John Barrowman seems to make an almost annual trip to Australia for an appearance at conventions, and he is always a joy to see perform! I have gotten his signature before, but this time I wanted to pluck up my courage and get a photo. Previous photos I have gotten at cons I have never really been in love with how I look in them, so this time I wanted to do something for myself that would help me take a better picture. Like, say, cosplaying Jack Harkness. Because there is no way that Jack Harkness could possibly take a bad photo! And it just so happened that I had this jacket in my cupboard begging to be used.
I had blue pants, a brown belt, and boots already. So all I needed was a shirt to complete the basic look. For me, I have two big problems with wearing any kind of shirt, and the ladies shirts I could find didn’t even approach the right colour. So off to the guys section I wandered and walked away with this;
Right colour and decent enough fit if I don’t move my arms around too much. But I’m sure I could do better. So with trusty quick-unpick in hand I set about ripping the shirt apart.
Eventually I had the arms off the shirt, and the side seams pulled apart. My plan was to use an existing shirt to measure out a pattern, but turns out I don’t actually own any button up shirts. So with the addition of a zipper I made a brand new plan on the fly!
That plan was to just pin it onto my body where it looked right and wing it from there. This is a tricky process if you don’t have a helper, and I pulled some rather entertaining poses in front of the mirror. I also stabbed myself in the finger with pins many times. Blood for the cosplay gods, right? But I did eventually manage to get a more fitted shape pinned in.
Before I sewed up the sides, I took the opportunity to sew the buttons at the front closed. This was rather satisfying. The addition of a zipper at the side would allow me to get into and out of the shirt without ripping the seams open again, and I wouldn’t have to worry about the buttons bulging when I move my arms or breathed. #bustygirlproblems
Then I sewed in that zipper at the bottom of a side seam. I still haven’t got the hang of making invisible zippers invisible yet, but at least I have the right foot now! Just a matter of practice. Which I plan to get, so I’ll eventually work it out!
Next the sides were sewn up. I used so many pins because I wanted the shirt to have the same folds it had previously to make it look like I hadn’t pulled it apart at the seams, and hopefully less likely to fray. This seems to have worked!
Before sewing the arms back on I did a quick test run to see if I made it an ok fit. I’m calling this a success! At this stage the pins are still what is holding up the sleeve edges from drooping over my shoulders, so a little more blood was sacrificed to the cosplay gods at this stage when I completely forgot they were there.
And look, the zipper even worked! There is a way out of this shirt!
Next the arms. I made the armholes smaller to take care of the billowing that was happening at the front before I started, so I needed to put a pleat in the arms. One side had a much bigger pleat than the other, but I’m hoping it’s not too noticeable because it will be all under the jacket. And if this is the one little wrinkle in my plan of “winging it”, then that’s not too bad.
Then a final fit! I was a bit nervous honestly, but it seemed to look ok! Much more fitted than the original shirt, and the sleeves end at my wrists, not half way down my hands. And the very best part was no button bulging!
And the whole costume didn’t look too bad either!
But did the ploy work? Well, John complimented my jacket, and then we took this shot. I don’t think it’s too bad at all!
