Of the many aspects of this cosplay, Anastasia’s kokoshnik was by far my favorite to make! Beadwork is one of my favorite things to do for cosplay, and the way I interpreted this portion of the costume included beadwork in spades.
Like her necklace, Anastasia’s kokoshnik is quite plain in the original animation. It is, essentially, a glowing, over-exposed beacon on the screen. Considering the detail work I added to the rest of the costume, it felt appropriate to “bling out” the kokoshnik so it would match the dress and additional accessories.
For inspiration, I consulted examples of a traditional Russian kokoshnik, which typically consist of intricate beadwork. Most often, these beading patterns include pearls and a gratuitous amount of seed beads. I designed the beading pattern from scratch, using the “December” theme as inspiration for incorporating a snowflake motif.
To begin, I traced out the pattern for the kokoshnik on poster board to create a template.
I folded this template in half, then cut out the full piece.
I copied the template to buckram, which acted as the “foundation” layer for the piece.
Next, I installed 14-gauge wire to the upper hem using a zig-zag stitch. (Do this very carefully, making sure that your needle doesn’t hit the wire, causing it to snap!)
Once the foundation was complete, I covered the kokoshnik with double-faced silk satin and an overlay of golden glitter silk organza. After that, it was time to begin the beadwork!
As far as beadwork goes, the pattern I designed is not particularly complicated, but it was certainly time-consuming to execute. (Admittedly, I’m not the quickest hand-seamstress around.) Throughout the course of completing the beadwork design, I believe I marathoned though roughly five seasons of 24. I highly recommend finding a show to binge-watch while doing intricate hand-sewing tasks; it makes the time fly by!
My design for Anastasia’s kokoshnik involved ten different types of beads:
- Swarovski rhinestones
- Swarovski 5mm crystal pearls
- Gold 2.5mm “stardust” beads
- Swarovski crystal 2.5mm bicone beads
- Crystal 7mm bicone beads
- 10mm diamond rhinestone beads
- 2.5mm and 1.55 gold seed beads
- 7mm flat pearl beads
- 5mm oval ivory pearl beads
- 5mm gold tube beads
After lining the back with double-faced silk satin (sans the glitter overlay), the upper edge was finished with a gold lace filigree trim, stitched on by hand and accented with the Swarovski rhinestones.
Last but not least, I finished the upper edge with a row of pearls. I also installed a “headband” that was sewn to the lower edge, creating a more stable base for the kokoshnik. This headband was also made from buckram and covered with double-faced silk satin, then hand-stitched to the front piece.
The kokoshnik attaches to the wig with a hair comb that slides between the wefts. The edges are also finished with a ribbon, which ties beneath the ponytail. (The wig I used is a Matilda from Arda Wigs in Dark Copper Red.)
While not nearly as grandiose as the ballgown itself, the kokoshnik ended up being my favorite piece of the costume, primarily due to the intricate beading details. These can’t really be seen in photos, for the most part, but it brings me a lot of joy to know that they’re there!
Have you have attempted intricate beadwork for a cosplay? Feel free to share it in the comments; I’d love to see!