Satsuki Kusakabe Cosplay Tutorial

Hiya, SpaceKitty here!!!

Welcome to my first tutorial!!! Yay!!!

I don't know how popular Satsuki Kusakabe is to cosplay, but I hope this tutorial will help those who plan to cosplay her :)

Please note I am not a professional seamstress or cosplayer and this tutorial is far from perfect.

This cosplay should be super easy if you have a basic understanding of sewing. 

Basic supplies needed: 

• Sewing machine or a sewing needle 
• Sewing chalk
• Scissors 
• Sewing pins 
• Zipper foot (if you are using a sewing machine) 
• Measuring tape 
• Pencil, paper, and calculator (for circle skirt math) 
• A ruler or yardstick 

For the skirt, you will need: 

• Orange thread 
• 2 orange buttons (mine were approximately an inch in diameter) 
• An orange zipper (An invisible zipper would be best, but I just used a regular 7" one) 
• Orange fabric (I used a 2 yd pre-cut piece of Polycotton fabric from Walmart, but it turned out to be super thin, so I would highly suggest using thicker fabric like 100% cotton) 

NOTE: I made a full circle skirt for my version of the Satsuki cosplay, however, looking back now, I think a half-circle skirt would have been more accurate to the character. Here is a link to a half-circle skirt video tutorial if you wish to go that route. The link is here.

I didn't have any mid-progress photos of this cosplay project, so please bear with the images I have created in an attempt to explain the steps.

To start off, make a basic circle skirt. To do this, measure your waist and the desired length of the skirt. Once you have those measurements, get ready to do some math. Our equation is as follows: 

The ‘C’ stands for circumference, and this is the measurement of your waist. First, take the measurement of your waist and divide it by (2×3.14) or 6.28. Don't forget to write the number you get down so you don't forget it. Next, take the number that you just calculated and then add your length measurement to it. Please Note: When in doubt, make your skirt longer. You can always shorten your skirt, but it is harder to lengthen it. Write that number down also. Once you have those numbers it's time to cut. 

Take your fabric and fold it in half, top to bottom. Then fold it left to right so that you have two sides with a folded edge. 

In the corner where the two folded edges meet place the end of a ruler. Without moving the end of the ruler from the corner, move the other end of the ruler and begin measuring out the waist calculations number. This will create a curved line. Then repeat with the skirt length measurement. It should look something like the picture below. 

Now cut along on the dotted lines drawn. 

Now if you have gotten this far and are completely confused, I apologize. However, don't despair just yet. There is a great circle skirt tutorial by MADE Everyday on youtube, and the first 7 minutes explain what I have shared here. The link is here. *PLEASE NOTE*: In the MADE Everyday video, she adds an extra inch or two to compensate for the fact that she is using an elastic waistband. Don't add the extra inches if you plan on using a zipper.

Once cut out, unfold your skirt once, so that it is folded in half. Cut along one folded side. Unfold the skirt to reveal a single cut line. Kinda like this. 

This is the final cut out

Now it is time for the waistband. First, you need to decide how thick you want your waistband. Do keep in mind your waistband needs to be a little over an inch thick because you will be adding the buttons to it later. Mine ended up being about 1.5 when my skirt was finished because my button was an inch. Once you have decided how thick your waistband will be. Cut out a strip of fabric that is (the measurement of your waist + 3 inches) long and (the desired thickness of your waistband doubled and add an extra 1/2 inch for seam allowance) wide. You need to double the thickness of the waistband because it will be folded in half when attached.

Now, I am going to be completely honest, I just folded the waistband in half and sewed it into the inner circle of the skirt. Once the waistband was installed, I folded the excess into the fabric tube so that the end of the waistband lined up with the cut in the skirt. But if you would like a more professional and nicer-looking waistband, here is a tutorial on how to do that. The link is here. *Note*: You will need interfacing for this tutorial.

Zipper time! Now, I hate that I keep sending you to other tutorials, but I don't think I could explain zippers if I tried. This circle skirt tutorial starts explaining the zipper process at the 3:08 minute mark.

The link is here.

Once the zipper is installed, hem the outer edge of the skirt. I used a basic double fold hem, but you can hem however you wish.

For me, the straps were the hardest part. Put your skirt on and using a pencil mark where you want your buttons to go on the front of the skirt. Using a measuring tape, measure from the button mark, and over your shoulders, crossing in the back. Write the length measurement down. Mark where your strap will go on the backside.

Now decide how thick you want your straps to be, and then double that. Cut two strips of fabric that are double the width you wanted, plus a 1/2 inch seam allowance, and the length plus 2 to 3 inches. I folded my strip in half width-wise, ironed it flat, and then sewed it into a tube. Once sewn turn the tube inside out and iron flat.

Next, I attached one end of the tube to the inside of the waistband under where I had marked for my buttons to go. I did the same thing for the other end of the strip on the backside but made sure to sew it on the opposite side. Remember the straps criss-cross in the back.

For some reason, I only topstitched the waistband and not the straps, but looking back I would topstitch both, it will give the skirt a nicer finish. 

Button time! Now sew on your buttons and you are finished with the skirt!!!

For the bloomers, you will need: 

• White or cream fabric (Mine was about a yard, but I would suggest getting a little over a yard)
• White or cream thread
• Elastic
• A safety pin

To start the bloomers, you need to take some measurements and write them down. First, take your waist measurement and add a couple of inches, about 7 or 8. Next, decide how long you want your bloomers to be. You might want to add a little extra to compensate, maybe an inch or 2, for the hems and elastic. Next, take the measure of your thigh and double it. Then measure the inner part of your leg from the crotch to where you want your bloomers to end. The final measurement is half of your crotch measurement which is from (where you want your bloomers to rest on your waist) through your crotch area and to where the bloomers will rest of your back waist side. Using all the measurements you just gathered, you will need to use them to make a shape like this:

Note: Make sure to add about 1/2 inch to each side to compensate for seam allowances when cutting out the leg pieces.

(This is one pant leg)

Now cut out two of your bloomer shapes. Fold one bloomer piece in half, right side together. Sew along the inner leg length. Repeat on the other the bloomer piece.

Now here's where it gets tricky, turn one bloomer piece right side out (we'll call it 'A'). Take the bloomer piece that you just turned right side out (A) and put it inside the other bloomer piece(we'll call it 'B'). So one piece (A) should be inside the other (B) with right sides facing. Line up the two edges of the crotch all the way around and sew (as shown below). I tried to make some images to help explain this step.

I 'serged' all the seams with a simple zig-zag stitch before moving on. 

I think generally, you are supposed to use thicker elastic for the waist and thinner elastic for the legs, but I just used the same 1/2 inch elastic, for my waist and legs. Starting with the waist, fold in a 1/4 inch seam. Next, fold over enough material to make a channel to fit your elastic. Sew in place, leaving a gap to insert the elastic later. This will create a cleaner seam on the inside.

Next, fold up the unhemmed bottom of your bloomer leg and fold in a 1/4 inch seam. Now decide how long you want the ruffles on your pant leg to be, mine was about 3/8in when finished. Take that folded bottom, fold it up and sew it at the length of the ruffles + the elastic width. So for me, I folded and sewed the folded edge an inch (3/8inch ruffle + 1/2inch elastic). Make sure to leave a space in the seam to insert elastic. Sew a second seam for the elastic channels.

The image above shows the bloomers inside out

Cut one elastic strip that is about an inch more than your waist measurement and two more strips that comfortably fit around your thigh, make sure these are not too tight or too loose. Thread your elastic through the channels using a safety pin. Next, sew the elastic ends together by overlapping them and securing them with a zig-zag stitch. Finally, sew the channels closed. And you're done!

Once again, if you had trouble following, I'm sorry. TezMania TV has a great bloomer tutorial. The link is here.

Other elements for the cosplay

The polo shirt

     For the polo shirt, you just need a yellow polo shirt, preferably one with no logos. I got my polo shirt from a local thrift store. My polo shirt was too wide, but I took in the sides, and now it fits perfectly.

The wig

    I chose the Dereck wig in dark brown, from Arda Wigs, the link is here, but any short brown wig will work.

The shoes

    I couldn't find anything like Satsuki's shoes. I simply just painted a pair of canvas tennis shoes (from Walmart) a similar blue color. That being said, I often go barefoot outdoors in this cosplay.

The Totoro plush

    I tried to make sure that my Totoro was an official Ghibli product. Mine is the "My Neighbor Totoro 30th Anniversary Totoro Plush" by GUND and I got mine off of amazon. It's super cute!!!

 

Hopefully, this tutorial was helpful. If you have any questions or need some help, please comment and I will try my hardest to help!!!

Thank you so much for reading, and happy cosplaying!!!