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[kitty_neko]

im thinking about making a sumomo (plum) costume, but im not sure because i dont kno how im gonna make some parts like the hat. and 1 of my friends might wanna be kotoko, but she has no idea how 2 make the giant bells. My other friend might cosplay chii, but she isnt sure how to go about it. it would be a huge help if ne one had some suggestions. a refrence pic of sumomo and kotoko is here if u need it: http://mysticmobius.com/chi/images/plumandkotoko.JPG

thank you soooo much!

[kitty_neko]

o! i was also wondering; since i cant find a wig the right length and color, if i buy a blond wig, will it take 2 fabric dye? before i thinking maybe spray paint, but then it'd be all stiff and yucky. ne other suggestions?

[kotoko]

hee hee! thanks fer your help faye faye! ^_____^

[Space Invader]

I actually was planning on making a Sumomo costume sometime soon. My friend Sarah would go as Kotoko. Sumomo's hat you could actually make out of fabric-covered cardboard. Not corrugated cardboard - it would make ridges - but the kind that giftboxes are made out of. if you bent it into the right shape and cut it, you could easily cover it with fabric, and then pin it to the wig. The knobs on the side could be made out of two jar lids, painted to the desired color and then glued on (make sure the glue doesn't show!!!!). Kotoko's bells are easy. At Joanne's, or any other nice craft store, they sell HUGE bells that would be ideal for Kotoko's hair ornaments.

[Babbit_Chan]

Haha what a coincidence - Uka-chan and I were planning the same costume duo XD

[KuroBara]

For Sumomo, you may be able to find a pattern for a genie / mideastern costume you can adapt. Or, make a leotard & add poofy pants & sleeves. When it comes to odd pieces, like her hat, I usually just do a trial & error with cheap materials. Maybe a fabric covered styrofoam ring would do the trick?

If you're not planning on doing the costumes for a while, you may be able to find giant bells around christmas time. A standard kimono pattern should work for Kotoko.

[kitty_neko]

your suggestions r so helpful!! thank you so much for your ideas! ^___^

[DigitalCactus]

I had to make a custome pirate hat for my Cervantes costume and it was pretty easy. I took a regular priate hat and cut off what needed to and added cardboard where I had to. (look under Otakon photos, I think Im on page 18 if you want to see the result)

I dunno what the character looks like but if you want to make a custom hat.. the easiest thing to do is take Priority mail cardboard envelopes (the kind you get for FREE at the post office) and..

First draw/cut out the shape you want, cover it in duct tape (yes duct tape)

Then trace your shape onto the reverse side of your fabric with a pencil, but leave enough room so that you can fold the edges over, to prevent fraying.

Next, pin or stape (stapling is quicker just takes a bit to remove them afterwards) the TOP edge (or outer edge, depending on the style) of your fabric to the top of your hat and using SPRAY ADHEISIVE 77 (i think thats the number I used) lightly spray the back of the fabric and smothing out any air bubbles and wrinkles as you work your way down.

Once that dries, you can remove the staples/pins and repeat the process for the top (or outer) edge

hope this helps you out

[kotoko]

how do you make the big big bows on costumes like kotoko (pictured over there <.< ) stand up? also iam having the same problem with yuna...

[KuroBara]

Depending on the fabric, starch or wire? A really thick fabric should do it on it's own.

[aeva]

I did Sumomo at AXNY, and my costume got very good reviews. ^^

For the costume, I bought a ballerina pattern and made the leotard of that, using a burgundy trim on the top. The princess sleeves and the pants i BSed, attaching them to the costume via elastic. [it was a very boingy costume XD] For the sash, Iused 4 yeards of fabric and did the swirly design with a nifty trim from Rag Shop. I sewed that on into the needed design. I bought a yard of burgundy fringges for the trim on the end of the sash.

The hat was DEFINATELY the hardest part- taking a day in itself. I rolled up long pices of fabric into tight logs and wrapped each with a thin, lightweight wire. I made 5 of these and attached them securely with more wire so that they were one on top of the other. I then wrapped them in a layer of quilt matting and white fabric [so you couldn't see though. I used scrap burgundy/beige fabric that I had lying around] Afterwards, I made a sleeve of fabric a bit taller [about 2 inches] than the logs and about 1.5 inches longer than them. Before actually sewing it into a sleve, you can sew the details into the hat [the curves on the side]. I slipped the sleeve over the logs and then proceeded to attach them tightly with wire so they would be in circles that would fit snuggly on my head. I sewed the sleve together and the world was happy. Next, I did some measuring and made a circle of fabric a bit wider than the hat. I attached it from the inside, and TADA! it was almost done. For the red things on the hat, I made little balls of the trim I bought for the swirls on the sash. I attached them to a shoelace and put it through small holes in the side of the hat. I tied a know at the end. In doing this, I made her Persocon plug things ^^. [it's also much easier than sewing them on XD] Anyway, I purchesed a wig from orientaltrading.com - they sell DIRT CHEAP pink wigs. I have short hair, so I dyed my real hair day-glo pink and put the wig in a ponytail and stuffed it through a hole in the top of the hat.

As for accessories, I sewed a quick necklace out of leftover pink fabric and I bought the slippers in Wal-Nart and removed the bows. I also sewed little squares of red fabric and glued them onto thin dowels to make tiny flags. ^^

Here's a few pictures of the finished product: [mostly from the cosplay competition]
http://www.fansview.com/2002/newyork/090102c397.jpg
http://www.fansview.com/2002/newyork/090102c399.jpg
http://www.fansview.com/2002/newyork/090102c417.jpg
http://members.aol.com/gubyjan/chiisumo.gif
http://usa.internations.net/music/aeva/axny/con575.jpg
http://usa.internations.net/music/aeva/axny/con591.jpg
http://usa.internations.net/music/aeva/axny/con610.jpg

The pictures of the back and side views didn't come out ;.;

Well, I hope this helps you! ^^

[aeva]

By the way, the hat was snug, comfortable, and served as a very good pillow when descided to nap in the middle of the Marriot Marquis floor. XD

[aeva]

NO!! I'm not done yet! tehehe If you want PERFECT hair dye like I had that washed right out [no really! Just add water and its GONE!] I stopped at a Duane Reade in NYC and picked up a thing of blood-red temporary dye [comes in tube] and a thing of bright purple dye [comes in a tub]. I mixed together all of the purple and a little less amount of red, and my hair came out day-glo pink. It matched the wig incredibly well. If you want better results, I suggest bleaching/stripping your hair first. Or you can just buy 2 wisg. ^^;;;; But my hair came out wonderfully doing as such.

[kitty_neko]

omg! first of all, thats so extremely helpful!! ty!!!!! second of all, i've seen ur pictures before! u did an awesome job! ^_^

[aeva]

You're very much welcome. ^^ Thank you for the compliment! =D