The Taming of Drisella's Wig: The Process

This last weekend I got to wear Drisella with Hustle and Bustle Cosplay and Ginger Lass Cosplay to Disney's D23 expo! It was a lot of fun: I am still hunting down pictures of us, so if you find any, let us know on Facebook! 

One of the most frequent questions I was asked (besides "can I take your picture?" and "did you make that?!") was "How did you do your hair?" I actually thought far enough ahead to take progress pictures this time, so here is how I managed her hair.

Drisella's hair (left) from Disney's Cinderella (2015).

This is what the wig looked like to start: I got it second hand from one of my teachers, and thought the color and curl would be just right for Drisella. The wig hadn't been used in years, so I decided to give it a bath.

 

I used a gentle dish soap and warm water to wash it, being careful not to agitate it too much: not sure if this applies to all wigs, but this one in particular loved to tangle on itself. I hung it in the shower to drip dry a bit before transferring it to a towel on a wig head.

Oh, and a friendly reminder: don't forget to put a strainer in your drain before you wash your wig. This is the aftermath of Drisella's bath.

Here is the wig after it had dried the rest of the way. My brother said it looked like a dead rat: he wasn't too far off.

This is the wig after "brushing". I use that word lightly: the wig itself didn't want to be combed or brushed with any sort of comb or brush. I ended up finger combing it, which the wig was much more receptive to. It ended up having a lot more volume than I expected.

First, I pinned down the wig. I like to pin twice in the back, once on each side in front of where the ear will be, and once at the center of the forehead. This usually keeps the wig from moving while styling.

Next I pulled up the bangs of the wig, separating them from the rest of the hair. The front of her hair forms waves that go up towards her left, so I wanted to do that section last.

Next, I wadded the hair behind the front of the left side, spraying it and pinning it in place to create a bump. Then I pulled the front hair over the bump, twisting slightly to give it dimension. 

Next, I pulled up the hair on the right and teased it in, spraying and pinning as I went. Again, I kept the forward section free to use for covering.

I pulled it over the bump, making sure to tuck in the ends. There are probably more bobby pins and hairspray in this wig than in most bathrooms. I made sure to tuck up the back hair as well, smoothing as I went.

Finally, I arranged the bangs on the top of the wig and along the right bump. Lots of hairspray was used to smooth and set this wig.

All in all, I think it was worth it to style the old wig rather than buy a new one: the curl and frizziness made it easier to tease and style, as it would not heat curl. Hopefully my next wig will be easier!!

Future Cosplay and Costume List

One of the questions I get the most is "what are you doing next?", and while usually the answer consists of varying commissions and stitching jobs, there is another list that doesn't get brought up often: My future costume plans for myself. 

Near Future: Drusilla, Guard Captain Aveline, April, Mrs. Frizzle

Drusilla (Cinderella):

I will be doing Drusilla from the most recent Cinderella movie with Hustle and Bustle Cosplay and Ginger Lass Cosplay for this year's D23 Expo! Watch for my Wicked Fun posts: I will be posting my progress throughout the process.

Guard Captain Aveline (Dragon Age 2):

Have I mentioned that I can do the Aveline face? That one face, the one that says "how did I become den mother to the rowdiest refugees ever?"? I will be doing this one with Ginger Lass Cosplay again, and it will be my first attempt at armor. No pressure.

April (Lumberjanes):

If you haven't heard of Lumberjanes yet, GO LOOK IT UP RIGHT NOW. Don't worry. I can wait. It's like a Girl Scout camp, if Girl Scouts camped in the dog park of Welcome To Nightvale. I'll be doing this one with The Penguin Knight, so look out for pictures coming soon.

Mrs. Frizzle (Magic School Bus Series):

Take chances! Make Mistakes! Get Messy! This one is just waiting on me finding the right fabric (I am a picky, picky lady). Probably coming to a blog post near you sometime around Halloween this year.

Future: Female! Blackwall, White Mage, Misdreavus/Mismagius, Nightvale Eternal Scout, Fili/Kili,  Orlesian Gown, Journey Variant, Roller Derby Ygritte, Sailor Saturn

Blackwall: Female Version (Dragon Age: Inquisition):

If you follow me on Tumblr or have heard me lamenting about Dragon Age in person, you know I have a big, giant soft spot for Blackwall. I also find that he is direly under represented in cosplay! I had a fan art I wanted to cosplay, but I can't seem to find it. Hopefully I will find it, or I will work something up on my own.

White Mage (Final Fantasy XIV):

I play a LOT of RPG style games: both Western and Eastern. But I have always leaned towards healing classes, especially in Final Fantasy. This is my favorite version from the series so far.

Misdreavus and Mismagius Gijinkas (Pokemon Series):

This is a tentative one that I want to do with Hustle and Bustle Cosplay. Hopefully we'll have designs and a timeline before the end of the year.

Nightvale Eternal Scout (Welcome To Nightvale):

Another idea with Hustle and Bustle Cosplay, as well as with The Penguin Knight. This mock up  was made by That Astronaut. We'll probably do something different, but this is more or less the idea. 

Fili and Kili (The Hobbit Series):

This one is planned with Hustle and Bustle Cosplay some time next Summer or Fall. We are still debating if we want to do a female version, or if we want to crossplay the original versions.

Orlesian Gown (Dragon Age: Inquisition):

Originally, I had planned to design and make a formal Orlesian gown with a friend for Labyrinth of Jareth this year. But with my heavy costume load at the moment, it looks more likely to happen next year.  

Journey Variant (Journey):

The Penguin Knight introduced me to Journey last fall, and we have been bandying around a variant on the costume ever since. I have a design floating around somewhere in my sketchbook, but that sketchbook is currently AWOL. Once we get started, I will probably either redraw it or find and post it.

Roller Derby Ygritte (Game of Thrones):

Another sketch lurking in that AWOL sketchbook, this costume is being planned with Hustle and Bustle Cosplay and Ginger Lass Cosplay. I will probably share more pictures once we finalize things.

Sailor Saturn - NoFlutter Version (Sailor Moon Series):

This one is tentatively planned with some friends of mine, but it's really up in the air for now.

Eventually: Velma, Rosetta, Ariel's Blue Outfit, Female! Bilbo, Nurse Joy, Anastasia, Leliana - Origins, Leliana - Inquisition, Umbreon, Hawke House Outfit

Velma (Scooby Doo):

One of my favorite characters of all time, I want to do this for a more casual cosplay.

Rosetta (Disney Fairies):

I've bounce the idea for doing Rosetta around for a couple years ever since a friend suggested it. This will probably end up being a lighter, summer cosplay.

Ariel's Blue Outfit (The Little Mermaid):

Another childhood favorite, I prefer this dress over her pink ballgown.

Bilbo Baggins - Female Version (The Hobbit Series):

The idea for this came from an article I read about a mother who changed Bilbo's pronouns from male to female to give her daughter someone to look up to. This picture by Lady Lawga is close to the idea that I have.

Nurse Joy (Pokemon Series):

I want to get a whole bunch of people together to all dress as Joy. Then have a crazy hijinks ensue moment.

 Anya's First Outfit (Anastasia):

 This outfit always looked so comfortable and cute, especially with the hat. Perhaps I will get someone to cosplay the other two gentlemen as well.

 Leliana's Chantry Robes (Dragon Age Origins):

What is not to love about this outfit? It's pink. It's shiny. It has Leliana in it. Fun fact: My first play through of Dragon Age: Origins I accidentally made my character look almost exactly like her.

 Leliana's Spy Master Outfit (Dragon Age: Inquisition):

The only thing better than Leliana's Chantry robes is her outfit in Dragon Age: Inquisition. The only problem with it is it will take forever and a day to do it the way I want, thus it's on hold until I have the time and patience to take care of it.

 Umbreon Gijinka (Pokemon Series):

A group of my friends decided to do a group of Eeveelution gikinkas: I don't think I will be able to participate in time, but I realized I have almost all the fabrics for a Umbreon Cosplay! The design for this will be worked out when I have the time.

Hawke's House Outfit (Dragon Age 2):

Because who couldn't use cute, comfy pajamas for cosplay?

Wicked Fun: Preparations

I have a happy announcement to make: I will be cosplaying Drusilla from the latest version of Cinderella with Hustle and Bustle Cosplay and Ginger Lass Cosplay!

I'm super pumped! Already went shopping for fabric (I get to use the most fantastically obnoxious colors), draped and cut out the corset. We will be making the corset, bloomers, and dress, maybe even the shoes!

Anastasia and Drusilla Undergarment Fabrics

 Sizing Up the Corset.

 Labelling EVERYTHING is the most important part of a corset.

Gussets EVERYWHERE.

A post on corset construction is incoming, so be on the lookout for that!!

Young Flemeth: The Process

From start to finish, this has been a fun project: I wish I had remembered to take photos at all of the steps to give a more in depth tutorial! Instead, here's the process I went through to make her.

 I started with a basic sketch, which I inked. Initially, it was supposed to be an all-in-one garment. This would change later. 

Next, I refined the sketch and tested out two color schemes: At this point I would have had to make a separate under skirt and sleeves to create the effect I desired, so I decided to split the dress into two simpler dresses: an under-dress with light decoration, and an overdress with lots of decoration. 

I did a pair of leaves on the red under-dress: I thought of doing more, but since I was on a deadline for school, I decided I wanted to focus most of my effort on the outer-dress embroidery. I started with the vines around the neck, pictured here.

 

Then I applied the roses. The roses are made of silk taffeta cut on a bias, then folded in half and rolled into flowers. They were easier to make than I thought. Maybe I will posted a tutorial later!

And here are the final shots! The under-dress is red linen, and laces up the back. The overdress is a heavier rayon material, with the sleeves lined in the same red taffeta that the flowers are made of. The crystals on the belt are sea glass pieces that I covered myself, and the belt was a loan from a friend. I am hoping to later add a wig and horns to this piece, to make it more Flemeth-y.