Cosplay: Syaoran Li from Card Captor Sakura (Battle Version)
Costume Status: 100% Complete
Last Halloween, after watching nearly every episode of Card Captor Sakura with his sister, Ethan wanted to be Syaoran Li. He especially wanted his costume to go with his sister's costume.
Reference Pictures:
WIP Photos and Details:
I based the outer robe on a generic robe/tunic pattern - with extensive modifications. For the fabric, I used costume satin.
I drew an oblong shape as a base for the black design on the front. Then I enlarged and printed a ying-yang symbol to use as the pattern for the appliqué on the back.
After applying orange bias tape...
I drew the white "teardrop" shapes on a paper first. After satin stitching them on...
Costume Front:
Costume Back:
Applying orange bias tape to the yellow collar:
Attaching the collar to the outer robe:
And... that was as far as I got by Halloween morning.
You try making three costumes in one month! It's not easy! I made Itachi's Akatsuki cloak in early October and finished Talia's Card Captor Sakura costume about a week before Halloween. So I only had a handful of days to work on Ethan's Syaoran Li costume.
Poor Ethan. At breakfast on Halloween morning, he saw that there weren't even any sleeves on his costume and started to cry. He was very sad. I promised him it would be ready in time for Trick-or-Treating. While he was at school, I sewed non-stop. (I even skipped lunch.)
I modified a kimono sleeve pattern for the sleeves. Orange bias tape was sewn in between the green sleeves and the yellow cuffs. Then I applied orange bias tape to the rest of the robe and created a simple, wide orange belt.
By the time Ethan got home from school, this was ready:
It wasn't 100% complete, as we were missing the hat and quite a few details. But it was complete enough that he could go trick-or-treating in it. And that was all he really cared about anyway!
Ethan was so happy the costume was "finished." Here, he's all smiles and all set to go trick-or-treating! ^_^
Of course, I couldn't leave it unfinished. Besides, Ethan really wanted the hat. We also had a costume themed piano recital in November. Our piano teacher thought it would be fun to give the kids another opportunity to wear their costumes. ^_^
Applying the yellow appliqué to the front...
Then satin-stitching a smaller ying-yang symbol inside the yellow circle...
I used dark orange thread to sew the sunburst pattern inside the yellow circle, but the pattern is hard to see - and it's barely visible in photos. I should have used black thread instead!
I had no idea what to do about the hat. I sew. I'm not a milliner! I based Li's hat on a beret pattern and used a very stiff interfacing on the inside to keep the hat from becoming too floppy.
Base Hat:
After I made the base hat, I realized that it was a little too small. It barely fit Ethan's head. I should have made it larger. *sigh*
Next, I sketched the yellow-and-orange trim for the hat. In the end, I decided to omit the orange scroll details on the hat to simplify the construction. (Ethan wouldn't know the difference anyway.) For the black accents on the hat, I used the biggest black buttons that I could find.
Side view of Li's hat - with orange scroll details omitted:
The white pants were also made from costume satin. The elastic waist pants were so easy to make, I finished them in less than an hour. I purchased a "ninja" sword on sale for $2 the weekend after Halloween. For the finishing touch, I added three gold bells: one on each sleeve, and on on the back tail.
Ethan as Syaoran Li (battle version):
This Halloween, Ethan wants to be Obi-Wan Kenobi with a green lightsaber from Star Wars. This year, I'm going to make his costume first!
Last Halloween, after watching nearly every episode of Card Captor Sakura with his sister, Ethan wanted to be Syaoran Li. He especially wanted his costume to go with his sister's costume.
Reference Pictures:
WIP Photos and Details:
I based the outer robe on a generic robe/tunic pattern - with extensive modifications. For the fabric, I used costume satin.
I drew an oblong shape as a base for the black design on the front. Then I enlarged and printed a ying-yang symbol to use as the pattern for the appliqué on the back.
After applying orange bias tape...
I drew the white "teardrop" shapes on a paper first. After satin stitching them on...
Costume Front:
Costume Back:
Applying orange bias tape to the yellow collar:
Attaching the collar to the outer robe:
And... that was as far as I got by Halloween morning.
You try making three costumes in one month! It's not easy! I made Itachi's Akatsuki cloak in early October and finished Talia's Card Captor Sakura costume about a week before Halloween. So I only had a handful of days to work on Ethan's Syaoran Li costume.
Poor Ethan. At breakfast on Halloween morning, he saw that there weren't even any sleeves on his costume and started to cry. He was very sad. I promised him it would be ready in time for Trick-or-Treating. While he was at school, I sewed non-stop. (I even skipped lunch.)
I modified a kimono sleeve pattern for the sleeves. Orange bias tape was sewn in between the green sleeves and the yellow cuffs. Then I applied orange bias tape to the rest of the robe and created a simple, wide orange belt.
By the time Ethan got home from school, this was ready:
It wasn't 100% complete, as we were missing the hat and quite a few details. But it was complete enough that he could go trick-or-treating in it. And that was all he really cared about anyway!
Ethan was so happy the costume was "finished." Here, he's all smiles and all set to go trick-or-treating! ^_^
Of course, I couldn't leave it unfinished. Besides, Ethan really wanted the hat. We also had a costume themed piano recital in November. Our piano teacher thought it would be fun to give the kids another opportunity to wear their costumes. ^_^
Applying the yellow appliqué to the front...
Then satin-stitching a smaller ying-yang symbol inside the yellow circle...
I used dark orange thread to sew the sunburst pattern inside the yellow circle, but the pattern is hard to see - and it's barely visible in photos. I should have used black thread instead!
I had no idea what to do about the hat. I sew. I'm not a milliner! I based Li's hat on a beret pattern and used a very stiff interfacing on the inside to keep the hat from becoming too floppy.
Base Hat:
After I made the base hat, I realized that it was a little too small. It barely fit Ethan's head. I should have made it larger. *sigh*
Next, I sketched the yellow-and-orange trim for the hat. In the end, I decided to omit the orange scroll details on the hat to simplify the construction. (Ethan wouldn't know the difference anyway.) For the black accents on the hat, I used the biggest black buttons that I could find.
Side view of Li's hat - with orange scroll details omitted:
The white pants were also made from costume satin. The elastic waist pants were so easy to make, I finished them in less than an hour. I purchased a "ninja" sword on sale for $2 the weekend after Halloween. For the finishing touch, I added three gold bells: one on each sleeve, and on on the back tail.
Ethan as Syaoran Li (battle version):
This Halloween, Ethan wants to be Obi-Wan Kenobi with a green lightsaber from Star Wars. This year, I'm going to make his costume first!