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mrs.tomoe

You're welcome! ^_^

Hope it turns out for you, and post pictures when you're done.

mrs.tomoe

Ok. I would try searching toy aisles at Walmart & dollar stores for beach toys like this: http://tinyurl.com/354622 EDIT: I forgot I had another picture too: http://tinyurl.com/3da2su ^^;; Look for the shell mold which you can either use on its own and add the "wings" (craft foam or clay), or use it...

mrs.tomoe

Can you post a reference picture please?

mrs.tomoe

If you get contacts like that, you won't be able to see through them. Any color that goes over the pupils acts like a blindfold for the wearer. The "black" spot in the center of 99% of theatrical contacts is actually a clear spot for seeing.

mrs.tomoe

Ok, sorry about that. I couldn't figure it out at first, but it's because of the period after .com. Dur me.

http://www.electriqueboutique.com/

That should work!

mrs.tomoe

I hope it's not too terribly expensive. You should be able to catch some good fabric sales over the next few months with Halloween & Christmas coming. The thing that might cost a bit would be the double ponytail wig so keep your eye out for auctions or other cosplayers selling theirs.

Good luck! ^_^

mrs.tomoe

You're welcome! ^_^ the first link didnt work, it took me to some weird page. That's odd. Well, just for reference, try going to the Burda mainpage: http://www.burdamode.com/ and entering the pattern number into the search field at the top right: 2424. It should bring up the sailor suit pattern. If ...

mrs.tomoe

In terms of sewing, the first one would be easier. The wings might be another story. With the amount of time between events, you should probably be able to make both costumes: the fairy for Halloween and the mermaid girl for AX.

mrs.tomoe

For the bodysuit, try CosplaySupplies.com or welovecolors.com. They both have custom made abilities.

If you're looking for stretchy fabric to make your own, try Denver Fabrics or Stretch House.

mrs.tomoe

Maybe pick some other characters from Elfen Lied to make a group.

mrs.tomoe

Check www.electriqueboutique.com. They have all sorts, and you might find the one you wanted.

mrs.tomoe

Luckily, the pattern for a sailor collar isn't too hard to adjust once you find a basic one. Someone here posted a link to one not long ago: Burda pattern It has a couple of styles that you can mix & match the front & back of the collars (square vs. round) with the help of some tracing paper. And th...

mrs.tomoe

Ok, that's an incredible design. :shock: I think the best way to get the effect you want is to make a special petticoat that will support your skirts properly without putting stress on the fabric of your dress. It's a similar idea to the examples on this page except that the "poof" would be more sle...

mrs.tomoe

Can you show a reference picture of what the dress is supposed to look like?

What you made is very pretty, but we can't offer advice if we don't know what you're trying to achieve.

mrs.tomoe

Ah, her signature outfit. I've made that one, and it turned out ok. I'd change some things if I made it again, but it was pretty good for a first try. First, you'll need a pattern that allows you to modify the dress to be fitted from shoulders to waist (the bodice) but flared from waist to hem (the ...

mrs.tomoe

Ah, ok. Whew, glad you found someone to make it for you. Yeah, the hula hoops, while they have a nice shape, are kinda heavy for a dress and drag it down as you've discovered. Well then, we'll look forward to seeing photos of your cosplay when the time comes! CCS is one of my favorites so Sakura cos...

mrs.tomoe

First off, you're pretty ambitious to try that as your first costume if you don't have any sewing skills. I hope you're planning to make some other easier ones between now & next spring before you really tackle this one. That said, it'd be a good idea to make a "rough draft" of the outfit with regul...

mrs.tomoe

If you could direct us to a picture, that would help us help you. ^^

mrs.tomoe

Yes, you can do some 'real hair' things to synthetic wigs. Heat styling can be done with hot water or steam. Straightening or curling irons and hair dryers can also work if used very carefully so as not to melt the fibers. Styling products: in general, the better they are for your hair (with conditi...

mrs.tomoe

You should start with a wig that's already parted into ponytails --that'll just make things a bunch easier. Look for something like the 6th from the bottom of this page: http://www.cosplaysupplies.com/specials/moving.php?subsection=WIGS4 in either white/silver or very pale pink or lavender. You can ...

mrs.tomoe

Hm.... True, it would be lighter if i used the PVC pipe and filled it with the expanding foam but it would cost more than keyblade made of wood. Expanding foams are expensive .__.'' and then i have to figure out how i attach the mickeys head and the chain... If you're more comfortable with wood, us...

mrs.tomoe

You'll probably find some good ideas here:
http://amethyst-angel.com/armormaking_vincent.html

mrs.tomoe

Is this the one?
http://amethyst-angel.com/armormaking_patterns.html

mrs.tomoe

No need to beg. I think tutorials are cool, and I like to help so just let me know when & what. ^_^

mrs.tomoe

You're welcome, although you're the one who did all the actual work.

I try my best to explain thoroughly when needed, at the risk of making things sound too babyish. Oh well, at least the info gets there.

mrs.tomoe

There's a tutorial:
http://cosplaywiki.org/index.php/Keyblade

...on a wiki for cosplay! I didn't realize it was really underway and has gotten over 200 articles posted.

mrs.tomoe

Hiya taeliac. :) Thanks for making tutorials and posting the link. Add the bottom part? o.O How would I add the bottom part to the bow? It's kinda my first time getting ready to make these outfits..xD For these particular bows which seem kinda stiff all over, you'd basically make two identical piece...

mrs.tomoe

Newspaper patterns are what you make when you don't have a preprinted one that you buy from the store. Instead of using up a lot of fabric on trial and error, you use newspaper or paper grocery bags because they're cheap and easily written on. So basically, to get started on the skirt, open a newspa...

mrs.tomoe

Oh, I know the ideal pattern for that dress. McCall's 2855. It has a majorette design that has sections to easily make the red & white areas, and it has the high collar. You'd have to figure the crosses for yourself, but the basic dress is pretty much all done for you in that pattern.

mrs.tomoe

Ooh, ok; the scout skirts are different from Luna's. Donuts won't work for them. Yes, like Katasha said, long pieces of fabric will be good for those. If you want to get really picky about it, you can see from the Mercury & Neptune pictures that the skirt hem is even/straight across, but the waistli...

mrs.tomoe

You're welcome. Hope it works out. I've made other boot covers, but not Rikku's. But I figured the planning would be the same with drawing & adjusting a paper pattern then testing on some scrap before using good fabric. You'll need to cut them big enough to be a bit 'slouchy' but not so huge that th...

mrs.tomoe

Fénicia wrote:The skirts just starts out as very big donuts.

Yes, 'big donuts.' That's a good description. The Luna one looks pleated at the waist so that would be the challenge: to measure correctly.

The other 2 pics didn't like being direct linked.

mrs.tomoe

Well, if you can find white shoes for the base, that would be good. The blue part you'll have to make yourself with fabric. First, get some newspaper to make patterns: draw, cut, tape them to the shoes while you wear them to see how it looks. Adjust by adding or cutting off paper, or if it's no good...

mrs.tomoe

You might try a cheerleading pattern from Simplicity, #3689. http://simplicity.com/assets/3689/3689.jpg The green & yellow one in the center of the picture looks close enough to Haruhi's skirt, and you'd just need to add belt loops and the belt. Go to the Simplicity site and enter 3689 into their se...

mrs.tomoe

Cute Bridget shoes. What did you use as a base? Go-go boots are pretty hard, especially at the toes and heels where they're reinforced, so I doubt sewing through them would go very well. That fabric hot glue you mention sounds neat though. I could buy it from any craft store? And does it need its ow...

mrs.tomoe

And I'd go with the spraypaint, because it's probably got better elasticity than most paints. (I'm an artist dork, I know these things. XD) Actually, spray paint tends to flake off shoes/boots from what I've read of others' experiences. Not sure if that 'Fusion' stuff fares any better. Floral spray...

mrs.tomoe

Hi. Wow, sorry I'm really late to this discussion, and I hope you've found a solution. You will probably not be able to sew anything directly to the boots. If the boots are supposed to be white with blue accents, I would either glue the fabric accents or paint the accents with shoe dye. If you don't...

mrs.tomoe

My family's going. First time ever to AN. Really looking forward to their Angelic Layer activity, and the whole weekend sounds fun. We'll cosplay, but we're mostly interested in taking pictures of y'all.

mrs.tomoe

You shouldn't have to dye anything; black and red are common fabric colors. But yeah, a store bought leotard or swimsuit in a tank-top style would make a fine base for the costume. It'll stay up better than an off-the-shoulder suit so you won't have to worry about any embarrassing "wardrobe malfunct...

mrs.tomoe

Wow, the con is this weekend -- I'm really late to this discussion. Hope the construction has gone well. If you still need suggestions: a. Tiara can be thrown together with a piece of metallic gold gift wrap ribbon. Not the classiest, but in a pinch, it'll do. Basically, you measure about 16 inches ...

mrs.tomoe

OK, well, this might seem kinda silly, but there's this doll making site that shares some patterns for anime inspired dolls & clothes. It could at least give you some ideas of what shape the fabric needs to be cut to make the items you want (sized up for a real person of course). http://dollmaker.nu...

mrs.tomoe

Do fencing masks open and close? It would probably make a good base for this character and probably give you some versatility in being able to lift the front to see better or just to catch a breeze if you start to get hot.

mrs.tomoe

I think the wooden rods that go for hanging clothes in the closet would be long enough. They're usually thicker too so I dunno whether that'd be a problem. Otherwise, you might have to put 2 shorter rods together with a special screw that's threaded on both ends. Just make sure you can drill straigh...

mrs.tomoe

I'd like either Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy, both series have a great deal of skill-required costumes. Also, about the Lab thing, I(and probably many other people) only joined cosplaylab about a year ago, so I never got to enter the contest(s) with respective costumes that were made after the c...

mrs.tomoe

Yes, these are 2 separate sites so contests on one shouldn't affect the other beyond just taking a look to see that we're not running the same series/game simultaneously. ^_^ Chii would be a great choice, and there are so many characters/themes from Final Fantasy & its offshoots that we could run an...

mrs.tomoe

I'm sure you'll meet a few at least. It can be hard to recognize some folks at first because they'll be in a different wig or makeup. Sometimes, I wouldn't realize who a person was until I heard their voice because the last time I saw them, they had long green hair and this time, it was short & pink...

mrs.tomoe

Generally speaking, the worse a product is for your hair, the better it is for your synthetic wig. Cheap hair sprays (Aquanet) work great on wigs. There's a gel...Ice Spiker, I think?...that's been recommended too. Holding the wig upside down or holding the hair up while the product dries helps the ...

mrs.tomoe

Not sure how far north you are, but you could try Anime Central near Chicago, IL or JAFAX in Allendale, MI. I'm not sure which conventions are within Indiana itself. Just check the con listings on Fansview or Cosplay Lab to see what's near you. ^_^

mrs.tomoe

Chain mail is expensive because of how it's made. Someone has to link together individual rings of metal to create the item so even if it's a small piece, it still had to begin as just a pile of separate little metal rings that have to be linked together one by one. Some possible alternatives might ...

mrs.tomoe

You'll probably want to look for a "shag" or "long shag" style. It'd be the closest to what you need. Might have to comb the front differently, but no other major styling. Something like the wig called "Hannah" on this page might work: http://www.cosplaysupplies.com/quality/newlook-short1.html Good ...

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