Linkle Work Log (HW Legends Version)

Hey everyone ^_^ First of all, let me give you a little update for this blog. After not posting for more than a year now, I'm finally writing a blog post again. I had a love-hate relationship with my blog this past year because I was never really satisfied with the look and the quality of the content. After contemplating about quitting altogether, I decided to change the design and work on better content, since I just love to write about my hobby :) I used a simple and clean template this time (Kingdom Hearts pun intended) that does not distract from the content itself. To improve the quality of the pictures, I finally brought myself to invest in a proper DSLR camera. Goodbye to poor quality phone pictures! The following posts still might have some of those dreaded phone pictures in them because I have planned one or two posts about last year's costumes (sorry for that). However, in my newer posts you can expect better quality pictures. Enough rambling, let's get on with the work log for my Hyrule Warriors Legends Linkle cosplay (Wow, that's a mouthful ^^')!

The minute I first saw Linkle's design in the Hyrule Warriors Artbook, I fell in love. I never dared to do a Link crossplay despite loving his iconic green tunic, so Linkle's design was very welcome. I couldn't wait to recreate the outfit shown on the artwork. I wore the Artbook version of Linkle to gamescom 2015. If you want to see how I created Linkle's artbook version, you can check out my work log right here. When Nintendo then announced that Linkle would be a playable character in Hyrule Warriors in fall 2015, I completely flipped! I loved the redesign even more than the artbook version, so I promptly went to the city to buy fabrics for the new version. This post will show you how I created the costume step by step :)

The first thing I did was to sew the skirt. I used an orange-brown colored gabardine fabric for this. For the pattern I took my measurements and created a simple a-line skirt pattern. This Youtube tutorial will show you how to do it. Of course, you can also just buy a finished pattern online or in your local fabric store. After I finished my skirt pattern, I added a few inches to the front part of the skirt so that there was enough room for four pleats along the left and right side of the front part of the skirt. Eyelets and lacing will be added to those pleats later on. The back part of the skirt consists of two parts with seam allowance for the zipper in the middle. On the picture above you can see what the finished pattern looked like. However, this drawing just illustrates what the pattern looked like, it probably does not have the right measurements.

Now I just needed to trace my final pattern onto my skirt fabric and cut out the individual pieces. I pinned and ironed the pleats on the front part and then sewed all the pieces together. I made the skirt a bit longer so that I could mark the right length while wearing it. This way I made sure that the skirt didn't end up too long or too short. However, while marking the right skirt length you should remember to add seam allowance for hemming the bottom. Otherwise the skirt would end up too short!

I punched some eyelets along the pleats and used beige shoelaces for the lacing. At the top I tied a bow and at the bottom I sewed the ends of the shoelaces to the inside part of the pleats. To make sure that the shoelaces don't fray, I burned the ends with a lighter. I got the belt off of eBay. Then I just got myself a simple pair of black yoga shorts to wear underneath the skirt.

I used an old T-Shirt of mine to create the pattern for Linkle's white shirt. I laid my T-Shirt onto pattern paper and simply outlined the front and the back part. To ensure a loose fit, I added a few inches to the sides of the front and the back part. For making the puffy sleeves, I used this tutorial. After completing the shirt I cut the neckline and hemmed the edges. Then I punched some silver eylelets along the sides of the cut and used a white ribbon for the lacing.

On to the iconic part: the green cape! The base of this cape is a long vest. To create the pattern I used a vest from my closet. For the upper part of the cape I drafted the pattern directly on my dress form. For the hood I traced the hood of an old hoodie of mine. You see that I like to get experimental with my patterns. Oftentimes I just use my own clothes as a base ;) The drawing above illustrates what my finished pattern looked like.

The vest and the cape are sewn together at the collar and the hood is sewn onto that same collar part. That way it is easy to open and close the cape. At the top I added some silver eyelets and a leather string to close the cape. On the back I added a little rectangle and two buttons in the same color as the skirt. The patterns on the corners are painted on with fabric paint.

I didn't make the compass but for the sake of completeness I want to mention where I got it. This is the compass that was included in the limited edition of Hyrule Warriors Legends for the Nintendo 3DS. The little collector in me couldn't resist getting her hands on this limited edition ;D

The armor parts on the boots are made of craft foam and Worbla's Finest Art. I cut the base shape out of craft foam and covered it with a slightly bigger piece of Worbla. Then I added the Worbla details. To make the pieces fit nicely on my knees, I heated them and bent them over my left and right knee. After it had cooled down, I sanded the parts and primed them with a spray primer. Then I painted them with acrylic paint.

For the boot covers I used a stretchy brown fake leather. To create the pattern I pinned the fabric tightly along my leg while wearing the base shoe. Then I carefully slid out of the pinned fabric and used some chalk to neatly draw the pattern along the pins (remember to add seam allowance). Note that this method to create boot covers only works with stretchy fabric. I cut out the pattern parts and sewed them together. In the back I added some eyelets for the orange shoelaces. Then I just needed to glue on the Worbla armor parts.

I used the same stretchy brown fake leather for the gloves using this pattern. I had to adjust the size of the pattern several times to make the gloves fit nicely. For these mockups I used a cheap fabric until I was satisfied with the pattern. Then I traced it onto my fake leather and hand sewed all the individual parts.

The blue gemstones for the necklace and the crossbows are made of Worbla’s Transpa Art. First I made the stones out of modeling clay. Then I cut out pieces of Transpa Art that were slightly bigger than the stones, heated them with a heat gun and pulled them over the stones so that they took on the right shape. Then I cut off the excess and the gemstones were done! I painted them with blue glass paint. To make the color pop, I recommend glueing the gemstones on a white piece of cardboard or craft foam, since the gemstones are semi transparent. The sockets are made of a thin strip of Worbla's Finest Art that I modeled around the edges of the gemstones. I primed the sockets with wood glue and painted them with gold acrylic paint.

The base wig I used is a Mariko in blond from MyCostumes. I cut the back part short and added some wefts to the front for volume. The first picture above shows you the difference between additional wefts and no wefts. Then I styled the back part spiky with some hairspray and a hairdryer. The ribbons for the braids are made of the same fabric I used for my skirt.

On to the fun part - the crossbows! The core of the crossbows is made of insulation foam. I cut out the individual pieces, shaped them with a sharp cutting knife and sanded them smooth. Then I glued all the parts together. Here’s a little tip: Please do not use hot glue for this. I used hot glue on my first try and it melted the foam. Spare yourself the extra work and use super glue instead! 

While working on the crossbows, I thought that it would be really nice to be able to attach them to my boots effortlessly, just like Linkle does in the game. The solution: neodym magnets! The magnets I used have a pulling force of 15kg. I cut out the shape of the magnets and inserted them into the crossbows. To make sure that the crossbows don’t fall off while walking, I made sure that the crossbows were extra light, so I didn’t entirely cover them with Worbla. Instead, I covered them with three layers of paper maché.

To get rid of the paper maché structure, I covered the crossbows with a filling paste and sanded them smooth. I covered the part with the magnet with a layer of worbla to make sure that it doesn’t rip through the paper maché (trust me, those magnets are really strong). Then I crafted the details using Worbla. Next step: priming! Again, I used a few layers of spray primer, letting each layer dry before applying the next one.

I painted the finished crossbows with acrylic paint. For the arrows I cut some wood sticks and made the tips out of Worbla. Then I wrapped a strip of Worbla around the top and the bottom part and painted the finished arrows with acrylic paint. I glued them onto the top of the crossbows and added the string. To make them stick to my boots I sewed one magnet into each boot.

Photo credit: A.Z. Production Cosplay Photography