Super Sailor Saturn
スーパーセーラーサターン
Difficulty: 
Hours to Complete: 30-40
Materials: Lycra with flesh-colored swimsuit lining, Cotton Sateen, Stretch Cotton Knit, Nylon/Polyester Organza, White Bias Tape
Worn At: Kumoricon 2013, Sakuracon 2014
Along with a makeover of S Sailor Saturn, I rethought how to tackle making a Sailor Senshi fuku. Most of my inspiration came from Sparkle Pipsi's amazing fuku tutorial, mainly in the making a separate bust armor component. (I used a stretch cotton knit instead of non-stretch fleece for the lining, since the fleece would warp the more you wore it. I also put a zipper in the back to put less stress on the sleeves.) Previously I just incorporated an underbust seam, but I decided I really liked the look of a separate bust armor more. What was even more attractive about making it a separate piece was only needing to remake one leotard for both forms.
Easily the most challenging part of this cosplay was making the sleeve rolls and sheer shoulder guard. It took me a few mockups to get both right, and it really took my anal-retentive tendencies to the limits to sew the shoulder guards in enough to get them to stand up and stick out just the right amount. I'm very proud of how they came out in the end; the shoulder guards I went full-magpie on and made them out of a sparkly sheer pink organza. I also discovered an amazing shortcut to sewing the perfect rolled hem on a curve, through this tutorial. (Just don't forget to make sure you've washed away all the water-soluable stabilizer inside the hem!)
The collar, skirt, choker, and glove bands are all made from the same gorgeous cotton sateen fabric as S Saturn (the skirt is the same skirt used in that cosplay, even!), along with the bows in a brown color. I achieved the drape of the Super bow tails by cutting the fabric on the bias, and then cutting the ends on-grain. It was a challenge, and there's still a little ongoing growth in length despite letting the fabric hang for around two weeks before sewing up, but I'm so proud of the results. (I have my sewing mentor to thank for the idea!) The collar was made with a facing, like one that would be sewn into a garment, so it can snap on the inside of the neckline rather than lay on top of it.
The choker brooch is a resin gem with the Saturn symbol painted on the back of it before the reflective backing was applied, glued to a metallic star button with the button backing clipped off. (A big thanks to Karitsa for the tip on the star button!)
Bought components include the tiara (Catzia's Collectibles), earrings (which I restrung to dangle longer, Southern Moon Creations), Saturn Liprod, brooch, and gem portion of choker brooch (Unique Cosplay Props), Silence Glaive (zhangxuehai2018 of Yahoo Japan), white poly/cotton gloves, and boots (goldexperience0001 of Yahoo Japan).
View all here!
2014 photos taken by Cornstarch of the official Sakuracon Photobooth Private Photoshoot service.
Kumoricon 2013
Above photos by Tomecko/Kristen Leal.
Above photos by Jeannie Ginx.
