Loose ends.. (Posted 9th April 2012)

Just finished making the bikini top..If you ever hear me say 'pfft I'll just make a bikini instead of buying one' ever again punch me in the gut. Just do it. XD I thought itd be simple and to be honest I bet it actually is but it took me all night to figure out... orz. But it's done now and I've sewn it super strongly together because I'm really paranoid about it pinging off or something equally embaressing. D:

Shortened the chain of the necklace, currently adding poppers to the bow... All I have to do after that is add a couple of fasteners to the skirt, elasticate the sleeves for extra hold and attach the beads/flower to the belt securely! Basically just small fiddley bits. After that I just need to purchase some contacts and bracelets and I'm done!! Wheeeeew!

Nearly done! (Posted 3rd April 2012)

So the last piece of this costume I need to make will hopefully be the easiest! The black bikini top! I've looked about online for one thats usable but unfortunately Yuna has a weeeeird 'T' shape to the back of hers that I think will be easier just to make. So getting my hands on some bra cups and black swim suit fabric soon! :D Will also look into buying contacts.. Not sure what online shops are best though... Hmm.

Prop making is for other people! (Posted 30th March 2012)

So after trying to seal off my staff head with glue I discovered just how bumpy and uneven the damned thing looked after being painted! Weep. So after sulking for a bit I managed to remedy it by recutting out two more pieces the same shape out of card and sticking it over the top. (This turned out to be not as hard as I thought it would be thankfully!) I then managed to ruin my efforts by essentially doing the same thing but with varnish... ah ahm so dumb! So just one side is nice and smooth and crisp...and this is the side everyone will be seeing unless I decide to go a third round on this staff! XD Blah. learningcurvesLEARNINGCURVES.

The pole part has given me a lot less stress and I'm pretty pleased with how it's shaping up. need to sand down a few bits to make it look a bit neat but overall it's getting close to completion!

Staff (Posted 27th March 2012)

So it's been a while and the past few days I've slacked off a bit so I bring progress in a shape I have never brought progress before! Weapon Props! I'm surprised myself that I haven't really ventured down this path just yet...I guess it just always seemed really intimidating to do! ( Plus last minute cosplay making means weapons come last D: )

So I've aquired a PVC pipe from B&Q, which has been spray painted blue and red...which also happen to be the current colours of my hands. (I'll use gloves or something next time!) Also failed to realise the spray paint wasn't going to get rid of the 'overflow waste pipe' printed on the pipe several times. Classy Yunie. Remedied this with a bit of white acrylic and another spray over thankfully!

The staff head is work in progress, as an artist I'm not much for measuring, angles and all that headachey stuff so I found getting this pattern (although simple looking at first glance) quite hard to sketch out! Still bits are a bit squewy because I fail hard with my (blunt) craft knife! DX; But I think it's turned out ok so far just as long as you dont look at it up close.. (if you do I'll hit you with it. <3)

Skirt Pattern complete! Hurrrraaaah! (Posted 14th March 2012)

So this took a lot longer then anticipated... I underestimated you pleated skirt of doom.

Ahem. So today I managed to finish off the skirts floral pattern, sketched in the part between the front panels. Joining up the vines wasn't actually so hard... being patient and waiting for paint to dry tested me. In fact most of the time I didn't wait and wound up having to do MORE work to make up for the damage. Amount of time taken can be measured by the natural sunlight to crappy room light as seen in the photos. x3

Also the completed pattern has more detailing on flowers that the camera didn't pick up at night. Honest!

So now all that's left to do is add some fasteners to the top and find me a black bikini top. :D

More skirt progress! (Posted 12th March 2012)

Hoooookay. So I've gotten technically a third of the painting done now!
The outer pattern is practically done, the flowers still need a bit more detailing. Just need to mirror/repeat the image on te inside of the pleates for when they open. Still need to get rid of the remaining chalky bits but I'll wait until I finish before doing that.

Skirt Pattern (Posted 12th March 2012)

Ok so now I've got most of the costume complete I have no other choice but to face my demons! So I've started chalking out the pattern onto the skirt, I'm at the stage where I can lay some paints down. Wish me copious amounts of luck. XD;

Today is like no other day. Today is productive. (Posted 11th March 2012)

So not only have I finished the bow today I'm well on my way to completing her top. Ok its true its basically a scarf, but there's shape to it...kind of. Anyway it's a bit of a relief to make something that doesn't require a pattern painted on it, not that I dislike doing it.... its just a nice rest. XD;

Also first attempt was correct! :D

Just a little further to go......! (Posted 11th March 2012)

Done most of the painting on the obi pieces now, just need to do a little on the inside parts that may or may not show! After that just need to sew it altogether, I hope this works...

Obi Bow (Posted 9th March 2012)

So today I think I'm going to -try- to get the majority of this part of the costume complete. After looking online at how different people have tackled the bow I feel a bit more confident about it! I've made a very small start here I'm hoping when I sew the hooped pieces in they will point upward!

Sleeeeeves! (Posted 7th March 2012)

Finally got round to dying the sleeves today! The pink travels up a little furtherthen the photo shows, its just v.pale. They're pretty much done now just need to add the ribbon and beads on to the part that ties at the top. No problems....yet...

Final touches - Sleeves (Posted 7th March 2012)

Bias, Ribbon, beads, elastic. Done! :3

Necklace - WIP (Posted 6th March 2012)

So starting to construct some sort of necklace...thing...
The v shape is made out of fimo, and this time I've remembered to put holes in my jewelery before baking it. woo.

Luckily I happened accross a couple of beads that are the perfect flower shape for necklace. Think I might need to find smaller blue beads to sit inside the flowers/buds though.

I would of actually bought a necklace online if I could of found one that was accurate! ]: Turns out I had everything I needed to make one within all my crafting goods. See! It's not so bad to hoard crap... XD;

Jewelry! (Posted 4th March 2012)

Ok so I've collected together some beads I think will work for Yunas earrings all four of them cripes...my poor ear. XD; So most of them will need painting like the ones I used for the Obi beads. :)

I'll probably work on the bow piece of the obi next. I'll wait for a sunny day for the sleeves. ; u ;'

Fucking YES! (Posted 26th February 2012)

After a whole friggin' week of weeping over the pleats of the skirt I've finally gotten them to lay flat, even and stay that way! It's crazy how one tiny mismeasurement can make the whole skirt look so wrong! So yes I'm a happy bunny once more. So much so that I started painting my obi. :)

Thankyou to Kamiko for finding the time to correctly scale the pattern for me so I can get it as dead on as possible. ' u ' My reference is giant pixels but they're the right sized giant pixels damnit.

Ok I'm fed up with fabric already. (Posted 22nd February 2012)

So I figured I'd move onto something more solid.
Finished making the hibiscus flower that attaches to Yunas obi, in the process of prepping it for paint. Not as painful as I thought it would be...can't say the same for the back of my sketchbook....XD;

Not actually sure of what the flower would tradionally be made out of, but I decided to make it a bit 3D. Personal pref I guess. ^^;
Also the rope going through the flower isnt the cord I'll be using for the final its just a good makeshift example!

Finally made a start! (Posted 22nd February 2012)

So today I decided to try tackling what I assumed would be the hardest base piece of Yunas costume. Intially the idea of putting three different types of pleat in one skirt blew my mind but I think I've managed to overcome my fears quite well!

So this is the skirt so far, pinned together, needs a damned good iron out as the pleats dont follow through to the end yet. So when I iron the beast it should lay nice and flat. :D

Also skirt is more purpley then in the photo, night lighting is fail. D:

Has Fabrics... (Posted 7th September 2011)

Okay! I have my skirt and belt fabric bought, and it's time for construction!
I hate, -HATE- making pleated skirts not sure why I put this on myself again but hey-ho! Not entirely sure how I'll put the floral pattern onto the skirt...if the image matches/looks non-distort when pleates are lined up...are the unseen parts that are folded over blank? or a continuation? Argh...will have to ponder.

Found a useful ref though. Will probably help.