Baby's First Cosplay

My very first cosplay happens in just a few weeks.  One of my friends, the illustrious artist Bone (look him up on deviantart, he's pretty cool), goes to Anthrocon every year in Pittsburgh, and despite not being members of the subculture, my husband and I sometimes attend with him.  It's more a chance to have fun and explore nerd culture for an extended weekend than anything else, and I always enjoyed it.

The first time we went, I was in awe of the fursuiters.  Not because I felt that I too needed a fursuit, but because of the freedom they had.  No one knew who they were; with the giant mascot heads on, sure, people were looking at them, but no one had an identity, and what's more, no one cared.  They got to run around, do what they wanted, photobomb people, all that fun stuff that gets tempered by the fact that I embarrass easily.  Maybe I never grew out of that feeling that everyone is always looking at me, but I always feel self-conscious when I do silly things in public.  I was so jealous of the fursuiters!

So back in March, when Bone invited Bishop (my husband) and I to attend Anthrocon with him again, I decided I wanted to cosplay.  And since around then I was embarking on the love affair I call Mass Effect, I knew I had to go as Tali'Zorah.

Here is Tali, in all her quarian glory. 

I've never cosplayed before, never even made a costume. As Bone said when I told him, "Tali. That's ambitious."   But I'm a pretty determined person, and it's slowly taking shape as time goes on.
I have transformed my office, where formerly I graded papers and constructed lesson plans, into a full-on studio, complete with a sewing machine and modeling clay galore as I attempt this project.  The "To Become Tali" list has slowly dwindled as the school year ended and my summer began, and now I'm starting to feel like I'm almost done. Almost.

This is my original "To Become Tali" list, complete with all the things I had to learn to do in order to do this right.  There are some truly amazing Tali cosplayers out there, and there are some that turn out less than stellar; I'm determined that mine, at least, will be in the middle, if not closer to amazing.  Here're some progress shots thus far:

The buttons and clasps for her various belts and the back harness. 

The careful construction of the jumpsuit pattern. This alone probably took 1-2 hours. 

Slow progress on the M-4 Shuriken from Mass Effect 2 & 3. It's been finished and glazed since this picture, and the holster is done too. 

A shrug pattern on Amazon saved my butt on this one -- it was easy to make and didn't require insane sewing skills that I don't possess.  It's not done yet; it still needs edging and a lot of armor attached, but it's progress.  

Everything is slowly coming together.  A bunch of smaller items, like her gold collar and belt and the start of the harness are already finished.  I have the boots and just need to shape them properly, and the leg wraps are cut and pinned and ready to be sewn.  I have no idea how many hours I've spent working on this project; a lot, I imagine, and it's been totally worth it.  The to-do list is much shorter than it was, and I'm so excited for Anthrocon! 

More progress to come in future weeks.