Baby Lock Ambassador Skyler's Aira from Dandadan Cosplay!
Follow along as I share my building process for Aira from the Anime Dandadan!
I flourish in environments where I can get creative and go for the extravagant, and it’s the simple projects where I can dig in the most. The characters from Dandadan are all pretty modern and simple in design, no grand fantasy garments. Oh, but you better believe I’m going to transform this character into one by the end of this!
Getting Started
Here is the reference I am going off of for this design. So simple but so cute. I knew I was going to keep basic color and shapes but everything else I was excited to play with!
Like all my projects they start with drafting a pattern. The design of the dress and jacket are somewhat standard but I wanted to add a little more to the patterning itself too. One thing about animation is most often the artists aren’t sewists, they can draw anything regardless of the rules of textiles and fabrications. So to fully accomplish a full skirt as pictured I had to get pretty creative. I made quite a few drafts and I ended up changing it quite a lot from this first draft.
Making the Dress
Next, I could get to cutting fabric and sewing things together. I used the Baby Lock Accomplish 2 for all my straight stitching. Construction goes so fast with this great machine!
In the world of online purchasing, I often end up overbuying, but the silver lining is, I always have beautiful trims to add to another project. I happened to have this trim that didn’t work out for one of my last projects. I was so excited to find it in my hoard because it was absolutely perfect for this dress. I like it because it adds a beautiful texture but doesn’t read prom dress.
I used the Baby Lock Accomplish 2 with the Quilting foot to attach this lace. This lace didn’t have a bunch of beads and sequins on it, so it was fairly easy to work with.
With the lace attached, I added a zipper and played with the collar. I decided not to include it; It wasn’t working for me. Cosplay tip: just because it’s part of the original design doesn’t mean you have to keep it!
Creating the Jacket
Making the jacket was a pretty quick project as far as general construction. I picked out this pretty, fluffy faux fur for the outside. I liked the pattern of the fabric. Thinking about the lining, I decided to dig through my stockpile of fabrics and found this beautiful cotton from Mood Fabrics. I’ve had it for so long and it made me so happy to finally have a purpose for it.
I'm nothing if not consistent. I found this lace and it felt too perfect an opportunity to pass up, so of course I added applique pieces to the front, back, and sleeves!
And then I got a spontaneous idea… What if this jacket could be reversible? It would be a shame to leave that beautiful floral fabric as just the lining of the jacket. So I added the lace applique to the flower lining as well.
And this is where I ended up with my final outfit for Aira from Dandadan! Thank you for following along, and happy sewing! For inspiring cosplay reels and photos from Skyler, follow them on Instagram!
