Dragon Age Inquisition Cosplay - Orlesian Skirt

My Dragon Age Inquisition cosplay has been only a thought for a couple of years now,  but I'm determined to finish it in 2019. So I got the pattern out one night and cut out every piece of the layered skirt.

Layer 1 - Underskirt

I scrounged some fabric from my many boxes and made a simple, full-length, A-line skirt that I could wear on its own, separate from the cosplay.

See the odd black pattern on the back where I JUST ran out of fabric? Ha ha! This pattern uses a lot of fabric.

Layer 2 - White cotton underskirt.

Looks like I mostly forgot to take a photo of this in progress, but you can see it on the final skirt.

Layer 3 - Moth wings

These were the complicated part of the skirt, because I had elected to do them in satin for the more formal ballgown look. And satin is slippery.
I did them as separate 'petals', so that the layers and drape would look more like the original gown. 

Once sewn, all of the moth eyes were fabric printed on using the lino cuts I had designed and carved for this project.

It's always a slight risk printing directly onto your finished, sewn product, but I was confident. As long as I let the black dry before I put the copper on, it would turn out fine.

Each part was a top layer, sewed together with a bottom layer, and turned through so that the seams were on the inside. A lot tidier than simple hems, particularly with the satin.

It was a LOT of sewing with very slippery fabric....

And I had it draped everywhere!

But it was coming together according to my plan.

I sewed the wing designs on rather than paint them, so that the effect was subtler. 

Lots and lots of pinning followed, trying to work out how the individual layers would hang. The white underskirt and all of the satin were sewn together as a single skirt, with a substantial, solid waistband to hold all of it up.

But can you see how it all came together?

I think you can really see the moth wing effect at the front!

The finished skirt! 

Just the matching corset top to make, and the hand-painted stand-up butterfly collar.....

#lovelypennypatterns

Dragon Age Inquisition Cosplay Planning

My most ambitious foray into cosplay is going to be costumes from Dragon Age Inquisition, one of my favourite games. I loved the whole Dragon Age series, and am waiting impatiently for the fourth one to be announced...

I believe in doing things properly. And I'm mindful that anything I dress up in is subject to photographs being taken and posted publicly online. I would rather not make the 'Comicon Worst Attempts at Cosplay List'.

When I do a cosplay, I also make two so that my friend does it with me. She was a Journey traveller, will be the Harley Quinn to my Poison Ivy at some stage, and will be an extremely well-dressed Orlesian with me by the time this cosplay is done.

It took some planning. 

Inspiration photos from the concept art book and the game itself.

Bonnie Sims, merchant (cosplay friend)

Duchess Florianne de Chalons (me)

Very basic design sketches for elements of the outfits.

The stand-up ruff for the duchess is going to be challenging, especially given that it has a scalloped edge on top. I was lying in bed awake at midnight the other night thinking about creating a sleeve, sewing wire into it, and then hand-painting...

Both costumes have ball skirts, which will require underskirts to get the full volume.

And some inspiration and research into what I can base things on, and what materials I need.

For the duchess' skirt, I have decided to print the moth-eye-like patterns onto the fabric, rather than trying to sew them.

I have designed and cut out a lino print block to do it, and have bought the brown and orange fabric paint to use. The fabric prints will be one of the first steps.

Originally I was planning on buying blue fabric for Bonnie's skirt and also printing it, but finally realised that it was too big a task. It saves me time and money to buy a blue/gold brocade that is close enough in pattern to match the game. I found a quilt cover on sale that was absolutely perfect.

But I had still made the lino blocks anyway, so here is one:

How to start?

I gathered all of my materials, to make sure that they matched and, as I was using pre-made dresses and things, that they fit.

The under-dresses I bought from op-shops: they are both pre-loved wedding dresses with substantial skirts. This was easier and cheaper than buying metres and metres of tulle and making my own.

I got a corset from ebay for the top part of my costume. It is going to be heavily altered:

I also bought about 20 metres of braid for my costume, in several widths and styles.

The masks are the only part of the costumes that I properly outsourced. ArmoryRasa on Etsy has done an amazing job, and far better than anything I could ever make. His masks are leather, so they are light to wear, but have been finished with metallic-look. Check it out:

I'll have to remember to take photos as I get into making these. Wish me luck!