The story so far:

Here’s what I learned along the way about making cosplay in a hurry:

Try to get the defining characteristics of your cosplay stripped down to the minimum. (One way to do this is check if there is a Funko Pop of your character.) Get those in place, and any other extra details will be a bonus.  I was trying to do that withAughra’s 3rd eye, eyebrows, cheekbones, facial hair and horns. I didn’t get the angle of her eyebrows right, though.

The right impression counts more than the details, especially if working to a short timescale. E.g Aughra’s necklaces and belt aren’t exactly right, but they give the right kind of look.

Don’t let perfectionism lead you down a rabbithole. Keep it simple wherever possible. If something is going to take forever, think of a quicker, sleazier way to do it. (I gave up on latch hooking individual strands of hair onto one wig, and just used both, one on top of the other, with bits of the underneath wig yanked through to the top with a crochet hook.)

Make time to try things on as you go. Really. I didn’t, and that’s why the mask is so wonky (and also pretty uncomfortable).

From my friend Jem: use tissue in liquid latex as a lightweight, flexible modelling material, but wear gloves! (I used masking tape, but it was heavy and not very flexible.)

If you’re shopping for supplies on ebay, amazon etc, check your shipping times! You can customise your search to items that will ship from your own country if you need it superfast.

If you’re using hot glue, you’ll need about a bazillion glue sticks, so make sure you get more than you ever think you could use before you start. And always remember, dear readers, hot glue is hot. Have a spoon, paintbrush or similar handy to smooth down just-glued pieces.

Check your sewing machine. The needle had mysteriously gone missing from mine. Another emergency shopping trip.  Also make sure you’ve got the right colour thread.

In fact, check all your supplies and equipment and minimise the panicky expeditions for more stuff that will cut into your making time.

When you are getting exhausted, enraged with everyone and everything, and start making mistakes, take a break. If you carry on, you’ll spend waaaaay longer trying to undo the things you do next. This goes double for my fellow spoonies. Go outside, have a drink or a snack if you haven’t eaten, do whatever relaxes you. (A two hour snoozecuddle with my dog saved me from completely melting down.) If you absolutely, positively can’t stop, swap to a less demanding task, at least for a little while.

You can work out minor details when you get to the con, although you might get quite hot, cross, and tantrumy doing it. Take an emergency kit, or ask at the info desk if you’ve forgotten. A cosplay buddy would probably be great to stop you doing something drastic you’ll regret and help you adjust things like horns, ears, wigs, makeup to get them just right.

I was going to ditch my costume, but was persuaded otherwise, and I had such a great time meeting fellow Dark Crystal fans* while I was wearing it. So, even if you think it’s the worst piece of garbage ever when you’re finished, get some opinions from creative people you trust. They may help you find ways to tweak it that will make all the difference. And I’ll bet you find other people still love it.

*And how excited are we about the new Netflix series?