Addams Family Cosplay: Wednesday Addams

It's been a long while since I've actually finished my costume for the San Diego Comic-Con Masquerade. I've actually delayed in posting this dress diary until after the convention, in an attempt to keep it somewhat secret. I wrote this post in pieces, as I worked on the dress.

When my friends said they wanted to do an Addams Family skit at SDCC, I immediately knew which characters I wanted to create. My friend, C, who was our exalted leader laid claim to Morticia. C is fairly tall and wanted the chance to play a tall character (ala Angelica Houston's Morticia). I put in my bid for Wednesday.

Given our height differential, I was pretty sure I could get this role as it would make me seem more of a "little girl.". LOL  I had my own backup Adams character, but I really wanted to play Wednesday. The costume would be relatively easy to create and the look is fairly iconic that I would be able to wear this costume more than once :-)

I initially made the pattern from a simple sloper pattern. In the following photos, I've already made the first set of adjustments to my pattern (having forgotten to take photos from earlier steps). The blue tape indicates the adjustments I made to the original pattern.

• Changed the slope of the neckline for the front and back.
• Changed the angle of the left back shoulder, as one shoulder is slightly more muscular than the other. (Which means that I have to cut the shoulder slightly bigger than the other.)
• Lengthened the front & back pieces
• Increased the angle of the side seams for both the front & back.

The mockup for the dress fit rather well.

After I was happy with the mockup, I started with the actual fabric. I used a 85% linen / 35 % rayon linen blend. 100% linen wrinkles if you even look at it funny, and I wanted it to survive being packed repeatedly with minimal ironing. The lining was just a black rayon fabric.

When making the dress, I started the lining, in case I had to make any last minute adjustments. I had to mark which shoulder was for my left and which was for my right because they are different cuts. (Even I got confused at one point and had to 'reverse' my markings.)

I serged all of linen & lining edges, just because I could. Also, this was linen and I didn't want any additional fraying.

The garment and lining are created separately, but I did not "bag line" the finished product, but the lining is carefully tacked in at the shoulders and each seam is sewn separately with an edging.

I created the collars & cuffs much earlier (see this post) I pinned the collar and sleeves to ensure that it looked about right. I eventually basted these pieces onto the dress AFTER I added buttons and buttonholes, because, I didn't want them to get too dirty.

Then it was a matter of aligning the buttons and button holes. I used this handy-dandy buttonhole gauge to evenly space out where I want the buttons. First, I pinned where I wanted the first button, then used the spacer to mark out the exact number of buttons I wanted to use. Pins and chalk marked the rest.

The button holes were easy to add. My sewing machine does a very good job at button holes. However, sewing on all of those buttons took several evenings.

For a bit of fun, I added a special bit of Addams' to the top button, right next to the collar. I think Wednesday would approve.

The finished dress looked awesome. It was finished with a pair of tights and an existing pair of black shoes that I already owned

In addition to the dress, I opted to style a wig. My hair isn't long enough to make two sets of ponytails. So I purchased a very long wig that was approximately the same color as my own hair, which is the same color as Wednesday, and started braiding. It took a long while to look correct, but it was well worth it. 

Ironically, I have a ton of different black wigs of varying lengths and cuts, despite my own hair being black.

Here's the final outfit along with the Marie Antoinette doll.

Here's one of the photos of the whole group taken backstage.

SDCC Masquerade 2016: The Addams Extended Family

The primary reason we went to San Diego Comic Con this year was to compete in their yearly masquerade with our cosplay group, which numbered 14 people.  The theme was the Addams Extended Family.

But, you might ask, "Why 14 people? There are only 7 in the Addams Family!" (It'll make sense once you see the video.....)

Organizing 14 costumers is no mean feat.  Our wonderful group director (who played Morticia) managed all of the aspects of our group skit / presentation --- including putting together our choreography, arranging our music,  scheduling our many, many rehearsals, and coordinating with the masquerade staff. On the flip side, each individual is responsible (more or less) for their own costumes and props --- although we all chip to help whenever it's required.

Over the course of many months, we got to know our music arrangement and rehearsed our skit. (You didn't think we just made costumes and strut them on stage, did you?)

As our group was scattered between northern and southern California, we had to arrange last minute rehearsals with the entire group once we arrived at SDCC. Some of us had practiced by watching the rehearsal videos.

 On the day of the masquerade, there was a lot of preparation.

It took about 4 hours to do our last few rehearsals, the "final" rehearsal on the secondary stage to show the masquerade staff, AND then finally, to get into our costumes --- makeup, any prosthetics, and finally our costumes. We all helped each other get dressed and ready.

Some of the group had to change from their day cosplay to their actual masquerade outfits.

There was a total of 35 contestants. We were #23. So, we had a bit of a wait before we even got onstage. The curtain went up around 8pm.

We were not allowed to wander the hallways in our costumes, so we stayed in the Green Room along with everyone else. It was a bit of organized chaos. :-)

While we waited, I took a few photos of the contestants. There were some amazing costumes.

Fortunately, the masquerade show let the contestants view the rest of the masquerade from the green room.

Uncle Fester, Lurch, and Cousin Thing watch  the MCs announce the next act.

The presentation before us was a couple who played Kylo Ren & Rey. Their skit was the fight scene from the movie. However, unbeknownst to "Rey",  "Kylo" got on his knees and proposed to her on stage! It was pretty amazing and she said YES. I bemoaned to my fellow group members that we had to follow THAT act......

When we finally went onstage, it seemed that everyone got the jokes inherent in our presentation. At least one person loved our skit so much that they tweeted this......

Here's the full video.

Here's how it was shown on the big video screen. I kinda like see'ing the MC (Phil & Kagia Folio)'s introduction.

(Can you name all of the Adams?)

The end of our presentation didn't mean the end of the masquerade. We had to wait for everyone else to finish. We couldn't get out of our costumes, but we did chill for a bit.

Cousin It playing with Grizzly's beard.

Eventually, the winners were announced.

We took home a medal for the Most Humorous (and given the laughter from the audience, I did think we nailed it!)

(From the next day's newsletter)

Ecstatic, we stumbled out of the convention center after midnight. We were exhausted as it had been 8 hours just for the masquerade; happy with our presentation and our win.

Photo - ©Ryan Orange. LA Weekly

Addams Family Cosplay: Making a Doll Accessory

For my cosplay, I needed a very specific accessory. My character is sometimes seen carrying a headless doll, so I went to my local thrift store to find an appropriate doll. I found some plastic dolls at about the right size, but I dislike plasticky dolls, so I got this Cabbage Patch Kid (CPK) instead.

Growing up, my sister loved CPKs. She had at least 3 of those things. Me? I wasn't very much into dolls, preferring stuffed animals and action figures. Gleefully, I asked my Viking to decapitate it. He was more than happy to oblige.

The stitching on these are very amusing, from actual butt cheeks to a belly button. While the original CPK was dressed as a boy, this particular doll is getting a gender change. Luckily, it was already androgynous.

But, first, I had to ensure none of the inner stuffing came out. I made a red pillow to sit in the empty neck cavity as a "bloody neck stump".

I measured the circumference of the neck and used a protractor to draw out the circle (plus added seam allowance), and then stuffed it with fiberfill. I sewed my little round pillow right into the neck cavity. I might cut out some felt to simulate more of a cross-view of the neck, but that's for later.

For the costume, I used this pattern for the doll, plus I also used the adult version as a base for my costume with a lot of modifications.

Doll patterns are extremely small, but very quick to actually sew. There were only three pattern pieces for the doll's tunic. Unfortunately, because some of the pieces are so small, I also had to do a lot of handsewing, especially setting in those tiny, tiny little sleeves. Luckily, handsewing such small pieces is quicker, but it's still handsewing.

I also had to modify my doll pattern pieces a little bit, as the pattern was made for a shorter doll with skinnier arms. I had to lengthen the tunic as well as add additional width to the sleeves.

 Using left over scrap fabric from my costume, I finished the primarily tunic in an about 1.5 hours. (Yes, I already finished the primary costume, which I'll discuss more in another post!)

After I made the basic costume, I used my new skills at creating collars & cuffs.

I cheated a little bit on making proper cuffs and a collar, because, well, it's a doll and these pieces only need to look like the real thing and they are also sewn down to the tunic dress.

Afterwards, it was a matter of attaching buttons.

The last and final step for the doll is making the stockings. I picked up a cheap pair of tights at a local Japanese dollar store.

My Viking reminded to sew first, then cut. I pulled the tights onto the doll, and pinned the seam line, ensuring that there was negative ease (so as to get a nice stretch). After testing the new seam, I cut off the excess parts of the leggings.

As a nice bonus, I ended up getting a pair of long arm warmers. :-)

The final doll looks pretty darn good! She's missing shoes, but I'm going to scour the local thrift stores for something appropriate.

Viola! One finished doll accessory! Her name is Marie. :-)