Today’s question is…
Have you ever had a cosplay injury?
Have you ever had a cosplay fail?
I already answered the “cosplay fail” question here! So I’ll just focus on injuries or other weird stuff.
Let’s see… I sliced my finger open while cutting the holes for the grommets on my cousin’s Cinderella bodice. Got some blood on the interior, but thankfully it came out.
I broke a needle while sewing on Lessa and it flew up and stabbed me in the gums. Wtf!
It wasn’t me but Ash – I was wearing my Mustafar Padme with the pregnancy pad, and forgot I’d stored my extra brooches in the pad. We were acting silly and she went to punch the pillow and bruised her knuckles and broke my extra brooch LOL Serves her right for trying to punch a pregnant lady.
Twice I’ve got needles stuck in my foot. Once just along the side edge, and I was able to pull it back out. The second time it broke off and I had to have it surgically removed.
These aren’t really injuries, but they are weird and make me laugh:
My first Padme lake dress armbands turned my arms green. And the vaguely green lines stayed there for a couple of months.
The first time I wore Hild, I got a spray tan. The front of the Hild dress had to be taped on. After wearing it for a while, I went to take it off and when I pulled the tape up, it pulled the tan off. I had a whole line of white squares all the way up my front.
When you’re dealing with so many sharp objects (sewing needles, knives, etc) or hot objects like glue guns in costume construction, you’re going to have accidents. I try to keep basic first aid stuff on hand all the time, and if you’re working with anything that could be remotely dangerous, make sure you’re taking proper precautions – wear masks and glasses and gloves at all times if you’re using something that requires them! Last year my husband skipped his protective goggles because it was something he was doing “real quick” – and ended up with a scratch on his eyeball and a visit to the minor med. So don’t skimp on safety equipment!
At cons, I always take a “costume first-aid” kit with me – lots of band-aids, neosporin, general medication (ibuprofen, benadryl for possible allergic reactions, sudafed for weather changes, etc), ace bandages, etc. I twisted my ankle in my Starfire platforms at Dragoncon 2008 – luckily not bad, but I was glad I had an ace bandage in my repair kit back in the hotel room in case I needed it.
If you’re reaching a point where you know you’re uncomfortable to the point of pain in a costume please don’t hurt yourself – go take it off, rest and get first aid if needed. All cons/event centers will have some sort of first aid area/medics. My friend Ash fell at Comic Con in 2004 and we got into the building early so we could go to first aid and get a bandaid for her arm! Yay injuries! (Just kidding LOL)