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[Ashiko]

Ok, I plan to make this costume:

http://members.aol.com/princessminak...redruffles.jpg

and I was wondering about a few things (seeing as this is my first Sakura costume ^.^)

1.) What material would be best for the skirt?
2.) I don't want the skirt to be all flat, so how could I give it a little
lift (though not as high as a tutu! I need ta be able to get through the doors!!)
and 3.) where could I buy the IMPORTED Clow staff and Cards for a cheap price ?

If someone could help me out, I'd be truly grateful!!!

[Quies]

the cards you can just get form a target or something like that. and if you can't find a cheap staff it is sooooo easy to make. i made one for/witrh my friend and it, personly, worked better then some cheap plastic thing that would have been too short anyways. and the total expence was like..5 bucks, mabye 3.
for the skirt i really have no suggestion..i would say thought that you could just for a tutu and tone it down/ use a floppier fabric.

i've never seen a pic of that costume done, but it should be awsome. good luck. i want to do an eriol costume myslef just because he one of my favortie char.

[Ashiko]

Arigatou! ^.^ I think that's what I'll have ta do...it shouldn't be too hard to find a tutu around this area ^^;; it's ballet central. As for the wand...I hadn't thought of making my OWN...cool.

[Quies]

magic mold, dowl stick, pant and a spray paint gloss and it looks quite good. have fun!

[Ayaka]

Personally I'd put some type of chiffon (I think that's what it's called, nice floppy, but slightly see-through material) over the tutu. You could probably match the color, that way it will match the sleeves. I think that would look better than going for the standard, which would be a satin. Satin is difficult to sew with; I've never worked with chiffon though . . . just go to the fancy fabric section. ^^

Also, I may be wrong . . . but I'm quite sure that the Clow card set is out of print in Japan and I doubt you could get it cheaply here. The domestic set, which you CAN get at Target etc quite cheaply, I think would be fine. ^^

[Tenshi]

A square-dancing petticoat would be perfect for that costume. They come in all sorts of colors -- if you do a web search you'll find something, or you can try eBay. Good, new ones range from $30-80, though ~~;;.

[Ashiko]

ooooh ^.^ cool. Thank you all---I did go ahead and buy that clow staff at Target today so I'm happy!!! Chiffon...hmm...that could work! And as my luck would have it, my cousin agreed to lend me his clow card book! now all I need is the costume...heh.

[Space Invader]

You also could use netting for the puffy red skirt. It IS the type of stuff they use to make ballet tutus, but you don't have to make it so.... uhh.... STIFF. Something like taffeta or, like Ayaka said, chiffon, could do the trick as well. For the overcoat piece I personally would use satin or taffeta, simply because I think it would be a nice complement to the chiffon or netting. The ballet-type slippers should be easy enough for you to find at any dance store, and they're relatively cheap. All the fancy black edging you could do yourself with black ribbon or anything similar. The flowers for your head and shoes would be made out of the same material as your skirt and sleeves (I guess you already figured that, but I thought I'd emphasize ^^). You could put the flowers for your hair on a tortiseshell-colored headband, so it would blend nicely with Sakura's color hair.
For the ruffles on the skirt, I would use this technique-
Measure your waist with a tape measure, then shorten that length by about 1 inch (shorten it for stretchability and so the skirt holds)Now with your material, cut 3 pieces that is about two to 3 times longer than the waist measurement (it looks like the skirt has 3 layers - of course, you can do as many as you want or feel is necessary). These will be the skirt layers. If you are using chiffon, or any other material that is somewhat floppy, I would suggest putting a layer of stiff netting underneath each layer, for support and to make the skirt stand out more than it normally would. Depending on what size elastic you are using, stitch in a tube in the top of the fabric, leaving enough room for your elastic to be put in ( just fold over enough of the top of the fabric and stitch). Do this ONLY for the top layer. Then, on the same seam line that you just stitched for the leastic, stich all the other layers. DO NOT stitch tubes for elastic into these.
You should now have a pretty full skirt - you just need to assemble it. Get a wire coathanger and straighten it out, then bend a hook into one end. Insert the hook into one end of the tube, and start gathering the skirt up on it until the hook comes out the other end (I would suggest making the handle of your hook pretty long). Pinch one end of the elastic inside the hook, and, making sure you have the other end secure, pull the hook back through the skirt.
You should now have your skirt strung on the elastic. Pin the ends of the elastic together with a safety pin. now sew the ends of it together TIGHTLY. You don't want it coming undone and your skirt falling down *sweatdrop*. Now sew together the seam of the skirt, including the elastic ( in other words, make sure to "run over" the elastic a few times while doing this - this will help it not come apart).
*pant pant* Tada! Skirt! If it isn't as ruffle-y as you would like it to be, you can always take apart the seam in the back and add in another panel of layers, and restitch together.
If you want any more help with your costume, feel free to IM, PM, or email me! I love helping people when I can ^^.

[Ashiko]

oOOOOH!!! Arigatou! ^.^ that's a really really big help! It's nice to have so many pointers (seeing as I am not the best at this -_-; Thank you everyone! Ooh! And also, for the top's design, would it be best to bead it into that shape or just cut it out from fabric? I have the frog closures (a box full!)

[Space Invader]

I forgot, another good material you could use is organza. It's all clear and pretty like chiffon, but stiffer, like netting. A pretty typr to use is called "glitter organza" - its all shimmery, so it looks really pretty.