Cosplay Costumes

Costumes aren’t just for Halloween any more. Cosplay- dressing and acting the part of characters apart from the stage-  is really popular.  Comic con is a comic book and related arts convention, often space themed. Fans gather to meet artists, other creators, and each other- and often dress up as favorite characters. There are panels, book and art signings, and costume contests. There are similar cons for other areas of interest, some huge, some small.

My daughter writes Science Fiction and Post Apocalyptic YA books. She attends several Comic con events each year as a vendor, as it is good place to meet prospective readers. It wasn’t long before she decided that she wanted to dress up for events.

Her favorite Sci Fi show is Dr. Who, so we started there. The first costume was a very long, multi colored scarf (knitted by me) and a hat, representing the 4th Doctor, Tom Baker.

The second costume request was for a Tardis Costume (The Tardis is the British blue phone book look-a-like space ship the Doctor travels through space in- see previous photo). She had seen several variations on this theme at a Comic con. We used Simplicity 1095 as a starting point.

We made some significant changes. I shortened the corset about 4” for ease of movement, as it would be worn while working. The corset was quite straightforward to make, but lining up the designs on the front was rather picky. It laces up both the front and the back, and requires some help to put on.

We eliminated the long skirt and bustle, using just the short skirt with the addition of netting underneath. It is worn over leggings and boots. The shrug with attached hood completes the costume, and snaps to the corset on either side to hold it in place.

It has been worn a lot, and has held up well.

http://www.arielesieling.com/http://www.arielesieling.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pg/arielejsieling/https://www.facebook.com/pg/arielejsieling/

But costumes are like potato chips- one is never enough. 

Next time- the Steampunk Slytherin Costume.

Cersei Lannister's Red Dress

Game of Thrones has fabulous costumes. They are beautifully designed and lavishly embroidered. I fell in love with Cersei Lannister's red dress, generously embroidered with gold, and decided to make an attempt at recreating it. 

I used Simplicity pattern #1487 and tweaked it a bit. 

I made the dress using three colors of  linen- red, flax, and gold. I used my embroidery machine to create most of the embroidery, since I have arthritis in my hands. The designs are a little different than the ones on the original dress for that reason. To make the designs curve around the neckline properly, I embroidered them on gold silk organza, cutting the extra organza away and clipping where necessary to make them curve. This technique also gave the designs more loft. I sewed them in place with large, widely spaced machine zigzag stitches of the same thread. I was able to embroider the lions directly onto the dress. These amazing designs come from Urban Threads. You should check them out.

I finished the basic dress and gold embroidery nearly a year ago. We took some photos, and then I set it aside until I had time to finish it.

I started working on the dress again in August 2015 and completed it later that month. I made the birds and flower buds using free motion embroidery on my regular sewing machine. The beading was done by hand. The tail feathers are real.

I also added a belt that I made. I think it turned out pretty well. 

Many thanks to my friend Katie Bernier for once again being my model.

If you are interested in owning this dress, it is available at: Cersei Lannister's Red Dress