I'll be making my own Halloween costume this year! No more $20 store-bought disasters! I'll be making this: It's a Scholar from Final Fantasy XI. It's my favorite class to play. I've bought a pattern that I'll modify to make the coat. It's pattern C (the pink one) at this page: http://www.simplicity.com/p-2080-misses-jackets-and-vests.aspx I'll be making it out of brown suede. I'll have to modify the front to be more open. I've never sewed anything more than a button, so this should be fun. This weekend I'm going to Goodwill to hunt down the shoes, skirt, and scarf. I'm ordering the graduation cap from an online store. It should cost about $6. I'll keep y'all updated on this.
Ok! I went to Goodwill, Walmart, and Hancock Fabrics to get the first of mah stuff. Here's what I have so far! Socks ($2) & Shoes ($12) Skirt ($2) Undershirt ($4.20) Suede fabric ($13 for 3 yards) and Buttons ($6.25 for all of 'em) My mom has a sewing machine, so she'll be helping me turn that cloth into a masterpiece. Or, y'know, something decent enough to wear.
I'm gonna buy the hat or borrow it from someone who graduated in black. My school's color is blue, unfortunately, or I would definitely use my own cap. As for the vest, I decided to go cheap and just wear a white button-up shirt underneath. The level 70 version of the Scholar's outfit (Argute Gown) has a shirt underneath the coat, so I figure it'll be ok... I hope.
The pattern arrived in the mail and I've got the front cut out. A new friend helped me make sense of the sewing pattern and taught me how to pin it down, cut it, and mark spots for matching up the pieces later. She also explained seams, a couple of folds, and pretty much the whole process. I should have everything cut out by the end of next week!
I'm almost done cutting the pattern out. I've only got the collar left to go. Here's my progress in pictures! I laid out the pattern on the cloth: I pinned everything down carefully: I extended the size of the lower half of the sleeve. Hopefully, this will make the lower sleeve puff up: I cut out each piece: And I sewed on all the markers, as the pattern indicates: Once I cut out the collar, I'll take everything home and sew it up. Then I'll go to Hobby Lobby and get some red, blue, and gold cloth for all the detail work.
Wow, I just had a thought - our grandmothers and great grandmothers did this all the time. Go to the local sewing store and find a pattern, then cut it out and make their kids or themselves a dress. ( In the case of people like Liet, his grandfather made him a dress too. ) This is nothing new, but it just doesn't really happen nowadays, unless, like TKO is doing, it happens to be for a costume party. Nowadays, people just buy all their fancy 7even jeans and Polo shirts.
Done! [pic removed mwaha] Ok so I still have to add one thing to the pockets, but otherwise it's done. I'm just waiting for the hat to arrive in the mail. Then I need a staff.
Be sure to show us the full 100% complete costume when all the stuff arrives. Does Scholar have glasses?
Yep. I'll be keepin' my glasses on. And I'll take a pic of the full thing pretty soon. If my roommate found her graduation cap, I'll have a full-costume pic tomorrow. If she didn't, I'll have a pic when my cap arrives in the mail.
It was a crappy pic. Full pic of the finished costume will be here tomorrow. I want to post pics of the details more than anything. Here we go! I finally got the hat. It's a plush party hat but it works fine for the costume: I figured out the whole "need a big ugly brooch on the left shoulder" bit that was missing: I used two pieces of ribbon and put 'em together w/ a sewing machine, then manually added the medallion. I recently finished the pockets: I like them because they actually open. I'm very proud of the buttons. They were a pain to set up, but the end result was pretty good: For the details on the collar, I just used the same ribbon as I did on the medallion. Since the collar is curved, and ribbon doesn't curve very well, I had to make some folds. Otherwise it looks good: I added a button at the end of it instead of making a pointy metal end like the costume calls for. I figured this was easier. Here's the pic that was up before. It doesn't have the pockets finished since I only got to those last night:
No vest inside = fail! Just kidding. Aside from that, this is pretty damn good. And it probably took less time to make than getting Scholar to 75. Has the Halloween festival started yet? I might log in just to get the new Halloween items in FF11. I think I still need a Treat Staff +.
