I am pretty happy with my Ran Mao cosplay. I learnt a couple of new things about sewing and I relearnt a couple more I had forgotten. At some point during the construction I thought it would be a complete disaster but in the end it turned out pretty well. Even if you think this character is easy to make don’t take it easy, it gave me more than a headache. It is easier to hide a mistake in a costume with lots of details than in a costume with simple lines.
How I made it
For the chinese dress I printed a qipao pattern I found online. I think it was my first mistake. I know how to draft my own patterns and I didn’t follow well enough the pattern I was using so I sew a part in the wrong position and the only solution was to add more fabric to hide my mistake. Luckily enough it isn’t too visible. However, the dress was wider than I wanted. I added a zipper to the side, bias tape to the edges and made chinese clover knots for the buttons.
I painted all the butterflies with fabric paints, here you have some extra tips to paint fabric. If you look closely, there is an extra butterfly. This is because my lovely niece decided to hug me with dirty hands at the time, as I couldn’t clean the stain I decided to cover it with paint.
For the jacket I made a bolero patterned. Also, I covered the edges with bias tape and lined it. The details are done with golden ribbon and golden half pearls. The corset was an old corset I had at home, I only had to add bias tape to the edges and a white cord
The horns are made with polystyrene covered in black hair and the plaits are made with black thread. It is attached to a hairband so it is easy to wear. Also I modified a flower to make it bigger and added a tassel. Lastly, the ankle piece is made with bias tape filled with a cord
The chuis or chinese hammers were fun to make. I used plastic balls an painted them with acrylics. Then I added tassels to the end.
Wearing my Ran Mao Cosplay
I first wore this cosplay to my local convention. There I met a lovely Ciel but as it is usually the case, we never took pictures together. We arranged a photoshoot together but I decided to change my cosplay at the time and I made an Elizabeth Middleford cosplay to wear with a Kuroshitsuji group.
I had the chance to wear Ran Mao again for a photoshoot. Unfortunately, I have now lost the name of the photographer who took the photos! As it was a project for uni and we never met again.
| Character | Ran Mao |
| Series | Kuroshitsuji |
| Finished | November 2013 |
| Photo | Abichu Productions, N/A |
| Worn at | Mucia se reManga |
| Building time | 2 weeks |
And if you like my cosplays and want to make really cool stuff yourself, why don’t you check my Cosplay Patterns and get started in this wonderful world of cosplay. I also have a Ko-Fi page where you can show your support me and help me make new cosplays and tutorials that I will share with you. See you next time!
