Halloween Returns and She's Not Playing Nice

As it happens every year, I find myself buried in a heap of costuming projects. I am happily crafting away on a wool pirate coat, a toddler's My Little Pony costume, merchandise for vending at the Denver Witches' Ball the weekend before Halloween, performance costumes for my student troupe for that same event and the coup de grace- my loooong awaited Mord Sith costume. If you don't read fantasy literature or get into that sort of thing on TV then you most likely have no idea what I'm talking about. That's okay. Those who DO know are shuddering in fear and lust for you ;) 

The costume for a Mord Sith is somewhat complex though not impossibly so. Typically the largest challenge (assuming you know how to pattern and do fitting) is procuring the bloody buckles. Not what I would have expected to come to as my ultimate hurdle. I'll be blogging periodically about my construction process for those who might be interested (those who aren't can take a leap into cyberspace).

Here you see the patterning process more or less completed with the exception of the thigh holster.

The waist cincher is asymmetrical. It is supposed to open/close by way of quick laces in the gap you see on your left. Straps weave in and out of the remainder, basket style. I will be making this piece from the heavy Pellon interfacing you see pinned to my form here sewn to a layer or three of denim with mottled red pleather on the outer surface. Despite at least a solid week of searching online and in tack shops I have still not been happy with my buckle finds. Either they cost a fortune or they're too plain. *sigh*

Oh, and you might note that I've only draped half of the neck protection (gorget). That's because you only NEED to pattern half of the darn thing so long as it's symmetrical on each side. This will also be constructed from layers of Pellon, denim and pleather.