The Laiv Wire: Hero of Time (Constraints)

[Belated] Halloween part two!

Part of the reason I was a little pressed for time this past Halloween was because I was not making just one, but two costumes. Sort of last minute, I invited DG to a friend's party. It didn't seem totally fair to make him run out and get an outfit or to whip something up without much notice, I decided to pull something together.

By which I mean, I forced him to cosplay (joke's on you, honey.)

So friends, this is an excerpt out of my chapter on how to make a costume when the clock is ticking.

I knew almost immediately what I had in store for him - nothing terribly embarrassing, nothing too involved. I also knew that I had limited resources and time, so this was going to be less than perfect, but still fairly recognizable.

Me: "I can pick up most of the parts from Goodwill, but do you have a pair of white trousers or cargo pants and brown shoes you can wear?"

DG: "Yeah. Do you need anything else?"

Me: "Maybe a leather belt."

DG: "What am I going as?"

Me: "It's a surprise."

DG: "Can you give me a hint?"

Me: "Like what?"

DG: "What other colors am I wearing?"

Me: "...Green..."

DG: "...You're the biggest nerd."

Yes. Yes, I am.

In terms of the basic costume, I only needed a few things - the signature green tunic and a hat. Quite fortuitously, I found an over-sized green turtleneck sweater at Goodwill with much tailoring potential.

It was big enough that I could just snip off the sleeves and turn the excess fabric into the cap I needed. What with time and all, I didn't bother finishing any of the raw ends.

What really makes a good Link, however, is all of his accessories (where in the world does he store them all?) Again, being a bit short on time, I went the cardboard route.

Using a little creativity and a LOT of glue, I turned cardboard, some PVC piping, and a roll of silver gift wrap into...

Not the Master Sword. Not by a long shot (badum-chh). Maybe Link's training sword? Side note -- it has a surprising amount of weight to it, and not bad balance either, which makes me think if I really got the urge, maybe I could go into boffer weaponry, as if I wasn't nerdy enough.

I fared a bit better with his Hylian shield. What made my life infinitely easier was that at my local craft store, they sold foamcore sheets that were already blue.

So armed with a little love & patience, and a lot of painters' tape and acrylic paint, I produced this:

I must confess that I did not give this as much love as I would have liked. But for having a few hours in the evening over the course of maybe 4 days, I'm proud of what I churned out. Not to mention, DG wore it pretty well.