*GASPS*

aljsdhgfakljhsa oh nonnie! Thank you for considering it, I am so overjoyed that you’d think of cosplaying one of my throng!! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

oh gods, advice aaaaaaaaah okay here’s some stuff I am currently keeping in mind as I sloooooowwwwwly (VERY SLOWLY) put my Hrera together…

• For Dwarves, the body silhouette is turning out to be important. I don’t mean thinness or fatness or anything – I mean making yourself appear broader and shorter, as Dwarves are. If you’re in a dress, you can make your legs appear shorter by hemming it above ankle-height and wearing chunky boots. A high waistline and square broad neckline truncates your body, that sort of thing. 
• Fuller skirts (¾ or full circle) rather than narrower ones really does the trick, as do trousers that fall to the lower calf and thick tunics that fall to below the knee. 
• BOOTS ARE SO USEFUL: bulk them up all the way to under your knee! You’ll walk differently, too. 
• Decoration helps too: horizontal details or patterns all around the costume, or bulkier materials (such as faux-fur) on the shoulders or belt to draw the eye. 
• I’m covering an old corset to make my upper body look more square. 
• Similarly, the head needs to look a bit bigger than normal. So, it’s our moment to don a BIG WIG AND BEARD WOOHOOOOOO. All my girls have full beards 🙂 I got my beard here.
• Sewing your wig’s updo or style in place with a curved needle and thread = fabulously easy and very very secure. 
• I’ve found a great historical costuming site with lots of cheats here: Hathaways of Haworth. 
• You can always make padding part of the costume, if you decide to go that route! Though quilting can be a BITCH and very hot to wear for a long time. 
• I’ve found some great coloured bridal pettis on ebay, and lots of sari trims (awesome for details!!!). Curtain materials often have BRILLIANT Dwarvish patterns on them, and can be often be found cheaply at thrift shops. Cheap costume jewellery can be ripped apart and sewn on to stuff.
• I’ve been glancing over all the concept art for Lady Dwarves from the Hobbit, quite a bit (they appear to really like hair-jewellery)

There are tons and tons of cosplay blogs with tips on wigs, padding suits, patterns etc. But when it comes to the dwarves of Sansukh, I would be a total IDIOT if I didn’t direct you to these amazing folks. They’ve ALREADY DONE IT, and so beautifully that it makes me gasp in awe on a regular basis. 

Go look here! 

And here!

And here!

And here!

And now that you’ve said ‘HOLY HECK THAT’S AMAZING!’, here’s their blogs! Go and check out their in-progress photos, and all the tips and tricks they used 🙂

@houkakyou, @aviva0017, @the-dragongirl, @jedi-goldberry-with-the-force, @balinisballin and @flukeoffate. 

They’re also beautiful, beautiful lovely people ❤