Yrien
Sr Member
I found a lovely piece of fan art that inspired me to create a Bilbo Baggins costume, which I wore at Ottawa ComicCon last weekend. I had some last-minute problems that I hope I can improve on before the next time I wear it (possibly Toronto FanExpo in September), but overall I'm really pleased with the way it came out, especially since I'm still very much new to costuming, and I did a lot of completely new (to me) stuff with this costume.
Inspiration from http://lanimalu.blogspot.co.uk/
I had originally intended to make all the clothing for the costume (except for the blouse, which I found at the thrift store), but chronic shoulder pain and getting really sick a few weeks before the con meant I wasn't going to have time with my meagre sewing skills to make everything. I was lucky enough to find a jacket and skirt at the thrift store that worked really well, so all I had to sew was the underskirt and vest. I used an eyelet trim for the hem of the underskirt, and added an elastic waist (not period, but comfortable and easy!).
The vest was a huge learning experience for me. I'm not an experienced sewer, and I don't really know how to read or modify patterns. A friend helped me make and modify a mock-up, which I then sewed out of a dark green suiting fabric. It was my first time ever using a number of techniques, including interfacing, lining, and buttonholes (which actually ended up not working - at 11:30 the night before the con! - so I sewed on Velcro as a last-minute fix until I can figure out how to use my buttonhole foot properly). It turned out a little big, but that's better than too small! I will have to fix that before the next time I wear it.
This was also my first time cutting and styling a wig. I started with a Vegas from Arda, so my first step was to cut off the ponytail (which I had hoped to use for the foot hair so it would match, though that idea didn't end up working - I may try it again when I have more than 12 hours before the con starts!). I then trimmed and curled it, using heat from a straightening iron and foam rollers.
I also made Sting, from foam floor mats and Worbla. It wasn't my first time working with foam (I used it to make my Star-Lord helmet), but it was my first time shaping it with a Dremel, and my first time working with Worbla. It was actually much easier than I thought it would be, and I enjoyed it a lot! I'm really pleased with how it came out, though I do wish I had spent more time smoothing the Worbla (using spackle) before Gessoing and painting, since I can see every little imperfection now, lol. I scribed the design on the blade with a pencil before I painted it, and when I have more time I'd like to darken the lines a bit to make them more obvious. The handle didn't turn out as well as I would have liked, since the paint bled under the tape a bit (and the pattern isn't really anywhere close to screen-accurate but I was running out of time!) so I might sand it down and redo it later. It actually photographs really well, though, so I'm pretty happy with that.
Lastly, I also made hair pads for my feet out of crepe hair glued to a base of cut-up nylons (coated in latex to make it more sturdy). I sewed them to a pair of skin-coloured dance shoes, and they worked fairly well though I find they're a little too "furry". I may try remaking them (or just thinning them out a bit) before wearing the costume again.
I wore this costume on Friday at ComicCon, and had a lot of fun! My husband went as a casual version of Dwalin, since he would have been too warm in Dwalin's full kit (and it turned out to be a good decision, since it ended up being 30C/86F that day!). I made his shirt, suspenders, and hairpiece (the beard is his!), he bought the pants and made the knuckledusters (foam, air-dry clay, worbla, and leather from an old coat), and I drew the tattoos on his head the morning of the con - which took over an hour! Here are a few of the professional photos we had taken (photos and editing by Richard Dufault of Open Shutter Photography).
In the future, I would like to get a backpack (though the shoulder bag I used for the con actually looks pretty good with this costume!), fix the hair for the feet, resize the vest, and get a better jacket. This one worked for now, but ideally I'd like one closer in style to the inspiration picture. I may also make a new skirt (though I do like the way this one looks) so that I can have pockets in it. And fix the paint job on Sting!
For Dwalin, if he decides to wear it again, we need to repair the knuckledusters (several of the pieces fell off over the course of the day when the glue didn't hold well enough), make a new hairpiece (this one was a little too short and didn't come far enough forward over his ears), make/find better boots, and find a better way to do the tattoos - I don't want to spend an hour drawing it on with an eyeliner pencil every time! We might also try to insert pockets into the pants, since he hated not having any at the con.
Inspiration from http://lanimalu.blogspot.co.uk/
I had originally intended to make all the clothing for the costume (except for the blouse, which I found at the thrift store), but chronic shoulder pain and getting really sick a few weeks before the con meant I wasn't going to have time with my meagre sewing skills to make everything. I was lucky enough to find a jacket and skirt at the thrift store that worked really well, so all I had to sew was the underskirt and vest. I used an eyelet trim for the hem of the underskirt, and added an elastic waist (not period, but comfortable and easy!).
The vest was a huge learning experience for me. I'm not an experienced sewer, and I don't really know how to read or modify patterns. A friend helped me make and modify a mock-up, which I then sewed out of a dark green suiting fabric. It was my first time ever using a number of techniques, including interfacing, lining, and buttonholes (which actually ended up not working - at 11:30 the night before the con! - so I sewed on Velcro as a last-minute fix until I can figure out how to use my buttonhole foot properly). It turned out a little big, but that's better than too small! I will have to fix that before the next time I wear it.
This was also my first time cutting and styling a wig. I started with a Vegas from Arda, so my first step was to cut off the ponytail (which I had hoped to use for the foot hair so it would match, though that idea didn't end up working - I may try it again when I have more than 12 hours before the con starts!). I then trimmed and curled it, using heat from a straightening iron and foam rollers.
I also made Sting, from foam floor mats and Worbla. It wasn't my first time working with foam (I used it to make my Star-Lord helmet), but it was my first time shaping it with a Dremel, and my first time working with Worbla. It was actually much easier than I thought it would be, and I enjoyed it a lot! I'm really pleased with how it came out, though I do wish I had spent more time smoothing the Worbla (using spackle) before Gessoing and painting, since I can see every little imperfection now, lol. I scribed the design on the blade with a pencil before I painted it, and when I have more time I'd like to darken the lines a bit to make them more obvious. The handle didn't turn out as well as I would have liked, since the paint bled under the tape a bit (and the pattern isn't really anywhere close to screen-accurate but I was running out of time!) so I might sand it down and redo it later. It actually photographs really well, though, so I'm pretty happy with that.
Lastly, I also made hair pads for my feet out of crepe hair glued to a base of cut-up nylons (coated in latex to make it more sturdy). I sewed them to a pair of skin-coloured dance shoes, and they worked fairly well though I find they're a little too "furry". I may try remaking them (or just thinning them out a bit) before wearing the costume again.
I wore this costume on Friday at ComicCon, and had a lot of fun! My husband went as a casual version of Dwalin, since he would have been too warm in Dwalin's full kit (and it turned out to be a good decision, since it ended up being 30C/86F that day!). I made his shirt, suspenders, and hairpiece (the beard is his!), he bought the pants and made the knuckledusters (foam, air-dry clay, worbla, and leather from an old coat), and I drew the tattoos on his head the morning of the con - which took over an hour! Here are a few of the professional photos we had taken (photos and editing by Richard Dufault of Open Shutter Photography).
In the future, I would like to get a backpack (though the shoulder bag I used for the con actually looks pretty good with this costume!), fix the hair for the feet, resize the vest, and get a better jacket. This one worked for now, but ideally I'd like one closer in style to the inspiration picture. I may also make a new skirt (though I do like the way this one looks) so that I can have pockets in it. And fix the paint job on Sting!
For Dwalin, if he decides to wear it again, we need to repair the knuckledusters (several of the pieces fell off over the course of the day when the glue didn't hold well enough), make a new hairpiece (this one was a little too short and didn't come far enough forward over his ears), make/find better boots, and find a better way to do the tattoos - I don't want to spend an hour drawing it on with an eyeliner pencil every time! We might also try to insert pockets into the pants, since he hated not having any at the con.
