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

My Next Adventure - Elf of Mirkwood

First official look at Tauriel from Empire

So, as many of you might already know, Empire Magazine released the first official picture of Tauriel from the upcoming film in the Hobbit trilogy "The Desolation of Smaug" about a week ago. And then, only two days ago, the first trailer for the film was released -- featuring this new Elven guard of Mirkwood! Can you see where I'm headed with this? :D If not, allow me to spell it out for ya...

The idea began to form when the first official picture of Tauriel was released.

I had seen her in the live event with Peter Jackson back in March, but I immediately jumped on the band wagon that so many other people have joined, featuring comments akin to this:

"Why did they have to add her?? So stupid!"

"And she's not even in the book!"

"A female elf warrior? I think not!"

Well, you get the idea.

And this was exactly my mindset until just recently. Then appears this new photo...and I begin to think how much fun it might be to recreate that costume and wear it to the midnight premiere of The Desolation of Smaug in theaters.

But, I kept these thoughts to myself, and decided to wait for the first trailer of the movie to appear so I could see Tauriel in action, and determine whether she would be worth cosplaying.

The trailer releases. And I am totally won over by her sheer awesomeness. :D (I will keep my other thoughts about the trailer to a minimum, but basically, OHMYWORD IT WAS AMAZING I CANNOT WAIT UNTIL DECEMBER EEEEEEEPPP!!!) So anyway.... ;)

So, as you have probably figured out by now, I have officially found my next adventure.

Becoming an elf of Mirkwood.

Introduction

This blog has been a long time coming. I've made several attempts at these, but...they all ended up dying after a few lame blog posts. But I am determined to keep this one alive. :D So go ahead and follow me or whatever, and I will do my best to entertain you with my adventures. ;)

The first real update on my adventures will be posted tomorrow -- so check back then for my next post!

Until then!

-An Elven Princess