ALPHONSE ELRIC

Series: Fullmetal Alchemist: Conqueror of Shamballa
Worn to: Youmacon 06, Sakuracon 07, Acen 08
Status: Retired
Difficulty:

Why I made it

I went through a very long-winded phase in which I was OBSESSED with Fullmetal Alchemist. It's my favorite anime - Al in particular really stole my heart. Although I was only moderately pleased with the FMA movie, I was so happy to see Al back in his human form because I knew I could finally cosplay him without building a 7 foot suit of armor. Thankfully it was also a relatively easy costume and I felt confident enough to tackle the project, even with my limited sewing knowledge.

How I made it

Most of the costume has been remade twice. The shirt was made using black linen, white bias tape, thick interfacing, hand-painted silver buttons and a men's civil war shirt pattern. The coat was fairly easy but I had a lot of problems with the hood! There must have been something very wrong with me when I was sewing it together because I kept sewing it wrong side out TIME after TIME until I finally got it right! The flammel on the back was made using a stencil of a blown up picture of the symbol, cut out, and traced in fabric chalk. I ended up painting the inside with black acrylic paint. The gloves were made using another stencil, this time traced with fabric marker. The first wig was a bit of a disaster but the second was a wig from ebay that I absolutely adore. The pants and shoes I picked up at a thrift store.

Final thoughts

This costume is extremely special to me becuase it helped me meet three of my best friends!