Lilo & Stitch from "Lilo & Stitch"

This is my absolute favorite movie. I love the story, I love the characters, I love the art style - love it all! It's long been a desire of mine to cosplay as Stitch, and this year I finally felt that my costume-making skills were up to the challenge.

Stitch is 100% hand-made. I made his head, arms, legs, and various "attachments." L-IV made his bodysuit.

His head is all-foam construction and has superb ventilation: fan in the nose with open nostrils (lol) as well as an open-mouth design. His eyes are chiffon and HUGE, which allows for even more ventilation. His arms are lined with broadcloth and slightly padded with batting to give them the width they need. His stompy feet are foam built on tennis shoes. His fur is all minky cuddle fur, and claws & nose are made from fleece. He has "butt padding," which is a polyfil-filled pillow that is held up with elastic.

Stitch is also a transforming suit. He can be good ol' doggy-form Stitch for when I feel like behaving, but he can also become the rascally alien 626. There are 2 magnets in the top of his head for attaching his antennae; his 2 extra arms attach at the sides with Velcro & are suspended with clear beading cord; and his 3 back spines attach with more magnets. This form debuted at Anime Weekend Atlanta 2014. Pictures coming soon!

Stitch was made with two goals in mind. First, I wanted to bring my favorite character to life as best I could. Second, he is a suit designed for interactions with children. I am a volunteer with the Cosplay Volunteers of Atlanta, and right after I decided to make this suit, I knew he had to be made with kids in mind. Therefore I made some design choices to ensure he can be washed and maintained; vision and ventilation were also key as I will be wearing him quite often and for long periods of time. He's already had a couple of outings and is a hit! He is one of my greatest costuming achievements. :3

Models: Psypris (Lilo), FellHarbor/me (Stitch)

A note on Lilo: Psypris/L-IV did a FANTASTIC job on our Lilo!! Not only her dress but everything you see was hand-made: dress, duffle bag, shoes (not pictured), even Scrump! Psypris crafted pretty much every accessory for Lilo that was possible to make (yes, even the spoon-friends complete with pickle jar!) We're hoping to do a photoshoot around Thanksgiving 2014 and I will be sure to share!