Remaining Tasks
- kimono (50%)
- obi
- accessories (10%)
contacts (100%)- wig
- mask
- plugs
- socks
- shoes
I started this costume sort of on a whim. I had finished as much as I could on Quistis for the time being and still wanted to sew. I had been meaning to do this cosplay and always envisioned waring it for some sor of New Year's thing cause it is her Festival Kimono so I chose to wear it for Anime LA in the first week of January. I went to see what fabric I had and shock & elation (!) I had *all* the fabric I needed. I will finish this costume without spending over $50.
First I stitched the lining to the outer layer with the right sides facing together all the way around save for a good 2"-3" to turn it right side out. Iron flat your seams and secure with a top stitch for a cleaner look. This is the point where you sew closed the opening that you had left; make sure the raw edges are inside the garment. The main three pieces of the kimono took a little bit of time, but nothing too long. These were then sewn together and the sleeves were then begun.
The design on the sleeves and the red band at the top I decided to do in vinyl to keep to the plugsuit sort of feel. It also makes a nice contrast to the kimono fabric. First time around I measured out the fabric and forgot to add the seam allowance so they turned out a 1/2 size too small so these will need to be redone. Boo. I left those and moved on to the neck band with was a simple rectangle of ed vinyl "ditch stitched" into the top stitching of the kimono so it looks like it is peeking out from a 2nd layer underneath. Since the sleeves are the only thing left for the kimono I will be finishing these up and then starting on the obi and accessories.
Remaining Tasks
sleeves (100%)pants (100%)- skirt (85%)
- shirt (75%)
- accessories (95%)
glassescontactshair clipshoesgloves- hip chains
- whip
Wow... that went petty fast! I got the majority of this done in two days.
The shirt took a bit of altering at about the shoulder points after the final fabric had been cut. I marked it with a water soluble pen, made my cuts and re hemmed it. This time it came out very well. Next I cut strips for my seam lining around the armholes and outer shape of the garment. These are to be added later as I cannot entirely assemble the garment until after the embroidery has taken place. Hopefully I will be able to do that sometime this weekend. However, the are ready on stand-by. I have a temporary zipper in place, but it is too log by a good 8" or so. Bleh. I plan on picking up a 10"-12" reversible black zipper at the fashion district soon. I also ended up redoing the collar. I made it thinner and taller to differentiate it from the Mandarin Collar look that it had going for it. It was very successful in the end and I am pleased with the outcome.
Since there was nothing left to do with the bulk of the costume, I worked on gathering the accessories and found that I already was in possession of most of the items I needed for this. Awesome! All that is left on his from are the hip chains (a cinch to get) and her whip (which will be super easy to make after a trip to Home Depot). I next focused on making the sleeves with fabric I found that fit perfectly. I am very glad I have a collection of such extras now for such on occasion. Anyways I started out making maroon pleather sleeves because I dug the weight and look. The fabric was initially for a Kula Diamond cosplay that I have since abandoned. I later found a canvas type of fabric which I thought would be better suited so I scrapped the first set and made the new set with no trouble. My suspicions were right; the new sleeves came out looking much better. They moved better, had less shine, and just *fit* over all. I will be attaching them to the shirt with a hidden hook-eye clasp under the shirt so the sleeves will be removable and I can thusly incorporate them into my day to day attire as I see fit. :D
That's pretty much it for Quistis right now. She is looking fabulous thus far and I'm sure I will be even more pleased after embroidering it all and piecing the last of it together. Gleeee. Cannot wait for Heather to be my Rinoa!
I'll be getting better pics at a later date. For now all I have are some snapshots from a party. Anyways, Halloween is long since past and the secret has yet to be revealed! So here it is, from Metalocalypse, Dr.Rock the rock & roll klown and a dethklown dancer.
/elation
My boyfriend is a breakup artist for Metalocalypse so I had been watching a lot of it as of late. While I love all the characters, Dr.Rockso never fails to leave me in a fit of giggles. The first time I saw him and heard him speak I felt a massive grin spreading on my face. I knew immediately that I wanted to make my friend, Phil, a Dr.Rockso costume at some point because he was just to perfect for the roll.
Remaining Tasks
skirt (100%)belt (100%)studded accessories (100%)leg/arm warmers (100%)boots (100%)- top (99.99%)
- prosthetics (20%)
- wig
- prop
I started out my night by tackling the leg and arm warmers. My plan was to use my hentai socks as reference since they are basically the right size, etc. Much to my glee it worked! I had the elastic sewn around the top and the toes closed off in no time at all. The arm warmers were going to be easier. Less fabric equals less sewing time. The process was essentially the same as making a sleeve minus the bell curve of the shoulder. Lucky for me the fabric was pretty much self finishing so there was no need to hem the edges. METAL!
After placing everything on my dress form I realized the only other thing really left to do was the other boot cover so I set to work. I was very pleased to discover that I had already drawn out the measurements on the back of the fabric from my initial boot cover so it was only a matter of cutting, adding elastic, and sewing it closed. The only irritation during this was having to cut the loose fur out of my feed dogs and presser foot. XD It happen though. No bigs.
Lastly I reattached one of the spikes that was clipped from making my wrist bands and chocker. I needed a band of three and only had a pair and a single left over from it. Gorilla Glue fixed this. :D I need to paint those spikes and add them to the top and it is all done. Awesome!
Only thing left from here on out id some minor additions to the prosthetic piece, styling the wig, airbrushing some finishing touches on the outfit, and the makeup the day of. SO EXCITED!!!! Now I just have to *start*and*finish* the other one.
Remaining Tasks
- top (90%)
- skirt (80%)??
- boots (50%)
- studded accessories (50%)
- prosthetics (20%)
- leg/arm warmers
- wig
- prop
I first went about tackling resizing my studded accessories. I bought two overly large studded rubber collars at a Halloween shop, both of which were to large to suit their purpose. I needed one choker and two wrist bands. This was accomplished by a quick snip of my scissors and some sticky back Velcro. All that is left to do with these is to paint them purple. Rock.
Next I went to tackle the skirt, which *seemed* easy enough. But I was soon distracted with visions of an original design so I drafted a pattern for that while it was in my head. Simple, but cute. :) I also, was a complete nub and forgot to include seam allowances so it is TOO SMALL and will have to be redone. I though I could fudge the design a bit and wasted much time trying to accommodate this, but in the end... it will just have to be re-done. Gah! At least I have a surplus of fabric and it is a very simple skirt to make. It would be faster if I had my serger, but alas...... /cry
The last part I worked on was the fur coverings for the boots. Lime green faux fur! I love it! Simple enough process for these. I laid the boot down on the fabric and measured the length and width in the necessary places and got to cutting. It turned out great. :) My only gripe is that the boots I have are white and they, too should be lime green. I have seen them around Hollywood Blvd and will probably just break down and buy a pair for it.
I am officially reviving this blog. It has been entirely too long since I have posted here and I am seeking to change that. :) Following Halloween I will be finishing my EVA (MGS3) and Starting to hit hard on Quitis Trepe (FFVIII). In the mean time I am busting my ass to finish my secret project for Halloween that I promise is going to be hilarious and way rad. GuhguhguhYEAH! You'll have to wait and see what it is.
While working on said secret project yesterday (which I will start blogging about tomorrow) I accidentally made a skirt pattern for a design I came up with on a whim. Go muslin mock ups. XD It's going to take me no time at all to make so I may do that one of these weekends assuming that I don't fall prey to procrastination and video games again. Oh my.
Tonight marks the first step in a non-cosplay creation. Of course, as I am fairly deeply rooted in costume design, all of my outfits and creations tend to be a tad "theatrical" in their own regard and this new one is certainly no exception. Expect sketches of said new design before too long. ;)
Here she is! Sadly, the karaoke event that I was supposed to be competing in was a bust because a friend of mine hijacked my CD with all of my tracks on it and didn't pick up his phone (apparently he was *sleeping* instead of working his volunteer post at the con). So that fell through, which made me fairly steamed (to say the least), but at least I made myself a spiffy Noir cosplay so the whole experience wasn't a complete waste. I had been meaning to cosplay as Mireille for a while now; besides, there is always next year...
The Shadowloo Group came together splendidly this year at Anime Expo 2007. Unfortunately, two of our Dolls that were carpooling to the LBCC got stuck in massive traffic after work and were unable to make it in time to the shoot. Ah well, we still had the majority of the Dolls and I am glad I was able to be a part of it. :) At any rate, I present to you: Aprile of The Shadowloo Dolls!
