Tag Archives: costume

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TACHYON, THE SPACE RACCOON

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This was my big costume for Burning Man this year! Our friend Shawn teaches Bikram up in Santa Cruz and performed our wedding ceremony! But before all that, he told me that he wanted to be a Space Raccoon. A Space Raccoon is not a terrestrial raccoon that got put in a space shuttle; it is a different creature entirely!

Tachyon

In all his glory, chilling on the back of the Sensatron! Thanks to Blake for the perfect photo.

tachyon the space raccoon tachyon the space raccoon

Wouldn’t you love to find this guy digging through your garbage?

tachyon the space raccoon tachyon the space raccoon

Because the playa can get cold but Shawn is hot, I designed the costumes with layers. The base is a set of leggings and long-sleeve tee, both made out of silver lycra. If need be, he could wear a layer of thermals under the silver. I’ve used this silver for several other projects, and I love tying them together.

tachyon the space raccoon tachyon the space raccoon faux fur

Next comes the pants. I got this faux fur at Blue Moon in the Fabric District, and I love how the gray tips create a lot of depth as the fabric moves. Nice and trippy! He’s got the same silver elastic at the waist, and sometimes wears a pair of suspenders with the pants.

tachyon the space raccoon tachyon the space raccoon

The tail is made from a black faux fur that I spray painted. Once the tail was sewn and stuffed, I used blue painters’ tape to mark off stripes, and then just blasted it with silver spray paint. Way easier than sewing stripes, and I like the graffiti feel of the spray paint–very fitting for an alley rodent!

tachyon the space raccoon

What space rodent would be complete without a Chewbacca-style bandolier? Tachyon’s is made from a wide silver elastic with pockets, elastic loops, and D-rings sewn onto it.

tachyon the space raccoon

tachyon the space raccoon

My favorite element of the Tachyon suit is the star mask. Part bandit, part Bowie!

It was originally a flat star, and I added the center seam to shape the mask around the nose.

The whiskers are silver pipe cleaners inside plastic tube boning. The wire makes them posable while the plastic prevents them from getting bent out of shape.

The eye holes and outside edge and bound in silver fabric and black fold-over elastic.

The mask is held on by an adjustable bra-style strap. Since the attachment points are at the widest part of the star, at the temple, the bottom of the mask hangs free. Since the bottom isn’t molded, any wearer has full facial mobility.

Rev Taylor

Here’s Shawn performing his ministerial duties, courtesy of Aleck Gandell.

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PINK LION COSTUME

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I made this Pink Lion costume last summer for Burning Man 2011. Let’s just say it was quite a hit.

Pink Lion at the Sensatron

There was an entire night when he could only roar.

pink lion

My good buddy Jason Tomaino approached me last summer and declared he wanted to be a lion for Burning Man. We found this amazing wolf-style faux fur, and it was love at first sight!

pink lion with satin lining pink lion d-ring belt pink lion sequin bowtie pink lion ears

The pants and hood are both lined in white poly satin, cause I know how to make luxury. There is plastic boning in the ears so that they always stay perky. The sequin bowtie is sewn onto the zipper pull. The waistband has a D-ring tape on it, to clip little treasures onto. Unfortunately the weight of the fur was too much for the elastic waistband, so it quickly became apparent that gold suspenders would be necessary. And I’m so glad that they were!

Nestor is real!

He’s quite charming with that furry tail of his.

There was some fur left over, so I made him a cuddle puddle blanket, which he put to good use.

cuddle puddle with the Pink Lion

Perhaps the best part is that he’s a Thai massage therapist, and traded me amazing massages for the costume. Uh, yeah, it was awesome. Just wait till y’all see what I’ve made for him this year.

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DANCING GYPSY VEST

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Yay new vest! And yay for uncharacteristic photos that still look good. I think if you didn’t know me this picture would be totally plausible. And as unusual as this color scheme is for me, I really dig the design. I took these pictures myself by the way, setting up the iPhone on a tripod. Haven’t quite worked out the lighting situation though, maybe I’ll give it another go today…

gypsy vest

The exterior shell is made from a discontinued upholstery fabric. It’s maroon with a gold thread running through, and a beautiful embossed gothic pattern. The green and gold twist gives the vest structure, and those tassels accentuate every move!

Reversible gypsy vest-lace detail

One of my favorite details is the cream and gold lace appliqué sewn onto the back. It’s like a necklace for your back.

Reversible gypsy vest detail

A row of pressed brass snaps down the front is easy to close and fun to rip open.

Well, the vest and the leggings are in my Etsy shop now, and just about everything is on sale! Plus you can always use the coupon code CottonCandyKitten to get free US shipping.

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