Link

Bandit Spurs and I wanted to do a Legend of Zelda skit as a masquerade performance but we needed a Link to complete the skit.  My boyfriend Corey graciously stepped in and we totally rocked it!  I made the majority of the costume for him while he focused mainly on the sword.

Construction:

Shirt - The shirt pattern was made by taking apart an old T-shirt at the seams and lengthening the sleeves.  It was made from a white knit fabric and quite easy to assemble.  The mandarin collar was the trickiest to make since it needed to stand up and the fabric was not very stiff.  I used a very stiff interfacing inside it which caused all sorts of sewing problems but I managed to work it out.

Assembling the shirt

Tunic - The tunic pattern was the same pattern as the shirt except it was longer and and inserts added just below the waist in the front and back for added maneuverability.  The collar was a strange shape which I had to play around with for a while.  The final shape I opted for was a typical collar shape with a slightly larger rectangle added underneath.  The whole tunic was underlined because the green material I had bought for it was rather thin and sheer.  The final length of it reached to above Corey's knees while the sleeves were above the elbows.  Belt loops were added along the waist to allow the belt to sit nicely in place.

Collar pattern

Leggings - I had to figure out how to make leggings that would be comfortable for a guy.  I followed the same directions as I would for the leg portion, then added a "pouch" in the front crotch.  They were made using the same white fabric as the shirt.

Male Leggings

Boot Covers - I used a brown vinyl for the main portion of the boot covers and scrap light brown leather for the top cuff.  I took a couple of measurements around his shoe, then drafted a pattern from them, giving room for errors.  The covers were designed to go over his shoes and to be held down with elastics.  A zipper was inserted into the backs of each.  Scrap brown leather was sewn to the boot covers underneath the cuff and adorned with a buckle.

Base of the boot covers

Gloves - As with all my gloves, I had to form a pattern.  I made Corey wear a latex glove which then I taped up and cut him out of.  I tweaked the pattern to include seam allowances and ease then went on to making mock ups.  The real gloves were made from brown leather and all hand sewn.  The finger tips were cut off at to reveal the fingers and the edges were finished with a blanket stitch.

Bracers - The shape of the bracers was really quite simple; a long rectangle with a little square piece in the middle on top. Little square holes were cut out of the rectangular part to allow the glove underneath to peak through.  They were made of brown vinyl and only comprised of one seam.  I didn't bother finishing the edges of the holes but the longer exposed edges were turned under and hemmed.

Cut out bracer

Wig - I used the Jaguar wig in ginger blonde from Arda wigs as the base.  The bangs and back of the wig were trimmed to get the right cut of Link's hair.  The bangs were further styled with heat, teasing the hair at the base and hairspray to get the winged bang look that OOT Link has.

Styling the bangs

Hat - Link's hat was made using the same green fabric as the tunic.  It was comprised of the triangle piece and the cuff.  The triangle piece was sewn to create a cone shape, which was then sewn to the cuff.  The cuff was lined to give it stability.  It was made to fit over the wig while Corey was wearing it and it stays in place with some bobby pins and clips.

Belts - Link has two belts, on that carries the sword and shield on his back, the other to wrap around his waist.  I bought the one that wrapped around his waist but made the cross belt.  I took a long strip of vinyl, folded over the edges and hemmed them.  The pattern on the belt was made by sewing lines at intervals along the length of the belt.  The buckle was attached to the belt through an eyelet and the holes were made sturdy with even more eyelets.

Props - My main prop focus was the shield while Corey worked on the sword.  I helped him come up with the pattern for it, then cut out the shapes, carved some of them and glued them together.  The shield is made of cardboard, craft foam and pieces of EVA foam, with Worbla covering it.  The Worbla was primed using a spray filler, then spray painted black.

Adding the Painter's Tape

Most of the colours were spray painted on, the silver being the first, then the blue background.  When we were spraying one colour, only the surfaces that were supposed to be that colour were exposed, the rest were covered by painter's tape.  I painted the details on using a stencil and normal acrylic paint.  We sealed the entire thing with some clear acrylic sealer then added the vinyl backing on with lots of patience and hot glue!

Completed Costume

Princess Zelda

My friend Lisa from school really wanted me to make her the twilight Princess Zelda costume for her.  This was my first armour project so it was both terrifying and interesting at the same time!  I'm really glad that I made this though since I now have the confidence to make more armoured costumes in the future!

Construction:

Dress - The dress was made using McCall's pattern M4491, view A.  It was made out of a medium weight white satin.  I had to make modifications to the dress once the parts were put together since the pattern didn't fit Lisa all that well.  The bottom of the dress was edged in a burgundy trim in two forms; the plain strip and the crisscrossing pattern.  The plain border was made out of a cotton bias hem while the crisscrossing pattern was made using two rolls of burgundy satin faced ribbon.  The ribbon was first laid out in one layer, then the second layer that completed the look was sewn on after.  The corners are all continuous ribbon, each having been folded and pinned in place prior to sewing.

Sewing the ribbon

The silver pattern along the hem of the dress was created using a stencil made from heavy drawing paper and silver acrylic paint.  The stencil was drawn out on the folded paper and then cut out using a craft knife.  Keeping it folded while cutting kept the pattern symmetrical.  When it was time to paint the pattern, the stencil was pinned to the dress and a piece of cardboard was placed under the painting area to prevent the paint from soaking through and touching the table.  A sponge brush was used to tap the paint into the stencil.  This was done eight times to complete the hem design.

One stencil done

Tunic - The pattern for the tunic was created using the same one for the dress but modified to fit the specific shape of the hem.  It was made out of a purple crushed velvet and attached to the dress along the neckline, shoulders and back opening.  The lace up part of the dress was attached to the back of the dress over the tunic and this was made out of the tunic fabric.  The white design along the edge was mimicked by adding a white wavy trim.

Tunic

Gloves - Lisa doesn't like having her hands covered especially during the summer months so we opted for gloves that only covered her arms, which technically makes them arm socks.  They were made out of a white spandex for the main part and blue spandex for the upper trim.  The silver designs were painted on while she was wearing them with acrylic paint to prevent the paint from cracking.

Pauldrons - The pauldrons were the scariest thing to attempt making from this costume.  I came up with several drawings of them before I decided on a pattern.  I made them using three main parts; the top of the pauldron, the "wing" and the little insert between the wing and the top.  I also had to make the center piece that lay between the pauldrons.  I had to play with the pieces a bit to get the right shape and size of each.  The final shapes were cut from EVA floor mats from the dollar store.  All the detailing were just strips of the EVA foam with the top edges cut to try and round it out.  The pieces were glued together using contact cement while the detailes were glued on with hot glue.  Some of the finer details such as those swirls on the top of the pauldrons were made by drawing them with hot glue.  The centerpiece was made out of craftfoam and the thicker EVA foam with expanded cut detail lines.

Unpainted pauldron

The jewels that are inlaid in each piece were glued on with hot glue once they were all assembled.  I covered the jewels with tape then painted a couple layers of gesso over them, then spray painted them black.  I spray painted a gold layer over the black then added highlights by hand.  The pauldrons were attached to the center pieces by means of rings and fabric ties.  Strips of black felt were cut and two strips were assigned to each ring which in turn was assigned to each attachment.  The felt pieces were wrapped around the rings and glue together.  The glue end of the felt was then glue to the inside of the pauldron pieces.  The whole assembly put on over the head since the attachments are all fixed.

Attachment of back plate

Belt - The belt in the source material has a distinctive 3D-ness to it and I wanted to portray that in my crafting.  I decided to use craftfoam for all of the pieces.  Each piece was patterned out, then glued together to create three dimensional objects.  Needless to say, all of the pieces turned out to be hollow.  They were primed with white glue and gesso, then spray painted a base coat of black before moving onto the gold paint.  The highlights were added afterwards with a paintbrush and white acrylic paint.  The belt pieces attach to each other the same way as the pauldrons.  They are also attached to a chain and clasp in the back.

Painted belt pieces

Tabard - The tabard was made using the same white satin as the dress.  Lisa was in charge of drawing the design since she wanted to help in the making of the dress. Once the pattern was drawn out, I started painting the gradients.  The green has a gradient with five different shades of green while the blue has seven shades.  The gradient was painted slowly, with the different shades layering over each other to blend it together.  The fine details were painted last.  Once it was all dry, it was cut from the fabric and the edges were fray checked.  Two eyelets were inserted into the top corners so that it could be attached to the belt.

Painting the blue gradient

Crown - The crown was also made with craftfoam and a wire base.  The pieces were detailed with hot glue and primed with white glue and gesso.  A black under-layer was spray on, followed by a gold over-layer and finally little highlights and shadows were handed by hand.

Completed costume

Saber Maid

My boyfriend Corey showed me a photo of the Saber maid figure and since it was too cute, I just had to make it!  I love Saber's character and I do plan on making more of her outfits :D

Construction:

Dress - The dress was the scary thing to make since it is backless.  This was the first dress that I ever wore that didn't have a back to it!  Naturally because of the strange design, I had to hand draft a pattern for it.  I split the dress into two parts: the bodice and the skirt.  I made the skirt a full circle skirt.  I used the bodice from the hobbit dress that I made as my base of modified it to fit the neckline and the low back.  The dress was made using a light navy blue satin.  The bodice is lined with the same navy satin with an old bra hand sewn inside to provide "some" support.

Dress Bodice

The lining for the skirt is separate and acts as the underskirt.  It was made using a heavier white satin and edged in a crocheted triangular trim.  The dress closes in the back with a small invisible zipper.  The sleeves were made using the sleeve pattern from the same hobbit dress with a modification on the size of the puff.  The cuffs were hand drafted and close with hooks and eyes.  The final detail that was added was the ruffles around the neckline.  They were made using the heavier white sating and since the gathering stitches broke before I could gather it all together, I opted for pleated them to fit the neckline.

Forming the Pleats

Apron - The apron was made using a white poly cotton fabric.  It was had drafted, the main part being made from a weird rectangular/oval shape.  I had the gather it along all four sides separately to try and get the puffy shape that the figure has.  The ruffles were made using two long strips of varying widths fold in half and gathered.  The tie was also made from a long strip of fabric folded over itself.  I added some vintage lace as an edging around the inner most ruffles to sort of embellish the apron a tad.

Base for Apron

Stockings - The stockings were made using the same white poly cotton fabric as the apron.  Two rectangular strips of fabric were cut for each stocking; one piece acted as the back of the stocking to which the elastic was sewn to while the other was the front.  The front piece was slit in intervals to allow for the blue ribbon to pass through.  Ruffles and lace were sewn to the top and bottom of the stocking cuff, which was then sewn onto black nylon stockings.

Stocking cuffs

Wig - The wig was purchased pre-styled from ebay.  Once I received it, I had to make some slight modifications to it such as adding the blue bow on the bun and making the antenna.  The antenna was made using fabric glue and lots of hairspray.

Accessories - This costume had quite a a few accessories to complete it, namely the headband, collar and cuffs.  The headband was made using a rectangular piece of fabric, folded over itself and interfaced.  I added rows of lace along it to embellish it before sewing it to the purchased, fabric covered headband.  The collar was made from a long strip of poly cotton, much in the same way as the stocking cuffs were made (without the elastic though).  It was kept open ended with excess ribbon to be able to tie a bow and thus close the collar around my neck.

Collar

The cuffs were simply rectangles of material sewn together with a layer of interfacing inside.  The "buttons" were made using googly eyes from the dollar store that were painted black.  Lace edging was also applied to the cuffs and they close with small bits of velcro.

Shoes - Her shoes are black Mary Janes but unfortunately they are really hard to find in my size so I just substitued a pair of black pumps that I already owned.

Completed Costume