Ianthe - Saga Comic

I feel like I picked a real obscure cosplay, but I really wanted to make it >_<
Ianthe from the comic book Saga


I found a decent pattern for a tudor jacket and slops from a historical sewing pattern website, and some slightly stretchy, but fabulous patterned maroon fabric at my local fabric store The tudor jacket pattern was modded a bit to get the sleeves and edging of the jacket right. Instead of sewing the buttons on the jacket (and all those damn button holes), I decided to use snap tape instead then sew some decorative buttons on later.

Fit test! If I don't want to cosplay Ianthe, I have the workings to make a pretty good Tudor prince.

I couldn't find the buttons I wanted in the correct color, so I did the next best thing.... I covered old buttons with the fabric from the jacket. Each button was handsewn to the jacket.

This is SO GOOD! Saga has some wild character designs, and I'm always sad to see it under-represented in cosplay form...you've definitely done Ianthe justice!

You've also done one of my very favorite things in cosplay, which is using (technically non-canon) patterns/texture to add more visual interest! I think a lot of cosplay of animated/illustrated characters ends up looking flat or artificial because it hews too closely to the source material...I think choosing a fabric with texture or a subtle pattern goes a long way towards feeling like you're really that character, existing IRL, rather than just wearing a costume.

Thank you ^_^

Yeah, I've learned over the years from theatre costumes that solid fabrics look quite bland in person and on camera. Adding a bit of subtle texture (even if you can't really see it on stage), really makes a costume pop. When I stumbled on this fabric at my local fabric store I immediately knew it would work perfectly without straying too much from Fiona's original design.

The mask I made with some clear PETG plastic (0.04 thickness). I made a cardboard template to get the shape down, then cut the PETG in one solid piece. I scored the triangles and used a heat gun to help bend the plastic into shape without breaking the segments. I included little tabs in the cut and superglued to make the final cone shape.
I then covered the mask with mirror film (ugh, I hate that stuff so much ¬_¬). I never got it perfect, but I got most of the bubbles and imperfections out.


I then covered the raw edges of the mask with felt, glued some foam on the inside where my face sits, and added elastic pieces to attach it to my head.
The mask has no ventilation, so I added a fan at the end of the cone, and cut some vent holes at my chin (which will be concealed by the headscarf).

Again, awesome work. Did not expect the mask to be made in all one piece, that's impressive craftsmanship! I'm sure any blemishes in the mirror film aren't noticeable once the whole outfit is assembled.

Tights I acutally made twice. The first time I made them, I used lavender spandex lycra. Although they looked correct, the color was off - Ianthe's tights and gloves are a darker purple.
So I went back to the fabric store and found a knit spandex in a darker shade. Actually probably more accurate, as the material was thicker than the spandex lycra was.
Since the shoes are actually attached to the tights, and the seam runs up the front of the leg, I had to do some creative patterning. I did the ole "wrap myself in cling wrap and duct tape my leg to get the proper shape" for the pattern. Since it was spandex, I made the pattern slightly smaller than the duct tape one so it stretched over my legs smoothly without any bagginess.

When the tights were done, I used a pair of ballet flats for the shoes. The edges were pinned into place, then carefully hand sewn with a curved needle around the bottom edge to completely cover the shoe.

Costume is done! Yay!
Because I am lazy/forgetful I didn't take any photos of the headdress being made Basically I took the brim off a baseball cap and artfully hot glued pieces of brown corduroy to it to get the shape/look from the comic. The blunderbuss was just a halloween store pirate gun that I gave a repaint to darken the metal bits and give the wooden handle a more textures wood finish.

However, I did get some great shots done

Fantastic! I have been reading Saga from the beginning and love pretty much everything BKV. There is a pretty good YouTube tutorial for making a pirate gun on the channel Lost Wax. Outstanding work on this cosplay!