And now it’s time to pay a visit to… the doujinshi-ka’s inbox

Erin: Shortly before an anime convention, I got a somewhat panicked email containing the following text:

Email: I’m cosplaying as Integra, but I have no idea how to tie that tie she wears!!

To do this I found one key piece of advice invaluable (it came from someone on the Hellsing LJ community, I forget who): tie the scarf by itself and then use a separate piece of cloth or ribbon to actually attach it to your neck. I’ve added a helpful diagram for the visually oriented =)

Neck goes here

shaded cloth = scarf proper, the part that you leave tied.

red = gets retied every time.

The scale’s been changed a bit; the red ribbon should actually be longer and thicker, so that its ends hang down far enough to show below the scarf.

Here’s what it looks like in practice, with the same colors.

Another thing people have asked me about is gold cross pins. I’ve come to the conclusion that these do not exist in nature. I have searched everywhere for Integra-esque gold cross pin. I’ve been to jewelry stores, Christian stores, all over the Internet, eBay, and Ireland. And I have found nothing. Rien. Zip. So, for my birthday, my mom made me one.

Two thin dowl rods, a pin backing from a craft store, and some clue. It’s actually not half bad. So if you need a pin quickly, try it.