The Making Of: Korra

I made Korra for one of my best friends, Jessica Jeanne. So here's a bit on the process I went threw to make it :)

For the shirt, I made a pattern using the duct tape method. I had my friend wear an old shirt that could be cut up, then wrapped masking/duct tape around her (don't use pressure. You don't want it tight!). I copied that onto materials and then sewed it together. I used a stretch, lightweight cotton material for the shirt and put an invisible zipper in the back. The white pieces are bias tape. You can also mod pre-existing patterns.

For her arm bands, I used newspaper to make a simple "pattern"--really just to get the right size and length so it would fit well. make sure the openings are able to go over the widest part of the hands. While the blue pieces were a stretch, lightweight cotton materials, the bias tape doesn't have much give.

For the pants I used a simple pajama/sweat pants pattern from Simplicity. Just look around for something that's fitting, it should be easy to find.

I patterned the skirt with newspaper to get the right shape and size before cutting it out on the fabric. It's basically a large half circle. Then I sewed fake fur around the edges. I'm not sure what the exact material I used was, but it was close to a plush material (something that'd be used for stuffed animals). It was soft and semi-fuzzy. The skirt has a string tie, as well--like pj bottoms and sweat pants. I made the tie from the same kind of cotton material I'd been using.
For the blue skirt I cut out two triangles, sewed them together inside out (with a small section left open), turned them right side out and finished sewing it up. I attached Velcro onto the front side of the blue skirt, on either ends of the triangle corners that'd be against the brown skirt. Then I attached a longer strip to the inside of the brown skirt--this way the blue skirt would attach simply by Velcro-ing it on.

The arm band was made from the same type of cotton material the rest of the costume was made from (I used this lightweight, stretch cotton for everything but the lining, fur and brown skirt--it's super comfy to wear and breathable). To add the pattern I used white fabric paint the brand Tulip. To get straight lines I laid down scotch tape and taped paper circles where need be. For this you want to dab on the paint, don't paint it like you would a painting or something because then the paint may get under any lifted parts of the tape or paper and the line won't be as clean. I sewed it together after the paint was dry. Remove the tape once fully dry and before sewing--make sure the tape goes off the edges of the fabric so you have an edge to easily grab when taking it off.

And that's how I made Korra. Hope this could be of some use to any future Korra cosplayers out there! :)

~Positive outcomes only! :)