When I first watched Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler) I loved the idea of the challenge of the various different costumes. In doing an image search, I found this costume and fell in love. It challenged me to try new techniques and to work with new materials. All of the patterns were drafted by myself, which worked really well in some areas and not so well in others. This was my first time dyeing a wig as well as my first time working with wonderflex. The entire costume was made in less than a month and a half while I was working about 53 hours a week and applying to graduate school, so it got to be a bit of a nightmare towards the end, but it got done on time and I'm fairly happy with the end product.
Hat - This is the second hat I've made and it was a lot more complicated than the first one. I used a basic felt costume top hat as a base, but since the brim was not wide enough, and the hat itself was not tall enough, I used wonderflex to get the right proportions. Once the wonderflex was attached to the hat, I covered it in red shot black taffeta. The bow was made out of Casa ivory satin. The jewel was a clear bead that was painted with headlight paint. The feathers (black turkey and duck) were trimmed and shaped before they were glued on. The flowers had their stems trimmed off before they were glued. The fur sections are actually made out of fox tail keychains and had all of the metal parts removed before they were glued to the hat. Since they ranged in size, some were sewn together to achieve the right lengths.
Wig - A cosworx long scruffy in silver. I dyed it a darker grey using a mixture of FW Acrylic ink and rubbing alcohol. It was trimmed into shape after the dyeing process was finished.
Jacket - The pattern was drafted by me since I couldn't find a commercial pattern that had the same fit and flare shape. It is made out of red shot black taffeta, lined with Casa bordeaux satin, and finished with gold bias tape. I'm rather proud of the overall fit for the jacket, but I'm not happy with the way the collar lays.
Shirt & Vest - The patterns of these items were drafted by myself, using a vest and shirt I own as reference. The shirt is made from Casa ivory satin and is the only unlined garment in this costume. The ruffles on the neck, wrists, and chest of the shirt were all gathered by hand. The bow at the neck attached with snaps and the jewel at it's center was made the same way as the one on the hat. The vest front exterior is Casa ivory satin, the back is a lovely gold & silver brocade (because I wanted something rich looking), and it is lined with cotton twill to make it sturdier. Both the shirt and the vest close with snaps rather than buttons because I thought they looked cleaner.
Shorts - The pattern for these was also made by using a piece of clothing I own as reference. They are made out of red shot black taffeta and lined with Casa bordeaux satin.
Bustle Cage - This was probably the hardest part of the costume to figure out, mostly because it's not historically correct in the slightest, and it initially seemed impossible to achieve the correct shape. I decided to use wonderflex since it was the only material I was aware of that could hopefully hold the right shape. The final pattern that was created is made up of 7 vertical pieces and 6 horizontal ones, all of which are made up of doubled up strips of wonderflex. It was shaped using a dressform, a support pillow, and a piece of poster board (see reference picture for more detail). After it was shaped, it was spray painted gold. It attaches at the waist using a belt of pleather and some velcro. The fabric pieces that lay on top of it are Casa ivory satin and a light pink apparel lining. The fur is the same as on the hat. The chain is a jewelry chain with metal charms attached to it at random intervals.
Skull - I bought the basic resin skull for about $15 from an ebay seller. I then made a basic veil out of 1.5 yrds of Casa ivory organza and Casa ivory tulle. The veil was then artfully tattered by my cosplay teammate Sara. It was then glued to the skull, and the flowers and feathers were glued on top of it.
Shoes - Plain black penny loafers with a bit of a heel, that were unfortunately about half a size too big. The bows were made out of Casa ivory satin and the flowers (that were some of the leftovers from my skull) were glued onto the top of the bows. The bows were attached with magnets, rather than glue, and I really liked the ease of it, so I'll probably use that technique again in the future.
Awards: 2nd Place Master's Presentation ~ Anime Boston 2010
