hand-made stuff by me

Oh, there’s no need to be sorry! :) Welcome! And yes, I do! I have a Deviant Art account, which I use as a gallery to showcase my finished stuff: 

https://www.deviantart.com/mihoyonagi

And I have an Etsy Store for my finished but unpurchased items:

Buffy Summers (prophecy episode) from BTVS :)

Rita here is hand made by me. She stands 11 inches tall, 7 inches wide, and is made from fleece, featuring plastic safety eyes. Her clothes are an amalgamation of machine and hand-stitching, and were pattered by me. They are a mix of fabrics ranging from cotton, to cotton-poly blends Her hair is fleece, while her goggles are flannel. her pockets are functional  One stocking is made of double-layered organza, while the other is the same red-orange of her coat with sew-on ribbon stripes. She was made on commission and is therefore not for sale. 

Eren here was made as a gift, and is not for sale. He was made entirely by me, and is an amalgamation of machine and hand sewing. He measures 11 inches tall, and with his arms stretched out measures 7 inches wide. His body and hair are made of fleece, and he is stuffed with hypoallergenic polyester fiberfil. His boots, belts, and waist wrap are made from faux leather, and his shirt is made of a simple cotton blend. The strings on his shirt is a single strand of embroidery floss. His jacket is made from faux suede. The patterns for his body and his clothing were all self-drafted. His eyes are iron-on transfer paper, and his mouth and nose are hand-painted.

I’ve got some stretch lace and soft cotton knit infinity scarves up for sale at the moment! Help a girl out ;)

Sylveon and Shiny Umbreon hoodies I made on commission, made to fit the Build A Bear plush Eevee. Since these were made on commission, they are not for sale! They are made from fleece, made by a pattern I devised myself, and are an amalgamation of machine and hand sewing.

So, here they finally are, the finalized pictures of my Archer!Leafeon cosplay.

Let’s break it all down:

The top consists of a base made from standard cotton fabric, over which I’ve ruffled lace for the top most portion, with lace gently gathered and left hanging loose for the bottom portion.

Draped over one shoulder is a kind of shawl I’ve made with the same leather fabric as the rest of the costume as the sash portion, then with some beautiful light green chiffon I bought years ago from the fabric district in Dallas and have been hoarding for special use ever since. The detailing on it is a very gentle, sprawling flower design in black.

White knit tights are the white portion of the pants. I’ve made a pair of leather short pants that have no seams up the side, that instead buckle the entire way (four on each side). The leather is upholstery fabric, same as the sash and arm gear, since I wanted it to be durable, with hand-sewn faux moss and baby’s breath flowers. I’ll have more pictures of the smaller detailing of the costume forthcoming soon.

The bracer on my forearm is hand made from the same leather as the previously mentioned portions of the costume. The inside in lined with brown cotton fabric, so as to be comfortable against my skin, with three gold buckles holding it closed. 

The leaf/scale portions of the arm and shoulder armor are unique; using a guitar pic punch, I punched out about 500+ pics, bent them in half down the middle, punched holes in the larger rounded side with a leathering punch, then spray painted the lot, both sides, and hand-sewed each individual one on. I originally acquired the material to make the pics from a dear friend who works at Starbucks; she’d save me all of the unused or used up gift cards the store was planning on throwing away. Depending on the shape, I can get about 3-4 pics from each card. I used this same method for the armor on my bicep, as well as the armor on the top of my shoes.

The shoulder armor was my first worbla project. I designed one large leaf and two smaller leaves using craft foam, heated the worbla using my heat gun, and followed the instructions of various tutorials I’ve found on the web. The shoulder armor is attached to a necklace I made using the same leather and lace as the rest of the costume. I attached it to the shoulder piece, then to the armor on my biceps, to keep it all from shifting away or falling off. It’s surprisingly comfortable, and doesn’t shift around much at all. Again, more pics featuring the detailing should be coming soon.

The glove was a challenge. It’s meant to mimic an archer’s glove, used for protection, and covers only my index and middle finger. It’s attached to a leather and lace bracelet, and closes with a snap on the glove portion, but buckles for the bracelet

Now we get into the props. The quiver is removable (so I can sit if I need to), attached to the pants with leather strapping. It’s actually a large metal tin that a different Starbucks friend saved for me (I love tins and boxes!). I covered it with leather. And, here’s the fun part; the top of the tin is made to look like it contains moss and flowers that hold the arrows, but it’s actually about an inch-thick piece of floral foam cut to size. The arrows are only about 4 inches of dowel that have had feathers attached, then glued into the foam. Using the ‘arrow’ ends as a handle, I can pop off the top and use the can to store anything I need to carry with me (cosplaying is hard when you don’t have secret places to stash your belongings).

The bow is a floral foam circle I’ve cut into fourths, and, using two of those pieces, have attached to a wooden dowel piece in the middle as a handle. It’s been painted, capped with leather, and has leather strapping detailing. The bow string is just twine attached with jump rings, in case I need to take it off at cons. Just like other parts of the costume, there is faux moss and baby’s breath attached.

The free-standing arrow is a wooden dowel with feathers on one hand, and a sculpted polymer clay tip.

The ears are made of fleece, attached to a headband, and feature a wire skeleton, making them easy to bend and pose.

My 7-year-old nephew has been begging me for months to make him Link’s costume; Legend of Zelda is his -absolute- favorite thing in the world. So, I surprised him! Tunic and hat are simple knits, and his sword and shield are plush versions I patterned myself. I sewed some wig-clips into the brim of the hat so it stays on no matter what, and the belt is fleece with velcro. 

Honestly, since he’s so young, I worried that I’d have to direct him how to pose a bit more than I’m used to. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case; as soon as I told him I wanted to take pictures, he started posing all my himself. He narrated the entire thing, too, which was a bonus of cute; “Okay, aunite Jess, now I’m going to do a spin attack! Okay auntie Jess, now I’m going to fight some moblins!”

He, however, insisted on wearing what he calls his ‘moon boots.’ Too cute.