OTAKUkawaii: Naruto Shippuden Cosplay! Head band & First Hokage necklace

Okay, so this time I'm doing a Naruto Uzumaki cosplay. Unlike my Ed cosplay, I'm doing this in parts and in a lot more detail (eg. The costume will have every small detail). In this part, I'm doing extras/prep for the cosplay. Let's Go!

Character profile.

As many of you will know, Naruto is a popular anime with Over 600 episodes (both parts). Naruto is a bubbly character, who is extremely loyal to his friends and will keep to his word no matter what. Unfortunately, the nine tailed fox which destroyed the Hidden Leaf Village (Konohagakure) fifteen years ago is sealed inside of him by the fourth Hokage, so in his early life the people of the Leaf Village were very hostile to him.

Ninja Head band.

Okay so the head band. In the series, each hidden village has their own ninja headband (though they aren't always worn as one!) When a student of the Ninja Academy receives their headband they have passed the test and become a Genin (Naruto did the test three times before earning his!).

So, for this you need:
Black statin/silk
Grey felt
Some sort of embroidery thread, I used a metallic embroidery yarn for sewing/knitting from Madeira.

So first cut out a rectangle of grey felt the size of your palm (wrist to where your fingers start). This should be the around the same size as your forehead. Once your happy, sew the Hidden leaf symbol using the embroidery thread in the centre.

Then cut the black silk to around double the width of your rectangle (don't forget seam allowance and around a centimetre extra for easier sewing later on!) and lengthwise around your head two and a half times (you need some space for tying). Now fold in half, the side you want to keep on the inside and pin together so the fabric doesn't slip.

Now for the machine work (or if you want you can sew by hand). Start by sewing along the outer edge of the silk, make sure you leave a seam allowance and don't sew the entire way round as you want to turn it back the right way afterwards. Once you've done this, remove pins and turn it inside out. Fold the final edge in and sew up. Now place the grey rectangle in the middle and pin the four corners. Finally, sew around the edge of the felt and remove the pins. Ta-Dah! Headband complete!

First Hokage Necklace.

In the first part of the anime, Lady Tsunade gives Naruto her necklace, which belonged to the first Hokage.
So let's have a look on what we need:
Blue, green or clear sea glass (this looks really nice for affect- not to mention free!)
24 gauge wire (gold or silver- it doesn't matter!)
Silver beads (I mean the plastic ones, but if you have the real deal, then use away!)
necklace elastic/wire
Squishys (stopper beads)

So first let's start with the pendant.
First get your wire and cut it to the length you want. Then bend one tip over slightly so it makes a hook and coil some of the wire around it so it makes a loop.

Next get your sea glass and start wrapping the wire around (tight so it doesn't fall out) and then coil the remaining wire around the loop, securing it.

Now get your necklace wire and cut it at your preferred length and start by adding a necklace ring and a squish. Squish the squish with pliers to secure. Next add another squish at a little before the middle and squish with pliers. Now you add a silver bead, the pendant and another bead and squish. Finally add the clasp and squish to finish.