Luna Loves Cosplay

- Tops: There are two ways you can do the top portion of Annie's outfit. You can find a simple t-shirt (No V-Neck) that matches or almost matches your skirt and a dark grey/dark blue/greyish purple tank top (No Spaghetti Straps)/t-shirt, or you can get the matching t-shirt and an actual dark grey/dark blue/greyish purple sweater vest. The sweater vest will be harder to find, but it will look the absolute best. If you use the sweater vest method, you don't need to cut anything. If you use the first method with a tank top, try to make sure the tank top has a v-neck. If it doesn't you can cut one into it. If you use the first method with a t-shirt, cut the sleeves off of the t-shirt and also cut a v-neck into the neck. If you cut anything, fold the raw edges under and use fabric glue/super glue/hot glue to secure them and make a hem. Do not cut the shirt that matches your skirt. Next, you will need to make a peter-pan collar using white felt and this tutorial. I would suggest using her first or third pattern. To add extra cuteness to your outfit, you can get some white lace ribbon and fabric glue/super glue/hot glue it to the inside of the sleeves of the shirt that matches the skirt so that a bit of it pokes out. This is optional and just makes the outfit look more girly and cute. 

(GOODWILL*shirts only*: $10 max     WALMART: $30 max)

- Leg Warmers: The easiest way to do this without buying or sewing actual leg warmers is to get some large, calf high, white or light pink socks. Try to find some without the grey on the feet. Cut off the foot of the sock at the toe. Try it on. If it fits on your leg and you can make it look loose, you can move on to making the stripes. If they don't look loose, stretch them out as much as you can. Try to put both of your arms in the sock and pull your arms apart. Once you have them how you want, use some fabric markers in light pink and purple to make the thick stripes on the socks. You can use whatever shoes you want (I think converses or black flats would be best, but use whatever shoes you have if you're on a budget!) (GOODWILL*socks only*: $5 max        WALMART: $20 max)

- "Cat" Ears: You will need a headband, purple and pink felt, cotton balls, and a hot glue gun. Take your pink felt and fold it in half. Cut out two large triangles (it will give you four since you folded the felt in half). Cut two smaller triangles from the purple felt. Use a hot glue gun and glue two of the pink triangles together on all sides except for the bottom and do the same with the other pair. Next, glue a purple triangle to the center of each ear. Stuff a cotton ball into each ear from the bottom and glue the bottom shut. Using the pink felt, cover the headband. Use hot glue to secure it. Place the headband on your head and use a pen, chalk, or marker to mark where you want the ears to sit. Take the headband off and use hot glue to secure each ear onto the headband. (WALMART: $10 max)

- Backpack: You will need a small pink backpack with pink straps. You can also use some white felt and fabric markers to make the two small bear heads that go on each strap. Attach them with hot glue. You can also make the large bear head that goes on the back of the backpack.  (WALMART: $15 max)

- Tibbers: Use a small, floppy, brown teddy bear.  (GOODWILL: $2 max     WALMART: $10 max)

- Wig: There are actually three options for this. The most expensive and most time consuming is to get a wig online. However, this wig will be the most accurate and the most reliable. Second, you could go to your local party store and get a short bob hot pink wig or a long, hot pink wig and cut it to get Annie's style. However, party store wigs are known for being cheap quality and getting tangled easily. Lastly, you could get temporary hot pink hair dye or colored hair spray. This color washes out easily and you will not have to worry about permanently dying your hair. This is the cheapest method, however it will work best if you have lighter colored hair.   (ONLINE: $30 max      PARTY STORE: $20 max      DYE: $15 max)

~From Head to Toe~ Wig: If going for the 11th Doctor, you're going to need a dark brown or "Mahogany" colored wig. For a shorter, boyish look I'd go with something like this. If you're going for the classic Magical Girl look, go with something like this for a base and, of course, twin tails. Alternatively, you can get the "chibi" style from Arda and add twin tails to it, but the chibi does not really work with all head sizes. (ALSO, EBAY IS YOUR FRIEND IF ARDA OR OTHER WEBSITES JUST DON'T MAKE THE CUT~!)

Tiara: The tiara can be made from simple, cheap materials.

 Simple craft foam in any bright color

 Thick white string (I found some at Walmart today on clearance for $1.50!!)

Gold spray paint (You can also use regular acrylic metallic gold paint with a large paint brush or sponge brush if you don't like to use spray paint)

Large oval shaped acrylic gems (found in the craft/bead/glitter section of any craft store or super store)

Bobby pins (as close to the color of your wig as you can get)

Hot glue gun (or simple white glue if you are uncomfortable working with a glue gun)

Scissors or Xacto knife 

Spirit Gum Adhesive or Eyelash glue (OPTIONAL)

*ALWAYS BE CAREFUL WITH HOT GLUE GUNS AND SHARP BLADES*

Firstly, pull your hair back. You want your hairline to be visible.  Place the foam against your head and, using a mirror, draw out a V shape on the craft foam. If it's not perfect, you're fine! This is just a guide! Place your foam on a flat surface and refine the lines. Then, cut out your shape using scissors or an xacto knife on a cutting board. Place the tiara on your head to make sure it fits right. Draw a line on each side about a half inch from your hairline. This will be where the tiara secures into your hair, so just make sure it feels right to you. Place the tiara back on the flat surface and cut along this line. Also, you can trim the edges if they aren't as even as you'd like, but we're going to be covering the edges with string so if they are just a little off it's okay. Cut a piece of string much longer than the tiara just in case you make a mistake. Using a hot glue gun or white glue, carefully place a thin line of glue along the edges of the tiara leaving a little bit of space at the ends where your hair pin will go. As you go, carefully place your string on the glue. Be sure to do this on the bottom as well. If there is any overflow glue, use a toothpick, plastic knife, or even a piece of paper to smooth it out. After you have placed your string, cut off the extra at the end.  Now it's time to paint! If you are using spray paint, always paint outside and use a tarp or old newspaper. You will need at least two coats of paint. If you are not using spray paint, you will need 3 or 4 coats. Be sure to let the paint dry completely before continuing. This will take aprox. an hour or more. 

Once your paint is dry, you can glue on your gem! I do not recommend using self adhesive gems, as they will easily fall off. 

Once your gem is dried, you are ready to wear your tiara! Using bobby pins, secure the ends of the tiara into your hair before you put your wig cap on. You can also use spirit gum or eyelash glue to secure your tiara to your face. Try not to get it in your hair, though! 

Conctacs: Completely optional. You do not have to wear contacts if you don't want to. If you do, I would suggest green colored circle lenses like these. 

Makeup: Do your regular cosplay foundation. If you are a beginner, one of my favorite cosplayers made a guide on youtube for general cosplay makeup. I would suggest Michelle Phan's tutorial for the rest of your makeup. The main thing to focus on here is the eyes. You should make your eyes look as big and cute as possible~!

Choker: A simple dark red strip of ribbon will work for this. Just add a simple snap or even some velcro to the back and viola~! 

Bow Brooch: This is honestly the hardest part of this costume and you may have to redo this part two or three times. But, seriously, how cool is it to have a brooch with "In the name of Gallifrey, I will punish you!" written on it...in Gallifreyan! 

Clay (Fimo or Sculpey work best. White or Metallic Gold)

Roller or Rolling pin

Small, circular cookie cutters (you can find packs of 5 metal cookie cutters at walmart for about 97 cents)

Anything super small and circular you can use to indent into the clay

Xacto knife or craft knife

Gold spraypaint (or regular metallic gold paint and a sponge brush)

Safety Pin or hair bow/hair accessory clip

Small green rhinestones/nail gems

Super glue 

Mod-podge glossy sealer (or any acrylic gloss)

Wax paper

An oven

Patience, patience, patience

 Place wax paper on a flat surface. Roll a good amount of clay in your hands and play with it until it is soft and easy to work with. Roll it up into a small ball, then place it on your wax paper and press it down into a rough circle. Use a roller to roll it out until it is much larger and smoother. Make it as thick as you would like, but not as thick as your finger. Use the second or third smallest cookie cutter to cut out a circle. This will be the main body of your brooch. Use the smallest or second to smallest cookie cutter to indent a smaller circle inside the bigger one, like the design above.  Now there are two ways that you could accomplish this design. They are both simple: 1) Use small, circular objects to indent the design into the clay. (Be sure not to cut through your clay!) Examples of small items you can use are different sized bottle caps, pushpins, small medicine bottle tops. pony beads, melty/perler beads, small keychains, and pen caps. Gently indent the design into the clay and go over it with an xacto knife or small craft knife to get the details right. For the lines, use a piece of thin thread to make the straight lines and go back over it with the xacto knife. For the larger darkened circles, you can mark them with the knife, but you don't have to if you want to put gems on it!  2) Get another piece of clay and roll it into a ball. Smush it out with your fingers and then roll until very thin. Use small, circular objects to cut out the different sized circles (like cookie cutters!) and place them onto your brooch. For the smaller circles, lines, and curves use an xacto knife or small craft knife and a thin piece of thread like in the previous method. 

Once your design is done, it's time to bake your brooch! Use the instructions that are on the back of the clay package. If you can't find them, here is a guide to baking your clay. Once the clay has cooled, scrape off any excess crumbs or bits that might be on it. Now it's time to paint! If you are using gold spray paint, be sure to paint outside on a tarp or old newspaper. Be sure to cover the front of the brooch and the sides evenly. 1-2 coats. If you are using metallic gold acrylic paint, use a sponge brush to evenly apply the paint and get into all the crevasses. 2-3 coats. After the paint is dry, apply mod-podge gloss sealer, or any acrylic gloss. Now you can glue on your gems! Small and medium sized nail gems are the best for this. Take your super glue and apply small dabs on the outer indent ring where the small filled-in circles are. Place your gems on the glue using tweezers, a gem placing tool, or just your fingers, but be careful not to get glue on your hands!  Finally, after the glue has dried and the gems are secured, turn the brooch over and use the super glue or a hot glue gun to secure a safety pin or a hair bow/accessory clip to the back center of the brooch. You can place two or even three if you are afraid of it flopping over. I recommend a pattern like this with one safety pin in the middle and two hair clips facing down so that they will be on either side of your bow. When the glue dries, you are done!  Again, this process may take many tries! If you aren't patient, get a friend to help you! It's a lot more fun to make things with a friend anyway!

Uniform: For the rest of the costume minus the shoes this video tutorial is a PERFECT guide. I would suggest using a brown shiny fabric (stay away from sheer fabrics, vinyl, and pleather) for the collar and the skirt*. Also use a dark red shiny fabric (again, no sheer fabric, vinyl, or pleather) for the bows. There are a few things that the video tutorial does not go over, so I will cover them here. 

**NOTE: If you cannot sew or do not have a sewing machine, you can use hot glue or liquid stitch for a few things such as the bows and the waistband. However, I would STRONGLY recommend finding someone who can sew or has a sewing machine for most, if not all, of the uniform. 

Sailor Collar: Here is a good tutorial and pattern for a sailor collar. In the video tutorial, the collar is sewn on to the shirt. I recommend this, but another way you can attach the collar without sewing is by using small snaps or small velcro circles. You should place two of them on the front V neck where the collar meets: one on each point. Also place two on the shoulders, near the neck . This will keep your collar in place. 

Bows: In the video tutorial, she does not mention that she uses the smaller rectangle (7 by 12) for the main bow part. If you do not want to sew the bow when it is cinched together, or are finding trouble sewing it, use hair elastics or rubber bands to secure the cinch in place. This will be covered by the smallest rectangle (part A) so you won't have to worry about it being seen. For the larger rectangle (7 by 14)cinch it as well, and place it on the back of the smaller cinched piece and slide it through "Part A". Position it to look like the back ribbon pieces. To attach the bows to your costume, use safety pins (I recommend at least two so it won't flop over). 

Shirt: I recommend getting two V-neck shirts. With one of them, cut it to where it sits right below your bust (like in the tutorial). Keep the piece you cut off to make the waistband! Another option for the shirt is to get a white short sleeve leotard. However, these are form-fitting and many of these are not v-neck. This is also a more expensive route. If you do use a leotard, however, you can use the white bias tape to create the illusion that the second shirt does in the first method. 

Skirt: Again, I strongly recommend making your own pleated skirt from the same shiny fabric that you made your collar from. However, you can always buy a pleated brown skirt, but it's not guaranteed to be the same "shinyness" as your collar, nor is it guaranteed to be the length you want. 

Waistband: To make the waistband, follow the tutorial using the scrap of fabric from the shirt that you cut! When you stuff it, you can use hot glue or liquid stitch instead of sewing, but I would always always always recommend sewing.