 Ryuuzaki Umi (from Magic Knight Rayearth)
Cosplayer: Steph
Last Updated: April 23, 2002
This costume was made for ACEN 2002 (April 19-21)
I've had many battle wounds with this costume so far but it's been worth it. My mantra: "Just don't get blood on the costume... don't get blood on the costume..."
**NOTE: Wigs are evil! I hate them! If I hadn't chopped my hair several months back I'd be fine as it was but now I'm going with a wig which will be slightly shorter than my hair was previously (even though it's a pretty long wig)... sighs... I hate wigs!
Pictures
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R y u u z a k i U m i
C o s t u m e T i m e L i n e |
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Date |
Description |
Pictures |
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April 18, 2002 |
- Painted new clay gem ::waiting for the paint to dry::
- Styled bangs on wig so they would look a bit more natural: cut off bottom
third layer and poofed out more. |
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April 17, 2002 |
- Made another clay gem to replace on glove... waiting for it to dry...
::taps foot impatiently:: |
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April 16, 2002 |
- Made headband (had just enough blue thread... yea!)
- Ironed Jacket just to make it look a little nicer :-P That's all I
did today... too tired and lazy to finish the last few things. |
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April 15, 2002 |
- Made, ironed and attached cuffs on jacket... JACKET IS DONE!
- Running out of blue thread... AAAAHHHH!!! Trying to conserve and hoping it will last. I WILL NOT make another trip to Joann's! |
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April 14, 2002 |
- Sewed Gold trim on boots, painted design, fixed the shape of the bottom,
sewed in hook and eyes so I'd be able buckle my shoes.
- Attached large gems to chest plate and shoulder plate. ALL ARMOR IS
DONE! |
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April 9, 2002 |
- Sewed snaps onto fabric that will be used to attach large gems to armor
- Sewed one gem onto chest plate |
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April 8, 2002 |
- Trimmed extension of shoulder armor in gold
- Fixed glove |
umishoulder.gif
glove.jpg |
| April
7, 2002 |
- Sewed boot sections together and adjusted as necessary.
- Attached lower flap to shoulder plate of armor. |
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| April 6, 2002 |
- Decided wearing store-bought boots was cheating (this decision based upon actual opinion
and the fact that the tall white boots I bought were REALLY uncomfortable...
and shiny which didn't match my armor at all).
- Made yet another trip to Joann's to purchase more white PVC with which to
make my own boots and
a chord for Mokona's strap... AND a little stuffed moose... okay so I'm an
impulse shopper, it was cute and fuzzy and I couldn't resist (he sits on my
stereo staring at me now).
- Started and finished turning Mokona the stuffed animal into
Mokona the multipurpose bag/purse! I ripped out half of his guts (stuffing)
and installed an inner lining, zipper, and a strap. He's so happy
about it... look at him! :-)
- I also began work on my boots: cutting out the fabric and with the help of
my trusted companion, Irena, pinning it around my leg. |
mokonabag01.jpg
mokonabag02.jpg
mokonabag03.jpg
boots01.jpg |
March 23 - 31, 2002
(Spring Break) |
- Finally hacked again at the test jacket sleeves and collar to much success and finally
finished both the test jacket and the REAL jacket (except for sleeve cuffs)
- Made chest plate of armor, glove, and arm band.
- Molded gems out of clay and painted with metallic paint
- With the help of my dad I whittled away at the top of the handle piece of
wood so I could attach the ball-topper-window-thing and attached the handle
and blade together.
- Created and attached dragon head and wings with wire and a little glue.
Painted sword!!!
- Formed shoulder plate out of Celluclay and wire mesh and let dry.
Covered plate with white PVC and trimmed with gold double-wide bias tape.
- Attached gems to chest plate and shoulder plate.
- Made necktie
- Hemmed skirt. SKIRT IS FINISHED!
- Ordered 10" (life-size) plush Mokona online.
- Made trips to Joann's and Michael's twice a day for the entirety of this
time (no joke). Mental note: think out clearly what you need and how
much... it will save time, energy, money, and sanity. |
sword.jpg
armband.jpg |
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January 2 - March 22, 2002 |
- Worked sparingly on jacket, picking at it now and then attempting and
failing each time on my sleeves and collar.
- A lot of mental process went on during this period such as figuring how to
make armor, materials, test drawings, etc. |
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November 16, 2001 - January 1, 2002
(Winter Break) |
- First began physical work on Umi costume.
Mental preparation dates back to the Sunday of ACEN 2001!
- Got patterns for pleated skirt and double-breasted jacket along with dark
and light blue fabric and some cheap test fabric so I can screw up as much
as I like without hurting my precious blue. The jacket pattern was
quite a trick as I could not find one that matched Umi's as well as I would
have liked: except a vintage pattern from the early 1970s that was impossible
for me to get a hold of. I finally decided on one that matched in all
but the collar (I later altered the collar which was a feat in and of
itself).
- Completed the skirt (didn't hem yet)
- Finished the test jacket (minus sleeves)
- Ordered blue wig... Yippie!!!
- Ordered tall white boots (see April 6, 2002)
- Bought pieces of wood for sword along with round top (which, by the way,
was really used for window curtain rods). |
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Materials Needed
- Stuffed Mokona - [$26.30 w/shipping]
- Thread: blue, white, gold, red
- 9 yards of Gold double-wide bias tape
- 2.5 yards of white PVC vinyl
- 3 yards of dark blue extra thick cotton fabric for (jacket)
- 2 yards of light blue extra thick cotton fabric (for skirt)
- Small scrap of red/orange fabric (for necktie)
- White button-down shirt
- Round wood stick for handle of sword, flat long wood stick for blade, and two bolts and nuts (to attach blade to handle)
- Blue clear glass ball-topper-window-thingy
- Metallic Paint: dark blue, light blue, gold, silver
- Paint brushes
- 6 small snaps (1 for glove, 1 for necktie, 2 each for gem that connects shoulder plate to chest plate)
- 4 large snaps (for jacket)
- 4 large blue buttons (for jacket)
- White slip with lace at bottom for underneath skirt
- If you're like me (with an aversion to skirts) you'll want spandex shorts for under the skirt because whoever invented skirts is going to die a slow and painful death!
- A slip for under the skirt
- Hot glue
- White heels for under boots
- Piece of foam as padding underneath shoulder armor so it stands out from arm
- Celluclay and wire mesh (for shoulder armor)
- 8 Hooks and Eyes (for boots)
- 3 zippers (1 for chest armor, 1 for skirt, and 1 for Mokona)
- 1 red/orange button that matches red/orange fabric (for necktie)
- Clay (for gems)
- Long blue wig with bangs
- Hairspray for bangs on wig
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