2019 is the 10th year of the
Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (aka C2E2), and I have been meaning to go pretty much ever since it started. Of course, back when it started, I worked a crappy service industry job and never had the weekends off. Over the years, various excuses have piled up, which ranged from not being in the country during the event (that one time I went to Germany for the
H+H Trade Show) to forgetting to buy tickets (oops), and all points in between.
But at long last, I can check this off my list: last Friday, I went to my first ever C2E2!
Technically, I was there on official client business, researching cosplay and trying to make some connections with movers and shakers in the cosplay world. I truly admire those who cosplay, and do it well because that's never been my skill, though I am feeling inspired to give it a try this year. My problem is always coming up with a good idea - the harder I try to think of something, the more my mind blanks out.
But when I was thinking of creative ways to use all of the t-shirts I cleared out of my closet/storage thanks to my ongoing #konmari project, I came up with an idea to make a Ninja headband from one of my favorite anime series,
Naruto. I'm not sure if this will become a full-fledged ninja costume or not, but I sure had fun making it, and it was a great way to put one of the many mis-printed t-shirts from the
Shalloboi West Coast Tour of 2008 to good use.
Here's how I made my headband:
Using an
OLFA rotary cutter, mat and ruler, I cut a 3" wide strip across the bottom of the t-shirt.
Note: If your shirt is long enough, you could make a vertical cut and then you don't have the side seams on the finished headband. They don't actually show up when you're wearing it, but if it bothers you to know they're there, this is a good option to keep in mind.
Next, I cut a 5.5"x2" rectangle of grey felt for the forehead protector and did a Google image search to find a nice traceable image for my preferred village symbol (the hidden leaf). I absolutely can't freestyle my embroidery, so I printed it out and waited for a sunny day to use a window and a fine-line sharpie to trace the symbol on my piece of felt before embroidering it with the floss held double.
Then I used a pair of scissors to cut the corners of the felt to be a bit rounded, and pinned it to the t-shirt, tacking down the top and bottom of the headband at the same time. I opted NOT to seam the rest of the t-shirt fabric, betting that the seam created by sewing on the forehead protector would be enough. When you wear it, you can't really tell the difference, but you could completely seam the top and bottom if you are so inclined. Again, if that's something that bothers you, then it's worth the extra effort!
Once you're done, you can wear with pride! Here I am with my favorite Ninja (
Kakashi) and Ninja Tool (an OLFA rotary cutter):
When I was at C2E2, I wore the headband around my neck (some Ninjas do that!), although I have no photographic evidence because I was still getting over a cold and didn't feel photogenic. But here are some general scenes around the show so that you can see what C2E2 is all about!
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| I bet this Kisame cosplay was even more amazing from the front! |
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| Need a lightsaber? |
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| This just made me laugh. |
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| Was pretty psyched to see some craft brands at the show! |
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| Caught my pal Heidi of Hands Occupied knitting during a wig talk! |
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| Artist Alley is one of my favorite features of comic cons. |
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| The show floor is huge - comics and nerdery as far as the eye can see! |
I'll definitely put C2E2 on my calendar for 2020 - who knows, maybe I'll be there in full cosplay!
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