Construction Details:

Since this costume had a full-head hood, I did not have a wig for this -- a first for me! So I just wore a wig cap to keep my hair in place, and off I went.
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nThe dress was made first, combining my favorite bodice pattern, and a double circle skirt. The bodice is about 5 layers -- the lining, strength layer w/boning, 2 layers of inexpensive white satin, and an overlay of sparkle/fairydust organza. The skirts are 1 layer of the same inexpensive satin, and one layer of the same organza. Both skirts are finished with a fishing-line hem, which I really LOVED the results of.
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nAfter the dress was finished, I created the Jacket/Hood/Boots using a deep purple faux fur that I ordered from Mendels. It was easily the most expensive material I've ever purchased, clocking in at $36 per yard plus shipping! It was totally worth it though for the color and softness (everyone wanted to pet or hug me) and the cost was offset by the fact that I did not need to buy a wig, and the white satin for everything else was not even $2 per yard (I had bought them by the 10-yard-bolt for $15 each). I modified a cropped hooded bolero pattern, making the jacket overlap in the front, so that no matter how I moved, I would maintain the point where it intersected in the front. The hood was drafted and heavily modified from a very old animal suit halloween costume pattern -- I tailored it a bit more to my head/neck for better fit, then added some small gussets in the sides to create fuller "cheeks", and put some polyfill between the fur and the lining. Both the jacket and the hood were fully lined with a non-static lining, which I had to sew in by hand due to the fact the whole thing was made out of faux fur. The hood velcro's shut, which creates a surprisingly flush closure. The eyes and nose were cast from resin, painted, then e6000'd to buttons so that I could sew them to the hood. The fangs were made from craft foam and worbla, then sewn in between the fur and lining.
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nI made the hood, jacket, and gloves all separate pieces to account for ease of dressing and smooth mobility, and thankfully the fur blends pretty nicely where it overlaps. The gloves are made from a pair of black knit gloves which I hand-sewed fur to the back of. This allowed me to have better mobility with my hands, but still maintain the look of a paw. The boots where made out of a pair of cheap ugg-like boots, which I created a spat for, then glued to the base shoe with 3-in-1 glue. I hand-sewed a band of lining into the top, for comfort. The claws for the gloves and boots were made out of craft foam sandwiched in worbla, which I drilled holes in and sewed to the gloves and shoes.

Personal Thoughts:

Rynn and I had been talking for quite some time about both going on another international trip, and also competing in another large-scale competition. Enter the USA's participation in CICAF/Clara Cow Cosplay Cup (CCCC or C4). I discovered where the preliminaries were going to be hosted for Team 2017 (both at Holiday Matsuri!), and we set to work on picking a performance. In the end, after struggling to find a story that balanced with costumes we liked, we ended up going with a solid performance idea with simpler costumes, in hopes that the story and stage presentation would carry us through. When choosing who would play whom, we ultimately decided that I should take Forrest Girl, because the Bear coat seemed more of an engineering challenge (right up my alley), and I felt confident I could do it justice.

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