My Sewing/Cosplay Projects

[Maedhros_Nelyafinwë]

I don't believe I've shared any pictures of my Star Princess beading on here yet, so here's what I was working on last night!

You'll have to excuse the crappy lighting and photo quality. Today is a dismal, rainy day in terms of weather.

Yesterday I added the rows of blue beads. I had done the silver beads earlier this summer.

Of course, that's just the back left quarter of the bodice, and there's still a lot more patterns and different types of beads to add, so there's a looooong way to go still!

It's been difficult to do because I can't use an embroidery hoop, because the beads get in the way of the hoop and make it impossible to close. So I have to try to just use my hands to keep the fabric taut as I sew the beads on.

Here's a reference picture showing what the beading should hopefully look like when complete.

 

[Server Room Gremlin]

There were no cosplays of Tolkien characters that I was aware of, sadly. I actually don't see them nearly as often as I see Star Wars, Marvel, and animes I've never heard of. I do think that if I were to cosplay a Tolkien character, I'd either like to do Luthien or Varda. No one would know who I am, but hey, hardly anyone knows who I am as Rooftop Christine either.

It could be because people who like the Lord of the Rings, etc. tend to be shyer and stay at home? Or they choose something that's more popular among their friend group instead.

Also, depending on the character you pick, it might be difficult to imagine and create a costume. In my last year of high school, there was a dress-up/costume day for the people who would be graduating. Since I had recently discovered the Silmarillion at that time, I considered going as Celebrimbor. With light blue clothing and a hammer in my belt or something. But I didn't really have anything that would suit my idea at home, and I didn't have the time or energy to go hunting things down in the shops. So I went as a leopard instead, cause I already had leopard-print clothes and just needed to find some ears and a tail.

 

[ZehnWaters]

It could be because people who like the Lord of the Rings, etc. tend to be shyer and stay at home? Or they choose something that's more popular among their friend group instead.

Also, depending on the character you pick, it might be difficult to imagine and create a costume. In my last year of high school, there was a dress-up/costume day for the people who would be graduating. Since I had recently discovered the Silmarillion at that time, I considered going as Celebrimbor. With light blue clothing and a hammer in my belt or something. But I didn't really have anything that would suit my idea at home, and I didn't have the time or energy to go hunting things down in the shops. So I went as a leopard instead, cause I already had leopard-print clothes and just needed to find some ears and a tail.

Unless we're doing the films there also aren't set outfits.

 

[Maedhros_Nelyafinwë]

Also, depending on the character you pick, it might be difficult to imagine and create a costume.

Imagining costumes is not difficult for me! I love making my own original designs. For example, here's a little sketch I made in class the other day of an Elven dress. I think if I were to cosplay Luthien, I would design something kind of like this.

This design is a little more fantastical than what you see in the Peter Jackson movies, for example. The stuff on the hem and neckline is supposed to be flowers, by the way.

But the thing with creating an original design for a Silmarillion character to cosplay is that no one would know who I'm supposed to be. But, that could be okay; people generally don't know who I am when I cosplay Rooftop Christine either! Though, I'm always pleasantly surprised at cons by the number of people who are familiar with the Rooftop dress.

 

[Tyelkormo the Fair]

This looks so good Maedhros!
Also excited to see how the star princess custome will turn out!

 

[Fingon_Findekáno]

I can definitely picture that Elvish dress design in a gorgeous deep blue for Lúthien, and knowing your level of skill and creativity, it would turn out even more stunning in reality!!

 

[Maedhros_Nelyafinwë]

For Halloween, I pulled together an 1880s-inspired historical vampire look based on some existing pieces I already had. I also made a bustle pad, and that only took about 20 minutes to make.

I did not make the frilly black dress. It's from H&M. It just looks vaguely Victorian, so I wore this burgundy skirt and bustle pad over it. The skirt I made several years ago for a Halloween party, and it's very versatile for any sort of historical-inspired look I want to do.

Here's the bustle pad! A bustle is important to have if you're trying to achieve an 1880s silhouette.

Below, here's the skirt over the bustle pad. (With Star Princess fluff in the background!)

Below is just one example of fashion from the 1880s. Obviously, there are thousands of other examples out there. My outfit is nowhere close to true historical accuracy, but it is inspired by this time period and I at least tried to replicate the basic silhouette and hairstyle.

In particular, I tried to replicate the hairstyle from this picture of Adelina Patti, a Victorian era opera singer. She reminds me a lot of Christine from Phantom of the Opera!

Clearly, she's utilizing some fake hair pieces, which was a very common thing to do in the Victorian and Edwardian periods. The fact that I can't quite replicate that hairstyle, even though my hair nearly reaches my hips, means she's utilizing a fake braid and/or fake curls in there.

That was my Halloween costume! Hope you all had a fun Halloween!

 

[Maedhros_Nelyafinwë]

Some updates!

Last week, my Civil War reenacting unit had a Christmas dinner, and I was able to crochet a shawl for it on pretty short notice. I only really have a summer reenacting wardrobe and no winter stuff.

My mom taught me the basic crochet stitch when I was like 5 and I used to crochet clothes for my stuffed animals. But otherwise, I have not crocheted basically at all as an adult. But with the help of good ole YouTube, I learned how to do the Double crochet stitch, which enabled me to make this shawl:

It will actually be useful for summer reenacting too, because the mornings and evenings can be really cold! When I woke up one morning in my tent at the reenactment in August, I could see my breath. It was about 40 degrees out (Faherenheit). In August. That's Michigan for you.

Wearing my Civil War stuff again got me in the mood to post some of my pictures from the August reenactment:

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

There are three pictures in that post, FYI. There are little arrows on the left and right you can click on.

Some more pictures from the reenactment, which I will post on my Instagram soon:

Closeup of my hairstyle and headdress. I made that headdress from a kit and I absolutely love it. It's a very period accurate accessory to have. You wear it over your hairstyle to protect it from getting frizzy and whatever, and it can protect your hair from getting messed up in the bonnet too. Plus, it looks super cute! The Victorians were masters at combining beauty with practicality.

In my native habitat. 😂 Sitting in a rocking chair outside a fellow reenactor's tent, doing embroidery.

Speaking of tents, here's what I was living out of for two days:

I'm a tiny person, so please know, that is a tiny tent! 6 feet tall at its highest point, 6 feet deep and 8 feet wide. A whopping 48 square feet of space. I can barely fit a cot and a few bags and boxes in there. I ended up changing my clothes in other peoples' tents, for the most part.

Next, here's my favorite dress in my Civil War wardrobe. I call it the Daffodil. It's made of a sheer fabric, so it's great for hot weather and really not that much warmer than modern clothing. In fact, it's probably cooler than modern clothing because it's made of cotton, which wicks away sweat and regulates body temperature. Modern clothing is often made of polyester, which is basically a plastic-based fiber.

Here's one with President Lincoln! He says not to believe everything you read on the Internet!

One of my favorite pictures-- the silhouette of my ballgown! It looks like Cinderella or something!

There's a ton of other Civil War reenactment pictures I have, so I might post some more at some point.

In the meantime, I'm going to a costume ball in February, in which I plan to debut my Star Princess costume, so now I'm in crunch mode trying to get that done, so stay tuned!

 

[Server Room Gremlin]

In my native habitat. 😂 Sitting in a rocking chair outside a fellow reenactor's tent, doing embroidery.

Always good to see someone in their natural habitat, doing what they love to do. 😁
My favourite picture is the first one, with the shawl. It's like something you might see in a movie or documentary.

 

[Ellessor]

Wow! I am completely amazed! You are incredibly talented and dedicated. 🤩

 

[Maedhros_Nelyafinwë]

Always good to see someone in their natural habitat, doing what they love to do. 😁

You have spotted a wild Teeny Tiny Timo!

But true, and at this particular reenactment, you'd find hundreds of similarly passionate people!

My favourite picture is the first one, with the shawl. It's like something you might see in a movie or documentary.

Thank you! I wish it was better quality but alas, taken on my phone's camera in dim lighting. Our Christmas dinner was in a local museum, which was cool.

Wow! I am completely amazed! You are incredibly talented and dedicated. 🤩

Aww, thank you!

 

[Vorondil]

Your work is absolutely top hole, wot!

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

Unfortunately, we're limited to a single reaction; I picked 😍, but could equally have gone with 🤯!

 

[Maedhros_Nelyafinwë]

Just posted some pictures on Instagram of my favorite Civil War dress, which I call the Daffodil dress! There are two pictures, so use the arrow on the right to see the second picture.

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

So, I used to write a blog where I wrote detailed posts about how I make my costumes. I also used to post some historical research. Work and school have pretty much decimated my ability to write blog posts regularly. But writing a little on here about my costuming has made me miss blogging, so I wonder if any of you would read it if I started writing some blog posts about my Rooftop dress? I'm also thinking about writing a blog post where I ask an AI to generate pictures of Victorian/Edwardian ladies, and then evaluate the accuracy (or inaccuracy, more likely) of whatever the AI spits out. I was having fun on my Instagram story yesterday where I found an AI-generated image of a "Victorian lady" and then my followers and I roasted the daylights out of it for how inaccurate it was!

Anyway. A few years ago I tried to get my blog back up again by writing a few posts about my Elsa costume. But even though I shared it on my Instagram and told some of my friends about it, I don't think a single person read any of those posts.

So if you want me to start my blog up again, would you please let me know by reading a post from the blog, and then telling me you read one of the posts?

Here's the link: https://ameliaseamstress.wordpress.com/

 

[Server Room Gremlin]

So if you want me to start my blog up again, would you please let me know by reading a post from the blog, and then telling me you read one of the posts?

I went and read through the three posts about the Elsa dress. I found the process quite interesting, even though it's not really in my 'area' of hobbies. Also, since the writing is just your (often enthusiastic) thoughts, it's fairly engaging and not difficult to get through like an essay or something.

I think you should only create more detailed posts about your projects if you really want to. Explaining 'how' you did something can be quite satisfying, especially if you've been trying new things and the results were surprising or exciting in some way.
If you are really happy with how something turned out, and it gives you the urge to write about it, go ahead. Whether lots of people read it or only a few are interested, it'll still be worth it.
But if it becomes a tedious obligation to write about everything you make, then don't write. Better to only do it when the inspiration/motivation strikes.

 

[Maedhros_Nelyafinwë]

I went and read through the three posts about the Elsa dress. I found the process quite interesting, even though it's not really in my 'area' of hobbies. Also, since the writing is just your (often enthusiastic) thoughts, it's fairly engaging and not difficult to get through like an essay or something.

Thanks for reading it, I'm glad you enjoyed it! I try to make things understandable to people who aren't familiar with these things.

I think you should only create more detailed posts about your projects if you really want to. Explaining 'how' you did something can be quite satisfying, especially if you've been trying new things and the results were surprising or exciting in some way.
If you are really happy with how something turned out, and it gives you the urge to write about it, go ahead. Whether lots of people read it or only a few are interested, it'll still be worth it.
But if it becomes a tedious obligation to write about everything you make, then don't write. Better to only do it when the inspiration/motivation strikes.

These are good points. I do take satisfaction in documenting the process, even if only for my own purposes. And I've never had a big following, either on my Instagram or my blog, so I don't do it for the popularity. But at the same time, if I'm going to take the time to post a thing online, I do want at least some people to see it.

 

[Fingon_Findekáno]

You know I’d love to read about Rooftop Christine’s process! I actually still have the tab to your blog open on my phone from a long time ago, and I like to check it out every now and then. 😊

Gorgeous photos of the Daffodil dress!!

 

[Ellessor]

if you want me to start my blog up again, would you please let me know by reading a post from the blog, and then telling me you read one of the posts?

I had fun reading through it! I have done a bit of cosplay sewing in the past (like 18 years ago past 🥴) and I really liked all the detail you included. I've also never tried sewing on sequins even though I love sequins so I'll have to follow the tutorial you linked.

I also followed you on Instagram 😊

Have you ever thought about making a Goldberry dress, or other dresses from LOTR?

 

[Maedhros_Nelyafinwë]

I had fun reading through it! I have done a bit of cosplay sewing in the past (like 18 years ago past 🥴) and I really liked all the detail you included. I've also never tried sewing on sequins even though I love sequins so I'll have to follow the tutorial you linked.

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it! I do try to link helpful tutorials, so I hope it helps you out! Sequin embroidery is really easy and fun.

I also followed you on Instagram 😊

Thank you!

Have you ever thought about making a Goldberry dress, or other dresses from LOTR?

I would love to do some sort of cosplay from the Tolkien universe, but I'm not really sure who. I love the PJ movie dresses, but I'm more passionate about Silmarillion characters. I've thought about cosplaying Luthien but I'm not sure I'm really passionate enough about her character to do that.

I recently bought foam clay to make a crescent moon with for my Star Princess tiara, and there's a ton of it still left, and I've been wondering if I should experiment with sculpting some armor pieces with it before it dries out. Just as an experiment... 👀

You know I’d love to read about Rooftop Christine’s process! I actually still have the tab to your blog open on my phone from a long time ago, and I like to check it out every now and then. 😊

Oh, cool! Did you read the Elsa post series?

Gorgeous photos of the Daffodil dress!!

Thank you! Photo credit goes to my mom, of course!

 

[Fingon_Findekáno]

I've been wondering if I should experiment with sculpting some armor pieces with it before it dries out. Just as an experiment... 👀

Ooh, you’ll have to let me know how this turns out if you attempt it! I would love to create some armor eventually, and I’ve heard some kinds of foam clays could make for great pieces.

Oh, cool! Did you read the Elsa post series?

Way back then I did, yes. Your process and skills always amaze me!

Thank you! Photo credit goes to my mom, of course!

Of course! ☺️ Was the belt buckle something you bought from someone else who made it themself?