More Link (Days 438 - 441)

I had a really clever title for this post earlier, but now I've forgotten it. Ah well, maybe I'll remember eventually.

SO! Over the past couple of days, I have actually been working on my femme!Link cosplay! The most noticeable progress has been that I took in the sides and brought up the hem. I had to toss my idea of using silver lace in place of chainmail because I just plain don't have the money. Though, besides that, I'm not sure how lace would look with the fabric that the dress is made out of. I'd have to search a while before I found something that would work. Because of this, I have decided to go back to the original design of the photo that I've been basing this whole thing off of, or at least with less alterations to it.

Because the color of the fabric is closer to the Twilight Princess version of Link, I'm still calling it that, but I've ditched both the chainmail and the leggings/tights/what-have-you. Getting rid of the tights wasn't so much of a design choice as it was cutting my workload practically in half. The fabric of the dress clung stubbornly to the tights and caused it to ride up. This wasn't so bad when the dress was halfway down my thigh, but since it's higher, anyone behind me would probably get a panty shot in about three steps. If I can get the money to make a slip or something that will go under the dress, I may keep the tights, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

Since I'm still technically making the Twilight Princess version of Link, I decided to detail the bottom of the dress in the same way that Link's tunic is detailed. I can't decide if this was a bad decision or not. I'm using the sewing machine and a special stitch on the machine to make the designs. It's difficult, and time-consuming, and the result isn't exactly what I was looking for (too subtle) but it is cute, and it looks like it belongs on a dress, so I'm happy with that. I'm considering making a tutorial or sorts to show what I did, since it's hard to explain without a lot of pictures.

It has also been decided that I will wear femme!Link to the SanFransisco Cherry Blossom Festivale on April 17th. I'd like to be in the parade, but I never have before, and I guess it depends on who I go with (etc. etc.). I'm also hopefully going to be doing a photoshoot with foxberry during the summer! We're on the lookout for forest-y places in the area.

READ MORE - More Link (Days 438 - 441)

Merry Christmas! (Days 417 - 421)

So I went to my boyfriend's family Christmas party last night (Christmas Eve), and there was a White Elephant gift exchange. I made a Pikachu hat for it, and a lot of people were very amused by it. It ended up going to a kid, which I intended. Kid's don't participate in the White Elephant, but parents do, and the kids seem bored during it.

Anyway, for Christmas, I got my 12-hole Destiny ocarina ^-^ I got it Christmas Eve, and I'm learning to play it and read the music really quickly. Hopefully I'll learn enough to bring it to AOD.

I've been re-inspired to finish my femme!Link cosplay, I figured out the missing piece. I'm going to use silver/metallic lace in place of chainmail. It's going to be difficult to find the right kind though. I'll need a piece off of a bolt (like how fabric comes) that looks similar to chainmail, but not enough like it to be mistaken for it, to put underneath the top amd bottom of the dress so that it'll show through the slit. Then I'm going to put lace edges around the bottom of the dress and the sleeves, to imitate chainmail sticking out from underneath. Hopefully this works, I'll really have to search for the right stuff, especially since I don't think lace usually goes with the type of fabric that I used for the dress (a blend of 95% rayon and 5% spandex). We'll see what I can find.

As for all of those hats that I was supposed to make for $100, it still hasn't happened. I thought that my friend wanted them for Christmas, but he didn't contact me about them, in fact, there was barely any communication on his end, and we never set a permanent date that they should be done on. So I'm going to try contacting him again, but somethign tells me that this isn't going to happen. Which sucks because I really need the money for Fanime.

READ MORE - Merry Christmas! (Days 417 - 421)

Elf Ears (Days 384 & 385)

So I tried on the elf ears that I plan to use for Link today. I'm a little worried about them, though. Most obviously, they're not accurate. While Link's ears point more outward and downward, the ears I have point upward, and they're about the same size as a normal human ear, so they don't point outward very far.

Most importantly though, they're latex. I wasn't allergic to latex when I bought them a couple of years ago. That's part of the reason I decided to try them on today, to see if I get an allergic reaction. They didn't bother me when I was wearing them. Well, the back of my ear itched at one point, but that could have easily been the wig. I freaked out when inside my ear started itching, and I couldn't scratch it. But that was just a random itch.

Anyway, I also can't hear very well out of the elf ears. They cover my entire ear and have no ear hole to hear out of. When i wear them, it sounds to me as though I have a head cold and my ears are all stuffed up. But conventions are loud anyway, and I like my quiet.. Then again, I said the exact same thing about my Chi ears, haha.

Of course, they're not the exact same color as my skin. Even with makeup on them, they're a lot lighter than my face. I'm considering using a slightly darker makeup on them to see if it matches my face a little more. I had to shade and highlight the ears with makeup to make them look more realistic as well.

The ears also don't match each-other. The left ear (the one I wear on my left) is thinner and wrinkled in weird places, and it looks like it's been cut, so the ear lobe is closer to my face than the one on the right. The left ear also doesn't have some of the structure that the right ear has, so I had to create the illusion that it did using makeup. It needs some work, but it's mostly covered by hair anyway. I also need to put makeup on the backs of the ears.

Anyway, if I do end up getting an allergic reaction, even a small one, I know of an online tutorial for making custom elf ears. They won't be as convincing or comfortable, and they probably won't stay on as well, but I'd rather take the hit than risk my health over it. Also, I'll get to make them into the exact shape I want, so they'll be more accurate at least.

READ MORE - Elf Ears (Days 384 & 385)

Link! (S)he come to town..! (Day 381)

Yay, yay, yay, yay, yay! I made tons of progress on my Female Link cosplay! It's all thanks to determination, it being a simple costume, and nine hours of working on it! Funny, it didn't feel like nine hours.

My boyfriend was nice enough to take me to JoAnn's, where I bought two yards of what is quite possibly the most expensive fabric I've ever bought. But I've been absolutely in love with this fabric ever since I saw it several months ago. It's 95% rayon and 5% spandex, so it's really stretchy, but also super comfortable. I'd like to attempt making some sort of comic book hero outfit out of it, but now that I've learned how it sews, I'm less than excited about it.

We also took a trip to Micheal's, where I used a gift card from my birthday (back in September) to buy some pieces of craft foam for our Magikarp cosplays, and some material to (hopefully) make my Master Dagger out of (yes, instead of a sword).

The first thing I did was completely forgo the dress pattern that I bought and attempt to make a pattern out of a dress that I already had that was pretty similar. That failed. Horribly. I cut out the pattern and then tried to make it symmetrical, and, yeah, I just threw it out.

So back to the pattern it was! Originally, I was going to alter the pattern. I didn't want the darts in the front, and it was a size 6. However, the darts aren't so bad, and the sizing must have been way off because it fits really well! (Though I may make it tighter later, it isn't quite as form-fitting as I had originally hoped.) The only thing I altered was making slits up the sides of the dress, which really only meant not sewing all the way to the bottom, and then using a no-sew-hem tape to finish it off. The sleeves gave me the most trouble, they took five tries. I can't really blame myself though, that pattern made no sense! How exactly am I supposed to match Side A with Side B if Side B is twice as long as Side A!? It's madness, I tell you! Madness!

I have yet to detail the dress at all, but considering I have a ton of time to do this, I intend to do as much detail as possible. I also need to alter the neckline. The picture I'm going off of shows diamond cutouts on the chest, but I'm starting to lean toward a simple V-neck instead, to better mirror Link's tunic.

The dress is also technically not finished in that it's not hemmed. At all. Well, the slits up the sides are hemmed because they had to be in order to match up with the seams. Currently, I'm kind of linking the unfinished look, and it doesn't look like the edges will fray, but I don't want it to look like I was lazy either. If I do hem it, I'm going to use the no-sew-hem. Not because I'm lazy, in fact the no-sew-hem can actually be more difficult sometimes, but because I don't want a bunch of stitches showing. At least not non-decorative stitches.

The hat took about half an hour, including making the pattern and cutting the fabric. It was quick and fun to make, and my machine actually cooperated with me throughout it, which was a pleasant surprise. The part that took the longest was hand-stitching the details onto the sides.

The shoes, tights, wig, and boots were all things that I already had. I also have a fairy in a bottle, which I made for a friend a long time ago and he never used. The wig is the wig that I bought for Pikachu about a week before Kin-Yoobi Con, but never used. I decided to tie it back into a ponytail so that people would be able to see my elf ears (which I'm not wearing in this picture).

I haven't really tried on the elf ears yet, and they're just some cheap ones from the Halloween store a couple of years ago, but if all else fails, I'll cover them some with the hair and it'll be alright.

I'm not thrilled with the boots, but as I mentioned before, I don't have money for new boots right now, so unless I find something better for cheap, this is what I've got. They're basically wannabe Uggs in slipper form. But they're so comfy ^-^ Actually, this whole costume is super comfy. If it weren't for the wig, I would swear that it was pajamas, not a cosplay.

READ MORE - Link! (S)he come to town..! (Day 381)

I'm Not Dead! (Days 362 - 377)

Despite my lack of blogging, I'm not dead. I don't know why I've been disappeared lately, but Ah well.

So I went to Yaoi-Con (review coming soon), and it was way better than last year. I did indeed finish my Franziska cosplay before then (at 3 in the morning) and I'm really glad that I did. I got a lot of recognition and a lot of praise. Not to mention one of the funnest photoshoots I've ever had. =] I don't wanna say too much 'cause it should be in my convention blog soon.

So now I'm preparing for AOD and Fanime. (Mostly Fanime) Yes, I've decided to go to AOD, but I'll probably just lobby-con it. Unless my boyfriend and I manage to pull together the panel that we want to do and it gets approved. 'Cause we ain't payin' to get in.

For AOD, I'd like to cosplay female Link (Legend of Zelda). I found an adorable design on VeryDemotivational.com, but I have no idea who the artist is, and I'd like to credit them, so if anyone knows where the picture came from, it'd be great if you linked me to it. I feel a little hypocritical, because, no, I don't like over-sexualized female versions of male characters. I have felt that tinge of disgust and looked the other way when I've seen them. But cosplay is definitely still a learning experience for me. I've learned about so many things, and I've learned to accept and respect so many different and new things, this is just one more thing that I'll have to learn to respect. Yes, the fact that I want to do this is making it more relevant for me to respect, but if that's what it takes, so be it. At least I'm learning to respect it, instead of judging forever.

That being said, I still probably won't like super over-sexualized versions of characters (regardless of gender). There will probably always be a limit, and that's just something I'll have to learn to deal with.

I'm tweaking the design quite a bit, starting with lengthening the dress. I'm going to make it to about mid-thigh, so still short, but not short enough to show my booty >_< The slit up the side will probably come up about as high, to just below the hip. I'm also going to wear white tights under it, for several reasons, mostly accuracy. I'd also like to get some type of gloves, but I'm not sure which kind. I'd like them to be brown and leathery-looking, but the actual design is totally up in the air. I may or may not make the sack shown, it would be nice to have to hold my ocarina in. I don't have money for new shoes, so unless my mom has some that I can borrow (which she just might >_>), I'll end up wearing some little brown Ugg-looking slippers, which are so ridiculously freaking comfortable OMG! I also don't have money for a new wig, so I'll either end up wearing the wig I originally bought for Pikachu or my Chi wig. Either way, I'll pull the long air back into a bun and hide it (and the showing netting) under the hat.

I have some elf/fairy ears that I can wear, even though they're not super accurate (they point upward instead of downward), but unless Spirit Halloween Stores are still open, they'll have to do. For some reason, I really, really want the sword to be a cute little dagger, but that's up to debate right now (let me know what you think!). I will be wearing a bra, though there clearly isn't one in the picture, and so the cleavage-revealing diamonds will be moved up a little higher. Originally I wanted to find and buy a dress, but, haha, pain, green, short-sleeved dresses don't exist (especially in Winter), so I am going to end up making it (bought the pattern today).

I think I'm most worried about the hat, though. I'd like to make it more detailed, like the Twilight Princess version of Link's hat, but shorter. People are already teasing me that I'm worried about making a hat, what with my hat-making business and all... But I've never made a hat like this, there's no pattern for it, and quite frankly, it intimidates me.

READ MORE - I'm Not Dead! (Days 362 - 377)