Post by Amanda on Aug 8, 2013 10:27:04 GMT -5
Hey so I've been working on my Dalek dress for a couple weeks now and it's basically done. Still tweaking the top - more ribbon, more sewing at the edges, and need to fix the hat cause it's too heavy to wear for longer than a minute. I thought I'd share what I've done here [ it was suggested on the facebook page]. I've just copied over much of my blog post that I wrote about it [summer challenge to actually create a blog]. This is my first time ever cosplaying so I'm really nervous as I'm a really shy person. Note: Inserting pics aren't really working for me so I only included the pic of the final dress [without me in it as my sister hasn't had time to snap a photo, but I hope to post that later 
].
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My first step was to cut 20 of the 3" white Styrofoam balls [from Dollarama] in half [10 rows of 4 balls each = 40 half balls]. This was messy. I then placed half of them in a cardboard pop box so that the low sides would keep the balls in place even with the spray blowing pushing them around. I gave them one thick coat of matte black spray paint and then painted the second half of the balls and the whisk [Dollarama] and mini plunger [Canadian Tire]. I had only purchased a small can and ran out of paint without doing a second coat. If I ever do this again I will buy a full-sized can.
For the skirt I bought a curtain from Value Village and I ended up folding the curtain in half and cutting one size down to half my waist measurement plus approximately 2-3". I held the piece up against myself and figured out the length I wanted [just below the knee] and added about 4" so I could hem the bottom and leave some fabric at the top to thread a ribbon. I had to hand sew the pieces because my mom gave away our sewing machine and I couldn't get a hold of another one. The last step was to thread a piece of black ribbon - about 12" longer than my waist - through the top. The top already had a seam because that was where the liner met the heavy fabric of the original curtain.
I grabbed my red ribbon and sewed it to the skirt in order to mark the 10 necessary panels.
Last ribbon step for the skirt: I added black ribbon around the bottom of the skirt to hide the hem job and give the skirt a proper base.
Very last skirt step: attaching the balls. I lightly glued them down and then ran some thread through them a couple times so they would stay put and not fall off. Any black paint that chipped off, I covered the spots in permanent black marker to blend in.
The top:
I had bought a red tank top [Value Village] to go with the skirt. I thought about doing a full Dalek-like pattern on the top, but in the end, the material was way too stretchy. Instead, I added a red, medium-sized rectangle of scrap fabric to both front and back and cut two ribbons to use as waistbands to give more definition to the top. If I find some energy I may sew more red ribbon to the edges of the rectangle.
The neck piece:
I noticed that a lot of Dalek hats/cosplay had some rows of black to give the Dalek costume a neck. I used an old black pillow case and cut out six strips on a curve so that it could go over my head to cover my chest/shoulders. I've noticed that the edges are fraying and you can't really see the three definite rings, so if/when I find some motivation/energy I may try to add definition either through a hem on each ring or by sewing more black ribbon on.
The last step: the Dalek dome.
I covered a bowl [Dollarama] with the last of the red curtain fabric and then glued plastic shot glasses on the top. I covered the base of the eye stalk flashlight [Amazon] with fabric and glued it down as best I could, trying to rest it on the rim of the bowl to give it some extra support. I added some leftover red ribbon to try to hide the seams and give me something to tie the bowl to my head. Next time I would probably try to take more time and cut the fabric more carefully so I didn't get some really weird and ugly folds/seams. It took about an hour.
Wearing the dome, I realized it's very, very heavy at the front with the flashlight - which I had considered, but rejected when I initially bought the flashlight . In order to be able to wear the dome for the required 10-15 minutes I will have to wear a baseball hat backwards to support the front.
I decided to make a plan B. In about 5 minutes I made a headband out of my scrap red fabric and added two shotglass headlamps to it. It looks good and if I decide to cosplay for the entire day this will work well. I also cut out a rectangle of fabric to attach to the headband and made an eyestalk out of a spare half sytrofoam ball, two shot glasses glued at the bottoms and three pieces of ribbon. It looks okay and I'm now considering replacing the flashlight with a version of this, using construction paper instead of ribbon so the three rings are more 3D. The replacement would mean I probably wouldn't need the backup or the baseball hat.
Overall, it took around 7 hours over the course of about 3 weeks. It also cost around $70-80 [$25 for the flashlight which I probably didn't need to buy] including tax.
I plan to straighten my hair day of and wear plain black flats. I will have capris underneath the skirt and carry a tee [Dalek-themed] in my bag in case I get tired of cosplaying.
I think I'm ready for Fan Expo and the Dalek gathering. Any suggestions for improvements are greatly appreciated.
].----
My first step was to cut 20 of the 3" white Styrofoam balls [from Dollarama] in half [10 rows of 4 balls each = 40 half balls]. This was messy. I then placed half of them in a cardboard pop box so that the low sides would keep the balls in place even with the spray blowing pushing them around. I gave them one thick coat of matte black spray paint and then painted the second half of the balls and the whisk [Dollarama] and mini plunger [Canadian Tire]. I had only purchased a small can and ran out of paint without doing a second coat. If I ever do this again I will buy a full-sized can.
For the skirt I bought a curtain from Value Village and I ended up folding the curtain in half and cutting one size down to half my waist measurement plus approximately 2-3". I held the piece up against myself and figured out the length I wanted [just below the knee] and added about 4" so I could hem the bottom and leave some fabric at the top to thread a ribbon. I had to hand sew the pieces because my mom gave away our sewing machine and I couldn't get a hold of another one. The last step was to thread a piece of black ribbon - about 12" longer than my waist - through the top. The top already had a seam because that was where the liner met the heavy fabric of the original curtain.
I grabbed my red ribbon and sewed it to the skirt in order to mark the 10 necessary panels.
Last ribbon step for the skirt: I added black ribbon around the bottom of the skirt to hide the hem job and give the skirt a proper base.
Very last skirt step: attaching the balls. I lightly glued them down and then ran some thread through them a couple times so they would stay put and not fall off. Any black paint that chipped off, I covered the spots in permanent black marker to blend in.
The top:
I had bought a red tank top [Value Village] to go with the skirt. I thought about doing a full Dalek-like pattern on the top, but in the end, the material was way too stretchy. Instead, I added a red, medium-sized rectangle of scrap fabric to both front and back and cut two ribbons to use as waistbands to give more definition to the top. If I find some energy I may sew more red ribbon to the edges of the rectangle.
The neck piece:
I noticed that a lot of Dalek hats/cosplay had some rows of black to give the Dalek costume a neck. I used an old black pillow case and cut out six strips on a curve so that it could go over my head to cover my chest/shoulders. I've noticed that the edges are fraying and you can't really see the three definite rings, so if/when I find some motivation/energy I may try to add definition either through a hem on each ring or by sewing more black ribbon on.
The last step: the Dalek dome.
I covered a bowl [Dollarama] with the last of the red curtain fabric and then glued plastic shot glasses on the top. I covered the base of the eye stalk flashlight [Amazon] with fabric and glued it down as best I could, trying to rest it on the rim of the bowl to give it some extra support. I added some leftover red ribbon to try to hide the seams and give me something to tie the bowl to my head. Next time I would probably try to take more time and cut the fabric more carefully so I didn't get some really weird and ugly folds/seams. It took about an hour.
Wearing the dome, I realized it's very, very heavy at the front with the flashlight - which I had considered, but rejected when I initially bought the flashlight . In order to be able to wear the dome for the required 10-15 minutes I will have to wear a baseball hat backwards to support the front.
I decided to make a plan B. In about 5 minutes I made a headband out of my scrap red fabric and added two shotglass headlamps to it. It looks good and if I decide to cosplay for the entire day this will work well. I also cut out a rectangle of fabric to attach to the headband and made an eyestalk out of a spare half sytrofoam ball, two shot glasses glued at the bottoms and three pieces of ribbon. It looks okay and I'm now considering replacing the flashlight with a version of this, using construction paper instead of ribbon so the three rings are more 3D. The replacement would mean I probably wouldn't need the backup or the baseball hat.
Overall, it took around 7 hours over the course of about 3 weeks. It also cost around $70-80 [$25 for the flashlight which I probably didn't need to buy] including tax.
I plan to straighten my hair day of and wear plain black flats. I will have capris underneath the skirt and carry a tee [Dalek-themed] in my bag in case I get tired of cosplaying.
I think I'm ready for Fan Expo and the Dalek gathering. Any suggestions for improvements are greatly appreciated.
