Costume Notes: Princess Jupiter

Completed: November 2014

Hours Spent: App. 20 hours

Debuted: Anime North Texas 2014

Why This Costume: I covered my love of Jupiter in my Sailor Jupiter post. I adore the princess versions of the scouts in the manga and artbook, so when my friend Ohheyabear Cosplay said she wanted to cosplay princesses together, I jumped at the opportunity!

How I Made It: Construction wise, this costume isn’t too hard. It’s just a lot of layers! I blended Kwik Sew 3400 with the bust pieces of a McCall’s pattern that I can’t seem to find at the moment. Derp. I’ll post the number when I find it. There are three layers total: the outer layer made from a somewhat transparent green satin, the underlining in poly satin (the same that I used for Sailor Jupiter’s fuku!), and a lining in poly satin and chiffon.

The top layer and underlining are both made with the Kwik Sew View A train and the lining is the View B hem. To get the flower-petal look that Jupiter has, I did a rolled hem on my serger. Before I wear this costume again, I’ll add fishing wire to get a more pronounced wavy look.

The top layer also gave me some issues with the zipper. I initially tried this method of letting it hang loose in the back, but that soooo did not work with the length of my zipper. Instead, I basted the outer layer and the underlining together, but now there’s a baby pucker at the edge of the zipper. When I have time, I plan to re-do that entire zipper and seam.

To create the scoop on the front panel of the dress, I gathered both sides by about 5″.

My main trouble with fitting this dress was the outer layer. Since this layer is kind of see through, I opted to use French seams on ALL the seams. This worked well for the sides, but fitting over the bust was obnoxious. I’m still not happy with it, so I may seam rip them and just do a double-line of straight stitching instead.

My favorite part of this costume is the roses. I made several roses out of satin ribbon using this tutorial for the hips, ankles, and ponytail. I attached them to my dress and ankle ribbons with pins.

For the shoes, I took an old pair of scuffed work pumps and painted them. My original intent was to cover them in scrap fabric, but my Modge Podge dried super streaky. Since I was short on time, I used Colortool spray paint from Michaels. With my Angelus deglazer and finisher (leftover from Bombshell Wondie), it held up well. There are only a few minor stress marks. I’d like to repaint these with Angelus paint when I have a bit more time and hopefully match the shell of the dress a bit more.

Thoughts: Even with the setbacks and short time frame (around 2 weeks), I’m fairly pleased with this costume. It’s one of my cheapest cosplays this year, partly because most of the materials I used are reject Sailor Jupiter fabrics. The green satin for the shell was intended as the skirt/collar for Sailor Jupter, but it was more transparent than I anticipated and the store I bought it from didn’t accept returns. Might as well use it for another cosplay! I’d love to make some improvements to this costume over the holidays and do a proper photoshoot in a garden when the weather warms up. Ohheyabear and I braved the elements for a few outdoor shots, and I’ll be sure to share those when I get them!

That brings me to the end of my con “season” (can you really call it a season when it lasts all year?) for 2014. I’m taking a short break from personal costumes to finish up some commission work, but I’ll be back to making more early 2015. First up: MOAR CAROL! 😉

Have you started planning out or working on your 2015 costumes?