Yes, I’m that costume girl. A girl. In costumes. But that’s not all you’ll find here. Other people will share their ideas and creations too.

For example: ManWithPez.

He’s working on three new costumes to add to his closet.

Currently said closet includes things like Simon Tam, Half of a Blue Hand pair, an Ariel EMT, and the very awesome Seymour Krelborn. Don’t let all the Firefly costumes fool you, his tastes are broader than just Sci-fi.

What are these three new costumes?
1. Spider-Man. Not just any Spider-Man. Spider Sense Spider-Man on the street in his casual wear.
2. Y: The Last Man. Yorrick hiding his male identity behind a gas mask.
3. The Waffler. Alton Brown’s Waffle crusader.

I love Alton Brown! Love him. I made a joke about making a Waffler costume. MWP saw the episode and fell just as hard as I did for the masked breakfast man. I am considering joining the Y idea and creating a Beth II or Hero ensemble. The Spider Sense costume is a great way to be an iconic character without becoming one of the thousands of men in red tights.

Thinking out of the box. I like it.

Want to share your ideas? Leave a comment or drop me an email: me at thatcostumegirl dot com.

The first step in every costume endeavor is deciding who or what you want to be. Make a list of three or four ideas. Then narrow it down to one choice by looking at the time and skill level involved.

I wanted to do something recognizable to a particular fandom, but unique enough that there wouldn’t be 100 of us. ManWithPez suggested the Ariel EMTs from the series Firefly. An excellent choice. Not only is ‘Ariel’ a great episode, but the costumes require minimal sewing. And among the fans, high recognition.

The next step is finding reference pictures. I used screen captures from www.Still-flying.net. Comic books, trade books, stills, and screencaps are excellent reference sources.

Please choose your references carefully. The lighting from the episode was blue and antiseptic, giving the patches a purple hue. I had started making the patches when it occurred to me to check the companion books. The Firefly Companion showed one of the patches and it was more red than purple. I don’t know if they used the red or if it was a mock. Oh well. I can live with the purple.

The hard part was the lettering. From Firefly translation sites, I knew it meant ‘nurse’. But I still didn’t have a clean shot of the characters. I copied the fancy calligraphy version from the translation site then changed the font style in an editing program. From there I cleaned up the lines and played with the round letters until I felt they looked liked the ones on the uniforms. I’ll share that with you so you don’t have to worry about it.

The last step today is making a plan. Analyze your costume head to toe. Begin to make a list of supplies you’ll need. For the EMTs you’ll need:
Needle and thread: blue, black, grey.
Blue work coveralls
Silver reflective tape or stripping ~$2.50 a roll
Blue Medic vest ~$26
Work boots or tennis shoes (dark neutral color)
Blue cap
Blue undershirt
Felt 5 for $1: purple
Fabric paint*: black, grey/silver (reflective is important), and white/opal (reflective is important)
ID badge holder
Pen light 6 pack for $6
Misc medic gear
Walkie talkie or Radio
Ariel Ambulance
*I painted the patches, but you can embroider them if you prefer.

Gather your gear and I’ll see you next week for Part II.

Continue reading… Part I | Part II | Part III