Progress on Bilbo cosplay, Finished Thorin Royal Regalia, and fem!Smaug

I've been sorely neglecting this blog, unfortunately, due to general busy-ness and fact that most of my updates have been taking place on my Facebook cosplay page. 

*awkward transition* I took some lovely pictures of my finished Thorin cosplay, which was fun. It's not 100% done, to be completely honest, but it's definitely getting there. 

Thus far, pretty much the only picture that's turned up of my cosplay in action. The beard is terrible, I know. Due to a number of malfunctions on the way, my normal lace beard was out of commission, so I ended up having to make one using paint and mascara. Looks more like Kíli than, well, Kíli. *dies of shame*

As for my Bilbo costume, it's temporarily gone on hiatus, but I'd finished the outer layer when I put it away in favor of preparing for the con (WizardCon). 

So. Much. Hobbity-ness. 

And now I'm on to fem!Smaug for a contest video I'm going to attempt before the first of February. Here's where it stands as of now. (Working on the wings today.)

"My claws are SPEARS!!!" (These are made out of wet-formed leather, dyed and painted. Very sturdy.)

Bilbo Cosplay, Part II: Undershirt and Waistcoat

Alright, me beauties. I have returned once again, after several days of work. The Bilbo cosplay is coming along, which is good, as I really, really want to work on Thorin 1.0, version 2.0. I'm sure that makes perfect sense.

So. The Bilbo cosplay outfit where it stands right now, minus trousers (which I have):

The color in this picture is totally wrong. It's definitely not greenish brown. It's a very nice, bright olive. I hate my iPad camera sometimes. I'll try to get a picture in daylight later on.

Conclusions I have come to after making this shirt and waistcoat? Plackets and welt pockets are evil, evil, EVIL. No matter. I have conquered. They picked the wrong seamstress to tangle with.

The base pattern for both of these was really unhelpful most of the time, as either the seam placement was entirely wrong, or the sizing, or the shape was off and required adjusting. There's nothing like pattern modification to make a project take at least twice as long, and I felt every second of that extension in time and effort. 

The Shirt

The undershirt was partially completed in my last post, so I won't spend too much time on it. Basically, I attached the sleeves (check out that amazing sleeve design!), did the placket and collar, and hemmed it. 

It works. Not particularly accurate, since this isn't the shirt Bilbo wore on his journey, but whatever. Any men's dress shirt would suffice for that, anyway, and I'll probably buy one at some point.

The Waistcoat

The simple, wool waistcoat gave me a lot more hell than I thought it would. Firstly, welt pockets. These guys are mean. The amount of measuring and marking required makes me shudder, and you have to place everything really accurately, or you end up with a mess, some of it quite possibly irreversible. Terrifying, I know. Anyway, being the smart person I am, I decided to make a mockup first. 

The pattern instructions might as well have been in orcish, and the pictures were drawn by a neophyte, so my first attempt was disastrous. Unsurprisingly, I found what amounted to a support group online for people traumatized by this particular pattern. My second mockup was much better, and actually worked, so I finally finished the welt pockets on the real waistcoat. 

"Shiiiiiire.... welt pocketssssssss..."

Then I could actually move on to constructing it, which went relatively quickly. Sewed together the main pieces, sewed together the lining, fitted it to the dress form. Altered and adjusted shape of the lower front, lengthened neckline in front, sewed lining and main fabric together and turned. Top-stitched, and then sewed button holes. Since I've decided this cosplay will be "post-Goblin Town Bilbo," that means there's only one button. One glorious, brass, acorn button. I ordered it from Weta, straight from New Zealand, and I swear a choir of Elves sang all around me when I opened the package. ;)

Beautiful button. Beautiful acorn button. Currently obsessed with acorns for no reason at all. *whistles innocently* I sewed it on the waistcoat, and it brought it all together beautifully. Now I just need better pictures of it. 

Fancy Cloak, Original Design:

I also made a lovely green linen cloak over the past few days, which began as a demonstration for a friend and then proceeded to take way longer than it should have. I opted for a gold brocade for the hood lining, a gold web trimming for the front, and a very blingy buckle for the clasp. It actually looks pretty good with Bilbo's costume. *grins* (Horrible pictures, I know. *sigh* Must use better lighting next time.)

Up next, we will have a beauteous blog post concerning everyone's favorite burgundy corduroy frock coat. So iconic. So amazing. So Bilbo. *squee* Can't wait.

Work in Progress: Bilbo Cosplay Outfit V. 1

Well, it has definitely been a while since my last update, mostly due to a recent lengthy trip to the U.K., followed hard upon by a lengthy stay at a friend's house (we had a very extended New Year's party based around the viewing of the six Hobbit/LotR films). It's good to be home now, though I haven't been feeling terribly well these past few days. 

After organizing and unpacking for a day or so, I decided my next big project would be a Bilbo outfit- the one he wears throughout the first film and most of the second. It's actually not my favorite of his clothes (the blue coat with the fuzzy trim is really hard to beat), but it's more iconic, and certainly the under layers would need to be made for either costume, as Bilbo wears those throughout all three films. I will be remaking the blue coat after I'm done with this project. I've already purchased the fabric for it and prewashed it. *super excited*

Bilbo Ensemble, V. 1

Having already completed a mockup of the coat pattern in a hideous orangey linen, I've made good progress on that aspect of the costume, which I'd argue is the most important, as it's more visible than any of the other pieces. I already tried it on its intended recipient (my good friend Juno will be cosplaying Bilbo/Billa, which excites me to no end), and the fit is decent. Just a few tweaks to be made.

With functional pocket! (I think I may be slightly more enthused about this pocket than I should be.)

Tonight, then, with the entire costume in mind, I decided to start on prewashing all the fabric I'd received in the mail (it was like Christmas morning when I got back from my trip and all my new fabric had shown up; my bed was practically buried in packages), to ensure it wouldn't shrink when it needed to be washed after garment completion. I also dyed the corduroy (for the coat) which began as more of a rust color and is progressing toward burgundy. I will probably dye the finished coat rather than the whole fabric piece again. 

Corduroy. Bad lighting. *sigh*

Then I set to work on the undershirt, since it's always best to start on the bottom and work one's way outward in an ensemble. There are some very good shots of Bilbo's undershirt available online, mostly taken from the part in the first film where he's interacting with the dwarves before the unexpected party and reading the contract. I generally strive for accuracy - even in layers that won't necessarily be seen - so I spent a good deal of time analyzing screen shots of the shirt. It's made of what seems to be a thin cotton or linen printed or woven with alternating stripes in shades of cream and biege. 

I'd spent a while seeking out such a fabric, to little avail. Eventually, I found a linen online that had a very nice stripey weave to it, in the right colors. When I received it, I realized it was quite heavier than what Bilbo has in the film, but as far as I'm concerned, that's a bonus. It will be very durable for wearing, and since it's linen, should breathe nicely. It also looks reasonably accurate. 

Thus far, I've cut out my pieces and assembled the front and back. It looks more like a poncho right now than a shirt, thanks to the unusual placement of the sleeve seam. However, once the sleeves are sewn in, it will be very comfortable to wear. Lots of room to move. I wasn't able to find a pattern that was terribly helpful for making this shirt, though, as always, I started with a base pattern to modify. It was an 1800's Western pattern with frock coats and vests and such, but the undershirt didn't have the right sleeves or collar. It had a placket, though, even if it was too long. Basically, the pattern was more like a guideline, and I didn't use it much beyond a size reference.

Bilbo took a trip south of the border... 

Anyway, now that all the pesky stuff is out of the way, I'll be installing the sleeves, collar, cuffs, and placket. Which will probably try to make themselves equally annoying. With any luck, I'll have this finished by the end of tomorrow and be ready to move on to the green wool vest/waistcoat.