Trisha Elric sewing patterns

As some of you know, I'm cosplaying Trisha for Sakura-con 2013. I've thought about just trying to find a dress at a thrift store but finding a light purple, short sleeved dress in my size is very unlikely so I decided I'll just make it since it's simple and will be a good first step into making my own costumes. I'm hoping to get a dress form for X-mas/Yule so hopefully this will be my first project. I'm going to post a few links to patterns I find that may be useful for Trisha's dress. I'm basing mine more off of the manga instead of the anime.

I might be making LSP (Lumpy Space Princess) cosplay costume as well but we'll save that for another day.

Links:

Pleated dress (B would be perfect!)

Dress2  (Loving the shape of this dress, but neckline is not quite right)

(Will updated with more later on!)

Fabric ideas.

Kona Cotton Orchid

Moda Bella Broadcloth

Magnifique Stretch Jersey

That's all for now. I need to go write before this coffee wears off. I'll be adding more fabric ideas as well as patterns later on in the week when I get more time! I'll be doing the same (Only Patterns) for Hohenhiem as well.

Little update

I've been focusing on writing and will be until that darn novel is done and edited. But I do plan on  somehow talking my mom/grandma/Nic to all pitch in and buy me a dress form and supplies for X-mas/Yule. This way I'll be able to really kickstart my new passion of sewing. Since we have already decided that Trisha  (Young) Hohenhiem will be our next cosplay for Sakura-con since it'll crazy with FMA events (Vic is coming) I'm hoping to make these my very first sewing project. I'm unable to create the new oufits for Sharon and Break but knowing us we'll try to do them anyway.


We have a small con coming up in December called Newcon. I'll be entering my Sphere prop from Tsubasa in the contest! It's the first contest I get to enter with a hand crafted item all hand made by me! I'm so excited. I may or may not wear Sakura's hanfu to the event. It depends if it's a walk on. Otherwise I'll be wearing a Kigurumi during the event since it'll be fairly small, maybe a few hundred. Nothing like 4,000 Kumori-con or 10,000 Sakura-con. So being comfy is important to me since last time I wore lolita and was dying. Although I might wear my lolita wig under the hood, without the twin tails.

Just checked the site we're buying from and found a NEW Gloomy Bear. IT HAS CLAWS!!!! OMG. The hood for some reason looks pretty bad unlike the other one. Not sure why. Maybe because it's up more? But those claws! THOSE ARE AWESOME!!!

Since the other Gloomy isn't on sale anymore I might have to go with this one or Pikachu. Idk yet.

All Hallow's Eve

We changed our plan after not being able to find the right type of fabric for my Sharon dress. We decided that it would be better to wait until I get a dress form for sewing since it will be such a heavy piece. The patterns are always online for sale so there isn't a rush. Sadly it wont be done in time for Sakura....Or at least I don't think so. Since Sakura is at the end of March I might use my birthday money to go towards sewing Sharon's new dress in the winter after I get the dress form. I might have it done in time.


Anyway!

Halloween is only six weeks away! I love Halloween. The season I love. There is just this feeling about it, it's hard to explain. Since are not going to be cosplaying we're going to be using our back-up plan. Kigurumi suits! When I first saw these during my first Sakura-con I wasn't really interested in their look but now that I'm really getting comfortable in my skin I want one of these so bad! It's perfect for down time. Especially since I'll be running around in huge cosplays most of the day. We're also going to a smaller con in December. If I don't have to walk my prop on stage for the prop contest than I'll be wearing it throughout the con.

We were going to just do Pikachus but it's so rare to see a Gloomy Bear running around cons so I decided to do that. This way all our friends and us have different Kigurumi suits to wear during cons! It'll be nice to wear something so cozy. 

We're also going to wear them for Halloween. We love to hand out candy. It's a lot of fun and dressing up is just something that goes with that tradition. So we'll be comfy while having fun. I can't wait. In other good news....

SILENT HILL!!!!!!!

Oh glop I'm excited about the new SH movie coming out in October. The only SH game I own is the game that the movie is based off of. I know the characters and the plot by heart. I was so glad they chose it.


kigurumi-store
Silent Hill Revelation

Pros and Cons about creating costumes

My hubby is insisting on creating two outfits for Halloween (6 WEEKS!) and wants to do new outfits for our Pandora Hearts characters we cosplay. But with only six weeks to make TWO outfits, including a huge ball-gown type dress I'm doubting I can do it. I can't find a useable fabric for the dress I really want to make. We're going to a huge fabric store tomorrow to see if we can find one. But if we don't I'm not sure if I have the heart to do such a project in the state of mind I'm in.


So I'm going to list some pros and cons to help me decide.



PROS

• Can put the costumes into costume contests
• Will give us a break from out orignal PH outfits
• Will challenge myself
• Will improve my sewing skills
• Can lead to future commissions
• Can win awards
• Can test out new techniques (Embroidery,ect.)
• Good distraction
• Will keep my hands busy

CONS   

• Lack of time (Six weeks.)
• This would be my first fully sewn costume (Explains the above)
• Unable to find the right fabric
• Lack of funds (On my end)
• Lack of supplies
• No dress form
• Big project, lack of experince

I just don't know what to do. There may be more for pros but the cons are pretty heavy. Nic says he wants to do these costumes but also wants to buy a new 3D DS XL so I have no idea what's going to happen. I think if we didn't wear a costume for Halloween I'd feel heart broken. It's a tradition I'm not willing to break even if I'm not very happy right now. I'm really starting to hate having people buy me stuff I should be able to buy. There are just so many things keeping me from doing what I want. I just don't know where I'm going at this point. I guess well see what the huge fabric store has in stock and go from there.


Costume for Break

Costume for Sharon

The Duchess

One of the pictures taken by Breaking All the Rules Ger. I love this picture!!!! Such good lighting and she is really skilled with her camera. This was for her book. I may or may not get in but it was fun talking with her and it's something I'll always remember.


I've sort of fallen for this character again. Sharon Rainsworth is really sticking to my personality so I think I want to try to make her another outfit. I seriously need a break from this one. :/


I also need a new wig. XD

This is the one I want to make. It' so girly and Victorian. I just can't help but fall in love with it. I also have a thing for capes. They are too cute.



I haven't seen anyone cosplay this before so I really want to try and make it. Not sure which colors yet but I think it'd be a dark purple maybe a light dusty pink with white cape.

More views of the outfit

 

 

Halloween + Up-coming Name change

I was talking to my hubby the other day when we decided on what to wear for Halloween which is only...7 weeks away. We love to hang out candy to kids and last year was great. But this year we really wanted to embrace fall and do something we've dreamed of doing.

The best part of creating these costumes is the fact I get to test out my sewing abilities and try new things for cosplays later on. And the fact I get to (FINALLY) make antler headdresses. I fell in love this idea after looking through Esty. Since small antlers are cheap Nic agreed.

For his costume I'm planning to base it off of Odin (Very loosely.) With lots of dark blues, grays and forest greens. Very earthy with lots of black feathers and a dark green or blue cloak with Runic symbols around the bottom. Maybe lined with gold or gray. For me I'm still throwing ideas around. I've been focusing more on Nic's costume right now than mine. But I suppose it'll be with lots of layers and lace. Very old fashioned Witch like. With either a blue or purple cloak maybe red if I find a good fabric with silver or gold lining the cloak and lots of bead work of stars and moons.

Hopefully we can find most of the clothing items at thrift stores and flea markets so we don't have to spend too much money since the antler headdress and cloaks are the main piece. I'm pretty excited to test out a few new things such as embroidery so I can use it for later cosplays. If this goes well I think I may be brave enough to start sewing our own cosplays. The two cosplays I have in mind to be made first are...

Dinah from Bizenghast. I love her character as well as the plot of the manga and the author (She's very kind) I've always felt a connection to Dinah and her character has stuck with me since I started reading the manga. I haven't read the last one yet.... But this is one of my favorite costumes she wears. It would require a lot of embroidery. The dress is pretty simple but all those details would have to be done right. I have never seen anyone cosplay this before. So I would for sure have to make the post with the BIZENGHAST flag behind her so people could get an idea of who I was cosplaying.

Once again lots of embroidery to be done. Seth Nightlord is one of my favorite characters from Trinity Blood. She seems meek and innocent but behind that act she is powerful and strong, caring and brave.  Her costume (The one picture is the one I wish to make) would take a long time to do but I think with a lot of practice I might be able to do it.













Enough about that. I changed the name of the blog a while back but now I'm tired of it. It's not sitting well for me. So I think I'll be changing it very soon. Don't be surprised if it changes. I'm still coming up with a good name for this blog.

Up-coming cosplays (LSP and Trisha Elric)

Now that Kumori-con is over it's time to start planning for the next con, Sakura-con which is the biggest in the area and is held up in Seattle. This is a fun trip but since we might be getting married in April (It's held at the end of March) we only allowing ourselves to do small casual cosplays. Since our Tsubasa cosplay is still new we really don't want to save up and spend another 300+ on two new costumes. Of course we might change it and do Grell and Undertaker but hopefully we stick to the plan. Since we already have the wig for Honehiem from FMA I'll be doing Trisha. Doing a simple cosplay (Dress, apron, sandals) sounds so wonderful. Since both of my other cosplays are huge and fancy dresses. This will be my new down-time cosplay.

We might be rooming with our friends again but aren't sure yet so we might be able to do two smaller cosplays. My friend and I were talking about doing LSP (Lumpy Space Princess from Adventure Time) Since that's a easy costume too I sort of want to make it as well. So we don't have to do our Pandora Hearts cosplay which we really want to take a break from.

I'll be talking about LSP first since I'm not sure where to get a dress for Trisha yet. LSP isn't a human. But we plan on doing the human version, which will be a very simple dress. I've seen a  few examples of a human LSP (all images are taken from Google. None are mine.)

This is one example I really like. But I don't think I'll be doing it. I was planning more of one like this....

This is the version I'll be doing. But I may change the sleeves to long since I don't like wearing cap sleeves. I might just have the star on a purple ribbon with no bow or do as seen as above. I may or may not paint my skin purple. I might just wear purple tights and have purple contacts.


These are some wig ideas I have and might buy for this cosplay. I really like the Hime puff like shown in the second picture. It will be easier to have a star band there.

 This wig is my dream wig for this cosplay. Gothic Lolita Wigs are amazing and I would for sure feel like LSP wearing this lumpy wig. XD

This is my other cheaper choice. Since this wig has lots of volume and fluff it'll work nicely for LSP.















For Trisha I plan on buying of the clothing items from Goodwills or thrift stores. The dress could easily be made as well as the apron but Nic's Hohenhiem costumes can't be made. I have no idea how to make pants yet and I don't think I'm ready to make pants just yet. Luckily dress pants in brown can be found almost anywhere. Hopefully we find them at a thrift store. I'm hoping to get everything we need for under 50$. That's cheap for two cosplays. Since we spent a lot on our Tsubasa cosplays we're trying to go easy with our next cosplay because we might (Hopefully) get married on April 27th (Our 7th year together) and the con happens to be at the end of March. So saving will be important since we don't want to skip going to Sakura-con. It's one of our favorites.

Since I have brown hair naturally I might just skip wearing a wig and style my own hair.

Kumori-con 2012 review (Pictures soon to come)

-Pictures will be uploaded soon.-


Wow. Is all I can really say about Kumori-con.

Just kidding. I have a lot to say. I had a great time and I have to say this was by far one of the best cons so far. I'm going to part this review in sections by day and by pros and cons. For those who don't know Kumori means "cloudy" in Japanese. Since it's held in both Oregon and Washington.  This year was the tenth anniversary for this convention. From what I heard we broke all records this year. That means we had way more cosplayers/con goers than then int he past year. I'm glad I decided to go to this con because we had a great time!


Day Zero:

We left my house around 11:00pm. It took us a while to pack up everything and make sure I didn't forgot anything important. I had a feeling I over packed like normal and I did. I wore my lolita outfit. We arrived on site around 12:00 or 12:30 that afternoon. We were staying at the Red Lion (The hotel right at the edge of the river, farthest away from the park) We easily found a parking spot for the parking wasn't full yet. We went inside to make sure we were okay parking in the lot even through our check in time was three. But we found out we could check in then and there. We were so happy and pleased by that since we had a LOT in the car.

We called our roomies, who had already been on the con site for a while and we all met up in front of the hotel. We had four staying in our room. My hubby and I and our two friends. We helped each other load all our stuff up and into the room. That took a while but it was fun and this was what day zero is all about. After settling in we decided to head out to the park since I had the lolita meet-up and photo-shoot at three. But first I met up with someone who wanted to buy some of my lolita stuff. The lolita meet was cool, although only one person came to talk to me but she wound up renaming me "Molly" so I doubt we'll become friends since she couldn't remember my name....or bother looking in the notebook I wrote it down in for her. It didn't turn out well. I liked the girls but my glasses went dark because of the sun and NO ONE told me they were. I looked horrible in the pictures and I felt like I ruined the meet-up. So I'll just skip wearing glasses next time. We spent the rest of the day with our friends, having tons of fun. We really connected with them and enjoyed talking and being silly with them.


Day one:

We all woke up at seven and it took us about an hour to hour and half to get ready. Which isn't too bad seeing as we were sharing a bathroom and small space with four people. Plus I had to do Nic's make-up. This was the first time I got to wear my new Sakura (Tsubasa) cosplay. I was so excited. My hanfu had so many bells on it. It was hard not to hear me coming. Day one was pretty chill. We mostly just walked around. At three we had a mini shoot with a really nice photographer. I really need to work on posing though as well as remembering not to scrunch my chin down so it appears I have a double chin. I need to learn more about how to pose my face and remember to stand with my shoulders pulled back.

But that's why making mistakes is so important so you can learn from them and make it better over time. I just hope my pictures for the cosplay book turned out well. The worst part about this day was line up for the dealer's hall. It was in a small area with not a lot of dealers. I wasn't impressed. The line was wrapped around the front of the Red Lion. The staff were kind and helpful but I found it annoying when we were trying to get back into the hotel to go up to our room and having them stop and yell "LINE UP STARTS WAY BACK THERE." And shit like that. It bugged me. We had to keep telling them where we were going. Which we shouldn't have to do when we paid good money to get a room at that hotel. It was annoying but didn't ruin our day. After that we spent the day hanging with friends then the evening in the hotel room to relax from a long day of lots of walking. Sadly we lost our FMA wall scroll. :(


Day Two:

The best day ever. We woke up around 7:00 am again but we were being lazy and we didn't leave until around ten I believe. This was our Pandora Hearts day. It was a very busy day. At 12:00pm we had our Pandora Hearts photoshoot. That was fun seeing our high school buddies. But sadly a younger cosplayer thought it was fun to steal my Break's sword/cane. I had remade and polished that prop myself. It was the first prop I had made and it is VERY delicate. It's been broken at least five times before. In minor ways. But this brat (Even through my hubby told him/her not to touch it again) kept pulling it and running away with it. My hubby had on shoes that hurt his feet so he couldn't really chase her/him. I was getting pissed but didn't want to explode at the kid.

Sadly the prop was tugged on too much and snapped. Luckily it broke at a good spot. Right around the part where the top of the cane connects to the bottom. It stayed together during the shoot as well. I was just glad it didn't break at the end or at the top that would have to been put together with something stronger than hot glue. We ignored the brat and tried to not let what happen affect our day or shoot.

At three we meet up with the author of the new and up-coming Cosplay book Check it out! for a interview and photo shoot. Ger was so nice! We relaxed and had a great time talking with her. She's so easy going and kind it was a joy spending time with her talking about cosplay. We may or may not be included in the cosplay book but just being able to talk to the author was something I'll never forget. It really made our day and will be the highlight of the whole con.

After that we roamed a bit then decided to go back to the hotel and relax. We changed to casual clothing. I wore my lolita dress and my Sakura wig and us and our roomies hung out and danced on the balcony, gave out candy to random cosplayers and ate pizza. We had a great time.

Day three:

We had a choice since we had pack up and get ready to move our stuff back to the car. Our room was messsssssssy. XD So at the very last minute  we decided to cosplay. Something we don't normally do on day three because it's closing day. There isn't much going on and we'd have to drive home in cosplay. But since our friends were cosplaying we decided to give it a try. So we chose our Tsubasa costumes. After packing up and loading up tons of stuff to the cars we all hung out inside the Hilton which was a lot of fun.

The best part was when a man pulled me aside to take a picture with a young CardCaptor Sakura. I was so happy and the little girl was so cute! It really made my day and left me in a good mood.


The con turned out great. There were a few flaws but during a con that's normal. I wish we would have been more clean with our hotel room or at least told our roomie to be more clean so it'd would have been easier to see our wall scroll was missing. We had a good time. We'll surely keep cosplaying and enjoy it to the fullest.