Sailor Jupiter - Sailor Moon
Why I chose to make this costume:
Growing up I was like many little girls, I idolized the Sailor Scouts and wanted to be just like them! Hanging out with your friends having a normal teenage life by day, and saving the world by night. The one I connected with the most was Sailor Jupiter. She was tough yet caring, loved cooking and baking, and was loyal to a fault. I didn't want to create a typical Sailor Scout uniform, I wanted something unique. I have always enjoyed the aesthetic of Steampunk and thought, now that would be awesome.
How I made this costume:
I found a drawing online that I used as inspiration for my base, but then expanded the idea to make it more my own. I chose the jacket pattern from McCalls 6770, The shirt pattern from Butterick 6133, the skirt pattern Neue Mode 23348 and the boot covers were based on shoes by designer Christian Louboutin which I found on Pinterest. The shoes I found at a local Value Village, the Tiara was purchased from WirePrincess on Etsy. The earrings I found at Hot Topic and the victorian relief pin I have on the bow was supplied by a friend who bought it in Japan. I made the hair elastic using some simple blue beads and elastic.
I started out with the jacket. Now this costume has been in the works far longer than it should. I started this a few years ago, by buying the jacket pattern, cutting out the material and then putting in a bag to sit until I got to it. Due to that I found out a had a few pieces missing and so found some complimentary fabric to fill in the missing spots. about 40 hours to get through the jacket and bustle. I also made a few changes to the pattern by adding a belt to the bustle rather than the ribbon the pattern suggests and changed the sleeve cuffs. I also added snaps to the bustle and jacket to help the bustle stay up. The blouse I was originally going to make all pink, but then thought, it would be so much better in a cream to match the lace, with a pink bow. This would also help the character be more recognizable to fans. The shirt was quite simple and took me 2 days to sew it together. The skirt was a struggle. I originally started with a Burda pattern which turned out to be more difficult that I had hoped and also didn't work with the costume. I switched over to the Neue Mode pattern. Got everything pinned down to the fabric, feeling relieved that I still had enough, only to find out that this pattern didn't contain any seam allowances or hem allowances. With such little time to get the skirt finished, I ran to the fabric store, picked up more twill and a new McCalls pattern. Stitched it all together within a few hours and it turned out beautifully. I also made the last minute decision to switch from a brown skirt to a green skirt to make the costume a little more recognizable.
The boots were probably my favourite part of the costume to make and also my biggest challenge. I found a tutorial online of how to make boot covers that seemed simple enough, but these were also meant for show covers with an elastic top. We seran wrapped my leg and the shoe I had chosen for the costume. I had my husband help me with this part, and he spent the better part of an evening wrapping my leg in plastic and then masking tape. We then drew out the pattern and cut it off my leg. I transferred the pattern to paper, added my seam allowances, marked where I wanted my zipper and grommets to go and we were off to the races. I was a little skeptical when I first cut out all the fabric, worried that the pieces wouldn't fit together correctly as the patterns for my legs weren't uniform. I pinned the fabric to my shoe and basted all the fabric together along with the zipper to make sure it was going to work. Once everything was all setup, I sewed it, and started adding the eyelets. Once I got the laces all tied up, I tried the boots on and found them sliding a bit as thigh high boot covers tend to do.
Thoughts on this costume:
I am really happy how this costume turned out! It's super comfortable and easy to get on and off. I was unsure at first since this is the first original design I have made for an already established character, but I'm really happy with it.
Growing up I was like many little girls, I idolized the Sailor Scouts and wanted to be just like them! Hanging out with your friends having a normal teenage life by day, and saving the world by night. The one I connected with the most was Sailor Jupiter. She was tough yet caring, loved cooking and baking, and was loyal to a fault. I didn't want to create a typical Sailor Scout uniform, I wanted something unique. I have always enjoyed the aesthetic of Steampunk and thought, now that would be awesome.
How I made this costume:
I found a drawing online that I used as inspiration for my base, but then expanded the idea to make it more my own. I chose the jacket pattern from McCalls 6770, The shirt pattern from Butterick 6133, the skirt pattern Neue Mode 23348 and the boot covers were based on shoes by designer Christian Louboutin which I found on Pinterest. The shoes I found at a local Value Village, the Tiara was purchased from WirePrincess on Etsy. The earrings I found at Hot Topic and the victorian relief pin I have on the bow was supplied by a friend who bought it in Japan. I made the hair elastic using some simple blue beads and elastic.
I started out with the jacket. Now this costume has been in the works far longer than it should. I started this a few years ago, by buying the jacket pattern, cutting out the material and then putting in a bag to sit until I got to it. Due to that I found out a had a few pieces missing and so found some complimentary fabric to fill in the missing spots. about 40 hours to get through the jacket and bustle. I also made a few changes to the pattern by adding a belt to the bustle rather than the ribbon the pattern suggests and changed the sleeve cuffs. I also added snaps to the bustle and jacket to help the bustle stay up. The blouse I was originally going to make all pink, but then thought, it would be so much better in a cream to match the lace, with a pink bow. This would also help the character be more recognizable to fans. The shirt was quite simple and took me 2 days to sew it together. The skirt was a struggle. I originally started with a Burda pattern which turned out to be more difficult that I had hoped and also didn't work with the costume. I switched over to the Neue Mode pattern. Got everything pinned down to the fabric, feeling relieved that I still had enough, only to find out that this pattern didn't contain any seam allowances or hem allowances. With such little time to get the skirt finished, I ran to the fabric store, picked up more twill and a new McCalls pattern. Stitched it all together within a few hours and it turned out beautifully. I also made the last minute decision to switch from a brown skirt to a green skirt to make the costume a little more recognizable.
The boots were probably my favourite part of the costume to make and also my biggest challenge. I found a tutorial online of how to make boot covers that seemed simple enough, but these were also meant for show covers with an elastic top. We seran wrapped my leg and the shoe I had chosen for the costume. I had my husband help me with this part, and he spent the better part of an evening wrapping my leg in plastic and then masking tape. We then drew out the pattern and cut it off my leg. I transferred the pattern to paper, added my seam allowances, marked where I wanted my zipper and grommets to go and we were off to the races. I was a little skeptical when I first cut out all the fabric, worried that the pieces wouldn't fit together correctly as the patterns for my legs weren't uniform. I pinned the fabric to my shoe and basted all the fabric together along with the zipper to make sure it was going to work. Once everything was all setup, I sewed it, and started adding the eyelets. Once I got the laces all tied up, I tried the boots on and found them sliding a bit as thigh high boot covers tend to do.
Thoughts on this costume:
I am really happy how this costume turned out! It's super comfortable and easy to get on and off. I was unsure at first since this is the first original design I have made for an already established character, but I'm really happy with it.
Appearances:
Fan Expo Vancouver - Nov 2017
Fan Expo Vancouver - Nov 2017