Construction Details:

Event: Anime Expo 2011
Time: 4 Days (2 planned/ 2 sewing)
Cost: $38.97 USD (excluding the $50 Converse)
Materials: 4 yards of Black Textured Pleather, 1/2 yard of pink Ribbon, 1 yard of Black Twill Tape, and A plain white v-neck shirt.

If you want to wing this costume without buying any patterns here are the piece I cut out excluding the long rectangle that makes the pleats.
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f172/kagome574/tifa.jpg?t=1321916106

White Shirt: Bought at a thrift store for a dollar. It is a V-neck so it will not show above the neckline of the jacket. I hemmed the shoulders and waist of the shirt to my liking.

Vest:Made using Simplicity Pattern Misses & Miss Petite Jacket 2284 without any alterations. The pattern came with an option to cut as a vest and was a perfect length. It made everything much easier for a first time sewer. I highly recommend this pattern for Tifa. I used Black Textured Pleather which is $8.99/YRD at Joanns and since Joanns always has coupons and sales I got all the 4 yards I bought for half off.

I did add 2 extra sewing lines on the back as Tifa has this on her vest.

Shorts: The pattern for the shorts was made from tracing some pants I have that fit me. I just estimated the length then adjusted the hem after I sewed everything together. I made 6 small rectangles for the belt loops and placed 3 on each leg. One rectangle on the outside sewed line, another on the inside line and the last was placed in the middle of the leg. I then made the belts from left over Pleather. Each belt is a yard long and a inch wide. I hemmed the sides to make each belt look presentable.

Duster: The Duster and the Apron are connected by a belt which is stringed through a inch gap left between the front and back of the duster and apron at the top of each piece(If you like me to clarify this a little more please message me as it is a great way to keep these piece from falling or being too heavy). The duster is the back part that flies off of Tifa. I first cut out two rectangles connecting on the folded piece of fabric that I measured along my hips and looked at Tifa's reference picture for Length. The back rectangle goes to just above the anckles and from there the flap begins. I sewed up the sides and top leaving a one inch hole for my belt and the bottom open so the top of the duster can be hidden between the layers. The flap or duster is pleated and has 8 pleats all together. The length of the duster goes to Tifa's ankles. The pleats I made were 2 inches wide so I double the length of the rectangle I made previously. It is good to get some cheap cloth and test the length out first because pleats get difficult. If you do not know how to pleat there are tutorials that can be easily found through a search engine or on youtube. If you would like me to explain how they work please message me. After, i finished pleating I put the pleats between the two rectangles and sewed them up twice so I could have extra support.

Apron: The apron was simple. I cut out two rectangles, leaving the top connected by the folded piece of fabric, measuring from hip to hip and the length coming down to just above the mid point the thighs. I sewed the two rectangles together leaving a inch at the top for my belt to go through. I then cut a smaller rectangle, hemmed it, then sewed it to the front. I sewed the middle in two lines as shown on Tifa's reference and then added 3 button on each side of the pocket. Once you have the duster and apron finished string the belt through the top hole you left and be sure to have the silver part showing on your left side just like tifa.

Shoes and Gloves:
The shoes are Converse All Star High Tops/ Black and were the most expensive part of the costume. Bought at Famous Footwear for $50 I could not find a place cheaper(they were $45.99 plus tax) where I live. I bought some Black Twill Tape by Simplicity ($3.99 for 9 feet) at Joanns to make the ribbon and hide the converse logo around the shoes.

Gloves: Where my mothers, bought a long time ago and are actual Leather.

Ribbon: I got a 1/2 a yard of pink ribbon from Wal-Mart for $0.29. I tied it tight around my left arm and the costume was complete. be sure to tie the ribbon tight as it easily falls off.

If you have anymore questions please contact me here or on my deviantart account(preferred) shinigami-mero-chan.deviantart.com

Sorry, you must be a registered user of and logged in to view and add comments. Either log in or register now!