Main outfit minus belt (Posted 24th May 2012)

Complete- Duster and arm-warmers, top, skirt, shorts, boots, ring and chain, wig.
(Wig and necklace not in the photo)

The main outfit is now finished apart from the belt and I'm really pleased with how it's looking so far =)

Shorts, skirt & top- Complete (Posted 23rd May 2012)

How the finished items look together.

Skirt alterations (Posted 23rd May 2012)

I un-picked the yellow thread in the seam near the top of the waistline before shortening the hem with wonderweb. The top seam was still visible without the stitching and this bugged me so I folded it over and hid it inside the skirt. I allowed for this before raising the hem.
Rather than fuss about making the wrap skirt functional (it has a zip at the back hidden by the duster) I just folded over a bit of the fabric at the front and stitched it down using my machine to create a wrap effect. I purposely made the fold over-hang a bit at the end by not sewing it completly straight to help with this illusion. The buttons were hand sewn on, the DF version has brass ones not silver.

Base skirt (Posted 23rd May 2012)

I tried making a mini-skirt once and failed miserably. I didn't want that issue again so bought a base skirt to modify. I should be able to shorten it but keep the waistline intact so I know it will fit me properly.
The DF version of Rinoa does not have a marble effect skirt and the shade of blue is darker.

Shorts (Posted 23rd May 2012)

I tried once again to sew the zips into the shorts themselves to make them fuctional, this time I had hoped using my machine with a low tension setting might help but during my efforts decided I hate lycra lol I tested it out on my old shorts so didn't ruin these thankfully. So I went back to the popular method of sewing them direcly on top of the shorts to minimise bunching, this was done by hand whilst I was wearing them.
Checking the references later on I noticed on a zoomed in shot that her zips have a slight dark border around them as if hers had been placed on top also so hey it works!

Top progress (Posted 23rd May 2012)

Lace detailing being added to the vest top. I hand stitched it in place first then went over it with my machine to strengthen it.
I use a lycra vest top with my original Rinoa as the fabric seems similar to the shorts and it does in Dead Fantasy too but I didn't think the lace would look right against lycra somehow so I opted for cotton instead.

Boot alterations- Part 3 (Posted 22nd May 2012)

Eyelets and laces added to one boot. Glad they came out how I wanted! Now to do the other.

Boot alterations- Part 2 (Posted 22nd May 2012)

Started adding eyelets to the cuffs.

Boot alterations- Part 1-2 (Posted 22nd May 2012)

Both cuffs have now been re-attached in the correct position with the zips removed.

Wings progress 6 (Posted 22nd May 2012)

Spray painted the black gutter mesh white. This shall be used to help shape the wing and for the feathers to attach to. I didn't want the black showing through as the insulation foam I am using for the feathers is quite thin. I shall prob cover this with plain white fabric also.

Wig styling- part two (Posted 22nd May 2012)

The wig was labled as heat resistant so I straightened it with my mum's straighteners but the condition felt crap after. Tch. Used the hot water method after to try and smooth it out a bit but didn't do much tbh.
Anyway I went ahead and trimmed the fringe and sewed the brown highlights into the netting. I used a bit of wax to separate the fringe a bit but I'm not keen on how it looks so brushed it out after this photo was taken.
I'm not that happy with how the wig looks overall but it'll do for now.

Wig styling- part one (Posted 22nd May 2012)

As I did with my last wig I cut up some auburn clip in extensions ready to be sewn onto the wefts of the wig.

Boot alterations- Part 1 (Posted 18th May 2012)

Removed the zips from the cuffs and cut them off so I could twist them round making the split face the front. They were glued back onto the boot using super glue. The join won't be seen once the laces are in.

Wings progress 5 (Posted 12th May 2012)

After round 2 we got a height and shape I was happy with and which is similar to one of the references I have.

Wings progress 4 (Posted 12th May 2012)

This is what we had after the first round of heating and bending the PVC pipes. However I felt it was way too tall for my liking (in how it looked and for myself being able to support it) so the ends of the pipes were cut down a bit and we started round 2 of shaping...

Wings progress 3 (Posted 12th May 2012)

sjbonnar heated the PVC pipes for me because I'm too much of a wimp to use my own heat gun... Although 2 people were needed anyway as I had to hold the ends of the pipe to stop them bending too far whilst hot and snapping.

Wings progress 2 (Posted 12th May 2012)

My lovely bf sjbonnar was on hand today to help me test the harness. He noticed the pipes were leaning forward and trying to snap out of the clips. He thinks adding another support bar of plastic over the backplate and attaching a V shaped pipe connector for the ends of the pipe to sit in will make it a lot more stable.
I am also going to add another webbing strap to go under my bust to help keep the harness flat against my back.

Wings progress 1 (Posted 12th May 2012)

This is how the PVC pipes looked in the harness without them being shaped or cut. I felt like a weird bug with giant antenna...

Wig- to be styled (Posted 9th May 2012)

My Rinoa wig has seen better days so figured it was about time I got a new one. Unfortunately this hasn't got a side skin-top parting which seems impossible to find but it'll do. I'll find a better wig for my regular version when I update her one day. I do like the framing around the face on this though.

Wings removed from duster (Posted 25th October 2011)

I easily spent between 10 and 15 hours un-picking those... Had no idea it would take that long ><
This was done over the last month whilst watching anime/ a film or on lunch breaks at work.

Wing harness complete (Posted 22nd October 2011)

Added duct tape for extra support lol It also smooths off edges to be fair.
The shoulder straps close and can be adjusted via D-rings.

Wing harness progress (Posted 22nd October 2011)

The pipe clamps were bolted to the plastic plate but it wasn't enough to keep them from swivilling so I ended up adding tons of hot glue ^^' They don't move now but I don't know if they will hold up once the weight of the wings are added. I made 4 shoulder straps from nylon webbing and heated the cut ends with a lighter to stop them from fraying. These were hot glued to the back of the plate and then I covered this with part of a laptop sleeve so it will be cushioned against my back (this should also prevent the shoulder straps from coming off completely if the glue becomes loose).

Wing supplies! (Posted 22nd October 2011)

A week to go and I only just finished getting everything I need... No pressure right? Not to mention I haven't finished the outfit yet either...

Here we have:

10 metre roll of insulation foam (hiding at the back)- for the main feathers
Bag of Turkey flats and fluffier feathers- for possible detailing
Plastic rectangle wall plate- base of harness
2 x PVC overflow pipes- "bones" of the wings
Overflow pipe clips- so the wings can be snapped in and out of the harness
Pack of knuts and bolts- for attaching pipe clamps to wall plate
Heat gun- to bend the pipes into shape with
Webbing of various widths- shoulder straps
Slides and D-rings- for tightening shoulder straps
Neoprene laptop sleeve (I couldn't get a camping mat or mouse mat)- to cushion the side of the plate that will rest against my back.
Gutter guard mesh- to make the basic shape of the wings, feathers will attach to this.
Glue gun and duct tape- to help keep everything together!

Base boots bought (Posted 31st August 2011)

I spent ages looking for a pair of black ankle boots with a small heel and large cuff. All I could find was some with a weird heel but finally came across these. I need to remove the zips, add eyelets and laces in their place and twist the cuff around so the laces are front facing.

Feathers! (Posted 1st August 2011)

Although I plan to mainly make my wings out of craft foam due the un-natural size of the larger feathers I bought a load of white turkey flats and the fluffier feathers (forgotten the name) from Speckles as figured they could be used along the top of the wings for added detailing. If not then I'm sure I can find some other use for them in the future.

Duster closure (Posted 7th December 2010)

I had to alter the way the duster closes at the front. What is a little annoying is FairyPorchQueen originally made it as it is in DF where it ties but then she changed it to match the button closure of the game. I've had to remove the buttons and unpick her stitching to get the original ties back although they're a little short as she must of cut them before sewing it up.

Duster and arm warmers (Posted 3rd November 2010)

The duster and arm warmers were made by FairyPorchQueen. They're hand-knitted and are gorgeous as well as being that slightly darker shade of blue so I was happy to hear she was selling them. The wing pattern on the back is a little off but it can be picked out as it was done once the main duster was knitted. I may end up cutting into the back a little anyway depending on how I do my massive wings of doom!

Vanishing Star- attempt at details (Posted 22nd June 2010)

Tried sketching out the feather and lettering on the gunblade ready for painting but I wasn't happy with how they turned out so have left it for now.

Silenced Tear- first attempt (Posted 23rd July 2009)

This is how far I got with my pinwheel before my mum threw it out thinking it was for recycling -_- It was made with foamboard and painted with a metallic acrylic paint.
I shall have to buy more foamboard at some point and start again.

Vanishing Star- main paintwork done (Posted 12th July 2009)

Spray-painted the gunblade black, I taped up the blade edge to keep it silver as shown in some references.

Vanishing Star- base gunblade bought (Posted 31st May 2009)

I brought Squall's gunblade from the Uniquities stand at Expo and as I grabbed it late on Sunday they had put it on sale so saved myself some money whoop! It's solid wood and has quite a bit of weight to it.
I plan to modify this to look more like Rinoa's gunblade.

Excuse my squinting face, the sun was shining on it.