Masters

Photo by Ø t t Ø of Bentobyte

3.1 Meg Groeling of Snowsong Cosplay

Aoandon (Butterfly Dance Skin) from Onmyoji

Bought items:

Shoes base, wig base and extra wefts, lantern bases.

Progress description:

Kimono is 2 layers, primarily silk (chirimen and habotai) with a cotton inner layer to protect the silk from sweat. All fabric patterns were drafted by hand. Outer kimono details were done in a combo of hand applique and gold leafing.

2 obi layers also created with silk and gold leafing, with interacting for structure and snaps to hold in place.

Large flowers created using fusible upholstery stabilizer, quilted through for detail and sewn onto sleeves.

Small flower details and hair pieces were made from cotton and silk using a kanzashi (Japanese fabric origami) technique to create shapes.

Wig styled from a long wig that I cut to shape, stubbed at the back and added extra wefts for length on the ponytail, then sewed in hair ornaments.

Cords for the obi and shoe straps were hand woven with beads using kumihimo braiding technique.

Lantern hook was created with transparent pipe heat formed to shape, covered with plastazote (light scattering foam) butterflies attached to an EL wire. Details added to lanterns using craft foam.

Reference

Progress

Photo by Chiseled Light Photography

3.2 Yokaze Cosplay

Norn Warrior (Tier 3 Cultural Stag Heavy Armor) from Guild Wars 2

I started this armor about 2 or 3 years ago and was making everything with the worbla/craft foam sandwich technique. This made a lot of the armor very heavy so in the end I had to remake most of my armor. I only kept the leg pieces in worbla as I needed the weight to get the sash to hang correctly off my hips. The rest of the armor was various thicknesses of EVA foam and contact cement. There were tons of strips used to detail the armor. For example, one single shin has about 150 pieces to make it up. All of that armor is held onto various places it goes via velcro. This armor was purposefully battle damaged by using a dremel to cause scuffs and dings. It gives the warrior more character.

The helmet was made from foam pieces to fit my head perfectly in the same method as the foam armor. The antlers are wire, paper, masking tape, and black worbla which is then sanded and hand painted to look like antler bone. Each one is attached to the helmet by poking the wire through a hole and bending it down. There is gaffer tape to keep it from poking my head but this allowed for easier transport as I can remove the antlers if I want.

The best part of the armor is the paint job. Worbla parts are guessoed and sanded; and the foam is heat sealed with a heat gun, plasti dipped, and then all of the armor was painted with an air brush. The highlight first, then the shadow, then the blue pearlescent to make it look like glowing ice in person. The photos do not quite capture the iridescence. All of the silver detail edges are hand painted with acrylic

The fabrics are faux suede, faux furs, and silk. Everything is lined with the suede and the sash is lined with itself. There was braid leather straps I used for the details on the arms that hold up the gloves, the chest straps, and the decorative piece on the butt sash. The decorative clasps are made from large googly eyes and hot glue, then hand painted and held in place with velcro. I sewed the gloves an leggings by pinning stretch faux suede to my limbs and carefully getting out of it, then serging them so they maintained stretch.

The flag I made in about 10 minutes out of faux suede with steam-a-seam. It's held onto 2 wooden dowel pieces that are screwed together and leather strip wrapped.

References

Progress

3.3 Suvi Losty of Suvi Couture

Eowyn from Lord of the Rings

Every bit of this costume, except for the boots and gloves, was made from scratch. I worked on this costume for the better part of a year, and it is actually at minimum LARP battle-ready. I should note that this costume fits many people, as it was built to be like armor you would find in an armory, it wasn't specifically made for just one person.

The chainmail took 6 months to make and there are 15,000 rings on that chainmail - that I had to open and close, one by one by one. The chainmail is a basic 4 in 1 weave, and it laces in the front so it can get over the wearer's head.

The gambeson follows historical accuracy in that it is made from linen and has at least 10 layers. The outer layer is a looser woven linen, followed by 8 layers of cotton, with an inner tighter woven linen on the inside. No pattern was used to create the gambeson, I laid on the ground and traced my body, added a few inches (because its supposed to look like I grabbed men's armor, Eowyn didn't have her own set as she was running away after being rejected by Aragorn).

The cuirass and faulds (medieval term for the part over the body - cuirass - and the flaps over the legs - the faulds) are doubled over leather that's been hand stitched piece by piece and hand tooled with a basketweave pattern. After the tooling, it was dyed a mahogany color and the horses were dyed a bright red. The horses are a completely separate piece of leather thats been added on to the cuirass front. To get the metal look, I used scrapbooking vinyl so it was easily flexible and con-safe.

The sword is made from balsa wood covered in craft foam and worbla. The worbla was sanded to a near glass finish and then distressed on the blade edges to seem battle worn. The twin horses that are literally on ever piece of Rohan armor are the hilt of the sword and appear on both sides of the pommel

The scabbard and baldric (thing that holds the scabbard on the body over the shoulder) are made from leather that has been stamped and dyed like the cuirass and faulds were.

The cloak is a very heavy wool thats identical to what was used in the movie. If you look closely enough its a checkered pattern and it crosses the chest under the straps of the cuirass, under the arms, and ties in the back - much like cloaks were worn in medieval times.

The gauntlets are also hardened leather that have been died and stitched together in the same manner as the cuirass.

The helmet is made out of EVA foam, probably the only thing built that cant withstand combat. I used an Evil Ted pattern for a viking helmet thats been significantly altered to include a center raise ridge, bigger face guard, and smaller side guards. The front also sports the head of a horse right in between the eyes of the wearer. More chainmail graces the back of the helmet as well. The raised sections of the helm are a combination of puffy paint and 2mm craft foam. The inset details are burned in using a wood burner. The rivets are googley eyes.

And last but not least, the pants are just a basic brown pair of pants made from linen.