We had thirty-plus costumes to make and about one week to do it in. So, in order to give you the feel of the frenzied rush, I’m going to be as brief as possible, without being too laconic.

The Three Wielders

I wanted to upgrade Ben’s costume from last year, so we replaced the vest with a jacket made of green suede and brown corduroy.

Kyle got a completely new outfit. Black sweatpants and a black top (and I don’t mean asphalt). Actually, the cool shirt was once a sleeveless dress. We whacked off the bottom, made sleeves, and sewed them to the sleeve holes. It was pre-lined and everything!

Emcracy stayed the same, with a new pleated belt to replace last year’s. That poor thing was so warped and stretched out of shape I had no choice but to retire it.

Plus, all the wielders got real belts for their swords. Goodbye breaking sword belt outtakes! Oh, Kyle and Ben’s boots are fake leather pieces hot glued on de-thonged flip flops.

The Badguy

Fonsuger had to be sinister. So obviously, I needed to put as much oomph into his costumes as I could. We figured Fonsuger had come from the mountainous north, so his first costume featured a fur cape. Well, almost fur. A fleece blanket and a bath towel look great when you use them right.

His second costume also had a cape, this time crushed velvet with a fake leather top. We also broke down and got a store-bought clasp instead of making one out of cardboard.

The party outfit was fun to make. Purpley velvet and some old drapes. With the addition of a cone medallion (cardboard).

Fonsuger’s duel outfit is my personal favorite of his. Black jersey material with hand-stitched embroidery and beading on the collar and cuffs.

Gwenanda

Two words. Big. Green. That’s a lot of velvet there. The belt is cardboard, the wig isn’t, and Ruth did a wonderful job on the cape. Oh, and the hat is made from cape remnants.

The Badgal

The “Becca Badguy” as we call her, turned out a little differently than I expected, but I like the results. Black fabric with staggered pieces of orange velvet around the bottom. Ruth put eyelets in the vest and arm guards. And no, she’s not part of a motorcycle gang.

Wow, I got through that faster than I thought. I’ll save the Cone wielders, General Public, Lydia, etc. for other posts. In the meantime, remember — keep your safety pins closed, your scissors sheathed, and your hot glue guns holstered.