Commission Project: Pirate England (Hetalia) -- Update V, Pirate Coat

Arrrrrr(o), everyone!

Quick update -- been trying to get around to posting a few photos of the Pirate!England cosplay that I completed to 100% a few weeks ago.  The jeweled pin shown on the back of the collar can be removed, I just threw it on there 'cause it is kinda cool.  I will likely assemble all pieces that have been created for final photos at a later time!  Overall, really super pleased with the whole costume, but at the same time, so relieved to be finished.  I dedicated at least 80-100 hours on the whole project, learned a lot from it, and am happy to see it off to it's home soon.

Pretty excited to see Raven cosplay in her finished ensemble!  The costume is so rich, so I hope she'll feel amazing wearing it as England, and that it'll help her get into swashbuckling spirit. :3 She will be carting it down here in late June, (Already giggling as I think of customs' reaction.) as she will be coming to visit me, and we will also be attending Anime Expo 2012 together!! Really looking forward to spending time with her and am super excite! I hardly ever look forward to summer... so I am happy to at least have this happening!

In personal stuff, feeling kinda down and dowdy lately.  Just been really struggling with my creativity, even though I am forcing myself into new projects already.  'Suppose a break, or rather, Spring Break (That starts next week), should help a bit.  I literally have 95% of the materials I need to start my own costume (Boots will be arriving today, yippies!) but I haven't had the chance to pattern anything as of yet.  I guess I shouldn't get too down, as it's really not a major life problem.  Just feeling that school has been wearing me out a bit.  Getting back into eating healthy, and exercising has been a struggle to commit to, but I will get into the groove of it pretty soon. :3 And with that, I'm out for now, thanks for reading!

-- Ely

FINIS!

1. Restoration-era coat w/large cuffs, collar & lapels
2. Poet shirt w/lace cuffs
3. Pirate Hat w/feathers, ruffled ribbon & trims
   
4. Gold epaulets w/tassels
5. Lacey cravat

Castlevania OoE: Starting Shanoa costume construction!

Hey all!

Figured it was time for an update.  It's been another busy week at school, but Thursday ended up being a nightmare from the get-go (Yay to waking up with distorted vision -- thanks so much, migraine...) but I seem to be doing better now.  It's high time that I get back into a regular exercise routine, and start taking more care over my eating habits, and when I choose to go to bed.  Unfortunately, migraines spring up and strike me like some invisible force, and I need to figure out how to prevent them a bit better.

For once, I'm making my costume goals this year happen!  I'm happy to say that I have most of more costly materials I need to start working on my Shanoa costume, (I will do the sewing portion later, buy fabric, etc) so in the next week or so I will actually start patterning, forming, and creating her breastplate, greaves and hip armor.  I found out that a supplier of Wonderflex have a location nestled in North Hollywood, so my beau and I took a little trip and I picked some up. (43" by 55" for $43.95!)

Last Friday, a friend and I also made a trip to SavMor Leather (Downtown Los Angeles), and I nabbed two lovely chocolate brown pig hides for the armor as well.  The idea is to make the base forms from Wonderflex, line with foam and felt, and then cover the outer with real leather.  I've worked with this method on smaller projects (Masks), and it looks gorgeous!  Originally I was planning to use vinyl, but somehow the leather ended up being the cheaper option?  （　ﾟДﾟ）? Who would think I would walk out with enough leather for this project for under $30... cray cray.

I have the wig and contracts as well, so pretty soon I'll post some make-up tests.  The wig came a little bent around the bottom length, but I can easily fix this by hanging it in the shower, and spraying some semi-hot water on it.  The slight heat and weight of the water should straighten it without having to fiddle with any hot tools.

All in all, I need maybe another $40 to purchase a few more materials and I should be set for Shanoa.  The fabric, lining, and feathers are all I really need at this point.

OFFICIALLY, the Pirate England commission is finished.  I'll be taking some pictures and posting the final result here pretty soon.  I'm super happy with it -- final update soon!

Cheers all and back to my creative cave,

-- Ely

Shanoa Wig: Bought!

I posted some time back on my deliberation between a CosplayWigUSA wig (Which at the time was out of stock), and an Epic Cosplay Wig product that was similar in style and cut.  I couldn't seem to make up my mind about either (Wigs are an expensive investment!) so I just left it to thought, and continued to work on my more current projects.

I randomly checked back on the back-ordered wig, and not only was the wig back in stock at CosplayWigUSA, they also had a two day coupon for 20% running just for this weekend, 02/24/2012-02/26/2012!  (http://cosplaywigsusa.com/ use code:2020 in the promo box before you select your payment option!)

The 40"/100cm heat-resistant wig is a steal of a price to being with, for $39.95.  Coupled with the 20% off coupon, $31.96!  With free shipping too, I may add.

I decided this was a good time to finally pick up a seemingly great wig for Shanoa.  Once it arrives, I'll be doing a review for the product overall, shipping, price, quality, etc.  I feel that if there are decent cosplay wig suppliers in our home countries, we really should try to support them a little better!  So expect a review once it's in my happy little hands!

Preeeetty excited!  ヽ(￣ｰ￣)ﾉ ☆  Cheers! Final updates impending on the APH Pirate England cosplay commission any day now!

-- Ely

Commission Project: Pirate England (Hetalia) -- Update IV, Poet Shirt

'Allo thar!

I have just finished up the poet shirt! Woohoo!  This is a larger part of the Pirate England cosplay commission I was charged with creating, and I am happy to announce that I have been able to cross off everything from that list -- but the jacket.  Mostly, that part  has been sewn or is in separate pieces that just need to be attached.  (Collars, cuffs, lapels, etc)  It certainly won't be long until this Hetalia pirate costume is sitting at 100%, and ready to be shipped!

The body of the shirt is crafted from a beautiful mid-weight linen, which was then perm-dyed to a light ecru colour.  The lace around the cuffs and cravat were custom stained using a highly concentrated earl grey and sea salt bath, which I then heat set with an iron.  I enlarged the sleeve pattern for more fullness, and modified the collar to a ruffled stand to exemplify it's stateliness.  ^.~

The cravat is fully removable, (Has a mock collar with hidden snaps) so that the shirt can be worn without it as well.  Not pictured is the slit at the front of the poet shirt, which has brass grommets and lacing!  It is a rather nice detail, even though hidden from view.  I created the brooch for this costume using a large crystal gem, a vintage holder, a flat brooch back, and antique brass chains.  Overall super pleased with the jewelry and glad it did what I wanted it to.  xD;

The poet shirt sits at about 28" inches from shoulder to hem, so it can either be worn un-tucked, belted and bloused out, or tucked in and bloused comfortably.  I didn't want to alter the length too much, but since my client is shorter than I, I took care not make it too long it either. xD;

I hope you like the progress! Fancy Pirate England shirt is definitely fancy.  I am so pleased with how this garment came out and I am excited to see it all together.  Now onto the jacket! Huuuuuuuuu~ <3

Left to do:

1. Restoration-era coat w/large cuffs, collar & lapels (All are ready to be assembled!)
2. Poet shirt w/lace cuffs
3. Pirate Hat w/feathers, ruffled ribbon & trims
   
4. Gold epaulets w/tassels
5. Lacey cravat

Cheers for now, and happy costuming!

-- Elysium

Commission Project: Pirate England (Hetalia) -- Update III, Pirate Hat

Hello everyone,

I've been hard at work here.  The last few days, I have been custom drafting a bicorn style hat for the Pirate England/UK commission.  Behold, the fancy hat!  Finally, I am finished, or at least I believe to be.  I have a pile of flat-backed pearl trim I was considering using around the gold gimp trims, but I'm really not sure it's needed.  (I will consult my client if she wants more trim, perhaps. xD)  The feathers did exactly what I wanted them to (I used an ostrich feather boa in cream), and the gold trims & ruffles are just enough without it being too much.  This hat is HUGE though.  This was custom built to be worn either with the notch to the front, or tipped to the side.  I built the inner crown to 24" -- so that it's large enough to accommodate a wig comfortably.

I am really pleased with the result, and the hat itself will look stunning once accompanied by the entire costume.  I had bought large coloured ostrich feathers (In pictures, sitting in Godot's huge mug) to be placed in the hat brim... but it looks a little ridiculous when I put 'em in.  Maybe I'll play around with them a little more and see what I think.  Perhaps it's just a length issue, and the way I'm angling them into the brim?

The hat foundation is a buckram inner with millinery wire support, and felted for stability.  I used cotton poplin suiting for the black fashion outer, and a nice sateen for the inner crown lining!  The trims I used are satin cord braid, hand made satin ribbon ruffling, and a gold toned french gimp.  I am working on adding a small ribbon rose to the outer crown as a detail, too.  (Pictures below!)  There is a gorgeous desaturated green vintage lace trim on the outer part of the hat crown, but you can only really see it from the side. (Totally didn't take pictures of it, but oh well~)

Hope you like it! (...that means you, Raven!) 

For some unfortunate news, I have decided to remake the poet shirt.  I just didn't like the fabric, so I ran out and bought a much more suitable linen.  I think it'll be a bit more authentic this way, and if permanently tea stained ever so slightly, it'll look even better.  It shouldn't take more than a few hours to redo.  In the 6th picture, there is a pile of blue stuff.  These are a collar, and two cuffs.  I stood one up, just so you can get an idea of what it looks like.  These will be basted along the bottom of the sleeves.  Fancy schmancy. ;D

The coat itself for now is a huge secret.  At least until I finish hand-stitching all of the trims to the lapels.  It's a big job, but super close to being finished with that tedious part. :3

For now, I'm going to finish up the epaulets, and work on that fancy cravat!  Cheers, lovlies.

-- Ely  

Left to do!

1. Restoration-era coat w/large cuffs, collar & lapels (All are ready to be assembled!)
2. Poet shirt w/lace cuffs (Recutting from new linen material, and tea staining it)
3. Pirate Hat w/feathers, ruffled ribbon & trims (May or may not still add flat-back pearl trim!)
   
4. Gold epaulets w/tassels
5. Lacey cravat