Kaleido Star is one of my favorite series and I’m happy I finally got around to cosplaying it. ^_^ Although I started on a Sora costume, I had some problems with the wig and it got put on hold. So, when my friend neoangelwink made a Sora costume last fall, I thought it would be nice to do another character in the meanwhile so I could cosplay with her.

Sarah’s antics always amused me and she was one of my favorite characters after Sora and Layla so I chose to make her Cinderella costume. (reference pic: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v342/LadyoftheThread/misc/cap074.jpg) Since she’s a singer at the Kaleido Stage (a circus similar to Cirque du Soleil) and the outfit was one of her stage costumes, I felt it should be showy. So, I opted to use flashy materials like satin, organza, and sequins in addition to the faux fur. I really liked how the materials went together and was pleased with how the costume came out.

I debuted it at Anime Boston 2008 and won Best Master in the hall cosplay contest with it. Unfortunately, I haven’t had a chance to wear it with neoangelwink yet but but we’re hoping to do that later in the year.



The usual long-winded construction notes…

White underskirt: I made a simple zippered skirt in white cotton, using French seams and attached several rows of netting near the bottom to help the faux fur poof out. I patterned the fur piece to fit over the netting and sewed it separately with its own lining before attaching it to the skirt.

Purple dress: I heavily modified a pattern I had altered for a previous costume, changing the neckline and patterning almost the entire skirt on my own. I made separate pieces for each of the points at the bottom and made sure to make the section wide enough to fit over the fur on the underskirt. I drafted the template for the white flower and made an iron-on applique which I fused it to the fabric before hand stitching a sequin outline around it. The fabric was then cut and the dress sewn. I used an invisible zipper on a side seam instead of a back zipper because I wanted to keep vertical seams to a minimum due to the points at the hem. The entire dress is lined and I hand stitched the white sequin trim along the neckline and hem.

Armwarmers: I patterned these on my own, making the top curve down in a V and the bottom end in 4 points. I lined these pieces and hand stitched the white sequin trim to the top and bottom, carefully snipping out a few sequins where necessary so I could turn corners. The fur piece was sewn separately with its own lining and then hand stitched to the lining of the main piece. I encased elastics in lining material and stitched them to the inside near the top to prevent the armwarmers from sliding down due to the weight of the fur.

Capelet and hood: I patterned this piece myself, starting with a mockup to test out my pattern. I altered the test version a few times until I was satisfied with it and started working with the fur. From the reference, the hood seemed fluffier than the white part at the bottom of the dress so I cut the pieces in the opposite direction. I cut it with the fibers running upwards rather than towards the ground and the result was that the fur stood up more. The hood is lined and closes with two large hooks and eyes.

The pink pieces were made by machine stitching lines of zigzags and then carefully cutting away excess material beyond the stitching. The completed pieces were then sewn in between the fur and lining. The “feathers” sticking out of the hood were made in the same manner with 4 layers of organza and 2 layers of netting sandwiched inside. The netting makes them somewhat stiff and allows the fabric to curve a bit like the feathers in the reference.

Wig: I trimmed the front sections of a wavy wig and used curlers in alternating directions to make them wavier. The character’s hair is wavy and normally goes down to her waist but the reference shows that it’s completely hidden under the capelet in the back so I gathered it up with a hair clip.

Jewelry: For the necklace, I strung a gold bead onto a purchased wire choker and the earrings were made using a pair of large purple glass pearls.

Anime Boston