Accessories

Today I focused heavily on the accessories. I actually finished almost all of them, other than her broach which is half way done at this point. But pictures will explain everything better so with out further delay...


This is the white clay that the Cosplay website suggested. This can be found at any craft store. I bought 2 of these at JoAnn Fabrics. They were on sale and only $1.50 or so.


With a rolling pin and a clean surface I broke some of the clay off and rolled it out in a small circle. Using a flower clip art image from Google as my pattern I used a sharp instrument to cut out the flower. You can use a knive, razor blade, or any crafting tools you my be in contact with.


The result.


Using the bouncy ball I cut in half i placed it on top of the flower to make her daisy jewelry. You need 3 of these size flowers. 2 for her earrings and one for the front of her crown.


Soon to be earrings.


Using the same Google image, only much larger, I cut out the flower part for her broach that will be rigged into a necklace.


In order for the clay to harden and maintain its shape you have to bake it. The directions are on the package of the clay, therefore, you must get modeling clay for this to work.

After the clay was baked, all I had to do was super glue the bouncy balls onto the flowers. Super glue or epoxy is your best choice. It dries fast and holds the best.


Using the super glue I glued small jewelry hoops to the back of the clay and toward the top. Using dangle earring pieces I looped them in the hoops and waited for the glue to dry. The jewerly pieces were obtained from Hobby Lobby (or at any craft store).


Earrings: Final product


Crown after painting it gold.


Crown: Final product


Using the other package of clay I molded the clay into a elongated ball. Then I cut the back off of it so it was thinner and had a flat back to place on the larger flower. Again, this has to be baked to keep its shape.


Broach: Semi-Final product.


Broach: Final product. I painted the 'gem' part of it and, though it may be hard to see, I have attached a jewelry hoop in the back with super glue and attached fishing line to make it a necklace. Since there is not place to attach it on the dress itself.

The last accessory for the day was the gloves. I am not as happy with them as I am with the others accessories. I used the white fabric and sewed them to make the bump detail. However, due to how small I had to make them it was very difficult to keep them neat and nice. Also, the material I made the detail out of is very different from the costume gloves I purchased. With not a whole lot of options I have to deal with it. As well as it was not easy to sew the detail on to the glove. It shows the seam and it is evident that the two materials are different. But it is just a Halloween costume and it will do. Here is what they look like:


And here are all the accessories:


The best part is all that is left is putting the dress together. ^_^

Cutting the Fabric

Now that I have obtained all the necessary materials, it's time to get to work. The first thing to do is to pull out all the patterns and cut them to your appropriate size. Due to, again, me not being that small of a person, I had some concerns that the actual size of the pieces would not exactly fit me. Therefore, I cut the patterns a little larger. "You can always sew it smaller than sew it bigger," my mom said. I'd also like to take the time to thank my mother as well. She was a big help to me and we worked hard together on this project. I wouldn't have done it with out her. Thanks Mom! ^_^

Because I was able to find a dress pattern with exactly the same design as Daisy's dress there isn't much need for modification. Therefore, all I had to do was just cut out the patterns.


The 'costume' fabric or satin fabric purchased at JoAnn Fabrics. Of course the colors were white, yellow, and orange. For my particular size I ended up buying about 6 1/2 yards of yellow, 3 yards of orange and 1/2 yard of white. All around it added up to about $27. This will be varied on sale prices, actual price of fabric, type of fabric, and your size. Just follow what the pattern tells you to get on the back, and always buy a bit more for safe measure, unless your a pro. (Unlike me, lol)


Skirt panel, sleeve, sleeve band, and skirt puff


Front and back part of bodice. Sorry its upside down >.<

This is where the only modification to the original pattern design comes into place. Daisy's dress has two ruffles at the bottom of her dress. Just look at her picture at the top of my blog. Because there is no actual pattern for this part, I used the bottom part of the skirt panel. Since the two orange ruffles would be a trim placed a few inches from the bottom of the skirt and the actual trim of the skirt, using the bottom part of the skirt pattern was a perfect match.

This shows where I cut off the bottom part of the pattern. (can see the fabric still attached)


On top is the bottom of the skirt pattern and cut it whole on the orange fabric. Then I folded the orange fabric so I could cut it in half long ways. (can see where it is cut and is two pieces)


See it worked perfectly. This will give the double layer affect at the bottom of her dress. I will sew the top orange strip directly to the yellow fabric, then fold it over, iron, then hem the bottom. This will give a clean trim and make the top part stick out a bit like in her picture. Same will be done at the very bottom to make a nice clean trim and her bottom ruffle.

I can't wait to see what it will look like! ^_^

The very last thing I did tonight was cut out the little ruffle part for her gloves.


This is the pattern that I obtained from the Cosplay Peach website. Again, she is brilliant. I sized it to my liking on my computer then printed it out. Then I pinned it to the white fabric and cut out 4 pieces of it. It was the perfect size for the gloves. It is only supposed to be a little detail so they are to be small. I will sew these together, turn it right side out, then sew it to the gloves as if it was always there. Due to different fabric types it may not look exactly perfect, but it is a costume and have to do what we can to get it almost perfect. I still think it's gonna look good.

The only other thing I have to cut out is the neck finishing. The pattern used for the glove detail is the same for the neck outlining. However, I have made it much bigger for bigger bumps. Though at this point, I have to wait on cutting out that part until the bodice is either almost done or completely done. I'm not sure on how big or small I want the bumps to look on the dress so that will be one of the last things I will do.

Again, I am getting even more and more excited as I work with my costume. I was concerned that we weren't going to be able to pull off the double bottom ruffle but as you can see in the picture, it should look pretty darn close. I can't believe I am pulling this off. Again, with lots and lots of help from my mother. =D That is all for now. The next steps is sewing and that will be a smaller step by step process.

Shopping

In my area, the best place in the world to start looking for any sewing project is Joann Fabrics. (Any convenient fabric selling store should be ideal) This was the very first place I went to. The first thing I looked for was for the dress pattern. After sifting through hundreds of patters for about 2 1/2 hours (I picked the wrong shelving unit to start with) I found a princess costume pattern with almost the exact style dress that Daisy is wearing.



This included her puff sleeves, the 2 orange puffs on the side of her dress and had the long length that I wanted. I couldn't ask for a more perfect pattern. However, the neckline on the pattern does not go up as high as I wanted it to but there wasn't any other patters with all the same details all in one convenient package (therefore it was cheaper). It was on sale for 40% off at Joann's with made it about $10 (seasonal sale). I'm sure there are other ways of obtaining cheaper patterns, do what suits you best.

The next process was finding the fabric. Again Joann Fabrics was the place to look. I chose yellow, orange and white costume fabric (satin). Again, because I started around October there were seasonal sales. The fabric was $3.99 a yard and was 30% off. Bringing my total in fabric to about $30 (not including tax) Again, if you have a way of obtaining fabric cheaper, do so. As well as, I am not a small person, so more fabric was in order. ;D

Then it was time to look for ideas for the accessories. Several ideas were again from the website I originally sourced.

Gloves: Found short, white gloves at seasonal Halloween store for $3.99. Will use the white fabric to add her hump detail to them.

Crown: Again, I found a child's princess tiara for $2.50 at the same Halloween store. Will spray paint gold

Broach: From the website, she used clay for the gold outlining of Peach's blue broach, I chose the same type of clay but got white to make for the white pettels around the gem. Chose a large green (glass gem or bouncy ball) to place on top of clay. Will modify into necklace

Earrings: Used half of a green bouncy ball and the white clay on hoop earings


Crown Gems: Used half of green and pink bouncy balls and white clay for flower.

As I continue with this project I will go in detail of how I created each of the accessories as well. All the items were found at a craft store or a toy store (bouncy balls) at as cheap of prices as I could find.

Pricing is key in this process. I am normally an impulse shopper and just buy what I see but for an elaborate costume such as this, find the cheapest price that you can so you can do more with it later.

Side Note: Another accessory you may need to obtain is a wig. I have the same hair color as her and just plan on styling my own hair for the costume. That is an option for you as well.

Getting Started

The very first thing I did was Google search: Princess Daisy as a reference. This is the best resource you could possibly ask for. What I was looking for was repeated features of Daisy in all the different images. The main image I chose was:


This exact image was continuous in many of the images that came up in the search. This will help me with the way the dress is designed, the accessories (earrings, broach, gloves, crown), colors, and any other smaller details that I want in the costume.

After I chose my reference, I than began to search Google for 'how to make princess daisy costume.' My search was not very successful in finding someone who has written a process or some hints as to how to make the costume. (Hence why I am making this) Then I thought better of it and redid the search: Princess Peach. My search was much more successful, because she is a more popular character. I came across the website: http://trsrockin.com/peach_guide.html. She had logged her entire process complete with pictures and places of where she obtained all her materials. Again, I thank you greatly for posting that information! You were a great help! After I had reviewed what she had done I began to get the idea and understanding of what I need to obtain and to look for when I go to buy my materials. Google is a fantastic tool! Keep searching till you find what you're looking for!

After completing my searches and research it was time to go out to the stores and see what I could find.

Why???

Because I have always wanted to be Princess Daisy for Halloween. Though I'm not a fan of yellow and orange, I have always chosen Daisy for any Nintendo game due to the fact that I have the same color hair as her. (Stupid reason, I know)

Anyways, now that I have graduated college and back at home where there is a sewing machine and my mother to aid me, I felt that this year would be the year I would make this costume.

I am placing it on here to keep record of my progress and maybe to publish so others can make the costume as well.

Before I even begin I must source many of the ideas I used. http://trsrockin.com/peach_guide.html was a huge help in my process. Though you may never see this, thank you for having that available to the public to aid others with their projects. ^_^

As she did, I will source where I obtained all the materials for my own purpose and again for if this is view by the public's purpose.

I only have a month to complete this project, so I hope this goes well. =/