Lady Mothra

My Award-Winning Costume of Worldcon 76

  

My inspiration came from MOTHRA--the 1961 Japanese film that I've loved since I was a child. Recent films like Pacific Rim and the Godzilla remake got me interested in giant monsters again.

My original concept for the costume was a geisha in the elaborate kimono and wings would emerge out of the obi (bow) in the back. My music choice would have been the final aria from Madame Butterfly. The more I thought about it and envisioned my stage performance, the less appealing that whole scene became.

I re-watched the original film and realized that Mothra is a gentle-hearted monster. A greedy businessman massacres the native people of Mothra's island in order to kidnap the little fairy girls and force them to perform on stage. The fairies sing a song to summon Mothra who journeys across the ocean to rescue them. All of the destruction caused by Mothra along the way could have been avoided if only the greedy businessman had honorably returned the fairies to their home. In the end, it is not military might but the compassion of newspaper journalists who give the fairies up to Mothra who takes them home.

My design changed into a combination of Mothra wings + Victorian bustle gown to capture the elegance of this graceful monster with the essence of a fuzzy moth body. I had wanted to make the wings first and the garment second, but with mishaps of acquiring materials, I ended up doing the opposite.

Here is how I made the four main parts, in order of construction: the headpiece, the jacket, the bustle skirt, and the wings.

Headpiece

For the pattern, I used a generic peasant cap. I made buttonholes on the top center panel to insert a giant pipe cleaner for antennae. The eyes are foam half-disks covered with blue glitter--so much glitter! Tip: I used an empty plastic container of grocery store salad mix to contain the sprinkling glitter. The eyelashes are yarn that I wrapped around two chopsticks, stitched a thin ribbon down the middle, cut at the edges, and folded. 

  

Jacket

For the pattern, I used a sporty jacket that I had used before as the tunic of General Leia Organa. I decided on sleeveless because I would need to raise my arms to lift the wings. I made the center panel in contrasting brown taffeta to line up with the center panel of the skirt--capturing the essence of Mothra's abdominal colors.

I made two slits in the back seam where I planned to insert the straps of the wings' harness. More on that below. The separating zipper was a life-saver, backstage, as I could unzip the jacket and cool off before the performance. 

Bustle Skirt

For the pattern, I used a commercial pattern that I had never used before. I've made two bustle skirts previously, but despite that experience I wrestled with it more than I had planned. Part of it was a lack of clarity in the printed instructions, so I took it step by step. Only after completing a step, I would think of a more efficient way to achieve the same result. The large amount of fabric (9 or 10 yards) was also difficult to handle. Often I found myself swallowed under the "tent" tucking up the tucks or spreading out panels of taffeta the full length of the living room floor.

The only modification that I made was in the trim. The pattern wanted me to hand-pleat the entire bottom ruffle in three rows. Sorry, but no. I purchased cotton eyelet.

Tip: for the bustle pillow, I used a jumbo sponge from the hardware store and filled out the edges with regular poly fiberfill.

Once it was finished, though, I am very happy with the end product. Putting it on is a breeze! Step in… Two skirt hooks… Done! Taffeta has a great stiffness that holds its shape and has a wonderful sheen under stage lights.

Wings

Given my insect phobia, I had to study photos and diagrams of real moths. I compared them to images of Mothra and sketched a design.

 For the pattern, I used paper drop cloth from the hardware store. My husband assisted by tracing the outline of my body as I spread-eagled on the living room floor. From that outline, I free-handed the upper and lower wings.

I considered several fabric options until I stumbled upon something called Smart-Fab. I ordered a small packet of multi-color sheets to experiment with the texture, the thickness, and how it behaved for paint and glue. Pros:  it doesn't fray, it doesn't rip, it is slightly opaque, and it is easy to paint. Cons: the instructions claim it takes all kinds of glue except hot glue, when in reality hot glue was the only thing that really stuck.

My idea was to dip macramé cord in white glue and lay the cords on the wings. Not only would it give structure but it would mimic the veins of real moth wings. I bought an entire gallon of Elmer's glue at the hardware store and used the grocery store salad container as a dipping bowl.

To my dismay, the glue-dipped cords did not stick! I tried samples with tacky glue, gorilla glue, stinky epoxy glue, but the only thing that really worked was hot glue. I went through two whole packages of glue sticks.  Tip: use a wooden chopstick to press a narrow thing down and save your fingertips from burning.

Thanks to the opaque texture of Smart-Fab, I could use my paper dropcloth pattern to trace the Mothra design onto the wings. Then came the PAINT.

I used the expensive stuff because my tests of cheap fingerpaint or poster paint did not have the brilliance or smooth coverage. I used all of the orange, yellow, and most of the red. I ran out of black and had to run to Michael's for more. What took the most time was waiting for it to dry.  Remember, I had to paint each side, left and right in mirror images. My dinner table could only take one wing at a time. I lost track of time, but I think it took a full two weeks just to paint them.

Coming this far, why not go all the way in my attention to detail? Mothra has a soft fuzz on the upper edge of the wings, and a panel of white and orange stripes. I painted orange stripes on white felt, although in hindsight I could have bought orange felt too. I cut long strips of fleece and hot-glued it over the top edge. Also, in addition to the macramé cords, I sewed casings of Smart-Fab and inserted wooden dowels. If I had to do it again, I would use 12-gauge craft wire because the wooden dowels cracked afterwards when going back into the closet.

The "thorax" is an oval of orange taffeta to match the back of the jacket. Inside are strips of twill tape where I used buttonhole thread to stitch on the wings.

The shoulder harness is the part that I left until the last-minute. I did not expect the wings to get so HEAVY after all that glue, cord, paint, dowel, felt, and fleece. Stupid me, I used paracord to loop over my shoulders. I looped twill tape around my legs, like a safety harness, and used a carabineer to clip the paracord onto it. Sure, getting into the costume was easy enough. By the end of the evening, the cords had dug rope burns into my shoulders.

Overall, I'm really pleased with how it turned out. The wings are easy to wear and looked spectacular when I lifted them up on stage. I feel honored to have earned an award at a world-class competition. For the next time, I am making a new harness!

Steampunk Corset (Bustier)

My niece wanted a steampunk corset and I was delighted to volunteer. Always looking for a new challenge! One big consideration in the pattern choice is that my niece does not have a lot of experience wearing restrictive garments, such as ren faire bodices, tight-lace hourglass corsets, etc. I decided on a simple bustier type "corset" (in quotes) to get her started.

I chose Simplicity pattern #1819, the steampunk bolero outfit.

It's a solid wraparound piece that laces up the back, so there is no busk.

My first step was to trace the pattern pieces according to her measurements. I used my trusty French curve from the dollar store.

Then the cutting happens. My niece purchased some very nice black coutil, which cuts like a dream...

...and I marked the pieces with chalk to keep myself from going crazy.

For the fashion fabric, she bought this heavy vinyl pleather-type stuff with a felt backing. It's gorgeous but it had some challenges for the pins and the scissors. I ended up tracing on the wrong side with chalk and cutting, instead of trying to jam a pin through the pattern paper.

Getting it through the sewing machine also required some adjustments. I used my trusty office supplies to clip the vinyl pieces together instead of trying to get a pin into it.

A great trick I learned from a Carol Wood corset workshop, I used a cardboard form tube from the hardware store that is usually used as a mold for cement pillars. It approximates the curve of a human body, so I draped the vinyl over the black coutil lining.

I had some fiddling to do with making the 2 different textures mesh together. When I stitched-in-the-ditch to stabilize the seams, the one on the end did not quite synch up. But it only shows on the inside!

There it is laid out before I put in the grommets and the boning channels. I can't wait to visit her and try it on! We'll talk about the embellishments.

Oh, and I made a little top hat to match.

White and Gold Corset

I have been promising and promising my daughter that I'd make her a white and gold corset. I got this fabulous white brocade from a friend taking down her curtains. I've lined the inside with the beige coutil I had leftover from another project.

The mail order busk arrived yesterday, and I put it in the seams last night. It looks really lovely so far.

Now it's ready to try on, and make any last fitting adjustments before I do the boning channels. This is my first attempt at a "nice" corset using the Silverado style in the Laughing Moon pattern -- yeah, the one with the intimidating gore inserts. I've tried it before with plain denim for my friend to wear under her Dickens Fair gown, but never something nice enough to be seen. The pressure is on!!