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elena @ ???? @nykil.bsky.social · 2d

went to the comic book store yesterday with friends not intending to get anything but......
i am no better than a man 😔
also targeted advertising, they know....

photo of the shantae swimsuit special magazine

in magazine ad for a Rival Schools art book published by the same company

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elena @ ???? @nykil.bsky.social · 5d

I want to know the stats so baddddd
the only time I've been lucky in the lottery was when attendance numbers went down because of covid 🥲. cursed

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elena @ ???? @nykil.bsky.social · 5d

no luck with 3 people 🤪
bro did anyone get a room???

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elena @ ???? @nykil.bsky.social · 5d

time for yearly magfest cosplay post in anticipation of hotels
PLEASE lmk if you want to group 👉🏼👈🏼
I have limited availability to make new things, but can handle simple things or repairs to my existing costumes.
I will absolutely be bringing Harold and Ruby Heart though!

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elena @ ???? @nykil.bsky.social · 6d

stolen from Nick but tbh this is the most important picture of me from this weekend. probably

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elena @ ???? @nykil.bsky.social · 6d

I got back from rappig happy with my cosplay shenanigans and immediately fell down the Hades II hole 🫡
so many games to play and things i want to make and so little time.....
(in terms of cosplay photos I took basically 0 pics on my phone for reasons soooo)

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elena @ ???? @nykil.bsky.social · 11d

let's go harold!!
I'm shocked and also just so touched with how amazing everyone has been, I love Rappig Crossing

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elena @ ???? @nykil.bsky.social · 17d

its very fun to be so floofy!

elena @ ???? @nykil.bsky.social · 17d

thank you! im really happy with how things turned out and that doing the beads that way worked.

elena @ ???? @nykil.bsky.social · 17d

Harold is done! did a final test with everything on and some makeup and am happy to be done in exactly 5 weeks as planned.
I'll be wearing her Saturday 💜

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elena @ ???? @nykil.bsky.social · 18d

also some cards came in and this (excessive) tuck box??? omg it feels magical
(this particular deck is also really cool because its oversized and has alternate suits and art and ahhh)

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elena @ ???? @nykil.bsky.social · 18d

since i decided i want to finish tonight apparently:
i made some strung beads/pearls on split embroidery floss , then tied those more waxed floss.
this strand got sewn down to the wig cap in 5 spots, adjusting the hair as needed to hide the knots.
and I'm done! on pace!

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elena @ ???? @nykil.bsky.social · 18d

to cut i mostly used a straight razor and cut the front portions while wearing it (a sensory nightmare) and using the head to help shape the top and back, aiming for a choppy layered look.
once i was happy with the cutting, i used the crimper and a foam roller to curl the ends, teasing as needed

mostly cut wig on my head. got real mid 2000s anime character spiky look which...

using a large foam curler to help shape the hair as it cools.
i would take a tiny spiked section, crimp the ends and then immediately curl it in the direction i wanted. i re curled and segmented as i went so it would have a natural feeling of waviness and movement

me wearing the curled wig.
it is ver voluminous and holds its shape well even though this has no hairspray in it at all

a large pile of cut wig hair in a corner. all of this is just from bob to final version.
also this entire process took me six hours and i really felt it by the end

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elena @ ???? @nykil.bsky.social · 18d

since its an old wig, gave it a good wash and let it dry
added in shadow roots with a violet alcohol marker, blending as i went to gove sone dimension.
then the long crimping and teasing process began. i do both and in small sections so there are no visible crimp lines but controlled volume

pink wig in a washbasin. i just used laundry detergent and it swirl and soak.
this wig was worn once by me in 2019 in body paint and was bought second hand before that so better safe than sorry

using a blue violet prismacolor alcohol marker to draw in roots at the base of the wefts and skin top. the wig is so mono color it really benefits from the added dimension

crimping and teasing the wig.
i did it in small sections and would crimp, brush out, tease, crimp again and then final brush while warm to get the texture i was looking for

final fully crimped wig, very floofy and less shiny.
it is now ready for cutting

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elena @ ???? @nykil.bsky.social · 18d

final work weekend 🥴
I found some earrings in my stash that were the right color and close to the right shape to use as a base. Used a small amount of apoxie sculpt to make the top portion. after it set, applied rub n buff and re attached the hooks.
the base wig i had was too long, so a sacrifice 🫡

base gold colored metal pendant earrings, elongated diamond in shape with a bend in the middle. black 'worms' of apoxie sculpt clay are off the side. 1 earring has a design added

the black part of the earrings have been colored gold with 'antique gold' rub n buff.
after the clay cured they were sanded and textured, then the wax color was added by hand. after they have been polished some of the black comes through so it matches the finish of the metal more closely

finished earring in ear with fishhook style. both the metal earring and design additions gleam in the light

a long, raspberry pink wig. the braid containing most of the length has been chopped off, leaving a bob

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elena @ ???? @nykil.bsky.social · 21d

finally the fur. I decided I wanted it lines, so hand sewed some of the black silk into each of the cuffs.
and then added three snaps to each sleeve and to the lining of those cuffs so they are removable since you can't really wash sheepskin.
this completes all of my major sewing!

hand sewing down the top edge of the silk to the fur. since this is real for I'm using my leather needle and also this took a very long time

this is what the fur cuff looks like inside out so you can see it blends slightly. its edges are not perfect but there is a top and a bottom

a snap closure from the bottom edge of the sleeve into the cuff. there are three on each sleeve and i actually reversed the snap order so they would not be interchangeable and would only be able to be attached one way. they look better in specific configurations

Selfie with me trying everything on together.
I'm really happy with the shirt fit, however, the sleeves and skirt volume make it so that I cannot actually tighten the corset and so this is now a two-person task. oops!

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elena @ ???? @nykil.bsky.social · 21d

The only raw edge I had left was the bottom hem which I let him hang and then trimmed and applied bias tape to as well.
I hand finished all the bias tape edges since the silk made it pretty slippery to deal with. I used a scraps to add a strip inside the collar, which uses a flat hook eye and snaps

showing the clean bottom edge which has been bias taped. fortunately, because of the lighting, sometimes the difference between light blue and white seems subtle. it is not at all in real life

using a very small needle to finish the edges of various spots of bias tape

showing how the collar closes. this is a flat hook and eye that you usually see on pant closures works well here where I don't want much bulk and don't mind a little bit of the white being visible

I also used three small snaps to close the shirt the rest of the way in the front. it's actually all hidden under the corset so this is just to make it easier for me to wear and for it to shift less over time

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elena @ ???? @nykil.bsky.social · 21d

I was then able to sew the sleeve to the rest of the shirt. I also hand tacked in the shoulder pads.
I interfaced both sides of the collar and then did a sandwich to the top edge of the shirt. after pressing the top edge was getting trimmed and visible bias tape.
I also taped the inside sleeve seam

tacking the shoulder pad to the top edge. I had to wait until after the shoulders were sewn in since the pad is actually lighter than the sleeve itself. which is true even in the reference

adding the collar in to the top edge. I thought I was going to need to do another layer of something stiff but I was impressed enough with how stuff it already was just based on the cut of the fabric that I was able to just press this upwards. I did end up trimming down the length in some of the spots after trying it on and then just basted it together before adding bias tape

finished bias tape on the inside curve where the sleeve attaches to the body of the shirt. it's actually called a Hong Kong finish, and it's useful since I hate lining sleeves, especially ones that are already going to be very heavy.
you can also see that I was using some of the silk as lining except for in the front where the blue lining is slightly visible. this was just about fabric usage but works well

hand tacking the bottom edge of the shoulder pad to the sleeve and covering up that top edge of the black x applique. I purposely did not make that piece go all the way to the top edge so it is just barely covered by the shoulder pad

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elena @ ???? @nykil.bsky.social · 21d

for the sleeves, I measured out a length of this textured black silk and figured out where I needed the crosses to be. I cut the prepared tape and sewed down the edges where the x is so the center would stay movable. and then applied bias tape to the edges and sewed it all down to the sleeve.

Mid process of creating the white x on black fabric. I did measure out the length I needed but realized as I was doing it that I made too much so was just cutting it as I did each segment then tacked it down by hand.

first step of applying the tape to the edges. I did also trim anywhere that would add bulk but be hidden. as always my goal with this was to make sure there wouldn't be any raw edges. so one side which was going to be the top is also already finished on the black side.

using my sewing machine to attach the black and white X's onto the sleeve center. I marked out where I was going to put one of the edges, and then pinned the other edge as I applied it so that it would be as smooth as possible despite this being a curved seam. I ended up sewing on both sides of the bias tape so that it laid flat completely.

I hemmed the bottom edge of the sleeve and then stitched up the other side of the sleeve to complete it. this is also French seam since this isn't lined

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elena @ ???? @nykil.bsky.social · 21d

for the shirt I wanted it to be lined but not in the sleeves.
I did a sort of bagged out method where I sewed the back, side front, and front of each layer. then sewed the layers together at the fronts, under stitched and basted together at raw edges.
I also did prep work for the sleeves

The layers of fabric being sewn together. this was pretty necessary since the fabric is thin.
and I needed to get a smooth front on the front edge since that part visibly isn't bias taped

the shirt pieces hanging pinned on the mannequin.
since the sleeves are integral to the structure, it actually can't be worn at this point. since the sleeves aren't lined the middle seam has been French seamed to eliminate raw edges as needed.

hand sewing the black sheepskin together to make the fur cuffs. this was done out of scraps so they actually aren't completely even. but that's okay

a long length of the bias tape was sewn together and then turned out to make a finish trim that I need for the sleeve applique

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elena @ ???? @nykil.bsky.social · 21d

so let's talk about the shoulder pads. these are also the white silk. I sewed the layers together with some batting and marked out where I wanted each segment to go and sew that first as well as one of the sides then stuffed them with scraps of cotton batting and silk, then sewed close and bias tape

the layers on the sewing machine with visible lines that I'm using a stitch guides. you can see the cotton batting sandwich in between

The layers sewn together without any stuffing so you can see that they have limited room built in to each segment

a pile of fabric scraps cut into 'coleslaw'
I only used off cuts from this fabric, since it's white and somewhat translucent, I didn't want any visible colors to pop up when they're stuffed.

One of the finished shoulder pads, stitch closed resting on a mannequin

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elena @ ???? @nykil.bsky.social · 21d

since the mock-up went pretty well, I cut it apart at all of the seams and transfered it to paper with markings. I also took the chance to drape out the shoulder pad and do a quick test piece with more mock-up fabric.
than to just finish up prep. I made bias tape out of some white silk.

transferring my fabric pieces to paper. i drew registration marks onto the fabric with marker before I cut them apart and then marked that while it was tracing.
also take the opportunity to true up any of the seams that I know match up so that it all aligns well

for the shoulder pad, I draped the mock up to figure out the right size and shape. but I also wanted to test that I knew how to cut the top and the bottom pieces so that it would puff correctly and still be easy to fill and sew

cutting 2 in wide bias tape.
I don't show me cutting it cause I need both my hands, but I use a metal ruler and a rotary cutter and fold the fabric so that I know that I'm perfectly on the 45° angle cut.

I then sewed the tape pieces together which you also do it at a 45° angle, and then it all gets pressed and I use a little metal tool to help. The big thing is going slow and using a wooden clapper as the fabric cools to maintain the shape.
I just wrap it around a piece of cardboard as I go so I basically create a spool.

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elena @ ???? @nykil.bsky.social · 21d

back to the thread!
i did end up trimming the skirt and doing a baby rolled hem. i just sort of trimmed the tulle as needed until it was mostly invisible (unless i bend over) and did some tacking away from the center front.
for the shirt I only have one pattern that had raglan sleeves, so mockup

tiny little rolled hem on the purple skirt

mirror selfie me wearing most of the costume up to this point focusing on the skirt where you can see that the tulle is not visible

me drawing on a picture of the dress pattern I'm using as a mockup. I marked out my guesses for how I wanted to modify the pattern, but decided I wanted to do it via draping so that I could guarantee a better fit

The shirt sewn up and modified. I ended up wow okay the front so that the collar would go in the way I hoped it. leads to a sort of curved peephole opening. I also ended up needing to widen the sleeves before I lengthen them, and was able to drape and fit a collar that would be tall enough and stiff

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elena @ ???? @nykil.bsky.social · 22d

ahhhhh thank you! i feel like my years of silly tales costumes have been preparing me for this moment

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elena @ ???? @nykil.bsky.social · 22d

ok tomorrow catchup for real because i spent too long handsewing today but the sewing is done*
also i cant effectively tie the corset alone bc the skirt and sleeves get in the way 😔
but i found outnim the same height as harold woah
*unless i keep playing around and adjusting things

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