Costumes Part Four

Sorry I haven't updated in so long! Work got kind of crazy--I worked some late shifts and had some meetings, etc. We should be about back to normal now, so be expecting more updates.

So! Costumes!

I am pleased to report that Yoko Kurama is almost complete! I fixed up the ears and the tail (the tail wasn't long enough or fluffy enough for me and the ears weren't fox-y enough). I used a white (that ended up being a little off-white, unfortunately) fake fur and a little bit of quilt batting for the tail. I just wrapped it all up and hot glued everything. So this is what we have now:

I also managed to put in a little pocket. Let me tell you: they are much easier to do BEFORE you actually sew the pants together. I think I have learned my lesson. And the little sash to tie the tunic shut and attach the tail is finished. Yay! Just need a wig now! (And contacts? I still haven't decided. Based on my financial situation, I am guessing no...). My friend, Cat, helped me find some good wigs for all of my costumes, now just to save up and purchase them. I will post links when I make my final decisions.

For Shuiichi Kurama I have finished the pants. With a pocket! I haven't tackled the shirt yet because frankly it intimidates me a little. That is the next step, however. Hopefully next week will see some of that finished.
 I still haven't done anything besides the belt for Jareth. Cat has done my mask prototype, but I haven't seen it. I'm sure it is going to be great! I am scared about doing his outfit, too. I might leave most of it for last.

We have all been working on our Katamari heads! My friend, Jhenn, is amazingly brilliant! She came up with the whole mascot-head design, made all the measurements, and made templates. We all traced the templates onto cardboard and cut every tiny little piece out. So I ended up with this pile of cardboard with no notion of how it would all come together.

Jhenn began fitting it all, and we hot glued everything together. So here are some progress pictures:

Tracing

  

Cutting

Gluing

 Side note, hot glue guns for a project this big got glue strings EVERYWHERE! Leading to various lines such as "Holy glue strings, Batman."

And the finished product on my head! Soooo fun! And isn't Jhenn amazing?! I can't believe that she could visualize and create these! I am exceedingly impressed.

Next step: Cover the head base in quilting batting and cut a piece of cross-stitch mesh to put over the face. Then hot glue it all together!

And this is what I have!

I still need to put batting on the ends. We are looking for fabric to put over the face so we can paint on Katamari faces and still see out. All of us still need to make the outside cases, but more on that later.

Costumes Part Three

Sorry I didn't update on my costumes last week. I made shockingly little progress at all the week before. This week was much more productive.

Here is my belt for my Jareth costume. It sparkles. Need I say more?

All of these tiny rhinestones don't really like to stay attached so I tried Modge Podge on the backside (so as not to cover the sparklies). We will see if they hold up.

And I am almost finished with my Yoko Kurama costume. I just need to make a sash and finish the ears and tail. Oh, and the wig. Guess I need that, too. And find my shoes. Damn.

During the course of making this, I had to have my mom come over to help with the fitting. In case you don't know, it can be difficult to fit things to yourself without help. Especially under the arms. I had to interrupt my mom for this and she suggested getting a dress-maker dummy. While this would be a great idea, I don't have a whole lot of money to spend. The cheapest I found one was about 50 dollars, but I'm not sure it was adjustable (which is not a necessary feature, but it would be nice). The others were closer to 100 dollars, and I'm sure more with shipping such large, awkward objects. I haven't actually looked in a store yet, but I'm sure Joann would have something.

Then I ran across this link: How to Make Your Own Sewing Dummy on eHow. Brilliant, right? I think it would be fun to try. The most expensive part would probably be the stand. Anyhow, I ran the idea past my mom, and she thinks it would be fun to try. So this might be my next project. Totally psyched. Then I don't need help with fittings! Yay! I will post that when it happens.

I also started the pants for my Shuiichi Kurama costume, but they weren't far enough along to justify pictures. It's been a while since I have done pants, it took a while to remember how to put them together! The Yoko pants turned out well and the Shuiichi ones are fine so far. They are a little more complex. I also remembered after I finished my Yoko ones that I wanted to put in a pocket... I will make sure my Shuiichi ones have one, but I will have to go back and add one to the Yoko pants... Ugh.

Oh, I have also added another costume to my NDK list for this year: Katamari cousin. My friends talked about a group cosplay with someone dressed as the Prince and others dressed as his various cousins from the games. If you have no idea what I am talking about, here is a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katamari_Damacy. The basic premise is that the King of the Universe destroyed the stars (or something) in a drunken fit and his tiny Prince has to roll things up on the Katamari (a big ball which sticks to things smaller than it to grow) and make new stars. It is fun and silly. As you go through the game, you encounter various cousins.

It was decided recently that this will actually happen. So Amie will be the Prince and I believe we have someone who will be the King, and two or three others. I think that I will be June, shown here:

And hopefully we will all have Katamari. Hopefully with velcro things to stick on them! Fun fun! More soon.