around all the edges. Some parts were hand stitched into place when the machine did not catch.
The button holes for the passants, and coat front were made; and the buttons sewn on.

I say complete, but it is not entirely so. As said above, I need to sew on snaps about the sleeve hems. Also, after wearing it once, I have decided that I need hooks and eyes to keep the collar to keep in from gaping. Other than that though, we're good, so I say, "Close enough".

Uniform Details

2011-12-22T15:32:00.001-07:00

Just in case it ever comes in handy, there is a difference between lanyards and aiguillettes on 19th century military uniforms. And this is a true difference, not a semi-imagined one like "epaulettes" and "epaulets" (Tangent: I have learn that the fabric epaulet is technically called a passant). On military uniforms the lanyard is the cord that connects epaulette to the collar. A aiguillettes is a cord that connects epaulette to collar, and has an end that hangs down from the collar. This end has some form of metal tip (or "needle" hence the french word "aiguillette", meaning "little needle") on it. Without this "needle" it is a lanyard, not a aiguillettes. Both reenactors and historians are very adamant about this distinction. Utena has a lanyard.

My lanyard for Utena is made from the same cotton based trim as the epaulette gold, which meant drowning it in fray check before cutting. The biggest catch for her lanyard was they solid part that would attach to the triangular piece at the collar.

To make this bit, I pulled the metallic end off of a paintbrush, and cut off the end with the bristles. This had to be made to match all the rest of the gold on the costumes, so was covered in yellow fimo then painted: first with flat, then with metallic acrylic paint. When everything had dried I filled half of the tube with hot glue, and twisted the cord into it.

The three triangles at the collar were made the same way, with fimo and paint, but the sizes were arbitrarily decided. I painted them up, let them dry, then went to put them on the collar and found they were much to tall! I was afraid I'd have to make them all over again, but fimo is not rock hard after it is baked. In this case, this was a positive thing. I trimmed down the triangles, and repainted them without any problem. To keep them in place and low profile, I glued tie take pins to the backs.

The last bit of these decorations was the green jewel at the top of the coat. This was made by circumferencing a flat bead in fimo, then baking it (thankfully the green did not melt during that process. I would have been better served to do this before adding the clay, but after it was baked I decided I want to remove the silver backing. That was easier said than done, but when it was complete I had an opening behind the green in which the top most gold button could sit.

This construct was painted to match the rest, then the entire conglomerate was strung together. Once the other end of the lanyard was glued to the epaulette all these details were said and done!

Epaulets and Epaulettes

2011-12-21T19:09:00.001-07:00

For the sake of distinguishing the word "epaulets" is used to refer to the fabric sewn onto the shoulders that buttons near the collar; "epaulettes" indicates the combination of shoulder boards and half-spheres held on by the epaulets.

In truth I do not believe there is any true significance in the historic usage and spelling one way or another, but I need some way to distinguish between them. XD

As stated before, my lack of glass manipulation abilities, or metallurgical skills was not going to keep me from creating proper-looking epaulettes. In "Wig Curling Lab 102 + Epaulettes" I described how I began to make these adornments.

Two different sizes of trim were used to make the gold edge. The first, smaller size, was attached to twill tape that could be folded under to hide the plastic edge. I figured out real quick that hot glue warped the plastic, which did not matter at the moment, but would in the future.

Once the trim encircled and enclosed the edge of the plastic, I glued the shoulder boards into place. Truth be told, they aren't exact: one is about 1/4, maybe 1/2 cm longer than the other- but you can't tell, so keep it a secret. ;) The larger diameter trim was glued over the twill tape, and designed for the edges to butt right up against shoulder boards.

Next came the cord. I wanted to be authentic with seven larger cord on each shoulder, but as historically accurate as I could. Plus, there was no way I was going to use cutouts of stiff paper, or pieces of fabric, or whatever else. My initial consideration was to use wool yarn, which would have been period appropriate. I eventually nixed this option because a) wool yarn is a bit pricey and (more importantly b) wool yarn is fuzzy, and I did not at all want furry epualette cords. Instead I chose cotton, which was also period, more cost effective, and better matched the rest of the outfit

It took nearly the whole 200 yard spool to make the cord. One hundred and twenty six, 96 inches-long pieces were cut and divided into 14 sets. Each set was subsequently tied to the frame of a set of shelves (it had to be something sturdy enough to not fall over when I tugged on it). The opposite ends were tied about a small wooden rod and spun, exactly 65 times each, by hand. When the twirled cords were tight enough, and keeping the tension high, I folded them in half, and let go of the middle. This caused them to spin in on themselves and create the thick cords you see.

These measured at about 6" long when tied and cut off. The rough edges were quickly glued together to ensure they did not fray, and then they were glued to the ornaments. This is where I needed to remember that the hot glue would melt the plastic. The glue was put on the edges of the cords, then I waited 10 or so seconds before putting them to the orb. This was the heat was diminished, but the tackiness was not.

Everything was left to cool, then jya~n: two pretty awesome epaulettes

A few of notes:

I painted the shoulder boards, first with a flat acrylic, and again with a metallic acrylic paint. The original color of the fabric covering these just looked terrible against everything else, so I adjusted them to match.
The trims are cotton, not synthetic based, so the ends would burn rather than melt (when trying to keep them from fraying). Instead of using heat, the sections were measured, and the cutting locations were drenched in fray check. Once things dried, the trims could be cut and remain in shape.
The shoulder boards each had a strip of twill tape glued to the underside that the epaulet will slip through to keep the epaulette in place.

The Results of Acid Dyes

2011-12-08T00:31:00.001-07:00

I feel like putting the best and/or final photos at the very first of the post is almost like a spoiler, but they look so much nicer than the odd pile of dyed lace below. That tutu certainly accentuates the hips, but it is much closer to what I imagined than a basic circle skirt beneath the coat. The length of the coat is not final, it is just pinned up in the photo, but I think that is where it will stay.

Well, first off the lace. The color thereof, when I rinsed it out and put it in the wash machine, was a sort of dingy, grey, flesh color. This was not at all heartening, as you can see from the picture below. Once the cuts of lace were removed from the wash, and placed in proper light, I found that they were the perfect shade of pink! I'm absolutely thrilled about this!

Look at the difference between the lace on the left here, and the pile below. It is amazing what happens with a good washing and removing all the excess dye!

The odd, initial shade, of the dyed lace

The first idea was to use a pink lace from the Casa Collection, but I found the cream at such a great price, there was no way I could top it. With it being successfully dyed, I'm one step closer to being done. On a similar note, while I was out today I purchased a pink sheer to accompany the lace on the petticoat. It was not what I had in mind, but at $2 for three yards, there was not much to loose. This was a worthwhile risk, for the petticoat has come out almost exactly how I would like it to be. Though I may be adding some boning to help stiffen the shape. This is to be decided...

And now, those shorts.

I dipped them into the dye before I went to bed last night, just as an experiment. You can see them here, partially dyed, and soaking wet, just before I put them in the dye bath earlier today:


Prepping the shorts for dying	Soaking the shorts in the acid wash	The odd color the shorts came out. This picture is a little dark...

As usual, I soaked them in the acid bath for about half an hour before removing them from the heat and allowing them to cool. I watched while rinsing them, as a great amount of dye flooded from them. It was a bit unnerving, though I have been dying cloth for years, so you always watch as great loads of dye are expelled during rinsing. Still, I was a bit trepidatious, and with good cause. When I removed them from the washer, the shorts were not long the vivid red they were when I had taken them from my enameled pot. Instead they were a sort of beige-pink. Not at all what my goal was.

Re-dying the shorts.

So I put them right back in the bath. I added water, of course, and another teaspoon of dye, bringing the total to 4 tsp, and then let it boil for nearly two more hours. They are still sitting on the stove, in the now thoroughly chilled dye. It is late enough now that I will probably rinse them out tomorrow, but if they don't take to the dye this time, than I doubt they ever will.

There is one slight ray of light to this. The shorts are 70% cotton and 30% polyester. I decided on the acid bath because I already had it going, and wanted to ensure the polyester excepted the dye. Cotton fabric does not require an acid bath, so perhaps it does not being dyed this way. I do not personally have any red procion dye, but I know my mother does. If, when I rinse these out, the color is still not correct I'll request some from her, and we'll try that route. There's nothing to loose, after all.

3/4" Fabric covered buttons

Separately, I covered four half inch buttons earlier today. I was determined to have them be the same colors as the rest of the garment. The two blue will be going on the shoulders to secure the epaulets. The red will be on the cuffs, which reminds me, I need to buy some white fabric for those.

Utena Revived

2011-12-06T23:55:00.002-07:00

My apologies for not updating recently. Between Thanksgiving, Black Friday, relatives, and work schedules- well, you know the drill. After all, you have a life that's just as hectic...

As I write several yards of cream lace are boiling in my kitchen. These will eventually be pink, and will become the "skirt" like part of Utena's whole outfit. I am taking artistic license here, it is true. One can clearly see that the "skirt" is drawn as one layer of fabric, and somewhat sheer. I take issue with this in the real world, because one layer of sheer material is not firm enough to fan out as it ought to. Not to bash anyone's cosplays, many of which are positively outstanding, but I really would like to have a "skirt" that is more than a splash of color under my coat. To this end, I am creating more of a tutu, looking to have at least three layers, of pink lace and (hopefully) pearlized sheer. The pearlized sheer lends a fantastic look to the over all concoction, but it's also expensive, so I'm not sure I will be able to afford it at this point in time.

My big Black Friday score was a dress form! So excited! This was perfectly timed, because I seriously doubt that I would have been able to properly align the welt pockets while wearing the garment itself. There was a great deal of trial and error involved in this: situating and re-situating the positions of the buttons; determining the alignment of the "center"; trying to decide how wide and tall to make the flaps, and where, exactly, they should go. This was the first time I made welt pockets, and they were much easier than I had expected. This tutorial was a fantastic guide!

Determining the best positioning and sizing of the pockets

Making a pattern for the welt pockets

Deciding on the alignment for the breast pocket

Back of the breast pocket

Positioning the lower pockets

I am waiting to have the tutu completed before I finally decide on the proper hem length. It would be ridiculous to end up hemming it too short- can you imagine? Of course, before I can do that, I need to combine the lining to the shell. Funny story about that: after my last post I was all ready to combine the two sides and I said to myself "All right, I'll put the lining and the shell together, then I can attach the pocke- wait a minute." Right. What kind of person would put the coat together, then try to make pockets? Hahaha...

So now I can combine the two, and I even have the bias tape ready! The last time I tried to make bias tape I burned the heck out of my fingers, so I must have been doing something wrong. This go round it took hardly any time at all to whip six yards out, and without any burns! If I had known it was going to be that easy, I might not have fussed to much about finding appropriate ribbon to line Julia with- but then again, I really love the way she turned out.

Drawing out the lines for the tape

Cutting out the strips

Stitching together the tape

Trimming and ironing the seams

Shaping and ironing the tape

Ironing the tape to make double-fold bias tape

When I have finished dying the lace I will be dying some shorts. While out shopping a few months ago, I found a pair of white shorts on clearance for about $7, and it seemed to me that I could hardly make them for that price. I will need to shorten them, though I'm taking artistic license here too. There is no way I'm going about wearing shorts as short as Utena is drawn in! The ones I have hit below the knee, which is ridiculous looking (they would be capris on people with normal length legs). I'll be adjusting them to just above my knee, which is a more respectable length.

Well the pot is off the stove and cooling now, so when the lace is rinsed out and ready to go, I'll be sure to post it here!

Close Enough for Jazz

2011-11-20T23:32:00.001-07:00

Meaning my wig is complete enough to post pictures of. The only thing left is to solidify the part in the bangs, and I'll worry about that later. I say only, but I may take the water to it one more time. There are still some kinks that are bugging me. But whatever, all that will come later.

It was great trying to take pictures by myself. I didn't have any way of rigging my camera up high enough that it could be set on a timer and pointed at my head, so we had to go with the"social networking" sort. XD

Wig Curling Lab 102 + Epaulettes

2011-11-17T20:16:00.002-07:00

So after all my whining about not getting what I needed when I wanted it I've hardly used any of it. Ha ha... *sweatdrop*

After Anime Fest- at which I won 2nd place in the cosplay competition, by the way. They had a hard time deciding on the order of awards, I found out afterward, because they liked several of the costumes, and only had so many prizes. One girl did not win because she won first last time, and they wanted to acknowledge other people. Some of the judges recognized me from Kaigi, and knew I had won a Judge's Award there, so first went to another girl who had not won for the costume she wore. I'm not jealous, but I am glad to know it was such a close competition. It means I did not miss out on first because my costume wasn't up to par.

After Anime Fest I went to Amara's where we watched anime and Disney movies and worked on cosplays. Like I said last time, I took Utena's wig because it was largely portable. It was a time consuming process, stitching all those wefts to the cap, but not nearly as long as I had assumed it would have been. Once it was started I decided I really wanted to finish it. Despite having shoulder pads to install, bias tape to make, and lining to stitch in; I did just that.

I finished the sewing yesterday morning, and promptly took it to the bathtub and dowsed it in boiling water, to straighten everything out. I also tried curling the bangs, but they came out way too tight! It was hysterical really, one of those 'Well, duh.' occasions. To remedy that situation I restraightened the bangs as much as I could, and purchased larger curlers today. The wig is not sitting in my bathroom drying right now, which is bound to take a few more hours. Along with the fringe, I curled just the ends of the wig, seeing as stick-straight hair is not my best look.

Last night, after drowning my wig a second time, I finally attached the shoulder pads to the shell. With that done I can finally combine the coat and it's lining. When I sat down to work on cosplay today I was on the phone, which is not conducive to using a sewing machine. Instead I focused on making the epaulettes, and here I think this is particularly clever- if I do say so myself. I'm lucky it's that almost-Christmas time of year, otherwise I would have had to develop another plan.

When out the other day I purchased one large, plastic Christmas tree ornament. Taking the tool I use to "cut out" plastic stencils I cut this ornament in half, and removed enough of one side that the shoulder board could fit in it. I selected an enamel that well matched the red shade of the fabric that will become the bias tape, and painted the interiors of the half spheres. This covering was eventually four layers thick, so as to ensure the lig ht would not shine straight through them. These are drying as I write, though I cannot complete them tonight. I have determined the best way to add the gold around the edges requires some more trim, so these will have to wait a while. It is doubtful that I'll be going to any fabric store until Black Friday. Why shop now, when everything will be on sale in a week?

And I think that brings everything up to speed. Next I will be stitching the shell and lining together, and making the bias tape. To be honest, I'm dreading that last part. So many burned fingers loom on the horizon.

Utena Pause

2011-11-12T16:14:00.001-07:00

So I made it to JoAnn's yesterday, and actually purchased what I needed before going to work! Yay! The cutting line was still very long, but I didn't have to wait on the front end. Positive.

Despite having purchased much of what I currently need, including shoulder pads, curved needles, and gold home decor trim; I made no progress last night. Instead I had to prep my costume for today: Sailor Moon! Yes, for Samurai Comics' Anime Fest.

Actually, there was not too much to do: I ironed the fuku (I hate ironing), and starched the bows. I still have not made new bows for the costume, these ones being too floppy, but starching them has resolved that issue. I have perfectly crisp, form fitting bows, without having to remake anything! Yay!

No further revelations beyond that. I started taking apart a pair of shoes, the soles of which I will be using for my Sailor Moon boots. But, as the boots are wearable without the soles, I was/am not really in a hurry.

I'll be working on Utena's wig this evening. As I am going to Amara's house after the Fest, I needed something I could work on that was semi-portable: i.e, not my sewing machine. Posts about that, and pictures, to come. >w<

Excuses, Excuses

2011-11-10T19:55:00.001-07:00

So I stopped by JoAnn's on my way to work today. The cutting counter line was longer than I wanted to brave at that point. Instead I viewed a couple of different items so I could think about designs and make a few decisions, and grabbed the two notion items I needed. Marching my way up to the front end with my shoulder pads and curved needles I was met with a line of, seriously, 15 people.

Now it wasn't that long when I went in the store, but I was not going to stand in that- and this is not the first time their long lines have thwarted me. I had things carefully timed so I could purchase my stuff and get to work on time. I do not have time to stand in line for a quarter of and hour (or more) waiting to buy two things from the notions wall. And JoAnn's is half an hour out of my way to begin with.

Anyway, I'm super irritated. Craft stores seem to think that all of their customers are old people who go to bed when the sun goes down, so they aren't open very late. Not even the Holidays prompt them to keep later hours. I'm a paying customer in these tough economic times, but I already have to go out of my way to get there. Why the heck should I bother going and wasting my time and gasoline, when I'm not going to get what I want in the first place?

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

All right, I feel a bit better after ranting. Still, I won't be making any progress tonight, and that's the most frustrating part about the whole thing.

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Sent from my Verizon Wireless mobile phone

One Coat with Epaulets

2011-11-09T22:53:00.001-07:00

Not much to tell on Utena right now, sadly enough. The shell, seen here, is stitched up- with epaulets no less! I love the official image that the epaulets lend. So cool. The lining, not shown because it is simply unexciting, is also sewn together.

I've cut the sleeves too long, because any sleeves on any and all patterns are always to short. It is much easier to cut things too long then adjust them, than too short from the beginning. But they do look pretty funny right now. Also, the whole coat is too long, for Utena. There will be no adjustment of the length until I have the petticoat finished and can determine where best to hem it.

The fixes must wait until I get to the fabric store. The shoulder pads must be installed before I can combine the shell and lining and proceed with construction. And there will be no petticoats until I have appropriate fabric. I was supposed to visit said store today- then was called in early to work. Hopefully tomorrow, and if not, then Friday.

Princess' Slippers

2011-11-08T19:44:00.002-07:00

When I wore Arwen to the second Cosplay Day at ASU, I took no matching shoes with me. All I had was my pair of white birkenstock sandals. I wore these for only a few minutes before removing them and going barefoot for the remainder of the afternoon. While I own several pairs of shoes, not one of them matched the dress I made- not even enough to be passable. It was perfectly obvious that something else would have be made.

In the movie Liv Tyler wears a pair of slippers made of the same material as her dress, beaded and all. I initially considered purchasing a pair of Chinese slippers from the cultural center, but decided to try my hand at making a set myself.

For the first time in my life, I purchased a pair of flip flops (and I can't stand flip flops), then cut off the straps and glued the plugs in place. I then traced these bases on some of the penne velvet, and cut the these pieces out. The pieces were cut larger so that they could be folded over the edges to hide the black, then were glued to the flip flops.

While those were curing I cut upper pieces, also of the penne, using another pair of sandals as a pattern. I cut four of these, and two also of interfacing. The interfacing was attached to one pair, and lace top stitched to the others. I sewed these together on the top most side, turned them about, ironed them flat, and basted the rest together.

From there I glued the "tops" to the "bottoms" and pinned them through to ensure they would be re situate themselves. The last step was to glue some ribbon around the soles to cover the raw edges.

For all intents and purposes, they don't look too bad, though I did have to glue some poster board to them to keep the uppers in shape. I have never been good with clogs though, and when i wore them to the Regional YSA Halloween FHE last week, they floped all over creation. In order to keep them where they belong (i.e. on my feet) I will be attaching some clear elastic to go over the heels. Not bad for just throwing them together though.

La Fillette Revolutionaire

2011-11-07T01:13:00.000-07:00

New cosplay project under way: Tenjou Utena of Shoujo Kakumei Utena fame.

That's right, we're going retro again!

...more like I'm dating myself...

Whatever. xD

I only started two days ago, and already have a decent amount done. Not that it's a particularly difficult costume, I suppose; it's just a matter of getting the details right.

What I wanted to do with Utena is draw on the historic influence that Saito Chiho-Sensei and the Be-Papas obviously used in the uniforms: obviously those of the Napoleonic French and American Civil War. I find that in making cosplays it's important, not only to make it your own, but to make it realistic. Sure, you can go the the store, buy six yards of broadcloth, make your costume, and go to con saying "Look! It looks just like it does in the picture!". But it "looks flat" to use Katie Bair's words. And this is a true statement. No one walks around look distinctly two dimensional in the real world, so I believe some thought needs to go into to making the costumes consistent, but believable.

For Utena this started with some research into the military uniforms of the mid-1800s. These were generally made of cotton, linen, or wool: all of which would have been economical and easy to obtain. The shoulder scales were made of bronze, gold, or similar metals; the under-sides lined with satin, and the tops with bullion.

I displayed the fabric and lining of Utena some time back, when I first purchased them. The lining is not period at all, being polyester, but this hardly matters as it's not seen anyway (this isn't always the case). The coat itself is made of a cotton-polyester mix. Granted, I was not completely sure of it's material composition when I first purchased it at the thrift store, but I knew that it had some cotton in it. The pattern on this fabric is what I was keenly interested in. The blue uniform is the one she receives from "her Prince" as a reminder to being strong and noble, and I wanted to be sure that the outfit I am creating bore a regal image- and is not flat.

The greater part of the coat has already ben stitched together- though I have no photos yets. Butterick pattern #4929 with a combination of views "B" and "D" is what I am using. In keeping with this historic accuracy, I am adding epaulets to the shoulders. These will button down properly and hold the scales in place just as is the case on Officer's uniforms. Not velcro, no safety pins, no glue. Epaulets.

I will also be shortening the overall garment, but for the time being, it falls nearly to my knees. I have not determined quite where I want the coat to hit. And I am adamant about the pink ruffles depicted under the coat actually being ruffly! I ws viewing other Utena cosplays yesterday, and was shocked at how many were flat, or had a token skirt-like bit under the coat. None of that. I want frills and ruffles and poofiness- it's pretty much going to be a small petticoat. >D

The hair will be combination of two wigs. I purchased one, of decent quality and perfect color, but was unimpressed with it's thickness. I returned to the store and purchased a second, which I have since dismantled. The strands are sitting in order on a bookshelf waiting to be stitched to the first wig.

The scales/shoulder boards have been the most difficult piece thus far. Not due to construction, but simply because it took so long to find information on the actual construction! No one seems to have taken apart the scales found from the Civil War to see what's inside of them, which, frankly, flabbergasts me.

I finally found some details on shoulder boards from Russia in World War I and proceeded using this information. The interiors have been made of cardboard, glued together, which is perfectly period. Metal would have added to the "regal appearance", but I don't have access to a forge and, once again, no one can see that anyway. The exteriors of these shoulder board are of a gold synthetic material. Batting was added, and quilted through to the provide the same look often seen on period boards.

In coming days I will be making the other half of the scales, though I have not solidified my construction plans. Once again, with out metallurgical skills, they will not be period- but they will look authentic.

Catching Up!

2011-11-05T21:54:00.003-07:00

I hate that "down to the wire" last minute sort of stuff. Not that I don't work fantastically under pressure, but it leaves me no time to update anything. And now I'm behind...

First, Lulu is pretty much done. Silurian and I missed each other, thanks to my tire blowing out, and so I wasn't able to hand it off to her before Halloween. Bummer. It needs the lace that Sil was working on, and the belts still need to be attached, but all the rest of it is done.

I painted the interior of the of the skirts pleather, in lieu of lining it. Painting was easier, and less expensive- albeit, a bit messy. The corset is finally done, after multiple attempts to obtain the correct bias tape. Oh my gosh, that was a pain. And the eyelets are installed, twelve sets total up the back. All in all, I'm proud of how well she turned out.

I was, of course, down to the wire with two costumes. Arwen is nearly complete. I've worn her (incomplete) to two functions.

The first function, our second "Cosplay Day at ASU", went well. We had some 8-10 people there (depending on the time), and was a blast. On the other hand, I hope we don't get too clique-ish, if you know what I mean. If the whole point is to invite people to come and enjoy the afternoon with us, we don't want to make them feel unwelcome.

The biggest issue with Arwen at CD@ASU was the neckline. I was rushing the night before to get everything done, and decided to make a short cut neckline and fix it later. I cut a strip of fabric on the bias, so that it would stretch well, top stitched the lace to it, then attached it to the underdress. It worked, but I definitely replaced it. Rather that picking all of the lace off, especially since I still had plenty, I used this strip of fabric to make a small purse.

Since then I have also extended the upper sleeves. For the dress, all that now remains is to add the last of the silver trim, reattach the lower sleeves, and add a longer zipper to the underdress. Nothing to difficult, or time consuming.

The other part I have to focus on is the circlet. I've been cheating and canabalized Sarah's circlet, attaching Arwen's butterflies to it temporarily. No one has noticed the difference- or, at least no one has said anything to me, but I don't like it. I don't think Aragorn or Jareth would find it very amusing either, for that matte... ;)

I have made the butterflies out of silver sculpy, and have convinced my brothers to teach me how to solder so I can make the rest of the head piece out of wire. The goal is to have that done my Taiyou Con in January.

An Irritating Catch

2011-10-22T00:20:00.000-07:00

Something really does not want me to finish Lulu. I went to the fabric store today, and forgot to buy bias tape. So, I ran into another store: and forgot to buy tape. Irked, I went into a third store and very specifically purchased one package of double fold, half-inch bias tape. Finally ready to finish that corset I sat down- only to find out the tape I bought was the wrong shade. Argh!!!!!!!

Silurian is supposed to take this with her tomorrow, but I can't send her off with an incomplete garment! I guess all I get to do now is go back to the store tomorrow and buy the right tape. Then hope I can get the edges stitched and the eyelets installed before I go to work. Bleh.

I have been working on another project this past week while waiting on Lulu: ~~I will not be naming said project, I'm having people guess what it is and don't want to give it away~~ Arwen Undomiel, of LotR fame! There are photos though, of initial construction, and I'll be posting more as I make more progress.

The pieces were originally cut out to be much to large. The skirt of the dress is full and flowing, and the top fitted, but not tight. Reducing the size of a garment is much easier than attempting to fix something that was made too small, and so I over compensated.

I've been told the color looks "yellow" on some monitors. It's actually a "spring-green" shade, though I'm using panne velvet as a less expensive alternative to velvet, or velveteen. Bonus: it's much easier to take care of.

The bodice of this dress does not have princess seams: the front is one seamless cut of fabric, and cutting it all out, bottom width and all, was a bit difficult. Once it was cut out I stitched the two back pieces together, sewed them to the front, and tried it on. I took it in only twice before I was satisfied, I was expecting to have to adjust it several more times before being able to call it done.

The neckline of the gown is wide and rounded, and I have yet to cut it out. Shown here is the dress waiting for the neckline to be decided upon. It is also sleeveless, with small straps on the shoulders that will eventually be covered in trim.

The dress is elegant, but very simple in design, so it is going together quite quickly. The "lettuce-leaf" style hem adds to that simplicity, and I love that I didn't have to worry about the pinning and adjusting of layers of fabric to finish the bottom.

With the over-dress largely finished, I have moved on to the under-dress, using McCall's #4491. On the sad side, I not only purchased the wrong bias tape, but forgot to buy an invisible zipper foot for my machine. Ugh. I was so wrapped up in my dilemma that I was not focusing on anything else (more on that in a bit). This dress is half sewn already, so I'll finish the rest, then decide if I need to put a zipper in. Maybe, even if I do need to install one, I can put in the side...

All right, so the dilemma: the under-dress has a decent amount of bead work and embroidery on it. I simply cannot use the shortcuts I've seen from others: just stitching lace on, or, worse still, not adding any embellishments! But my sitting there and adding needleworking to this green fabric is not going to happen- way too time consuming. I had to find a solution that would look appropriate yet be both inexpensive and not-so-time-consuming.

There were dozens of options available to me, given appliques, trims, ribbons, laces, sheers, and bridal fabrics. I spent over two hours in Joann's today, focusing on what was available- and that was after spending hours earlier in the week at other stores looking at the my options. I finally, finally decided on a scalloped edged bridal fabric. Thank Heaven I had a coupon though, I could not have afforded $25/yd! It's gorgeous, with seed beads, bugle beads, and sequins along with the embroidery. It solved most of my problems, but not all of them.

Where those diamond shaped gaps are I need some flower-type embellishments, and I simply cannot decide on anything. The nearest I have come to are a set of appliques made of soutache and seed beads. They may still work, if I keep the gaps at the size shown. If I make the gaps wider (a distinct possibility) then those will certainly not work and I'll have to find something else. Or embroider them myself. I'd rather it not come to that though, I haven't embroidered anything in ages, and would fear for the results.

So, we'll see. I figured I would work with what I have, then decide what I'll do when I come to that point. In the meantime, I'll keep my eyes open for other possibilities.

And, that said, any guesses as to what I am making?

And we're nearly there!

2011-10-19T17:52:00.000-07:00

The only progress picture I have right now is the one I sent Sil in a next the other day. Instead of transfering this to the computer, and everything else, I'm updating from my phone.

Lulu is nearly done. I cannot believe that I put her off for so long, just to find out she's going together in a snap! The sleeves are now connected to the chemise, though that was a bit of a challenge. I have been top stitching the seams on the pleather (as much as I can). The side seams on the skirt aren't topstitched, because of the amount of fabric that would be bunched up in the attempts. The sleeves are each one, conical piece and in the end I could only top stitch them up about two-thirds of the way. When I reached the upper arm, there was not enough room to move the narrow end of the fabric tube through. Thankfully these seams are on the under, less seen side of the sleeves, and the upper arms are largely covered by the fur- but it was still irritating!

And I still don't have the right bias tape. I forgot to bring the package with me to exchanged when I went to the store on Monday. I had thought about using one of my coupons to take a new package down by 50%, but then needed that coupon on a cutting of fabric. (I'd rather save $12 than $1.20, when it comes down to it.) Rather than pay full price I figured I'd still just exchange the other one... Or not. Two days later I haven't gone back to the store, and now I can't find the reciept. Oh well. When I go tomorrow I'll just buy the darn tape.

Once I get the appropriate tape it won't take me long to stitch it all up, or to install the eyelets. In looking forward to seeing Sil this weekend! I miss her tons and can't wait to see the costume on her!
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Sent from my Verizon Wireless mobile phone

Next for Lulu, the Chemise and Fur

2011-10-13T02:29:00.001-07:00

Okay, remember what I just said about doing things in the wrong order? Yeah. I took this picture and then realized- hey the sleeves aren't there! Oi... All right, I don't think it will be that big of a deal to make the sleeves and attach them- now that I think about it, it may be better this way anyway. But I would have liked to think about when to stitch them on, rather than have no choice... Oh well...

It's probably hard to tell that this thing has any shape at all. Chemis are usually not form fitting, and about knee length. This one has no need to be knee length, but I was afraid of making it too small, so I kept the width. As it will be under a very form fitting corset, it hardly matters. I won't blame you though if you think it looks odd now. And I don't doubt that it will look that much better once the sleeves are on.

The sleeves will be made of the same pleather that the skirt is. Since I had to stitch the fur in a tube with the chemise inside, then turn in right side out, I'm not really sorry that I forgot about the sleeves. All the pleather would have really gotten in the way!

Waitng for glue to dry

2011-10-13T01:51:00.001-07:00

I'm sitting here waiting for the fray check to dry around the edges of the faux fur we're using for Lulu. If I was smart, I would have glued the edges befor I started working with it. Duh. As is I started pinning it to the chemise, and then said "Oh, I should fray check the edges!" Intelligent right?

It's like the part of Dianna Wynn Jones' "Howl's Moving Castle" where she describes Sophie as being good at cleaning, but does not quite do things in the right order. I remind myself of that description quite often...

In any event, I've whipped together the chemise without much difficulty this evening. I kept putting this cosplaty off because I was afraid of how much work it was going to be- but it's gone together so easily! Serioudly, what was I afriad of? Or maybe I underestimate my own abilities. No pictures of the Chemise yet though, you can't see it under the drying fur at this moment.

Speaking of "Howl's Moving Castle" I'm trying to decide if I should cosplay Sophie next- after Quorra (in theory). Of course, this would be Miyazaki's Sophie, "Howl's Moving Castle" is the only movie that I like more than it's book counterpart. I'm probably just biased in Miyazaki's favor... Anyway, the question remains; who to make next? The choices are Sophie, in her blue dress and short silver hair from the end of the movie; Arwen, in her green coronation dress as seen in RotK; or Utena, in the blyue uniform she receives from Dios half way trough the manga. Any thoughts? Votes? Input at all?

Pictures of Lulu's chemise/fur shawl coming soon. ;)

And a skirt, of course

2011-10-12T00:53:00.000-07:00

The skirt went together fairly quickly. I show it here in two pictures so both the shape of the top, and the fullness of the bottom are captured. I can't wait to have Sil try it on so we can see where we stand! She reports she be in my neck of the woods in a couple of weeks, so I can edit things personally instead of shipping it to her and try to phone in the edits. XD

I still have not gone to the fabric store, so no progress on the corset. Now that the skirt is at a standstill I'll be working on the bodice/fur stole. We had originally discussed attaching the stole directly to the corset, but I think I would like to create a separate garment for it to be attached to. The idea is that things will lie better if created separately and then, if there are any issues, they'll be independent of each other.

Creating the chemise for the fur to be sewn to will be easy. Determining how best to connect the two is going to be a little more difficult. But we'll keep working on that. ;)

A Corset for Lulu

2011-10-10T22:34:00.000-07:00

Well this sorry photo (my camera refused to focus) shows the progress made on Lulu's corset. The steel boning has been placed in the interior casings, and the featherlight boning in the exterior bias tape. All that remains is to stitch the gray double fold bias tape around the edges and put the eyelets up the back.

Speaking of bias tape, I clearly was not paying attention the other day and purchased two packages of single fold. Well that's exactly what I needed for those lines, but I need double fold for the edges. Duh! But I did not make it to the store today to be able to exchange my unused package of single fold tape for double fold. Until I can get there I'll be working on the skirt and then fur and sleeves. Still, I feel like I'm much closer to being complete than I was. More coming soon!

These are going to kill me

2011-10-08T23:46:00.001-07:00

I purchased a few items for sewing/cosplay today:

More tailor's chalk: my marking implements are constantly growing legs and walking away, so I can never have enough of them.
Bias tape for the exterior of Lulu, now I can actually continue on the costume.
Fray check, a helpful item for installing eyelets and any number of other activities.
A pattern, for making Arwen's coronation dress.
Another pink wig: the one I have is too thin, so I'll be combining them.
And last, but not least, a pair of boots for Quorra- which I will break my neck while wearing.

Complete with advertisement XD

I have never worn stilettos before. The tallest heel I have is a wedge and is maybe, maybe 3 inches. With my extreme lack of coordination I have never been prone to wearing anything very tall, and the Morton's Neuroma just makes wearing heels a literal pain, so this is going to be very entertaining...

There will be some added stability in the shoes when I mod out the sole to be a wedge, but not much. There will undoubtedly be a decent amount of wearing them around the house in an attempt to look normal when I go out.

Other adjustments will include: stiffening them up a bit as to prevent that bagging about the shins; cutting the top to form the right shape (hence why one of them is turned up); adding EL tape (obviously); and cutting out the smaller circles on the side/back.

Now changing gears, Lulu is coming along splendidly. I was at a bit of a standstill on the corset, since the shell must have the bias tape sewn on to it before I could continue. With this in hand I can get a move on it. Also, the pattern will be adjusted again, because I have no desire to wait around for a busk to arrive. My attempts to locate one somewhere within the valley have come to nothing, so we'll just be using boning.

I hoping to have Lulu finished by the end of this next week so I can get her to Sil with enough time for her to add the finishing touches. This may not happen though, because I'm working six days this next week: something that the wallet likes, but the schedule does not. Bleh. We'll play it by ear, I guess. ;)

Proof of Lulu

2011-10-05T01:24:00.002-07:00

So I lied about the Tumblr pictures. Sorry. I forgot my camera on day 1, and day 2 wasn't much of a photographic opportunity day- mainly because I was either in judging, the green room, or the masquerade. It was worth it, because, shockingly, I won a Judge's Award for Julia. I really wasn't expecting it; there were several costumes I kept staring at going 'oh my gosh, that's fantastic! Mine can't compare!'. I'm so grateful, if still gobsmacked.

All right, now that all of that's out of the way, Lulu is being constructed!

For the skirt I am using Simplicity pattern #2058. It amazed me how difficult it was to find a simple, line skirt pattern. I looked through four different pattern books before I found this one. To be honest, Simplicity is my least favorite company for patterns, so I use them in last resort. Someday I'll have enough expertise to make patterns on my own.

The skirt is being made of black pleather we purchased some years ago, on clearance again, when we first theorized this cosplay. The entire thing is cut out now, and I'm just waiting for Sil to tell me how long she wants the front panel to be.

I changed my mind on the pattern for the corset, and have moved on to Simplicity pattern #5726, one of those that we purchased when we bought the pleather. I still very much like S#7215, but Lulu needs very distinct lines down her corset, and the construction of that particular pattern did not lend itself well to them.

There will be a lot of changing up on the S#5726 though. Why anyone would think that one layer of fabric, without interfacing would be a good idea for a corset is beyond me. Yes, that's all this pattern calls for, with casings for the boning being sewn onto that one layer. And new interfacing at all. How stiff do they expect that to be?

Instead I am making a shell and a lining, both of which will be accompanied by a fairly stiff interfacing. Both of these portions will have casings on them for steel boning. As visible on the image of Lulu above, there are light gray lines on the shell of her corset, easily made with bias tape, and I am considering placing boning in them too, just for good measure- though that would be the featherlite boning.

I have all the proper pieces cut out, and interfacing fused to each one. Tomorrow I'll be stitching them all together and getting as far as I can. On the negative side, I need a 12" corset busk, and I'm pretty sure I can't get that anyway around here. Ordering one may take a while, so we'll see...

Posting Re-Activated

2011-09-29T17:24:00.000-07:00

Well that was a... lovely hiatus. My apologies. It is occasionally necessary to detach myself from my sewing machine and participate in the real world. Some of it isn't so great, but I was able to spend sometime with family, and see a close friend before she left for 18 months, so it was worth it, all in all.

But let's get on with it, right? I am sorry that my first post in so long is accompanied with a cell phone picture, but it's all I can manage at the moment.
While I was home I finally watched Tron: Legacy. I'm a huge fan of the original, having watched it since I was old enough to sit up and look at the TV, but I was pretty skeptical about this new one. Combine my hesitancy with the fact that I don't go to the theater or watch movies at home unless someone forces me too, it took my three quarters of a year to get around to seeing it. And yeah, I regret not seeing to sooner. Moreover, animation next year? with both Bruce Boxleitner and Elijah Wood? *epic swoon* I am so on track now. And then there's Quorra. Which brings me to the whole point of this long-winded background story: guess what I'm working on for Halloween?!

Yes. Because the picture of the Identity Disks didn't totally give it away. I've already purchased most of the needed supplies, including: lycra for the under-shirt and under-leggings; pseudo-leather lycra for the leggings (it's pretty thin, which is why I'm going with two layers on everything); craft foam; and silver yu-du ink.

I will be pulling out my trusty Yu-Du machine and silk screen a hexagon pattern to some of the lycra. I've already produced the appropriate layout on my computer, and just need to transfer it to a screen.
The lighting, of course, is going to be the trickiest point. My brother and I are looking into Electroluminescent Tape, over EL wire or LED. Instead of adhering it to the surface, the lighting will be placed in a clear vinyl casing- meaning there will be less bubbling to worry about. =)

Of course, Quorra isn't the only exciting project going on right now, Lulu's already on track. My progress pictures for her are on my camera and probably won't be uploaded for a few days, but she'll look fantastic when done! And I can't wait to see what Silurian does with the lace and accessories! Look forward to pictures!

And Saboten Con is this weekend! So it's likely this will be the only post until Monday. Check out Cosplay Conspiracy on Tumblr for pictures in the mean time!
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Sent from my Verizon Wireless mobile phone

Renaissance Technical Shots

2011-09-11T00:08:00.000-07:00

The intention was to continue wearing this dress for a while, and then get shots of the undergarments before changing into Sailor Moon. Reality didn't play out that way, meaning that I will have to get shots of the undergarments at a later date.

ASU Photoshoot

2011-09-08T00:14:00.002-07:00

There was a change in photo taking schedules this past week which through my inward schedule off. So, I came home from work last night, and realized that I still had not made my new boots for Sailor Moon! Well, easily remedied, they came out beautifully- or, at least, better than I expected... Even if I was up all night making them. Poor AmaraSama! I was sooooooo late picking her up today, since I major overslept and then found out that Moon fuku really needed washed. x_X I'm so sorry!

It was a super fun day! Pictures are going up at my tumblr account: http://cosplayconspiracy.tumblr.com, so please check them out! I plead guilty to slight photoshopping- but only because I left my wig cap at home and couldn't keep my dark hair from showing through. I could have done more, since I totally left my accessories (choker, earrings, and crescent moons for the boots) sitting in my living room, but that's a lot more work than I want to do right now. XD I'll get more pictures, with all details intact, at Saboten later this month.

Sadly, MadMadameMe had previous plans, and could only hang out with us for a few minutes. =( I look forward to having her with us for a longer period of time in our next bout of photo taking.

We met some great people today! (Shout out to the two guys who came looking for us! You know who you are!) Received fan girl and boy squeals, several hugs from random people, and had pictures taken with a number of phone cameras. I was expecting more people to be ridiculing us, but everyone who really enthusiastic and supportive. ASU, you impressed me.

I'll get the images from creating my boots up soon. Plus a few other fun things! <3

Colonial Technical Shots

2011-09-05T00:38:00.000-07:00

There are some photos I will be uploading here: my technical shots. These were taken to show the costume, not the characterization. I forgot to have some taken of the Medieval dress, so I'll have to get some later. Here are the ones for the Colonial Dress:

Ha ha, what a dull expression

News for photos

2011-09-04T20:42:00.000-07:00

This has been a great week for cosplay progress, which I was not expecting. Rather, I figured I'd get a few photos but nothing beyond that. Contrary to that belief, my photo shoot on Friday yeilded some spectacular results, and I obtained two new wigs!

One is the brown wig shown here. I was able to easily find something that is pretty much identical to my real hair color. If only my hair was that manageable, I would consider growing it out again.

The other was a bright pink Nicki Minaj wig that Hot Topic had on clearance. While I barley know who she is, the wig itself will be perfect for Utena. I'm rather excited about this, since all of the other pink wigs I've found up to this point were either short bobs or long without bangs. I'll post a picture of the pink one when I have a good one.

As this picture indicates the photo shoot on Thursday went really well! I have another set for Wednesday of this week, so excited! I've decided though to create a separate blog just for photos, and use only this one for the documentation of costume creation, tutorials and whatever else that requires loads of text. So, just the one photo is here, the rest can be viewed at: cosplayconspiracy.tumblr.com Please check it out! >w<

Moon Boots Theory

2011-08-30T12:46:00.000-07:00

There's a plan in place to be out with some friends later this week and have a photo shoot. These plans are subject to change at any minute, especially since work switched things up on me. We originally planned for Thursday, but now I have Friday off instead. I have yet to hear back from everyone, so we'll see if we can still do it this week- I'm keeping all of my fingers crossed!

The past couple of days have been days of absolutely no progress on the cosplay front. I found scorpions at my apartment (one inside and one on my patio), and promptly freaked out. If it had just been one outside, I wouldn't have worried so much, but one inside? That disappeared before I could catch it? There was no way I was going to be able to sleep! So, I disappeared to my brothers' and took my cats with me. The apartment office took pity on me and called out the pest control services five days early, because I told them I was not stay in my apartment until I knew things were taken care of. (If curious, the whole story is here.)

It took a while for me to convince myself last night, that things really were okay, and any scorpions still in this place would be dead. However, I had sort of a brainwave while I stayed up, so it's all good. =D

In that possible photo shoot later this week I will (mostly like) be wearing Sailor Moon. She;d done, looks great and needs photos! Or rather, nearly done: I remembered that my spats were fairly lousy and weren't at all what I wanted people to see in in pictures. That means I need to make new ones, stat!!!

Boot patterns that aren't crocheted, knitted, and/or felted are few and far between, and I really don't feel like paying for a pattern. >.> I mean, it's not the sort of pattern I can march down to JoAnn's for and purchase when on sale. Now, here is that brainwave I mentioned: I do know how to make a basic pair of medieval/renaissance shoes, and while they're not quite what I would want, I can adjust them. Over one of these simple shoes, I will be making another pair of spats: not full cover spats, but 19th century style spats- sort of. They'll have zippers instead of buttons; and will be knee length and all the rest of it. But they should look awesome! (In theory.) I'll just have to decide now if elastic around the foot is enough to keep them in place, or if I want to make them snap or attach to the shoes. =3

I've nearly have all of Lulu's details worked out. Since she's a fairly complicated costume, I want to be sure over everything before I start cutting. I'm sticking with my originally decision on which corset to use. It's more work, but I think it'll be better for Jackie. And it seems we had planned things wrong for the skirt pattern, but that's no real big deal and easy to fix. Look for construction updates soon! Provided there are no more scorpions in this place. >.>

Wig Test

2011-08-26T23:24:00.000-07:00

I decided to trim my Kairi wig this evening. I had started this process before I moved and, as there's a possibility I'll be wearing her in the near future, decided to finish it. No major styling or dying, which was pretty awesome, actually. XD Just a simple combing, and a few scissor snips.

A photo is attached for kicks and giggles. It was taken with my phone (I was being lazy) so excuse the graininess. For the record, I think I look better as a redhead than a blonde. =P

Well, Anyway

2011-08-26T20:53:00.000-07:00

I love how when I don't post anything, no one looks at this blog at all. XD

Okay, okay, it probably makes sense. I post, people who are interested enough to be "following" Cosplay Conspiracy come and the read the post, and everyone is happy. But still, no search results; no random 'I'm just curious's nothing. Evidently, I need to work on putting myself out there more...

So, just a quick update on a few things:

My day off was a complete waste of time. The only saving grace about it was that I purchased several yards of various fabrics, (including crepe, knit, and lycra), at Saver's for less than $30. The amount of lycra I purchased, in white, blue, and purple, would cost more than that at any fabric store. These are all sitting in a box, now that they have been laundered, waiting for me to do something with them.

I've also pulled out all the materials and patterns for Jackie's FFX Lulu costume. As it stands I'm using Simplicity 5726 "A" with sleeves from McCall's 2339 "H"; and Simplicity 7215 "B" for the corset. I may change my mind and use "B" from 5726, because 7215 in much more involved when it comes to the boning. The boning on 5726 is straight up and down, and could look more authentic. We'll see, I have very good reasons for wanting to use 7215's.

Anyway! The catch is that, while I swear we bought a pattern, and Jackie has confirmed this, I have nothing beyond the fabric and lining for the skirt. Surely we bought one, because we had to have some way of measuring how much vinyl we would need, and that is sitting in my sewing room as I type. But I cannot find anything anywhere. Not in my "Jackie's Cosplay" box, not with my patterns- nothing. Still, McCalls' patterns are on sale next weekend, so I'll probably just pick up something new. It's not like I won't be going to the JoAnn's anyway...

Some Quick Photos

2011-08-23T22:28:00.001-07:00

Once again taking pictures with the self timer. No one I know lives close enough for me to call and say, 'Hey! Can you help me out a bit?', so this is the best I can do until I get a real shoot scheduled.

This "shoot" (for lack of a better term) took place in my living room. I set up my camera on computer desk on the opposite wall, then would run forward, set the timer and press the initializing button. I would then dart back to my futon, fix my hair and clothing, and pose- all in ten seconds. -.- That was sort of exhausting...

I took twenty-nine images with the self timer on my camera and found three that I liked. Two of them are similar poses, but whatever, they came out better than the rest of them. I really need to get out and take some real photos. Also, I tried my hardest not to look at the lens. With Julia being blind it didn't make sense for my eyes to be focused on the camera. All of that effort, and one of the only pictures to come out properly is the one where my eyes are clearly focused. -.-

Julia strikes me as a deep sleeper, simply because she's someone who never rests. Be the time she takes a break she's just going to crash... Speaking from experience, I bet she forgets to eat a lot of the time as well.

I painted my eyebrows for these shots, because my black ones would look ridiculous with that hair. My dark hair was slicked back and gelled into place so that it would not show. It seemed silly to use my comb in color for just 45 minutes of picture taking at home. No make-up was used out side of the eyebrows, mainly because it was nearing midnight and I was being lazy.

With the future pictures, I really hope to have locations with better lighting. With better lighting and some make-up to even out the tones, and better lighting, I think everything will come together better. X"D

This is my favorite picture out of all 29. ^___^

Wig Curling Lab 101

2011-08-22T22:10:00.000-07:00

Ready for the wig!

Well I washed the wig out this evening after dying the remaining white spots yesterday, but that process removed most of the curl I had put in the bangs. '~'

No matter, I wanted to add some body to the bottom of the wig anyway: it simply looked to plain as a straight, flat edge. I tried again with the curlers and the blow dryer, but really was not thrilled with the results. It worked fine on the fringe again, but not on the ends. So, I went to plan 'b': the boiling water method.

The wig after the rollers were removed.
I should have let it dry all the way, then
combed it out. Now I know for next time...

With curlers still in, I boiled some water, then quickly dunked the wig. I think I may have had it in the there too long: the instructions said 3 seconds, and I probably did five. The result is a bit frizzier than I may have wanted, but I do think it looks better than before. Opinions on this?

Anyway, with the wig done I can officially claim Julia as complete!

Plus, I ran to the store while on my lunch to purchase turquoise acrylic paints for temporary eyebrow coloring; and comb in temp color for my hair, so as to be able to hide my roots. That was a lot more trouble than it ought to have been too, thank you Murphy and your law. >.>

One completed Julia wig!

Somewhere I have a wig cap, which I'd like to use so I don't have to color all of my hair, but I can't find it for the life of myself. I simply have no clue where it went during my move. I may just have to buy a new one...

In any event, pictures of the costume as a whole are coming soon! Even if they are taken with my camera's self timer. ^^;;

Wig Dying 101 Lab

2011-08-21T23:58:00.001-07:00

So here are the images of today's progress. Actually, things turned out better than I thought they would. In the end there were only a few spots that needed to be redyed. I was prepared to do this tomorrow, but my brother happened to have more alcohol, and was even willing to bring it by for me, since he was in this neck of the woods anyway. So, without further ado, some step by step photos of the wig transformation:

The wig was properly combed out and hair pinned to a model head before the dying began. That black line indicates a strip that has been shrink wrapped. I figured I would try dying everything but that part, before I purchased a white, clip-on for the Sorceress lock.

I learned something crucial today, that no one had mentioned on any of their recipes or tutorials: if one spraying does not seem to cover everything, do not keep coloring the wig down. Instead, step back, let it dry, then spray it all over again. Drenching the thing in ink-alcohol solution just means that all the dye is going to run to the bottom even faster, creating a drip-dye effect. It sort of looks cool, but was not at all what I was going for. And it means I have to re-comb and re-wash the wig because I had to spray in again.

It must have been a funny sight to anyone who looked up at my balcony today. My being out there and spraying the wig down would have provided some degree of explanation. I wonder if anyone saw it during those hours I was away and it was drying; and, if they did, what they thought.

I was pretty apprehensive about washing out the wig, simply because I had just removed all the tangles and I didn't want to knot everything up again. Still, there was no other choice, and it was not as bad as I thought it would have been. I did use a no-tangle children's shampoo in the process, which probably helped. It also made it easier to discern how much of the dye was remaining, since the bubbles became decreasingly blue as it went.

Julia's bang are, of course, curled, and I was not going to go prancing around with straight fringe. Part of it was for accuracy, but it was also due to the fact that the bangs on this wig were longer than I liked, and they kept poking me in the eyes when I tried it on. So, I dug out my curlers, a feat itself, since I [obviously] had not used them in ages.

With a blow dryer on a warm setting I set the curlers with two rotations of 30 second intervals for each. After this five minute sequence, each was blasted with a real quick shot of hot air, then left for a few minutes to cool. The curls came out stiffly, which is to be expected, but were properly loose, and not ringletting- that would have been dreadful!

The wig is now sitting in my living room on an arrangement of towels drying from the final spritzing I had given it. It is to be noted that the wig did not dye perfectly evenly, but I like it that way: after all, no one's natural hair is all one shade. The variations between lighter aqua to darker turquoise adds a nice effect. This time I only lightly added dye to those locations that were still unnecessarily white. Whether rational or no, I was concerned that the already dyed areas would become darker than I would have liked if I was too heavy-handed. Plus, I did not want to accidentally color the Sorceress lock, since it turned out so well.

I had hoped to get a picture or two of the whole costume tonight, but that will have to wait: it would be a bad idea to make a habit out of 3a bedtimes, simply for some self-timer shots. XD

Awaiting test results

2011-08-21T15:39:00.001-07:00

I sprayed down my wig this morning.
In anticipation of dying a wig for the first time I read a dozen or so articles, Q&As, and recipes to be sure I did everything right. That said, I'm not sure I'll return home to find the results I want.

One cup (8oz) of isopropyl alcohol to 7 or 8 drops of acrylic ink or the ink of a few sharpies. For cost reasons I chose the acrylic and purchased a jar of speedball in turquoise. I don't know what some of them were doing, because where as at least one person said this was enough to dye their wig plus some, I used about 24 ounces to cover everything completely. I was prepared for that eventuality, so now big deal.

That said, I'm worried I'll come home to find that the created dye just didn't take. There were spots, especially the crown, where I would spray, turn around, and find they looked just as white as before. Maybe it's a matter of it being wet? Or maybe the dye was undersaturated? Perhaps I'm merely imagining things? Either way, we'll see.

I left the wig on the patio to dry while I'm at Church and Choir, and 4+ hours in the Phoenix heat should be more than enough time to dry. XD I just don't think I have any more alcohol so any more wig dying will have to wait until after work tomorrow- though I'm hoping it won't come to that.

Let's get some real posting going here.

2011-08-20T17:54:00.008-07:00

Because my last post is more of a joke. XD

Julia's belt is a bit of an odd conglomeration of items I had about my house. I did not feel like waiting to go find something else that would have worked, so searched about for things that would be suitable. I took some step by step images during the creation:

Chopped off the end of a Styrofoam ball

Covered the ball in plastic wrap for a smoother, less porous surface

Painted the plastic wrap covered Styrofoam with enamel (aka nail polish)

Estimating the amount of braid that will be needed

Drew the cutting line for the rounded edge

Got out the 'stay where you belong, dang it!' tape, to keep the braid in position

From there I taped the braid down, positioned the cording for the tie, and stitched it all to the belt. A row of the braid was also glued to the dried styrofoam. The belt itself ties, then the "buckle" is pinned to the cording. I gouged out some of the Styrofoam from the back so a pin would fit without being obvious.

This is the other picture I have of the cosplay right now. Once again, no face, but this time it's because I wasn't going to have my dark roots show beneath the white wig. Ugly. >.> Better pictures to come.

More to Come...

2011-08-19T02:15:00.002-07:00

All right, I have a lot more to post than just this one picture, but it's the middle of the night and I really, really should be in bed. I seriously didn't realize that it was after two in the morning! Ack!

[Cosplay] Shopping

2011-08-17T23:40:00.001-07:00

The plan for today was to go out, get a few supplies, then come home. It sort of went like that- but not really.

I desperately needed new shoes for work: I was nearly crying from pain when I came home yesterday, my feet hurt so much. See, I have very high, falling arches which means shoes with flat foot beds (the most common) wreck havoc on my feet. Moreover, I have Morton's neuroma, so heels are a bad idea for more than a couple of hours. If that wasn't enough, My feet are triple-a narrow, so finding anything that fits and has a high arch, with no heel is ridiculously difficult. *sighs*

I checked out one store today that was close to where I live, but when they didn't have anything that fit the bill I decided to drive to Mesa where there is a specialty shoe store that could certainly solve my issues. It took a decent chunk out of my day (and my wallet), sure, with the other errands I had to run, but it was worth it! I'm so looking forward to wearing shoes at work tomorrow that won't make me want to chop my feet off!

It was a successful venture in other ways too:

First off, I found over three yards of fabric for Utena at Savers for just $3! It is not, admittedly, exactly what I was envisioning, but for that price, I'll work it. >D I had placed it in the wash, then decided to photograph it. The dark corner is where it was already wet.

With some searching I located and purchased some silk Asiatic Lilies to use as a prop for Julia. I also found some cording that is miraculously the perfect color for the cords on Julia's belt. And along with these, I now have a long white wig that I will be dying, because aqua/pale blue wigs are about impossible to find. The clerk at the costume store was certainly helpful, and, surprisingly enough, knew what KKM was. I was gobsmacked!

Note to self: purchase some sharpie markers and another Styrofoam head.

So Julia is nearly complete, with just the rest of the belt remaining, and then the wig. Next on the to-do list is Lulu, who I would like to have done by Saboten. I'm not sure Silurian will be going, but then she'll at least have it for Halloween.

Speaking of Halloween, I'd like to have Utena done by that point. My original plan will probably not be done in time, so we'll postpone that, and Julia is to fluttery and white to wear to work: I'd hate to stain that dress! Utena is a great choice though, since she won't be too difficult, and will be comfortable enough in October- since I won't have to worry about 'white Halloween's anymore. XD

Competition: Julia

2011-08-17T01:24:00.003-07:00

I decided to survey my competition for Julia recently- something I had only done in passing. There are either not many Julia cosplayers outside of Japan, or those that exist haven't posted many pictures. Either way, here is what I have found:

This last one is probably my favorite. She has a handful of other lovely pictures up of KKM, so I suggest looking at her profile.

I found several other photos on the Cure Cosplay site, but as you need membership to see most of them, and I'm not joining at this time, I don't have anything more than thumbnails. Still, here is a link to them.

P.S. I'm not at all fond of Blogger's new way of treating images. It's making positioning and linking and all needlessly difficult. >.>

Degrees

2011-08-15T00:53:00.000-07:00

The ribbon is entirely sewn around the cape now, and I've gone through with needle and thread to baste down those underparts that were missed by the machine. All in all, I could nearly call the garment complete- if it weren't for the hooks and eyes.


Note the obvious overlap. Though which side is over which changes through the anime.

I considered, at first, using white frogs for fasteners, but eventually decided against that idea. There had been enough artistic license take with this cape that I was unable to justify any more. An invisible zipper was out of the question for multiple reasons: the least of which not being the fact that Julia's cape clearly overlaps beneath the collar. Obviously hooks and eyes were the safest bet.

There is one problem with this though: I do not have in my immediate possession the appropriate eyes for this situation. For things to lay properly, and be invisible, a straight eye must be used. At this moment, I only have loops eyes, as I forgot most off my hooks and eyes at my parents' place. I have sewn on the hooks, which are pretty much universal, and intend to drop by the fabric store tomorrow in order to pick up what I need.

Once those eyes are sewn on the cape, the only construction left will be the belt. Note to self: remember to buy gold braid tomorrow too. Admittedly, I'm still up in the air about how I will create that blue gem, but we can focus on the rest of the belt before we reach that point.

So Close!

2011-08-12T21:19:00.006-07:00

Well this has been an incredibly lackluster week on the cosplay front hasn't it? On the work front, not so much, but that's not what you are here to read about, is it? =P

Last week I purchased three spools of ribbon and some corresponding bias tape for the edges of Julia's cape. The ribbon was not, strictly speaking, what I had in mind, but it would work, in the event that I could not find something else. My purchasing it right then wasn't necessary, but if it was to be my only option, I would hate to go back to buy it and find there was none left.

So I purchased said ribbon (which I do not have a picture of), but kept my eye out for something more appropriate. To my excitement, I found what I wanted two days ago.

I felt the pattern on the first ribbon was too florid to match the angular weave on blue ribbon I had selected for the dress:

So I returned the other stuff, purchased thinner bias tape and set about finishing the cape.

The plan was to attach the bias tape, then sew the ribbon over the tape on the periwinkle side. It was a great theory, but after I had sewn a quarter of the ribbon on, I realized it was not going to cut it: the ribbon and bias tape were not the same shade of white.

Well, I was certainly not going to spend time picking out the bias tape. Ugh. That left me with two options:
A) Stitch ribbon onto the underside, and then on the top side
B) Stitch two pieces of ribbon together on one edge, then sew it over the bias tape

I decided on "B" and things went pretty well from that point on.

Sewing the ribbon together.

I merely stitched this over the bias tape, being too lazy to undo all of that work. However, in the end, I think that was all for the best: the darker color of the cloak beneath cannot show through with the bias tape beneath. Now for the "so close" part:

I stitched the ribbon on the under-cape, then set about prepping for the over, only to discover I was some 20 inches short. Seriously, the roll I had purchased was ten yards long, and all I needed was another 20 inches! Consequently, I was not able to finish the cape yesterday.

The dress and cape- with only half of the ribbon.

I ran to the craft store and bought another roll of ribbon after work today, so soon enough I'll be able to finish things out!

So much for that...

2011-08-07T14:50:00.001-07:00

So today was supposed to be the day when I log on and say "I'm back! Look what I made today!". After all, today is Sunday and that what I do. I go to Church, I sleep, I listen to Conference talks and read Scriptures, and I engage in relaxing activities- of which I consider sewing to be (provided it's nothing I plan on selling). Well so much for that plan: I was scheduled to work today.
In essence, it was an accident, but there was no way to change my shift for someone else's later in the week. As a result I agreed to work, provided I could split my shift and attend my church meetings. But this is making for a very long day.

I started work and 8:45a- it should have been earlier, but I was seriously just too tired. Church, which started at 1p, is a three hour affair, and nearly half an hour from my store. I left work at 12:30p, and ought to be back by 4:30p; but that leaves over four hours of shift left and if I work all of them that puts me at getting off at 9p. Ugh.

As it stands, I am thinking I'll leave between 7p and 7:30p, then I'll just go in for a couple of hours on my day off. Either way, I won't have much time to be able to sew/craft/cosplay today. Grrrrrrr. Ray of sunshine: I still have two days off this week- though sometime must still be dedicated to chores and errands. *sigh*

Contacts

2011-08-03T00:23:00.002-07:00

So I've been looking at contacts for Julia, since she's blind. It would really complete the look, after all. These are what I'm looking at right now: Frosted Contacts.

They're a bit expensive- all right, really expensive. And they obscure the pupil, so one actually is legally blind while wearing them. I would certainly have to have someone helping me around whenever I'm wearing them. That would be in character though, so I don't view it as a major downside.

Still, there are definitely downsides to them, outside of the costs. So, we'll see. I certainly don't have to make a choice right now.

In other news, I have family visiting, so the next few days will probably be a scant on the updates. ^^;;

Cape Construction

2011-08-01T00:10:00.007-07:00

So I was quite right in saying that I would not have enough time to complete everything on the list I set forward earlier today. Actually, I accomplished even less than I hoped. Instead of sewing for the greater part of the evening, I was doctoring my computer some more. On the positive side, everything is now taken care of. On the negative, it took some fancy fixes and scripts. Thankfully Avast! had all the information I needed, I just had to determine which directions applied to my situation.

While I was working on my computer, I went through some of the KKM episodes to find more Julia references. What I learned was that the upper part of her cape is not sewn directly to the lower part, as I had originally supposed, but is able to move independently. This did not change my plans much, except I no longer have to attach the binding to the edge of the upper portion before completing construction. I like that, though it does not really alter the degree of difficulty one way or the other.

Evidence for these findings:

Note the overlap/curling at just below the shoulder of the upper cape

The shadows indicate a raised level, independent of the lower, more gathered cape

Below are some images from today's project: creating patterns for Julia's cape.

For the starting point I used Butterick #4319

Left: back of cape; Right: front of cape

I purchased a grey polyester suiting for the lining of the cape, more because it was only $1.50/yd, than anything else. When I returned home and looked at pictures, I realized I should have purchased a lighter shade. I decided that I was not going to change fabrics though: it's a lining, not the shell, after all.

I purchase 9yds of this suiting, six of which will be made into a suit (surprise, surprise). The other three were dedicated to Julia, but I definitely did not need that much for the cape. It was a good thing I purchased so much though, the extra allowed me to have enough to make mock-ups.

The original pieces (second row) were too short

Extending the original pattern

I used the yoke of McCalls #4862 as a base for the upper cape

Good guess on the length for the back!

I decided the front was too long, and trimmed it to the same length as the back

One completed cape lining!

Now that I know the proper shapes and angle, I can begin working with the periwinkle to make the shell. Though I may take in the shoulders of the upper cape- I'm not sure I approve of how much they are sticking out. But we'll do that tomorrow... Hopefully ^^

Test Update

2011-07-31T15:07:00.001-07:00

I set up my account yesterday to accept emails as posts. It probably would have been easier to post Friday's update if I had this already prepared. On a whim I made the email address really long: 33 characters, excluding the @domain part! It's sort of an inside joke, only it's just me- but it makes me giggle anyway.

On the plate for today:
- stitching the remaining ribbon on Julia's dress
- make the pattern for Julia's cape
- cut out Julia's cape
- begin to stitch together said cape

I would leave out the "begin" from item number four, but I can't remember if I bought the necessary white satin binding, and I need to stitch that one during the process, and not at the end. I probably won't have time to sew the whole thing tonight anyway. ^^;;

Time Spent

2011-07-30T00:49:00.003-07:00

~~I'm attempting to post this using my phone, so we'll see how well it goes...~~
Edited once the computer was properly functioning again.

I spent my free time yesterday afternoon doing mundane things: like paying my bills. Now I'm a bit worried about that. Yes, you should pay your bills, but sometime yesterday my computer caught a bug. I'm hoping it was after the fact, not before. Sadly, it is likely that it was during my search for potential wigs that this virus was "caught". I'm not too concerned. This isn't the first time I've had to battle it out with the malware and all, but it is irritating. If nothing else, having to type so ridiculously slow so that my phone's processor can keep up is dreadfully annoying.

I found a few possible wigs for Julia yesterday, and the locations of half a dozen costuming stores in Phoenix where I might be able to get what I want. I'd prefer to not buy my wigs online if it can be avoided: colors on screens can vary so much. When I have a free day to explore, I'll go see what I can find at those stores.

I also spent an inordinate amount of time (meaning over two hours) at the fabric store today, looking at trims, tapes, laces, braids and ribbons that I might have been able to use around Julia's cuffs and collar. (You never see the neckline of Julia's white dress, so I'm taking artistic license.) I seriously browsed hundreds of these various options and was disappointed at every turn. Periwinkle is a hard color to match; even Casa Collection had nothing- and it's their fabric! I was beginning to think I would need to make my own bias tape (which is really time consuming, and often involves burned fingers). I went so far as to write up some basic algebraic formulae to determine how much more of the periwinkle I would need (though this could hardly be defined as difficult).

But then I found some spools of ribbon with well woven designs, that actually had periwinkle in them. It cannot be said that this ribbon is strictly accurate as per the art of Kyou Kara Maou but I do think it lends itself well to the image I'm trying to create.

In the process of sewing it to the dress. The cuffs are proving difficult.

With all the right colors for Julia too!

For the Dislike of Hems

2011-07-27T23:13:00.004-07:00

I hate hemming. Seriously. I realize that it's a necessary part of sewing, but I dread it. The problem is that garments are created with angles, so the bottom edges there of are larger than the inches above them that they need to be stitched too. This creates bunching and buckling- which are obviously atrocious. In order to avoid them you need to sew things properly, and gather the bottom, and everything else. It's so time consuming- and never looks right, no matter what!

Seriously, why don't patterns just have a few inches at the bottom in which the angle is 90 degrees to the normal (the normal being the bottom edge of the fabric). In other words: I want some perpendicular places here people! That along would make things so much easier...

During the past three days I've whipped together Julia's dress. It's turned out to be quite lovely- if I do say so myself. I admit, I've had to take the bust line in, and it's still a bit too big. Never fear though: that's why padded bras were invented! (Yes, I cheat terribly sometimes >D )

Of course, I'm in the process of hemming it- which is driving me mad. I should start paying someone to hem things for me. Or take everything home to my mom. She hates installing zippers, which I don't mind at all. We could trade tasks, or something. XD

Gotta love cameras with timers!

I'll finish the dress tonight (minus the trim, which I don't have yet), and start on the cape tomorrow. ^^

Julia Initially

2011-07-25T22:35:00.003-07:00

I began work on Julia today. Her outfit is so elegantly simple, and I found much of the need materials so quickly, that I am confident I can complete the core construction within a week- as long as I make myself focus.

Proof of progress!

From left to right (and top to bottom): the front dress panel, upper portion of the sleeve, lower portion of the sleeve, and the side backs of the dress. Tomorrow I can finish cutting out the dress, and either begin sewing it all together, or move on to cutting out the cloak. We'll see what my mood is when I get to that point.

I still can't get over the material. *faints* It's simply gorgeous! <3333

Speaking of materials, I found a lightweight grey fabric for the lining of the cloak. Once again: clearance! Only $1.5/yd! ^^;; Now I only have to decide on what I'm doing for the trims. I could use bias tape, of course, but it's just cotton, and would stand out like a sore thumb when set aside that satin used for everything else. I've tried making bias tape before; it's a very tedious, slow process, and it makes me cranky. I'm considering using braids instead, which would lend an elegant effect, but would easily show the colors of the material beneath it... Maybe bias tape or ribbon with braid over them? Or simply satin ribbon? Clearly, I haven't made up my mind yet. ^^;;

On a more somber note, SabotenCon won't have mics set up for the Masquerade. I can't say I wasn't expecting that, but now I have to decide what to do:
a) Practice my vocal projection, and keep on with the original idea
b) Save the idea for some later date and come up with something else.

I'm leaning towards 'a', which I think surprises even myself- but the choice will actually be made by whether or not certain other people are in attendance. If I have reason to show off other costumes that I've made, I'm more likely to come up with another plan. I feel so self serving...

Anime Kaigi Skit

2011-07-24T20:27:00.001-07:00

Thank you to TheDrues10 at Youtube for uploading this video.

My sister as Sailor V, myself as Moon. It was super fun, if unchoreographed. I'd like to do this in future, more formally, with all five of the Inners. >w<

Wardrobe Malfunction

2011-07-24T10:46:00.005-07:00

One of the main problems with cons is that, no matter how far in advance you begin to work on things, you always seem to be rushing around at the final countdown to finish everything. Usually I don't mind this too much. It's stressful as all get out, but things generally work out. With Sailor Moon, however, I had a major issue at the last minute, and I'm still not quite satisfied with the solution.

Some months ago I purchase a pair of very tall boots and would have been perfect for Moon. They were cloth, which would make adjusting the tops in to points a simple matter- more so than with leather/vinyl. All around they were fantastic; there was only one issue: they were black.

Well that would not be hard to work around. Fabric bleaches, and I have been dying clothing since I was eight. Accordingly, I purchased so bleach and got to work.

It was a long process, since the boots were made of a synthetic material that was more reluctant than natural fibers to have it's coloring removed. But after a few days of soaking, and several changes of baths, I had a pair of pinkish boots, ready to be dyed.

It was sometime before I got around to finishing them. With moving and all I didn't want to bother ordering anything and risk it being sent to the wrong address or something. Once I was all settled in at my new place, I ordered a heat set acid dye in bright red from Dharma Trading Company. (They deserve an advertisement, and they're the only dye company I am willing to use- stor bought dyes never cut it!)

Now here came the disaster. In order for the dye to set properly the fabric needs to be thoroughly rinsed: oils, including skin oils, will keep the dye from setting and the final result would be mottled. Moon boots with a hand print on them? I think not. So as I prepped the dye, the shoes were placed in a light rinse in the wash machine.

Acid dye is for wools, silks and synthetic materials, and the temperature must be at least 185F

I nearly cried when I pulled them out. One boot was a in complete shreds. What it had been was not even discernible. There was no salvaging anything. Now what?

Well I went ahead and dyed the boots, and Kairi's, which had faded from their original pink. The dye was expensive, and I wanted to do something with it, since it was ready to go.

The Kairi shoes came out a great color. The acid dye did not take to them the same way it did the nylon base of the boots, since they were made of cotton.

Though I'll have to repaint the soles

Moon's boots also came out of their half hour soak as the perfect shade, but some good that was. Having nothing to loose, and placed both in the washer to rinse out the remaining dye, which was enough to reduce the second boot to the state of the first. Seriously, I nearly went in to panic mode.

Ruined boot #2; #1 didn't even look like a boot.

What to do? There were two options: find another pair of boots that I could paint the way we did V's shoes (as described here), or make a pair of spats from the remaining red vinyl I had from making the masks.

Option "a" appealed to me more, because spats would require making a pattern and sewing and fixing, all of which would be very time consuming. After two hours and seven stores later, I was resigned to using option "b". Never try to find boots in summer in Phoenix. I had hoped there would be some on clearance, but nothing. I found only one pair, made of suede, and I was not paying $70 just to cannibalize them.

And so, spats it was. I made somewhat of a pattern by tracing another pair of boots I had, as seen here:

In some places these were too large, and others too small, but with a zipper sewn up the back of each, I had a pair of workable "shoes" that I wore over a pair of heels.

Credit for this picture goes to KawaiiNekoNaru

Funnily enough, I purchased another yard of the same yesterday. They really did have potential, and I love the glittering. In theory, with a proper pattern, I could have a great pair of Moon boots out of the stuff. >D

New Fabrics

2011-07-23T22:32:00.005-07:00

I absolutely love when everything falls into place!

That's what has been happening with Julia. It's like a sign that I'm meant to do this cosplay. ^^;;

First, these are the fabrics I acquired yesterday:

The periwinkle lining for Utena. Being a lining, it doesn't matter
too much what the color is, though I did want it to at least coordinate

The glittering periwinkle satin for Julia's cloak

As Julia is very high ranking royalty in the story of Kyou Kara Maoh- there are only two other women in the kingdom who are on her level/out rank her- I wanted this costume to do her political position justice. Moreover, it's a beautiful design that, if created properly, I could wear to formal, real world functions without being out of place. Both of these reasons required appropriate materials.

The glittering satin for the cloak is fun, more than anything. I talked myself into to purchasing it on a whim, though I do not think I will regret this choice. It does give a slight edge to the already lovely material.

Today I found a wonderful white satin for the dress. My original idea was to utilize a brocade, probably something from the bridal section; or a velveteen; or a woven home decor material. I was prepared to wait for a sale that would put one of these fabrics within affordable reach. Today, however, I found something I was not expecting, but fell in love with: an embroidered, white satin.

It's currently hang drying after having the sizing rinsed out

A detail shot of the embroidery

The costly part of Julia's dress would be that I would 7yds of 54-60" wide fabric or 10yds of 45", to give in the properly full skirt and poofy sleeves. The prices of the least expensive fabrics I was eyeballing put the cost at a minimum of $90- yikes!! Not only was this satin gorgeous, but it was on clearance for $4/yd. Approximately $30 later and I had precisely what I wanted!

This means, that for Julia, there really isn't much more that I need: ~3yds of grey for the cloak lining, bias tape for the cloak and dress edges, and a handful of notions. I have a few ideas in mind for the belt, so I won't purchase anything there until plans are set.

Today I was also able to find a set of plain, gold, 3/4" buttons for Utena's jacket; and a section of woven gold cord, also for Utena: all of which were on clearance. Believe you me: clearances are the cosplayers best friend!

Honesty

2011-07-23T00:33:00.004-07:00

That is, in all honesty, my favorite part of costuming and cosplay just might be the hours and hours of research I put into it. No seriously, I mean it. With Sarah I watched the Masquerade part of "Labyrinth" some 6 dozen times, at least. With others I collect pictures, which in an of itself can be tricky, because you have to have one of each and every angle to make an authentic outfit. My favorite thus far has been the historical research that went in to my Ren Faire garb. That was hours and days and weeks of history to choose the right class, fabrics, colors, patterns, and details. I love learning and history, so I mean it when I say it's awesome. This is the tactic I'm taking with Utena right now.

I went to the fabric store today so I could start collecting supplies. As usual, I'm starting months in advance so I have time to find everything I need at affordable prices. I purchased a sparkling periwinkle satin that will be used for Julia's cloak, as seen here:

I was simply gobsmacked at how perfect the shade of fabric I found was!

I also purchased a corresponding periwinkle lining, though not for the cloak. Both of these materials were on clearance as they were discontinued shades, but the lining will be for Utena's jacket. The lining of Julia's cloak is grey.

The jacket style used in Shoujo Kakumei Utena is reminiscent of Civil War era garb, and I will be hearkening to those elements as much as possible in the creation of her costume. As such I am going through reenactment sites to discover the most accurate fabrics and notions to use. It's not much, since I've already determined the pattern I will be using, but the minor details add up and make the costume what it is. That pattern, by the way, is Butterick #4929, view "B" without the tails or back pleats. (In other words, a combination of "B" and "D".)

On a less enthusiastic note, I had come up with something that I wanted to do as Julia for my next Cosplay/Masquerade competition, but have learned that the microphones that would be required will not be available. So I either need to work on projecting my voice, or change my plans. We'll see...

Cosplay Plans

2011-07-21T23:03:00.003-07:00

Ha ha ha, my house still looks like a train wrecked fabric store. x.X
I've been sort of out of town for work during the past couple of days, so there hasn't been much by way of recovery... I'm off work tomorrow, and I imagine cleaning will be my focus throughout the day. And then... more sewing!

I've temporarily decided on my cosplay to-do list:
Lulu - FFX ( for Silurian)
Susanna Julia von Wincott - Kyou Kara Maoh
Emily - Corpse Bride
Utena - Shoujo Kakumei Utena

This is list subject to change, of course, but I do have some semi-permanent plans:
I want Lulu and Julia done by Saboten Con (Sept. 30 - Oct. 2). Lulu because I've owed Silchan for ages and I need to get it done! Plus it'll be major kick butt, once it's completed. Julia because I want to enter her into the masquerade competition. Doing what? I can't say, but it's perfect for the character.

Emily would, in theory, be for Halloween, but there're a lot of things that may block that. I've volunteered to make a set of costumes for a Breast Cancer Awareness Fundraiser in October, and those will detract a decent amount of time from my own costume sewing time. Utena is whenever I can get to her...

Plus Sailors Mars, Mercury, and Venus maybe thrown into the mix as I want to make a live action AMV involving all of the Inner Senshi. If the opportunity to do so comes up sooner rather than later, other things may be pushed to the side. We'll see.

In any event, fabric store: here I come!

Initial AK Report

2011-07-17T22:39:00.004-07:00

So Anime Kaigi is officially over. Truth be told, I left Saturday night after the Masquerade. I wouldn't have gone to much more than the closing ceremonies, if anything, on Sunday, due to church and religious beliefs. Instead of lurking about and loosing more sleep, I decided to drive to my parents place early (I had to deliver my sister).

The thing about cons is that I'm always so busy going here and there, getting things ready, and manning the artist table, that I never take any picture of my own costumes. It's super lame, because now I have no picture to post. -.- I'll have to find someone in the Phoenix area who would be willing to play photographer to my cosplaying. Any volunteers?

Honestly, I was a bit disappointed this year. With Comic Con this week, anyone who could go to both would be saving their spending money for the larger convention; and anyone who wanted to go to both, but could only choose one, would go to Comic Con instead (if possible). Supposedly they sold more tickets this year, but I'm pretty sure the turn out was smaller. Moreover, the autograph sessions were on the opposite side of the building, and not in the artist alley area like they were last year. Some people had complained that this had made the whole room crowded, but I didn't think it was such a big deal. And it gave us more access to the spending population, who had to wander around the tables before they could get their autographs. It was good advertising. And, sadly enough, we weren't able to get autographs ourselves, because we couldn't leave the table long enough to stand in that line. That wasn't an issue last year.

I'm going to come around and find the pictures that other people took of my costumes, because there were several of those. Plus, I'm going to try to find a video of the skit we did for the Masquerade. I had it planned for ages, but had not practiced or choreographed anything, because I was expecting three of us to be participating, but that the only time we would see each other would be at con. Because of conflicting schedules at the last minute, there were only two of us in the skit; but if I had known that was going to be the case, I would have planned things out more in advance. The on-stage part was really improvised, but turned out well enough, I suppose.

Real Quick

2011-07-12T16:36:00.002-07:00

I'm posting this during my lunch break, which is about the only free time I have right now. I've tried bringing crafting supplies with me, but with eating and all, there really isn't much that I can do in the half hour allotted for my lunch. So, instead, I can have sometime to post things here.

My sister is working on sewing the origami bags that will be sewn at con. Since these require nothing more than basic straight stitches, it's a task that she can focus on while I'm not around. On the other hand, while easy, it's very time consuming. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she'll be done with sewing all the squares inside and outside by the time I get home.

Kairi is nearly finished. I threw together the rest of the belt last night. The dress is fully constructed, with just the facing and hem remaining. Truthfully I should topstitch the remaining zippers, but since that's a minor cosmetic thing that I don't expect many people to notice, I'm really not going to bother right now. What I should bother with is installing the boning in the front (the back has it's in place), but we'll see if I have time for that... Beyond that, it's really little things that I can do while at my table: lacing the shoes, finishing the necklace- stuff like that.

And, I'll be candid, I'm probably going to cheat in a few other ways, like I'm going to be taping hems and such. It'll be with washout tape, so in a few weeks, when con is done and I can breath again, I can sit down, stitch things in place, and have nothing to worry about. I just need to streamline things, or I really will not have enough time to do everything! And there are products, like Kairi's accessories, that I can make there, or as they are requested. That's a load off my mind, if I can just stop looking at all unfulfilled tasks on my to-do list! ^^;;

Living, I swear!

2011-07-10T19:55:00.005-07:00

My sister has come to visit it me for the next week, which is excellent. She's already been given a list of things to accomplish while she's here. I am so appreciative of her help! I may have one or two other people helping me with projects this week, so things are looking good to be ready of AK!

We took the opportunity as soon as we had it to dress her up as V. Here are the pictures:

Front of V! Yes, I know she's missing her armor. -.-

Back of V! It's like Sailor Moon meets Sesame Street!

Obviously these are just test run pictures, nothing fancy. We have our brother developing an appropriate cuirass, because, while Moon and Jupiter can both get away without one, V cannot- just look at that red at the shoulders! Unacceptable. XD

Aside from the cuirass the only thing left is to stitch up the bottom of the shirt. It's pinned at the appropriate length in these pictures, so I'll be hemming it up sometime this week.

We've been working on lightening her hair, which is usually a medium brown (lighter than mine). We received strict instructions from our mother than she may sun-bleach her hair, or temp dye it, but she may not come home with any sort of permanent color change. That puts a slight kink in the plans, but we've managed to lighten it up a few shades already. Compare:

Okay, it's not necessarily fair with the different settings, but I promise, her hair really is lighter now

We still have a few days, and more sun bleaching solution, but if we are still not satisfied come AK, I have the temp dye that I'll be using on my own hair.

Story Time Again!

2011-07-05T01:00:00.001-07:00

Because I seriously can't post anything else, and it's driving me mad.

I'm in my new apartment, and, optimistically, about half of my stuff is unpacked. The rest is piled in my living room and what will be my sewing room- but I can't sew when I don't have any room! I'm about to go crazy here, with depseration and anxiety, but help may be coming, so we'll keep our fingers crossed.

This was written as a tangential response to a question I was asked on DA. It's a bit pointless, but sheds a bit of light on my initial cosplaying background:

When I was in seventh grade, at 11 years old and a head shorter than everyone else, my mom made me a Sailor Moon costume. The goal was that we'd have all of the Senshi, but in the end, I was the only one. It was really out of place when I went to a friend's birthday party, that was supposed to be a costume party, but was the only one in costume. Still, it was fun. I loved that costume, I still have it..

A few years later, I was 15 or 16 at the time, my group was planning a skit night that we would do at camp. We assigned the different skits to be related to various sci-fi-ish female groups, and it was determined that I would be playing emcee. Well what's most sci-fi-ish and female than the Sailor Senshi? I brought my old costume with me, but decided I wouldn't be Moon because my hairstyle was not suitable to her (not that it had been in Junior High, but whatever). I debated on whether or not to be Saturn, my hair color matched her more; or Uranus, my hair was dark, but pixie-style similar to her's. In the end Uranus won out, not that it mattered to anyone, because they were all making fun of me for it anyway.

I dutifully made new bows and attached them to my Moon fuku, but I had actually grown between the ages of 11 and 16 and the whole thing was really short and there was no way I would be wearing it without something underneath. My solution was a pair a grey biker shorts beneath my skirt. Admittedly, it looked a bit funny, because they were much longer than the hem, but whatever. XD

At the end of it all we took a picture. I still have it somewhere, I should fish it out. The funny thing is, from the skirt hem down the picture was somewhat washed out and unless you looked really hard, you couldn't tell that I had those shorts on! XD It drove some people mad when it was on a group bulletin board and they had to look at it every day. I seriously looked like I wearing the super short minis that Takeuchi-sensei drew them in, in the first place.

I guess the moral of the story is,make sure your fuku skirt is long enough, and if you're going to wear biker shorts, have them be white, and not longer than the skirt. X"D

Story Time!

2011-06-23T08:27:00.004-07:00

Because, sadly, I don't have anything else to post. I will, don't worry! But this week is dedicated to moving...

I tell this story in response to a Miss Courtney's question. ^^ This is a great story, as it has such an ironic end...

I have been looking for an appropriate "Silver Imperium Crystal" for months. What I really want to do, more than the necklaces, is make the staff she uses in her fight against Metallia- the one that's nearly as tall as Moon herself, not the wand in the anime. I found a perfect crystal lotus blossom, but could not purchase it until I had a crystal, to make sure it was the right size.

When I started my hunt I was pretty sure it'd be over quickly. I live in an area where many religions believing that crystals have powers are practiced, and so there are dozens of stores about that sell rocks of all different shapes, sizes, colors and compositions. A quick shopping trip downtown and I'd be home free- right? Wrong. These stores may sell crystals in many different sizes, but not one had a crystal the size and shape I needed.

And so I branched out. I still haven't looked in Sedona, and maybe someday I will, but I looked at stores in the Phoneix area and was dissappointed there too. Even the Ren Faire, with half a dozen crystal selling shoppes, had nothing. I was looking in the jewelry sections of nearly every store I went into, the beading area of each store that sold crafts.

One of the closest thing I was able to find during all of this was a faceted sphere, similar to the crystal drawn in the Sailor Moon Anime, at a kiosk in a mall in Albuquerque. This was seen at the beginning of my search, but while it would have worked, it still was not exactly what I wanted, so I passed on it. After my continued search elsewhere, I really began thinking that my decision had been the wrong one- especially since I would not be returning to New Mexico any time soon.

The other item nearest to what I wanted was in a bag of vase fillers at JoAnn Fabrics. It was a crystal, all right, but was much too flat and did not have a hole drilled through it. It would work too, but I was worried that I would just break the things while trying to put a cord through them.

Last week I went shopping for some other supplies: paint and polypropylene for the masks, and pricing on materials necessary for the staff- just for curiosity's sake. While I was out I could not resist looking once more for the crystal- though, of course, I did not expect to find anything. I was not disappointed in my expectation, the craft stores in town had nothing.

The last place I intended to stop at was Walmart. Don't get me wrong, I'm not fond of shopping there at all, but it's occasionally one of those necessary evils... In any event I stopped in to get what I needed and wandered over to the beads in the process, wondering as I did so, why I even bothered. There was nothing there, of course, and I went to leave, passing by the faux flowers and fabric as I did so. The thought came to me that I should look down one of those aisles, which was a ludicrous idea. Crystals would not be down with ribbon any more than they would be anywhere else. I kept walking, but decided to turn around. There would be nothing there, and I knew it, but I'm the sort of person who let's thoughts like that nag at herself, and I did not want to be thinking about it later going 'I wonder if I should have gone down there'. That's just dumb.

So I walked down this aisle, and there, to my shock, was a row of boxes with crystals just like what I wanted sitting with the vase fillers. All right, all right, technically Takeuchi-sensei drew the crystal to be flat on one end, but whatever. These had refractive qualities, despite being acrylic, and had holes drilled through them- which was not at all needed for vase fillers.

Well I was super stoked! All of the hours I had spent looking elsewhere and in specialty stores and there was what I wanted in an assorted box from Walmart. What were the chances? I told you it was ironic.

Jupiter's Turn

2011-06-19T18:12:00.004-07:00

Because Jupiter needs the spotlight more often!

This will be worn by Yoko-Chan012 at Anime Kaigi in July. She's going to be in the Artist Alley booth right next to mine, and asked to be able to participate in my Sailor Moon cosplay. ^^

In some ways this one has come out better than Moon's, simply because I had more of the glitches worked out. The sleeves, for instance, went together much quicker this time. I knew how much stuffing to put in them, and did not have to split them back open like I did with Moon's. The bows are the best, they're the perfect shape, and do not flap around the way Moon's do. Someday I may make new bows for Moon.

On the other hand, I'm not sure about that neckline. It may turn out to be fine though. I'm the one modeling, but it wasn't made to my measurements, so it'll probably look just fine on Yoko-Chan012. I guess I'll be prepared to adjust it if I need to...

Note: Two posts in one day!

Senshi Accessories

2011-06-19T13:28:00.003-07:00

I'm trying to get all the smaller, easy to solve issues out of the way at the moment. With work, and preparing to move, my time to work on cosplays and products has been diminished, and I'm starting to really stress out. In theory I'll feel better if I can across a whole bunch of smaller tasks of my to-do list. Psychologically, it'll make me feel like I've gotten a lot done.

So first, the masks. As I wrote in Assemble the Minions my sister and I developed a pattern for the mask of Sailors Moon and V as seen here:

Together we cut out 25 of these from a vibrant red vinyl. Of course, with vinyl, only one side is the color you want, so I have since painted the backs of them.

The masks were starched before being painted, for increased stiffness and shape. They will next be sealed in polyurethane to keep them as water proof as possible, and aid in the stiffening process.

Also in the works are Imperium Silver Crystal Necklaces. There will be two sizes of gems, the smaller was used to create this sample:

This prototype was created to test the size of the seed beads, the spacing of all beads, and the length of the cord.

The seed beads are about 5/0 or 6/0 and much larger than I want for the end result. In future I will use 10/0 or 12/0. As for the spacing, it is about what I would like- but is liable to decrease as the beads decrease in size. We'll see... I measured out about a quater of an inch between each, and would like to keep it that way. And I think the cord needs to be a bit longer. It may end up being all right for this smaller crystal, but there's no way it'll work with the larger one. One cannot really discern that it is larger without an image of a side by side comparison, but this is the larger crystal:

Some of the crystals will have charms on them as this one does, but not all of them will. Usagi's original necklace was very simple. One only sees a heart on the future necklace, or the one ChibiUsa stole.

Evidence

2011-06-14T00:58:00.005-07:00

In other words, some proof that I have not been idle as of late!

Jya~n! Just as if Luna herself had just caused it to appear on my bed!

As I said on May 28, 2011, I did have to remake the brooch. This is the original brooch I made several years ago:

This one is heavy and not to scale

For the life of myself I cannot remember where I found this color scheme. All I can figure is that I have a picture saved somewhere that indicated this. Lost on an old hard drive somewhere...

In making and remaking the transformation brooch I used this picture from the first chapter of the manga:

As seen in Ch. 1

But, as I said, there was never a color scheme presented- or at least, not that I could find. To solve this problem I used the colors from this picture:

And a detailed close-up:

I can't figure out why Takeuchi-sensei drew the brooch in so many different fashions, but whatever. Moreover, the style I've created was never seen in the anime, so it's not very well known.

The silver base, golden crescent moon, and blue circle are each made from Crayola Model Magic. The star in the center is made of shrinky-dinks. The four beads around the perimeter are glass, along with the one in the center of the star. Freshwater pearls were used for the six lining the moon: after all, pearls are Usagi's favorite gem. Metal posts, craft and hot glues were used to bring it all together.

All the painting, except for one layer on the moon, was done with nail polish. I've used nail polish on a handful of items, including the original brooch. Several years ago a relative gave me a bunch of nail polishes that she had never used. I love the concept of painting my nails, but never take the time to do so, because I can't sit still long enough to let the polish set. I needed paint one day, and could not immediately purchase any, but, being unwilling to wait, used what I had available. Now I use it as much for amusement, as for it's resultant qualities.

I encountered an unforeseen hitch with the texture of the crescent moon. The original plan was to paint the clay, then draw the swirls on with a silver permanent marker, and seal it all with clear nail polish. The first two steps went fine; however, the clear polish did not cover the marker, but smeared it terribly. I wiped off what I could, but that paint job was thoroughly ruined.

To combat this I laid down another base coat of white, cut out a few dozen pieces of wire, and bent then into curls that would match those on the beads. These were pressed into the still wet polish, and painted over several times. This result is, in truth, much more desirable, but I was dismayed at the start of it.

When the entire piece is properly dry (the glue is not properly set yet) I will adhere a pin to the back then will be able to take some more (and hopefully better) pictures. Someday I'll have a polarizing lens- that will certainly help.

Lets mix it up

2011-06-05T20:35:00.002-07:00

It's been a few days, hasn't it?
That's mainly due to the fact that i haven't had much to post about, but there have been a few things accomplished.

After a tip from Yunsildin of DA I purchased some Crayola Model Magic for making a new brooch out of. As she said, it is extremely light and will not at all weigh down the Sailor Moon fuku. I have made Jupiter's and V's brooches out of the same, but Moon's, being more complicated, is taking more time. I spent nearly an hour at the store earlier in the week selecting appropriate beads for the project. Some of the smaller, foam shaped portions have been made and painted, but I have had to remake the base: the first one turned out to be too small.

Aurora is officially done, hem and all. The only thing I need to do is purchase cording of the right color for the lacing up the back. Several hours went in to sewing over the eyelets, but the outcome indicated that it was certainly time well spent.

I have changed my mind about Belle's bodice. I still want to make a new one, but that is not the most pressing task at hand. If I have time before AK, I'll make it, but I won't cry if I can't. On the other hand, I took the curtain off the skirt and removed the wires. The curtain was made with several rows of wide ribbon, that happened to be wired. When I made the dress last year I wasn't really fussed about this, but decided the effect would be better if it was not so stiff.

The skirt has been rescunched, so large portions are not dragging the ground waiting for people to trample on them. The next chore is to stitch braid on the the ribbon scrunches, then to take the whole dress to the dry cleaners. That bill will probably cost a fortune, but it can't be helped. The skirts of both Belle and Snow White are silk, from well preserved yellow curtains I found at a thrift store. References to Marie aside, it worked out well, giving both of them a somewhat luxurious feel that Princesses should have, and that was good for my wallet. Until the dry cleaning comes.

A few other small things here and there have been done, but it feels like a remarkably unproductive week for sewing. The cause for this is that I will be moving at the end of this month, and need to be ready for that. It has yet to be decided where I will be going, which makes it that much more work as I have to spend time apartment/house hunting and that's a time consuming job. The sooner to move is over, the sooner I can concentrate fully on everything else.

Picky much?

2011-05-31T09:07:00.005-07:00

I'm on at work and trying to mix carnation instant breakfast with my milk which is oddly slow going. My break is only so long here... /irrelevant comments

Yesterday was a slow progress day- unless spending 1.5hrs in the fabric store counts for anything. Probably not. Still, I purchased some much needed supplies, and then extra- you have to when the notions wall is half off!

The ideal for the day was to add the eyelets to the back of Aurora, hem the dress, then move on to Belle. The first part of that happened, and the eyelets were installed, but instead of moving on to the hem I decided to over stitch them with pink so the gold would not be visible, and the edges smoother. That is a very slow process, I have 10 out of 24 eyelets over sewn right now. Funnily enough I forgot my sample when I went to the fabric store, and was not going to go all the way back home to get it. To solve this issue I used my phone to look up one of my pictures online, and use that to color match. The screen is really true to life, the embroidery floss I chose was perfect!

Perhaps I'll get to Belle today- and if not, tomorrow. The dress on the whole is done (though it could do with being try cleaned), but I would like a new bodice. In making Belle I used Vogue #1094 (there's a story behind that, but I'll tell it later), which is lovely, but I forgot that darts fail of flat chested people. Seriously, I made V's shirt with darts and got it perfect on the first try. Belle took hours and hours of pinning, sewing, testing, and resituating before I had a product that would be presentable, and I'm still not very happy with the result.

Of course, with everything put together, I'm not going to rip out the current bodice and replace it, so I'm eyeing several different corset designs that could be worn over it. The best candidate at this time is Vogue #2810 (look at the red dress) which I'm making for a separate project. Before I cut out Belle's new bodice, I'll stitch up the corset I have out of this pattern, and see if it fits all right. You can see the original bodice in these pictures:

The first fitting of the dress as a whole

Trying the completed dress for the first time
Blasted cell phone cameras XD

There are a few other things that need to be done for Belle:
- curtain about the skirt needs to be taken off and the wire removed
- skirt needs to be re-scrunched
- gold braid needs to be sewn along the scrunch-seam lines
- skirt reassembled

So we'll finish Aurora and move on to all that. Still, sewing is the easy part- finding models is hard.

Changing gears

2011-05-30T08:30:00.007-07:00

Because, like I said before, I cannot do too much more for the Senshi until I can see the items on the people.

And otherwise known as an epically long post

So we've moved on to the Disney Princesses, and Aurora first.

When I made these costumes last year we did not have a fabric store in Flag. The roof had collapsed on JoAnn's and they were reconstructing the building; and Wal-mart sure as heck doesn't count. It made sewing a bit tricky and there were a couple of times I had to drive 1.5hrs to Prescott to get what I needed. Other times I would drive to Albuquerque, which is 6hrs away, but closer for to my parents so my Mom and I could go together. For these few and far between trips I made up lengthy shopping lists and collected scraps for color matching. It was during one such trip that I purchased fabrics for Aurora.

The original plan was to use a dusty rose brocade I had left over from another sewing project for Aurora's bodice. There was more than enough, even after self lining. I trimmed a corner off and headed to New Mexico, but then ran into a problem. When I reached the fabric store my scrap was not in my purse. This made matching tricky and in the end I had to guess at what I needed, because I would not have to make another trip before Halloween. In some ways this proved disasterous because the shades were completely off:

Top left: original for bodice. Taken with bad cell phone camera

Like I said, there would be no time to get to Prescott or anywhere else before I had to have these dresses finished, so I was stuck with whatever I could find at Wal-mart or local thrift stores. Prospects were not good, but I finally discovered a viable solution:

Better cell camera, but it focused on the Vibrams. XD

It may be hard to tell here, but the answer was to cover the brocade with a pink sheer that made it the perfect shade. I cut out pieces of both fabrics, basted them together, then made the bodice as usual- sort of. Nicely enough, one can still the the woven pattern through the sheer. That sort of comes in at the adjustment of the pattern.

I was amazed at how difficult it was to find a bodice pattern with princess seams that ended in a point. In the end I manipulate Simplicity Pattern #2851, adding different sleeves and removing the odd flapes on the back. The main problem was that when I was unsure of how I would make the bodice I stitched up the skirt and decided I would blend them later. That was not the smartest way to do it- though I have finally made it work.

The skirt has 14 gores in it

You can see that the bodice is not attached to the skirt

Shapeless because there's no one around to take the photos while I model
These colors are the most true to life.

My original model for Aurora fit the part wonderfully, but would not wear items off the shoulder. I don't mind this, of course, but I had to make something a bit different from the original to compensate, and truth be told, it would be a lot easier without the shoulders.

I am particularly fond of the upper portion of the skirt, even with the artistic license of the white braid. The solution i have seen on many Sleeping Beauty cosplays and dolls is to have make the skirt and then the "v"s are separate portion that are not stitched down. The result is that they sort of stick up or out like an odd star. I wanted them to be a part of the real dress, but making inlays would be a pain. What I did was make two skirts, one long of the dark and one short of the light, and stitched them both into the waistband. I cut out the appropriate angles- you'll notice that they are symetrical side to side, but not front to back; then topstiched them on. The braid was used to blend and hide the seamline. It would have been ideal to use a corresponding pink shade, but this leads us back to the lack-of-a-fabric-store conundrum. White or a fourth shade of pink were the only options, and white seemed like a better option as it was already incorporated into the outfit, instead of trying to add yet another color. I could change it now, to one of the pink shades, but I've decided I like the white- and I'm not taking the time to pick it out now, anyway.

Aurora is nearly complete. The dress needs hemmed and two more rows of eyelets need to be installed up the back, and then it'll be done. If I have time I'll be making a crown and a new necklace, but there are more pressing matters at hand.

As promised

2011-05-28T13:23:00.003-07:00

I love internet access at work. So helpful.
Here are the photos. No portraits or wig yet. With my hair I look more like Uranus anyway, which looks silly with Moon's costume. XD

It's a very full skirt, when raised it goes to my shoulders and still looks round.

Just imagine blonde pigtails and ignore the brown pixie

Better shot of the gloves. Admittedly, they're a bit of a pain to put on.

The choker is made of painted shrinky-dinks and sculpy with glass beads

The back bow looks much better now that it's stiffened

Line upon line- with plenty of lines this day

2011-05-28T00:08:00.001-07:00

I love the days when I go to work early because then my shift is over earlier and I feel almost as though I have a day off. I don't really, of course, and I do not at all appreciate the out-of-whack sleep routine I have because my schedule bounces around and is inconsistent- but sometimes it works to my advantage.

Like today, for example, when I was able to get a large amount of sewing accomplished. Bluetooth saved the day again, and during another phone call I was able to sew on Jupiter's second sleeve. When I no longer had to focus on the conversation I turned on Yu Yu Hakusho for background noise and sewed the back bows to both Moon and Jupiter. Jupiter's bows are still my favorite, I must remember to use that specific interfacing in the future. I picked Moon's apart the other day, stiffened them up, and resewed them. They bubbled slightly at this treatment, but are now satisfactorily repaired.

I also attached the collars of both senshi. The bodysuit design has no buttons, zippers, or other fasteners, so one is obliged to step into it and pull it up when dressing. The neckline needs to give to allow this to happen and for a while I mulled over several ways of attaching the collars so as not to inhibit the dressing process. In the end I decided to sew the back half of the collar to the body suit and the front half is attached by snaps. I had not difficulty donning and removing my suit when the snaps were undone.

The rest of both of these costumes may have to wait. There is not much left I can do to Jupiter until I see it on the model's person. I need to order dye to be able to color Moon's boots properly, and I cannot proceed with them until I have said product. At this point I can hem Moon's skirt, but hems are one of those things I do not like doing, so I keep putting it off. It is possible that Moon will have a cuirass like V is supposed to have, but my brother's friend's friend is, evidently, hard to pin down. I do not want to attach the front bow and brooch to the bodysuit only to have to pick it out, but I'm wary about waiting for a positive response. Jupiter will not be wearing a cuirass as they have to be custom made for each body.

Speaking of the brooch, I may have to make another one. What I have is made of sculpy, beads, and paint. I made it some four or so years ago and rather like it- but it is both heavy and cumbersome. It pulls at the fabric of the costume, distorts the front, and sticks out off the bow another full inch. All in all, it's clunky and too large for use. I am not sure how I will be designing the next one, but it needs to be lighter and slimmer- like cell phones, netbooks, and lithium ion batteries...

I took several pictures, (or rather, I modeled and made my brother play photographer) of the Sailor Moon costume thus far. These probably deserve a little more credit that to be tacked on to the end of this blog, so I'll be posting them tomorrow (or later today, depending on your timezone). In any event, I'm too tired to worry about up loading them now- gotta love those early mornings. ^^

Visible

2011-05-26T19:28:00.004-07:00

Progress, that is. See here:

Jyaaaaaa~n!

Everything is done, save the hem. I need my sister to model so I can determine a proper length, and that will not be happening for a while.

But what about that white part for the top? With the help with a connection of a connection of a connection we will be make a cuirass and covering it with satin to match. That won't be for a while though, so we're calling this done!

I love my bluetooth, in other news. After last night's post the plan was to go straight to bed, but I got a phone call and ended up staying up later. Being hands free, I was able to sew on one of Jupiter's sleeves. The sleeves are already stuffed when it comes time to put them on the body suit, so it must needs be that they be sewed on by hand. Just one more to go.

The plan this morning was to work on some of the Princesses today, but I have changed my mind. Instead I'll be finishing the Senshi then I'll move on to them. I don't want to jump around to much, because I'll certainly end up confusing myself. XP

Short and Simple

2011-05-25T21:34:00.004-07:00

I was shanghaied today- for very good reason, don't get me wrong! But I didn't get all the bags sewn up. After work today I spent two hours cutting out 93 more origami bags in coin purse and keychain sizes. I began stitching them up, but still have a long way to go. That's all right though, Thursday is my day off so I can spend all day chained to my sewing machine if need be.

Not having done anything else, there is really nothing more exciting than that to post now. In lieu of a better post, here are some pictures:

Spray painting the shoes

Sailor V's bow, but not her hair

Just a bit more...

2011-05-24T19:04:00.003-07:00

I picked up some extra hours at work today, which seriously cut into the amount of time I had to sew. Knowing this, I decided to work on something small: so that at the end of the day I still felt like I accomplished something. XD Accordingly, I pulled out some origami bags I started a while back to be sold at AK. Good thing too, because I didn't have nearly as much completed as I thought I did. x_x I will be selling these bags (a picture will be uploaded when I have a completed model) in three sizes: keychain, coin purse, and clutch. Looking at my current supplies, I need a lot more of the coin and keychain sizes to be suitably stocked at con. Add another thing to the to-do list.

We were able to get a bit more done over the weekend. I've left the Sailor V skirt with my sister. We've determined a proper hem length and it's now her job to add the bias tape about the bottom edge, and a hook & eye at the waistband. She also has the shoes, which we've coated in some 5 or so layers of paint already. The cloth base of the shoe is highly efficient at absorbing the paint with the result that the shoes are darker in some places than others. She'll continue to paint the shoes, and, when satisfied, coat them with polyurethane as a sealant.

There are 25 masks cut out right now. I have vinyl enough for about 100 total, but I'm content with what I have at this moment. I need to determine the best way to stiffen them up a bit, and then attach the elastic that will hold them to the face.

A few other little things:
- The front bow for V is complete
- On a whim I made a little golden crescent moon for V's forehead, so we won't have to draw it on
- V's choker is stitched up, and just needs the crescent moon glued to it
- The gold bands are attached to V's gloves, but need to be stitched down all the way

My shift during the next few days are more conducive to sewing projects, so I ought to have more exciting things to report soon.

Assemble the Minions!

2011-05-21T12:29:00.006-07:00

So I've put my sister to work on these costumes, and it's like having an employee or a minion. XD I don't know if she'd appreciate me saying that, but i will admit it's nice to be able to delegate some of the tasks.

Yesterday we whipped together most of Sailor V's shirt and nearly finished the skirt (I had started this a while back, and got as far as possible without a fitting).

The shirt was cut out in red, then the white was added

The top will be hidden once the breastplate is made

Stitching down the waistband

In order to get shoes that were the right style and shade I would have had to pay a lot more than was in my budget, so instead I decided to purchase a pair that was the right style and paint them. I found this pair on clearance for $10. It fell to my sister to rough them up so the paint will stick.

Is roughing the shoe like roughing the kicker?

Right now we're designing the mask, one of which will be worn by V and the other by moon. Shown here is the progression:

Too small. Too big. After all, Moon and V both have golden locks.

We'll be working on mask assembly this afternoon, hopefully. And we'll paint the shoes, once she had the foot bed taped over.

You Know What...

2011-05-18T22:37:00.004-07:00

I am irritated. Of course, in a week it will seem like a very minor set back and not really worth being irritated over, but for now, I am irritated.

You see, I am going on 2 hours sleep- approximately. I worked a very early shift today and my attempts to take a nap this afternoon did not go through. I then had to clean my apartment, pack up my car, and drive three hours to meet up with my family. So I'm actually doing quite well: I'm coherent, focused, and still able to drive well- not that I'm going out again tonight. Despite doing well now, I obviously was not doing well when I was packing and left out my pajamas, two slips, and the collar for Sailor Moon.

Thankfully I remembered some of the more important things: my toothbrush, orthopedic pillow, Kurama plushie and all of the necessary items to pass along to my sister so that she can work on some of the simpler parts of various costumes.

It had been my hope to attach the collar and bows to the Sailor Moon body suit, and hem up the skirt- thus completing 90% of the costume and allowing some initial photos to be taken (without the wig). That won't happen as planned, but I can at least still hem the skirt and tack down the last parts on the sleeves and waist band. And I brought the half-sewn pieces of V's skirt and the pattern+fabric for the shirt.

Really there's plenty that i can work on for the next couple of days, and I feel better already. It's just irksome to have wrenches thrown into the plans- and I'm still going to have to buy another slip. ^^;;

Side Note A

2011-05-18T08:42:00.005-07:00

Before we begin, an irrelevant note: my new favorite food is cream topped yogurt. Yum! Anything that gets me to eat... Yogurt in nearly any form a stand-by for me since it's quick to eat and good source of both proteins and probiotics. Add some granola for carbs and I actually find myself eating a decent meal- a miracle in and of itself.

All right, sorry for the tangent. My breakfast and eating habits are for theoretical human interest and don't have much of anything to do with this actual blog. XD

Yesterday while scoping out my competition I found this wig that I really like:

I'm not sure I'd pay $140, but I'm cheap and stubborn so I have to do everything myself. Still, the styling is the best I've seen.

I'm making a list of easier things I can get done this weekend. Tasks that don't require a lot of thought process and I can do while talking to other people, and/or set down and come back to. I don't really have time to be distracted for too long.

Fighting evil by- I mean... Friendly competition, anyone?

2011-05-17T19:25:00.013-07:00

Being a highly competitive person I have a habit of combing the internet for people who have done cosplays that I am doing. It's a bit time consuming, but a whole lot of fun comparing the costumes and deciding whether or not I like them. I did this for Sailor Moon while eating breakfast this morning. Here are some of the cosplays I found (good and bad):

Credit for each of these goes to the creator/cosplayer/photographer, each is linked to their origin

This is just a smattering, of course. DA has 7000+ in this search alone.

Out of all the pictures I've seen so far these two are my favorites:

This means that these two are the ones I am competing with, with my own costume. The other's too, of course, but I aim for the best.

Not much was accomplished today: I finished Sailor V's hair bow and zipped up Jupiter's choker. I can't see much being done within the next few days either. I'll have family in town for a bit, and they tend to be distracting- in a good way. Still, I'll try my hardest to focus!

Odango Atama

2011-05-16T21:30:00.005-07:00

One Sailor Moon style wig: check!
Well, it still has need of a little bit of work, like the stray hairs that need trimmed, and the colors better blended, but hey! it's practically a completed project.
WIPs:

Strands attached, ends melted and glued to ensure fixation

Close up you can tell the wigs are two different shades of blonde

One odango down, one more to go!

I should probably end here and go to bed- haha, funny joke. I said yesterday that I wanted to complete Jupiter as soon as possible, and there's very little waiting to be done for her: sleeves made and attached, choker made, and the bows and collar attached. Soooooo close. If I stop here and get to work, I may get half of that done tonight!

Gloves

2011-05-15T23:48:00.005-07:00

What I have to show for today:

This angle was a bit tricky

Oooooo, shapeless!

I made the red bands months ago, when I began construction of the Sailor Moon costume as a whole. Gloves, on the other hand (no pun intended), are one of those things that I'll pay to have someone else make. The small stitches, the odd shapes, everything about them combines for a time consuming experience and I have better things to do with my time.

When I purchased my wig the other day I also bought two pairs of elbow length white gloves, and spent sometime this afternoon sewing the bands onto one of the sets. The second will, of course, be used for V- Jupiter will probably have to provide her own, since I'm on a tight budget.

Funny thing about the bands, I stuffed them too full. Once they were sewn on I was unable to pull the gloves all the way up. There were only two things to-do:
a) Loose weight on my forearms (ahahaha, as if I'm not anorexic already)
b) Unstuff the bands
I chose "b". Instead of picking all the seams out I cheated and cut open a series of slits on the inside of each piece, removed the some of the stuffing, then closed. Looking at them, no one will ever be able to tell the difference.

I spent a decent amount of time on Jupiter today as well. The garment as a whole is now stitched together and the skirt hem about half way completed. For some reason, the lollipop was a major pain this time. The bows are made up also, and I think I like them more than Moon's. There were two different kinds of interfacing used for the bows and Jupiter's are keeping their shape better. I'll fix Moon's though, no doubt about it. In any event, I hope to have Jupiter fully constructed by tomorrow evening, and Tuesday at the latest. It will be nice to have one more costume done and out of the way.

Wig Alterations

2011-05-14T23:58:00.006-07:00

Sailor Moon will be the first wig that I've ever done more than just cut to style. Actually, I've only done that once for Kairi. Of course, I'm not to the level where I could stitch hair onto a base and ta-da! a wig, but it's a start...
After running to the store for blonde pony-tailers and bobby pins I have worked three hours straight on attaching the longer strands to the shorter base. I fear I may have been to hasty in the purchase of this base wig, as it's not quite the same shade of blonde and my brown hair is going to show through the netting if I don't do something about it. Still, the current product is not too bad, and I'll bleach my hair if need be. I'll spray color the wig or something too, for that matter...
Here it stands, after many trails and errors:

Maybe I'll upload a better picture- when my camera's battery isn't dead.

There have been multiple attempts to make the odgangos, and with no success, so we'll be trying a different way next week. This means another run to the craft store for a styrofoam ball or two.

Cosplays at Hand

2011-05-13T16:47:00.009-07:00

Anime Kaigi is in two months (61 days) and I have twelve cosplays I need to complete. I feel I'm going to die already.

1) Sailor Senshi: Moon, V, and Jupiter.
Moon and V (Codename uniform) were the only two originally. This was the perfect opportunity for me to make the Moon cosplay I've been wanting to do for ages, since this will be my sister's first con and she has to be Venus. She was the one who chose to be Codename style, which I approved of: it will better compliments her body shape, and makes her look less like a side-kick- since there were only going to be two of us.
Jupiter is an add on, having recently met someone who loved that we were doing a Senshi cosplay and wanted to join. Thankfully I owned many of the needed supplies already and the senshi body suits are pretty simple to make.
My sister, who is learning to sew, will be working on much of the simpler details of her costume, nicely enough, because I need to delegate as much as I can. XD

Moon: 80%
V: 25%
Jupiter: 50%

2)Kingdom Hearts Princesses
For Halloween last year I made six Disney Princess costumes: Ariel, Aurora, Belle, Cinderella, Jasmine, and Snow White.

This is a poor excuse for a picture...

At Anime Kaigi last year I won second place in the Hallway Cosplay Competition with my Labyrinth Sarah Ballgown (it would have been first, but I decided at the last minute to wear it and the final details weren't completed). Anyway, I need to top myself this year (obviously) so the plan is to do Kingdom Hearts Princesses.
If this group is going to win first place everything needs to be perfect, so there are several things I need to fix on most of these costumes. Plus I'm having Cinderella completely remade (more on that later), and I need make both Kairi's and Alice's costumes too.
All the sewing seems easy in comparison to the other task at hand: finding models. Word is out on DA, FB, and AK's forum, but it's proving to be no mean feat. Anyone interested in being a models for me?

Alice: 40%
Aurora: 80%
Belle: 90%
Cinderella: 5%
Jasmine: 100% (unless my yet to be discovered model wants to wear one like the movie)
Kairi: 50%
Snow White: 95%

3) Lulu
As in FFX.
This has been planned for ages but Lulu requires specifics and it's taken time to collect them all. Actually, I still am not sure that we have all the necessary belts, but we'll get there. We've managed do collectable other necessary items, and Silurian, for whom the costume is being made, is taking care of all jewelry/hair accessories.

Lulu: 5%

4) Sesshoumaru
Actually, we'll see about this one as a whole. Sesshy's kimono is being made for Silurian as a present, and of detailed quality as so it can match her decor and be hung on a wall. The theoretical plan will be to have her boyfriend wear it at con, but I'm not going to have time to make the other garments, and I don't know where they're going to find the armor and other articles. We'll see how far past the kimono we get...

Sesshoumaru: 15%

Final count: 12 or 5.65 if one totals up the percentages complete and determines the remaining amount.... Either way- between the costumes and the goods I need to prepare to sell, I ahve my work cut out for me...