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One set of armor plates almost done... #toukenranbu #cosplay

Got four of the six armor plates I need for Mikazuki cut out (along with two screw-ups). Having access to a CNC machine helps so much. #cosplay #toukenranbu

So I'm working on throwing together Mikazuki's battle outfit for Anime Central, which is in five weeks (oh god I don't want to think about that). Like a lot of the Touken Ranbu designs, there is kind of a lot going on, so I thought I would break down the components and make some notes of them for my own reference, and maybe that will be helpful for other people out there, too :) This post is going to be the big fabric bits, because they're sort of the foundation of the outfit.

Most of these pieces are actually pretty close to traditional Heian era garments - I'm using Reconstructing History's Heian men's clothing pattern as a base for most of it.

-Kosode: This is really only visible on the concept/reference art - on the in-game sprites, it only shows as the innermost white collar at his neckline. Important, though, because this is what actually covers your arms and sides! His is pretty much the same as historical versions, or a slight varation on a modern kimono - narrower body, no front tuck, ends about knee-length I'm using a white cotton sateen because I had a bunch already, and I'm a sweaty person so I need an under-layer that's machine washable. Mostly done already because I can sew kimono in my sleep, practically.

-Hitoe: The white layer that's mostly visible, right under the blue one. It's pretty close to Heian hitoe, with two exceptions, both in the sleeve area - one is that the sleeves look to be all one piece, instead of made up of two pieces (which is more an artifact of traditional Japanese fabric widths than anything), and then the sleeves are open on the bottom and wrist edge, as well as the body edge. So I'm going to take the traditional hitoe pattern, cut the sleeves as one block, and then line them because the edges are super-visible when they're open like that and I have enough hemming as it is. I think I'm going to buy some white polyester chirimen (chirimen is a type of tight crepe weave that is easily the most common fabric used for kimono). Normally I'd buy a bolt of vintage kimono silk from Ichiroya - you can get them for ~$50 plus shipping, and they're 15m or so - but 1) a lot of the whites tend to have discolored with age and 2) they're traditional width, which is about 15" and thus too narrow for me to do the sleeves in one piece for. Thankfully Tomato has 44" polyester chirimen for ~$14/m on their Rakuten store.

-Kariginu: The giant blue monstrosity. Like the hitoe, this mostly only differs from the traditional cut in having single-piece sleeves that are open all the way around. I'm lining the whole thing because there are a lot of visible edges/insides, and I have the feeling the fabric I'm using is going to be fray-tastic. It's a royal blue brocade with the sayagata pattern woven in - it's a little bigger, with slightly thicker lines than the patterning on Mikazuki's kariginu, but honestly, it's probably as close as you're going to get without actually weaving your own (don't do that, please). Okuyama sells it online, though I was lucky enough that a friend was willing to pick some up in person for me when she was in Tokyo last month, which saved me a bunch on shipping. My sewing project for today, I think!

-Hakama: The only part of this that isn't mostly-Heian in style. Hakama were part of Heian ensembles, but they had fewer pleats than modern styles, and were waaaay longer so they could be gathered up at the ankles and have a nice poof. The pleat arrangement and length on Mikazuki's place them pretty solidly in 'modern' (19th century to present) style. Round Earth's hakama pattern is my go-to for that, though I may leav off the backboard (which is solidly a 20th century martial arts addition). I'm airbrushing the gradient on a heavy matte polyester satin, which, uh, is an adventure. And probably a whole post to itself at some point.

Next time: armor, armor, and more armor!

Three guesses who's coming up soon on my cosplay list, and the first two don't count ;) #cosplay

Last-minute #ouji coord for lunch at Max Brenner - I went straight for dessert, haha. Blouse is #littledipper, cost is #atelierboz and everything else is off-brand.

I will post something of substance someday maybe, but for now, I will not so stealthily drop a link to my thread on the love meme. Because it's nice to have all those little things to look at when I need it.

Today wound down with this weird sense of calm anticipation. No major nervousness - though of course as soon as I say that, I start to think 'well, I should do this or that...'. Teslacon has come and gone - it was a ton of fun, despite the various injuries or illnesses we all went into the con with. J got some great photos, which I'll share once we retouch them. Thinking of making a fun little crew webpage, too.

I've also got most of my Christmas crafting done - mostly putting finishing touches on things, and I think it'll all be done this week. I'm actually going home for Christmas for the first time in a few years, which will be really nice.

Pretty much the one thing that feels lacking is the employment situation - I'm still sending my resume out, doing what networking I can, but no bites. I feel like, I dunno, that I'm missing something. Some big 'How To Get A Job' secret that the rest of the world knows and I don't. I know the reality of it is the economy, and the fact that I'm here on a visa, but it's still super-frustrating.