Tauriel Cosplay - Leather Bodice Mock-Up

Tadaaa!! Let me just say, this mock-up turned out 100% better than the dress mock-up I did a couple days ago - this is, of course, due to the fact that I spent a whole lot more time on this one, but regardless, here it is. :D (click image for larger view)

I'm seriously getting really excited about this costume. If all goes as planned, I think this thing is gonna turn out pretty epic... :D But anyway, back to the mock-up!

So, this bodice/armor/whatever-you-want-to-call-it took me about 2 days to complete (obviously I didn't spend all my time working on it, but you get the idea). As I'm currently on vacation and don't have a sewing machine, it's only pinned. Hopefully when I'm back home I'll get around to sewing it... but no promises. ;)

As you can probably tell, it's made of denim, as I figured this would mimic the leather that I will be using for the real bodice better than the thinner fabric I had on hand.

The front is made of 8 separate panels, 4 on each side. The two in the front form princess seams. As a side note, I seriously adore the shape of this... it really is very flattering. No wonder Tauriel wanted to wear it. ;)

Anyway... For the real version, I'll put a corset in the back. I've got a fairly good amount of experience with grommets, as I had to put in alot for an Arwen (fromr Lord of the Rings) dress I made last year... (maybe one day I'll take the time to upload my journal entries for that adventure. Buuuuut not today... ;) I'm not really looking forward to getting acquainted with grommets again, but they look so awesome that it'll definitely be worth it. ;)

Another thing that I'm leaving for when I make the real version is the two little extra panels at the top of the neckline. Not even sure if I'll end up adding those, but we shall see. :)

Tauriel Cosplay - Dress Mock-Up

SOOOO my first draft of the mock-up for Tauriel's dress is COMPLETE. Take a look:

Ok, so, as you can see, this is obviously a very rough draft. Like... VERY rough. I was even too lazy to make sleeves. O.o See, I was really feeling the urge to get something done on this costume, but today I was kind of short on time. As you can see, I ended up doing it anyway. ;)

There's a couple things I plan on changing with the new mock-up:

First, I found a new way to pattern the bodice portion, so that I can get the collar like Tauriel's, which stands up and looks quite nice. Second, I'm going to have a seam between this new bodice piece (and also the back) and the skirt. That sounds kind of confusing...but don't worry, I'll show you what I mean soon. :D

Tauriel Cosplay - Dress Design

This elven princess has been rather busy as of late, so work on my latest adventure (making a costume inspired by The Hobbit movie trilogy's Tauriel) has been slow. Actually, it's been non-existent - hah!

But never fear, I haven't been completely idle in the past month since my decision to make this costume!

Obviously, you can't just jump into the creation of a new cosplay. Well, I can't anyway. ;) Thus, I've been doing alot of research on patterns and fabrics lately.

Research - complete. Yay!

Next thing I needed to do was create an artistic rendition of just exactly what I was planning on making. This always helps me collect my thoughts and get ideas for patterning.

Speaking of patterning, I've decided to free-hand this entire costume. Yup - this girl is sayin' adios to expensive patterns! Oh yeah! :D This will be my first time sewing something without a pattern, so I'm pretty excited - and scared. But that's besides the point. ;)

SO obviously now I've got even more reason to draw out just exactly what I plan on doing on paper - or rather, in this case, computer...

So without further ado, here is my virtual mock-up of the dress portion of Tauriel's costume. Hopefully this will become a reality soon! :D