Setsuna
Fire Emblem Fates/Heroes

Inspiration: Fire Emblem has become a daily part of my life since the mobile game Fire Emblem Heroes came out. I had such a great time making my previous Fire Emblem costumes, that I knew I wanted to make another, but there are just so many amazing characters and costumes, so I needed help. I struggled to limit my options to a handful of characters and then asked my facebook followers which I should do. Setsuna won the vote, so I set to work making the costume for this absent-minded archer.

Materials/Construction Details: I only had a few weeks to make this costume, and it was a complex one for sure. The whole outfit is two tops and three skirts, along with gloves, boots, and what I started calling shin guards. So where to start?

The kimono style top is made from grey suede with a teal knit trim. It snaps in the front, which is hidden under the other top. This second top is made from the same teal knit for the most part. The front has hand stitched designs in white sateen. I also used that white sateen to make bias tape to go around the top edge. This top forms a point in the back and the collar snaps on top of it. The collar has diamond designs satin stitched on it.

I had to make six clover knots for this costume, but I got a lot of practice making those when I made Hinoka last year. I used navy blue parachute cord, which is also what I used to weave around the sleeves. I purchased navy blue tassels to attach to the knots.

I purchased white ankle boots and made the shin guards out of white vinyl. I installed invisible zippers in the back of the shin guards so that I could get them on and still have them tighter around the ankles. Once these pieces were sewn together, I used Angelus leather paint to paint both the boots and shin guards a dark teal color. I had to make this custom color from mixing about five different colors of leather paint.

I used gold pleather backed in Heat n Bond for the details on the sleeves and the skirt. For the boots and shin guards, I had to glue the pleather down with wood glue.

A reoccurring part of this costume where these white spikey parts, which can be seen around her collar, at the top of her boots, on her underskirt, and on her headband. I made these pieces out of white sateen covering some thick interfacing. I then used silver thread and did a tight zig-zag/satin stitch to make the patterns on these parts.

The first of Setsuna’s three skirts is the white underskirt, which provides the overall shape of the bottom of this costume. I used a very stiff interfacing to make a cone-like shape around my hips that would hold its shape under the weight of the other two skirts. This skirt was made of white sateen with satin stitching all around the edges. The second skirt is made of teal knit and includes three large pleats on either side with gold pleather trim along the bottom. The third skirt is the fur skirt. The general shape is a very wide upside down teardrop with long white fur on the back side and a short brown fur on the front. One large hook & eye connects it in the front. I used white spray fabric paint to make the spots on the fur.

I purchased tights in spruce green from We Love Colors for her leggings. I found a very stretchy knit in a similar color to make the gloves. I used the McCall’s Yaya Han glove pattern, which was very simple to follow. The pinky and ring finger on each glove had to be fingerless for this design. I covered foam in the same knit to make the gauntlets.

I made Setsuna’s quiver out of turquoise and white vinyl along with a medium stiff interfacing to help it keep its shape. Despite the various straps around the waist, the quiver actually attaches through large snaps attached to the fur skirt.

Wig: I purchased this wig on ebay and it was designed to be used for Sayaka from Modoka Magica, but I trimmed it up just a bit, cut some layers into the bangs, and added a few flipped out parts and it worked great for Setsuna!

Prop: The artist for Heroes drew Setsuna an absolutely gorgeous bow, but I simply ran out of time to make it. Instead, I gave an old bow a new paint job using the color scheme of the art as inspiration. I did however make several arrows as they were pictured. The arrow point is almost as elaborate as the bow. I sculpted it completely out of black worbla and then painted it silver. The rest of the arrow is made from a skinny wooden dowel, also painted silver, with the other end sanded to a point and painted gunmetal. I cut some white turkey feathers to make the fletching and then used tint-it spray in jade and sapphire to color them before gluing them in place with hot glue.