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Costumes Freebies Harry Potter

Making the Nimbus 2000

You know what? The world doesn’t need another “how to make a Nimbus 2000” tutorial. There are just so many great ones out there already! So instead of adding to the pile of already great video tutorials, I wanted to share something none of them had: a template for cutting out your broom handle.

My research found that most people scale up a photo of a licensed broom by Cinereplicas and print it out to get the right shape for the handle. But, perfectionist that I am, the handle shape wasn’t close enough to that of the movie. So I stitched a bunch of screenshots of the broom in Diagon Alley together to get my pattern as close to the real one as possible.

Cinereplicas reproduction of the Nimbus 2000
Screenshots of the Nimbus 2000 racing broom as seen in Diagon Alley in the first Harry Potter movie
The Nimbus 2000 as seen in Diagon Alley – Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

The place where the Cinereplica differs the most from the movie broom is at the head where the gold Nimbus 2000 logo is placed. Not only is the end of the broom a different shape, but the logo is angled differently on the Cinereplica than the original and has an added line between the word ‘Nimbus’ and ‘2000’.

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Costumes Freebies Harry Potter

Quidditch robe numbers

In researching how to make my own Quidditch robes, I found a ton of tutorials on how to sew robes – from a youtube video how to make a quick robe out of whatever you have on hand, to free handcrafted patterns with full instructions. The one thing I couldn’t find was which font the movies used for the robe numbers.

As it turns out, it’s Tahoma bold, which is probably already on your computer. Take a look:

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Costumes Freebies Harry Potter

DIYing your own Quidditch gear

Quidditch is THE sport in Harry Potter. A combination of soccer and football played on broomsticks. Sound dangerous? Of course not! Never mind the broken bones, concussions, black eyes, and hundred-foot falls. It’s a piece of cake!

” Our job is to make sure that you don’t get bloodied up too badly! Can’t make any promises. Rough game, Quidditch.”

George Weasley

What’s that you say? You don’t recall what a Quidditch outfit looks like? No problem, just check out Harry and Draco below. As long as you have your protective gear, a robe, and a broom, you’re off to the races. No pun intended (I think). Or, if you’re looking for a more detailed look into getting kitted out for Quidditch, read up on it in my Quidditch Costume Reference post.

kinopoisk.ru

Getting Started

Step 1 for me in making a new costume is copious amounts of research. There are so many questions to answer! Like how many variations of the costumes are there? Does each House have slight variations or do they all follow the same pattern? How do Quidditch players get assigned numbers? Did the costumes evolve through the series? The questions usually get more detailed as the picture becomes clearer. My last questions are usually things like “Which type of metal are the buckles made of?”

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Back to the Future Costumes Design Freebies

Making hoverboards, Back To The Future style

Last year our local entertainment expo brought the cast of Back To The Future to town. I was bouncing around the house in excitement when I first heard the news since that’s my favorite trilogy of all time. Seriously just so good. I re-watched the trilogy, introduced it to my kids, and then got down to business.

2 months and an 80’s punk makeover later, I was Spike, a member of Griff’s gang from 2015:

The Hoverboards

Planning the hoverboards was one of my favorite parts of making this costume. It gave me a chance to geek out in Illustrator with an attention to detail that warmed the cockles of my heart. I started out with just creating the 2 hoverboards my husband, daughter and I needed for our costumes:

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Costumes Harry Potter

A Quidditch costume reference

The Cosplay community has embraced Harry Potter with exuberance and enthusiasm. When I started looking into Harry Potter costumes I came across almost everything, from Luna Lovegood in her lion’s head (priceless) to a golden snitch and Moaning Myrtle (with toilet seat!).

Of course, there was always a huge variety of Quidditch costumes, from the storebought to the painstakingly handcrafted. There seem to be several Quidditch camps – those who prefer the original first-year robes to Krum’s from the World Cup or practice robes from year 6.

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Costumes Harry Potter

Where to find Quidditch in the Harry Potter Movies

For those of you looking to make a Quidditch costume, I have a tip for you: not every Harry Potter movie features Quidditch. Once I got over my shock at this fact, I tracked down which films could supply some reference.

Harry Potter & The Philosopher’s Stone

Year 1. The first encounter we have of Quidditch isn’t the game – it’s running across the Nimbus 2000 in Diagon Alley (21:30). Isn’t she a beaut? Then we see Oliver introducing Harry to Quidditch after his almost disastrous spotting by Professor McGonnogal (1:04:26). And, who can forget Harry’s first-ever Quidditch match (1:15:28)?

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Back to the Future Costumes Freebies

Becoming Spike – a Back To The Future 2 costume

It was late February when Kim mentioned that the cast of Back To The Future would be at the Calgary Expo. I spent the evening poring over the Expo website, checking ticket prices and schedules (there might also have been a bit of squealing). Not only would the cast be there, but Doc Brown (the inestimable Christopher Lloyd) was going to posing for fan photographs with a DeLorean. I was hooked.

Herein began a 2-month race to the finish for my first con/cosplay. I’d always been a bit envious of Kim and her costumed shenanigans each spring, and now it was my turn – featuring my favorite trilogy of all time.

The next day I kicked off costume planning. After my husband Jer volunteered to dress up with me (he doesn’t even like dressing up, best husband ever) and we got the kids in on it, I knew we had a big job ahead.

The first question was who to dress up as? Marty and Jennifer from the 80s? George and Lorraine at the Enchantment Under The Sea dance? Marty’s kids from the future? Or our final choice – Griff’s gang from 2015. Jer and I have always had a thing for hoverboards and the cheesy futuristic tech in the second movie, so it was an easy sell.

What’s wrong, McFly? Chicken?
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Costumes Hook & Needle

Where’s Waldo on Canada Day?

What happens when you bring a red and white striped t-shirt home? I suppose it depends on who you are. But if you’re anything like me, you immediately jump to visions of the whole family kitted out in Where’s Waldo costumes amidst a sea of red and white.

Where's Waldo (face)

From there the daydream turns into a DIY fantasy – finding matching t-shirts would be hard, right? Maybe I should just sew all 4. After that, I’ll need to find us 4 pairs of round glasses and compile stacks of books. Should the books all be copies from Martin Handford’s Where’s Waldo series? Maybe I should knit Waldo hats for us all to match as well. Could I find us matching boots?

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Costumes Freebies

Need a quick costume? Go Incredible(s)!

I’m really a cosplayer at heart. I say at heart because it’s not something I’ve ever devoted a lot of time to, though I do routinely plan out costumes I’d make if I ever had the time (Princess Peach, Jennifer Parker, Petra Venj… the list goes on). There’s something about dressing up and going out dressed to the nines that I love. Something. I don’t know. Something amazing, I guess.

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Costumes Freebies Harry Potter Hook & Needle

How to crochet a Slytherin scarf

How to crochet a Slytherin scarf

It all started with a pair of socks.

It was one of those rare occasions when I managed to bring my husband to the mall. This means a mandatory (though painless) stroll through the collectibles merchandise store.