Difficult Becoming Ahsoka Is. (Part 1)

For several years it has been a dream to cosplay as Ahsoka Tano. Specifically her Siege of Mandalore

outfit.

Ahsoka Siege of Mandalore

At the time I first started construction I was expecting our 4th youngling. Knowing I'd be at con with a tiny baby who'd need to nurse, I swapped to her Season 7 mechanic's outfit. (Far more comfortable and nursing friendly.)

I made my first lekku out of eva foam, quilting batting, and covered it with latex. I loved how it turned out. Unfortunately, (as you can see) it didn't age well. The delicate latex ripped and it's no longer wearable. Also mobility was very limited, hearing was difficult, and the whole thing was very warm.

First improvement: I considered what might be more durable. If I'm going to pour a bunch of time and energy into making it, I want it to last long enough to wear more than once.

As I am most comfortable working with fabrics, I opted to try material covered with silicone. As silicone does not hold paint real well, I found some blue and clear silicone and tried pouring out the silicone in the pattern I wanted. Then I cut the material and hand sewed the pieces together.

Color came out good (no painting necessary! Yay!). The silicone stayed mostly where I wanted it (sharp details were not possible). But the color was much lighter than I wanted and the seams were very obvious. Not to mention, I had to create a foam support for the material to lay on.

The perfectionist in me not completely satisfied, I tried again. This time I found blue and white material sewed them together, then poured clear silicone over the top.

I was much happier with the color, though it was darker than I planned. (Discovered as the silicone wet the fabric, the blue kept the wet fabric color even when dried. A thicker material is recommended as the white also shifted to what the material looked like when wet and one of the thinner white materials I tried turned more translucent than white). I was able to hide more seams with the silicone and get a smoother look.

However, my silicone didn't pour evenly, and thicker seams were still obvious. Also, I still needed a foam support.

Just because I love keeping things simple...around this time I joined Saber Guild.

One of their requirements for approval is that any headdresses not inhibit movement and stay in place throughout saber choreography (Because safety is important).

I began thinking of how I could construct the lekku to be secure and flexible enough to be approvable for a fight. (Ideally without needing to glue the lekku to my head or wear a bald cap, etc.) Also, I want the lekku to be easily attachable and detachable as my original design is impossible to wear while driving a car, and I prefer to prep as much as possible before arriving at a con.

First: How to secure it to my head?..I am working with a moldable air-drying foam to create the base. I am hoping this will eliminate the need for stuffing on top of my head and thus be cooler. As it will be a much closer fit to my head as well, I am hoping this will allow me much greater movement. I have discovered the foam shrinks as it dries. Thus I will need to mold it slightly larger than desired to get the shape I want. I used about 9oz of foam to make my first mock up, but now that it is dry it is the perfect size for my 5yr.

I think I know what her next costume might be...