Borderlands Psycho Progress

Wow!  It's been a little while since I've last posted, eh?  Like a month or so.  I must have been busy.  Really busy.  Like sewing 3 cosplays and finishing a semester of grad school busy! :p

Ok.  So, during the first weekend of September, I went to DragonCon.  Great fun!  You should definitely go.  But this post isn't about DragonCon.  It's about a cosplay I unveiled at DragonCon.  My Psycho from the video game Borderlands.

It took a while for me to find the right fabric.  Apparently, bright orange chino fabric is hard to come by.  Go figure.  My usual go-to, Joann fabric, had a lot of lovely oranges, but none in a material that I wanted to use for pants.  Neither did Hancock Fabric or G Street Fabric.  So to the internet I went!  I found the best fabric on etsy, through a store called Libbysfabric.  The material I bought was Pre-Shrunk Cotton Chino Twill in Pumpkin, which can be found here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/203622541/pre-shrunk-cotton-chino-twill-fabric?ref=hp_mod_rf

I was so happy when it arrived.  I even posted a fairly spoiler free photo on my facebook page.

It was time to get to work.  I was doing this as a group cosplay with Quartermaster's Cache.  I make us the pants and arm bands, he makes us the props.  Good deal.  We decided to keep them a secret because, sometimes, that is more fun.

Neither Quartermaster's Cache nor myself know how to make masks...yet.  So we both bought ours.
Mine came from the ever talented SKS Props.  I bounced up and down when mine arrived.

Of course, the kitty decided to help me sew, which I shared on facebook as another semi-spoiler free photo.

And finally, pants pieces cut, it was time to put them together:

I didn't take photos of me putting the pants together, because I didn't really have anywhere to put them at the time, I was following a pattern, and I was super busy.  (Excuses excuses). But above, I do show making the pocket flaps.  What a difference ironing makes, am I right?

Let me say, cargo pants are a lot of work.  Adding a bunch of exterior pockets takes a lot more time, but it looks so cool!

Between making the pocket flaps and putting the rest of the pants together, I kind of didn't take pictures.  Until I got to the waistband.  Below are pictures of sewing the waistband on.

Before this point, I had already tried the pants on several times to tailor the fit to myself.  It's easier to fix the fit of pants BEFORE the waistband goes on.  When the waistband was on and the button was attached, it was time to try them on with boots (combat boots that I bought on Amazon.)

Yep, that works.

Then, I had to do it all again for Quartermaster's Cache.  Two pairs down, armbands to go.

I didn't take pictures of those.  I measured the around our biceps, then cut fabric just a little longer than that, about 4 or 5 inches wide.  I rolled the edges in, twice, totaling a half inch on top and bottom (to make the edges look nice), then sewed them closed to fit on the arm.

Finally, time to cel-shade.  Borderlands is a cel-shaded game (cel-shading is a form of animation).  For this, Quartermaster's Cache and I got together.

Yes, we used Sharpie.  Don't hate.

Draw a black line on every seam, every edge, every corner.

I didn't feel that just outlining edges and seams was enough, so I started making hashmarks in random places and on natural creases.

Only the pants are cel-shaded in the above pics.  I still had to cel-shade my arm wrap.

FYI, cel-shading takes a while.  Make sure you have a good amount of time free.  (A couple of hours).

A note about my top.  I used a strapless bra, a cut up tank top to cover the bra (straps removed), and then Ace Bandages.  I want to alert people that ace bandages can be harmful if wrapped tightly.  Make sure, if you use ace bandages, that you wrap them loosely.  They can compress and hurt your ribs.  I wrapped them loosely, and cel-shaded them in the hotel, once the outfit was on.

Don't forget to cel-shade your body.  Follow natural lines to start with.  Collar bone, neck lines, biceps, triceps, abs.  Even if you don't have a 6-pack, you want to draw them on, but not too harshly.  Leave some open spaces around the abs.  They are not squared off boxes.  Then, feel free to give some random hashmarks on your body. These give you the feel from the game.  More accurate.

One of my favorite aspects of this cosplay was the play.  With the mask on, inhibitions faded away.  I acted the part so easily, even though I am nothing like the character.  It was immense fun!

Capable - Tea Dye Progress

Hello everyone!  I'm sorry that it's been a whole month since my last post.  I've been suuuuuper busy with school, sewing, and cons!  This post is not about what I've been doing to keep me away from this lovely blog.  This post is about finishing up Capable!

Since my last blog post on Capable from Mad Max: Fury Road, I have finished the top (made the halter more screen accurate and affixed the halter in back by adding velcro), and I completely redid the skirt.

It was very clean and very white.

All that was left was to tea/coffee dye it to make it grungier looking.

But first, so that I didn't mess up my whole cosplay, I had to do test strips!

So!  I made a bunch of test strips, some single layers with hems, some double layers.  Why both? The halter top and the shorts  are double layered so that they aren't too see through.  The skirt, however, is a single layer, hemmed on all sides.  I wanted the test to be as accurate as possible for all pieces.

So I bought some instant coffee and went to work.  I may have been a tad nervous:

I started at a 1:1 ratio of coffee to water, meaning that for every cup of water, I had one teaspoon of coffee.  I used 6 cups of water and 6 teaspoons of coffee, put that in a large pot, and brought to a near boil.  Once I could hear the liquid (you know how it gets all bubbly sounding before it starts actually bubbling?  Yeah, at that point), I turned the heat from high to 6.

I wanted to test different times, so I left pieces in for durations of 1 minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, and 15 minutes.  With a small piece left, I did an impromptu test of 30 seconds.  I rinsed each with cold water when pulled out of the pot, and let them dry.

My results:

Top was single layers, bottom was double layers, and follows this order:
Control, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes (top, single layers).
Control, 1 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes (bottom, double layers).
I determined these to be too dark for Capable.  While hers looks dirty, it looks pretty close to pristine (especially when compared to the other wives).

Retry!  Make more strips, then go again.  I had decided to try a 2:1 ratio of water to coffee, but ended up doing more like a 2.5:1 ratio or something.  10 cups of water, 4 teaspoons coffee.  I figured that 10 and 15 minutes increments would probably be too much, so I started with 30 seconds, 1 minute, and 5 minutes, deciding at the point whether to try the 10 and 15.  (After pulling out the 5 minute samples, I knew that 10 and 15 would be too much, so I used the remaining test strips for tea).

For the tea, I used two black-tea tea bags to 8 cups of water.  I left the tea bags in until the water was almost at a boil, shaking them around from time to time.  The water turned a very copper red, which was pretty, but I wasn't sure would work.

I repeated the test at 30 seconds, 1 minute, and 5 minutes with the tea, as well.  Again, like with the previous two coffee tests, I rinsed each strip in cold water.

My results of coffee test 2 and tea test 1:

Tea test on left, coffee test 2 on right. Order as follows:
Tea: Single layer control, single layer 30 sec, single layer 1 min, single layer 5 min, double layer 30 sec, double layer 1 min, double layer 5 min.
Coffee: Single layer 30 sec, single layer 1 min, single layer 5 min, double layer control, double layer 30 sec, double layer 1 min, double layer 5 min.


The 30 second and 1 minute test turned out pretty much the same.  I decided to go with 1 minute tea over the 30 seconds because, for whatever reason, I figured it would hold better?  Not sure with the reasoning behind that, so I just went with it.

I nervously dyed the shorts, then the top, then the skirt each for 1 minute in the tea dye, then rinsed with cold water.  I laid them down to dry and left them overnight.

When I awoke, I tried them on.

Ok, maybe it doesn't look too different to you.  Why don't we compare the before and after?

That's quite a difference!  I'm very excited to wear Capable THIS COMING WEEKEND at Shore Leave.  (If you see me, come say hi!).

Out of excitement, I took a selfie, too, though it doesn't show the color as well, since the whole photo is a tad whited out.

Wow, I'm quite pale, huh?  I do love my alabaster skin!

With Capable done, I look to the future!  I am currently working on two, secret, group cosplays. Keep watching, you'll see them soon enough! (like, yanno, a month or so...without the "or so" :p  )

Hope this post was helpful!

To Take On A Commission Or Not To Take On A Commission

Hey everyone!  I'm sorry that I haven't posted recently.  I have been Busy with a capitol "B."  (Who knew working full time [temporarily, at a summer camp, teaching filmmaking] and attending Grad School would be so time consuming?)

But I'm here, still alive....I promise.  See?

I think I need to go back for this soft, fluffy thing.

Me, last weekend, fabric shopping.

What was I getting?  Surely I have enough fabric, right?  I mean, I have posted pictures of me at fabric shops or getting fabric in the mail like....4+ times this past month?  So what could I possibly need?

How about this:

Green Pleather

Green Linen

Yellow Linen

I....am taking on a commission.

"Now, Beryla," you exclaim, "I thought you don't do commissions!"

Well, I don't...typically.  This one is for a friend, and something I actually kind of want to do.  I won't say who it's for or what it is yet.  You'll see. 

But why, now, would I make a commission? 

First, let me back track.  

I am frequently asked if I make commissions, and I always say the same thing: "No."

"Why not?" is the follow up question.

Well, here is why, once and for all.

Sewing for someone else makes me nervous.  When I sew a cosplay for myself, if it isn't working out or I don't like how it's turning out, I can just scrap the project.  I can't really do that for a commission.

Tried making Rogue. My heart wasn't in it.  I ended up hating how everything turned out.  So I scrapped it.

What if I find I'm just plain unable to actually make the thing?

_                    _
   \ (@.@)/

When I sew a cosplay for myself (ESPECIALLY when I make the pattern myself), I constantly try it on as I go to test the fit  and make alterations as needed.  Something I can't do with a commission (unless I saw you frequently).

Capable (Mad Max: Fury Road) top

Ty Lee (Avatar: The Last Airbender) top

Astrid (HTTYD2) skirt

And lastly, I have what is commonly (I think) called artist eyes - I never see my own work the way others see it.  I see what could be better or different.  This isn't a bad thing.  I still love my cosplays.  It pushes me to better myself.  But if I always see what's wrong, I don't want someone else to see it.  What if they get the piece and see it through my eyes?  Unlikely, I know, but the thought is too stressful.  Actually, the whole thing is too stressful.

I don't question my talent (what of it I have).  I just find the idea of a commission stressful.  Life is stressful enough.  Making my own is stressful enough.  You could call it fear, or you could call it taking precautions because I know myself.  Whatever you call it, that's how it is.

"Now, Beryla," you ask, "then why are you making a commission?"

A good friend asked me to.  The cosplay is from a universe I love.  Moreover, the cosplay is a character I love.  That has ALWAYS been the first requirement for making my own cosplays.  If I don't love the universe, the character, or something about the character (sometimes that can just mean the outfit, I suppose), then I won't do it.  Seriously.  My heart isn't in it, so it won't turn out amazingly.  I tried that once.  The costume is unfinished upstairs...on the floor (bad me!)

Before you take on a commission, you should think about these things.  For some people, it isn't a question.  Commissioning is the way to go!  For me, not so much.  Except for special occasions.

Sorry, guys!  Maybe one day, I'll change my mind.  Then again, maybe not.

Until then, this anonymous friend (anonymous until the cosplay is worn), will be one of the very few people I work for.

Making Capable - Progress

I recently saw Mad Max: Fury Road and fell in love.  I thought the movie was fun, exciting, and full of great characters.  Full of strong women.  While sitting in the theater, I thought to myself, "I have to cosplay The Redhead!"  I didn't learn her name until after the movie.

Capable.  One of the wives.

She is strong.  She is sweet.  And, well, she is capable - capable of surviving this harsh world.  Plus, the "romance" between Capable and Nux was adorable.

That weekend, I spent hours looking through page after page of wigs.  I started with Arda Wigs, my go to, but they didn't have what I wanted.  So, off to Amazon and Ebay I went.  I'm not exaggerating when I say I must have looked through 80 pages of wigs.  I was trying to find the right color, the right length, the right curls, and no bangs...which is surprisingly hard, I must say.  In the end, after all those hours and all those pages, I found two.

This beauty came first.  I was thrilled.  This matches the color in the behind the scenes photos.  It was super curly.  No bangs.  Part down the middle.  And, importantly, it was the perfect length.

Then came the other wig.

This wig matched the color in the film.  Not as long as I'd have liked, but the perfect color.  The perfect curls.  The perfect part.  

I had a hard time deciding between the two.  The right color or the right length?  Screen accurate color vs. actress accurate color?  I sent my friends this and asked their opinions:

They said what I knew in my heart: go with screen accurate color.  So I am.

It also took me weeks to find the right goggles.  They haven't arrived yet, but it's these babies from Classic Goggles:

Finding the right fabric was difficult, as well.  I found one that isn't 100% perfect, but it's still pretty great.  So I got to sewing the thing.

I started sewing today.  I took the fabric at one end, wrapped it around myself, and tied it off where I needed.  Let me tell you, tying off fabric in the middle of the yard wasn't the easiest.  But I took the fabric, laid it down, and cut.  The fabric is a little too thin, so I folded it in half and tied it around myself again.  This was the result:

I tossed the wig on with it, and I just so happened to be wearing a white tank top.  Capable's skirt looks different lengths in the behind the scenes photos and in some scenes in the movie, so I went with the knee length.  From here, I sewed one end and the top closed and turned it right side out.  (Don't forget to iron the sides).

The remaining side of the skirt used the fold in method.  You take the ends, fold them in on themselves, and sew the two sides together.

I began on the top after I finished the skirt.  I sketched out a rough estimate and cut it on test fabric.  It's a work in progress.  Again, I am double layering so that the outfit isn't too see through.  

I still have to cut the back, sew the two together (I'll probably throw a zipper in the back) and make the halter.  Buuuut.....I got hungry.  So here I am, a now empty plate next to me and a project waiting upstairs.

After I finish the top, I have to make her arm band.  And, now that the shoes have arrived, I need to run out to the Joanns to find matching fabric to wrap around the top.

Shoe in the movie.

My shoe.  Needs some matching fabric to wrap around the top.

I should be done soon.  So exciting!  See you guys on the other side!