Sophie Hatter
Howl's Moving Castle
VARIATION Green Dress/Young
COST $90-100
HOURS TO MAKE 30-40
COMPLETED August 2008
STATUS Retired -- sold
WHY I MADE IT
I love Howl's Moving Castle ( the book more so than the movie ) and my friend Lizzie decided she wanted to cosplay Howl in his pink diamond jacket. Well, the natural choice seemed to be her corresponding green dress.
COSTUME CONSTRUCTION
The concept was simple, but the execution could have been better. I bought a bolt of muslin and used it to maker a pair of bloomers using my hand-drafted pants pattern, and a simple underskirt with an elastic waistband. The shoes were purchased on ebay. The dress was made of a green sateen cotton, using a nightgown pattern. It was a weird modification though, the easiest part was adding the cuffs to the sleeves. The waistband was a pain -- the back is gathered with elastic, and the front is gathered and stitched down. The whole thing is a little big, and really aught to be sized down, or re-made. The ruffle on the collar was made of bleached muslin and hand gathered and stitched in. The wig was a Carolyn from amphigory, and the hat was a lucky find at the thrift store. The hat band was made of remnants from the obi for my Maya Fey costume, and the bobbles were made of sculpy, then painted.
