Beads, beads and more beads!

I think I may have a new obsession. Okay, I used to love beads when I was young too but it's been rekindled as of today. I love adding some type of beading to my cosplays. It gives it a personal flair. On Sharon's dress (The one pictures below.) I had sewn on gold seed beads on the tails of the bows on her dress. It shows it looking this way in the manga so I thought why not. It turned out to be a ton of tun and is now something I try to do to each cosplay.

                                                         You can't see the beading. Sorry.

Luckily for me Seth has a lot of detail so I can work in some beading. I have already added pearl beads onto the inner train that is on her underskirt. I'm hoping the light on stage will catch them and make the inner train pop more. I'm also planning on adding some beading (not much.) onto the back of her train and maybe on the lace of her sleeves.

And of course the bead strands on her hat...

It's hard to tell but there are two bead strands on the edge of her hat and on the edge of the breastplate as well the bottom of her sleeves.

So I have a ton of beading I will get to do. Today we bought some of the gold beads that will be used for those strands. I looked for round red and round blue (one large and one medium sized bead strands.) but didn't find any of the right color. Nor did I find the long teardrop green beads.

I'm trying my hardest to stop focusing on Seth but it's not working. I am just so excited to cosplay her finally.








In other news Abel's cape is almost finished. I need to hem the slits on the sides which I already cut and pinned. Sewing those won't take long. Then start on the bias tape. Then it will be finished. I decided to sew on two snaps on the top to keep it closed as well.

Once I am done with that I can start on Abel's cassock then on Seth. I cannot wait to get these done. I just wish I had more time. Due to the fact I am currently writing a novel my focus has been else where. But now that we have a few more pieces for these costumes I'm getting more excited to work on them. I think tomorrow I'll sew most of the day in less we go out to look at more supplies.

I hope these will in fact be done by Sakura-con. Otherwise I may not cosplay and instead may just wear lolita and take lots of pictures. I'm not too sure. I really don't want to bring Alice or Yuuko as her kimono did not fit right and I couldn't figure out how to tie the obi. And I'm hoping to sell Sharon by then. I hate being stuck in between having cosplays we are going to sell and not having any we truly feel passionate about done. It's scary. But I'm sure I can get it done. If I have to I'll have to let my mom help me out.

So that's it for now. I have a lot to do. Thanks for reading!

A new blog title

We have changed our cosplay name from Black Cat cosplay to Equus. After a lot of thought we decided it was best to change our name. Equus was chosen because it has a strong meaning to both Nicolas and I. Pandora Hearts was the first series we cosplayed from. I began reading the manga when it first came out and instantly fell in love with it. Equus is Sharon's chain. He is seen as a black unicorn with a purple/black mane. We picked Equus because Sharon and Break are not only our favorite characters but they are two characters we can't stop cosplaying. We didn't cosplay them this year and it felt strange. We really didn't have any fun without our two favorite characters. So we're bringing them back for 2014.

Now our name has strong meaning to us. Although our name is only used for when we join contests, it will be our reminder of the passion we have for the characters and series that we love so dearly. Now instead of a black cat, Equus will cover the front of our progress binder. He'll be our icon for now. Unicorns were seen as proud and noble creatures way back when. We'll use that to inspire us to keep our heads up and face any challenge we might encounter while working on our cosplays.

So if you notice the name has change, don't be alarmed. Now you know.

Black Cat cosplay is now Equus Cosplay.


See you soon~

Plans for December

November is coming to an end. And since I didn't get as much work done this month as I had hoped I'm going to be waking up earlier to get more done. I am working on finishing up my novel I have to make sure to have enough to write and sew in one day. Sewing is a lot of fun. I'm improving a lot too! So I'm hoping to speed up and get more done. So here is the progress for each character so far.

Abel:

1.Cape 40%
2.Cassock 0%
3.Armor 10%
4.Wig Crusnik ver. 70%

Seth:

1. Underskirt: 100%  (may re-do the train.)
2. Dress + train 0%
3.Boot covers (Maybe) 0%
4. Hat 0%

Wings:

Abel's black feathered wings: 0%
Seth's butterfly wings: 0%

Need to buy:

• Fabric for Seth's dress (Might have found some today!)
• Seth's wig
• Another wig for Abel (Only if we do have time to make the wings. Otherwise we will not style the one we have.)
• Shoes for both characters 
• Green and red contacts (Green for Seth, Red for Abel.)
• Wing supplies 
• Resin and supplies for gems
• Thick foam for Seth's hat
• Notions for both Seth and Abel

For the month of December I would like to get done both Abel and Seth's outfits and maybe either start on the hat for Seth or at least start painting and hand sewing the trim on Seth's train. If I get all that done we will have lots of time to get the wings done as well as make all the details for the costumes. And armor of course. So my goal is to get the sewing done. Since these costumes are heavily detailed I'll need a lot of time to focus on those. There will be a lot of hand sewing involved for the trim on Seth's hat and train and I would rather not be sewing it in the car up to Sakura-con. 

The armor I'm not too worried about. Although Seth's breastplate will be the biggest piece with most detail. So that might be a bit nerve racking. So the more time we have to focus on that stuff it will be help us figure everything out a head of time. Which we want. Hopefully we get everything done within two or three months so I can start on our Don't Starve cosplays.

So, I have a ton to do. I better get going as I have lots of writing to do. Thanks for reading!

The cape

It is super chilly here. It has been for the last few days. I guess it's a record low for this time in the season for this area. It isn't snowing or anything. Just VERY windy. Today I've been fixing issues with the cape and sewed the pieces together. I am horrible with cutting out fabric. I'm not if its because my eyesight is bad and I have issues focusing them or because I was just too tired while doing it and didn't think before rushing to cut the fabric. But, lesson learned. Next time I will make sure I do it right and have a second pair of eyes to look over the pattern before I cut the fabric. 

Another issue with fabric is finding green fabric for Seth. I have looked high and low. From Joann's to Fabric.com. There is lime green, light green that almost looks white, dark green and brown-green fabric. But not anything in between light green and grass green. It's so annoying. It's the holiday season. What two colors are most known for this time of year? GREEN AND RED. So why is green fabric so hard to find? Why is it all dark green or lime green? 

I really don't want it to be dark green nor lime green. It can't be shiny. So that crosses off satin. I'm hoping to find a taffeta but I think I may just go ahead and get broadcloth if I can find the right shade of green. It won't be what I had pictured in my head but it's better than getting a cheap costume satin. Or lime fabric. Yuck. I can't stand lime. It looks so off for Seth. But I guess there isn't a high demand of a fabric that is more sage colored. 

There is a lot to do. But we do have a few months to try and get it all done on time. Or ahead of time which would be amazing. I feel so bad when I stop sewing to go write. But right now I'm more likely to make money by writing then sewing. I just cannot help but to feel bad. Sakura-con is this spring. I really want to wear these amazing cosplays. I'll have to start waking up earlier to work harder on finishing these outfits. 

It's a lot of work and lots of planning but I know if I am focused I can do it. My batteries are dead right now but I will upload a bunch of pictures once I have new batteries. So thank you for reading. Sorry for the rushed post.  

It's time to sew once again.

We spent yesterday making and ironing bias tape strips. I'm now ready to start sewing once more. I'm very excited about getting Abel's cape and cassock done so I can start working on Seth. If I can find a good green fabric by then. Once I'm done with Seth, we can start making wings. Which means we will have time to do Don't Starve cosplays. I hope I have time. I'd love to be able to bring two cosplays (one big, one casual.)

The cape is what I'm starting on first. It's pretty simple. I just need to modify the pattern to create the slits on the sides and back. Which shouldn't be too hard. I'm more worried about getting the bias tape on nicely around the sharp square corners on the top. Hopefully I can figure that out.

I'm also worried about the high collar. I will have to make up a pattern on my own. I plan on using firm interfacing to keep the collar folded nicely. I don't want it flopping down. So hopefully having the interfacing helps keep it up. 

After the cape I will work on the cassock. I'll need to modify this pattern as well. There will need to be a slit in the back and on the sides I believe. Otherwise it's perfect. Slits are very easy to make. I can make them on the seam line. Abel's outfit is rather easy besides all the armor pieces. I've decided we'll make a mold with silicone for the arrow pieces since there will be so many of them. 

We have the armor plates for his cuffs (Shown in the picture. Bottom right.) ready to be molded with Wonderflex. We'll do that later though. Today I need to focus on sewing since I haven't sewn in a while thanks to that bias tape maker. I'm behind on schedule. And if I want to get Abel and Seth and their wings done on time I gotta hurry my butt up.

I have so much planned for these costumes so I need to work hard on them. As with Seth's underskirt (Which I sort of want to remake the train now.) I want to try and make it as neat and clean as possible. So this will be an adventure. So I'm going to try my hardest and work nonstop. 

I'll be updating with pictures whenever I get new batteries. It may be a while.

I'm also writing up my list of supplies. I'll post that once it's finished. 

Should arrive by 11/18 but is delayed until 11/18

Makes a lot of sense right? Well, that's what Walmart told us about our bias tape maker. It was due to arrive today (it did.) but was delayed until today. My fiance and I had a good laugh about it. But it did arrive all safe and sound. I didn't have time tonight to set it up and start making silver bias tape so tomorrow I will start making the bias tape. Tonight I'm going to do some research on sewing bias tape on neatly. I've never worked with bias tape so I'm pretty excited to work with it. I will also be starting on Abel's cape tomorrow. I cannot start on making the collar pattern until I have the cape made so I can measure how wide I need to make the collar.

                                                      His collar is ridiculously high.

Thank the cosplay gods for firm interfacing. I have a ton of it so I'm more than ready to create the collar and cape. It won't take me long. The cape is a very simple pattern. Now that I have the bias tape maker nothing really stands in my way. I can finally start sewing once more!

This is the silver fabric we got for the bias tape. Since they do not sell silver bias tape in stores (yet they sell gold.) we decided to make our own.

I forgot if this fabric is stain or taffeta. It's very soft and metallic. It's not too shiny like cheap satin. I love the color. It's much prettier in person. It also looks great against black which it will be sewn onto.

After getting this fabric I sort of want to make a silver dress. It's so pretty.

 Nicolas working on his armor. The two pieces that are covered in Wonderflex are shown. Both will be going on his chest/collar. The pink pieces will be glued together and covered with Wonderflex to make the armor plates for Abel's cuffs. We're getting the easy pieces out of the way before we start on the large shoulder piece.

He's making a mess in my sewing room. >:c

I have been wanting one of these for the longest time. No idea way. As you can see (Two aren't on the racks.) I don't even have enough thread yet. But I love having somewhere safe to put them. I used to hide them in my desk so my cats can't find them.

It just makes the room look like a sewing room I guess. I don't know. I just love it. It's very handy. We just bought the black, silver, white and the invisible thread.

Invisible thread is seriously the coolest thing ever. It's sort of like fishing line but thin and more flexible than it. I will be using it for the holes on the back of Seth's dress that the wings will come out of. If I have time to make the wings.





Thanks for reading!

Hotels, wings and armor.

I don't think we have ever been this organized. Not only do we have Sakura-con fully paid for and our hotel booked earlier than normal but we have a hotel booked for Kumori-con too! Our friend and her girlfriend have decided to have us room with them and we are so thankful and happy to be able to spend K-con with them. Their like family. We've known them since high school and couldn't be happier. Last con we found it very depressing to be alone and didn't have that good of a time but we know we'll have a lot of fun rooming with them. Again, I cannot thank her enough for letting us room with them. I'm so excited. This is the same friend we're taking with us to Sakura-con in the spring. She's very awesome.

We are still waiting for the bia tape maker. It should be here on Monday. If not there will be hell to pay because I cannot wait a moment longer. I HAVE to get started now if I want to finish before the end of next month so I have enough time to work on Seth. I'm going to go modify the cape's collar today since that's all I can really do right now. The cape won't take me long to finish. It's pretty simple. And the cassock appears simple as well. The modifications I need to do are very easy. And are just a few slits on the sides and back. Not much work to be done to it. I'm more worried about Seth and the wings.

Finding the perfect green fabric is hard. They are either too light or too dark. I'm hoping to find something at the big fabric store in Portland but I think I may have to order online which it may turn out to be a lighter green than I wanted but I'm okay with that. It'll be cheaper. I will also need to get a white fabric that isn't shiny like the satin I have. This is because the white fabric will make the outer train. If used the same fabric as the inner train they will blend in too much. I don't want that to happen.

I'm very hopeful we will get the costumes and armor done on time. However I'm starting to worry about the wings. If we finish and there isn't enough time for me to comfortably make them I won't. We won't be entering the contest but like I told my fiance it will still be fun. We'll have a ton of fun walking around in cosplays we both love dearly and with our friend by our side there is no doubt we'll have a good time. So right now I'm not going to worry about it.

The armor is coming along fine. We found out painting Gesso and Mode Podge on Wonderflex before you sand is useless. It gummed up and made more trouble then anything. So I stripped it off and am now repainting mode podge on before painting it silver. It's pretty darn smooth thanks to the tool we used as well as the Mod Podge. So there isn't a ton of sanding to be done.

As for Kumori-con's cosplays we may change it up a bit. But we will do at least three, including our Trinity Blood cosplays I'm making now. With wings.

Right now our ideas are...

Only firm one right now is..

~Sharon and Break (Pandora Hearts.) *For a panel/s.

Maybes:

~Willow and Wilson (Don't Starve) *If we don't get them done by Sakura
~Madam Red and Grell (Black Butler)
~ Cowslip's Pokemon Gijinka (Grimer and Muk)