Queen Koopa Cosplay, Part II

When we left off, we were just about done with the bodice and overskirt of Queen Koopa, and just about to add the green "poofs" in the overskirt.  I made large half circles, and pinned them where I wanted them on the overskirt after hemming them about 1/4".  I pleated the tops to give them a bit more volume.  I found these amazing pearl bead spikes online, and added them to the green sections of the skirt to imitate the shell of Bowser.  These each had to be hand sewn on, one at a time.. time consuming, but the end result was (I think) worth it.

I wanted to embellish the dress a bit more, so I sculpted a few pieces out of Sculpey to adorn the waistline.  I added a thick black rope to the tops of the green overskirt, and threaded it through a large coin I had painted gold.  I ended each rope with a red shell, knotted underneath to stay in place. I also added more grommets around the base of each sleeve above the flounces, and sewed the sleeve flounces up to keep them out of the way, as well as show off the green lace underneath.  This was actually a step in the original pattern that I wouldn't have thought of myself!  Lastly, I added lace to the bottom of the gold overskirt for a bit more detail.

The last piece I had to complete for the dress was the underskirt.  I completely ignored the original pattern for this, and instead opted for a traditional and easier circle skirt.  Not only did it take me a whole ten minutes, but there were no pieces to sew together except the elastic to the skirt, and the hemline.  It also added fullness to the dress that gave it a more elegant appeal.  I also like to swish when I walk!  I didn't attach my own tulle to the underskirt, though I did experiment with it and decided to nix it.  My store bought black petticoat was much more comfortable, poofy, and a lot less work.  This is the completed dress, without the petticoat.

I used a wig from Arda Wigs, the Victoria Classic in maroon, to complete the look.  My (awesome amazing talented) husband printed off the horns on his 3d printer for me, which I in turn painted an off white, added the orange rings with sculpey and sewed to the wig.  I wore it to Classic Games Fest 2016 in Austin, as well as Geekfest 2016 in Killeen and had a blast both times. 

A couple of things I would change - the sculpey coin is a bit heavy for the rope that is sewn on, and I'd like to replace it with a plastic 3d printed version.  The stitches holding the rope waist on are a bit strained from it.  I also want a bit more fullness to the green overskirt, so I may take them off, add tulle beneath them, and sew them back on.  I also lost about 15 pounds since I had measured myself for the bodice and it's a bit big.  I need to go back and tighten it a bit more.  I'm planning on fixing it a bit and doing a photoshoot for it soon!