I thought I would start blogging about my adventures in costume making. I haven't written anything in quite awhile so I'm going to start with a tiny bit of history. Since I was a kid, back in the dark ages, I've been in love with costume making and sewing. I took a break in the 90's, when my kids were little, to paint things. Then a friend introduced me to Steampunk and I've never been the same.
Over the past several years, I've learned a lot about my own personal taste in costumes. Sounds like a "give me" but apparently not. I like Victorian and Steampunk but I found, through trial and error, that it must be feminine and a mash-up of fandoms. Just so you know...I also tend to talk about my costumes in the third person...they are their own entity.
I may go back and revisit the process for previous costumes, but for now, Nebula is my most recent and most difficult. She is in process so I don't have finished photos. Every new costume must be a new challenge. It must stretch my skills or build new ones. I get bored easily. I don't wear anything well if it wasn't hard work. What fun is that?
So, where do I start in my planning a new project? I have no idea. My husband has been continually told he should cosplay Yondu from Guardians of the Galaxy. He decided he wanted to do it. Our tribe of Steampunk cosplayers were all-in so we started picking characters. I was hovering between Rocket and Nebula. I'm nearly 55. Nebula seemed a stretch. And I love Rocket's character...but I really didn't want to be a furry. My daughter said to try his original comic book outfit...loved it. Then I had an idea of how to do Nebula's hair since I did not wish to shave my head. I threw off my age bias and threw my brain into how-can-I-make-this-work mode. Oh...did I mention my hair is an aqua color? (When I became more than 50% grey, I ditched the normal color...that's another story.) Victorian hair-do along the mohawk line and appropriate color. BAM...silver Victorian hat? Yes. Silver monocle? Yes! Paint the face like her and we have the hardest part figured out.
Onto the outfit. A Victorian number with a short skirt? Maybe circus type thing? Or saloon girl? Must have quarter length sleeves...because...55. I hopped on Pinterest looking for inspiration and started an idea board. Then I found this...
That is the pattern and all the directions there is. Yes, this would be a challenge! And it was...there were many times I wanted to chuck it and use a regular pattern. But I kept coming back to it...no challenge, no fun. Next post I'll talk about the drafting process and other fun stuff...
You are so interesting. Can’t wait to see the finished product.
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