17th April 2012: Karina ref This was the main ref that I used :3
8th April 2012: Boot covers I despise making boot covers with a passion and the experience to make Karina's did not lessen my hatred one bit XD Ok I didn't have to sew them but my annoying attention to accuracy bothered me if I didn't ^^; Her set of covers were a tad more tricky than Mai's cos one 1, extra little details like the buckle and straps were included and 2, the fact how her base shoes were flat slippers with a small heel and not a pair of boots, did make it a little more difficult to get it to fit right to my legs.
I wanted to make a little flap at the front of the boots to cover that centre seam but I couldn't get the shape right so that it would lie smoothly so I abandoned the idea. The back of these are done terribly cos of zip insertion problems so please do not take any note of them from behind! ><
22nd February 2012: Hat redone I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when I found this out but there was something about this cosplay that made me feel really uneasy but had no idea what... then it suddenly hit me when I looked at the reference pic again and what I made - I sewed the triangle thing upside down DX I had a moment of panic cos I thought I had to remake the hat all over again but then I calmed myself and realised all I had to do was quick unpick everything and sew it up again XD In the midst of this, I checked to make sure my dress was ok and it was :D I swear if I sewed my dress wrong I woulda screamed!! >< Thank fully it took no more than an hour to redo and so glad I did not bondaweb everything which I was planning ^^;;
22nd February 2012: Jacket wip 2 Happy with the choice of fur this time, I remade everything again whilst almost pankicking that I only had a few days to finish DX It took longer than I wanted it to and never in my life do I recall a cosplay that had to require so much hand basting XD The most trickiest things about this jacket was the collar construction and the band at the bottom - the most tedious thing was to make bias tape DX It's soooo messy but I am beyond caring with the jacket ^^;; I'm just happy that it's got the right kinda shape and the collar is all so soft XD
19th February 2012: Jacket 1 draft So I begun the jacket - cutted out all the pieces, sewed them together, made up the collar pattern from left over bed sheets and half way through, I decided to remake it XD
1, I didn't like the darts curving round the bust area for the jacket and 2, the fur that I had purchased for the collar was malting awfully >.< at this time I was searching for what I had in the house that I could perhaps use as a substitute - the closest thing I had was felt which I decided to try and use anyways and it didn't look right so I had choice but to go out to get some nicer quality fur DX
17th February 2012: Wig complete First 2 photos show the before and after images :3 Also, including what it looks like with the hat cos I like it that much XD
16th February 2012: Hat complete :3 wig wip Decided to make the hat today and though there are imperfections, I quite like it - it hasn't got the exact shape I want but it's really cute <3 <3
Along with the hat, I decided to re-use my straight Alice Lidell wig and curl it to match Karina's wavy hair. Though it isn't the most perfect wig, I neither had the time nor money to buy a new one for her so this one will do for now since it is the right colour that I need - still have to cut the bangs though
16th February 2012: Arm warmers Since I couldn't do anything about the zip until I go out again, I decided to concentrate on the others things - made the arm warmers in about 3 hours or so :3
15th February 2012: Dress semi complete.... After finally sewing bias tape along the neckline, sleeve edge, ruffles and triangle applique, I finally thought, yes! I'm making progress! I've got a dress!! .... but then it was just my luck with this cosplay that as soon as I placed it on the dress making dummy to take a photo of, the zip freakin broke!! 3$*$nd&g£@ >:( GAH!! It was just one nightmare after another with this damn thing!!! Though it's not exactly gonna take me a lot of time nor cost me much to buy a new one, the point is, I have to start all over again to install a zip!! RAGGGGGGGE!!!!!!! ><
11th February 2012: Under the bust ruffles The next annoying bit of this dress was to create (as it says in the title) the ruffles which are shaped around the chest - I was actually quite nervous about this cos I have a thing about dresses with a line outlining the bust region cos normally, it never fits XD but using my dress making dummy, it's all good in the end - also for an extra little detail, I decided to rouge up the centre :3
7th February 2012: Dress decoration prep I actually made a start on this way back in January but I had a major problem with the dress from day one so I decided to come back to it later DX I brought a pattern which was basically a fitted pencil dress and I thought it'll be perfect - unfortunately, this dress pattern involved sewing a lapped zip at the back which meant the back panel had to be split in half and then sewed together which I didn't want for preference as I wanted a side zip instead. However, when I tried to sew the back panel as being one, it was seriously baggy and it didn't fit to my shape at all so I stressed out about it and left this cosplay alone cos it wasn't my priority at the time...
After a long thought, my solution was to alter a pattern I had already - however, it was a shirt pattern which meant I had to extend it and place my own darts where it was needed – after much trial and error, I finally got the shape and thus could actually start on the ruffles and triangle appliqué! … which was a pain in itself DX
11th January 2012: Necklace The first thing I decided to make a start on was the necklace cos it was the easiest and less expensive part of the outfit XD Karina's necklace is not very clearly drawn thus it can be interpreted in many ways ^_~ The way I see it, they're green gem like beads. The white glass pearls were an extra touch I decided to add :3