Little Mermaid Gown Cosplay Progress: Part 2 - Design

Little Mermaid Gown Cosplay Progress: Part 2 - Design

While gathering ideas about the gown, I realized that this cosplay is going to to be a rather large endeavor. Luckily for me, I don't a specific event that I am intending to use it for so I don't have a deadline.

Pattern Selection

 For the base of the dress, I am plan on using the Simplicity 1728 pattern.

I have decided to use a combination of A and B in order to best match the Ariel's Park Gown. I will be using A's larger puff sleeves and then adding B's lower sleeves in a sheer fabric. I will document any additional changes along the way as I make the gown.

Material Selection

I am going to use the following image of Ariel's Park Gown to plan out my fabric selection. I haven't purchased any of the fabric, so my actual selection might change during the construction phase. 

From my reference pictures, I have gathered that the bodice and arm puffs are the same materials. The rest of the arms are a sheer material of the same color. For the skirt, it is broken up into three layers. The bottom layer is a sequin/glitter blue aqua fabric. The middle layer is fairly sheer and allows most of the sparkle to shine through. The middle layer is very close in color to the bottom layer. The top layer is a slightly darker aqua fabric which is also sheer. 

I haven't purchased any of the fabric, but I will document which fabric I use in the rest of my tutorials.

I checked out the back of the pattern in order to get the predicted quantity of each fabric.

Because of the differece in my fabric choices vs those of the pattern, I am going to need different quantities for the fabrics. I will list the actually used amount in the documentation of construction. 

Seashell Brooch

I decided to make the seashell brooch instead of buying it as well. I plan on making it out of InstaMorph, polymer clay or resin.

And that is my initial design. I am moving in the next week, so I will be holding off on starting the project until I have completed the move.

Little Mermaid Gown Cosplay Progress: Part 1 - Inspiration

Little Mermaid Gown Cosplay Progress: Part 1 - Inspiration 

Recently my library hosted an "Under the Sea" Story Time. One of our staff members came dressed up as Ariel from the Little Mermaid and I instantly was jealous of her outfit.

Her outfit was based on one of Ariel's Park Gown from Disney.

This isn't her. This is a picture of the Face Character from Disney which I found on the Web.

This dress, although very beautiful, didn't exactly float my boat. However, the newest Ariel Park Gown is just what I want. 

New Park Gown:

Initially, I had planned on just buying the dress from another seamstress. However, I got persnickety about things and decided to break down and construct the whole thing myself. Now I have a new project!

Coming Soon: Part 2 - Design

Dark Sansa Stark Cosplay Progress: Part 9 - Completed Outfit

Dark Sansa Stark Cosplay Progress: Part 9 - Completed Outfit

Below are pictures from Con. Feel free to send me any comments. Thanks!

Bonus picture with the Mother of Dragons!

House of Black & White Arya Cosplay Breakdown

House of Black & White Arya Cosplay Breakdown

For an upcoming Con in Dallas, I have convinced my younger sister to join me in dressing up as the Stark sisters. I am doing my Dark Sansa outfit, and I am making her a quick Arya costume. I have chosen Arya's House of Black & White dress because of its simplicity. 

I am doing a quick breakdown of how I made the dress. Let me know if you have any questions.  

First, I made a really baggy dress. It doesn't need to be fitted in the slightest. I made it out of black linen.

I belted it so I could keep track of the waist for adding the bib portion. 

Next, I did a mini hem on the neckline. It doesn't need to be excellent. Just enough to keep the neck from fraying. 

Then I made the bib part.

To make the bib, I took a piece of the black linen and marked it into thirds. Then I sewed a small fold on each of the third lines. 

I next added the bib to the dress. And hemmed the end so that it hit above the belt.

For the sleeves, I cut a diagonal line a couple inches above my elbow and hemmed it.

And here is the final product!

On me:

Pictures of my sister in the outfit will be posted with my Sansa Stark final images.

Dark Sansa Stark Cosplay Progress: Part 8 - Underskirt & Finishings

Dark Sansa Stark Cosplay Progress: Part 8 - Underskirt & Finishings

For this part, I will be finishing up my outfit. I am going over the underskirt, feather arm cuffs, necklace, and dress finishings. 

Underskirt

Instead of doing Sansa's funky, stripy skirt that I saw in Entertainment Weekly (below), I decided to go with a simple underskirt. This was partially because I didn't know how to construct the skirt and partially because it seemed like it would take forever and it was pretty much going to be covered by the dress. 

So I followed a simple skirt pattern and used the same fabric from the dress. 

Feather Arm Cuffs

Because I didn't attach the feathers to my sleeves. I made feather arm cuffs. These were really simple.

First I made tubes of the black fabric from the dress/skirt.

Next, I cut them down to fit my wrists.

I sewed up the edges.

Then I measured out black double folded bias tape that was about half an inch shorter than the wrist cuffs.

Next I glued in feathers to the bias tape to make my own feather tape.

I attached the feather tapes to the cuffs.

Two layers of the feather tape took care of it all.

To keep it on my wrists, I attached press on velcro.

Necklace

For Sansa's circle necklace, I used black Worbla that I had left over from my Scarlet Witch headpiece. I got the Worbla from Arda. Unfortunately, they don't seem to have it anymore on their website. 

Here is my lovely kitty, Murph, on the uncut Worbla. It was about the size of your average poster board and cost about $20. 

If you already have Worbla for a project, this is a great option to use the scraps. If you don't have Worbla, I would not suggest that you go out and buy some specifically for the necklace. I used about a six inch square.I drew out the shape on some craft foam and used the sandwich method with the Worbla.

Yes, the pendant has glitter all over it. No, the Worbla is not glittery. I was using glitter for another project when I was making it and as we all know glitter gets everywhere.

For the chain, I used jump rings from Joann Fabrics. The particular ones that I used had a flexible center so they were easier to work with. They were intended to be used for chain mail. I used approximately 200 of these rings. 

For the nail at the end, I used a bullet charm from Hobby Lobby and covered it in extra Worbla.

For final touches, I coated the pendant in black paint. I wanted it to be a slightly darker shade of black. I used the paint below.

Dress Finishing

I attached a series of hooks along the front and I was all good to go.

I am going to post Con pictures for the final look.

Coming Soon: Part 9 - Finished Costume

Dark Sansa Stark Cosplay Progress: Part 7 - Wig Braiding

Dark Sansa Stark Cosplay Progress: Part 7 - Wig Braiding

I personally adore Sophia Turner's red hair. Alas, for this outfit, Sansa is hiding out and has dyed her hair black.

 I purchased the following wig online.

Wig Used: 26 inches long wavy black synthetic lace front wig for women (black) from WELLKAGE

Purchased from Amazon.com -> http://www.amazon.com/Inches-Black-Synthetic-Front-Women/dp/B013FUS0TE

Another alternative that I had been considering was Arda's Matilda CLASSIC or Dany CLASSIC. However, they were more expensive than I would have liked and I was able to get the Wellkage wig on sale. 

Out of the Box with Lace Front Intact

I haven't cut the lace front yet. This is what the wig looked straight out of the box. 

This is a close up of the wig's hairline. Since Sansa's hairstyle is primarily pulled back. The hairline is super important because it will be ridiculously obvious. The top hairline is a little sketchy, but the sides look good. 

I am keeping the lace on until I have finished styling the wig. I am using it to keep it attached to my foam wig stand.

Braiding Process

I am by no means an expert on braiding. It honestly has been one of the things that I have been dreading most of all about doing a Game of Thrones cosplay. The braids are so intricate and ornate. Fortunately for me, Sansa's hair is more simple in this outfit.

Sansa has her hair pulled back with two sets of braids up top. The rest of her hair is down in waves.

Braiding Tutorial Used:
BloodyAdorable's Game of Thrones: Sansa Stark Season 5 Hair Tutorial

Because of my questionable braiding skills, I chose to braid my hair on a wig stand instead of on my head. I was armed with a brush, small clear hair ties, and a ton of hair spray.

Starting Point:

Super Awesome Center Part:

Top Braids:

I made my two side braids...

 ...and connected them.

Bottom Braids:

Finished Look:

The wig isn't taped down for these images so the sides come up a bit, but you get the idea.

Trying to take a picture of the side of the hair, but I couldn't get a good shot.

And a shot of the length.

Completed Wig

And I don't feel like it looks too shabby. Yay!

Coming Soon: Part 8 - Underskirt and Finishings