Weiss Schnee RWBY
When I first saw the Ice Princess, I fell in love with her instantly. There were a multitude of hurdles when it came to this project that ended up teaching me a lot for future instances. Considering I originally made this about 10 years ago as of re-writing this for the umpteenth time (I’m saving documents now, I’ve learned,) it’s interesting to look back on how scrappy cosplayers were before we began really shaking up the industry.
PATTERNING
I began how I usually do; gather as many references as possible, do a breakdown of the costume piece by piece, and begin drawing up my own patterns. During this process I’m also considering the textures, weights and stretch of fabric and material choices.
A few users following my in-time progress online inquired about the wig, so I’ve included the drawing I made for them here as well. Her crown was made from some PETG cut into triangles, spray painted with a silver paint and glued to a wire I secured around the base of the tail.
DYEING
Possibly the lengthiest ordeal was forcibly dyeing my synthetic fabric with.. Sharpies. Don’t do this. I did not know any better at the time. Rit has a Synthetic line specifically for dyeing synthetic fabrics (and materials!) Afterwards, I cut the scalloped design into the skirt and sealed the edges so they wouldn’t fray. The final touch was dotting the fabric with white paint.
JACKET CONSTRUCTION
While the jacket pattern was relatively easy, I did not consider the collar when choosing materials for constructing my pattern. This was a build that required interfacing and the knowledge of how to install it, neither of which I had at the time. However, I remain confident in my applique utilizing Heat N Bond combined with a no fray treatment on the cut edges.
EMBELLISHING
I was originally rushing to finish this costume for an event, so I wasn’t able to photograph everything. The faux-lace that trims the dress was all hand-painted while sprawled out on my friends’ floor around 2am one night and blasting them with a hair dryer to try and save time.
I used the same Heat N Bond transfer technique for her bow, sandwiching the same sheer material as the lace trim between two ice pieces to create a subtle broken or floating illusion to the silhouette. To avoid damaging the fabrics, I always place a towel between my iron and the appliques.
TAILORING & ACCESSORIES
After returning from the event, I took the time to replace the top of the dress. I decided to go for a more uniform look with a princess seam to better fit my body without feeling too bulky or restricting. This was a relatively easy tailor to tackle since I only needed to change the top, which came apart from the bottom skirt at the mid-seam.
The pouch was sewn together with EVA foam lining the inside to keep its shape. Since I’m notorious for not wanting to carry extra things with me while in costume, I made sure to install a magnetic snap and size the pouch to be large enough to fit my phone and other essentials.
BOOT COVERS
For her shoes, I used a pair of wedge heels I had found specifically for this costume and got to work making my newspaper pattern by wrapping them up, drawing my seams and labeling all of my pieces. From there we sewed the front seams together, installed the invisible zippers on the back seams of the outer fabrics, flipped it all inside out to finish top stitching and had a beautiful boot cover with a lining! After securing them to my shoes with Epoxy 3000, I applied the final dye spray and finishing touches.
These boots are worn with the ankle straps to provide extra support, since the boot covers themselves are entirely aesthetic and do nothing to hold the shoe onto your foot.
ANIME REVOLUTION 2013
For how I built her Myrtenaster, you can follow the process here.
