MeltingMirror Cosplay

I made a sparkly wig for an Alexandrite cosplay fit for the Land of the Lustrous. All the decorations are removable so that I could reuse the wig for other costumes. 

• wig (Cut and styled) - I used a Silky Venus in Cerulean from Arda
• craft scissors (sharp ones)
• Clear tape
• Needle and thread to match the wig
• Measuring tape
• E6000 glue
• Glitter that matches your wig
• Felt or buckram (that matches or wig - if not get some paint that does)
• Two-tone Cellophane/wrapping plastic that compliments your wig 
• 15+ bobby pins
• Hair clips
• Gloves (latex, vinyl, whatever works for you)

1. Expose the row of wefts where you want to install your cellophane wefts and pin the excess hair away using a hair clip. Measure the length of your wefts to determine how long your cellophane pieces need to be (ex. 32in/82cm). Measure the distance between one side of the wig to the other where you plan to install the wefts (ex. 15 in/38cm). I installed two rows, one slightly above the nape of my neck and another one slightly below where the top of the wig where the weft pattern change and you can't us bobby pins.
2. Cut out a segment of cellophane in those measurements (ex 32inX15in / 82cmX38cm).
3. Fold over the edge on the short side to fortify with clear tape
4. Cut vertically up to the tape, without cutting through it, making cellophane stands of hair. I made mine about 1.5in/3.8cm wide.
5. (Optional) Taper the ends so it looks more hair like, since the square ends don't blend well. Keep the square ends if your character has blunt edges.
6. Secure your cellophane wefts to the wig with bobby pins.
7. Repeat for a second row of wefts.

1. Cut out a piece of felt to act as the base of your new cellophane hair part. Since the wig I`m using has a round skin top, I cut out a small circular piece. I used Flexifirm but felt or buckram will do the trick. In retrospect, I would make mine a little smaller, 1in/2.5cm would have been better than 2in because it would be easier to blend into the wig. Paint it to match the wig if it doesn't already.
2. Once dried, hand stitch to the top of the wig.
3. Put on your gloves, then apply a thin layer of E6000 to the round then cover in glitter. Note: E6000 is pretty toxic so use gloves and be sure the place is well ventilated.
4. Measure lengths for cellophane strands and pay close attention to any curves to your wig. For example, Alexandrite has bangs parted to the side, so I had to cut curved pieces to match how the hair sits. Also taper the ends of the strand that will be glued down. You don't want blunt edges sticking out of the sides.
5. Add more E6000 to attach cellophane strands. Let dry between layers of application or else the lower layers may come loose. I had to build up about 3 layers to get the coverage I wanted by overlapping cellophane pieces. You can add a little more glitter on top once done.

I added some extra glitter to my wig to blend in my "glitter top" by hand applying chunky glitter to cellophane strands using toothpicks and E6000. I've seen people use rhinestones or glitter flakes and I've seen people make cowlicks with cellophane. Do what you want to be your true gem self.

Being able to make your own gems for projects can be a good way to save money plus get the exact look you are aiming for. You can buy resin casting sets in custom colours, however, colours are limited (red, green, blue and that's all folks) and resin dye can be expensive or hard to come by. You can also cast clear gems and paint the backs, but the colour is not visible from sharp angles. After some testing I found this method works great.

​Casting resin with acrylic INK!
​The colour options are limitless since you can mix your own shades and you can control the opacity of the gems. It's also cheap since a bottle of ink costs about $6(CAD). In addition, the ink can be used for many other purposes such as dyeing wigs, whereas resin dye has one specific purpose.

I've made a video tutorial below but you can also find all the steps and materials listed below.

At 1 drop per 10ml of mixture the gems are relatively clear. At 2 drops per 10ml, the gems were more opaque or milky in appearance. The thicker the gem the more opaque it was.
For the glowing gem look, place a metallic backing to the gem. In the 2nd and 4th photos, as well as the completed armour below, I use metallic wrapping paper. Embossing foil and silver foil will also work. The effect is very nice and noticeable at 1 drop per 10ml and visible but not as vibrant at 2 drops.

• Silicone molds tend to make glossier casts, while plastic molds have a more satin finish
• Use mold release to prevent the resin from sticking to the mold, especially for plastic molds
• FW Ink comes in regular shades, "pearlescent" (sparkle/glitter), and metallic
• Use clear adhesives to attach the gems to your projects such as super glue or hot glue
• Alternate use for acrylic ink: dyeing wigs, calligraphy, and airbrushing.

Here are the gems in action. Happy crafting!

Create subsections for your catalog using fabric types, attributes, or colour. These header cards will help in indexing the swatches. Whatever works for you. I decided on a mix of types and attributes.

Tape swatches to the card and add a brief description of the fabric (See above). Include whatever information you find useful. I tend to include a basic colour description, material type (silk, cotton, etc.), and  stretch information if necessary (2-way, 4-way, slight stretch).  If I used a fabric for a specific costume in the past, I also include that in the description section. It creates a great point of reference.

Blank cards can be used to keep track of scrap fabric - shorter pieces not worth measuring.

I recently made a mermaid inspired costume with a sea shell bra for my Takane cosplay.  I doubted any shell would be the right size while miraculously contouring my cups, so to avoid hover shells magically floating above my chest, I made a pair from scratch. Here's how...

Basic Materials:

• KobraCast (Available here)
  
• Painter's tape or masking tape
• Bra for the costume
• Eva foam / yoga or camping mat
• Plastic wrap
• Worbla
• Marker
• Scissors
• Primer (Gesso, wood glue, etc)
• Acrylic paint
• Hot glue
  

 
*If you have a dressform you can probably skip to Step 2 and make the pattern directly on your dressform without using the KobraCast. Any reference to the "cast" will instead refer to your dressform. I do not own one, so I made a cast instead. *