I’ve said this about 27 billion times already, but the costume’s ALMOST done. And I mean it this time. ;o) It’d better be, considering the convention’s in 3 days! But Mom gets Mondays off from work, so what we did this weekend was cut a small lengthwise stripe off the waist/stomach sash, and Mom used that and sewed it on as the border of the top yesterday. There wasn’t enough left to do the collar, though, but it’s okay. I already know my costume isn’t perfect, nor is it even that great, but I’m just proud of it because it’s my first costume I’ve really, truly made (with help from Mom, of course)…the Jedi robe doesn’t exactly count–just because she did all of it…and it wasn’t exactly made with authenticity in mind. This was, but…stuff happened, and authenticity got screwed. :oP My hair’s too short–though when I get off work at 3:30 today, I’m going to get my bangs cut and a slight trim, like for split ends, etc. (b/c I haven’t gotten my hair cut since December), and see what they say about how to keep my hair STRAIGHT for the next couple of days, to get it as long as possible (it’s just below my shoulder-blades, but curls at the ends).
Okay, other stuff re. the costume…I also bought some cloth glue last night after work, as well as a little bit of gold ribbon (they didn’t have any gold foil, which was what the people at Aimee’s studio forum suggested), and I glued the red designs onto the front. I love it–the glue is “permanent until washed.” *snickers* Anyway, other stuff…oh! When I was looking for a button (like, one of the ones that has a pin on the back ad says something on the front) to go on the front of the top last night, I poked around in my parents’ bathroom and looked up, and saw one of those gold cardboard crowns, like the Burger King birthday-type ones (except it was just plain gold), sitting there. So I plucked it up and asked my parents and brother if they needed it, and when they said no, I took it downstairs and made armbands out of it. :oD Well, I got the left-hand one really nicely…I would’ve gotten the right-hand one as well, but there were staples in the cardboard and when I tried to pull one out, it RIPPED the cardboard. :o/ So I’ve got to use the ribbon for that, I guess.
Checklist:
*waits on it to load* What the hell is wrong with [company name]’s network connection? Ugh…
Hrm.
– Hair: Getting bangs cut (and my air trimmed and THINNED *grumbles about her thick, thick hair*) today. Have those little gold thingies to go in her hair, though mine’ll only be long enough to let me put in two, not all four.
– Earrings: Uh. Whoops. ^^; I guess I’ll forage through the cardboard/ribbon scraps, and if I have any that are big and sturdy enough or that I can salvage, I’ll cut ’em in the shape of the earrings and stick them to some little studs or something that I already have.
– Armbands: Upper left arm’s done. For the bangle–I’m an Indian girl, and I took dance when I was little, and Mom loves collecting bangles; I KNOW I can find something around the house. :o) Upper right one’s still a work-in-progress; hopefully I can finish it tonight.
– Top: It’s pale pink, not regular pink. But I don’t have time to re-dye it, and with the green fringe already attached, I really don’t WANT to re-dye it. The red designs are attached as well. There’s no green collar border; we ran out of material. But I need to go back through and trim that and even it out. The bottoms of the front are also more curved than pointed; I didn’t realize my mistake till after I’d cut it out. Still need the side bands…I’ve got pink cloth (it’s darker than the shirt), so I’ll cut a couple of strips out of that. I’m not sure if I should stick it to the sports bra I’m wearing underneath, or if I should stick it to the top (either one using my cloth glue), or both. I still need to make the gold button–I’ll also try to get that from the scraps of the armband makings and just stick it on the top somehow; we apparently don’t have buttons, and I don’t want to bother with painting anything right now. I also didn’t put the shoulder pads in to hold the shoulders up; it’s not totally stiff, but it kind of stands on its own. I also didn’t get the fringe to the little upturn thing on the shoulders. But it’s recognizable, and that’s all I care about. :oP
– Stomach/waist sash: Done.
– Pants: Done, except for pinning them up. It’s just a matter of wearing this and the sash together, since these things make my hips look freaking HUGE ^^; (I don’t vent about my figure a lot, so cut me some slack, okay? ;o) ), not to mention the waistband is going to make it kind of funky as well. I think I’ll wear the pants, then put on the sash, and pin the inner layer of cloth of the sash to the pants or something. As it is, I have to pin the pants up, too. :o/ Oh, and there ISN’T a pink stripe on the end of this one; that picture’s wrong. She only has a design on her episode 6-21 sash.
– Belt/scabbard: Nope. Maybe next year. I just ran out of time this year.
– Boots: *snickers* Try sandals. ;o) I didn’t feel like running all over town looking for a pair of ankleboots. The temperature’s going to be in the 80s and I’ll be wearing big sweatpants; I’ll be sweltering as it is. :oP But at least the sandals actually seem to match the outfit pretty well, so that’s cool.
And that’s it. So all I have left to do…
– Get a haircut. :oP
– Make the right armband.
– Make a button for the top.
– Make side straps for the top.
– Get the sash-pants thing working.
– Other assorted Dragon*Con preparations–like clean the house, go pick up my friends from the airport Thursday and provide hotel and taxi service for them for the next 4 days ;o)…that sort of stuff. Oh, and picking up something that’ll pass as an autograph book.
– Figuring out what exactly I’m going to ask John Rhys-Davies and Harlan Ellison in terms of their work on PoDW, since they’ll both be there. ;o)
Not counting the last couple, not much at all. *grins* I’m definitely going to remake this costume next year, except I’ll have a whole year to make it, so I can really make it authentic. I think if I do Dragon*Con again, I’ll make it a tradition to go as Tula one day and as something else another day–I’m really starting to enjoy this costuming thing, not to mention I’ll be helping my friend Jenn with her costume, whatever it may be. (She was going to go as Tifa from FF7, then realized exactly how skimpy that outfit is, and how “pornographic” Tifa’s been viewed by many guys online. ^^; )
Oh, and I’ll be there all 4 days. I’ll be going as Tula Friday…I’m not costuming the rest of the time, unless for some reason I decide to go as Tula again, which would be kind of weird. But I’ll be with the Star Wars Chicks contingency for a little while…I’ll probably be wearing my Georgia Tech Symphony Orchestra (emphasize “my,” since I designed it *grin*) shirt and shorts Saturday, along with a Yoda necklace my friend Jenny made for me back in high school…Sunday, probably a Star Wars t-shirt and jeans or something, and Monday, just whatever. If you want to meet up with me, let me know!