Cosplay Throwbacks . . . Arwen

When? 
I made this in 2012 for Medieval Mdina. I wanted a Medieval-themed dress to wear, and I'd always loved Arwen's beautiful Blood Red dress. 


How? 
This was made in my early sewing years. I didn't know much about materials and was on a tight budget. I got lucky at a charity shop and found a blue stretch velvet dress to use as the base. THe upper sleeves are made from cotton that I hand-painted to create a paisley pattern. The lower sleeves are made from crushed velvet. The trouble with having non-stretch sleeves and a stretchy bodice is that the arm-scye was incredibly tight, so I had to add gussets to make it fit.

Has it aged well?
I don't have this costume any more; I ended up cutting it up for other projects. Based on the pictures, the dress looks fine, but not very accurate. 

Would I remake it? 
I still love the design, so if I had the opportunity I would love to remake this. At the moment, though, it isn't a priority. There are some other costumes from Lord of the Rings that I would like to make, such as Eowyn's Shieldmaiden dress.

What would I change?
I would use better quality materials. I might also try to be more accurate to the original design; for example, I would avoid using a princess seam pattern. I would also wear a wig or curl my hair.  

Cosplay Throwback: Bellatrix Lestrange

When?
Way back in 2010 for a Christmas costume party. 

 How?
I bought a stretchy black velvet dress and added silver puff paint to the top to mimic embroidery. I made a corset from pieces of a leather skirt (this was back when Threadbanger did sewing tutorials, so I used instructions from their Pirate costume video).

 The sleeves are made from velour with eyelet tape sewn on. Everything is laces together with black wool. The necklace is made from polymer clay and a length of wool. 

Has it aged well?
Not really ,since I disassembled most of it for other projects! It looks very handmade in the photos, but has a certain charm to it, except for my hair, which looks very sad. My hair is actually difficult to curl: it is very straight and thick, and though I can make it wavy, curls are usually beyond me. I also hadn't discovered back-combing at the time. My makeup skills have certainly improved since then!

Would I remake it?
As interesting a character as Bellatrix is, I don't particularly wish to remake this costume. If I do, it will be an interesting experience to see how far I've come in seven years of costume making.

Cosplay Throwbacks: Rapunzel

When? Back in 2012, though I never actually wore this costume and sold it soon after making it.

 How? This was made from cotton sateen, some kind of furnishing fabric, chiffon, faux silk dupioni, and a pair of tights. I painted a lot of the details with acrylic paint and fabric paint, such as the "embroidery" and the stripes on the sleeves. 

 i think the skirt is a half circle skirt. I painted on most of the details 

 I think the design looks surprisingly good, considering my lack of experience with fabric painting 

 This was also one of the first costumes I made which I used piping and tried to make sure that all the edges were properly finished. 

 I also tried to make this as accurate as I could, but did take a few short cuts; for example, instead of making the lilac corselet a full piece, I turned it into a stomacher and a panel for the back; both of them attach to the main bodice with snaps. 

 Has it aged well? Hard to say, since I made it so long ago and don't have many good photos. I think it looks quite good. 

 Would I remake it? It was fun to sew, but I probably wouldn't remake it. I would, however, remake the miniature clay Pascal that I made (sadly I can't find photos!)

Cosplay Throwbacks: Wonder Woman

When? 2013. I made this for Malta Comic Con.

 How? The corset is made of stretch velvet because that was the only nice red material that I had at the time. I made a Tudor corset using plastic boning and some kind of twill. The shorts are made of a slightly stretchy star print material. I made the pattern myself. The Belt, Bracers, and Eagle are made from the back side of a piece of vinyl that I spray painted gold, then attached to the costume with snaps. The bracers close with velcro. The tiara is made from craft foam; I painted the star red with nail polish. THe bootcovers are made from the same stretch velvet as the corset, and white lycra.

 Has it aged well? I think it looks quite good, though if I made a Wonder Woman costume today it would make a more realistic version. If I wanted to keep to the classic design, I would alter the shorts to be slightly more flattering and use a bustier pattern instead of the Tudor corset.

Would I remake it? I'd love to make another Wonder Woman costume, but probably not this variant. I like Gal Gadot's costume in Batman vs Superman, and I've seen some Xena-inspired designs that look great.

Cosplay throwback: Lady Gaga

When?

I made the American Flag bikini from Telephone in 2010; I think it was for Notte Bianca. I made the Red Leotard from an event in 2011 (JapanEase) - I wore the latter for a Joker/Harley "Bad Romance" skit (hence the cake: it was for Puddin' and Harley's anniversary - and a really convenient prop for all the backup dancers to hide behind before we made our appearance). These are two of my earliest costumes. 

 

How?

American flag bikini: I chopped up red and blue t-shirts, painted on the stars and stripes with acrylic paint, and stamped the little stars on to a piece of blue cotton for the headband. The top is fastened with snaps. The wig is a cheap Halloween wig. I think I attempted to paint the star on my face with a silver lip gloss and black eye liner.

Red leotard: Made from an old red jersey dress. I made a leotard pattern - I think I traced around some shorts and a t-shirt. The cowl is just a rectangle of fabric sewn into a tube. The belt was black stretchy fabric and felt.

 Have they aged well?
Ehhh . . . the Stars and Stripes bikini hasn't. It's pretty ugly. I didn't even keep it-I think it got chopped up for another project. I think the Red Leotard was more successful: it fitted and looked pretty good.

 Would I remake it?

No. It was fun to wear these, but I don't have any particular desire to revisit Gaga. 

Throwback: Babydoll

I haven't done a post like this for a while. I've been cosplaying for about 5 and a half years now, so I suppose this is technically an old costume.

I actually remade this costume about 3 times until I was happy with it. \

 Made this before the film came out. I was quite inexperienced and tried making it out of jersey. The stripes were painted on. The skirt and top didn't even match: I tried dying the top blue, but it was the wrong shade. The wig was a cheap carnival wig, and I'm not sure what happened with the hair band. The shoes are on point, though, as was the sword belt. Oh, and I think I had a cardboard sword, which really wan't up to fighting ninjas.

I totally remade the costume out of cotton drill. I had to make the skirt twice because the first time I made it too short.  I used SecreLifeofaBionerd's tutorial for the skirt, and made the top from an altered Burda pattern.

The stripes were made from white bias tape. I used muslin to make the sailor collar and neck scarf. i actually dyed the scarf with watered down acrylic paint to get that strange bluish tint. The stripes on the collar were painted on with acrylic paint.

  I upgraded to a slightly better wig (not much better. Paid 30 Euro for it, and it shed a lot and the wefts showed a lot. Not a good investment). Whoa, my wig styling skills need improvement. Those ponytails ae very bunched up at the top (probably to stop the wefts showing).

I made the gun and holster too (can't find the holster, and sold the gun and costume so no photos of the whole ensemble). The gun was a simple toy gun with gold cor to tie the charms on.

The charms are not pretty. I used spray paint, nail polish, and acrylic paint to colour the polymer clay pieces. They were fragile, and the spray paint/varnish didn't dry properly, so the charms were quite sticky. They are also quite ugly pieces.

Despite the costume's flaws, I think it was a good piece of work for my skill level at the time (even if I sewed the sleeves on upside down by mistake). I finished all the edges, and sewed everything neatly. The buttonholes were neat, and I was recognizably Babydoll. Not 100 percent accurate, but I was working with limited images of the character. I don't know if I will ever revisit Babydoll; perhaps the glamorous show outfit she wears, or the amazing coral corset.

Cosplay Throwback: Giselle

When? Oh, this one takes me back . . . all the way to 2010 XD
I liked Enchanted, and for some reason I wanted to make Giselle's curtain dress.

I have no clue. I guess because it was difficult and I like a challenge? Whatever. I tried to make it.

How? 
According to Lady E's blog Lady E's blog, the dress used in the film was made of embroidered silk and chiffon. Due to my budget, this translated to me buying heaps of aqua coloured cotton and curtain lining. Quality materials- what are those? Even the wig was cheap. I also bought some very nice lace from local shops from the trims.

I actually drafted my own pattern. It wasn't too horrible, though the fit at the back left a lot to be desired, because it ballooned out when I put on the zip and looked very ugly. The dress also lacked the flow of the one in the film because I didn't make the panels quite wide enough. The white part of the dress was just slightly gathered rectangles of white curtain lining over pink lining material.  The flowers were all made of lining material painted with acrylic paint.



Has it aged well? 
No. Mainly because I cut it up to use in other projects. But even just looking at the photos, it looks old, and not at all accurate. I didn't even attempt the embroidery, and skimped on the materials, though that may be a good thing, because I wouldn't have know how to handle nice cloth like silk or sateen.

Would I remake it? 
Probably not, mainly because there are other Disney characters I like more, such as Merida and Mulan, though Giselle is still very funny and sweet. It's a shame, because I have the perfect pattern for it. I do like the style of the dress, so I might try my hand at an open regency gown.

Left http://doxiequeen1.wordpress.com/?s=historical+gown
Right http://www.etsy.com/listing/154330157/reserved-regency-dress-court-robe-jane?ref=sr_gallery_1&ga_search_query=regency+gown+red+gold&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=MT&ga_search_type=all&ga_facet=regency+gown+red+gold