Alice and Mystery Cosplay

A lot of cosplay related stuff has been going on. My Halloween costume is almost finished, and just needs a zip. Meanwhile, the costume for our Malta Comic Con group cosplay contest entry is coming together slowly.

Alice first

Found the trim: alas, it was white, so I had to go over it with a Pro marker. It's actually quite a pretty colour. The trim was sewn on with a simple straight stitch (I glued the trim down beforehand). The trim was inexpensive, at 15 c a metre.


Now for the mystery costume

Here's the mystery costume! The top part is a kimono style top with long sleeves. The sleeves still need to be sewn. We (this is a group project) used this tutorial, created by Taeliac on deviantart. I am so glad we made a paper draft beforehand, because we made a lot of mistakes, and would have wrecked out fabric. 

The fabric is a loosely woven cotton that we found in the furnishing section (this section is GOLD. Do not underestimate the usefulness of furnishing fabric in cosplay). The yellow material is also loosely woven cotton, picked from the bargain bin.

Pinning the collar on was a little difficult, because the kimono base kept wrinkling up.

The half completed kimono top, complete with ties.

The ties are thin bias strips, folded and sewn to make strings. They were attached to each side of the kimono top, inside and out (that's how they're attached in martial arts gi, so I used that for reference).

So far, I'm really pleased with how both costumes are going. if I get the chance to upload more photos, I will

Another Star Wars skirt

 Another Star Wars skirt. This one has an elastic waistband, and is very comfy.

The logo was painted on with acrylic paints: I think it turned out pretty good.

May the force be with you :)

Star Wars skirt

 Hey, Nerf Herders, look what I found! Stars Wars pillow cases. For one euro each. Being a sucker for pillow cases, I bought them, and decided to turn them into skirts.

 Pillow case skirts are very easy to make. You just use a seam ripper to open up the side seams, to create a big rectangle. Then you made a tube of fabric the same length as your pillowcase, sew that to the pillow case, sew up the side (leaving a gap in the waist band) and feed elastic through. I cheated a little and used stretchy material for the waist band.

 I love this skirt. I even managed to add a little pocket in the side seam, made of umbrella material (yay recycling). 

 It was a little difficult to attach the waistband to the skirt. I had to stretch the waistband out as I sewed, so I had to go slowly.

 Actually, does this skirt look better against gold or black? 

This skirt is too big for me (it's an M/L), so I will be selling it, probably on Etsy or at Malta Comic Con in December.
There will be another skirt on the way soon.

Sy fy Alice dress: pleats

I added pleats to the back of the dress for more accuracy. They aren't entirely accurate, but since I've never added pleats to a dress like this, I'm still pleased with them.

The pieces are triangular, and inserted into slits that were cut into the back of the dress. The photo shows the dress after being hemmed. It's progressing very well: all it needs is the ric rac trim, some facing, and a zip.

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FOR SALE

Sailor Mars costume for sale

Little Blue Dress

The Jessica Rabbit costume is not happening: I think it's beyond my skill level at the moment. Maybe in the future it will get converted into a Katniss costume, but for now I'm working on a different project, inspired by one of my favourite TV films.

I loved Sy Fy's take on Alice in Wonderland. 'Alice' managed to feature most of the elements and characters from the book (they managed to include the Duchess! Almost no one bothers with her, which is a shame because she is an awesome character). Alice's blue dress is perfect for a simple Halloween costume.

Here's my progress so far.

 The material is blue chintz. The blue is a little brighter than the actual dress, but close enough for my purposes. I used McCalls M4491: heavily altered! Mainly because the shape was the closest to what I wanted. Actually, does anyone find that the pattern runs large? I had to take my dress in about 1 or 2 centimetres all over.

 I found a really great website after I started making this dress http://bellaforbiddenedwardmylife.blogspot.com/2009/12/alice-on-syfy-channel.html It reveals that I got the placement of my pockets wrong (this dress has pockets! which will be really useful for my phone and small change), but got most of the other details right. 

Here is the sewn front. I added a facing to the neckline for a neat finish. The dress still needs work: currently it is a little too long, needs a zip, and ric rac decoration. Also, need to figure out how to add a box pleat to the back.

Observe the pleat

Overall, I really like the way this dress is turning out, and am looking forward to cosplaying Alice.