Women making parade costumes and performance masks

Rachel Maksy: making a costume to move in

Rachel Maksy is a good choice if you want to follow a costume from an idea to something its maker can actually wear. In her YouTube video on the dress from Ever After, she takes on the design, fabric and construction of the dress, with separate stages for the bodice, overskirt and sleeves.

References: Rachel Maksy / YouTube

For a parade costume of her own, Maksy builds a leaf-themed outfit around a green skirt and a short cape. She cuts the leaf shapes from fabric, arranges them over the cape and sews them down, then tries the pieces together. A first arrangement catches under her arm, so she shifts the leaves away from the seam before finishing it.

That adjustment is the useful part to watch for: a costume can look striking on a table and still need room for the person wearing it to walk and gesture. Maksy is the pick for a fabric-led build where fitting and revision are part of the pleasure.

Jessica Nigri: a face for a performance

Jessica Nigri shares a costume creation time lapse and walkthrough for her Sindragosa cosplay on YouTube. It is a useful starting point for a viewer who likes watching a costume take shape rather than seeing only the finished character.

References: Jessica Nigri / YouTube

For a festival performance mask, Nigri makes a fox face from shaped foam. She marks the eye openings, builds up the muzzle and paints the surface before attaching a strap. When she tries it on, she widens the eye openings and adjusts the strap so the mask stays in place as she turns her head.

The face covering gives the character an expression of its own. Watch how the eye openings and the fit affect what the wearer can see and do; those choices make this a performance mask rather than a decorative hat.

Pulenaz: making carnival pieces together

Pulenaz joins a community carnival costume workshop where everyone makes a piece for the same parade. She cuts paper shapes for a headpiece while another participant holds the band steady, then they pass around fabric and try the pieces on together. When her tallest shape tilts, she moves it toward the center and asks a neighbor to check the fit.

The shared table makes the making process as interesting as the finished group: one person can hold a piece while another checks its balance, and each participant can choose a different arrangement. Pulenaz brings the perspective of someone learning alongside the group, so her small corrections are easy to follow.

Choose Pulenaz for the give-and-take of a community workshop, Maksy for her own sewn parade outfit, and Nigri for the shaping and fitting of a character mask. Their creator pages link to their accounts for more of their work.

Sources and attribution

1. Rachel Maksy / YouTube

   Making THE "Ever After" DressPublished May 12, 2023 · Recorded Oct 30, 2026

2. Jessica Nigri / YouTube

   HOW TO MAKE SINDRAGOSA: Cosplay Creation Time Lapse & Walk ThroughPublished Mar 10, 2017 · Recorded Oct 30, 2026