Back in 2021, my Goth daughter Owl's Gaze Cosplay decided to cosplay as Jester from campaign 2 of the popular live-play D&D show Critical Role. Inspired by her work, I decided that the character Yasha would be a great cosplay choice for me, as I too am very tall, fierce, and have a tragic backstory shrouded in mystery.
So I started some preliminary work on the cosplay at the time, getting some 3D printed props and accessories out of the way. But sadly, while my Owl's Jester turned out astoundingly good, my effort fizzled. In part from realizing how absolutely insane this costume is.
So many straps.
So very many straps.
But now, three years later, I'm feeling the kind of cosplay overconfidence that only the afterglow of DragonCon can inspire, and ready to take it on again. Thankfully, this time around I'm armed with the work of cosplayers who have come before me. In particular, the documentation by Shiieldmaiden Cosplay, Norah Dahlberg, and Katie Simrell have given me invaluable insight into how to approach this project.
During the pandemic, I had spent time during the lockdown sewing masks to be donated to medical facilities. That involved making hundreds of bias tape ribbons from fabric for mask ties. So I put that experience to work here, creating ribbon straps from Yaya Han stretch pleather. A 3D printed bias tape folder proved pretty invaluable for this. Word to the wise, though... Heating plastics always releases nasty fumes. Pleather is no exception. So if you use an iron on this stuff, be sure to have good ventilation and proper PPE to avoid bad side effects.
Perceptive readers will note one crucial step that I overlooked with these straps, though. It completely failed to run stitching along the edges. So they aren't keeping their shape very well, and I wouldn't be able to easily use any kind of adhesive to tack the straps together where they crisscross. I'm working on correcting this oversight now, but its sooooo much more tedious than it would have been if I'd just done it the first time around.
Along with that, I've dusted off the props I had started on in 2021, including the massive zweihander sword, "Magician's Judge". Some of these were in need of repairs and surface prep for painting. I had originally printed the sword's cross guard on the SLA printer, which proved too fragile and shattered at some point. So I printed up a more springy and durable copy on the Prusa Mk3S.
As I mentioned in my last post, I'm very much still a novice when it comes to sewing. So I'm probably in way over my depth with this one. But I'm going to give it my best shot. I'm low-key hoping to finish it in time for an event in December which, if I stay focused, should be plenty of time. Focus has not historically been my friend. But I'm certainly welcome to try.
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