OTAKON PREP (2) - MAYUSHI

One of my good friends Julia introduced Stein's Gate to me, in hopes that I would cosplay with her as one of the main girl characters in the anime. And so, after watching a few episodes and becoming a fan, I've agreed to cosplay Mayuri Shiina, or Mayushi for short.

Above: Mayushi pic from Stein's Gate Wiki.

I started on the hat first, but after making two versions, I quickly discovered that I wasn't satisfied with the results so I won't go too into too much detail here.

Above: [LEFT] Hat V.1

[RIGHT] Hat V.2

Hat V.1:

Procedure: Circle top sewed onto a donut-shaped outer ring. White band tied around like a headband

Verdict: Too small, unstable. Doesn't have the desired shape.

Above: Using my pencil as a thread unraveler.

Hat V.2:

Procedure: Divided the hat into 3 parts - the top, the sides of the hat, and the rim. I made sure to give a bit more room to my measurements, used a hat I had as a model, and sewed on rigid paper to help mold the desired hat shape.

Verdict: Too wide at the back, unstable. Closer to the desired shape, but not to my satisfaction.

Above: Sewing the paper onto the insides of the Hat V.2.

Conclusion: For Hat V.3, I'm buying/making a hat mold first, on which I will just cover with fabric.

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For Mayushi's top, I also made two versions, and decided that Top V.2 will be the working version I will shape into the final product.

Top V.1:

Procedure: I used newspapers to pattern out the top design.

Verdict: Waist too wide, sleeves too puffy.

Above: Newspaper patterning.

Above: Sleeves turned out too puffy.

Top V.2:

Procedure: I divided the dress part with the top, and used a smaller t-shirt as a model. I left the sleeves not sewn for now.

Verdict: Somewhat satisfactory. There are a few modifications I'd still like to do, like hem the dress and fix the alignment of the ruffles.

Above: Working more modularly.

Above: Sewing the lace on.

Above: Current product, as of now.

Conclusion: Fairly satisfactory. After sewing the sleeves and making minor adjustments, Top V.2 will be finished.

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So after all this, I ended up using nearly 4x1 yards of light blue fabric and several colors of thread. Since I hand sewed everything, I ran out of thread fairly regularly and substituted all sorts of differently colored thread. I also got really good at tying knots and threading needles, haha. Next Otakon prep update: arts for the Art Show!

Above: Notice the empty spools to the right - time to buy new thread!