Missy continued - accessories!

Missy has a few accessories that need to be addressed.  There's her hat, complete with hatpin, her device (which a fellow Missy cosplayer dubbed the "MPDA" - Missy PDA), and lastly, her jewelry, including cameo, spiky bracelet, and her cyber bracelet.

For reference:
  So starting with the hat, after searching around more expensive options, I decided to remake a >$4 trilby from my local big-box store. I turned it inside out and used a seam ripper to remove the top half, flattened it with a steamy iron, and stitched it back on by hand. I used that same steam iron to press out the brim's original curl, then press in the new side flip:

To make the hatpin, I used Sculpey to form the black spike at the end, forming it over the head end of a 5" hat pin. Since JoAnn's only sells those in packets of 3, and allowing for the risk of damage in the forming/curing process, I went ahead and made 2. I could not find teardrop shaped pearly beads in time for the con, so I went with a basic round shape, and hit it with some Krazy Glue (the Kragle!) to stay in place. The final stage was to add purple flowers, daisies, and dark and light cherries to the hat. In retrospect, it also needed netting around the crown, but I stitched the flowers on, so I will have to go back at some other time to add the net.

Next up, my MPDA... I cut the shape out of several layers of balsa wood, and used the original prop design image (not totally SA, since the final version was more silver), and mod podged it to the (painted) wood. For a 3-D effect, I cut the "lens" side into two layers.



For Missy's cameo, I continue to be on the quest to find the simple-edged cameo setting used onscreen, but lacking that, I went with this ebay find: I picked up some black cameos to go in the brooch, and more recently, ordered some orange ones, to keep up with the evolution of the costume in the coming season.
I believe the closest match to her spiky bracelet is this little number from Hot Topic, but since I came across a thrift store find that was "close" when I was still shopping hats, I have not purchased this... yet. I might not since future evolution of the costume appears to drop the spiked bracelet.

The cyber bracelet is on my "future projects" list. For the time being, I have been using a plain silver colored cuff bracelet. It's delightful, turns my arm a lovely shade of green *smirk*

Missy from Doctor Who Season 8

Let's dive right in, shall we?

One of my new cosplays for this year's Gally (aka Gallifrey One, a Doctor Who convention held every February in Los Angeles) was the new character, Missy.  If you didn't watch last season yet, consider this your spoiler warning...

Here's my reference:

 Now, for practical reasons, which were absolutely justified by the weather that week, I decided to go with a much lighter fabric than the SA (screen accurate) wool.  Actually, the costume being blogged about is really a toile/practice before I use a much nicer but still lighter crepe - but for now... eggplant colored broadcloth!

Starting with Sense & Sensibility's 1905 Beatrix jacket and skirt patterns, first I had to redraft it up to my size, and in the process, removed the two side back pleats and add in a center back vent.

Overall fit was okay. The back was great, but the front will need alterations to the pattern before I make it again. I need to add about 2" to all front pieces, and some of the bust curve I took out needs to be put back in, reduce flare over the hips, and possibly add an additional 6" to all pieces after that.

After the initial fitting, I remembered that I needed to round off the bottom front corners of the jacket. Yes... I really used a cereal bowl, yes, it worked like a charm.


Next up... trim and buttons! In the absence of SA buttons, I found this very acceptable substitute:
And in the area of trim, I had a couple options, one closer to accurate, one significantly less expensive. Given that this is still technically a test version of the costume, I opted for the less expensive, a decision I have not regretted as I see the way that Missy's costume continues to change heading into the new season.
I will say that the trim stretched quite a bit as I was sewing it down. This initially seemed like a good thing (look at those lovely corners!), but it caused some misshaping of the jacket.
Next stage: accessories!