DIY American McGee's Alice

Make-to-Learn Youth Contest:

What did I make? 
Comic-Con had finally come to Australia and I really love to get dressed up in costumes, so I thought why not make a costume from something I really like such as a video game. I created an Alice costume based on the American McGee's Alice video game where there is a more creepy style to Alice. Though American McGee's Alice looks a little different, I put my own little style to it which I thought worked out just as well. A sewing machine was very useful for this costume.

How did I make it?
The dress: I searched everywhere for a blue dress that looked similar to the one Alice wears in the game but could not find one! So around halloween time I went to Savers (a popular op shop) which sells heaps of halloween accessories around that time, and I found this really big puffy transparent dress. I immediately had the idea of dying the dress blue and to go from there. After dying it, it came out a blue-purple transparent colour so it didn't exactly work out as planned but it still wasn't bad. I cut out pieces of material from one of my old dark blue dresses and sewed that to the puffy sleeves of the dress to make the blue colour stand out more. 
The apron: I used an old table cloth and cut that into the shape of an apron that covered the chest and went over the head, i then sewed the cut sides of the apron to prevent any fraying. I took an old white singlet and cut that to make the pockets, which I then sewed onto the apron and glued printed symbols onto the pockets with a hot glue gun. The fake blood I made out of chocolate syrup mixed with red food dye, it works very well. (was also used on the weapon)
The waist ribbon: I used a long piece of fabric that I cut from the same table cloth and used that as a belt to make a large bow from behind. I also sewed the cut sides of this fabric to prevent any fraying.
The striped leggings I already had but had never worn before this, so finally it's in good use.
The boots: I had originally bought these Gothic boots for my Abbey costume from NCIS and it worked out great! I love them.
The necklace: I'm currently waiting for my horse shoe necklace to arrive but in these photo's I am wearing a unicorn necklace :)
The weapon: I had also bought from the op shop Savers and put the fake blood on it, which looks pretty realistic.

Where did I make it?
I made this costume at home, in my bedroom so I had some peace and quiet and no distractions. That's probably the thing that I enjoyed most - I could concentrate on what I wanted to do and actually get it done. It only took me a few days to complete this, with my mum occasionally helping me cut out the materials. 

What did I learn?
I learned that you don't need to spend a lot of money to make things because you can recycle things you already have. I re-learned how to use a sewing machine since it was at least 3 years since I had last used one, and I even worked it out all on my own :) I learned more about myself, how I love to be creative and how I am passionate about creating costumes with my own personal twist.

(I'll most likely update the costume and put new photo's up in the near future)