Tag: #doctorwho

A good day for a Song

Celebrity, Convention, Cosplay, Fandom, Geek, Sci-fi

Today will be Day 3 of Phoenix Comicon for me, and I’m most excited for today. Why, you ask? Because I have my first ever official con photo op (not just a selfie at the guest’s booth), and it’s with the one, the only River Song (aka Alex Kingston)!

River Song is my favorite Doctor Who companion, hands down. I cosplayed her as my first cosplay, and ever since they announced that Alex would be at the con I’ve been eager to get a photo op. I’m debating having her sign the photograph later in the day, because sometimes you get a little bit of time to chat with the guest at the autograph table (as opposed to the photo ops, where they have you move right along to keep the line under control).

I’ll be dressed in my Star Wars/Doctor Who mashup cosplay today, complete with Ultrasabers lightsaber:

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I got a lot of compliments on my costume Thursday evening when I wore it, and I’m hoping Alex likes it. (Of course, being an actress and all she’ll probably say she loves it regardless of her personal opinion on it haha). I could have done a River Song cosplay again, but I don’t have a good wig for it anymore and my hair is shock-straight no matter what I do with it.

If you’re at Phoenix Comicon today and see me, feel free to ask for a photo if you like my costume. If you don’t like it or don’t want a photo, just wave and say “hi” 🙂

Crunch time

Anime, Convention, Cosplay, Crafting, Fandom, Geek, Sewing, Time

It’s now exactly 3 weeks until Phoenix Comicon, and I’m still not done with all the cosplay stuff I need to do–in fact, my list is growing every day!

I have to:

  • finish my husband’s Gaara coat
  • work with my husband to make our Sand Village shoes
  • make the Gaara vest (and put a pocket inside it for keys/phone/wallet)
  • make the Gaara belt and leg strap thingies
  • paint Gaara’s symbols on the gourd
  • make a belt for my Jedi TARDIS cosplay so I have a place for my lightsaber
  • add belt loops to the bag I made for my husband’s Sith Time Lord cosplay (so he has a place for his keys/wallet/phone)
  • add a snap on his tunic so it stays flat in front
  • maybe make another couple of straps for my Temari obi

I’m sure there are other things I’m forgetting, but those are the major things. So yeah, 3 weeks for that, and I work a lot in those 3 weeks.

I think I can do it. I’m telling myself I can do it. I just need to buckle down & bust my butt. Once I get the Gaara coat and vest done and the Sand Village shoes for our Naruto cosplays, that should be the majority of the sewing stuff. So beyond that it’s little stuff. The painting shouldn’t take too long…the symbols are simple enough, just need to sit down & paint them. That’ll be, what, an hour or so? So yeah, not too bad.

The worst part will probably be making the vest for the Gaara cosplay, because I have no pattern for it. I have to 100% make it up from scratch. And I’m no Project Runway contestant.

I can do it. I can do it. I can do it. (If I make this my mantra, maybe the positive thinking will make it true lol)

Oh…and think up interview questions for any interviews I get with the con guests.

I can do it. I can do it. I can do it……

May the Fourth Be with You

Convention, Corsetry, Cosplay, Fandom, Geek, Holiday, Movies, Sci-fi, Tattoo

Yes, it’s that day again: the day when the nerds come out of the woodwork to proclaim their love for Star Wars.

I’m one of those nerds. I love the movies (well, most of them), and if I wasn’t a bigger Doctor Who fan I would probably have been getting a Jedi Order tattoo yesterday instead of a TARDIS.

I guess I’ll let my Star Wars/Doctor Who mashup cosplay make up for it. I have less than a month to lose enough weight to comfortably squeeze into it, though I can still fit it. I’d just like the corset a little less…tight. Like, really tight. I mean, I know corsets are supposed to be tight, but this one is homemade, not professionally made. So I’m hoping there aren’t any wardrobe malfunctions at Phoenix Comicon.

Anywho, happy Star Wars Day to all, and May the Fourth be with you!

So Close to the Finish Line…

Convention, Corsetry, Cosplay, Crafting, Fandom, Geek, Sewing

Yes! I have very nearly completed my cosplay, and my husband’s isn’t much farther behind. I need to make him some hand warmers/fingerless gloves/whatever you want to call them, a pouch of some sort to carry his phone, wallet, & keys, & I need to either make or find a belt so I have a place to put my lightsaber. (Oh yeah, and we need to buy our lightsabers–but we’re doing that at the con.)

It’s the culmination of about 6 months of work (off & on), and I’m feeling very accomplished. Sadly, I need to bust my butt on losing weight because I can barely fit into the corset as I am right now. 🙁 I’ll do it, though. I have more motivation now that I’ve seen how hard it is to get into the corset right now. Luckily I made an elastic waistband for the skirt, so I should be fine if I lose weight.

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I can’t believe managed to pull this off. I really didn’t know what I was doing for the most part and patterns have been my friend, but a few things I had to pattern out myself. (Mainly the skirt, a sleeveless black tunic top I made for under the corset–which you really can’t see in these photos–and altering things for my husband’s cosplay. I also made the black belt with the tails without a pattern.) Hubby’s was much more complicated, but I managed.

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Next up? Well, after a break from making cosplay stuff, next up is a Naruto couple’s cosplay (though we’ll be cosplaying siblings–not that it really matters. It’s cosplay after all). They look like fun characters to play, and they both have large props that should be interesting to make.

Now off to be productive!

Cosplaying the Day Away

Convention, Cosplay, Crafting, Fandom, Geek, Learning, Sewing

Spent most of the day working on my husband’s cosplay cloak. It’s turning out pretty well, and I hope to have it finished by next weekend.

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Once I figured out the color blocking on a mockup, the rest came fairly easily. Hubby even helped me figure out how to transfer what I’d patterned out onto the fabric I planned to use in the finished product.

After this comes the belt with the “tails” and finishing his pants and my skirt. I need to make him a bag or pouch of some sort as well, but that can wait until the end.

Getting so excited! 

The proof is in the pattern

Cosplay, Crafting, Drawing, Fandom, Geek, Learning, Sewing

Started sewing early (early) this morning, and I’m almost at the point where I need to partially draft the cloak.

It’s going to take a bit of Frankensteining to get it right. I don’t like the hood pattern that came with the cloak pattern, so I’m using the hood from my TARDIS pattern to make one for my husband’s Sith Time Lord, and the cloak he wants needs some color blocking done, so I’ll have to do that, too.

I’m not too worried about it, but I’ll admit that I am a little apprehensive. I’ll have to get the look right without having some pattern to use. It’s not like I’ve never worked without a pattern before, but there’s something about recreating a look that creates a new kind of challenge. Don’t get me wrong; I am loving the idea of the finished look. It’s just the process of getting there that will be rough.

I’m glad for Facebook groups and the opportunity they provide to let me reach out to other sewists/cosplayers and ask for advice. I’ve only gotten a little feedback so far, but it was encouraging. I can draw, but drawing a pattern is a whole different animal. It’s basically working in three dimensions on two dimensions of paper.

These costumes are going to be so great when they’re done. A Jedi TARDIS and Sith Time Lord–so cool!

Sew here I go again

Convention, Cosplay, Crafting, Fandom, Geek, Learning, Sewing

It’s that time again! Back to the cosplay sewing.

This morning I cut out the pieces for the tunic that my husband will wear. I’m hoping to be done with that this weekend so I can get started on drafting the pattern (aka making shit up) for the cloak. I have a pattern for the hood, but for the rest I’ll have to sketch most of it and come up with a way to put it together.

I may or may not have to line it, which will make it quite hot to wear, but I don’t know if I can pull off the bottom part with the contrast blocking without lining it. Maybe something lightweight? We’ll see.

I’m feeling much more confident in my sewing skills the further I go with this project. I don’t feel as skittish about following the patterns and I’m almost certain I can pull off the cloak.

This is going to be an amazing convention year for me and my husband. If I can finish these cosplays, I may try to convince him to have professional photos taken at one of the cons we go to.

Obi-wan Sith Lord

Convention, Cosplay, Crafting, Fandom, Geek, Sewing

Okay, sounds weird, I know, but hear me out: A Sith Time Lord.

As I’ve mentioned before, my husband has decided to be a Sith Time Lord to compliment my mashup cosplay of a Jedi TARDIS. This morning, I finished an obi for his costume, made out of a red fabric with a TARDIS/Dalek pattern on it. I’m really proud of how well I’m doing with the sewing stuff (considering I’ve only owned a sewing machine for 4 months and have next to no experience working with patterns before this).

There’s my hubby modeling the pants and obi for me, along with some images of the finished obi with the almost-finished pants laid out underneath it.

My sewing skills keep growing, and I’m excited to see if I’ll be able to recreate the cloak as my husband wants it. The hood will have the red fabric as the lining and the cloak itself will have the red Doctor Who pattern along the bottom as shown here:

Custom Sith Style Outfit Front and Back

It’s going to be exciting to walk around Phoenix Comicon and Dragon Con as a husband-and-wife cosplay couple. I hope in years to come we can devise even more unique cosplays to do together!

A Stitch in Time Causes a Headache

Cosplay, Fandom, Geek, Sewing

I’ve started on my husband’s cosplay for next year’s Phoenix Comicon and Dragon Con.

Oh. My. Goddess.

We haven’t even finished the pants & already I’m frustrated. I don’t know if it’s the cold I’m trying to cut off at the pass or the frustration that’s causing the massive headache I have, but either way it’s put a damper on the project. I know my husband wants to be done as quickly as possible because he’s so excited, but I think he overestimates my abilities. I have to go slow because I’m still very much a beginner.

We’ve taken a break, but I’m wondering if we shouldn’t wait until another day to start back up. I just can’t right now. I’m feeling drained. This Sith Time Lord just might take longer than expected.

The Storm Inside

Cosplay, Crafting, Fandom, Geek, Sewing

The design is found and the brain is storming. While I still haven’t figured out how to finish the waist on the skirt of my own cosplay (I think I’m getting close to having a concept in mind, but still not sure), I’m starting to work out in my head how my husband’s cosplay is going to go.

Custom Sith Style Outfit Front and Back

It’s a simple enough design (I guess–what do I know?), but I don’t have a pattern so I have to make my own. Measuring, sketching, probably practicing on scrap fabric first.

I also need to make a tunic top of some sort for under my corset. The hubby doesn’t want me wearing the corset by itself (which I guess I understand), so I need something that will look good with the costume but will also be Jedi-like. I’m thinking a cream-colored muslin or linen tunic, possibly with binding to match the corset. Haven’t decided yet.

Well, off to an exciting (or at least busy) day at work. 🙂