What We Do In Minnesota During the Winter ... An Adventure in Cosplay Costuming Pt 1

As we have already seen temperatures dipping into the negative double digits here in Minnesota this year, our scheduled outside activities are dwindling to a bare minimum. What does that mean? Well, more sewing and crafting, of course. For us this year, winter will be filled with preparation for the upcoming Spring and Summer conventions. That means Cosplay costuming! Last year we made costumes from our favorite geeky movie, Gamers 2: Dorkness Rising. This year we want to tackle Companions of the Hall costumes (for the uninitiated click on the link for more info).

This is the first post of what I am sure will be many in our journeys to become our favorite companions. First up, roll call...

Drizzt  ................................... Rae
Wolfgar ................................ Steffie
Bruenor ................................ Ralene (that's me)
Cattie Brie ............................ Crysta
Rigel ..................................... ???

My character, Bruenor, is a Dwarf fighter in the Forgotten Realms world. And, as we all know, Dwarves are Scottish, right? Taking that and running with it, I've decided to make a caramel brown cotton lolita skirt (pretty plain ... flat waistband, 3/4 circle, with ruffled hem) topped with a dark rose/blue/caramel plaid bustle skirt. I haven't quite decided for sure what I'm going to do with the upper portion of the outfit yet. I have a couple of options. My first option is to make a silver pvc corset, which will stand in the place of a breast plate. If I do this, I will put it over the top of a white, ruffled button down shirt. I've also thought about making a matching, hooded plaid vest to wear over the shirt. Furry brown boots will be a must. I'm also going to accessorize with a bright red cosplay wig and a small pouch made to look like a round shield with a foaming mug of ale embroidered on it.

For Steffie's Wolfgar outfit, I'm going to make her a similar caramel brown underskirt. Instead of a bustle skirt, I think I will make her a dark brown ruched cotton overskirt with channels and ties on each side so that the hemline can be raised and lowered. I want to trim out the overskirt in a dark brown fur. I've already bought her a ruffled white dress shirt to go with the outfit, and we found an awesome overbust corset from Corset-Story that is different shades of brown with leather accents.She will have a battle hammer as a weapon, and I think I will end up making some fur bracelets and big fur bow for her hair as accent pieces.