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The Hero’s Closet

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Published on December 10, 2014 at × in Large Blog Image

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Hey there!

I’m Gillian, a cosplayer, writer, editor, and occasional illustrator with an unruly fabric habit. I love patternmaking, fabric manipulation, embellishment, and big, ambitious projects.

My book The Hero’s Closet is available now!

Fancy abs! Officially checking off the lower torso

Fancy abs! Officially checking off the lower torso armor for this costume. The leather plates were wet-shaped, tooled, dyed, and highlighted with gold paint, then sewn by hand to the steel-boned vest. The worbla breastplate will attach on top with a combination of hooks and magnets, and I wanted to finish the base before starting that piece so that everything would match up perfectly. So that’ll be the next step now!

I also finished the undersuit, which has been sitting around half done for about a month now. The fabric is a coated doubleknit I’ve had stashed for a couple years - I think it actually came from the much-missed Paron Fabrics - and I added gold leather piping on the collar to help tie it into the armor. The pattern is my own, based on the jumpsuit from the book but modified to remove the side seams for a slightly cleaner line. All the seams are pinked and topstitched as well, to keep everything as flat and smooth as possible, and it closes up the front with a heavy-duty invisible zipper.

#cosplayarmormaking #leatherarmor #cosplaywip #cosprogress #cosmaker

Princely enough for you? When I saw that @maison_h

Princely enough for you? When I saw that @maison_hikari had openings for anime nyc I had to leap on it. There are still a few things I need to add to this costume, but, well, look! I’ve never felt so dang regal in my life, it’s like a painting that should be hanging in a castle somewhere. (make sure to swipe for majestic full view)
Utena is a reasonably simple costume, but there were plenty of details to dig my claws into. I’m particularly happy with how the sword came out - the paint job isn’t my best ever, but I think I nailed the proportions and it feels really natural in my hand. The ring was a last minute addition and I probably should have spent the time on the epaulets instead, but the way it caught the light here makes it seem worth it. 📸 by @maison_hikari #utenacosplay #revolutionarygirlutena #animenyc #cosplayportrait #cosmaker

Wowza what a trip. It feels a little wild that all

Wowza what a trip. It feels a little wild that all this was for a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it trip across the Crown Championships stage, but actually the point was all the other competitors I got to meet and the truly top-tier fabulous costumes I got to ogle. All of these were people I’d previously only met online if at all, and builds I’d admired from afar, but there’s honestly no comparison to seeing all that hard work in person and getting my nosy eyeballs right up in the fabric textures and sculpting work. I was absolutely geeking out all day and it was just the best thing.
I crunched four separate times to get the various incarnations of Ciri built over the last two years, but I’m happy to say that I actually accomplished-or-near-enough my entire upgrade list this time around. I finished the BOOTS, which was a wild project that’ll get its own wrap-up post, and I’m very happy with how the tooled leather scabbard came out as well. I need to finally plan a photoshoot now that all the elements are actually where I want them - was hoping to get a wintery Skellige one with snow but I guess that’s not going to happen this year, freaking thanks climate change 😠. Very well deserved congrats to all the winners (including armor category winner @paisleyandglue and third overall @leelookris in these photos). Also, thanks to the fabulously talented and extremely nice guy @sameertikkamasala for sending over the second picture, and super extra thanks to travel buddy and heroic handler @pitchforkcosplay for coming along on this little adventure and taking all the others. #crownchampionshipsofcosplay #c2e2 #cosplayarmor #witchercosplay

First peek at Utena, and proof that I really did m

First peek at Utena, and proof that I really did manage to baste enough of this thing together for it to be wearable! @starsandpaperplanes grabbed this quick hallway shot for me at the very end of the con, and I actually did a proper photoshoot this time so there should be some great stuff coming up soon.
My goal for this costume was to make it look clean and crisp but also keep it comfy and mobile, so I used ponte knit and a stretch lining for the jacket. The edges and pockets are bound in a really nice crepe-back satin I found at @fab_scrap , and I accidentally left one of my pocket flaps tucked in here so you can see all the welt pockets are fully functional. The skirt is heavy organza with French seams and a little rolled hem, the shorts are also ponte knit, and everything was patterned myself.
All the little jewelry bits are worbla, and the green gem is just a clear glass cabochon that I painted the back of. I completely ran out of time to get a rose for the boutonniere, but by some miracle @jacquistuffnthings had white roses for her magnificent Serenity gown so I stole one.
Obviously I did not quite manage to finish the epaulets, which are still in several pieces that need assembling, so I’ll have to drag this back out soon when everything is finished.
#utenatenjou #revolutionarygirlutena #utenacosplay #cosplaywip #cosmaker #animenyc2019

Current status of the Empress bodice drape! I’ve

Current status of the Empress bodice drape! I’ve been struggling a little bit to get back in the productivity groove during this inter-holiday period, but getting this beastie wearable is my number one cosplay goal for next year.
Now that I’ve got the style lines for the bodice sorted out, the next step will be adding all my reference marks and then very carefully unpinning everything and tracing all the pieces out on paper. Then I can do any corrections that might be needed and sew up a muslin to see how she fits on me as opposed to the form.
#cosplaywip #cosprogress #cosmaker #draping #patternmaking #monstresscosplay

Vambrace complete! This is my first real armor pie

Vambrace complete! This is my first real armor piece in leather, except for the elbow bit which is sculpted in worbla. I used a medium (6oz?) veg tan for the base layer and decorative red plates, and odds and ends of other things for everything else, including some leftovers from the boots. You can’t see much except on the top binding, but there’s quite a bit of hand sewing in there to hold things together because I don’t fully trust rivets or glue.

My favorite bit is probably the pivot at the elbow, which I worked out through a long series of paper mock-ups because I wanted to preserve as much mobility as possible. What’s the point of cosplaying the pull-ups champ if you can’t move in her costume?

#cosplaywip #cosmaker #cosplayarmor #leatherarmor #ff7cosplay #tifacosplay #peeressofpullups

Recent Posts

How I made Ciri’s Boots
Building Ciri’s Sword and Scabbard
Ciri’s Armor (Pauldron and Poleyns)
Ciri Chainmail
Embroidery Purgatory

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