As promised, here is a deep-dive into my bishoujo Starscream cosplay but diner waitress version, with matching handmade accessories from Otome no Sewing volume 13. I decided to do this at the last moment before the Transformers cupsleeve (retro diner themed, like 1950s Americana drive-in with neon lights and hamburgers and milkshakes) event, so I didn’t have a lot of time to make the other accessories I envisioned, such as cutesy sock garters or wrist cuffs, or wearing lolita shoes ordered in August 2025 that didn’t arrive until recently after the event in November 2025. What I ended up with still looked cute and matched the theme, and I did want to review more Otome no Sewing patterns in case anyone is interested.
Here is the link to the original bishoujo Starscream cosplay and events recap post to refresh your memory.
I didn’t do a full report on the second Transformers cupsleeve event but I went both Saturday and Sunday and posted on my Instagram!
https://www.instagram.com/p/DRYzo7BDf72/
And I also posted my merch haul in a previous post.
Okay, back to the construction of diner waitress bishoujo Starscream!
I browsed a lot of diner waitress sets released by actual lolita brands on lolibrary.org, such as those from Angelic Pretty and Metamorphose Temps de Filles, also Otome no Sewing and Gothic Lolita Bibles, to see what are the common motifs amongst perfectly cute retro waitress accessories. Note, I didn’t really want to make a lolita Starscream outfit (yet!), I just wanted to wear the actual cosplay but with diner accessories for the theme of the cupsleeve event, to spice things up. So my research ended up with these signature items…
- waitress cap, or half-visor, or frilly maid headband, usually with high ponytail or pig tails
- apron trimmed with ribbon stripes and ruffles
- belt if no apron
- notched collar button down top and sleeve cuffs, also trimmed with ribbon stripes
- wrist cuffs that are not too lacy or ruffly
- crew socks
- high top sneakers or roller skates for shoes
Obviously the focus is on the apron, the most recognizable part of a waitress outfit, with a secondary accessory of some headdress. Now bishoujo Starscream has a white belt which is perfect on its own, except I didn’t want to damage the foam belt, so I replaced the belt with a white fabric apron that will not get damaged, genius of me. Second, bishoujo Starscream doesn’t wear any headdresses, but Starscream canonically has a crown in the series, so I decided to make a frilly maid headdress that is also decorated like a crown, genius x 2 of me! As for the notched collar and sleeve/wrist cuffs, technically she has a pointed collar and glove cuffs already, so while I did consider making wrist cuffs, I felt the blue gloves with the white cuffs were more recognizable and plus I was too lazy/busy. Finally, for the sock/shoes issue, I decided to not make garters either for the same reason, too busy and they weren’t visible or important, and I just rewore the costume heels which killed my feet again lol.
For the apron, I browsed several options in my Japanese lolita pattern books and decided to make the simplest possible version in Otome no Sewing volume 13, which also had the frilly headdress instructions. This apron was a lacy piece for a maid costume, so simple it didn’t even need a pattern. The first step is to cut the ribbon ties, which I just cut 2 straight long rectangles (instead of long angled wide shapes) out of white cotton muslin scraps, sewed the edges and flipped them inside out, topstitched, then folded both ties into another rectangle piece for the waistband. Then I cut out a large rectangle of cotton muslin trimmed shorter than the already short skirt and used the rolled hem foot to hem 3 of the sides. I used a wide stitch to gather the unhemmed side and sewed that to the waistband, folded over the waistband and topstitched it down. Extremely easy. Next, I had to decorate it to match the rest of the cosplay. I decided to just trim the bottom and sides with satin red ribbon from my stash using hand stitches so I could take it off if it looked bad or idk, remake for another costume. Then I wanted to copy the yellow and red belt buckle from the original design, so I cut out a heart from stiff yellow felt and stitched more red ribbon around it and pinned it to the waistband. It didn’t look the best, but I didn’t want to spend too much time on it, just wanted the design continued. I also vaguely considered adding gold accents or stars to the apron, but didn’t have time…
Because I had to make the crown headband! This volume had a few different maid and waitress headband options, so I decided to make the double layer version with gold lame in the back and white cotton muslin in the front that was trimmed with gold rickrack from my stash (the sewing pattern also used rickrack trim). Each layer was a long folded ruffle-shape piece, tapered with a curve on each end, with gathering stitches on the curved unfolded sides. You sandwich the two ruffled layers into a long skinny tube made to fit over the headband (this piece you had to measure it out yourself and it’s tricky because you want it wide enough to hold the ruffles securely and pass the headband through, but not too wide to make the headpiece look weird) and topstitch everything down. Then slide the headband into the tube and sew the open ends closed. Also easy! I decorated the headband with two tricolor grosgrain ribbons from my stash to bring a touch of blue into the accessories. Next, I had to brainstorm the crown bits. I decided to make Starscream’s 3 point gold and ruby crown using large gold lace trim that I cut into the right tine shape and sewed onto the white layer. Then I colored large clear rhinestones red with alcohol marker, glued them onto a red felt backing and attached a shiny clear rhinestone chain around each “ruby” to make everything fancier and more blingy with sewing and/or glue. While this doesn’t resemble Starscream’s crown too much, it got the idea across and I was excited to use new techniques for the jewels. Previously I thought you could only change the color of clear jewels if they didn’t have a foil back with like nail polish, but then I read you could change the color with alcohol marker on top of the glass, so no need to mess with the backing. Of course there is a slight danger the color might eventually rub off, but a quick Sharpie touchup can cover that.
In the photo I also displayed the decoy purse plus null ray gun, which is only one half of the purse, basically one wing and one gun, and is not functional but would survive a crowd better than the actual purse.
Overall, I was super pleased with the result of my two accessories that were easy to make and where I learned a new technique. I don’t think new wrist cuffs or sock garters are worth the effort for this event, but I am interested to try to make a fully lolita (or fully gyaru???) bishoujo Starscream outfit in the future, in which case, new handmade matching wrist cuffs and sock garters are a go! If I make a design or two and actually go through with it, that post will be made… by the next event much later this year I’m sure lol. But I actually have a different Transformer cosplay to make before I redo Starscream, see if you can guess who! (I already started it but didn’t finish lol, this post was originally started in January 2026.)