Supermario toad hats

 So I am making Toadette and Toadbert for me and my husband, from Supermario.

This weekend our cosplay group had a build weekend, meaning the whole Saturday and Sunday could be dedicated to making stuff, and I decided to start with our hats.

The pattern for the hat was developed from a paper patern for making sphere in six parts. I had previously started with making paper versions to see if I could get the shape that I wanted.

This was me trying to get the proportions right from the paper pattern.

This was the shape that I felt happy with in the smal scale. That V-cut out was very important to shape the top and bottom part of the "donut".

After this it was time scale up the pattern, and I did that in cardboard.

Here are the steps in scaling up the pattern, with the pattern getting bigger and bigger. Then it was time to work with foam. I used 5 mm EVA foam to craft the hats. I started with the hat for my husband, and it was definitely a learning curve. For him I made the V cutouts fairly short and wide and it was hard for me to close them.  For my own hat I made the V cutouts longer and thinner. It was much easier, but I felt that I lost some of the shape that I wanted to have.

This was the final results, but I was not happy with them. They feel too much like hats, or squashed donuts, not the tall rounded shape. It is hard to work with proportions for such a non-proportional character like a Supermario toad, but I defintitely felt that I wouldn't be happy with this. 

So for now I have cut the hats in half in the middle, and my plan is to insert a strip of foam there to make them taller. I am out of foam though so I will have to wait until I can buy more before I continue. I am also a bit worried about the hats staying on. They will catch a lot of wind in this size, and even they feel good when we are standing, i amthinkint that we need to be able to attach them to our heads more securely, but not using a strap under the chin or something like that.

The plan after that is to cover them in felt/soft foam before covering them in fabric to get the finished result.

May the 4th on TV

Last Sunday it was of course May the Fourth, and I hadn't planned to do anything more than watch the latest episodes of Andor. But when Swedish garrison was asked if we could be on TV4 Nyhetsmorgon, basically the biggest morning show on national TV, and I was asked to take care of the talking of course I said yes, I was going to be in Stockholm over the weekend anyway. I chose to go as a pilot, since that is the most iconic costume that I have, except for Princess Leia.

It was fun wearing the pilot again, for the first time in several years. I even brought my best boots, the East German military boots that are both too big in the foot and to small around the calves so I can't walk or march in them, but they look the best when standing or sitting.

They had quite a nice backdrop and even smoke in the studio. I got to talk about Star Wars day the costuming clubs and the charity work that we do.

I was talking and the other troopers looked cool. It was a fun thing to do on a Sunday morning. I