One Week Until Anime Boston...

Updated Schedule Below

And I did the deed last night...dyed my hair blonde for the week.

Here are some pictures that I took of myself in the full Julia Silverstein costume.

I think I might have to find a way to adjust the top a little more when I put it on the day of...just a LITTLE more cleavage than I really want to show in this shot.

I should probably iron a few things before going anywhere.

I'm going to be there on Saturday, and am planning a few special surprises in the coverage of the convention.  So keep on the lookout on this site.

In the meantime, expect to see me attending these panels:

11:00am -- Kuroshitsuji, Demons, Shinigami and Horror -- Oh My!
12:00pm -- Last half of the Funimation Sneak Peek Panel
4:30pm -- Autograph session for the English voice cast of Evangelion 2.0 -- I'll be taking pictures
5:00pm -- The Dark Side of Pokemon (time was changed)
7:00pm -- Bad Anime, Bad!

Feel free to say "Hi!" when you see me.  I don't bite.

The Weekend Project: The Akatsuki Cloak

This weekend was a time for me to get another Anime Boston project done.  And I think I might have set myself up for this one because now my stepdaughter's friends want me to do stuff for THEM ,as well, before we go down.

This was the weekend project: The Akatsuki cloak for my stepdaughter Rachel.

I had decided not to do the dimensional paint on it when I realized the clouds didn't really need to be outlined, and it would have added to the cost of the project.

I worked on the clouds first, which you can find the details on in a previous post.

Instead of using a pattern, I did it a way that I saw at a few sites where one wasn't required.

1) Measure from the shoulder to mid-shin, and add 2 inches. Cut the black and red fabric at that length, then sew the two pieces together at the sides only.  Sew only at the sides and turn inside out.

2) Measure from one side of the collarbone to the other, then add an inch.  Cut this hole on the middle of the piece you just sewed.  You will probably want to sew the neckline at this point to reinforce it..

3) Using your wearer as a mannequin, measure from the edge of the fabric to the tip of the fingers.  Add 2 inches.  Then measure around the wrist to where you want the sleeve cuff to hang, and add an inch. Have your mannequin take off the cloak.

4) Cut the lining and sleeve and sew together on the short edges.  Sew with black side facing on the middle of the fabric piece on either side.

5) Have your mannequin put the cloak on again, and pin together the sides and sleeves.  Sew and turn around.

6) Cut down the middle of the front. of the cloak.  Baste lining and outside together.

7) Measure from the nose to the collar on the wearer, and add an inch. Cut a rectangular piece from both outside and lining as long as the collar and as high as the nose to collar measurement, adding an inch.

8) Place the fabric on fusible interfacing, using an iron on medium heat to fuse the interfacing to the fabric.  Cut from the interfacing.

9) Sew the two pieces right sides facing each other, interfacing facing out, along the top only.  Turn inside out and iron. Sew on to collar area.

10) Doing a reverse hem facing out, fold over on the outside about a 1/4 inch, then fold over another 1/4 inch, then pin.  Sew with red thread.

11) Hem the bottom about an inch, then sew.

12) Iron on the clouds in the placement in the previous post, then sew around the edges to keep from curling.

13) Wash, dry, and you're done!

If I ever have to make this cloak again I'm going to try it with a pattern next time, because I think I actually found it harder doing it without one.

Thoughts?

Cosplay Assistance: Akatsuki Clouds

My next immediate cosplay project is coming up this weekend.  Now that I'm done with my costume except for a few minor fixes, I'm working on my stepdaughter's next.  She wants to go to Anime Boston as an Atkatsuki ninja from "Naruto Shippuden."

So naturally, one of the things I had to look for was a pattern for the red and white clouds on the cloak.  The first thing I found was a guide for placement, which I thought would be a big help once I found the patterns.



Created by Apocali at deviantART

So even after a Google search, and after finding one person's clouds weren't going to help me, I finally decided to cut the cloud outlines from the side of the tutorial from a printout that I made earlier and increase the size of each of the pictures.

So here are the templates that I made:

What you'll want to do is right click on each of these pictures, choose "Save As," and save them to a file.  Use a photo program to either increase the size of each picture to 8.5" by 11" or choose "Full page" as a printing option.  What I used was HP Photo Essentials that came with my printer and chose "Full Size" when printing.  If for some reason it doesn't print out to the full size of the paper, trace the image in pencil and then follow the pattern around it.

Here's a good tutorial on how to make the clouds once you have your patterns.  I plan on adding black dimentional paint as an outline to make them "pop" more and to hide the stitching a little bit.

I hope that helps some people who are making the cloaks.  This weekend I'll take pictures of the progress on the cloak itself.

I've Been Busy

I haven't posted as much as I would like, but I assure you that will change once Anime Boston comes around.  Because of budgetary issues I'm only going to be there on Saturday, but I will be sure to get some good interviews since I've been approved for a press pass.

But here's a picture explaining why I've been so busy as of late.

Welcome to my cosplay costume for Anime Boston!

I still have to fix some things on the coat and the skirt, but otherwise expect to see me in this outfit if you happen to be there.

For those who aren't aware of who I'm supposed to be, it's Julia Silverstein from "Blood+."

I decided to go as her because despite going to two previous conventions this will be my first time cosplaying, so I wanted something that would be simple enough to put together.

The lab coat and the skirt were both made by me.  It was my first time sewing clothing, which is why I have to make some minor changes to it such as topstitching along the top of the skirt and fixing one of the facings on the lab coat.  There's also no interfacing on the collar or the facing, so it's kind of flopping around.  But that's something I'll think of for the next time I make this lab coat.

If you look at Julia's profile picture, you'll notice that the skirt is pretty short.  Since I'm just south of 40 and have "mommy legs," I wasn't about to go that short with the skirt, so I made it just long enough for me to be comfortable, which is just above the knee.  And that would be my intention with any skirt that I make for cosplay from this point on.

I tried to make a top, but every time I tried to fix something, it would get screwed up, so as I was about to try again I found a bathing suit top that fit the costume.  And since I needed a new bathing suit anyway, I picked up some bottoms as well.  I just have to tighten up the top a little more when I wear it so that "the girls" don't make a sudden appearance when I have to bend over for anything.

I'm going to point out that the picture of me is just of the outfit, no accessories except for the clipboard (which will not only serve as a convenient place to put my notes from interviews, but also will hopefully help in identifying my character because there will be a "medical profile" of the main character Saya on there).  I still have to get the following items: black pantyhose, high heeled shoes (but not so high that I can't walk in them), a belt, a red hair tie, and some costume jewelry.  I will most likely make the necklace(es?) that she wears because it looks ridiculously simple. But I have a friend who is going to look through her costume jewelry for some clip on earrings that I can possibly wear. I'm planning on wearing my own glasses, since that was part of the point of why I chose this character was so I wouldn't have to go without my glasses.

The last thing I'm doing is dying my hair. It just so happens that my natural hair is roughly the same length and style as hers, so I'm going to go to a salon the week before and have my hair bleached and dyed to her hair color.  I don't want root showing before we go down.

When the whole costume is done, I will post another picture up here.

My stepson is planning on going as Sebastian from "Black Butler." He's already got most of what he needs for that.  My stepdaughter's costume is next.  Since I don't watch "Naruto," when she told me she wanted to go as an Akatsuki (I had to ask her to spell it for me), I thought it was a particular character.  Didn't realize it was a whole group. So that's going to be this coming weekend's project.