Mio Cosplay
Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Date Started: April 2022
Date Completed: September 2022
Materials & Tools
| Skirt | Non-stretch fabric (White, Gold) |
|---|---|
| Thread (White, Gold) | |
| Cord & Ribbon (Red) | |
| Clasps | |
| Vest Top | Vests (White, Black) |
| Ribbon (Black) | |
| Flute Prop | Cardboard tube |
| Spray Paints (White, Gold) | |
| EVA Foam | |
| Plastic Card | |
| Tools | Needles |
| Sewing Machine | |
| Rotary Cutters/Scissors | |
| Masking tape | |
| Ruler | |
| Fine tip pen | |
| Craft Knife | |
| Hot glue gun | |
| Super glue |
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was announced in February 2022, and in the trailer they showcase Mio, one of the
main characters and party members. I was immediately captivated by her, and before the game was even released
I decided I had to cosplay her at Glasgow Comic Con that September.
The costume consisted of three main components to make:
- A skirt made of curved strips of white fabric, with a decorative non-functional belt attached,
- A white vest top with black ribbons adding detail, and
- A prop flute made primarily of cardboard tubing.
It also needed other components that could be store-bought: black tights, boots, a white bomber jacket, and white/silver cat ears.
Due to having different components make up the whole costume, I got to use various skills while making it. The skirt and top was sewing
and fabric-oriented, while the flute was a mixture of digital-to-physical pattern-making and stenciling, combining materials to look uniform,
and both spray and hand painting.
Skirt & vest top
The skirt was the most challenging part to make, as Mio's in-game skirt isn't designed with real-world physics in mind. Rather than
having strips go around the whole length of the skirt, it was made in two mirrored halves, which were sewn together to give the
impression of curved strips. These halves were then sewn together such that the strips lined up for neatness, where the seams would sit
the sides of the skirt. Belt loops were sewn on, but were decorative so weren't securely attached.
The belt was made separately to the skirt out of white fabric and red ribbon. Because it was made of non-stretch fabric, it was made with
a clasp on the back that would be hidden with a small loop of gold fabric that would slip over it. During Glasgow Comic Con the ribbon had
unraveled due to wear and tear it wasn't designed for, but was superglued back together during a lunch break at the convention.
The vest was relatively easy in comparison to make, but was finnicky as it required long strips of black ribbon to be glued on to a white vest
top while being worn, to account for body shape, curves, etc.
Flute prop
Matching props for both Mio and Noah's flutes were made concurrently, using nearly the same methods. Cardboard tubes from cling film/kitchen foil were used
as a base, their ends covered or extended with EVA foam circles and strips of card twisted around the tube. Each flute also has a decorative point on the
end, which was drawn digitally out using Clip Studio Paint. These patterns were transferred into scrap plastic cards (2 layers of old gym membership cards)
via masking tape, which were then cut out with slots on the bottom to fit into the flute ends. These were glued into the flutes, and base coats of paint
were applied to each flute: black for Noah's and white for Mio's.
Mio's flute has detailed patterns on the end, which was drawn out on masking tape using an in-game texture file as reference. The stencil was stuck on, and
each flute was painted gold for detailing. Noah's had a further red gradient band in the middle which was sprayed on, then further details were
hand-painted on.
