DIY Cosplay Natsu from Fairytale – Tutorial

My god child Sonja asked me once to make a Fairytale costume for a friend of hers. They wanted to go to a Games Con. Sonja had bought a Lucy costume for herself but her friend still needed his cosplay.

She asked me if I could sew a Natsu costume. I must say I had to google for this name hihi

I knew the name Fairytale coz I had bought some of her mangas as a gift but never ever read one of these.

After looking for pics of Natsu I asked Sonja to give me some measurements from Alex like hip, waist, bust, shoulder length ….

Guess what I got in the end?????? “Elly, he is 6ft in height”. Thats all the information I got LOL

Lucky for me I’ve seen Alex a few times before. Otherwise I wouldnt have known is he a skinny 6ft or a muscle one or a little over weighted! There are way to many different physiques out there to sew without any information

To make this cosplay suitable I had to make compromises!

I bought black, white and yellow cotton + velcro

First I made the skirt. Because I hadnt had his size I decided to make the skirt variable for different sizes. To do so I used velcro as seen in this sketch.

If you want to sew it the way I did, dont use a too small piece of velcro! The velcro will hold the skirt together!!!

For the size of the skirt I measured myself and added a few inches in length and width. The front I cut 2 1/2 inches broader than the back because the 2 front pieces will overlap a little.

Cosplay Natsu Fairytale 14

First sew the 2 skirt pieces together. Check how the skirts fits you and where to make the cut to get the 2 pieces for your front. See pic above. Cut your front. Add the yellow bias binding .

I wanted the bias binding in 5/8″ so I cut 2 3/8″ strips

Cosplay Natsu Fairytale 11a

Now measure all three pieces together, add 2″ and cut a 4″ wide stripe. Iron it to the half. Sew the waistband to your skirt. Start at the small front piece. If done the waistband  should have been longer when you finished at the larger front piece.

Sew the velcro on it. 2 stripes on the small front of your waistband, the other 2 on the back of the larger side. Make sure you wont see the velcro when you close your skirt.

Your skirt is done and should look like mine

Cosplay Natsu Fairytale 10

Here you can see Sonja with the cosplay. Even she is way smaller than Alex she can wear the skirt!

Cosplay Natsu Fairytale 17

The next has been the vest

I used a pattern from a shirt. I made it larger than my size and added 3 inches in length.

You only need the back pattern. Cut it twice. Take one of them and cut it in the middle. Now lay them right side on right side. Cut a sleight curve from the neck down. Add bias binding on front, arms …

I put a lining to the front , but it isnt necessary. I thought it would look better if the front fabric isnt too “soft”

Cosplay Natsu Fairytale 12

For Natsus pants I used the “Burda Young Mens Pants pattern 7306”.

It looked close to the one Natsu wears if I’ve seen it right on the Natsu pics. I needed something very wide and comfy. I only had to shorten the pant legs to make it look more  like Natsu’s pants.

I cut a size way bigger than Alex would wear usually.

Because I wanted to make an elastic waistband I added 3 inches for it.

Sew the sides and the pant legs.

Follow the pic below. If you have an overlock you can skip the first point

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Now put elastic bands in your waistband

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Because I hadnt been sure this pants will fit Alex I put a band in the waistband too!

Cosplay Natsu Fairytale 03

Your pants is almost done

Cosplay Natsu Fairytale 02

Put in both pant legs an elastic band too and add  a 2″ black stripe. Make sure the black stripe is on both sides of the leg at least 3 to 4″ longer!

Cosplay Natsu Fairytale 05

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Last but not least the scarf. I used a 1 !/2 yard long, 9 inches wide white cotton

First sew with your overlock all around your scarf. Choose a long stitch on your sewing maschine and sew lines, lines, lines

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Here you can see why I said using a long stitch. The fabric crinkles a little and the scarf looks better

Cosplay Natsu Fairytale 08

I bought this foot last year and its more then helpful when sewing 1″ lines 🙂

Now cut 4″ stripes on both sides of your scarf

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Say hello to Lucy and Natsu 😀

Cosplay Natsu Fairytale 01

Thank you sweetie for playing my model ❤

A cute nautical dress for a little girl

I really like the Burda pattern!!!

I made one summer dress with Mickey Mouse and one with school supplies.

 This one will be the last summer dress for this year. Fall will start soon – unfortunality hihi

I so love everything with nautical colors, motives   ❤ ❤ ❤

This fabric I have as jersey and as cotton in different colors. Its sooooo cute. I made a T-Shirt for myself last year. I love to wear it ❤

I had more than enough fabric to sew a summer dress for Miss M and do something for myself.

Here photos of the summer dress

Burda dress 03

For the pockets I choosed the red fabric with the paper boats

Burda dress 01.

 

Burda dress 02

 

 

Cute little girl’s dress including tutorial

Do you remember your first day at school?

The excitement to finally going to school like your one year older brother? To know you will learn how to read, write, count? To make new friends, say good bye to some of your Kindergarten friends?

It was such a big step for me but I dont remember much. But what I remember is the new dress I got for this special day.

Now little Miss M. will have her first day at school and I choosed the pattern from my Mickey Mouse dress to sew a new dress for her “big day”

Mickey dress 3a

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If you like this pattern you can find it (model 126) in this magazine:

Burdastyle Link

 

So many blogs I read so far helped me with sewing tips and tutorials.

This is the reason to do my own tutorial for a girls dress and give back some of the help

Here is my tutorial:

Tutorial Burdastyle July 2017girls dress

A few photos from my tutorial

Tutorial dress 03

Tutorial dress 13

Tutorial dress 15

And now the dress. Isnt the fabric adorable? ❤ ❤ ❤

Tutorial dress 23

Tutorial dress 24

Tutorial dress 25

Merken

Little dress with Mickey Mouse fabric

Did you read Mickey comics, watched Mickey on TV as a child? Went more than once to Disney Land?

Yes? Me too hehe

When I saw this fabric I had to have it.

I didnt knew at first what to do with this fabric. Then I found this pattern in a sewing magazine and used this cute fabric

Mickey dress 3

the shoulders arent sewed they are closed with a knot

Mickey dress

unfortunality I couldnt found the same red fabric as in my Mickey fabric for the pockets. Instead I used blue fabric which came out quite well 🙂

Mickey dress 2

Sewing more skirts for a little girl

My longtime project is done (jacket) and I had time to make a  skirt again.

This gnome skirt I made weeks ago.

I’ve seen this fabric and knew it would be a cute skirt for Miss M. 😀

Skirt with gnomes 1

Skirt with gnomes 2

The next skirt I finished today.

I love dots, I love stripes. ❤ ❤ ❤

Why dont use one of the fabrics  for a little skirt? I embellished it with 2 pirate girls on the pockets and white lace.

Skirt with dots

Instead of one 1 I used 3 small elastics here. It looks way better then the skirt above 🙂

Skirt with dots 2

My own sewing Masterpiece – a jacket

When I started working in the laboratory I shared my office with a co-worker. Over the years she became my favorite because she always has been calm when it has been stress at work and I could always talk with her when I had problems.

We even had the same habit to be very picky in all we do hihi

Now she retired 😦

Of course she got a departing gift when she left but I wanted to make her something special.

She loves to wear jackets all the time. I asked her if she would like to have a new one made by me and she said yes 🙂

I made a lot of photos from all fabrics suitable for jackets in my fabric store.

She choosed “her” fabric and I started my first jacket in my sewing course. Lets say it straight, without help in my course I couldnt have made it!

A jacket with “her” fabric only would have been too boring. So I added some black woolen to it.

For cutting the fabric I needed 3 saturdays!!! I wanted the pattern be perfect.

Yes I’m picky hihi 😀

To make this jacket needed way more time then I expected but it was worth all this time.

I call this jacket my Masterpiece ❤ ❤ ❤

I’m still missing you at work Misses H. 🙂

Jacket 2

Jacket 1

On the next photos you can see why I needed 3 sewing courses to cut the fabric!

Jacket sleeve

Jacket back

Jacket collar

DIY Ikea Pax as cabinet with 2 extra doors (roof sloping)

I have way to much sewing stuff besides fabrics 😀

Ribbons, zippers, yarn, buttons and so on

For all this stuff I wanted to make a sewing cabinet

My apartment is under the roof. Penthouse! Hihi

I love it very much but buying furniture is nearly impossible  because most of my  walls have roof slopes.

I started to learn to make my own furniture 🙂

I bought an Ikea Pax. Its cheap and I love the interior organizers that comes with Pax.

First I measured the exact angle of my roof sloping wall and heights. The width I got from my Pax.

I dont describe how to build this cabinet. Internet is very helpful when it comes to saw angles and put all pieces together with dowels 😀

When the frame has been done I startet with the doors. Both doors are sawed at the same angle as the frame.

The right door has been done after I ironed edge bandings on the cut edge.

The left door I wanted as three-piece!

It isnt the first time I pimped a Pax. I knew I had problems with  doing cup holes  before 😦

The last time I had to buy a door again because the drill cup holes I made didnt worked and I made mistakes.

The 90 1/8 door comes with 4 hinges. The 2 hinges in the middle are very close together.

This gave me an idea to make an acrylic template

Ikea Pax hinges

I ordered with Ebay acrylic in the same width as the door and the height I needed.

I used the door as pattern!

I clamped the acrylic on the door and started with the cup hole and the two drill holes on the bottom. When it was done I marked it as bottom on the acrylic. Then I made the next 2 cup holes.

As next I moved the acrylic upwards. I had to make sure the drill cup hole 2 I made before on the acrylic is exactly on the drill cup hole 3 from the door. This way I made 6 or 7 drill cup holes plus the 2 drill holes.

See pic below

Acrylic template

Then I marked on my door the sizes I wanted for the new doors. Remember? I wanted 3 doors on the left side.

I clamped the acrylic on my door again. Do not remove the clamps till you made all cup holes!!!!

Make sure the bottom hole from the acrylic is exactly on the bottom hole from the door !!!!!

This way your doors will always fit perfect.

On my photos you can see the mark I made for the door size.

With the template you dont have to calculate where to drill your holes. Just move the door with the acrylic to your drill stand and start to drill 🙂

Drill for the hinges Ikea Pax doors

Acrylic glass template for Ikea Pax doors

When you are done with drilling remove the acrylic and saw at the markings you made before.

You have now 3 doors. Iron on every cut edge banding, screw your hinges in the door and the cabinet and the doors are done 🙂

Ikea Pax for roof sloping 2

I’m damn proud of my work 😀

Do you see this adorable knobs?

Here a closer look even if my cabinet only got blue knobs. The red ones are for another idea I have.

Hand painted knobs

The knobs are hand painted and I found them here: Sweet petites boutique

Because of the SIX !!! hinges I used for the doors I had had a huge problem with putting in 2 drawers 😦

There has been not enough space for them close together. The first thought I had I cant write in here hihi

Second thought: I dont need over 6″ in height for my sewing stuff.

 I put both drawers apart and shorten all sides down to 4″

The front of the drawer will be put together with 2 screws and one wood dowel. Here a pic how I shorten the sides:

Drawer Ikea Pax

At the end I ironed bandings on the edges. To stabilize my drawer I screwed metal brackets on both back sides.

This way both shorten drawers fitted perfectly in my cabinet

Ikea Pax for roof sloping

As soon as I has been done with the cabinet I started to put my ribbons in the drawers. I’m not done yet I have a few more

Ribbons

Ribbons 1

Ribbons 2

See this wonderful boxes where I put my ribbons? I found this tip on the internet and I liked it very much ❤

If you are looking for something like this just google for –wedding gift box– and you will find it 🙂

I just cut a slot in the gift box to make it easier to pull the ribbon out

Gift box for ribbon

I hope you like my tutorial. Maybe you can use one of my tips 🙂

Merken

Merken

Say it with Shakespeare – Zoo photos

Last weekend we went to a zoo.  ❤

I made a lot of photos and when I saw this photo with the ape I started laughing because it remembered me of a scene from one of my fav writer William Shakespeare 😀

I tried to find Shakespeare quotes that works with my photos 😀

Zoo-11
To eat, or not to eat: that is the question

Zoo-16

Well roared, lion ape!

Zoo-04

What a piece of work is a crane! How noble in reason! 

Zoo-13

I like this place and could willingly waste my time on it

Zoo-10

But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks?
It is the east, and you are the sun.

Zoo-15

Out, damned spot! Out, I say!

Zoo-06

They do not love, that do not show their love.

Zoo-03

O sleep! O gentle sleep!

Zoo-14

Do you think because you are virtuous, that there shall be no more cakes and ale?

Zoo-09

Self-love, my liege, is not so vile a sin, as self-neglecting.

Zoo-02

For which of my bad parts didst thou first fall in love with me?

Zoo-08

Fight for the last gasp.

Merken

Merken

Spring – Finally !!! Photos

I waited so long for the end of winter and spring to start 🙂

Finally its spring time and as every year I went to my favorite park to make photos.

I had to wait a few sunny days for for all those flowers. One week ago there has been only few flowers in my park. Not enough to make photos.

But now beautyful flowers are everywhere

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The next photo is my favorite one. It isnt perfect, some flowers are broken – you can even see my shadow hehe – but I love all the different colors

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Just a few sunny days and bugs and bees are all over the flowers

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Can you see the bee?

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Merken

Skirts, skirts, skirts for a little girl

A co-worker has a cute little 6 year old daughter who ❤ ❤ ❤ skirts.

Good luck for her I have a lot of fabric for children 😀

So I startet to sew skirts for her. It doesnt need this much time like it does with my stuff. And its the first time I have sewn something for a child.

Its very funny but you can see which skirt I made first. The seam for the pockets is way to far from the edge

Skirt 1

the 2nd skirt. I added a white velvet ribbon

Skirt 2a

This skirt needed more time to sew than all skirts I did so far. I wanted the pockets perfect with the fabric pattern and I did it 🙂

Skirt 2b

The next  one 🙂

Skirt 3a

and skirt number 4. This skirt is the best I did so far

Skirt 4a

Here you can see Miss M. with her new skirts ❤

Skirt 1 + 2

I just “designed” the next skirt on paper. Now I have to sew it.Maybe this weekend I will have the time to do it.