Azusa Miura – iDolm@ster – Marching Band variation
Wow…this is fifth Azusa variation. What can I say? I love Azusa – she and I have so many similarities. After years of not finding characters that I really like in recent anime, this was a refresher. I actually started on the marching band variation last year when I cannibalized a Macross 7 Max cosplay. The skirt was made last year. I just made the jacket new. There has been a delay in finishing up projects started from last year. I was fairly confident that I could get this done in one weekend.
Ladies and Gentlemen, this is how I spent #Nemo and Nor’easter 2013 – staying indoors watching American Horror Story and making iDolm@ster cosplay.
The fabric is all from the LA fashion district. I used one of my favorite patterns – Simplicity 2581. Originally a Victorian coat pattern, I modified it to be a marching band jacket. Shortening it and elongating the front was no big deal. I took the collar from the first jacket and traced it on to the new fabric to create a new collar for this one.
I got gold trim from Windmill fabrics in town. The original version had marigold trim that I made, but the gold here compliments the fleur de lys buttons that I picked up in the LA fashion district. I love these buttons! The cord is also from the LA fashion district.
This was one of those really interesting projects where it felt like it was layer after layer of things. The lining for the front part is a black bottom weight. The black cuffs and black side thingys were all custom pattern made. The side panels were hand stitched onto the jacket. The epaulettes were from the original design and the gold thingys are scraps from a Sugar Rush cosplay I will be working on.
I don’t know what more I can say about this this jacket, but hand stitching through really thick bottom weights is really tough. I’ve sustained two minor injuries on my right hand, but I know I’ll heal up well in due time.
Look out for this one at Katsucon 2013. It’s already packed and ready to go!