I’m at Dragon Con in Atlanta, GA. We arrived Thursday afternoon just in time to stand in line to get our passes. Six people in front of us was an old online friend of ours, TheRealMe. Soon, we met lots of old friends.

After I received my pass, I was hanging around outside the media and special guests room. While standing there I saw Richard Hatch. I’ve seen him at past conventions and he still looks great. Unfortunately he was surrounded by folks so I was unable to get a moment with him. I turned around and saw Pierre Bernard of the Recliner of Rage. He was very friendly and spoke at length with me about his D*C experience last year and his excitement at being a guest this year. On Saturday he’ll be a guest judge for the Stargate costume contest and invited me to attend. I’ll see him on Saturday to check out the Gate world creations.

The rest of the evening was spent having dinner with friends and standing in line for more passes for our other friends. It was a great intro to the con. Not many costume were out on display yet, but we saw a few great costumes. Our friend Lissa met a Wookie that over 7 feet tall. A nice Jedi let her borrow his lightsaber for a quick pic. I met a very lovely Andorian. Some Troopers stood and talked with us a while on a street corner. ManWithPez found a Big Trouble in Little China costume group. He snapped a picture for me. By the time I caught up with him, the group had spread out and I couldn’t get the gang war with Jack in the middle. Maybe I’ll see them again.

Today is the official first day of events. Busy schedule ahead of everyone today. I will be joining Lissa as a Dr. Horrible groupie today and ManWithPez will be Dr. Horrible. We met some Horrible fans that are going to hook us up with Evil League of Evil ribbons. Yay!

Big thanks to Costume Craze for helping make my D*C experience possible this year.
ThatCostumeGirl’s Dragon Con 2008 Gallery

All this talk of the new Trek movie has me in a Roddenberry state-of-mind. One of my oldest loves is Star Trek.

My dad and I used to watch Star Trek reruns. We saw the Star Trek movies. Then someone with money and power decided to throw a bone to the Trek fans and give us The Next Generation. There was sunshine in the world again. By this time my friends and I were having our own Trek conversations and debates. We all purchased the Klingon Dictionary. Eventually, they gave us Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise. I fell in love with Data (I met Brent Spiner!). But this post isn’t about Data, it’s about Klingons.

Worf is the man. Michael Dorn somehow conveys a full range of emotions despite the head gear and rough voice. Worf isn’t just a security officer or tactical man; he is a father, a widower, and an ambassador. I urge you all to go beyond The Next Generation and watch Deep Space Nine to see the complete Worf arc. Good stuff.

Every year at Dragon Con there’s a massive Klingon presence. It’s the home of the Miss Klingon Empire Beauty Pageant. My friends Lissa and Ash have attended the pageants as spectators and tell me it’s loads of fun. I want to make it to the pageant this year. The costumes look great. They always impress me. It’s a big undertaking: armor, prosthetics, and make-up. The men and women in Klingon wear have it down to an art.

So now you know, I like Star Trek and Trek costume creations. The pageant is on Sunday, August 31. Stay tuned for pictures and recap of the Miss Klingon Empire Beauty Pageant.

Two props have arrived.

Some nice and cheap black chemical gloves for the Waffler. This one is coming together nicely. The only stumbling block has been identifying all the doodads on Alton’s belt. There’s syrup, a turner, stick of butter, possibly a wisk…it’s hard to get a good look. I also think there’s some waffle-rangs on the left side.

What was the second prop? The cutest little monkey ever! Okay, maybe not so much cute as mischievous. Ampersand. He’s the monkey friend of Yorick Brown. Have you read ‘Y the Last Man’ yet? You should.

This is it folks, the last part of my Ariel tutorial.

In PART ONE we made our list and gathered our supplies. Then in PART TWO we began putting things together. In part three we’ll do the hard part: Patches.

We’ll identify the number and types of patches found on the uniform.

Vest:
1 Large rectangle with caduceus (8.5 in h) and Chinese (bottom), center back. 8 in w x 11.5 in h. Corners cut at an angle.
1 Small rectangle with caduceus (3 in h), right front pocket. 2 in w x 3.75 in h. Corners cut at an angle. This one might be slimmer. I found working on a 1.5 in patch to be frustrating.

Coveralls:
2 Medium with caduceus (3 in h) and Chinese (top), center upper arm. 3 in w at top. 1 in wide at bottom. 4 in h.

Hat:
1 Small with caduceus (2 in h) and Chinese (top), center. 2 in w at top. 1 in w at bottom. 2.5 in h.

Optional: Small reflective polygon on right vest pocket. It’s only worn within the hospital.

Here are the graphics I made. Click on the thumbnails for a larger file to download. Then scale the graphics to the sizes you need. Remember, these are not 100% accurate. I created these based on stills. Resourceful types will turn these into files to use with their embroidery machines. The rest of us cheapskates will either paint or sew the emblems by hand. Good luck with that.

1. Measure and cut the felt. Use the patch blank if needed. Simply resize in photo editing program and print.

2. For the caduceus, resize in your photo editing software and print the stencil. Cut out design with scissors or Exacto blade.

3. Place stencil where you want it on the patch. Begin with the SILVER paint to create the border of the caduceus. Fill in the staff with the SILVER.

4. While the paint is drying. Make a thin black border along the edge on the patch. You can do this with black thread if you’re embroidering.

5. Color in each snake: one WHITE, one BLACK.

6. Let dry.

7. The letters are hard to make crisp with the stencil. I free hand the characters in WHITE.

8. If you’re using thread or a thin tip, trace the lettering in SILVER. I was not able to do that on the small patches, but I did do it on the large back patch.

As you can see, the paint does not cover the felt completely. You will need to let it dry then cover it with a second thin coat of paint.

You’re done. Repeat the steps to complete the remaining patches. Remember, the front vest patch has no writing on it.

Last thing to do is make your ID badge, 2.5 in w x 3.5 in h. Here is a picture of my ID. Open your favorite photo editing software and put your headshot over my picture. You also need a name. Mal, Zoe, Jayne, and Wash used the names Miles Arixoen M.D. (blush), Q. Kumamotoa R.N., Kiki LaRue R.N., and Beauma Sclevages R.N. I don’t know what Simon’s badge said. You can use one of their fake names, chose a favorite character, a screen name, or pick a pun. I am Molly Qule R.N. My partner in crime is P. McNinja M.D. You can print this at home (heavy paper or card stock) if you have a color printer or take it to a copy shop. Cut to size and place in a badge holder (3w x 4h in).

Put it all together. Undershirt, coveralls, boots, hat, and vest. Place a few doodads on the vest and clip on your badge.

Now all you need is that elusive ambulance, two mostly dead bodies, or maybe a crazy sister and kick-ass doctor brother.

Firefly Costume: Ariel Tutorial
Part I | Part II | Part III

Today I’ll go over Part II of my Ariel tutorial. Part I can be found here.

Last week you found a few reference photos or stills that showed the entire outfit head to toe, back to front, right? Good.

Hopefully you have your coveralls. If you’re having trouble locating some, hit the surplus stores for old military ones like mine, try a feed or outdoors store, a nearby uniform supplier, or hit the internet. Too big isn’t a problem, you can always take it in. Like me!

First things first, wash them. Adjust the size to a comfortable fit. Fitted isn’t necessary since it will be covered by an EMS vest. *chalks, pins, and sews* I shortened the waist and crotch, took in the sides and legs, and resized the zipper.

Get your reflective tape ready. I used 1in tape. Why? Reflective fabric trim was hard to find locally. The tape was cheaper online than the trim was. This means laundering my costume is problematic but not impossible. I haven’t had the tape pull away from the material yet. *crosses fingers*

The stills show trim down each arm and around each leg just below the knee. One strip across each back pocket. I recommend at least three rolls (40in ea.) per costume to allow for placement errors (please measure to be sure). The vest should have all its reflective trim already on it. Pin and stitch the trim or mark the fabric and place the tape. It’s one of the easier steps.

Optional: There is additional reflective designs on the coveralls that are obscured by the vest. I chose not to do them since I planned to keep the vest on while in costume. One strip across each front chest pocket. One asterisk star with caduceus center on upper left chest.

Next up, modify the vest. You’ll have to examine the vest you chose. The one from Rothco I used needed to have the black netting removed from several areas. I also added black elastic to hold EMT implements. The ID badge will need a tab where it attaches. Take the netting you removed and fold it over and tack into place at the left shoulder.

That’s it for today. Depending on how short you are will determine how much sewing you needed to do. I hope you’re taller than me. I’m positively petite!

Next week we will make the patches and badges. I’ll share my scans and line art with you so you don’t have to worry about such things. You will need to take a headshot on light background with your makeup and hair styled similarly to how you plan to wear it in costume. Or be completely goofy, it’s your badge. This will need to be in digital format.

Next week: same bat-time, same bat-channel.

Continue reading… Part I | Part II | Part III