Some Mild Annoyances

I've been putting off sewing. It's really hard to find the inspiration to post about anything when it feels like no one is reading, which in turn means I rarely feel like actually working on any of my costumes. Combined with the epic amount of homework I feel like I have, there hasn't been much time. This weekend I either did homework or slept, which some episodes of White Collar and some Harry Potter fanfiction thrown in to break up the monotony.

Ultimately, though, I've been trying not to look at my dress form, and see my less-than-half-finished River shirt hooked over the neck.

'Cause here's what's happened: C3 (Cherry Capital Convention) was supposed to take place the last weekend of April. This was perfect. I'd get done with exams, head back up north, and go more-or-less straight to the con. This is what was supposed to happen. And then, due to popular demand or some such, C3 changed their dates. They changed their dates to the last weekend in May.

This, for me, is the worse thing they could have done. I have WSE (World Steam Expo) that same weekend, and I've already registered for WSE, not for C3, so I'm having to bail on my C3 group--my Firefly group. I'm so upset about this, because I was really excited for that group, and I feel like an ass, copping out like this, but when one has already put $120 down for a platinum badge at another convention, well, you have to go where you put your money.

In the end, we're doing the costumes again at Youmacon in November, so I'll still get a chance to wear River this year, but I'm mad that I've had to shuffle my costumes around, and January not even over yet! I feel like I should finish the River shirt, and then worry about my WSE stuff...but I don't actually have a lot that I need to make for WSE. I tend to thrift a lot of my steampunk wear, after all.

So, here I am, still avoiding sewing, and now I'm also avoiding homework. Lol. What's a girl to do?

Well, Shit.

I was just skimming back over last night's post, and started actually doing the math...

I guess I've never really sat down and thought about how much I spend on costuming in a YEAR. I tend to go costume-by-costume. But let's look at this, shall we? What follows is predominantly estimations, rather than literal costs, so bare that in mind...

Steampunk Stuff. Much of what I wear to steampunk conventions is thrifted, which cuts down on costs quite a bit. However this year I bought a very nice corset, as well (gonna be the coolest pirate outfit, when I've actually made it!). So.

Random thrifted bits: $50
Corset: $200.
Random full-price bits (hats, goggles, shoes, etc): $75
Value of all steampunk costume stuff: $325

Anime Related Costumes. Only two last year, but they were both full of fiddly bits and both had wigs, so...

Kallen Cosplay:
Wig: $30
Tan fabric: $30
Red for the leg warmers and shirt: $12
White for the sleeves: $8
Belt materials: $12
Threads, buttons, Trim: $25
Total for the costume: $117

Sailor Pluto Cosplay:
Skirt/Bib fabric: $10
Leotard fabric: $20
Red for the bows: $10
Wig plus shipping: $50
Boots plus Shipping: $40
Tiara: $11
Gloves: $15
Trim and thread: $10
Staff: $40
Total for Costume: $206

I'm literally feeling sick to my stomach, looking at how much I've spent in costume stuff...and I'm not even finished. I haven't done the Hogwarts Four, yet! Luckily, those were costumes I was able to cut some massive corners on with a lot of pre-owned fabrics.

Hufflepuff:
Black fabric: $25
Yellow fabric: $25
Threads: $10
Cup: pre-owned
Total: $60

Slytherin:
Green fabric: pre-owned
Grey fabric: pre-owned
Fabric paint: $6
Threads: $5
Locket materials: $15
Total: $26

Ravenclaw:
Blue dress: pre-owned (in fact, the dress was already made, for an SCA event)
Bronze overrobe: $30
Diadem: $10 (had to buy special glue, and the gems to put in the center, but the copper was from my dad's garage)
Total: $40

Gryffindor:
Tunic:  $20
Cloak:pre-owned fabric
Cloak Pin: $10
Boots: pre-owned
Fabric paint: $15
Sword: pre-owned
Total: $45

Hogwarts Four all together: $171

Which is significantly higher than I had previously estimated, shit. O__O I'm terrified to add up all the totals, but...well...here it goes.

*drum roll please*

$819. Eight hundred and nineteen dollars.

I think I might throw up. *takes deep, calming breaths* Well, at least I stayed under $1,000, right? That has to count for something.... Shit. Definitely gonna have to keep better track of my spending this year. I have some receipts I should probably gather up from the fabrics I've already purchased towards this year's bunch of costumes...

Ugh. The worst part is that this doesn't even take into consideration Convention registration fees or hotel costs. When I think about that... We're looking at an additional almost $300, which does put me over that 1K mark. SHIT.

2011 Costumes: A Recap

Last year, I was a busy cosplayer. By which I mean I made many more costumes than I usually do in the space of a single year. Six costumes. I made six from-scratch costumes (only three of which *I* wore),  in addition to some thrifted steampunk outfits. The two anime-related costumes I made last year turned out much better than anticipated, so I thought I'd share them with you...code for "I'm avoiding homework right now."

The first one:

 This is Kallen Stradfeldt, from the anime Code Geass. I pretty much had to do this cosplay at least once, because she and I share a first name! And with a name as uncommon as "Kallen" that's pretty much never going to happen to me again in my lifetime, that I find a character with my name. Anyway, this costume was SUPER uncomfortable, and not terribly well tailored, because it's the first thing I got to make with the aid of my dress form...it was a learning experience, to say the least. All that sucky black trim you see? Yeah, around ALL the edges? Took so. Damn. Long. Also...I forgot about putting on the belt loops until the day before the con...and then I was like "Screw it! Close enough!" Around...oh, $150 went into making this? I wore this at JAFAX 2011.

Super Sailor Pluto, obviously. Photography by TotallyToasty.com, and boy are those ladies amazing! Costume consists of a wig (purchased), a leotard with attached Sailor-bib/cape-thing, a skirt, two bows (small on front, large on bum, both pinned in place so that the costume could be more easily washed), a pair of modified boots (had to add the white around the tops), a pair of gloves, a pair of earrings (cardboard, with the bow fabric glued on--a college budget solution if ever there was one!), a tiara (found on Etsy), a heart-shaped brooch made by my friend Kristine, and the staff (which my lovely boyfriend made for me). Basically, this costume was a ton of little pieces, and a pain in the ass (and the feet--those boots suck!!), but wearing it was probably one of the most rewarding cosplay experiences I've had to date, because Sailor Moon is such an iconic show. I'd say $200+ went into this costume, easily. Worn at Youmacon 2011.

The other four costumes were these (the photo on the steps was taken by Kristine), which we wore to the midnight premier of Deathly Hallows pt. 2. I'm Ravenclaw, my friend Mads is Hufflepuff, my friend Ame is Slytherin, and that's my boyfriend as Gryffindor. ^..^ We all had our "Founders' Artifacts" with us too! Cup for Helga, Sword for Godric, Diadem for Rowena, and Locket for Salazar.The writing on the diadem is even in Old English (thanks to the help of the Livejournal community "Linguaphiles"), because I do not agree with it being easily read as it is in the novel. I debated putting it in...well, I forget what my second choice was, but based on the clues in the books as to Rowena's origins, it seemed likely that she'd have also spoken Old English, so that's what I went with. My friend Travis did the inscription and pressing of the diadem for me. ^___^ Together these four costumes (not counting accessories) were probably around $300-$400 worth of fabrics, but most of the materials were left over from previous projects, so only Hufflepuff needed to be bought from scratch, as well as Gryffindor's cloak and some things like fabric pain and threads. I think we only ended up spending around $100.

Anyway, I think I've procrastinated as much as I can reasonably get away with, so I'm gonna post this (now that it's after midnight--yikes!) and try to get back to my school work.

<3

College Costuming

Sewing in my dorm room presents a bit of a challenge, but as I'm in what is technically an "on-campus apartment" it means I have my own bedroom, and since all the furniture is against the walls, it means I have a nice open space to spread out fabric. I should probably invest in a cutting mat, but that requires money...of which I have none. Lol. All my fabrics are Red Tag at JoAnn's, and tend to be bought with gift cards or holiday money. The brown fabric above was just $4 per yard, and I don't know if it's visible, but tucked under the left side of the fabric is a brown lacy dress, cut away from a truly awful thrifted sack dress. This is the beginning of my River costume.

 I started cutting out the shirt this afternoon (after this picture was taken) and I realized that I actually can't really tell how the seams in the shirt work...there are some in some very strange places, obviously more for decorative purposes than for simple construction reasons. The thing is, those crooked seams really lend to the "whimsical in the brain pan" that is River. I really feel like I need to keep the crazy seams, but they scare the hell outta me. The pink under-dress has similar crazy sideways seams, as well as many vertical ones that had body and swirl to the skirt, and I can't even bring myself to start thinking about the construction of that dress, yet. Well, I have four months, so...hopefully I'll think of something.

<3

Costume List 2012

Well, my actual New Year's resolution is to write more (off to a BAD start, as my computer has, until an hour ago, been off being repaired), but I'm also trying to be more organized with my costumes. Things like keeping better track of how much they cost, how much I actually paid to make them (I tend to record the full price of the fabrics, as well as the sale price that I buy them at, so I know how much I'm saving), and I want to be better about taking in-progress pictures.

So!

My list for this year:

April:
    1. River (Serenity)

May:
    2. At least one new Steampunk outfit (aiming for a sweet mash-up of proper Victorian lady and Chinese pirate)

June:
   3. Photo Finish (My Little Pony)
   4. Taichi (Digimon)

November:
   5. Idris (Doctor Who)
   6. Psylocke (X-men)
  
And...I think that's the complete list. There are a few costumes that fall under the "Maybe, if I have time..." category, but since they probably won't get done, I'm not gonna list 'em. :)