It's 2016 suddenly--and that means new projects for the new year!
...I realize I've been disappearing a lot lately. I am having trouble sticking to a regular posting schedule. I could apologize, but I won't. Blogging is a hobby, and as much as I love it, sometimes real life comes first. My plan for the new year is to post once every other week. I think that will be more manageable for me. Upcoming content includes Vaporeon, Vaporeon and more Vaporeon. With a few DIY projects I did this winter.
My first project I've started is to build myself a website for my portfolio. It will be nice to have a professional-looking site to house my costume and design work. It's taking longer than I thought though, because technology is my worst enemy. And also because I misplaced a lot of files when I transferred everything to my new computer this fall. I've spent the better part of this week reorganizing my hard drive. Uuuuuugh.
Without further ado, I present this year's cosplay projects!
6 costumes that are in varying states of completion (represented by the arbitrary percentages I have labelled them with). I make no promises on any of these, but the general goal here is to finish what I've already started before undertaking any more hugely complicated projects.
Presea: Costume started in ...2012/2013??? I wore it to Otakon the same year I did Kero & Suppi, but I have zero finished pictures. Unfortunately, the giant battle axe sustained serious paint-chipping damage in transit. I just need to sand down and re-paint the axe and this costume is finished. I would really love to do a photoshoot of this in the spring.
Jack Frost: I started this costume the same winter the film was released (2012), but I grew disinterested because it quickly became a costume that was SO overdone that con season. The costume pieces are built but need detailing. I think this will provide an interesting fabric painting challenge for me. I would love to have this done for a winter photoshoot, if I can.
Phoenix: An original design I did for my final project in university. My focus there was building the armour, but since I learned so much during the process, I want to go back and re-work some things. I don't expect to finish this costume this year, but I would like to build the tailored vest. The goal deadline is CostumeCon in 2017--which I think is a realistic deadline.
Sakura: Started this past September. It feels like I am trying to build every single Sakura costume in existence. I assure you, this is not the case. Just this one. And the other 2 I've made. And maybe some more after that.
Leia: Started this past October. Building the uniform pictured above as well as the poncho and helmet from the scenes on Endor. By far one of my favourite Leia costumes--except for perhaps her bounty hunter disguise from the same film.
Link: My excuse to bring out King of the Red Lions again. He's been sitting in our basement collecting dust. It makes me sad. The best part about making a Link costume is deciding which props to build. I think I want to make the mirror shield... But not sure what else...
Anyhoo, those are what I plan to work on this year. I may add another project to the list later on--as is always bound to happen when inspiration strikes.
In other news: I am taking a millinery course in night school starting later this month. Hat-making ahoy! Pretty stoked for that. But this may lead to some previously unplanned Downton Abbey costume. I love the heck out of that show and miss it already.
Hats off to a new year! Lets make it a good one! ;D
Hey guys! So I've been on a bit of a nostalgia trip recently because this was my 10th year attending Anime North. Easily my favourite convention of the year! I had a really great time this past weekend with friends and family! It was good to see everyone again! I finished 3 costumes for the weekend: Sakura, Isabelle, and Forest Guardian (previously known as Elven Archer). The weather was altogether pretty great (though I was hot and dehydrated on saturday...) and made for a fantastic weekend.
Friday: I got to the con a bit late (though not as late as last year) and hung around for a bit wearing Alice with my sister as Sakura. I looked around the Crafters' Corner for a bit and helped a friend set up her table before heading over to the DoubletreeInternational Plaza for the friday night Workmanship Competition. I entered Sakura for this event, which was new to the convention! You know things are serious when your judges include Merlin, Sailormoon, Catwoman(?) and some sort of were-rabbit? (Competition results were announced sunday!) I had a nice dinner at Swiss Chalet with the family before heading home for the night.
Saturday: After some major disappointment with failed prosthetic ear
(the other one worked fine?) I decided that I had worked too damn hard
to let that stop me from entering Masq this year. Rather than entering
as "Elven Archer" I had impulsively written "Forest Guardian" on my form
the night before, which worked beautifully for me! After an initial
hiccup with entering the Masq, my mum swung it for
me (ex: was very persistent).
It was a bit too hot with the amount of layers I was wearing so saturday was a constant quest for water. Probably my only complaint about the con this year was that they weren't quick enough with refilling the water stations in Artist Alley/Crafters' Corner area so there was a good couple of hours during the hottest part of the day where there was no access to water in that part of the building... Mostly I spent the day walking around and posing for pictures. Though most people were confused and couldn't figure out what show/videogame I was from--answer: none! This is my original design!
After food I went to the green room for the Masq and did my photo and judging portions. My judges were Feather Weight and the were-rabbit. They were most impressed with my embroidery. I was the last entry to present, which you can check out here!
Congratulations to my fellow competitors, your costumes were fantastic and your hard work really showed! I was most impressed by the level of quality in the Novice category and a certain lack of Artisans?! If you have time, I highly suggest also checking out the rest of the entries here, or at the very least take a look at the highlights reel by Dan TheVideoNinja. Special thanks to Alex for doing my audio again this year (I have no idea what I will do next year when you are in Japan??) she found me some great music from Cirque du Soleil's "Totem" CD.
Sunday: Instead of spending my whole sunday trying to rush finish Vaporeon I opted to wear Kero! It was much cooler to wear around (having been originally designed to wear at Otakon), a great casual cosplay that received much love with the AN crowd! The day was mostly spent hanging out with friends and shopping. In the afternoon I attended the Award Ceremony. I won 4 awards this weekend! A Hall Costume award each for Isabelle and Kero. I won "Best Accessories: Master Division" in the friday night Workmanship Competition for Sakura, and "Best Embroidery: Master Division" in the Masquerade for my Forest Guardian. Super happy! Special thanks to Alli Sosnoski for her help on the Sakura costume and
Harriet Lee for her work on Vaporeon (even though it didn't get
finished).
I saw so many friends this weekend that I couldn't possibly mention them all, but you guys know who you are! (Unless you got amnesia in the last 2 days) You guys rock and made my 10th AN that much more memorable!
10 YEARS OF COSPLAY!
I spent the past couple of days putting together a collection of
pictures including all of my Anime North Costumes from the last 10
years. So without further ado lets take a journey back in time! (If you don't want to read my sappy nostalgia commentary, feel free to just look at the pics, which are also posted on facebook.)
So to start, here is a collage of all my Anime North costumes from 2005-2014.
(The only one missing is Alice from this past weekend.) If the me from now could
talk to the me from 2005, oh what a conversation that would be... Never would I
have dreamed that one day would spark a hobby that would change my life! I
discovered a talent I never knew I had. ;D And yes, there were at least 6 years of costumes before I started Among Bobbins and Thread!
My very first costume my mum made for me! I was Tenten from
the popular anime series Naruto. It was made up of modified clothing items. But
we splurged on an official headband! I only attended AN for 1 day, but I wore
it again to Fanexpo (then known as CNAnime) later that summer. I was
accompanied by my older sister who was dressed as Rock Lee. :D So youthful!
Team 8! My favourite team in Naruto-verse (except for
perhaps the Sand-squad, which we would be cosplaying later that summer.) I put
up with an unbearably itchy low-quality wig for several cons in this costume.
My mum is the amazing woman who took the time to craft all these cool costumes!
Some pieces were from the closet, others made from scratch.
In case you aren't starting to see the pattern, we too
started by cosplaying from mainstream anime and kept this up for the first few
years doing several different groups from Naruto and Bleach. Our Division 11
group was our first Masquerade entry ever, for which we won a presentation
award (the "We <3 Katamari Award" if my memory is correct.) Mike
was added to the group as our Kenpachi, which perfectly complimented Elanne's
Yachiru. Mum made all of these from scratch with several billion meters of
black broadcloth! Power to her! We also wove our very own (very painful)
sandals!
Pokemon Gijinkas (+Pokemon trainer)! I think this costume
set was in part decided by Elanne's love of Pokemon. We entered our group in
the Masq and won another presentation award for our dance skit (which is
amazing because judges typically hate dance skits!) Pokemon on Broadway (or
Dawn's Secret Hobby)! Another set of costumes masterfully made by Mum. :)
The first and last time we got the full family on stage! My
fifth Anime North. We had attempted to finish the King of Red Lions boat for
this convention, but did not get it done. On the other hand, Mike's Phantom was
pretty darn impressive. We won a workmanship award in the Journeyman Division.
Alex and I finished the King of Red Lions this year which is
probably still the cosplay achievement I am most proud of. That year I also wore my first costume almost entirely by myself, which was Kiki, from Kiki's
Delivery Service (first worn to Fanexpo, the previous summer!). :) In the Masq we won a workmanship award for our crazy
awesome boat and I got a Props award for my Kiki costume.
My "Crow Soldier" costume from the less well-known
series Princess Tutu was fun to make and wear! It was my first experiment in
putting lights in costume (dollar store flashlights!) and it was a piece I used
in my Ryerson Theatre School application portfolio. I also helped to make
Alex's Cousin Miso costume, constructing the outfit while she and Mum made the
head. This was the year I began my blog, Among Bobbins and Thread.
Our Katamari group! (minus Jen as Mag) This was a very well
received group of costumes. The weather was not particularly kind to us,
meaning it was just too darn hot to wear them for more than a day.I did the majority of the construction
on these with assistance from Ian and Alex, while Mum made the Katamari itself.
We entered at Master Level due to our 5th member (Mai Sherie Costumes) and won a Technical
Achievement award.
Another
costume that I am really proud of! I just wish the armour were less
heavy and strangulating... The sword was heavy enough that I couldn't
lift it properly and it actually became the focus of my skit. Hahaha I
won a props/accessories award for this costume, if I recall correctly. I
learned how to mold and cast as well as began working with
thermoplastics. All I can say is that I will need a long break before I
ever attempt a costume with that much bias tape ever again...
My first con where I wore a different costume each day! This
was my first year entering solo without any family members also competing in
the competition. I entered my first original design costume "Forest
Guardian" in the Masquerade and won an award for the Best Embroidery in
the Master Division. Several hundred hours of it. I also entered my Sakura
costume (made for Elanne) in the Workmanship Competition and won an award for
Accessories. I also made an Isabelle (from Animal Crossing) costume for my
older sister, which won a hall award, re-wore Kero (also got a hall award) and
re-wore Alice. What a whirlwind weekend full of costumes! :D
Hope you enjoyed that as much as I did! Some of those old pics were REALLY hard to find.
This is a plushie I made for my sister's birthday gift. Yes, it's Makar, and yes, Makar is adorable. He was pretty easy to make, and turned out as well as I'd hoped. :D
This plushie is made out of felt, which was a very different material for me to work with. It's always good to experiment with different fabrics. The beige felt I chose for this project is sort of mottled in colour, which suits the character well. (He is supposed to be a tree sprout thing.)
For those of you unfamiliar with the character, Makar is from the video game Wind Waker in the Legend of Zelda series. He is a Korok from the Forest Haven. My sister is a big fan of the game, and Makar is her favourite character. Probably because he is adorable.
First I patterned the body. The two halves are different at the top. I started by making a mockup in muslin. This was a good idea, because this is my first time patterning a plushie, and so it looked a bit wonky.
The curve I originally had on the front and back seam of the body was too extreme, so I pinned and took it in on the mockup. You can see the change I made in red on the pattern pieces to reflect the change on the mockup.
Once I was satisfied with my mockup I started on the final version.
I cut 2 pieces for each half (one for the front, one for the back). I sewed the side seams together, clipped the excess fabric on the inside so it would be easier to turn right way out.
Leaving one right way out, and one inside out I lined up the center seams and sewed them together. I left a gap to turn it right way out and stuff it. This gap was left where it would be covered by the leaf face.
After sufficiently stuffing it--ensuring the stuffing got into all the extremities--I hand-stitched up the center seam.
I made a pattern piece for the face. I cut 2 in green felt and one smaller piece in black fabric. I cut the holes out of the top piece of felt only, the black fabric in between the layers made the facial expression stand out rather nicely.
First I stitched around the outside of the face, then outlined all the facial features. Then in a lighter green thread I stitched the vein pattern onto the leaf.
Then I made some arms and a little twig. These were stitched together leaving one end open, seam allowance clipped, and then flipped right way out. I stuffed them and hand stitched them onto the body.
Lastly I tacked down the leaf face with a secure hand stitch.
