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Legolas - Halloween shortcutsHere we present some shortcuts from our members. If this is a Halloween costume for kids, they aren't going to care if it's dead on accurate, right? You could use quilting cotton instead of trying for a suedey fabric - there are solids in the greens that look really good (even some that are mottled like worn suede). Then you have a choice of either making a tunic body and splitting it down the middle or making it out of a bathrobe or jacket pattern. When I did my Legolas bathrobe, I made up the body, pinned it closed where it would be on me, and then worked out the dark leaf section on the top so that when the bathrobe was closed it would still stay centered. You can do the designs with fabric paint (I think they are on the ACS site?). The only fussy part is the sleeves and Naomi posted some lovely drawings on how to make the sleeves with a set-in sleeve cap. For the silk shirt layer, you could either cheat and get a grey collared shirt underneath and stick the collar up, or use one of the patterns suggested on the ACS pattern page under elves. Pants are easy: let him wear grey sweatpants! The boots were basically gaiters anyway, so you can do that out of felt or something. === Judy Check out Robin's quick Legolas in the scrapbook Doing the designsGold metallic pen is great for doing the vambrace and boot designs. Looked great on the brown, leather-look vinyl for my sons costume == Lisa Another option is the kind of permanent metallic marker used that will write on metal/glass/etc. Test it on a scrap first, as the solvent can 'spread' on some fabrics, but they are fine, leave a distinct silver shimmer on the surface without looking plasticky and they are easy to draw with! ==Naomi Pattern from a Shirt(Intermediate) Take one men's shirt from thrift store. Turn one sleeve inside out and slip it through the other sleeve, lining up the armholes (you will have 'half' a shirt). Cut off the sleeves at elbow length. Mark the length of the jerkin sleeves on both inner and outer. For undersleeve: Peel back the outside sleeve or roll it out of the way. On the undersleeve mark a curve like Legolas' shirt - it is easier to get someone to wear it while you do it and copy a photograph. Using a marker pen, draw the shape around the arm - it is longer at the back of the elbow and higher on the inner arm, and curves up so both sides meet at an inverted 'v' point about 2" from the shoulder seam. This gives an asymmetric shape when you cut the flat pattern, with the curve slightly to one side of centre. Cut along the curve, then cut a slit from the point of the 'v' to the shoulder seam - this is where the overlap would be. For oversleeve: roll the outer sleeve back down, and working carefully, mark the curve of the top sleeve. Now your shirt should look like Legolas jerkin sleeve. To make the pattern, simply cut off the sleeves along the armhole seam line, and lay them flat. (the undersleeve will have a seam down the middle and a funny looking curve along the top instead of the usual hump). Extend the ends of each piece to make your overlaps, and cut it out of your fabric. Hem or finish the edges before assembling your shirt. any embroidery should also be done now. Pin the outersleeve into the armhole, and baste. Then pin the undersleeve in, and sew the three layers together. Remember to overlap outside over inside and from back to front. == Naomi Quick Quiver and ArrowsEarlier, someone said something about using a long mailing tube. You could also get a big piece of poster board or oak-tag in the manilla or maybe a brown color, cut a circle for the bottom and then mess around with a cone shape that will fit the bottom circle (that's if you care about it being flared - a straight tube is much easier). For arrows... do they still sell suction cup arrows? Really all an arrow is, is a wooden dowel with feathers and a point attached. If you aren't planning on shooting it (which I don't think you are) you don't need the point and you don't need to worry about how you stick the feathers on the shaft. (depending how crafty you are, carefully split the feathers along the shaft and glue them on in threes). Or you could check at a thrift store? Maybe they have some toy arrows? ==Judy Quiver and Straps - Intermediate level1) Get a long sheets of plastic canvas from your local craft store. You'll need a circle of plastic canvas for the bottom, too. Many places sell those pre-made, but if not, get a small sheet of the canvas and cut out a circle with old scissors you don't mind ruining. 2) Buy enough suede cloth or soft leather to cover both pieces of plastic canvas. Buy a fabric to line the quiver with, too. Cotton broadcloth should be fine. 3) Cut your fabric the size of the canvas rectangle, plus a 1/2 inch seam allowance on 3 sides and 1 1/2 inches at the top. Cut a circle for the bottom by tracing your Plastic canvas circle and adding 1/2 seam allow. 4) Repeat step #4 with your lining fabric. 5) Paint your quiver design on the fabric while it's still flat. There's a peacock of Legolas' Lothlorien quiver, just scrolling gold work at the top and bottom of his Mirkwood one. 6) Sew the lining fabric rectangle into a tube, then sew the circle to the bottom of the tube. Leave the seam allowances on the outside. 7) Take your outer fabric or leather and lay it on top of the plastic canvas rectangle. Fold the vertical edges of the fabric rectangle around to the back of the canvas. You can use masking tape to hold the edges down. Now roll both layers into a tube. Whipstitch through both the canvas and fabric by hand with either brown yarn, twine, or suede lace. This needs to look like lacing, so the stitches can be quite far apart. You could also do X-shaped stitches. Tada! You have a tube. 8) Lay your fabric circle atop your Plastic one, and fold all edges around to the back of the plastic canvas. Whipstitch this to the bottom of your tube, keeping all fabric edges folded inward. 9) Now take that lining you made and insert it into your hard tube. 10) Fold the top edge of the outer fabric/leather to the inside of the tube. Fold under again to encase your fabric raw edges, and whipstitch with a heavy sewing thread. (These stitches should be close together.) Viola! A quiver! For a quick shoulder straps, get a man's belt long enough to wrap from your son's shoulder to bottom of ribcage on opposite side, and back. Add a shorter belt to his side from the clasp of the first one in front back to the quiver. If you don't want to damage the belts for the costume, consider just looping a tie of some sort (maybe more suede lace) through that wide whipstitch lacing on the underside of your quiver and tying the quiver to the belts. --N'stasha Quiver from a coat sleeveI don't know how much you want to spend on this Legolas costume, but here's one suggestion. Check out a thrift store and try to find either a beat up leather coat or a pair of leather pants in the right color. Cut off an arm or a leg and use that to create a quiver. Understanding that quivers are usually narrower at the bottom than the top. You can glue a round or oblong piece of heavy duty cardboard in the bottom to help give it shape. And use some of that quarter inch thick clear aquarium tubing to create a ring to keep the top open. You'd glue or sew it inside the top of the quiver, under a flap of leather, to hide it. ==Fran E. Boots vambraces or quiver.Hit a thrift shop and find a pair of tall leather boots that aren't Quiver, follow the steps in the notes above this one. ==Matthew A. Vambraces from an old CoatGarment weight leather like you'd get from a coat is too soft by itself. Get some foam, cut up your leather coat or whatever you have and glue it to that foam. Vambraces made out of garment weight leather won't look like real vambraces if they are not backed with something to give them a bit more body. You'll probably have to paint the design on as tooling probably won't work on such thin leather. You can tool thin leather but I wouldn't try it with garment weight leather, unless you intend to 'burn' the design into it and not actually use a swivel knife to cut in the design. And even then you run the risk of whatever you are doing going straight through the leather. == Tammy Disclaimer: Everything here is just provided to help you out as a suggestion. . v ----- Advertisement -----v
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This page was last updated 04/22/08 |
