|
This cosplay premiered at Ohayocon 2003, and it's been a favorite of mine ever since. Seung Mina is a recurring character in the Soul Calibur series, and cosplaying a tough girl with a zanbatoh was a lot of fun. The jumper is made of green dupioni silk edged with red and blue Chinese brocade and gold lame'. The red lining on the inside hides the raw seams and is stitched to the jumper along the edges. However, since the lining doesn't go all the way to the top, I had to use a strip of fusible web to keep it from falling away. Seung Mina's sash is also made from a piece of dupioni silk. I don't have the artistic skill to paint elaborate designs onto Seung Mina's outfit, so I relied entirely on rich fabrics to carry the cosplay. The back of the jumper is open to just below the waist. I edged the opening with more red brocade and installed large-eye grommets top to bottom in order to lace the back up. Seung Mina's bow stands up, but mine is functional and much floppier. I'm still not happy with that part. Seung Mina's shirt is made from a polyester silk-look fabric edged with more brocade and lame'. To make the blue and gold cuffs, as well as the top edging and straps on the jumper, I joined two strips of brocade alternately with two strips of gold to make a tube. I then turned the whole thing inside out and pressed it flat. The shirt was made from a Simplicity pattern and fastens with Velcro along the shoulder. None of the fabrics are very breathable, so this costume gets hot in a hurry! The zanbatoh attracted a good amount of attention, naturally. My husband made the weapon for me out of dowels and a piece of aluminum that he machined to make the blade. The entire thing collapses down for easy travel - a must if you're flying to a con. Metal blades are a no-no at most cons, so my husband later made a second blade out of plexiglass, which I spraypainted silver. The silk and brocade fabrics and Seung Mina's shoes were purchased on eBay. Brocade can be very expensive when purchased from local fabric stores, but I was able to buy it for about $5/yd. The silk was about $10/yd, but I think the expense was worth it! |
