• Barrett 1.75″ x 1.75″, Chopsticks 8″, Scarf 4.5″ x 22″
• Material used: Tin foil, air dry clay, alligator clip barrette, gesso, acrylic paint (white, black, yellow), take out chopsticks, yarn (pink, magenta, white), 9″ magenta separating zipper, circular knitting needles
• Work Time: Barrette 3 hours, Chopsticks 1 hour, Scarf 12 hours

TECHNICAL WALKTHROUGH–

The scarf was knit in the round on circular needles. I chose to knit in the round so the stockinette stitch wouldn’t curl on the edges. I won’t provide a pattern because it’s pretty easy, everyone has different size necks and it should be sized accordingly, and because the pattern I made for myself was off. It was too thick and I ended up having to sew the sides in. I couldn’t do anything about it being too long, because it would mess up the pattern. If you want to try it yourself, it’s light pink that alternates with 3 stripes of white with magenta boarders. It should start and end with the pink yarn, and it should fit rather snugly.

It took forever to find a zipper of the right color, but I finally did at a local fabric shop. Unfortunately it was too long, but it’s hard to find a 4″ zipper. I ended up with a 9″ one and I tucked the excess ends into the scarf.

The barrette was first formed with a disk of tin foil. I covered it in a layer of air dry clay and built up the teeth. When it was the right shape, I sanded it, covered it in gesso to prime it, and painted it white. I painted on the eyes and crack and cleaned up the edges with a sharpie. Finally, I sealed it with a gloss top coat, then epoxy glued it to an alligator clip barrette.

The chopsticks were just take out chopsticks that I evened out with some clay. I then gessoed it, painted it yellow, and sealed it.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS–

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is one of my favorite animes. I watched it for the first time in college and several times since, and without fail it always pumps me full of confidence. It makes me want to go out and punch the world in the face! Yoko is my favorite character in the series. She’s so badass. She holds her own in a mostly male crew, and despite the heartbreak she has to endure she finds meaning in life again. She’s kind and reliable, and she’s not perfect but she always tries her best.

This project started with the scarf. I made it because it looks cool. And once I had the scarf, I thought, “Why not keep going?” I’d never cosplay her because I don’t have the–ahem–body type to pull it off. But with all the pieces together, I couldn’t resist at least trying them on.