NDK 2013 Costumes Part Eight

Nan Desu Kan 2013 is fast approaching! Who is getting nervous?!?

Being up in Fort Collins most of the time has really put a dampener on my costume progress. I may have to drag my sewing machine and supplies up here.

I did bring supplies to glitter the lace sleeves for my Jareth costume.

Necessary supplies

I mixed some modge podge, blue fabric glitter paint, and dark blue, blue, and silver glitter into this paste.

What it looked like at first.

It looks light because the modge podge hasn't dried.

After the first coat. I decided to do a second. And while it was still wet, I put a little more glitter straight on.

The finished product! Pretty right? If a little stiff. That's OK.

All pretty and sparkly!

I also brought all my yarn up for my Lady Doctor costume. My scarf is about half-way finished now! Though that's difficult to really tell from this picture:

I have actually added at least another foot since this was taken.

I'm excited about it!

And I started to make Nausicaa's leg warmer things. That's the technical term. I may end up having my Nausicaa costume finished first. I will feel better if I can knock at least that one out.

With some help from Krissy, I started to fit my baggy clothing for my Doctor Who costume, but I have yet to actually sew anything.

I did order my Jareth wig which will hopefully be here just in time. I also ordered contacts for Jareth:

One hazel and one blue!

Cool right? They are non-prescription so I won't be able to see well, but they were much cheaper. We will see how they work out!

Because NDK is less than two weeks away, I finally broke down and brought my sewing machine and some of my stuff up to my dorm room. Otherwise, I highly doubt I can finish everything. Wish me luck! I hope everyone else is getting ready!

NDK 2013 Costumes Part Seven

Costume update time!

First and foremost, we have decided not to do Rogue and Gambit this year. Isaac wasn't ready to put the time, money, and effort into it and I didn't feel like doing all of the work, so it is out. Perhaps next year. I hope so anyway. It would be totally awesome.

Nausicaa:

I made the cartridges to put on the front of my dress! Here is how:

Bead tubes! After I removed the lids.

First, I wrapped them in orange felt. Hooray for hot glue guns.

Then I wrapped the felt in strips of the matching blue fabric.

And we have a cartridge!

I sewed them together and sewed them to a solid piece of fabric.

My finished cartridge packs.

And then I sewed them onto the front of my little dress! Nausicaa is nearly finished! I just need to make her little leg warmers.

Jareth:

I finally got some lace for the sleeves. I need to put blue glitter on them.

While I was trying the jacket on, I realized that it wasn't fitting quite right because, like a dolt, I forgot the band and buttons in the back.

See those there? Yeah, I need to add that and that will help the coat fit properly. I am working on that currently.

Along with this, I decided to safety pin the front of the coat so it will stay in place with the vest since the coat doesn't close. I just put one on each side near my waist. It will help with the coat fitting better and keep my costume nice at all times without me having to adjust it every two minutes. I was going to sew in snaps, but I am starting to run short on time.

I also haven't hemmed the bottom of the coat yet because I am having trouble getting it in just the right shape. It just needs some more adjusting, but it is fairly simple so it will be done soon! Then I just get to glitter and bedazzle the crap out of the coat!

I ordered the wig! I got it from Amphigory: Punky Wigs. It should get here *JUST* in time (I hope...) and then I will need to put some blue in it. And spray it with glitter (I'm sensing a pattern here).

I also ordered contacts! One blue and one brown! Non prescription, but that's OK. It's cheaper and who needs to see properly?

New Costume Announcement!

Lady Fourth Doctor!

Yes, you heard correct! A friend of mine is dressing as a female version of the tenth doctor. I decided to join her at the last moment.

I have been watching a lot of Classic Doctor Who lately and I really like them. I may have considered the second Doctor, but the fourth is more distinctive.

So I went to a thrift store and found these:

Everything will need some altering. The fourth Doctor is possibly the frumpiest Doctor ever, which makes me laugh. Though he gets less frumpy later when they change his clothes out as his saga goes on.

And then, of course, his signature scarf which I will be crocheting!

So that's that! Stay tuned! I am getting excited!

NDK 2013 Costumes Part Six

I have been slacking!!!

Get on the ball, Samara! Really now!

Ok, so here is what I have.

Lately I have been diligently working on my Jareth costume.

The vest and dickey are finished. I am nearly finished with the coat. Here are some progress pictures on that.

Here is the necessary pocket I sewed into the inside of the jacket!

Without sleeves.

With sleeves.

Coat almost finished. Just need to hem the bottom and add the lace on the sleeves. Then to glitter it up!

I also started working on the broach. I am having an interesting time with this, but this seems to be the best idea right now.

It isn't finished yet, don't panic. I'm sure it will look better when it's finished...

I will try to put enough silver beads on afterwards to cover the little holes. I wonder if I should have done that part first... Well, you live, you learn!

(By the way, this is what it's supposed to look like...

That's never going to happen. Shhh...)

I still need to order my wig. Should do that soon; I keep telling myself. Also, to wear contacts or to not wear contacts? I'd love to, but it's expensive... especially since they would need correction because I like to see.

That has been my main focus so far. I figure if I can finish one very ambitious costume, the rest will be easier.

I have made a bit of progress with Nausicaa. I am currently figuring out how to do the cartridges on her top.

I am thinking the mask probably won't happen. Mostly because I haven't figured out a great way to make it and I'm afraid that I will run out of time trying.

As for Rogue and Gambit? Nada. Zip. Zero. I'd better order my costume soon. Then I will feel as though I am being productive.

NDK 2013 Costumes Part Five

I have made a little bit of progress on my costumes.

Jareth:

Mostly, I wanted to report that I finished the dickey for my Jareth costume. It was kind of a rough ride, but look how it turned out!

And here it is with the finished vest!

So that's going well. I started working on the coat--the biggest and most intimidating piece (well, the broach aside). Apparently the pattern didn't call for making the coat front with the lapels double sided. As I began to put them together, I realized they needed to be and therefore had to go buy more fabric, which was a bummer. And I couldn't match the color exactly (different dye lot) so I will be working with that. If the inside is the new shade of blue, the lapels will be that color but they will end up covered with glitter and what-not anyway, so it won't matter! That's the idea, anyway, I haven't gotten very far with it yet.

I need to order my wig!!!

Rogue and Gambit:

Sadly, no real progress here... That's bad news. But I need Isaac's help for some of it and we haven't had time. And I need to order my Rogue jumpsuit!

Nausicaa:

I found a material that exactly matched the jean dress I found! So I have starting on her little leg warmers and the cartridge holders that go on her chest. I haven't decided how to attach them yet, however. I might have to do some creative sewing. I was going to use orange felt for the cartridges themselves. I think I can sew the jean holders on before inserting the felt. I will keep you posted as I get further along.

That's about it for now! I really need to get on this!

NDK 2013 Costumes Part Three

A costume update here!

JARETH:

I sewed snaps onto my Jareth vest. So the vest and belt are complete. Now to finish the rest. "The rest" being a dickey and the jacket.

I also haven't figured out pockets for this one. Maybe I will put a pocket on the front of the vest where the jacket will hide it. Remember cosplayers: you will need a place to put your phone, money, and ID!

I haven't decided on boots yet. Cat, my Sarah, said that she wouldn't wear heals. I am just a touch taller than her normally, so I just need a little heal. That's good! I will see what I have or what I can find.

I also still need the wig and then I will need to color parts of it and add glitter.

I studied the broach that he wears and decided to make it. After looking at all of my jewelry-making options, I decided to bead it. My mom used to do tons of beading, so I commandeered her materials and will, hopefully, start that soon. I will show that with pictures and such.

I found this material on sale. All shiny silver! Since it was on sale, I decided to line the lower part of Jareth's coat. I wasn't going to, but now I guess I have to.

ROGUE:

I found this amazing jacket for my Rogue costume at Old Navy:

I know it's a bit longer than hers, but I have, shall we say, a lot of "junk in the trunk," and I think it's best to cover some of that up considering I will be wearing a skin-tight unitard... ("junk in the trunk" = I have a big butt).

Also, we have pockets! Yay! And I didn't have to make them myself! Double yay!

The whole unitard thing is still tough going. I might just have to pay someone for one because I really, REALLY don't want to make it by hand. The search is still on, but it's not going well. I will probably end up ordering one that I found for about 45 dollars.

I also found that I can't buy the gloves or make the boots until I have the unitard so I can make sure my yellows match. So that is the hold up here. I did get a simple brown belt, however. I think I can make the X-men belt buckle that she wears.

GAMBIT:

I got a fake costume chest for Isaac's costume. I haven't done anything with it yet, sadly. But I did buy the red and blue fabric to cover it with! And regular old black gloves. I will cut the fingers off later.

One odd note about the costume chest: it has protruding nipples... Which I may have to file down or something...

Yeah. I am embarrassed to own this. I can't wait to cover it up.

I haven't figured out what to do with his pants. Isaac won't want to wear leggings, so I guess I need to find black jeans. I don't know if I want to actually sew the red on the sides of the thighs or paint them. It may depend on the fabric.

So we still need his coat (I'm thinking thrift store?), boots (which will be interesting, but I have a few ideas), pants, and the thing on his head. I found something that will work, but it wasn't black, it was white. Or a ski mask may work.

NAUSICAA:

Sadly, no new progress here. I have been keeping my eye out for brown loafer-type shoes and leg-warmers. I may make those myself since I will have to buy some matching fabric for the cartridges on her top. My Rogue belt may work nicely for her outfit, though. That's good.

Worry not, the denim tunic that I found for this costume does have pockets! Woo! Two costumes with pockets built in!

I also have decided that I can use my own hair for Nausicaa and Rogue as long as I keep it this red-ish color. For Rogue I will diffuse and curl it and spray some white on the front.

Well, that's that! More soon!

NDK 2013 Already? Oh Yes!

NDK, the local anime convention, doesn't happen until September. However, if you are an enthusiastic cosplayer, you have to get an early start!

As some of you may know, my friends and I are doing a Ghibli group cosplay and I am going to be Nausicaa! Here is what she looks like:

A far off picture.

More detail.

And while I was thrift store shopping, I found this!

It is basically perfect for my costume!

Then I was at Target with Katja who found these:

Apparently no one wants yellow tights so they were on sale!

I now have a good portion of my costume finished! I just need to do the details for the shirt, find or make some leg warmers, find or make the belt, and get some brown shoes! I think I have red earrings that will work and I will keep my hair it's current length. I am debating brown contacts. We will see.

I believe Cat, the professional cosplayer of our group, is making me a plushie ohmu. In case you don't know what that is:

Baby ohmu.

They are surprisingly cute, I think.

So that is that! Now to work on my Jareth costume? That sounds like a good next step since I already have the patterns and material.