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.

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Good question Skymouth. I was writing about Dr. Horrible today anyway, why not talk about the coat?

Dr. Horrible wears the classic mad scientist smock. Some call it a Dentist smock or a Howie coat. Also consider Chef’s coats as a possible match. The reason it is not a Dentist smock, but is very similar, is Dentist smocks are typically short-sleeved. Horrible’s coat is long-sleeved, white, buttoned at the shoulder, and long with side slits. Don’t fret, I have a suggestion.

We ordered our coat (product MCCX1) from a UK supplier. I can not testify to its quality as it has not yet arrived. International shipping is notoriously hard to track. My fingers are crossed. (They canceled the order and failed to refund.) Some costumers have taken to sewing the gown/coat. Admittedly, it’s a simple pattern for an experienced sewer, but us regular folks are better not to try it. My last suggestion is to buy a costume smock and modify it.

The Mad Scientist is very close. Remove all the black buttons. Then attach four buttons to the shoulder. Basic white or clear buttons are fine. Check the length and sides. You’ll want to hem if it hits below mid-shin. Add slits up the sides if none exist. The slit should reach the hip. This is an easy fix requiring only scissors and a straight seam (sew or heat bond). You might also want to take the scrap of length cut to make a waist band for back vents. Finally, add the caduceus logo right front pocket area. We ended up doing this and the results can be seen here.

Skymouth, Dr. Horrible’s coat is likely Dr. Simon Tam’s coat from Firefly. They look identical to me and the costume designer is the same. It could mean the coat was a custom job inspired by the antiseptic Frankenstein look. Let me know if you find something.

Good luck.

My Dr. Horrible post was going to be about the ever troublesome goggles. We had some on order. Back order, actually. That wasn’t a big deal because we knew that all the major suppliers were being overrun with orders. Just a few days ago we were finally notified that the back order that was supposed to take 10 days (ordered in July) will not be available until the first of September. Since we need them for Dragon Con which takes place Labor Day weekend that date was unacceptable. The order is now cancelled.

I’ve called all the local welding supply shops only to find none of them carry a model similar to Dr. Horrible’s goggles. I have found them online but most are international shops and can not be trusted to arrive stateside in two weeks. I’ve ordered them from a questionable little discount store. I have an order number but no tracking number as yet. The order will need to ship by Monday if we have any hope of taking the goggles to D*C. My fingers are crossed and I continue to call stores looking for the goggles.

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I’m a Horrible fan.

Two weeks ago the internet met Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along-Blog. It’s the child of the Whedon brothers with help from Maurissa Tancharoen, Shawna Trpcic, Ben Edlund, and many many others. The short story follows Dr. Horrible (Neil Patrick Harris) as he tries to come to terms with being evil. The problem is he has a soft side, a lovey-dovey “I believe in love and puppies” soft side. That just doesn’t cut it when you’re trying to join the Evil League of Evil. We follow Horrible as he fights his nemesis Captain Hammer (Nathan Fillion) and woos Penny (Felicia Day) the girl from the laundromat.

It’s a musical.

Check Hulu for live showings or purchase a season pass from itunes. A DVD chock full of extras is being developed as well as a soundtrack. You can read more about Captain Hammer at the Darkhorse Comics myspace. Best of all, you can purchase emblem tees from Jinx.

We’ve decided to scrap the Waffler for the time being in favor of a Dr. Horrible costume. Like so many other fans, the goggles are proving to be very difficult find. It seems the manufacturer changed the body color a few years ago and nobody bothered to update the catalog photos. People are receiving goggles other than what they thought they ordered. I’m expecting the wrong ones to arrive some time next week. Sigh. In the mean time, I have my Kaylee goggles.

Check out my friend Manny at My Disguises for tips on costume pieces.

So, do I look like a Horrible groupie?

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