Well folks, Thursday marks the beginning of the 2008 Dragon Con adventure.

My plan for this year was to bring Kitty Pryde (your voting selection), updated Wonder Girl, Wonder Girl armor, and my Ariel EMT costume. What actually will happen is still up in the air because the armor is unfinished. I ran into more yield signs than I expected. Pattern making is not my strong point and the costume has suffered for it. I still have hope though. I’ll keep that list of four costumes and add the Dr. Horrible groupie to the end.

I was also working on costumes for ManWithPez. His list included Yorick Brown, Ariel EMT, Spider-Sense Spider-Man, and the ever lovable Seymour Krelborn. Again with the hitches. Yorick is finished and ready to go. The EMT and Seymour were previously completed. The Spider-sense mask has befuddled me. I’m not a seamstress so a spandex mask that covers only half a face is tricky for me to figure out. Again, I have not lost hope. We have added Dr. Horrible to his costume trunk for D*C.

Last you read the Dr. Horrible costume was giving me fits. Mostly due to poor shipping procedures and bad online shops. No more worry my friends. The box of goggles arrived just a few minutes ago. They are pine green. We’ll paint and distress them before Thursday. The lab coat was also troublesome. I picked up the Mad Scientists costume and made some alterations (still in process). All the black buttons have been removed and white buttons procured, more than a foot of length has been cut, slits have been added to the sides, and double vents have been created on the back. The only thing I don’t care for is the chalk white starkness of the polyester coat. No time to test dyes this time around.

I made a Kitty glove! All on my own. It looks a little wonky because I sewed it by hand. I like it. Now that I know I can do it I’ll sew the other glove. Too bad I couldn’t track down a purple dragon. Sigh.

All in all I’m pretty pleased with taking four costumes each. Keep your fingers crossed that I can manage the armor in three days. Heh. When I get a break from the needle and thread I’ll grab the camera and add some pics for you.

I’ll keep you posted.

Kitty’s coming along nicely. My boots and collar are trimmed with yellow. My belt fits and is only in need of a completed X buckle. Each time I cut out the buckle I find it’s not quite right. Sigh. I’ll just have to pick the least messy one. The pattern is ready for the yellow body accent. This is it. My hands? Why yes, they are supposed to be covered.

Gloves, gloves, gloves. Why must you vex me so?

Kitty needs gloves. Much to my chagrin, my little sewing machine does not have a zigzag stitch. Nope. Just for laughs, I tried sewing the belt, but the evil machine hated the material. The yellow knit and sewing machine are like oil and water. So what do I do?

Do I try to track down a local seamstress that can whip up some gloves for me? Do I buy some cheap marching gloves and try to dye to match? What do you think?

The house is a mess with costume stuff.

The table is covered in Yorrick’s poncho. Accompanying it is a ruler, markers, super glue, scissors, tape measure, and a sewing machine. Last night we tested the strength of glue versus thread. Both seem to hold well. Neither method puckers too much. It looks like we’ll use a combination of the two.

The back room has no floor. I have vinyl and foam everywhere. It’s not a pretty sight. I’ve begun shaping my new bracelets/gauntlets. These are slightly longer than my old ones. Anyone else find it interesting that the Amazon bracelets started out being maybe two inches wide and now cover most of the forearm? How about gold to silver? Anyone?

We’ve added another costume to the list…but you’ll have to wait until tomorrow for me to tell you what it is. Horrible, aren’t I?

My first attempt at the overskirt was less than ideal. It didn’t hang right. I sat down and thought about how I could change the pattern. The first way would be to make it all one piece like a typical skirt. I would have to sew that by hand because my sewing machine can’t handle fabric that thick. The second idea was to make a waistband and lash each strip to it. I liked this idea. Simple, clean, easy to do.

As I got into the process I realized I could have used rivets. Even cleaner. None of the craft and fabric stores I’ve visited have the right kind of rivets. If I could find a local leather shop I’d try them, alas. It looks like I’ll stick with the lashing. The skirt hangs nicely and fits well enough. I’ve made the closure adjustable just in case my waist fluctuates by the time Dragon Con rolls around. I could use some ideas about the lashing material. I’ve temporarily tied it together with ribbon.

Any thoughts before I start on the underskirt?

By the way, have you taken a look at the guest list for Dragon Con? I’m very excited about meeting Sean Astin, Avery Brooks, Cirroc Lofton, Micky Dolenz, Edward James Olmos, Michael Dorn, and many many others. Check it out.

I put together the white overskirt just as I said I would. It will work. Not as is, but I see where it needs to be refined. The length is about right, maybe another inch or two. I know what needs to be done about the lacing as well. Sure glad I was able to pick up so much yardage for a decent price! Here’s a picture of where it stands at the moment. The beauty of testing the method on the smaller overskirt is I’ll know exactly what to do for the underskirt.

Remember when I wore the Hippie costume for Earth Day? Well I have a few other pictures of that costume to share with you. The sun was extra bright and blew out most of the photographs, but I’ve salvaged a few. I liked the setup for the ruined photos so I may retake them this weekend to complete the set. Anyway, here’s more for you to peruse. This costume can be found at Costume Craze. It is the shirt with attached vest and the trippy headband. All other accessories, like the glasses, flowers, and tambourine, are my own.

I think everyone should have a costume or two in their closet for party emergencies. There’s nothing wrong with buying a pre-made costume. Not everyone has the resources or skills to make some fancy getup.

Have a great weekend!