Village Belle: Bow

Let’s make Belle’s big blue bow! I’ve never made a bow before, but it didn’t seem too difficult. This is how I made it.

You’ll need to cut 2 large rectangles of the blue fabric the size you want of the fabric, and a 1 smaller skinny piece for the ‘knot’. You’ll also need a stabilizer of some kind. My fabric was very flimsy so I used some think purse stabilizer I had in my stash. If you have thicker fabric, you may be able to use interfacing. The size of your bow is personal preference. Unfortunately I don’t remember how big I made mine. This picture shows the wrong size skinny rectangle… That one didn’t work, and I had to remake it. See below.

First your stabilizer. With right sides together, sew your large rectangles together, leaving a small opening to turn right side out. I also serged my edges to prevent fraying.

Turn right side out. Picture below is the correct size of the small rectangle.

Sew along long side of small rectangle. Turn.

Press. Slip stitch large rectangle opening shut.

Pinch center of large rectangle to create bow. Tie with thread to hold.

Wrap smaller piece around pinched area and clip, then hand sew closed.

And you’re finished!

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Village Belle Wig

Let’s style a wig! Full disclosure: I’m a complete newb to wig styling. I barely know what I’m doing. But it seems to be working, so here’s what I did.

First, separate the hair along the front. You’ll need this later. This is a relatively this layer, but not too thin.

Next, back comb for your bang poof. It’ll look messy… That’s okay at this point.

Now, shape that mess into her bangs. It’s still messy, but an organized mess.

Now you’ll use that hair you set aside and cover the back combed mess. I started at the top and pulled small sections of the bump and bobby pinned in place. Continue until the entire bang is covered. Then secure the entire thing with a clear hair tie.

Get it as neat as possible and repeat on other side.

Use hair to cover the elastic, and pull hair up into a low ponytail. Secure with larger clear elastic. Cover with large blue bow.

And finish with a light spray of got2be hairspray.

Now you have a Belle wig!

If you enjoyed this tutorial, please share! Follow me for more, and please let me know if you use this tutorial. If you have any questions, please leave a comment or message me on Instagram.

Adding a Pocket to a Skirt

The pattern I chose for Village Belle didn’t have pockets, so I wanted to add them. Adding pockets is fairly simple, especially on a skirt. Before sewing your skirt front and back together at sides, you’ll want to cut out your pockets. Make sure they’re big enough for your phone! I usually use the skirt front pattern as a guide. Be sure to add a seam allowance.

Sew around the bottom and inside seams, and partially up the side, leaving adequate room for an opening. I chose to serge these edges, but you can finish these edges however you choose.

Now pin to your skirt (on the wrong side of front) and sew along the top and side, being careful to leave the opening unsewn.

Turn right side out. Fold edges of pocket in and pin. Sew a tiny 1/8″ to 1/4″ seam.

And that’s it! You now have pockets! Yay for storage!

Be sure to share if you enjoyed this tutorial, follow me for more, and let me know if you use this tutorial!

Sabrina’s Book of Shadows Tutorial

Let’s make a Book of Shadows! Specifically, Sabina Spellman’s from The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina on Netflix. But remember, these techniques can absolutely be used for other cosplays!

First, you need a book base. I went with wood, that way it’ll hold up for awhile, but you can also use paper mache. I also like that it opens up, so I can use it like a purse!

Next, paint it black. I chose to paint the inside as well, but this isn’t absolutely necessary. You do want to paint the entire outside black, though.

Next, you’ll need an eye. I chose to paint one following this video and a resin cabochon I made. But you could also purchase one, or follow a tutorial of your choice. Center that like Sabrina’s book and glue. Mine is actually a bit high. I probably should have referenced my photo a little more often.

Next, cover your book in foam. I used 2mm foam because it’s what I had. I’d suggest not using anything greater than 3 mm. Carefully, cut to fit your book. Then glue it down.

In pencil, trace where you would like your eyelid to be.

Carefully cut out, being careful not to scratch your eye.

Seal your foam however you like (heat + pva glue, plastidip, etc). Paint your book in a brown leather fashion. I usually do a base coat of a medium brown, then go in and blend in darker and lighter browns before everything has a chance to dry. There are numerous tutorials to help you achieve the look you’re going for.

Add inverse pentagram around the eye and border. I drew this in pencil first, then carefully filled in with metallic gold paint.

And decorative borders. You can do this in numerous ways. Free hand sketch, stickers, or create a stencil. I found stickers I liked and went with those.

Finally, to create a page effect, paint the area an off white color (likely about two coats) and while the paint is wet, drag a fork, or other pronged instrument, across the surface to pull paint away.

And that’s it! Your book is finished! Time to get spooky!

Feel free to leave me a comment here or on IG if you have and questions. And if you make a book using my tutorial, please tag me!

Village Belle Tutorial

Blouse Tutorial

I couldn’t find a perfect pattern for Belle’s blouse, but I did find McCall’s 6750. It’s shape was similar enough, and all I needed to fix was the collar.  I used view C.

First, create a toile, or mockup, of your pattern. I didn’t have this pattern in my size, so I used 1/2″ seam allowances and omitted the darts from the middle of the middle of the pattern pieces (keeping the dart at the armscye and the shoulders). I also chose to make the top long sleeves. After making any fitting adjustments, you are ready to adjust the collar shape.

There are a few ways to do this, so this is simply the way I chose to do it. Put the garment, right side out, onto your mannequin.

Next, sketch the new shape onto your collar.

Turn inside out and trace. Sew and trim.

This is your new pattern piece. Make sure you trim at your seam allowance. Once turned right side out, it will look like this:

Once satisfied, you are ready to make this blouse with your actual fabric. Follow the directions as given, only substituting your new collar pieces. The sleeve cuffs were a little tricky, but if you treat them like a bias tape you should be okay.

Feel free to comment or shoot me an email or message on IG if you have any questions.  Good luck, and if you use my tutorial, please show me your finished cosplay!

Sewing for Cosplay

Part 4 of the tutorial is up on YouTube!

 

Sewing For Cosplay Video

New video! Part three of the Punk Captain Marvel tutorial is now up on YouTube!