Ragnarok Loki Build

Photo: luciferiphotography (IG)

I've wanted to be Loki since I got into cosplay, so getting a slightly simpler Loki costume to ease myself in with was amazing. Of course, when I say "slightly simpler", it's all relative. I had to make my own patterns, assemble 3D print kits, make foam armor for the first time, and go on a wild goose chase for pretty much all my fabrics, all in a very short amount of time. Note to self: don't start big builds three months before con. It was all worth it, but I didn't take any progress pictures or notes so hopefully this write-up won't be too confusing (if it is though, feel free to leave questions in the comments).

Wig
Starting simple, I got this wig from Wigisfashion. I still need to slick it back so I can actually wear it without the helmet. It's also a bit thick so either measure your head with the wig on before figuring out your helmet, or be prepared to thin the wig a little.

Helmet
I purchased this 3D print model file and commissioned an
acquaintance with a 3D printer to scale it to my size and print it for me. I then superglued the kit together and painted it. There are also other options on Etsy (probably more than when I was first looking, as I was trying to find this like a month and a half after the movie came out).

Vest/Jacket
There are multiple ways you can go about Loki's top, but I decided to make it two pieces: a vest and an under-jacket.
The jacket was easiest. I used New Look 6251, View A (C for men). I only made a few modifications to the pattern. I eliminated the pockets (I wouldn't be able to access them anyway), shortened the zipper so it would only come up to my chest bone (and thus be hidden below the neckline of the vest), and I modified the sleeves. Because I was short on time and because Loki's sleeves are quite frankly ridiculous, I simplified them considerably and

just split them to add gold braiding.
For both the jacket and the vest I used this faux leather from fabric.com. Because the jacket has a dark green collar/body (and sleeve details if I'd had the time and patience), and because green faux leather is apparently nonexistent, I used Angelus leather paint in dark green to paint the pieces for the collar and jacket body. For the gold detail on the collar edges, I used the same gold braiding as in the sleeves and sewed it into the seam allowances as I was building the collar.

I had to build the pattern for the vest myself. I used the vest from View A of Simplicity 8480 (which I already had for another project) to help draw out the basic shape. I then made lots of modifications and made a few mock-ups to test the pattern. Once again, I didn't take any notes and it was all a bit of a frantic blur, so I couldn't really spell out all that I did, so hopefully these detail shots will be useful.

The hidden dagger sheaths

I made bias tape from the same faux leather to finish the armholes and neckhole, and I installed a zipper on the left side so I could actually get the thing on and off (the neckhole is still very tight and isn't stretchy so I recommend getting your top half dressed before wig and makeup).
I also included two small slits in the back of the "belt" section (the v part at the waist) so I could use them as dagger sheaths.

Chest Piece
I honestly don't know what to call this thing so chest piece will do. For the weird little v-like decoration on the front of Loki's vest, I freehanded a pattern, then cut it from some thick craft foam. I then paper-machéd the piece to make it more sturdy. I painted it, then glued a strong magnet to the back so I could affix it to the front of my vest without stabbing holes in it with a pin.

Pants
I just found some faux leather pants on sale at H&M. Originally I considered adding the green details, but at the time there weren't enough reference photos to work off of, and I also wanted to be able to use the pants for other costumes, so I left them plain.

Boots
Once again, I had intended to make boot covers, but was short on time, so I've been using a pair of knee high black boots I already had for another costume until I can get more screen accurate boots.

Armor
Like I said, this was my first time making foam armor. I was very lucky to have pretty easy pieces to make and an awesome friend to help me out whenever I had questions. I got my foam from TNT Cosplay Supply. I used thicker foam for the main pieces and thin foam for details (except for the bicep armor, which was all thin foam). I was able to make the patterns for the gauntlets and hand armor myself, but for the shoulder and bicep armor, I used patterns from monstaas_cosplays on Instagram.
For the shoulder armor, I hot glued alligator clips to the underside so I could clip them to the shoulders of the vest. The hand armor was velcroed to the half-gloves I made from extra faux leather. The bicep armor and gauntlets are attached with elastic that is superglued on one side and velcroed on the other. Make sure to sew the velcro that will be on the elastic; I learned the hard way that even the strongest of adhesives is no match for elastic.

Hooks & eyes for attaching cape

Cape
I used the cape from McCall's 7000 View B, minus the front panels (I once again already had this pattern for a different project). The fabric I used is from Joann's and I believe is no longer available (I had to get mine shipped from a store a few hours away in order to get enough). Really you just want a mid-weight material with enough flow to billow dramatically in the wind, and not so heavy that it tugs your vest back and strangles you.
In order to attach the cape, I sewed hook and eye closures onto the shoulder ends of the cape and the shoulders of the vest. Once you clip on the shoulder armor, the attachments and cape shoulders are hidden.

Daggers
I got two 3D print kits from Billythebrick on Etsy to assemble and paint. He also provides resin kits for Loki's daggers.

And there you have it! Once again, if you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments. I know this isn't the most detailed write-up, but if you're curious about any specifics, I'm more than happy to help if I can.
Happy cosplaying!

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!

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!