Articuno v.2 - Pokemon
Worn:
FrostCon 4 (Burlington, ON)
Costume Con 35 (Mississauga, ON)
Otakuthon 2017 (Montreal, QC)
Status: Active
Why Remake Articuno?
To be quite honest, after looking at photos of my original Articuno that I did in 2009, 8 years prior to this version, I wasn't happy with it anymore. Looking at photos of it nothing about the costume said Articuno, except for the fact that that's what I said it was. So I sought to redesign my gijinka of my favourite Pokemon. I am much happier with this version, but may yet make a third one if I choose to.
I ordered the wig first. The wig is just a nice curly blue wig I was able to find on eBay. It arrived within 2 weeks of ordering from Hong Kong.
I used Costume Satin (white), Princess Satin (turquoise) and Bridal Satin (Royal blue) for making most of the costume.
I started off by designing it. I made the top half of the dress first. I made the pattern first and tried to make sure I got the shapes and fit right. I ended up making it a touch too tight in some spots, but it's comfortable to wear regardless. I sewed it up. Next was the skirt of the dress where I just cut a straight panel of the material to the length I wanted. There is a front seam just because the zipper is in the front of the dress on the left side of the white. I used a zipper that we already had in the house that had sat around for a few years. Before I sewed the skirt to the top I pleated it, giving it a nice finish in the back. I finished the collar of the dress with white bias tape. I ironed everything thoroughly, especially at the pleats.
The wings/sleeves were fun to design and make. I kept in mind that Articuno's feathers are squared off on it's wings so I made a few squared off "finger" feathers for the sleeves/wings. The wings are two pieces each sewn together. Before going any further I ironed everything out to press it and make sure it all laid flat. I didn't want to top stitch the wings as I felt that would ruin the overall look I was going for. They have thin elastic at the top to help hold them up. The hole for my hands to go through has facing on the inside to make it a clean finish.
The tail was fun to make and a pretty basic shape really. I ironed it out and top stitched it - the only piece of the costume with top stitching! To attach it to the dress though I couldn't use the sewing machine, it wouldn't have looked/sat right. So I hand sewed the tail onto the costume after figuring out where I wanted it to sit.
The hair clip was the fastest and easiest part. I had a package of blank hair clips leftover from other projects and grabbed one out of it. I just used a piece of craft foam and cut with my xacto knife for the elegant shape that's found on the head of the Pokemon. I painted it with a turquoise that matches the rest of the costume, and hot glued jewels on top. The pieces of foam are just hot glued in place.
I bought the white thigh high tights from Spencer's and the shoes had been bought at Value Village.
Photography:
KassyPlay
FrostCon 4 (Burlington, ON)
Costume Con 35 (Mississauga, ON)
Otakuthon 2017 (Montreal, QC)
Status: Active
Why Remake Articuno?
To be quite honest, after looking at photos of my original Articuno that I did in 2009, 8 years prior to this version, I wasn't happy with it anymore. Looking at photos of it nothing about the costume said Articuno, except for the fact that that's what I said it was. So I sought to redesign my gijinka of my favourite Pokemon. I am much happier with this version, but may yet make a third one if I choose to.
I ordered the wig first. The wig is just a nice curly blue wig I was able to find on eBay. It arrived within 2 weeks of ordering from Hong Kong.
I used Costume Satin (white), Princess Satin (turquoise) and Bridal Satin (Royal blue) for making most of the costume.
I started off by designing it. I made the top half of the dress first. I made the pattern first and tried to make sure I got the shapes and fit right. I ended up making it a touch too tight in some spots, but it's comfortable to wear regardless. I sewed it up. Next was the skirt of the dress where I just cut a straight panel of the material to the length I wanted. There is a front seam just because the zipper is in the front of the dress on the left side of the white. I used a zipper that we already had in the house that had sat around for a few years. Before I sewed the skirt to the top I pleated it, giving it a nice finish in the back. I finished the collar of the dress with white bias tape. I ironed everything thoroughly, especially at the pleats.
The wings/sleeves were fun to design and make. I kept in mind that Articuno's feathers are squared off on it's wings so I made a few squared off "finger" feathers for the sleeves/wings. The wings are two pieces each sewn together. Before going any further I ironed everything out to press it and make sure it all laid flat. I didn't want to top stitch the wings as I felt that would ruin the overall look I was going for. They have thin elastic at the top to help hold them up. The hole for my hands to go through has facing on the inside to make it a clean finish.
The tail was fun to make and a pretty basic shape really. I ironed it out and top stitched it - the only piece of the costume with top stitching! To attach it to the dress though I couldn't use the sewing machine, it wouldn't have looked/sat right. So I hand sewed the tail onto the costume after figuring out where I wanted it to sit.
The hair clip was the fastest and easiest part. I had a package of blank hair clips leftover from other projects and grabbed one out of it. I just used a piece of craft foam and cut with my xacto knife for the elegant shape that's found on the head of the Pokemon. I painted it with a turquoise that matches the rest of the costume, and hot glued jewels on top. The pieces of foam are just hot glued in place.
I bought the white thigh high tights from Spencer's and the shoes had been bought at Value Village.
Photography:
KassyPlay