Series: Granado Espada
Worn to: Youmacon 2007
Status: Active

I stumbled upon the artwork for Granado Espada at just the right time. I had hit the point where I knew I wanted to branch outside my sewing comfort zone and try something more challenging than I was used to. Although ALL of the Granado Espada artwork is gorgeously detailed and really beautiful, the Fighter costume immediately jumped out at me. I loved the little hat and the silver spandex and, because I already had a wig and needed a costume for Youmacon, I was sold.

The jacket was a bit of a challenge because half-way through construction, my machine decided it HATED the fabric and refused to sew through it any more. In the end, the jacket is the coolest part of the costume; its fully lined, has quilting in the back, and has cute little holes throughout. I made the bag (and good LORD is it convenient to have!) and on my legs I'm wearing one pair of gray tights, black fishnets, silver spandex thigh-highs and silver spandex boots. The shirt is a very low cut black shirt and I used bias tape for the orange stripes. The collar is connected to the shirt using a series of snaps and the "pin" is just a painted button. I got the hat for my birthday from my friend Megan and modified it with bias tape and made the little eagle out of craft foam.

To be honest, this is probably the first costume that I am proud of construction-wise. I drafted all of the patterns myself and tried a lot of things I had never attempted before. I ended up winning an Honorable Mention craftsmanship award at Youmacon and it is my first construction-based award so I'm quite proud. I definitely want to wear this again soon.