Modesty's Costume Closet

 The brain is amazing...sometimes too amazing for its own good. There were several weeks where I was insanely inspired and couldn't sit still for all the costume planning I wanted to do. Then the past two weeks, BOOM, nothing. Emotions man.  However, despite feeling uninspired and unmotivated, I'm still working on things, but in odd chunks.  I cut the fabric for my costume, which has become a chore lately due to the fact that I don't have a lot of real estate in my apartment to wrangle yards of fabric. Also, it hurts my back now.  For Goro, I made a mold based on the claws I sculpted. I tried it out last night but I made an unfortunate error.  See, I got resin tint that I thought was opaque pre-mixed resin (because I also had some of that) so I filled the mold with dye instead of resin, sat it under the uv lamp and realized dang...I've stained the mold. I made some test casts after that and realized how tricky the shape is. You have to fill it in a very specific way. Mo

 ...shoulders knees and toes! Just a little update on some of the little things I've been doing.  I printed out a couple versions of the eyeballs just to see which one looks best. It took a few layers of white paint but we got there.  For these eyeballs, I printed out the iris and made a cabochon out of uv resin. The 3D printed eye is round with a flat part where the cabochon and iris sit. I then continued to blob on UV resin (Gel Nail polish) until the shape was smoothed out and it was shiny. I like the size of these irises but I wanted to try to experiment.    These eyes were from Tioh and already had an indented iris and pupil. I used acrylic paints to color the iris and pupil. (I messed up one pupil.) Once the paint was dry, I filled in the indent with UV resin. My paint job kind of ruins this but I want to see how they look in the face. I'm not sure if large or small irises are better.  I'm also painting the teeth and gums for the mouth pieces.  Painted and sealed with

 The most iconic thing about a unicorn is her horn. I had a pretty good idea for what I wanted.  What I didn't want:  I didn't want a chunky, fat horn that sits on the very top of my head. I did not want the "headband" party style horn that is all too common for a kid's birthday.  Horn length is a consideration too since I will have a dance partner and don't want to cause injury.  My vision was to have a short horn coming out at an angle from my hairline.  Elements I did want:  In addition to a horn, I wanted this to be a crown with veil since I have short hair and wanted to give the impression of a mane. Flowers also made sense.  The crown also needs to be secure on my head since I am dancing.  Supplies I ended up going the wire crown route instead of a headband. Simply because it's what I had on hand.  18 gauge Wire Floral tape Silk flowers Hot Glue Stiff felt Plastic hair comb Glittery craft foam Resin Unicorn Horn (pre-made bought it on Etsy years ago)

I was revisiting some of my sketches for Goro's fox form that I made awhile ago.  The first image is the ideal look I want for the puppet except the front paws aren't quite right.  The correct vibe and anatomy. Wrong face, but correct front paws. The character concept for Goro is a dragon-blooded kitsune. This is why he has scales down his back and more dragon-like front paws. However, I must consider how to make this in puppet form! There are few things these front paws need to do:  Support the puppet by hooking into my clothes with claws Have a bit of weight to hold it in place Keep a round, finger paw shape Support the wire frame and remain posable Method 1: Sewing The easiest method would be to simply sew and stuff the paws more like a lizard or frog. This would give them the correct shape. The downside is that squishy front paws won't "hook" onto my clothes as easily because stuffing deforms. Even if the claw portions are a hardened material, it won't dis

 I finished crocheting the top. I'm much faster at crochet than any form of knitting but the stretch of knitting is so nice! To make this more secure, I'm going to use elastic in the back corset to keep things tight. I'm also going to make a little cloth bit that goes around the neck band and snaps in the back. Got some snap tape because sewing in individual snaps is kind of a drag. I'll likely sew in some bra cups as well to help it keep the right shape.  This crochet pattern is available for free on Ravelry: Primrose High Neck Halter . Um...yeah that's it. Short post...for once. 😜

 I'm going to share a bit of my process for making decisions. Lately, I have been assailed by indecisiveness and fretting about costume colors. So, I've sat myself down and did some practical things to help make these decisions.  Requirements This will require visual aides so either use a drawing that you will trace and color in or scan in a drawing to manipulate on art software. I use Photoshop but you can use any program that lets you dump colors and change layers.  Process Brainstorm :  Find inspiration based on costume themes or favorite colors or common color compliments for clothes or traditional cultural colors.  Create a cookie cutter template where you can place the colors generally where they need. If you are doing this physically, make sure the linework is bolded so you can retrace and try other colors.  Look at them all side-by-side.  Eliminate first by 'feeling'. "I'm not crazy about this combo." "Not my vibe." "Just not into it

 My brain has ping-ponged into all aspects of this costume and for now I'm looking into how to make the Shrine Maiden Costume. I am utilizing all my experience with making kimono and kimono-like costumes to make this. Not really futzing much with the original look.    Design Considerations Accuracy with some flare Making room for puppet arm vs regular arm Simplifying the design so it's not a hassle to wear and keep on (I hate having to worry if my pants will slide off or something.) Pieces/Layers Juban/Undershirt For style points, I'm making this red. The "Puppet" arm may need extra consideration such as an opening in the Juban sleeve at the front or under the arm. I could also do this for both sleeves so I can switch primary puppet arm if I wished.  Kimono This will be a plain color or small patterned top with semi-detached sleeves. The left sleeve will be the primary "puppet sleeve".  The length of the kimono will only come just above the knees...to sa