Cosplay Spotlight: Madly Megan Cosplay

Photo: kaylaevansphotography

2017 is coming to a close, and what better way to welcome in the new year than with the first cosplay spotlight interview: Madly Megan Cosplay!

How and when did you get into cosplay?


I remember there was one day I was home sick and I was watching the syfy channel, a show about cosplay was playing. I never really knew that was a thing until then, the costumes in shows and movies were always so cool and it looked so fun! But it wasn’t till I went to my first con a few years ago and saw all the amazing costumes in person that I really wanted to dive in!

I went to school for theater and did quite a bit of costuming while there, cosplay offers the perfect opportunity to use those skills!


What was the first cosplay you ever did?


My first cosplay was Speedy from Arrow


What’s your approach to building a cosplay?

It depends on whether I’m going for the closest replica of the costume as I can or not. I’m currently working on a couple characters that will be genderbent, for those I’ve been looking at different version of the characters costume and create something that’s my own. 

If I’m doing a close as possible to the original I find as many photos from as many angles as possible. Next I determine if I can find patterns for the costume or if I need to draft my own. I always do a mock-up in MusLin because it’s cheap and allows you to test for size. Once I find fabric that’ll work I create the final version of the costume. 


I know it's really hard to pick just one favorite cosplay, so I have a few different categories:


What is your favorite cosplay to wear to cons?


So far my favorite has probably been silk, the fabric is really light so I don’t get to warm and the character offers so many fun poses!

What is your favorite cosplay to wear for photoshoots?


I haven’t done many shoots yet so I can’t really say on this one. 

What was your favorite cosplay to make?
 

Black Siren! I’m constructing her right now. It’s the first costume I’ve done completely from scratch including the pattern. 

If you can choose, what is your favorite cosplay in general?


Casual Raven! I just love her!


Favorite fandom to cosplay from?


Marvel so far!


Favorite con/cosplay moment?


All of Rose City Comic Con! It was my second Con cosplaying and I got to meet so many cool people!


What is your dream cosplay (or cosplays plural, if there’s more than one)?

Oh man… Sally (nightmare before Christmas), Rey (Star Wars), X-23, starfire… the list could go on and on

Be sure to give Megan a follow!

Instagram: madlymegancosplay

Facebook: Madly Megan Cosplay

Interested in being featured? Message me on Instagram or Facebook!

Coming Soon: Cosplay Spotlights!

Greetings, fellow nerds!

This little post is just to announce that starting next week, I'm going to be introducing a new feature on my blog: cosplay spotlights! These posts will feature a different cosplayer every week or so and will include an interview, one of their favorite cosplay photos, and links to their social media so you can continue to follow their amazing work. I've already got a number of applicants and I'm super excited to share these talented cosplayers with you because they're all incredible!

If you're interested in being featured, just send me a message on either my Instagram or Facebook and we'll work out the details. Interviews will be conducted and published in order of submission, so you'll be added to a queue, and it may be a few weeks before I send you the questions, but I assure you I've got your name written down and you won't be forgotten!

I hope you're all as excited for this as I am! The first interview will be up next week, so keep an eye on my social media for that announcement.

May the Force be with you!
-Megan

Resistance Rey Build Walk Thru

I've been meaning to write this walk thru for a while, but the fact that I finally am getting around to it the week The Last Jedi comes out is much more fitting than any other time I could have posted it. I made Resistance Rey over the course of about five months, and considering I patterned the vest myself, I'm pretty impressed with that. Before I get into the walk thru, I should mention that not everything about this costume is Rebel Legion approvable so if you're looking for some assistance making your RL cosplay, you'll need to make some adjustments. I'll make note of instances of things I know that would need changing, for easy reference. You can also find their full guidelines here.

Boots
Starting with the easy stuff, I decided to upgrade since the last time I made Rey and splurged for the screen accurate Po-zu boots. They are so worth the money, they're super comfortable (even all day at a con) and high quality, and they're sustainably made too. Po-zu recently released an official Star Wars line, which includes the Rey boots.

Belt
I used the same belt as from my scavenger Rey cosplay, the instructions for which you can find on my post for that build.

Blaster
There are lots of options for getting Rey's blaster (Etsy, Nerf, making it yourself, etc), but I bought this 3D printed one on Etsy.

Holster
Using the same roll of suede I used for the belt, I used this tutorial as a guide. I didn't really make any changes to their instructions and pattern, and the pattern fit perfectly around my blaster as is, no trimming necessary.

Lightsaber
I just got the Disney Store Rey lightsaber, but it's not RL approvable, and there's also plenty of other fancier options (Black Series, Etsy, etc).

Bag/Satchel
I used this tutorial (but got canvas fabric at Joanns instead of taking apart a bag). The fabric I bought was a little too green instead of olive drab, so I tea dyed it. Like a lot.

Pants
I bought a pair of olive drab jeans at the thrift store, cut them off below the knees, and used the extra fabric and some batting to make the knee pads. I vaguely followed this tutorial, though mostly I just used it for the knee pad pattern because I didn't do the extra part with the seam above the knees.

Shirt

I used this pattern, making the tank top version with the mandarin collar. I used a slightly heavy white stretch knit fabric from Joanns that had a similar texture to a closeup I found of Rey's shirt.
There is some confusion with the direction of the wrap, which is supposed to be right over left (the RL page says left over right I believe, but that could just be a mix up that never got revised because all the RL approved cosplayers I've seen have right over left).
As for the collar, it's not easy to see just from stills of TFA because she's wearing the vest, but promo stills we've gotten from TLJ show the mandarin collar.
You'll also want to keep all the edges raw (this includes leaving out the neck band piece from the pattern) and use a zigzag/overlay stitch on the edges (you'll probably want to iron the edges too because if your fabric acts like mine, it'll get very squiggly).

Arm Wraps and Gauntlets
For the grey under wraps, I used the same pattern as I did for the scavenger Rey wraps (instructions once again in the previous post), which I also sell in both colors on my Etsy store (as of right now (12/13), my store is temporarily on vacation while I cram too many cosplays before ECCC but as soon as I'm able, I'll be opening it again).
The gauntlets were a little harder. I used parts of this tutorial as a general guide/reference, but mostly I made things up as I went along. I used a gauntlet pattern from an old Legolas costume, traced it out on butcher paper, and added on the flared bottom part that goes over the hands. Once I had made a couple mockups to test my pattern, I cut it out on the same material as my vest (I'll get to that later). I also patterned out the pieces for the elbow pads and cut that from the same material and from a few layers of batting (you'll need lots of reference pictures because I eyeballed a lot of this and didn't take progress shots).
For the hole details on the wrist, I used this pattern and two different sized punches on a screw punch (you can find these for pretty cheap on Amazon and they are truly a blessing, I highly recommend getting yourself one). Once I'd punched out the holes, I used Fray Check to keep them from getting messed up.
The scalloped edges at the bottom are about a finger width each, so I used a nickel and traced out the scallops, then cut them and locked it in with Fray check.
When you go to sew up the seam, keep in mind that the flared bottom part around the hands is open along the edge (so zigzag stitch your edges, because everything is raw edges with Rey). So make your seam only to the wrist, and make a clip in the seam allowance to allow the flared part to flare properly (if that makes any sense. If not, feel free to comment and I'll try to make more sense).

Vest
Arguably the hardest and most important part of this costume is the vest. I made my pattern myself, using another vest pattern as a guide, and because I didn't really take progress pictures, giving you a real walk thru of my process would be messy. So I'm just going to give you a basic overview, give you some tips, tell you the changes that need to be made for RL, and point you in the right direction for some resources.
So first of all, the fabric I used was a grey herringbone wool from Dorr Mill. The exact one I bought is sold out currently, but they have a few different shades and their customer service is very helpful so you can always shoot them an email and find out if/when they'll get certain products back. I got two yards so I'd have enough for both the vest and the gauntlets (and have extra in case of screw ups).
For the pattern, basically I took the pattern pieces I already had and traced them onto butcher paper, making adjustments so the front wouldn't have princess seams, and slicing everything at the waist for the peplum. I made the back all one piece and cut out the extremely curved princess seam pieces. I made the peplum pattern myself (and had to adjust it a bit to add more flare). Before you go and cut up your expensive wool, definitely do a mock up on some muslin or scrap fabric so you know your pattern will actually work (this is how I learned I needed to make adjustments on the peplum).
Before I move on to the next part of the vest, I need to point out the adjustments that needs to be made to my method in order to be approved for the Rebel Legion. The collar is supposed to be all one piece with the body of the vest, with a side seam that matches up to the shoulder seam. My collar is a separate piece (and doesn't have the side seams). You'll also need to have ladder stitching on the back princess seams and the collar side seams (as detailed in this tutorial).
Once again, all the edges on Rey's costumes are always raw, so you'll need to have a zigzag stitch.
Finally, the shoulder pads. I used an actual shoulder pad to make my pattern, cut out a couple layers of batting and a layer of wool for each piece (make sure to have about an inch extra around the edges to fold under the batting). I used pretty much the same method as I did for the knee pads on the pants and the elbow pads on the gauntlets, sewing the wool over the batting around the edges, then sewing the topstiching details (I totally freehanded those ridges and I'm still amazed that it worked out perfectly). Then you just sew them onto the shoulders of the vest.

So there you have it! I hope my tutorial is of some help, at least to get you started in the right direction. If you have any questions, don't be afraid to leave a comment, or you can message me on instagram! You can also find a ton more resources, including reference pictures and more tutorials, on my Rey cosplay Pinterest board.

Howling Commandos Bucky Barnes Build Walk Thru

One of the earliest cosplays I decided to do (and started) was Bucky's Howling Commandos uniform from Captain America: The First Avenger. I got a couple of pieces and then got stuck trying to find a coat that fit my very high standards. Fast forward two and a half years and I finally managed to finish this thing. Not a lot of people cosplay this version of Bucky, so there weren't a lot of resources. But no longer! There shall now be exactly one full tutorial on how to build this cosplay. You're welcome. ;)

Wig

I got Amphigory's Taylor in #4. I chose this one because it was cheap and also for its versatility (I also use it for my Castiel and Killian Jones cosplays). It does the job and I'm pleased with it (it's also remarkably comfortable), but if you want a wig that you can style into Bucky's perfectly parted and gelled hairstyle, you should probably do a little more hunting.

Pants

I got some dark brown cargo pants at the thrift store. This is probably the easiest piece of this cosplay, honestly, there always seem to be cargos at thrift stores.

Boots

I just wore the brown combat boots I already had. Bucky's boots are technically a bit more heavy-duty than mine, but combat boots are combat boots. Another fairly easy piece.

Pouch Belt

The nice thing about steampunk being such a thing is that you can find cheap yet decent quality costume pouch belts quite easily. I got this one off eBay.

Bandolier

You have a few options with this part. I got a plain brown belt from the thrift store and just wore it across my chest instead of like a normal belt. However, if you have a bigger budget and/or want to go a bit fancier, there are a decent number of bandoliers available on Amazon. Lots of different options, historical replicas and all that jazz. Bucky's bandolier is pretty basic so that narrows your choices (a lot of them have those little pocket things for shotgun shells), but I feel it's only fair to let you know that there are actual bandoliers out there if you're willing to spend a bit of money on them.

Gun and Holster

So this isn't a particularly obvious part of the costume, it took me a while to even notice that Bucky had a holster on his bandolier (I honestly thought it was just an aesthetic thing for the longest time). If you're doing a belt for your bandolier, this part actually has a second function as it weighs down the belt and keeps it from doing awkward bubbly things.

For the gun, I just used one of the handguns from Black Widow. The holster was also part of another costume (normally it holds my sword for Killian), but it's a very simple and versatile piece so it works for holding many kinds of weapons. It's also absurdly cheap and easy to make. The tutorial I used seems to have vanished, but I've still got the pattern. Once I figure out a way to let you guys download the pattern, I'll make a little summary of the instructions from memory. :)

Coat

Now for the hard part, aka the entire reason this cosplay took me so long to make. I got my Howling Commandos patch from PeachyKiki, however her shop is no longer stocked. There are a few options on Etsy, or you can look elsewhere.

When I first was trying to make this cosplay, I honestly thought I'd be able to find a dark blue, waist length, double-breasted peacoat. Eventually I realized that this was far too specific an item, so I'd have to make it myself. I used this pattern for mine (view B) and modified it a bit, eliminating the belt and using buttons instead of zippers. I should warn you, though, this pattern was rather a pain. It was extremely difficult (my family friend, a veteran seamstress, had trouble helping me out) and didn't always make sense. I soldiered through, but unless you are feeling masochistic, you may want to find a different pattern. There are a decent number of similar jacket patterns that can be modified like I did with mine and that will hopefully not make you want to cry. If you're up to the task, however, this one does make a pretty gorgeous jacket.

And there you have it! Except for the coat, this is a pretty easy cosplay, mostly because it doesn't have a whole lot of pieces and many things can be thrifted. And now I leave you with the final result:

Happy cosplaying!

Holtzmann Build Walk-Thru

Holtzmann was a pretty easy cosplay that would've taken me about two months less had I made the jumpsuit in a month like I originally planned. I decided to cosplay her when the movie came out and finished it by February 2017 so it was by far the quickest I've managed to make a costume so far (about six months, though keep in mind a lot of that is me being slow and lazy about ordering/working on things).

Jumpsuit

So obviously the most important part of a Ghostbusters cosplay is the jumpsuit. You can probably go to the work uniforms section of someplace like Sear's and get one that works, but I made my own. I used this pattern from McCall's with a mid-weight khaki fabric.

For the orange reflective stripes, I ordered six of these iron on reflective tape packets, which came out to about ten feet. You need enough to have double stripes around your chest and both arms, so measure your bust and biceps and multiply the bust measurement times two, and the bicep measurement times four, then add those together. The tape comes in 32 inch packages.

I got this iron-on Ghostbusters logo patch for the sleeve. In the movie, all the Ghostbusters have name tag patches on their chests, which I didn't do. If you choose to do the name tags, there are lots of options on Amazon and Etsy.

Obviously, since all the Ghostbusters have matching jumpsuits, you can use this portion of the tutorial no matter which Ghostbuster you're cosplaying.

Wig

Holtzmann's got a pretty unique signature hairstyle. I'm not blonde, so I used a wig. I got the Tawny 1310 off Amphigory in #22. Style-wise this wig works, but it's a bit on the small side so it squeezed my head after a day at comicon and the adjustable sizing straps are velcro instead of hooks, so they get caught on the wig fibers, wig caps, and your own hair. Whether you're using a wig or your real hair, this Youtube tutorial is an excellent reference for doing Holtzmann's hairstyle.

Necklace

Another signature Holtzmann item is her Screw U necklace. I got a 3D printed pendant from Etsy and put it on a chain I already had. It's a little bigger than the pendant is in the movie and is obviously not metal, so if this option isn't the look you're going for, there are lots of other people on Etsy that make and sell Holtzmann's necklace.

Glasses

It can be really hard to find non-reflective yellow lensed glasses with side-visors without spending a lot of money. After some trial and error, I bought some cheap yellow tinted glasses off Amazon. I then used a paper towel tube, aluminum foil, and double sided tape to make the side-visors. Here's a tutorial I already made for how I did it. However, the visors fell off during and after comicon, so I'm going to be experimenting with better alternatives and will update when I've found a winner.

Shoes

I admittedly sort of forgot about doing anything specific with the shoes. I just wore combat boots, but you can wear rainboots like she does during the scene at the concert, or you can make boot covers for the ones all the team wears at the end of the movie.

Proton Pack

The hardest, most work intensive part of a Holtzmann (or any of the Ghostbusters) cosplay is definitely the proton pack. Mattel sells a toy version if you don't want to make it yourself and are willing to dish out some money. I made my own. Mine isn't perfectly screen accurate nor detailed because I didn't have the time and resources and I also wanted to make mine have a double function as a backpack.

The materials I used were mainly a bunch of random junk. I got a cheap plain backpack off Amazon and removed the front pocket and label. In order to stabilize it and make sure it won't collapse under the weight of all the hardware, I put a cardboard box inside. You should definitely do this first because I did it last and had to use industrial strength velcro to attach it, which barely worked, and if you do it first then you'll be able to use a stapler/staple gun/something else more successful because you won't have to work around all the stuff you've already attached to your backpack.

For the faraday cage, I used a banana basket I found at Goodwill. For the lights inside, I got a short strand of red LED rope lights from Ebay. It has an adhesive back, so I wrapped it around one of those plastic flower pot trays and stuck it on there. I then used a heavy duty needle and thread and tacked the lights and the basket onto the front of the backpack. I simply let the battery pack for the lights hang down into the backpack (remember to bring spare batteries to comicon in case yours wear out).

For the bottom of the pack, I cut a cardboard box in half so it fit the bottom of the backpack. I painted the sides silver and the front and bottom black, and painted diagonal yellow stripes across the top of the front. I then used industrial strength velcro to attach it to the backpack.

For the blaster, I got PVC pipe, cut two 13 inch sections, and painted them silver for the barrel and handle. I used an old alarm clock box and painted it silver for the center box. I measured out the circumference of the PVC pipe on the front end and used an Xacto knife to cut a hole, into which I inserted one of the pipes for the barrel. I duct taped it into place, then duct taped the handle pipe onto the side of the box, facing the other direction (you'll want reference pictures for this). I then hot glued some black craft foam around each pipe for handles. For the cord that connects the blaster to the pack, I got some random cords from the electronics section of the thrift store. I threaded one end into the handle pipe of the blaster and duct taped it into place, then wedged the other end into the center of a small thread spool that I'd painted silver. I duct taped the spool to the backpack to hold it in place. I made a holder for my blaster by sewing a 1 1/14" plastic plumbing coupling to the side of the backpack.

And there you have it! As a finishing touch, I added some fingerless leather gloves that I already had for Black Widow. By no means a requirement, but she does wear gloves in the movie. You can find lots more references, especially for the proton pack, in my Pinterest board. And now for the finished product:

Happy cosplaying!

Rey Build Walk-Thru

Rey's costume is, so far, one of the few where I've made almost the entire thing myself. There were only a few pieces that I actually bought and used as is (or almost as is).

To start off, I got the McCall's pattern set, which I used for all the pieces except the shirt and cuff. There were a few little adjustments I made to make certain pieces more accurate, but generally I followed the given instructions. So here's what I did.

Shirt

As I mentioned before, I didn't use the shirt included in the pattern. If I had, it probably would've been a little closer to screen accurate, but I bought my shirt before I even found the pattern. The shirt I got was a light tan basic v-neck tee, originally from Target (I already had the same shirt in a different color so I recognized it) though I got it at a thrift store. I cut off the sleeves to make it a tank (though looking back I probably should have just cut them a bit shorter to make them cap sleeves instead).

Pants

For the pants, I used the pattern pretty much as directed, I just lowered the waistline a little to my own taste. I used a lightweight linen-esque fabric in a shade of beige just a little darker than my other fabrics.

Wrap/Tabard

The wrap (referred to in the pattern as the tabard) was made out of a stretchy gauze fabric in a creamy beige. I followed the instructions pretty much directly for most of it, though if you want to be perfectly screen accurate, you should leave the edges raw instead of hemming like I did. When it was finished, I discovered that the width of the drapes made them all fan out into almost a dress, which wasn't right (some of this may have been because I'm so tiny). While trying to find a solution, I consulted my reference pictures and noticed that the left-side drapes are actually connected at the bottom in a loop, presumably because the original costume is made with all one piece of fabric. So I took the two left side drapes and sewed them together at the bottom to form a loop.

Arm wraps

Lots of people just use ace bandage wraps for the arm wraps, which works well enough but runs the risk of them coming loose halfway through a con or photoshoot and needing to be redone. The pattern's cheat for the wraps is one thing that I did exactly as instructed. I used a stretch knit fabric that had some light flecking in it, giving it more of a gauzy look without it being the same fabric and color as my wrap/tabard. If you're not using the McCall's pattern but still want to make your own wrap instead of using bandages, here is a similar tutorial online.

Cuff

I was originally going to use the pattern for making the cuff, but by chance I found a costume replica of it at Hot Topic among the jewelry. It's a bit stiff and might be slightly on the large side, but it works really well and saved me from having to sew suede any more than necessary. I have no idea if Hot Topic still carries this item, I tried with no luck to find it on the website, but you can always keep an eye out for it.

Belt

The way the pattern has you do the belt is kind of confusing and, while it works for being on a tighter budget, is not necessarily the sturdiest. So basically I just used the pattern piece for a guide. I got a roll of suede from Tandy Leather and scotch-taped the pattern piece onto it so I could cut it out. I used an Exacto knife for puncturing the center section so I could cut it out. I highly recommend doing a test run first on butcher paper just so you know what you're doing before cutting into your suede!

To close the belt, the pattern says to use velcro, but since I was using real suede, I didn't think that would be sturdy enough. So I got some snaps and attached two snaps at the right tightness for my size (I recommend measuring your belt around yourself while wearing the rest of the costume so you know it'll be the right tightness around the tabard). The fasteners should be on your left side.

Finally, I got some light brown twine and wrapped it around the front portion of the belt, between the fasteners and where the two tiers split off. I used Elmer's glue to tack it down on the inside of the belt.

Pouch

I bought this screen accurate bag off Amazon. It's great quality and holds up beautifully carrying your stuff around all day at a con. In order to attach it to my belt without it being permanently affixed, I undid the stitching on the bottom of the two straps on the back of the bag and sewed on velcro instead.

Boots

The shoes used in the movie are Po-Zu's piper v brown linen boots, but they're on the expensive side. Other people have made boot covers that look like po-zu's. I just got these boots off Amazon. They're not perfectly screen accurate and they were a little uncomfortable to walk around in all day at comicon, but they still work really great.

Staff

I used this tutorial that I found for adding the details to Rey's staff. I used a light wooden staff that I had lying around instead of PVC pipe, and for the grips I used scrap fabric from my wrap/tabard. For the sling strap, I used a spare luggage strap. To make the attachments for clipping the strap to the staff, I referenced this tutorial. I used some of the suede from my belt, snaps, D-rings, and some scrap fabric to back the cross sections (you put the D-rings between the suede cross section and the backing so it doesn't slid around and rub all the paint off your staff).  Fair warning, sewing suede is a pain.

And there you have it! That's how I made my Rey cosplay. I have lots of other resources in my Pinterest board if you're needing references, other tutorials, or want to branch out and try things differently. And now for the final results:

Happy cosplaying, and may the Force be with you!

Black Widow Build Walk-Thru

With the exception of a few modifications, almost the entirety of my Black Widow cosplay was purchased pieces. You may or may not choose to be more hands-on if you're making your own. So this walk-through is going to largely be a collection of links, with a few notes on the pieces and modifications.

Catsuit

There are patterns out there for making bodysuits, but at the time when I was working on my Black Widow cosplay, I had sewn a grand total of two costume pieces using patterns. So instead I found a really good catsuit on Amazon from Leg Avenue which fit me surprisingly well considering it wasn't customized to my measurements or anything. The fabric is not so thin that you feel like everything's hanging out, though it is still on the thin side so it's not warm at all (I spent like five minutes outside wearing it on Halloween and I was shivering, but I also get cold easily).

If you are interested in making your own catsuit, McCall's patterns has some in their cosplay line.

Wig

I bought the Leslie 2002 from Amphigory in #130 and curled it. I've already posted a tutorial on the method I used for curling my wig.

Belts

I got my Black Widow emblem belt on Ebay. Unfortunately, it is no longer available, but there are lots of options on Etsy.

I got a second, plain black belt for holding my holsters at Value Village. People usually go with a utility belt for this one and I may upgrade at some point, but for now I got this. And on that subject...

Holsters

I got two matching holsters, one for each leg, on Amazon. As far as I know, you can only buy them separately, which is a bit of a pain, but they're the real deal so they're good quality.

Little side note, given the slippery nature of the catsuit fabric, I found the thigh straps of my holsters kept sliding down whenever I walked. I haven't actually gotten it and tried it out yet, but I'm going to be experimenting with garment tape, the stuff you use to keep dance costumes and strapless gowns up (colloquially known as boob tape), to get them to stay in place.

Gloves

I have really (and I mean really) tiny hands, so finding fingerless leather gloves was a challenge. I finally found these gloves by Warmen on Amazon. If you don't have tiny child hands, I'm sure you will have a much easier time finding ones that actually fit without opening up twelve different tabs of Amazon results.

Widow Bites

Here's where things got a little more hands on. Black Widow's Widow Bites (or bullet bracelets/cuffs) are not something you can just find on Amazon. That being said, I bought this costume bullet belt on Amazon and used this excellent tutorial I found on Pinterest to make mine.

Guns

I got a pair of prop guns from a local costume store and spray painted them black, making sure to keep the orange safety caps unpainted so they'd be convention safe. If there isn't a year-round costume store near you, I highly suggest scoping out Halloween stores when October rolls around, even if you're not starting a cosplay for a while. If there's something you know you'll need that will be hard to find any other time, hit up Spirit Halloween and stock up on those props.

Boots

There are so many possible ways you can do shoes for Black Widow. Lots of people do boot covers to make them screen accurate. You can wear combat boots (which was my original plan). The shoes I'm wearing, however, are from Sorel because we sell them at the store I work at and I got a good discount. The wedge heel makes me a little taller (which helps with the intimidation factor, especially when you're only 5'2") and also puts a little strut in my walk, a necessity for being Natasha Romanoff. Of course, Sorels are expensive, so you by no means have to follow my lead. I just happened to get some really good boots that double as a cosplay piece.

And there you have it! Black Widow is a cosplay that calls for lots and lots of separate pieces, which can add up (especially when you're buying everything instead of making it yourself), so you'll want to make sure you budget accordingly. You'll also want to make a checklist of all the items so you don't get to comicon and discover you're missing something. And now for some final result pictures, all the more necessary because I put no progress pictures in the rest of this post (note: I'm not wearing my wig in the following pictures because I had my hair red at the time and hadn't yet curled the wig).

Happy cosplaying!

Quicksilver Build Walk-Thru

I started my Quicksilver cosplay in June 2015, not long after Age of Ultron came out and finished it nine months later, just a week before Emerald City Comicon 2016 (the irony of how slow my cosplay making is in this scenario is not lost on me). So here's what I did.

Shoes

I got lucky in this regard in that I needed a pair of good sneakers anyway, so I picked out some that I liked and would work for my cosplay. I got some grey Nikes, don't remember the exact make or anything. They're not screen accurate (he wears Adidas in the movie) but they're close enough that no one is gonna make a fuss over it.

Pants

Oddly, the pants are what gave me the (second) most trouble. It is unbelievably difficult to find a decent reference picture of Pietro's pants, and when I did figure out what they looked like, it really didn't help. I mean, they look sorta like jeans, but also like sweats/joggers, but also like... I don't even know. If you've figured out a way to get screen accurate Quicksilver pants, you're a more determined person than I am.

So, since it took me so long to actually figure out this nonsense, the pants ended up being the last thing I got. So it's their fault that I finished the costume a week before comicon. In the end, I got a pair of black, straight leg jeans from Target. I think I may have gone up a size from my usual so they wouldn't be skin-tight and would therefore look more masculine (since I'm too tiny to even think about getting men's jeans).

Wig

I bought the Jinx wig from Amphigory in Snow. Other people have used more grey-white wigs or ones with darker roots (or have given their wigs roots by dyeing them). I'm very happy with my choice.

Makeup

For my beard, I used StarBlend Cake Makeup's Pressed Powder makeup in black. I bought it at a local costume shop, so you can probably do the same, but it's also available on Amazon. I applied it with a stipple sponge, which gives it more texture than a normal makeup sponge, using pictures as reference. 

The beard is the most important makeup for Quicksilver. Anything else is up to personal preference. You can do foundation to cover up acne and/or smooth your complexion (a good idea for photoshoots). If you choose to do that though, make sure to put it on before the beard or things could get awkward. I always put on some black mascara when cross-dressing for cosplay, just to make my eyes stand out. It's a personal preference and you by no means need to do it.

I highly recommend using a makeup setting spray to keep your makeup from smudging, especially if you've going to be at a con all day. I didn't set it last year and I spent the whole weekend paranoid about smudging my beard.

Shirt

I saved the shirt for last because it is by far the most complicated. Other Quicksilver cosplayers have gone for screenprinted versions of the shirt, but as I mentioned earlier, I'm extremely tiny, and based on others' pictures, I could tell that none of the premade options would fit me right. So I made my own, which was.... rather a project.

To start off, I got a light blue crewneck athletic shirt at the thrift store (after accidentally buying one that turned out to be purple. Not quite sure how that happened). I then lay the shirt out flat and, using a reference picture, used masking tape to plot out the shirt's designs.

I then went to Joann's and got my materials: thick white elastic for the sort of lightning bolt stripes, navy blue stretch knit for the arm sections, a lighter shade of dark blue for the abdomen (also stretch knit), and bright blue stretch knit for the shoulder stripes (I wanted to get some sort of band stuff like the elastic for this, but it didn't come in the color I needed). 

Then comes the hard part. You're gonna want to have lots and lots of reference pictures from just about every angle for this. Use a stitch setting that lets things stretch. I'm forewarning you now, working with stretch knits is an absolute pain.

Start off with the abdomen. Using your masking tape layout, measure the size and shape you'll want the blue abdomen section to be. Cut it out. Remove the tape to get it out of the way and pin down the fabric, making sure the shirt is completely smooth underneath it. Fold the bottom edge up and inside the shirt so that it overlaps the already existing hem. Once it's pinned, machine sew it along the top, sides and bottom hem. 

Replace the lightning stripe tape layout on top of what you've got. Adjust things as needed. Now pin down the white elastic in the pattern you've lain out. Machine sew it down, making sure ends overlap so there's no gaps.

Now for the first thing to be a real pain in the ass: the bright blue shoulder stripes. Take your fabric and cut strips twice as wide as you want them, but the length you'll need for encircling the armholes and creating the bridge stripe between the armholes and the collar. Fold each strip in half and pin them, folding in the raw edges, then machine sew them shut. You should have four strips total: one for each armhole, one for each "bridge". 

Start with the "bridge" stripes, so that you'll be able to hide the raw ends under the armhole stripes. Line up the stripes with the collar and the armhole, pin, machine sew. Now use the longer strips for the armholes, using the armhole seams as guides, making sure to cover the raw ends of the "bridge" stripes and overlapping the armhole stripes' raw ends under the armpits so they're hidden. Pin and machine sew. At this point, everything should look like this:

Now for the really painful part. Because now we get to the sleeves. And guess what: tight athletic shirt sleeves do not fit onto the arm of a sewing machine, especially when you need to sew things at a diagonal. Which means.... hand sewing.

Put the shirt on and make sure your layouts for the sleeves sections are where you want them. You'll want your elbow to be about center in the navy section, with the white stripes just below the elbow point on the outside and about 2/3 of the way down your inner forearm, and the bright blue stripes on top to be a little about your elbow point and a few inches below your armpit.

Cut out your navy fabric using the layout and pin it in the shape and size of the sleeve. The narrow part of the shape should be the outside elbow and the wide underside is where the seam will be (I apologize for not having pictures of what this should be like, I had no idea I would be writing this post a year ago). You can machine sew this seam, just like any other sleeve. 

Once you've got your little tube turn it right side out and pin it to the sleeve in the marked place, keeping the shirt fabric smooth underneath. Pretty much the same concept as the front piece but wrapped around the arm instead of all flat on front. Make sure your seam will be on the underside of the sleeve, just like the shirt's pre-existing seam. Hand stitch the top and bottom of the tube to the sleeve. Repeat on the other side.

Except for the fact that you've still got to hand sew, the rest is pretty simple. For the white stripes on the bottom part of the sleeve, use more of the white elastic you used for the lightning stripes and pretty much just line it up so it covers the raw edges of the navy tube. I recommend doing each sleeve in two strips so as to get the pointy effect. Pin and sew. For the bright blue stripes up top, do the same thing you did with the bright blue fabric when making the shoulder stripes. Four strips, two for each sleeve, just like the white stripes. Cover the raw edges of the navy tube. Pin and sew. In the end, it should look like this:

And there you have it! I really hope the instructions for the shirt weren't too confusing, but considering I was literally making up the whole thing as I went along when making it, I wouldn't be surprised if it only made sense in my own head. Anyway, I'm glad to say that despite all the pain the shirt caused me, Quicksilver turned out quite gorgeously and I am still incredibly proud of this cosplay a year later. And because no cosplay walk-thru is complete without a picture of the finished product, I will leave you with this:

Photo by: Derek Schlicker. ECCC 2016.

Happy cosplaying!

Curling My Black Widow Wig

This method is good for lightly curling any wig. It uses heat, which technically the tag for my wig said not to, but it's very low heat and not for long so it's not problem.

I got the Leslie 2002 from Amphigory in #130 for Natasha. It wasn't quite curly enough for my taste, so I set about searching for how to curl wigs. After a lot of hunting and not a lot of luck for non-heat-resistant wigs, I sort of combined methods and came up with this.

What you need:

• Wig
• Styrofoam wig head
• Wig pins (to hold the wig to the stand. I just used extremely large sewing pins)
• Large clips
• Bobby pins (the flat kind)
• Dual setting hairdryer
• Hair spray

Pin the wig to the stand in the general area of the temples. You don't want to sliding around when you're trying to work with it. Put the stand on a counter at a comfortable level, preferably someplace you can sit down. This'll take a while. If you've got one of those clamp things to hold the stand in place, even better.

You'll want to start with bottom layers, so pull aside the top layers and clip them back out of the way.

Now for the hard part: pin curls! Take a small to mid sized lock of hair (depends on the size you want the curls) and twist it around one or two fingers until the coil is tight against the scalp. Carefully slide the coil off your fingers, making sure to keep it pressed flat against the scalp, and pin it down with a bobby pin.

Repeat this until you've got a whole bunch of them. You can do as much of the head at once as you like. I had a shockingly small number of bobby pins so I was only able to do it in chunks. 

Once you've finished pinning, it's time to break out the hairdryer. Set it on low heat so it won't over-melt the fibers, but put it on a higher speed because otherwise it will take literally forever. Hold the hairdryer close to an individual curl and hold it there until the fibers are warm, almost hot, to the touch (not too hot because then they'll start melting). Repeat with each coil.

Once you've heated all the curls, wait until they cool. Once the hair is cool to the touch, you can remove the bobby pins. Gently tussle and place the curls as you see fit. Then lightly hairspray the curled section to set.

Repeat all of this until the whole wig is curled. You may want to carefully tussle and scrunch the hair a little while the hairspray is still wet to perk up the curls. Also, I don't know what will happen if you use the hairdryer too soon after hairspraying, but I recommend waiting until the hairspray is dry to use any more heat just so you don't accidentally catch your wig on fire. Because that would be unfortunate.

And there you have it! A freshly curled wig! I did soft, casual curls for Natasha, but you can do your curls however you need, just varying the amount of hair you coil and pin down. 

Good luck and happy cosplaying!

Welcome!

Before we go full swing with the actual purpose of this blog, I'd just like to take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Megan and I'm a cosplayer from the PNW. That's certainly not the only interesting thing about me, but that's all that really matters here.

I officially started cosplaying in 2014 after many years of going very full-out on Halloween costumes. The plan back then was to cosplay Loki, but after some Pinterest browsing, it soon became clear that that was way too complicated a project to start out with. So I scaled back, and have since been building up my skills. I hope to someday actually make that Loki costume, but for now it is as far on the horizon as Mount Doom at the end of Fellowship.

I decided to make this blog because, in the almost three years of my cosplay career, it was the blogs and videos of other cosplayers that constantly inspired and guided me, often saving my ass when things got tricky. There are costumes that would never have turned out as good as they did if it weren't for the tutorials posted by other cosplayers who had already got it figured out. So I wanted to be able to do the same for other up and coming cosplayers.

The first several posts will be for costumes I've already made. I've got some progress pictures, but nothing completely step-by-step, so I'll just talk you through how I made things. Once Emerald City Comicon is over, I'll be starting on my next crop of cosplays, so there'll be brand new updates for brand new things and you'll get to witness my trial-and-error in real time. I'll provide links to helpful tutorials I've referenced, items I've purchased (if they're not thrift store finds), and patterns I've used (with a few pointers on adjustments I've made, when applicable).

Anyway, I hope everyone reading enjoys this blog and I hope that it can help out some fellow cosplayers, and maybe even inspire some non-cosplayers to take it up.

May the Force be with you ;)
-Megan