Traditional Merida

So, after picking up some Stuart hunting tartan for a great kilt for Shane and an earasaid (the female equivalent) for me, I stumbled on what I really want for my Merida cosplay. I want her to be traditional! I layered the plaid over my dress while trying to come up with something for the Bristol Renaissance Faire this weekend, and I realized how natural Merida looked this way, and bam! Cosplay on the verge of being done! To say that I’m excited is an understatement. I think that Merida with a plaid is gorgeous! Plus! While it isn’t the tartan of DunBroch (which I have a bit of, see a previous post), it IS a tartan that I can wear, seeing as my husband wears the Stuart plaid normally.
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Merida’s Tartan, Bear Pin, and Bow Ornament

So, over the weekend my custom fabric from Spoonflower came! I ordered it in a heavy cotton twill and in retrospect might have done something different, but it’s not terrible. I think after washing a couple times it will be a little less stiff 🙂 I still love it though! I ordered one yard at 56″, so it was the perfect length to fold it in half the long ways to make it a sash and taper the edges for a little pretty draping effect.
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I also got some Sculpey III clay and forayed into polymer clay for the first time. For the first attempt, I’m pretty happy with it. I may remake it when I feel like my skills are a little more consistent, but I still painted and colored it to use as is. I also made the medallion that goes on Merida’s bow, which was way easier. I attached 2 jump rings on the back before baking so I can string something around it and strap it to the bow. Speaking of hardware, I attached a skirt pin to the back of the bear buckle as well for all the fabric it has to gather!

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It’s unclear whether the bear buckle is actually a belt buckle or a pin (I know, it’s really just a Disney face character thing anyways, but I think it’s a nice touch.), so I made it a pin so I can decide how I want to use it.
I can sling the tartan around my waist a lot like the face character, like this.

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Or, I can wear it a little more traditionally over one shoulder, like this.

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So, needless to say, I’m super excited about this!

Here it is after painting the lower part black and actually using metallic sharpies for the silver and bronze, go figure.

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And the best part: with the tartan and dress!

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