Bleach - Shinigami

[Ginny Moon]

Character: SHINIGAMI
Show: Bleach

Approximate Price: Including the supposed price of the objects we already had... about $50
Approximate Time: Sewing took about 20 hours - saying if it was five hours a day for the entire week before Halloween. But it was probably more. When braiding the jute, however....

Debut: Halloween, 2008

[Ginny Moon]

Reference

Pictures
(On Chiideki's site)

Previous Cosplayers
Chiideki's major Cosplay How to.
---I found it while searching frantically for Shinigami outfit patterns. This was major helpful!! She has all the pictures, patterns, and suggestions needed.

Patterns
(On Chiideki's site)

[Ginny Moon]

Process

I'm writing this after the fact, so this is a little vague.

1 - Finding the previous cosplayers. I was really freaked out, trying to make a costume on my own, so finding Chiideki's sit was very helpful.
2 - Figuring out the pattern. Harder then you'd expect, but since it was an online free pattern, it did take some getting used to. Numbers had to be modified to fit me.
3 - Getting fabric. I believe I used around 5 or 7 yards of just black fabric (unsure of type, some sort of cotton). Meanwhile, I was working on braiding the jute for my sandals. I'd been working on the jute for about half a year now, so I knew I had time. Once I had the fabric, and ribbon for my waraji, I had all the material.
4 - Cutting out the fabric. Without a pattern, it was just by measuring, which again freaked me out. Then I wasn't cutting with the straight, so the sizing was all wrong... Pretty much, this part of the process was the worst.
5 - Ironic pieces. Then sewing them together. It was freaky, I tell you, because I was sure I was doing it wrong somehow. Surprisingly, traditional Japanese clothing is much simpler than European clothing (No, it's not surprising). Everything just goes on straight like...
6 - Meanwhile, everything I did to the black fabric, I did to a bolt of white fabric my Mom just happened to have laying around. REALLY cut down on cost, and I think that actually having two layers really helped temperature-wise.
7 - As things start to get more and more done, it becomes harder to sew. Making the vent in the black sleeves was hard, because you had to turn the fabric back and just edge it, then meet up with a seem again. I royally ruined the crossover piece (I didn't iron it or something), but since the whole thing was black, no one noticed.
8 - Making the waraji was a pain. As soon as I had it all weaved and ready - it was too loose. Then I had to tighten the weave, and add more weave, and so on...Once the base was done, I just threaded the ribbon in to make the sandal strap. Ta da! And I didn't even need Tabi! (Though, I confess, I was planning to make them by sewing up existing white socks)
9 - Now, let me put this into perspective. I bought the fabric a month early - and I did most of the sewing the week of. And on Tuesday, I got giant blisters on my feet which prevented me from being able to walk normally. The costume still got done, and done pretty good, though it could have been much better if I wasn't a lazy procrastinator.

[Ginny Moon]

Results

Pictures
(Obviously, it's way past Halloween, but I still have the costume. So, I'll take some pictures soon just for the sake of seeing the finished costume and upload them.)

My Opinion
I Seriously think it could have been much better. I didn't bother hemming the white sleeves, and the black crossover piece was wacky. the pants were too tight because I totally forgot that I was going to be stuffing the Gi in there, and by the time I got to the pants I had run out of much extra fabric anyways. I Definitly could have done much better.
However - stepping into that costume Friday morning, I seriously felt like a Shinigami. I had people compliment me on how my costume looked very much like a real Shinigami uniform and not like a cheap pre-made costume With as bad as it came out and as much as I could have made it better, it was really good. I am pleased. Technically, it was my first ever Cosplay, and if it turned out that well then I can feel like there is hope in the future.