Never Ending Cosplays: An Anecdote about my 3AM Jade

 Never Ending Cosplays: 3AM Jade

Ironically enough, I am writing about this instead of a post about cosplay motivation because I have no real drive to work on that in particular. Frankly, the writing seemd uninspired. Maybe the stars haven’t aligned for that, who knows. Anyway, I am taking the lighthearted route and instead writing about something much sillier: that stupid heap of fabric that sits in your closet, but never gets made into anything resembling clothes. This is the post dedicated to those dresses without any sleeves, that are continually promised that they’ll be finished. For months and for months. Don’t lie, we have piles of uncut fabric, patterns, and unfinished garments stashed away in our closets along with the rest of our our skeletons.

So this is already sounding pretty melodramatic. I only have two unfinished costumes, but even then that still makes me feel guilty.  Other cosplay obligations get piled up while fully knowing that there are half finished costumes just sitting there. After a while, their importance decreases with a slim chance of them being picked up again.

Why does this happen though? You bought all that fabric for a reason, and there has to have been some initial motivation. But, maybe the story of one of my incomplete costumes can shed some light.

(If you need some references, here you go!)

I first got my fabric for 3AM Jade way back in January, actually. The name 3AM is a reference to what the sky looks like at 3 in the morning, after all, and I gotta be honest: I’m just a sucker for anything that vaguely resembles the night sky. Almost anything that conjures up images of celestial objects and is sparkly are major selling points, and my sales resistance is nonexistent. Green paired with black is also a favorite color combination, and that’s what this outfit is all about. The idea of walking around as one of my favorite fictional characters in a spacey dress is very enticing, and I couldn’t say no when I found both beautiful and inexpensive fabrics for it.

(The green is so stunning with the black!)

3AM Jade was supposed debut at Fanime 2015, back in May. Along with her, I planned on having two new cosplays: Female Robin from Fire Emblem Awakening (which is another story), and Aranea Serket, who is also from Homestuck! Poor Jade was immediately placed at a disadvantage. Out of those three cosplays, she was subjected to be lowest on the priority list. The 3AM dress originally wasn’t intended on being a costume I would spend the day parading around in. Fanime hosts a formal dress ball for the attendants, and it would be the perfect thing to meet the dress code requirements and be in cosplay! Seeing how was this was planned out in January and Fanime wasn’t until Memorial Day weekend, it seemed that almost five months would be plenty of time to finish everything. Besides, 3AM Jade seemed like a pretty straightforward project that could be finished in no time!

As it was, that never happened. In fact, the fabric was immediately folded up and tucked away in the closet closet, only to never see the light of day until June. During that spring semester my only sewing opportunities were whenever I went home for the weekends or breaks. Since I was trying to squeeze in Aranea and Robin during those precious sewing periods, there was no way Jade would be finished. It might have happened if I had my sewing machine at school, but I decided that scraping together my space dress wasn’t worth any extra effort.

Despite that, Fanime was a blast, I was absolutely bursting with excitement to get busy again! Seeing other con goers amazing costumes is a wonderful motivation tool, and those carefree summer months are meant for sewing! Once again, the sparkly overlay and green lining tempted me, and so 3AM Jade would be knocked out first during the cosplay summer session.

(...Right?)

My original pattern came with a bolero pattern, which would be my warmup. It only took me two days from cutting out the fabric to the final pressing, and the result was beautiful The green lining complimented the black and my sewing work was very tidy. It was my first time trying out my machine’s overlocking stitch which ended up being a fun experiment! Even though it was such a simple project, I couldn’t help but be so proud of it!

(It just looks so fine to me! Like it came from a real store.)

So, spring boarding off of that little project, it was time to dive into the actual dress (and, keeping up with diving board metaphor) where I immediately crashed into the pool’s concrete floor.

3AM Jade is deceptively easy.  I’ve made dresses before, so I figured it wouldn’t be any different. Maybe a step or two up in difficulty because it’s strapless, but still harmless. But, me being the one to make hasty, unwise decisions, I never bothered to check the pattern’s instructions until I purchased it. Based on first glance it seemed easy enough, and it was on sale, so why not!

It wasn’t until I actually bothered to open and read the pattern’s instructions did I realize how in over my head I was. The difficulty was meant for someone who had more sewing experience than I, and included sewing techniques I had never attempted (such as making casings for steel boning channels is a standout). I wish I had a picture of it to share.

 I am sure if I actually sat down and studied it, then I would have been able to follow through with only a few potholes in the road. In my eyes however, Jade’s spacey gown wasn’t worth the time when two other more involved cosplays loomed over my shoulder.

So it was back to the drawing board-and the pattern books. I picked up another one that appeared effortless. “Appeared” is the keyword. The bodice was tackled first.  A set of pieces for the dress body, a set for the lining, and a set for the rhinestone adorned overlay. Cutting my pieces out was obnoxious, sewing the overlay on top even more so, but nothing difficult! 

(The rhinestone clusters remind me of otherworldly galaxies!)

Adding the lining was next (never has a fabric frayed as much), and it was only until after I overlocked and snipped away the excess fabric did I realize that bodice was far too small. Even if there was a way to get it a proper fit, I would probably end up suffocating. Great, it was time to make a new bodice.

If there were horror movies about the perils in sewing, then this would be the climax: After checking my 3AM dress resources, there wasn’t enough boning for the top, and there was not enough lining to accommodate for a new bodice and skirt. Getting more boning wouldn’t have been a  problem, but the dull realization of the lining being all the way in San Francisco hit me, and 3AM Jade ended up being shelved until the end of July. 

By the time my green treasure was again in my possession, Jade was on the bottom of the priority list. My Nonon cosplay wasn’t finished, and by then only the fabric for Madoka had been cut out (side note: Both costumes will receive the same treatment as God Tier Jade and get a full writeup!). It was decided that if Jade happened that summer, then great. If not, then great.
Since one of the main points of this post is about never ending cosplay that seemed to be cursed, then you already know the resolution. Once again, that beautiful fabric goes untouched, and my space dress is nonexistent. In retrospect, it must be Jade’s karmic destiny to always be placed on hold, on the bottom of a to-do list.

So, what’s the meaning of this story? It’s very easy to shove things older projects aside for something more novel. Cosplay is a hobby with a deadline, so projects DO have to get done, but there is a tendency to start and finish new outfits despite other uncompleted things collecting dust. Though I am better about it with cosplay compared to other hobbies of mine, it’s all too easy for me to get excited about something brand new, and then neglect something that’s in progress. A valuable lesson I’ve learned is to follow through and finish a job after you’ve started it, but sometimes it will happen anyway! 3AM Jade is an example of this particularly bad habit. The prospect of new costumes will dance around in my imagination, and then my enthusiasm will just take over in real life. 3AM Jade officially been shelved for a third time, because of this dangerous pattern. I have a few conventions coming up, and she will not be completed for either.

Two friends and I have been planning on doing a group from the video game Splatoon for Kraken Con 2015 next week! My friend Ayrton and I are matching as Callie and Marie respectively, with another friend joining in as an Inkling! Ayrton generously offered to make Marie for me, AND she's letting me borrow her wig for it! With the con deadline being so close, there was no way I couldn’t say no. Big scary deadlines and costumes that aren’t even half finished are both two things that I do not mesh well with.

(Callie is on the left, and Marie is on the right!)

As you can see, Marie and Jade happen to have the same color greens incorporated in their designs. Meaning, the electric green lining has officially been bequeathed over to a different costume. Thankfully that stuff is barely two dollars a yard, because it appears that I’ll have to buy it for a third time. Which is pretty hilarious, in a very pathetic way. But hey, third time's the charm? (Right? Hopefully?)

So, while 3AM Jade is still stuck in development hell, my cosplay future is still super bright! Keep an eye out for my Nonon Jakuzure cosplay for a good chunk of the day, and our Splatoon group during the costume contest! Kraken Con is one of my favorite conventions, and I am anxious to do a report on it for one of my next posts! 

(A convention on an old warship! I'm happy that admission to the museum is included!)

Can’t wait to be writing from the USS Hornet, next time!

Cheers,

Sarah