For Anime Magic 2021.
I chose Suki because I really love her character design. I also love her “take no shit” attitude and growing up, really needed a role model like her to teach me not to take anything lying down. I’ve done her Fire Nation Disguise before, but decided that now was the time to make her OG outfit.
Build time: approximately two weeks
Wig: Helen in Light Brown from Epic Cosplay wigs
Head piece: Made from Dark green knit fabric sewn from a 30 inch by 4 inch rectangle. I then cut out the head dress pieces from 4mm craft foam. Glued down with contact cement, and prepared with black plastidip. I then painted a light layer of gold airbrush paint over it and once that was dry, painted a lighter layer of gold acrylic paint over it. It was then sealed with matte Mod Podge. The foam was attached to the headband with e6000. I attached hand woven strands of embroidery floss which had pre-made golden tassels to the end.
Shoulder pieces: Made from 4mm foam and two crescent pieces attached via contact cement. These were also plastidipped with black and then painted over with black acrylic paint. I then sealed it with matte mod podge. THey are attached to the breastplate with gold jump rings and braided embroidery floss and glued to insure no extra movement with e6000. The shoulder pieces have velcro on the underside and on the kimono top to ensure no movement as well.
Kimono top: Made from light green cotton, hand patterned. The collar has stabilizer in it to hopefully keep it up. I also satin stitched a dark green cotton on the sleeves, and attached two 4mm foam coins with the Chinese characters for courage and bravery on them. They were both painted the same way as the head piece and sealed with mod podge. The top has two sets of hook and eye closures on the top to ensure no slippage. The top has a top stitch hem all the way around the top, save for the collar.
Arm guards: Made with black pleather and black performance fabric, I cut out a curved piece in order to make sure there weren’t too many layers and give it some dimension. I cut and painted two coins with the symbol you see on Sokka’s outfit from episode 6, season 1 of Avatar: the Last Airbender. They are also attached with e6000. The pieces have a zigzag hem in order to keep seams from popping.
Gloves: Made with a white and black performance fabric. I patterned it using my own hands and then zigzag stitched the hem to keep it clean. The gloves have a bit of room at the tips of the fingers to allow room for my acrylic nails to sit.
Chest armor: Made from black pleather and green cotton. I decided against foam armor since this is a summer convention and I didn’t want to melt through the cosplay. I added a velcro enclosure on the side to allow for easy removal. After finishing sewing the two pieces together, I top stitched the armor lines, and added the jump rings for the shoulder pieces.
Belt: Made from olive green knit, I stabilized it with iron-on interfacing and cut out a little bigger than I needed to allow for armor. I then sewed the tie pieces together and sewed them into the garment, leaving a hole at the bottom for me to ladder stitch closed. I could then tie the knot in front of me, and added more velcro in the back for easy access.
Armor flaps: Also made the same way as the chest armor, but with a dark green sash to tie it under the chest armor for easy access.
Under skirt: Made from Green knit, I measured out my hips and waist and cut out two pieces. Did a quick run through my overlock machine to insure no embarrassing mishaps may happen with the skirt. I then made a rolled hem on the bottom and top and added elastic to the top for easy fitting.
Fans: I took gold scrapbook paper, and a few .25 inch balsa wood slats and cut them at 12 inches. The paper was cut to be 7.5 inches long, with one end being 1.75 inches and 2.8 inches wide. I painted the slats brown with acrylic paint and drilled holes in them to allow me to string invisible thread and a piece of floral wire through.