knitwear for cosplay + custom knit and crochet
(and other artsy 'n craftsy goodies sometimes)
Handmade in Hillsborough, NC
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel Nisha Cosplay
Friends! This is my other Dragon*Con 2015 costume (along with Sweater Saturn). Like my Zer0 cosplay from DC 2014, this is obviously not a yarncraft - this is a lot of handpainting and some sewing and a dash of prop-making out of trash.
I tried to keep up with this on my blog as well as Facebook. So check out those places if you're super-interested in this.
This was my "fun and quick" costume. It was fun and my definition of quick is like 100+ hours, but whatever. I made it mostly from stuff I had laying around the house. I only ended up spending like $25 on paint, a belt, and a new sports bra...I think. I didn't really keep track and I worked on this when I needed a break from Saturn.
Check out Matthew Spertzel Photography. He took the picture to the right.
And also scope out Rocket Props. He's a cool dude that let me borrow his Law for the one shoot I went to, since I managed to forget my Maggie (I also managed to forget my class mod because I'm a spaz).
This write-up isn't necessarily in order either...also because I'm a spaz.
Photo © Matthew Sperzel Photography
Law by Rocket Props
Nisha's Jacket
I had a 10-year-old courderoy jacket hanging in my closet. It was brown. I cut it apart and sewed it back together somewhat cleverly to make Nisha's jacket. When I was taking it apart it ripped randomly in a lot of places because I think it was starting to decay because it was so old. I ended up having to patch the front, which you can see below in the first picture. I often bank on my painting skills to cover up my sub-par sewing. lulz
The left sleeve was supposed to be a full sleeve, but I had to make it a 3/4ths sleeve because the cuff was a hot mess. I used the right sleeve that I cut completely off to make the "gauntlet" for my right arm. I also used another scrap I cut off to make my choker, which I painted and attached with velcro. I reshaped the collar and slid in some cardboard into it to make it stand up. Then I used other parts of the original jacket to make the various details on the front, buckles on the gauntlet, etc. etc. Painting commenced. I love cell-shading, which explains part of my love for these games. I also love explosions and yelling.
Nisha's Shirt
Along with an ancient courderoy jacket, I also had an old white tank-top. I cut up the bottom then painted it. I used some of the fabric I chopped off the bottom to make the armband for my right arm. Watch the video.
I swear by Jones Tones Stretchable Fabric Paint, which I'm sure I've said a million times in blog posts.
The Hat!
I also happened to have a hat in my closet. The hat belonged to my dead mom and I'm pretty sure it was from the 70s. The thing was completely 100% suede and the lining was ripped out. I normally don't work with materials made of dead animals, but...well, I had this hat and it was damn near perfect for this. I had to reshape it because it was totally squished.
Reshaping a suede hat just involves wetting it, sticking it on a fake head and then working it with your hands and re-wetting it until it's the right shape. Kid stuff.
Then I painted it. I should have also time-lapsed the hat painting, but I didn't think about it until it was done. Sorry, pals.
Nisha's Boots AKA The Most Comfortable Cosplay Shoes I've Ever Made
Uggs, man. You might be thinking, "You idiot, those would be so hot." But listen, it was totally ok. Yes, they were warm (they were not as warm as the insane crochet Sailor Saturn costume), but more importantly - they were insanely comfortable. I have never been so comfortable in my cosplay shoes, except when I wore my Chucks as Hipster Miranda Lawson.
Anyway, I got out my Uggs, cut up some scrap cardboard and then glued it on with Jones Tones Fabric Glue (the best damn craft glue in the world, which I am also sure I've said a million times before on my blog). I coated the boots with a thin layer of pasti-dip then hand-painted them, as I do.
My only regret, and it's a small one, is that I didn't stuff the boots with anything to correctly position the extras on them and the detail bits on my left boot were a little crooked when I put the boots on for reals.
Pants!
Old jeans. They were really baggy around my thighs so I took them in a bit. I also cut off the bottoms a few inches below where the boots landed with them tucked in. I didn't want to have jumbled up jeans tucked into my Uggs, you see.
Then, of course, I painted them. I did a lot of the painting while wearing them, so I was painting on my own legs looking down at them. Why? Because I put the pants on to mark where the straps were (which I painted on) as well as the location of my class mod. Then I realized I couldn't take off the pants. Because wet paint. So I decided to just paint them.
Glove!
Bought a pair of black gloves. Painted a skull on one. Done. I did think to take progression pics, so go me!
Maggie, Class Mod and Some Other Extras and Pictures, Etc.
I used my shield and grenade from my Zer0 cosplay because I ran out of trash to make TPS-specific props. I whipped up my class mod and a basic Maggie from cardboard. I wanted to put lights in my class mod, but I only had blue one on hand and I wanted pink or purple, so I just painted the thing. I also made it too thin for battery pack because I wasn't using my brainbox anyway. lol
For the Maggie, I wanted to make it completely flat then take a stab at straight-up painting it to create an illusion of dimension, which is super fun with cell-shading. Have I mentioned that I love cell-shading? Yes.
All of the bits made of cardboard were glued with the previously mentioned fabric glue and I reinforced the joint parts with epoxy resin and then a thin laying of epoxy after painting to make them all less squishy.
Pictures and more pictures!
Again, I took very few pictures of myself. Above we have an obligatory 9am wine-drinking in the hotel room selfie. Then I ran into my friend Jareth (of Ravengel Ringworks) in his classic Antman and we traded headgear. I wasn't in Nisha too much, but I'm thinking of bringing her back out for next year because seriously...super comfortable. I should have climbed on the poop lions and had someone take pictures of me.
Speaking of taking pictures of me - If you took pictures of me as Nisha or Sailor Saturn (I'm probably making stupid faces, but I don't care), you can share them on my Facebook page or tag me on tumblr or something! I'll give you credit, of course.
Oh, oh, and if you're an accuracy-stickler - Nisha is supposed to have orange eyes, I know, but I couldn't find any decently priced orange contacts that weren't cat eyes.