Rose Quartz
Steven Universe

There are several reasons that I decided to do Rose Quartz. The primary one was because my husband and I were working with a fertility clinic to try to start our family and I wanted to make some "pregnant" cosplays for when I was showing. The other reason was a cosplay judge made a comment that she preferred my ballgown-style cosplays and dinged me because the costume I entered at the time wasn't a ballgown.

So I guess this costume describes my mood at the time. I wanted more on the personal life front. I didn't like being pigeon-holed as the "ballgown cosplayer" or even just "cosplayer". I wanted to expand my life and costuming skill set and felt like people were pushing back on that desire to grow as a person and cosplayer. While I wasn't rebelling against a tyrannical galactic empire to save a planet, I was staging my own rebellion against people in the cosplay community that would put me in a box.

The gown is based on a wedding gown pattern and made from a combination of Casa, bridal, and heavy satin. The pattern has an inner A-line lining with a longer outer layer that tacks up onto the lining to create a ruffled effect. The top of the dress has the same sweetheart neckline and princess seams that Rose's dress has. I cut the outer layer into sections to create Rose's tiered skirt and sewed the sections to the inner muslin layer. I cut the inner layer twice and made the second inner layer into the lining, which has the boning to make the dress stay up.

The star on my tummy is broadcloth matching my skin tone. I bought the gem from Hamster Parade on Etsy. The gem is super glued to the star, which is carefully sewn to the skirt. This is so I can quickly remove the star if I ever need to dry-clean the dress.

Rose's wig was a beast. Like with my Merida cosplay, Rose's hair is huge and super-thick. Nothing available commercially had the volume to do Rose's hair justice. I bought two Hong Kong specials with ponytail clips. I cut apart one wig and sewed the wefts into the other. Then came lots and lots of recurling and burning my hands with boiling water to create Rose's signature sausage curls. I sewed the ponytail clips together and cut them down until I had the added volume I wanted. The clips created Rose's sweep-back from the crown without over-whelming my head or adding too much weight to the wig. I used the bangs from the cut-up wig as an anchor for the clips and to add more volume to the bangs.

When I have time, I'll also make the sword and sheild. But until then, I'll concentrate on being a mom. Because I got pregnant while making this costume!

Model: Kat
Photo Credit: Adam Zalonis

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