Sophronia Temminnick Cosplay – From Gail Carriger’s Finishing School Series
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For Wondercon2018 I decided to do a cosplay of Sophronia Temminnick and her trusty sidekick Bumbersnoot, from The Finishing School series by Gail Carriger. I based it around my 1855 ball gown and added the relevant accessories.
Sophronia’s black velvet reticule
This is the reticule that we first hear about because it will not show marks from the coal Sophronia steals for Bumbersnoot. I used my regency reticule pattern, and drafted an overlay piece to create a gathered, ruffly effect. The idea is that the extra fabric will hide any oddly-shaped items Sophronia might be carrying (like coal, or cheese pies).
The base fabric is black canvas and the overlay is a gorgeous black velvet, which sheds everywhere. The overlay piece was not quite right, although I did make it work. I will redraft it for the next one.
I added two inside pockets, since the canvas can support it and I am sure this is something Sophronia would have requested in any custom made reticule. The ribbon is a double faced satin, long enough to tie around the neck, or onto one’s chatelaine if need be.
The Depraved Lens of Crispy Magnification
The Depraved Lens of Crispy Magnification is a monocle wired onto a piece of dowel. Since I do not have the requisite tools, I appealed to a friend to cut the dowel and put the holes in either end. I then used jewellery wire and pliers to attach the lens to the dowel. I wrapped the dowel with narrow burgundy ribbon, which also made the loop to attach it to my person.
Red Lace Doily
Since crochet is not something I have mastered, I was planning to buy a red lace doily. However, I did not find any that I liked. I saw lots of white ones though, and ended up getting a 4-pack of those from Amazon, along with some red RIT dye, and creating my own. I dyed two of the four, in case a certain friend of mine does Dimity at some point.
Hair Ribbons
These are simply lengths of ribbon. I did a wide blue one and a narrow black one. One must be prepared for everything!
Perfume bottle
The perfume bottle made for Sophronia by Vieve is described as a metal flask with a flip top. Since I was unable to find anything resembling this, I thought about what she might have used prior to acquiring the practical metal one. I settled on a tiny glass bottle, with a screw top, in a subtle lavender colour. I filled it with lavender oil, since that is a particular favourite of mine.
Read about the making of Bumbersnoot here! I still plan to make the bladed fan and carnet de bal garrote as well. More on those to come.
