Everything about this costume makes me smile. I love it!

As a kid I absolutely loved Final Fantasy IX and Eiko was my favourite character. Some of the first fan art I ever drew was of her, and I vividly remember wanting to be her! Eiko had always been a dream costume of mine, and when Yuka approached me about entering the qualifiers for World Cosplay Summit with her, she became my next big project!

After making Totori earlier in the year I decided to pay extra attention to detail with Eiko, researching suitable materials and considering the proportions of the costume – especially next to Yuka’s costume, Vivi, which was designed to suit his shorter height. It was a really fun project to collaborate on with a lot of happy memories attached to it.

We worked together for roughly 3 weeks to enter the qualifiers for World Cosplay Summit in 2012.. and somehow, we ended up winning! Once the excitement had settled, we did a photoshoot together to celebrate our award before jetting off to Japan.

Unfortunately some parts are damaged beyond repair and need remaking, so this costume is currently retired until they are replaced.

Materials Used:

• Canvas • Dungarees
• Cotton • Bow, Top, Boot Covers
• Heavy Woven Cotton • Belt
• Faux Leather • Pockets
• Spandex • Bodysuit
• Stretch Velour • Socks
• Wig • 55cm Wig in Dark Blue from Ruler with Royal Blue Wefts (off-brand)

Cosplayers Featured:

• Eiko Carol • Exelia
• Vivi Ornitier • Yuka

Construction Notes:
You can see a selection of progress images in the Construction Gallery.

Where do I begin? The first step I took was to source the materials for the costume – Eiko lives in a desert so I wanted to use rustic, natural materials that would suit her environment for her outfit. Fabrics like canvas with a big open weave and heavy cotton were ideal. The only exception was the bodysuit which was made from spandex to ensure a close fit to match the design.

The wig is a 55cm Wig in Dark Blue from Ruler with Royal Blue Wefts sewn in as highlights. I styled the fringe and Yuka kindly styled the rest of it into a bob. She did an amazing job! Once it was trimmed, the hairbow was sewn into the wig so it stays in place. The bow is made from a patterned cotton with a thin layer of interfacing inside. The horn is made from Sculpey Light which was inserted through a hole in the wig and glued into place.

The bodysuit is made from pink spandex. I wear nipple pasties and anti-VPL underwear with this – thankfully the spandex is opaque enough to hide what’s underneath! The pattern was made by tracing a one-piece swimsuit and adding legs to it. Once the basic shape was cut, it was pinned to my body and resewn to get a closer fit.

The top is made from heavy cotton. The colour was perfect and the body of the fabric allowed it to drape very nicely on the oversized sleeves. The top was cut as all one piece and the sleeves were made as a wide panel with multiple darts. Once the darts were sewn, they were attached to the gloves at the wrist with elastic to get a comfortable fit. The gloves are oversized with padding inserted between the fingers. Inside the sleeves there are two tubes of white jersey connecting to a smaller set of gloves that fit my hands more comfortably.

Unfortunately, the fabric used is not colourfast (I didn’t realise this until I had cut and sewn all of the pieces together..), so it needs remaking before I can wear her again.

There are two small holes in the back of the top where the wings fit through. These are made from Sculpey Light by Yuka. This unfortunately made the wings quite fragile. If I remake them I’ll use a small harness inside with a lighter material for these instead.

The dungarees are made from canvas and lined with open-weave cotton with a layer of batting inside to keep their shape. All of the fastenings are functional, so they’re very easy to get in and out of using the clips. The sides are lined with eyelets, laced with cord. There are three small pockets made from faux leather on the side of the leg which close with snap fasteners. The pattern was drafted by myself by drawing and re-drawing a large, exaggerated leg and fitting it to my body over and over until it hung correctly.

The belt is made from a really heavy woven upholstery cotton. I loved the colour and texture of it. There are functional fastenings on the front so it opens and closes easily. The D-Ring detail is sewn into place and finished with extra studs attached with glue.

The bottom of the dungarees is gathered and attaches to the socks. This way everything stays in place and the socks can’t fall down or shift! I couldn’t find jersey in an appropriate colour so they are made from the reverse side of stretch velour (so as you’d expect the inside feels pretty gross when they’re worn).

The shoes are boots with a cotton cuff attached. I bought the shoes 3 sizes larger than my own feet to make them look bigger and stuffed the toes.

The Fairy Flute prop is made from an actual tree branch that was trimmed to size, painted, varnished and finished with cord and fake leaves. I wanted everything to be rustic and “genuine” and the flute was no exception! While getting feedback from the judges for WCS, this was one of the main things they appreciated about my costume!