Prototype: Harley's Harness

I don't know what else to call the convolution of leather straps Harley wears in Arkham Knight, so I'm going to call it the harness, because that's what it feels like.

Instead of jumping right in and cutting up all my (expensive) leather, I thought it would be a good idea to make a prototype to make sure all my measuring was correct and that everything looked right when it was attached where it was supposed to be.

I am SO GLAD I did that, because I realized (1) one of the pieces needed to be eight inches longer because I should attach it to the underbust strap for stability, and (2) I need TWO overarm straps, or the back pieces have nothing to attach to on one side. So this was a very valuable exercise and I should always do it when working with expensive-to-replace materials.

So this is part of my prototype, which I made out of the same packaging foam that I used to cover the lights for Iron Man. (That stuff came in VERY handy this past week!) I labelled everything with a Sharpie so I'd know where each piece went and how long I cut it (and if I needed to add notes like "add two inches" or something, I could write it right on there). Then I taped everything together, including the (not yet spray-painted) O-rings where needed. I made marks on the tape where I'd be adding snaps or elastic or Velcro so I'd know what I could and couldn't un-tape to get out of it. (I would be the person who makes an absolutely perfect piece and then realizes she can't put it on or take it off.) And from doing the prototype, I discovered that there's one less place I need to add a fastener (it will slip over my head after I undo the collar piece), which is awesome, because I expect that to be quite a pain.

I've cut the leather now (and I have ONE spare belt blank in case I need to re-cut something) and painted the edges red, so everybody cross your fingers and hope that it all fits together the way it did in my prototype!

Iron Man Scale Dress

This one is a Beth creation, but I made the lights and also I had a ton of fun wearing it and entering the cosplay contest at Baltimore Comic-Con this past weekend (and winning second-place amateur female!!!) so I wanted to share it with you guys.

That entire dress is knitted, with plastic scales from The Ring Lord (black scales that we spray-painted, because it's cheaper than buying the colorful scales and you can get the exact color you want that way).

I don't have any photos of the back, but there's a neat criss-cross of leather lacing providing a lot of support because the dress is crazy heavy. (It actually stretched out over the course of the day as I stood and walked, which was an important lesson for us to learn.)

The lights are EL wire coiled up inside a packet of vellum paper and covered with thin white foam packaging I had sitting around. The battery packs are tucked into the gauntlets past my wrist, and one inside my bra.

When I walked, it sounded like a staccato rain stick (it's the best comparison I can come up with, but pretty accurate) and I couldn't hear the high-pitched buzz of the EL wire all day (ambient noise from the con was enough to cover that up, even with three of them).

The common questions I got (other than photo requests) were:

- Is it heavy? (Yes, I would guess about 10-15 pounds.)

- How many scales is that? (About 10,000.)

- How long did it take to make that? (About 5 weeks of intense work.)

- Is it warm? (Yes, I'm basically wearing a fitted afghan.)

So this is just to say congratulations to Beth for doing a TON of work on this thing, and to say that I had lots of fun wearing it. You'll see it again in several months... we want to make some changes to it for May (and hopefully it won't be insanely warm then).

Countdown to HQ: 39/60

I haven't been making great progress with Harley yet, so I needed a checklist. And here it is!

Note the bottom right: 40 tasks, 60 days

First, I made a list of the pieces and what has to be done to make them happen. Then I divided that list into tasks that can reasonably be done (by me) either in an evening after work or in a day on the weekend. Most of them are easier/shorter since most of the days I have left are workdays. Anything that could boil down to "buy a thing online" was set aside and put in the box in the middle right, and they don't count as tasks. Most of the tasks are things like "pattern/measure X," "cut X," "sew X," and then the non-sewing things like painting the bat, a boot, adding studs to things, dyeing my wig, etc.

And I already got one down for today!

You can compare the lists, or I can just tell you: I got the pattern cut for the leggings. I figured it was a good one to get out of the way because (1) I need space to stretch it out and cut it (it should be the largest single piece of anything I need) and (2) it's only one pattern piece so I don't need to worry about losing pieces or getting them separated. Even so, I used a big binder clip and put it, a note with what it is written on it, and the pattern (back in the envelope) all together so it stays together. Now all I need is the fabric for that, and I can get to the next leggings step (cutting the fabric pieces).

You may also notice there's a piece erased from the purchases box: the ball! I finally bit the bullet and spent $30 on a cosplay prop. I could have spend $15 on one that didn't look perfect, but... well, I didn't. I can't wait for it to arrive so I can paint it and play with lights!!!

Tulle Time

For the underskirt poof for Harley, I decided to make a no-sew tulle skirt; it seemed like the easiest route. This means I need lots and lots and lots of 2"-ish wide strips of tulle. Fun facts about tulle: it likes to grab onto itself, the slightest breeze or hint or static electricity sends it flying across the room, and white tulle is kind of hard to see in the poor lighting I have in my craft area for now. So I came up with a solution.

Since I had a cold a couple weeks ago, we only had like two tissues left in this box. So I pulled them out and stuffed all the tulle strips inside, so I can pull them out one at a time as I tie them onto the elastic for the skirt, without having to fight back a pile of them or knocking some of them to the ground to taunt the cat. And here it is in action:

I also labelled it on the side so Birk doesn't accidentally throw it away in an attempt to be helpful and clean up. The label includes the length in case I forget before I buy more tulle (I need about four times what I started with) or misplace my notebook with all the measurement notes in it.

Harley's Bat

I was wandering through Wal-Mart this morning, trying to pick up some barcodes for Shopkick (we'll see how long I stick to doing that) and I found myself near the toy area. And I thought... "Bat." Nowhere near the "shopping list" part of my brain, but constantly poking at the ever-active cosplay part of my brain, I've been thinking I need to find a cheap wiffle ball bat or Nerf bat before the summer's over and they get harder to find.

To make this, of course.

So I found this at Wal-Mart, on sale for $4, and I think it's just perfect. It's a little kid bat, so it's shorter (and therefore less likely to bump into people at a con or get too heavy after several hours on my back) and it's made of that dense foam stuff so (1) it's not a weapon, and (2) it should soak up the paint really well.

Since it came with the ball, if I have the extra time and effort left, I might try to turn the ball into this:

(In her right hand.)

Truth be told, I think I'm more excited about working on the bat than on the outfit, because there's no sewing or patterning or measuring or mathing involved. Just look at a picture for reference, and paint.

Lights!

Okay, Beth is actually doing all the work on this one, but I'm still really excited that I just ordered these lights:

From here

Major bonus points to whoever knows what they're for!

Cosplay: The Reason You Had to Take Geometry

Yes, kids, I'm sorry, but the reason we all had to take geometry in high school was because some of us were going to use it later in life, and, not knowing which of us would become engineers and architects and designers and cosplayers, they made us all learn it.

What's that? You think cosplaying doesn't use math to the extent that architecture does?

Pictured below: My afternoon.

How many pleather straps do I have to make? How long are they?
Make sure they're all the same width, and don't forget the seam allowance.
Oh, and how did you measure them? Because that makes a HUGE difference.

I'm not great at 3-D geometry... Birk had to get involved to show me how to
make all the straps attach to each other. Drawings were badly needed.

This would have been the first of at least a few attempts at the red bracer if
Birk hadn't reminded me of some basic geometrical concepts.

You can see the failed attempt at geometry on the bottom of the page.

It turned out right... so far. There's still a lot of math,
sewing, grommeting, lacing, etc. to go...
and that's just for one forearm of this costume.
Just wait until we put the whole top together.