3D Printing Collaboration with Crowtrees Studio

Hey all! This is something I've been excited to share for a while! A couple of months ago I collaborated with Crowtrees Studio to create a miniature 3D figure of my Asuna costume.

I say "collaboration" in the loosest sense of the word because all I really had to do was get in costume hold a pose for about 10 minutes! Hahaha :D Special thanks to James and Rui for making this happen! And another thanks goes to my friend Harriet for coming with me and acting as my squire for the day!

This project has been a long time in the running; I was actually contacted before Christmas about potentially being a cosplay model for 3D scanning. We set up a date in March to do the scans. I took 3 costumes with me that weekend: Asuna, Alice, and Kero. We did 5 scans that day (2 Asuna, 2 Alice, 1 Kero), but Asuna is the one they went ahead with to create the final 3D model.

Though they are now starting into doing cosplay figures, Crowtrees actually started out doing wedding cake toppers!

The thing about cosplay is that you encounter a whole lot of crazy challenges in the scanning process because of all the different complicated bits. For example, on Asuna the golden bells on her hair didn't get picked up by the scanners at all because they are highly reflective! Those had to be added in in post. Similarly when we scanned Kero's candy the cellophane wrapping totally messed with the scan. Another issue on Asuna was getting the back of the legs to scan, so we had to do a second pass with the scanner of just the legs while the skirt was held out of the way.

In terms of pose, I had jokingly mentioned that my one issue with this costume was that the sword was too heavy to wield and was very limiting on my posing capabilities. When they told me they could scan the sword separately and add it in later I was thrilled! Finally I would get to hold the sword in the air! Hahaha So they rigged a pole to be stationary above my head that I could hold onto at the right angle so they could scan my body with my arm raised. (Because if I just held my arm in the air it would move around a lot during the scan!) Long story short, I finally got my wish to hold the sword above my head like the character does in the manga. :P

I went to pick up my mini me last week! What a surreal experience! It is one thing to see a figurine of the same character as you, it is another thing to see a miniature version of your costume!

I am always really impressed with technology, so suffice to say that 3D scanning blew my mind! You could see the image forming in real time as the sensors picked up the figure with a surprising level of detail. The scans also picked up colour data as well! I especially love the way it picked up the drape of the fabric. :D

They printed it in 2 pieces, so the sword hand is detachable. Mini sword is much lighter and easier to deal with than the 6' version! Hahaha

Overall this was a really fun project to be involved with! I totally love my figurine! Really glad I got this opportunity. :)

Excited to see what these guys do in the future as the technology gets even better! :D

Anime North 2014 Retrospective - 10th Cosplay-versary!

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 Doubletree International 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.

Alice in Wonderland - Apron & Accessories

Here's the last post on my Alice in Wonderland costume! ;D

...Which I thought was a perfectly recognizable character, but one or two people asked me if I was some character from an obscure anime's alternate outfit from another dimension... No. I really wish I knew what character and anime they were referring to that I so uncannily resemble. Really.

But making Alice was a good learning experience, and a joy to wear! 

If you want to know how I made the dress go here. If you want to see how I made the petticoats go here.

 Once again, you can see the whole photoshoot here!

The apron was by far the easiest piece to construct for this whole costume.

I started with the front panel: a piece of fabric that I double layered--because it was a tad see-through. I attached the the 2 pieces at the top and folded it over to get a nice finished edge. I attached a piece of lace trim to the top edge. I used a zig-zag stitch to finish off the remaining edges.

Then I made 2 straps that would go over the shoulders on a slight angle. These were tubes that were then turned right way out and pressed flat. I had to make sure they would be long enough to go all the way from the waistband at the front to attach to the waistband at the back.

I sewed the straps to the front panel, and then attached a lace trim to the straps.

I made another really long tube and flattened it. This was the waistband  that would tie at the back. I wanted the bow to be nice and long.

This was attached to the front panel first, then I measured and made sure the straps were even before attaching them at the back.

Then I finished off the ends of the bow.

Once the top part was done I set about making the bottom. The bottom piece is 2 rectangles sewed together and turned inside out to finish the edge, to which I attached more lace trim. The top edge of the rectangle was left open to do this. I gathered the top with a basting stitch to create a ruffle effect and sewed it to the waistband.

Pockets were added last. They were just rectangles with the edges finished and turned over that were superficially attached to the bottom of the apron. And of course: more lace trim. ;D

Now let's talk accessories! These are of course the last thing on the priority list when making a costume, but help to really complete the overall effect. As you may know, I have an unhealthy obsession with pocket watches, so naturally I equipped my Alice with one from my collection. I picked up the 'drink me' bottle at Otakon. So cute! :D

For the ribbons, worn in the hair and at the collar, I chose to go with a dark brown as opposed to black, because I thought it gave a softer, more natural look than a harsh black. I picked those up at Sussman's Bridal Accessories on Queen, which is my favourite place to buy lace trim, ribbon and feathers because they have such a good selection.

The shoes were a last minute purchase. Shoes are always the most difficult part of cosplay. Decent shoes can be pricey, and the perfect shoes can be near impossible to find. I decided to pick up a pair of plain black flats at Ardene. Are they comfortable? No. Are they good quality? Hell no. But do they do their job? Yes.

Ardene has a really good selection of cheap women's shoes (flats, lace-ups, etc.), and if you are looking for something for cosplay that you are either going to destroy, modify or only wear for the weekend it makes sense to your wallet to buy something cheap. If you want something that will last a long time, these probably won't be the best for the job. (Unless you buy multiple back-ups on a two-fer deal). The best location I know of in Toronto is the one on Queen as it has the largest selection of their shoes I've seen, in pretty much every colour.

The tights were also pick up for cheap downtown. But I really need to invest in some better quality ones as I totally put a hole in them on the first wear... :/

The last touch is the wig. After much deliberation I picked this colour of blonde, although it was not my first choice (which was sold out). I also decided on curly as opposed to straight hair because I decided it would look best.

This wig is actually exactly the same as the one I wore for my Steampunk Lolita, the only difference is the colour.

The reason they look different is the styling. I brushed the bangs to the opposite side, and took sections of the hair from the front and pinned them back before tying the ribbon. This made it look like there were more curls higher up at the sides.

Thanks for reading my Alice posts! Overall this costume was fun to make and fun to wear. It was refreshing to do my own take on Alice. I received many compliments. I would say this costume was best received at Otakuthon. ;D Much obliged Quebec! Thanks again to Mike for the awesome photoshoot, you guys should definitely check out his cosplay gallery, the pictures--and of course the costumes--are awesome!

Alice will probably make a few more con appearances next season. ;D

Alice in Wonderland - Petticoats

My second part of my Alice in Wonderland costume.

Click here to see how I made the dress.

Go here for the photoshoot. ;D

I knew when I started the project that this dress would require a petticoat in order to achieve the volume I desired for the skirt.

So I looked online for a tutorial on how to make a petticoat. This is the one I found and it was super helpful. :D

Building a petticoat is like making a layer cake... lots of fluff. :D

I went to the closing sale of my nearest fabricland and bought their last 8 meters of crinoline. Obviously, I didn't need that much for this particular project, but it was in deep discounts at that point and I do plan on making more costumes with various petticoats in the future. Also, it comes in handy to have that length of fabric when making petticoats as you need to cut several super long strips of fabric.

The other thing you need for this is ribbon. It makes finishing off all the seams way easier. Seriously.

The first thing you need to do is decide how many tiers you want your petticoat to have. I decided on 4. Then you need to decide how long you want it to be. I made mine 23" long so it would fall an inch short of the dress's hem line.

I added 1/2" seam allowance in to attach each tier to one another. Which is a total of 3". In the long run, since the petticoat isn't visible it doesn't really matter if the layers aren't exactly even. The easiest way of adding in the seam allowance  so you can just cut all the layers to the same size is to add your seam allowances to the total length and then divide by the number of layers.

For example: For my 23" petticoat I added the 3" of seam allowance to the total making 26" then divided that by 4 tiers. This means that the strips would be cut to be 6 1/2" wide.

I don't know if there is a scientific way to calculate pouffiness... So I just improvised. From the bottom up the circumference of the tiers were as follows: 12 ft, 9 ft, 6.5 ft and 3 ft. Note: Make sure you separate each set of strips and label them because having to recheck the measurement on a piece that is 12ft long is not exactly preferable.

First finish off the bottom of the petticoat by stitching a folded piece of ribbon over the bottom edge.

Then I used a basting stitch to gather up the tiers so I could sew them to the next layer. You take the tier and evenly gather it to the measurement of the tier you want to sew it to. The unfinished edge of the seam should go on the outside.

I found it easiest to gather it evenly by dividing my fabric strips into equal sections and gathering them all to the same measurement. And also taping a measuring tape to the table.

After that, finish off the seam by sewing a piece of ribbon over the unfinished edge. The ribbon will be on the outside of the petticoat.

It's easiest to finish each seam as you go, as you are less likely to get wrinkles. Once you gather a tier it is more difficult to go back and sew the ribbon on.

Then I sewed the skirt together. I left the top tier open and finished the edge with ribbon.

I made a fold over waistband and sewed it to the top tier, leaving an overlap so I could sew on some velcro.

The dress wasn't as pouffy as I wanted it to be. So I decided to make another, less intense, petticoat to be worn over the first one.

This second one had 2 tiers, and the bottom was made of a quilting cotton finished off with lace trim. It was made long enough so that the lace trim could be seen below the hem of the dress.