Jäätynyt Enkeli´s Cosplay: The Green Hero Process Part: 1

During the end of 2012 I decided that Link from The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past will be the next cosplay that I will start working on. I wanted to do this version of Link since it´s old-school and A Link to the Past is the only Zelda game I have played through and really loved (Gameboy Advance version of it, not the original one for Super Nintendo, even I have it).

Why just Link from "A Link to the Past"?

I have always liked platform Zelda games more than the 2D and 3D ones that are the nowadays Zelda games. Why? When I was a kid around 5-7 years old I tried both Ocarina of Time and Majoras Mask at my aunt´s place. In Ocarina of Time I started inside a pitch-black building with several floors and when I came to the top floor and went through a door, I saw in the next room... well freaking Gandondorf! I don´t know were I was exactly since it was so long ago this happened. Just imagine that scene before you face him when he tries to blow you away or something with the loud music playing in the background when you´re about 5-7 year old and mostly been playing platform games your whole life. It might not sound so bad, but I was scared! Really scared so scared that I immediately shut down the whole game system! Ever since that experience I haven´t dared to play any of the newer Zelda games until Wind Waker was released. I thought of giving it a try since it looked more "fun and cartoon-ish", hence I always played with Tingle which was quite fun. We´ll see if I and my twin will play through the game one day.

A Link to the Past is also a game I hold close to my heart and which contains a lot of good gaming memories from the past and therefore I wanted to cosplay someone from it, someone who I like and who is male - Link.

Now to the process ~

The Green Hero Process Part: 1

Yesterday (2/1) I went to the attic (a part of my mom´s house) to pick up the fabrics that I will need for the chosen cosplay. Here is the fabrics that I will use:

...and here´s what I will sew:

Link from The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

Alright! Once the fabrics were taken to the kitchen (where we cut out all the pieces to our costumes), I went to get the patterns that we were going to use for the costume. I have done cosplays in the past with similar shirt designs (without sleeves) so I could just take one I had used before. No need to draw new ones this time. I put the patterns on the green fabric (which I chose to begin with) drew the lines, adjusted the lengh for his shirt and cutted them out. First time I did this myself (mostly).

Once the shirt pieces (front and back) were cut out I carried them away from the kitchen and thought about how to do his hat instead . After a while I figured out how to do it (without using references or patterns) because there could obviously only be one way of doing it. Mom also told me to try to figure out the shape by myself, since I will need to adjust and draw patterns on my own for future cosplays. I got confused of the head´s lenght, since it seemed so big at first on the fabric when I had drawn it, so I went "No way, it can be this big!". But it was supposed to go all around the head, and when I tested and measured half size of the original half I had gotten, it looked way too short (I didn´t draw any test lines).

Without further questions, or showing it to mom (who often check things before letting me advance, in case I fail which has happened) I cut it out and was hoping it would work. Need to be more self going and not be afraid to screw stuff, like I were before. Yes, I have rusted after not properly sewing in about three years.

After that I felt it was enough for the day and I laid the progress to rest. It was getting late and mom was turning into rage mom...scary shit.

Today (3/1) during evening I continued with the Link cosplay, I was in the mood for it, and I wanted to get something done today. So I took the front and back shirt pieces and went to sew them together on the shoulders and the sides. The stitching in general looked nice, but it was very near the edge of the fabric in some areas, where the fabric was uneven. So I did a straight stitching right next to all the areas I sewed, to make sure there won´t be any holes later.

Process after the straight stitching and when the shirt is turned inside-out, like it should be.

You should put the right sides of the fabrics against each other before sewing, but neither me or my mom could say which side was the right one (mom is a formel sewer, why we have a fabric attic <3), I later found out when I had already sewed the shoulders...darn. However, there isn´t much of a difference and I don´t think anyone will even notice it, unless they have really sensitive fingers when touching a fabric, haha.

The hat piece that I cutted out yesterday, I took a picture of it. To show its shape.

Just think on a fat Triforce and you can´t do it wrong!

I tried to sew with mom´s overlock machine but the stitching derped and didn´t look nice and it has always been derp when I have been sewing with it, for some unknown reason. So mom took the hat sewed it together, by placing the right sides next to each other and wrom was it done. She then took the yellow ribknit-like fabric cutted out an enough long bit of it (measuring my head size) and put it on top of the "right turned" hat and started to sew it in place, by stretching it to fit with the green fabric (hat fabric). It went well and were done in less than 3 minutes, I also found out what I did wrong with the overlock machine when I saw mom sewing with it. So I got something out of it and from now on it should work properly and not derp when I sew, I hope.

Final results of the hat: