Any day that you can wear a costume to work is a good day. I’m lucky enough to work somewhere that occasionally encourages it. This year we had a mini Harry Potter festival. So, it was suggested that the staff dress up for “Wizard Wednesday”.
I already had a basic Hogwarts student cosplay. But, I wanted something a little bit more interesting. I decided to do a Ravenclaw Quidditch outfit. I only had about seven weeks to get the whole thing together and wanted to spend as little money as possible. This meant that I had to push all of my costume making skills to their limits.
The Look
I chose the Quidditch look from the first two movies, mainly because I have a book called Charmed Knits by Alison Hansel. It has patterns for a sweater and socks based on the ones worn in those movies. Lauren Kent designed the sock pattern and I actually made them several years ago. Otherwise, I never would have been able to finish in the time that I had. Socks, for me at least, take forever. The yarn is Knit Picks Palette, in the colors Blue and probably Bark.
The Sweater
Anne Bergeron designed the sweater. I knitted it in Red Heart Super Saver Yarn in the colors Soft Navy and Café Mocha. To get it done on time, I dropped all of my other projects. I never made an adult-sized sweater in so short an amount of time. It needed some minor adjustments to get it to fit the way I wanted. But, that’s one of the great things about knitting, it’s so flexible.
The Robes
For the outer robe, I used a graduation robe. Mine was a hand-me-down, but I have seen them at local thrift stores. Anyone interested in wizard cosplay should check in the ones near them. With limited sewing skills, this was my biggest test. I needed to make several alterations.
I added a vent to the lower back, shortened the sleeves, removed the zipper, and added a dart to the upper back. The stitches may be a little bit uneven and the seams aren’t the straightest, but you can only see that on close-up. I’m super proud of the work I did. I added the lacing on the front last. It’s some leftover yarn from the sweater.
The Accessories
I made the shinguards and gloves from scratch, mainly from padded enveloped and thin cardboard covered in brown duct tape. I knew that working with real leather or even real fake leather was beyond my comfort zone. For the shinguards, I traced ice hockey shinguards to get the shape. I used more leftover yarn for the ties. For the gloves, I free-handed a basic gauntlet shape, held in place with staples, reinforced with cardboard, and covered with tape. I finished them at the very last minute (like the morning of last minute).
I used the other elements of the costume just as I purchased them. The pants are women’s baseball/softball pants from a local sporting goods store purchased at the end of baseball season for 50 percent off. The broom is a cheapie from a pop-up Halloween store.
I had a really good time making this cosplay and it was a big hit at my work event. There are a few minor adjustments that I may make in the future, but overall it was a very rewarding project to work on.
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