I had my eye on this costume for about 2 years before it was created. I saw the card (from the Madoka mobile game) and I knew I had to make it! Then it became an idea for a crazy skit with my friends as the rest of the cast. It was very time consuming and stressful project (not just the costume, but the whole skit), but it was worth it as we took home Best in Show at SabotenCon 2016!

To start with, I used math to draft out skirt panels, and cut them out of satin (mostly scraps I had). The skirt is kind of like an umbrella with the multi-colored panels, but it is gathered at the top. After sewing all the pieces together, I traced out a lining, sandwiched the lining and shell together, attached them together at the bottom with Heat 'n Bond, and used a scallop stitch on my machine for the bottom edge. I bought all of the rhinestones on Ebay, and painted them with yellow Tint it! spray, and then glued and sewed them onto my skirt. I also created the bows with lighter colors of Casa satin and they snap onto the skirt.

Under the umbrella skirt is another skirt layer made from lining to which I attache 3 rows of chiffon ruffles. I hand made all the ruffles by measuring, cutting, pressing, rolled hemming, and gathering many strips of chiffon. It took forever, but I love the end result! Chiffon is slippery and annoying to work with. The two layers of skirt are sewing into a cumber band made of a pretty textured silk. I wanted to use the same silk for the cuffs, but there wasn't enough.

I used previously used patterns that already fit me for the vest and tailcoat, Although I had to alter them a ton to get the right shape. I find it easier to alter for shape than fit, so it worked for me even though the starting patterns were nothing like my end pieces. The vest is a cotton sateen, and needed pink stripes, so I created my own stripes with a sequin trim. I marked out lines on the fabric with a water soluble marker, attached the trim down with Heat 'n Bond, and then sewed them down before lining the whole thing. Unfortunately, the trim was not color fast, and there are pink stains ALL OVER this vest now. Fortunately, it is mostly covered by the rad tail coat.

For the tailcoat, I knew I wanted it to be flashy, so I made it out of turquoise confetti dot! Confetti dot is sheer, so it has to be flat lined with some opaque fabric. I flat lined it in turquoise poly poplin, and interfaced the tails. It gets bulky, so I eliminated as many seams as I could out of the pattern. This tail coat doesn't actually close in the front and is not meant to. For the gold detailing down the front, I struggled with bias tape before I got smart and used my embroidery machine to make the little U shapes. Then I cut them out and attached them with Heat 'N Bond and a little stitching (sensing a trend here? Heat 'N Bond is GODLY) I also made all the gold bias tape from gold satin and used my Simplicity bias tape maker. I sew it by machine in the front, flip it to the back, and hand sew from the back so the stitching doesn't show. The cuffs on my original coat pattern were actually 100% perfect for this design, with the ruffle hanging down and everything. So I fortunately did not have to alter anything there! The sleeve ruffle is a pretty white chiffon, and the cuff is fuchsia Casa crepe that matched the cumber band as best I could. It needed more pizzazz, so I added hot fix rhinestones to the cuffs.

I actually made my own hat using heavy interfacing and ABS plastic sheets for the brim! Then I covered it with some black knit from my stash before adding the embellishments. I created the striped bow from white Casa satin and laying down ribbon stripes with Heat 'n Bond. It doesn't actually fit over my wig (I would have to make it HUGE to do that), so it just attaches to the wig with alligator clips. I didn't want to create any more striped fabric, as it got bulky quickly, so for the neck and hair bows, I bought some striped quilting cotton. I also made the lavender ribbon with lace trim since I couldn't find anything like it.

I made the tights from custom designed fabric that Luluko designed for the group and had made on Spoonflower. We used the Sport Lycra, since you need really stretchy fabric to make tights/leggings. It is very pricey, but worth it if you need that sort of thing.

For my shoes, I bought some pink shoes from China on Ebay. I created the extra straps by putting heat transfer vinyl on top of a cotton fabric and the straps similar to bias tape. I also made tiny bows the same way. I also jazzed them up with some hotfix rhinestones!

I reused the bloomers and petticoat I made for my magical girl Madoka costume.

The cane was really fun! My husband shaped the PVC pipe and added Freeform Air to make the rounded ends. I did all the sanding and painting on it. Painting in the summer in Arizona REALLY SUCKS! I laid down the primer coat, then the yellow coat, and then taped off the stripe before adding the pink coat, with lots of sanding in between since the paint likes to dry in the air and get my props all gritty because it's SO HOT. Anyways I love the cane, and it's fun to play with it!!

Photos by Orange Slice Media, Deegan Marie, and Eurobeat Kasumi
Kyuubey is KaitoAida, Mami is Luluko, Homura is Lunar Lyn, and Charlotte is Talon