the bane of my existence . oops wrong universe.

pinterest - the bane of my pre-med school existence. srsly.

taking on a mild 7 credit summer semester I be came stir-crazy. it was bad, like bad bad.

finishing up spring semester I decided to take a half load for summer, the recoup time.  about half way through my first block of the semester I went insane with stillness.  so I allowed myself to choose one pinterest project that I would complete, so it had to be good.  well, sad to say pinterest failed me. (even though I still love you pinterest, you help me get my "creative, geek, seeking a perfect wedding jitters" out & about.)  so I decided to go another route, salt lake comic con.  I made the nightingale armor from skyrim for fanx & it was a task. see it here ⟵



\so to get started I had to choose a cosplay, well two girlie friends of mine already have a lady thor and female loki, so I decided that we needed a capt. too.

I have to give credit to the wonderful cosplayers that gave me some serious inspiration.

first I went for the classic comic book hero.

 then, I realized that I was doing a gender bend & needed the female look.

& I also admire how well the comics have been turned into movies, so I wanted the more military look. kind of.









to start.  materials

▹ red fabric                     ▹ serger (optional)           ▹ pencil
▹ white fabric                  ▹ sewing machine           ▹ seam guide
▹ blue fabric                   ▹ pins                               ▹ rotary cutter & mat
▹ silver fabric                  ▹ scissors                        ▹ acrylic ruler
▹ matching thread          ▹ measuring tape             ▹ patterns & notations

pants. 

simplicity easy #3633 (has pockets)

blue fabric ⟶ measure for size ⟶ make pants per instructions.  

I did not put the lower pockets on but still made the pants with the upper pockets, which came in handy for the actual con.

to make them "skinnied" aka. make them look less like pajamas.

with the help of my momma, we pinned down either side of the pants (on the outer seam) to fit snug so that they would fit into boots, but not so snug that they're uncomfortable + I wanted a baggier look for the pants.

the jacket top.

simplicity #1361 & this pattern turned out to be more than perfect.  

before you go cutting out pattern pieces and fabric willy-nilly make sure you measure yourself or even better have some one measure you (it's more accurate).  I cannot stress that enough.  I have had many people ask me, "why does the pattern say I need make a size 12 when I wear a size 2 pant?" ⟶ because the sizes are not made the same as store bought clothing.

I made a size 14 because well I did not buy the suggested stretchy fabric and I knew the size 12 wouldn't fit.  & if you're in between sizes go to the larger, it's easier to alter than to start over. 

patten pieces cut out & ready to make the flap that goes across the chest. taking the left over blue fabric I cut out two pieces that matched up with the side seam and the anterior arm seam. 

rough draft of front flap.

following the directions while making the jacket when the side that the flap needed to be sewn to I just added it.

found a simple star online, made it the size I needed it to be then cut it out of silver fabric (actually its more of a silver felted pleather)

for the sleeves I made two rectangles in a similar fashion to how I made all the panels for my nightingale costume: take a cotton fabric to match the silver pleather, sew right sides together, but leave enough space to flip right side out, then sew a 1/8" seam around the outside.

this rectangle is to go on the medial side of the arm, I had to hand sew them on because the sleeve had to be made before the rectangles could be added.

finished following the pattern instructions, including sewing in some shoulder pads (they really do make a difference).

for the red and white stripes corset part, I cut out strips of fabric that were 5" wide and the length was measured from just under my bust down to how long I wanted it to go. 

alternating red and white, I sewed them together and when I got to the end, I added in a zipper.  

for the gloves, I went to zurchers and found cheap red gloves, then used extra red fabric that I had to "extend" them to my elbows. 

for red boots, I couldn't find them anywhere! I searched and searched for weeks.  so I got the brilliant idea of spray painting some boots red.  went to the DI (for those of you outside of Utah, a thrift shop or good will would work) found some $7 boots and $5 dollar can of spray paint and went to town on them.  

with the pants and the top done, a shield ordered on amazon, and boots painted red, my costume was finished.  I put on some red lipstick and a patriotic attitude and I was ready for comic con. 

apologies for not having many pictures on this one. I was in a rush to finish so I forgot to take more photos, but any questions on how I did something, feel free to ask.