For those of you who follow me regularly, you know that fabric is my jam, and for those of you who are new to the blog, welcome! and you will learn quickly about my love of using fabric.
There are so many things I could share about using fabric, the types of fabric, sewing techniques, tips and tricks etc, most of which I will probably do a whole series on at a later date, but for this week's blog we'll discuss the basics of fabrics: what kinds there are, what you can use them for. Kinds of fabric & their uses: Special Occasion or Bridal Fabric These are those super shiny, pretty fabrics you find at the back of the store. Lace’s, Satin’s, Shantung, Taffeta, Chiffon, Georgette etc. These are generally found in the bridal section or special occasion fabric because they are used to make ball gowns, wedding dresses and any type of women’s formal wear. Cottons You can find cotton in abundance in the quilting section, but you can also find cotton blends in with broadcloth and even knits. Cotton is a natural fibre that you can use for all sorts of things. It is a highly durable type of fabric. Knits Knit fabric can be made from all different types of synthetic or natural fibres, but they way they are woven together makes them stretchy. Knits are generally used for active wear, and things that would need flexibility. Lace Lace is a very delicate fabric that you would use for details and accents on your clothes. It can be hand stitched or machine manufactured. You can tell lace by it’s intricate details. There are so many other types of fabric out there, but these are the ones you would most likely be using for making clothing! What you can make with fabric: There is a huge list of what you could make with fabric, much too large to list here. But if you can imagine it, you can probably make it from fabric! - Clothing - Cloaks & Capes - Bias tape - Appliques - Boot covers - Mask Covers - Bags
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Worbla is one of the newest craft materials I have had the joy of working with! It's super versatile and easy to use. Great for making props, armour and costume details. It's very durable when it's cool and very flexible when warm.
There are a few different types of worbla and they all have their different uses. I have gotten to use Finest Art, Black Art and Transparent Art. Using the Finest Art or original worbla was definitely the easiest to use. Heats up nice and evenly, molds nicely and is super easy to work with. It has a rougher surface though, so if you want that smooth armour like finish, you will have a lot of sanding to do. And sometimes it's not really worth all the work on it. The last item I made with this was the arm guard for my Evie Frye costume. I ended up covering it with gesso and sanding it with an electric sander, and it still had a rather rough finish. The Black Art takes a little bit longer to warm up and mold making it a little harder to work with, but it has a nice smooth finish to it so you don't need to sand it down. I used this when I made my mask for Skull Kid. Because it was such a large piece it was definitely a two person job to get it to mold to the mask shape properly. The Transparent Art was the hardest to work with. It took a long time to heat, and a lot of effort to get it to take form. We used this for the eyes in Majora's mask. It looked great in the end but it was a lot of effort to work with. So have lots of patience if you are working with this one! There are multiple other types of Worbla as well: Mesh Art, Pearly Art, FlameRed, Crystal Art, Deco Art, Kobracast Art. The pearly art is one of the more used worbla's for nice smooth details. Crystal Art are small jewel like pieces of worbla. I would love to try and use the Kobracast art. It acts as an adhesive so you can attach fabric and appliqués to concave or convex surfaces! I would highly recommend that if you haven't gotten a chance to work with worbla, to get your hands on some and try it out! Check out the amazing resources and tutorials here on worbla.com This has got to be one of the best resources I have found if you want to enhance your crafting skills.
They have videos by professionals in sewing, quilting, cooking, knitting, painting etc. The website started out as Craftsy.com and has since migrated to MyBluprint.com. They offer a subscription service for $10 a month and also have a library of videos that you can buy outright to keep forever. These are usually about $50-60. There are benefits to both the subscription and purchasing classes. Classes come with materials. In a lot of cases it is a PDF that covers what is happening in the class, but with the classes for purchase they come with sewing patterns, sometimes fabric or tools etc. I have found this website super useful to upgrade my sewing skills. A few years ago I needed to know how to change the size of a pattern for a commission. The pattern I owned was too small and I needed to up size it. I took a class on grading, and now grade patterns all the time! I'm also currently taking classes in designing my own patterns from scratch! Anyone looking for more knowledge in their craft you should definitely check out this site! UPDATE - My Blueprint has now gone back to being called Craftsy. - UPDATEThere are SO many great resources on line for learning to cosplay, getting started and even up-ing your game! Here is a bunch of the ones I like to use:
Tutorials and Learning: 1. Bluprint My Bluprint has a ton of amazing videos on all different areas of crafting. It is a subscription service for $10 a month, but you get access to hundreds of professionally taught videos! The website also offers the option to purchase videos at full cost rather than signing up for a subscription. The full price videos cost usually about $50-60 each. 2. Cosplay Tutorial Cosplay Tutorial is an online wiki of all different tutorials collected from around the web on many different topics pertaining just to Cosplay. You can even find tutorials on specific characters here. It's a great place to start getting ideas! 3. YouTube Of course YouTube! This is a wealth of information. So many video tutorials on sewing and crafting skills, cosplay specific tutorials as well as, many Cosplayer's have their own youtube channels and share information on their costumes and perspectives. 4. https://www.deviantart.com/ There are lots of great photos on here for reference as well as concept art and some tutorials. 5.https://www.worbla.com/ The Worbla website has lots of great tutorials on how to use their products. Both the company and cosplayers post videos and blogs all about the different techniques to use Worbla. 6. https://www.kamuicosplay.com/ Kamui Cosplay is an amazing cosplayer and she sells these fabulous books and templates to help you get started in all areas of cosplay! Buy her books!! Sewing: 7. https://www.simplicity.com/ Most of the patterns and costume patterns I buy are from Simplicity. They have such a great variety and are super easy to put together. For some reason, Simplicity patterns are extremely difficult to find in stores in Vancouver, so I generally order online or through a second party online store. Simplicity is home to other pattern brands as well such as Burda and NewLook. When ordering from these folks look for the sales! They will usually do a 10-15% off your purchase online. Some patterns are available as digital download, but the majority are still available only as paper patterns. 8. https://mccallpattern.mccall.com/ McCalls has a ton of great patterns to get you started right as well as their own cosplay line up found here: https://cosplay.mccall.com/. McCalls is home to other sewing brands such as Butterick, Kwiksew and Vogue. When buying patterns from these guys definitely keep an eye out for sales!! They will bring their pattern prices down to $3.99USD for their main brands and $5.99-9.99USD for Vogue. McCalls also offers a digital pattern option for their patterns which is super quick and convenient and easy to use. 9. https://sewingpatterns.com/ This is a great website to buy sewing patterns for cheaper. If you buy directly from the parent company you could be paying upwards of $13USD per pattern, but if you buy from this website you can get patterns for about $5USD. I do caution, don't buy digital patterns if you can avoid it. Digital patterns from this site might be super cheap and convenient, but the service they have for reading the files: printsew.com has had multiple server issues and download issues as well as no responses from customer service to address the issues. So stick with paper pattern orders from these folks. - UPDATE: while buying physical patterns from this website is fine, I do not recommend buying digital patterns as they are affiliated with printsew.com which continuously has problems and NO customer service. Crafting supplies: 10. https://www.cosplaysupplies.com/ This online shop has a ton of great crafting supplies from craft foams to worbla, paint to crystals, they have just about anything you are looking for. They ship super quick too and are fairly priced! 11. https://www.redmooncosplaysolutions.com/ Another online shop that carries all kinds of worbla and craft foam among other crafting supplies. They are a smaller company located in Canada. 12. https://ardawigscanada.ca/ & https://arda-wigs.com/ Arda Wigs is the leading cosplay wig supplier. But not only can you buy the perfect wig from them, you can get craft foam and foam clay, styling supplies and accessories. They also have a ton of tutorials on how to style their wigs! 13. Amazon When in doubt, go to Amazon. Amazon carries everything! And of course, if you have Prime shipping it gets to you in no time flat! This week I've put together a list of some of the different crafting materials you might find and use for your costume! Most of these can be found at your local crafting and fabric stores, others you can find on cosplaysupplies.com
Worbla By no means am I the expert on worbla, I'm learning slowly myself on this topic! There are a few different types of worbla you can get and each of them have their merits and demerits. Worbla is a thermoplastic which means you can mold it with heat. It's great for suits of armor, weapons and accessories! It makes your cosplay much more durable and even more realistic! You can find a full list and everything you could want to know about worbla at worbla.com. Worbla isn't the only kind of thermoplastic out there, but probably the most well known and readily available. Some other thermoplastics you might find are Thibra, Wonderflex, Fosshape, Varaform, Styrene and Sintra. Craft Foam Craft foam is super easy to use, cheap and accessible, plus comes in all different thicknesses. If you are making your first ever armor or accessory for your costume, this is definitely a good place to start. Craft foam is super easy to use, to cut out and forms well with or without heat (just make sure you don't use too much heat and melt it!) EVA Foam EVA stands for Ethylene-Vinyl Acetate. This is a type of cell foam. It is super durable, easy to heat mold and sculpt and also pretty easy to find. Most people would recognize EVA foam as those foam mats on the floor of a kids play room. You can find sheets in packs of 4 from Canadian Tire, Walmart and other department stores. You can also order it in rolls and sheets from online. This is another great material for making the base of an armor set or a weapon. It also plays really nice with Worbla and other thermoplastics. It's easy to sand and paint, and is comfortable to wear. Foam Clay This is a new and exiting crafting material. I have a jar at home that I can't wait to start using! This starts out like a putty that you can mold and shape and adhere to itself. It's great for making intricate details on armor, belt buckles, accessories and weapons. Once you let it air dry it hardens to a high density foam which is easy to sand and paint. This product is harder to find for now since it is new to the crafting and cosplay market but you can find it here on arda wigs Fabrics I could honestly do an entire blog post just about the different types of fabric, so we're going to do the condensed version here! When you go out shopping for your cosplay project, make sure you are using the right type of fabric. What I mean is, if you need something stretchy, don't use a cotton or a stiff fabric, go look for a nylon or a spandex. If you are making a dress definitely go for the more shiny and slippery fabrics (if you're needing to be elegant or regal) like Satin, Shantung or Taffeta. Cottons and broadcloth are also a great option for most articles of clothing because they are stiffer, easy to sew and cut and easy to clean. Thread If you're going to be sewing, you are going to need that perfect matching thread to go with your fabrics. There are many different kinds of threads just as there are fabrics, but threads are a little easier to pick out. Generally I say stick with an all purpose polyester thread. These are readily available in a multitude of colours, relatively cheap at $2 a spool (cheaper if you can find a sale) and for many projects, you probably won't need more than the smallest spool of 110yds. I would recommend going with a brand you trust as well since not all threads are created equal. Whenever I do my sewing I stick with Gütermann thread. They've been around forever and you know that once you thread your machine, the thread isn't going to snap every five minutes. Coats is another good company to look for. Your thread will also differ if you are using a serger VS a sewing machine, but again, try to stick with your all purpose thread rather than 100% silk or rayon etc. Glues Depend on what you are making there will be different glues that will work. If you are working with EVA or craft foam, I would recommend using contact cement or E6000 glue, even spray adhesive will work great with these foams. If you are using fabric, you can use the E6000 or specialty fabric glues. Just keep in mind how much weight that glue is going to need to hold. I find some fabric glues don't work that great with multiple layers or heavier fabrics such as leather, they tend to peel apart quite easily. If you are going to be glue fabric together, I would recommend using products like Steam-A-Seam or HeatnBond which are iron on adhesives. Hot glue would be my last glue of choice. It is readily available, but it can melt your foam, ruin your fabric and also lose it's adhesion over time. When you are using materials such as hard round plastics, silk flowers, or rough textures, this is where I would trust your hot glue to work the best! Think outside the box... When you are working on your next costume, also try to think of all the things you could use to make your costume that much more realistic or special, think of things you may not have used before. When I made my Skull Kid cosplay I wanted the leaves on his hat and gloves to look a particular way. I couldn't find any silk plants that would really work so I thought..."Corn husks". Instead of shucking hundreds of ears of corn, I did some digging on the internet and found you could buy bags of Tamale wrappers (dried out corn husks) which would work perfectly! I also found rafia which is a wrapping material used by florists that I used on my belts. So what kind of materials could you use to make your character come to life? I hope this guide helps you get started on your next costume! After doing a few cosplay's the old fashion way, scribbling down notes and saving pictures to my computer desktop, I decided I needed a better tool to keep me organized. I found CosPlanner on the Google Play store and downloaded it to try it out, and naturally when I switched to iPhone, it was the first app I downloaded and installed. This is personally my go to way of organizing now, and I try to keep it up to date as much as possible. I'll list the features, pros and cons and tell you a bit about my overall experience with the app.
There are so many things I enjoy about Cosplanner and not a lot I don't. I love how it keeps all of my in progress work in one neat organized space, so I can see how far I am on each task, write myself notes, tick off items to shop for as I go. Features: - Plan current and future cosplay projects - Keep track of all the things you need to make or buy - Add in photos for reference - Store information on the conventions you will attend - Keep track of your dates - Keep information about the cost - Share cosplay projects between online and mobile platforms - Expandable features through in-app purchase Pros: - Super easy to organize your costumes in progress. - Creates "to do" and "to make" lists - Upload reference and in progress photos - Keep track of the expos and conventions you go to - Lots of sorting options for your projects in progress - Adds new features to completed cosplays Cons: - Start date needs to be the day you create the project file - Allows you to add planned cosplays to your list, but you can only add reference photos. Would be good to have a notes function - Import/export cosplays doesn't work very smoothly between web platform and mobile platform - Unexpected costs that are not listed under "store" - Limited number of items to add before you need to purchase My experience: Overall, I really enjoy using this app, I don't have a lot of bad things to say. It's easy to use, keep things tally'd for you and keeps everything in one place, all neat and organized. The issues I have had is that you need to purchase more "line items" the bigger the project you have. For example I can add 15 items to my "to buy" list and then I need to buy more list spaces. It's not a huge problem as it's a one time purchase for the whole app, it's just slightly annoying. You have to do the same if you are using the web version. Purchases don't stick around cross platform. Personally I would love it to be a purchase per account rather than per application, but they have to make their money somehow! Everything else is fabulous :) Keeps me organized, keeps me on track and makes you feel good seeing your progress bar climb! User friendly: Yes Cost: Fair Functionality: Good Cross Platform: Could be better Aesthetic: Easy to use and understand Overall I would recommend this app to anyone starting a cosplay or other crafting projects for that matter! It keeps everything in a neat and organized place for you to come back to anytime you need! Sewing can be a really big part in making costumes and so I thought it would be a great idea to share some of the tools you'll need to use when designing and sewing your costume!
Cutting mat - These are super helpful! Placing them under your fabric will help to save your desktops and even give you cleaner cuts. Normally you'll use one of these if you have a rotary cutter, but I like to use mine even when I am using scissors or pinking shears. A lot of them will also come with measurements down the side and a grid to help you get more precise markings and measurements on your project! Rotary cutter - These are great for those big long cuts that you don't want a jagged edges on. A starter one is relatively in expensive and can be purchased at most fabric and crafting stores. Scissors - One of your most important tools! Now don't just grab a pair of craft scissors and think they will "cut it", You're going to want to invest in a good pair of fabric scissors. These usually have one blade that is parallel to your cutting surface, allowing you to keep the scissors flat and straight when you are cutting. You also want to make sure that they have a durable sharp edge and won't get damaged easily on the material you are cutting. My tip to everyone, always have one really good pair of scissors for your fabric, and a separate pair of scissors for any other materials you would cut like foam, or wire. Marking pens / pencils or tailors chalk - These are super important for marking your pattern on to your fabric without damaging it. Taylors chalk is great as it comes in white, making visible on most fabrics, but also it wipes off when you are done with it. You can also get double ended marking pens. Usually one end is water soluble and the other end is air soluble. I personally prefer the air soluable pen. It keeps my markings in place for about 24-48 hours and then they vanish. This is helpful if I can’t get to it right away. Gauge ruler - I am sure there is a more technical name for this but essentially it is a small metal ruler with a sliding red marker on it. This is super helpful when you are figuring out your hem allowances and seams. Also if you need to size up or down your pattern. Square - these are usually used for construction or building projects, but I find these super helpful when you need a 90 degree angle on your fabric pieces or self made patterns. French Curve - These are those fun rulers and plastic cut outs you find at a craft store that are all swirly and curly. These are perfect for making and adjusting sleeve holes. Also awesome for creating organic outlines for emroidery and design! Pins - Pins are one of the most important things you will need. They hold your pattern on your fabric, hold pieces of fabric together, mark areas you want to adjust. There are also different types of pins for different uses, but I find that you should pick one that works for you. I prefer to use long quilting pins on my projects rather than the shorter sewing pins because these are much easier to see and work with. Bobbins - Bobbins are mandatory for using your sewing machine. These are the small plastic circular things that hold the thread under the plate and needle. Without them your stitch will only be one sided and nothing will hold together. Sewing machine - A good sewing machine or serger is super important!! This is the tool you'll be using to put all your projects together so you want something sturdy that can handle your project. Now I'm not saying going out and spend thousands of dollars on a machine, especially if you are just starting out. But you want to find something that you know can withstand the stress you are going to put it through. If you are starting out and making simple projects, a basic machine with up to 10 stitches is a great option! If you are going to be doing things that are more complicated, pick a more mid to high range machine. I would suggest going for a serger if you are going for that 100% professional finished look and know that you are investing in years of costumes. Iron / Ironing board - multi sizes - A simple iron is all you really need to get your projects nice and clean and smooth. You'll be surprised at how often you will actually need an iron during sewing projects. I also recommend that you get a small "arm" ironing board along with a normal size one. The smaller ironing boards are great for when you are ironing small details, or need to get into tough to reach areas. I hope this overview is helpful to get you started on your next sewing project! Hey there! It's been a while since a post has gone up, so how better to get into the swing of things than discussing the tools you can use to plan your costumes! Things can get a little crazy and out of hand sometimes, or time just seems to slip away from you and next thing you know the con is a month away, a week away, a day away. It's always good to keep on top of what you need to do to get your costume con ready. But long before that what about being organized to get all the materials you need to build that epic costume? Or what steps is it going to take to make it? How about research? So many things to take into account before you start your new character. Here are some of the tools that I use to keep me on track! 1. Cosplanner This app is my absolute go to for all things cosplay related. I can plan my current cosplay, future cosplays and keep track of all my previous cosplays as well. This app lets you create tasks and checklists of all the things you need to buy or make, all the cons you want to wear your costume to, and keep some reference photos handy. Available for Android and iPhone. 2. Trello This app/webpage is awesome for planning projects. I create a card for my cosplay and leave notes to where all the digital media I might need is. I add in my due date and write myself notes of what I need to do and by when. I use this mostly for documenting my in progress photos, or upcoming photo shoots for completed cosplays. 3. Pages I am a big time mac user and advocate of iCloud, so I find the best way to plan out costumes is through pages. You can use Microsoft word, inDesign, OpenOffice etc. I create character sheets for each of my costumes consisting of my current measurements, the sewing patterns I want to use, fabric types and any accessories I need. I also add some concept art as reference that I can always refer back to. I print these off and put them into a big binder by my sewing desk. Helps keep everything in one place for easy access when I need it! 4. Pinterest For each cosplay I do, I make a board for that character. I fill it with concept art, cosplays that other people have made, some tutorials I may find relevant for what I am making, and any other inspiration I can find! 5. Sketchbook It's always good to have something to sketch your ideas in. Whether you use a physical sketchbook or a digital sketchbook it's important to jot down your doodles and ideas for both new costumes and in progress costumes alike. I personally carry around a physical sketchbook that I can fit in my pocket or backpack. This helps me do pattern calculations, write down shopping list ideas, draw out the character and get my head wrapped around the character that much better. 6. Dropbox Here I make a folder for each of my characters. I keep reference images, any note sheets I may have made, digital sewing patterns. I like to use dropbox so that I can access my notes and reference from any computer/tablet/phone where ever I may be at that time! This way I am always working on my costume and updating as I need to. There are so many great tools available out there for making yourself organized and planning projects. It's important to find what works for you to get your project on track! Happy planning! This has to be one of my favourite topics! There has not been a cosplay that I've made where I didn't save a ton of money by following a few small rules! So here are my tips to you for keeping your cosplay budget low!
1. Shop in the clearance section I know when you are looking for fabric for your latest project you think "I need a specific pattern / texture for my [insert item here]" or "well the pattern I'm using says I need this kind of fabric", well I say HMMM I wonder what I can find in the clearance section that might work? Honestly this is my favourite part of the fabric store. I've found so many great fabrics that I can use for my costumes for less than $5/metre which is great! And just because my sewing pattern recommends specific fabric, doesn't mean I have to use them. I've used corduroy for a jacket rather than rayon or suiting fabrics, I've used 2 way stretch in stead of 4 way (this only works sometimes...) I've used broad cloth for just about everything, or switched out cotton fabric for knit fabric. Honestly it's all about what is going to work for your costume. 2. Buy a membership to a fabric store (if it's available) I live right beside a Fabricland and every year I march in there and faithfully renew my membership. Why you ask? Because it saves me ridiculous amounts of money for the amount of stuff I buy! The Fabricland membership gives me 20% off of almost everything in the store (unless otherwise marked or noted), so I'm already saving more than the tax on my purchase. And not to mention they have a ton of member's only sales which are insane! So this is definitely worth considering. Currently the membership at Fabricland costs $25 for a year, and when you think about it....costumes are expensive, I know I've gone in and spent at least $200 on fabric per year, sometimes even on just one purchase, so $25 is a steal! 3. Shop the sales As I mentioned in the above point, fabric is ridiculously expensive, so is Worbla and other crafting materials. If you can find a sale, BUY, don't hesitate and go "well I'll catch the next one", because sometimes the item you need or want isn't going to be on the next sale. I follow spandexworld.com and always look for their 20% off sale which happens about twice a year, or at fabricland I'll wait for the Buy one, get one, two or three free sale (members only). That sale saves me ridiculous amounts of money....seriously. Saving a penny here or there always adds up! 4. Dollar stores The amount of awesome things you can find at a dollar store is mind blowing! I buy most of my craft foam, acrylic paint and wig accessories at the dollar store. 5. Coupons I know, I know you're thinking...I don't want to be THAT person, the one that brings in a pile of coupons and holds up the line up just to save 50 cents. Ok, well I'm not saying go crazy, but I am saying, look for coupons that are going to save you a bunch on your purchase. I love shopping at Michaels, and let's face it...I think most crafters do. Michael's is expensive. You know this, I know this...so take advantage of their coupons! My rule is never walk into a Michael's without a coupon on your phone or in your hand. Wait to buy that one item you really need for your costume, and grab a 40% or 50% off one item coupon. It will help you so much in the long run! 6. Shop online For something things, especially the obscure things in your costumes, look online. I've found so many great things at discounted prices through amazon or ebay. And with this tip comes... 7. Shop Wholesale If you need more than one of something, find it for whole sale prices! A few years back when I was making a cosplay of Lulu from Final Fantasy X I needed a ton of lace appliques for the bottom of the dress and the sleeves. If you've ever gone shopping for lace, you will know it is super expensive. Even going to thrift craft stores, it's still expensive. I did my shopping on AliExpress and mananged to get all the lace I needed plus a lot extra for a fraction of the cost! Just the other day I found one of the appliques I had purchased at a Fabric store. They wanted $20 for it, and I paid $20 for 25 of them online. Wholesale is where it's at for multiples! 8. Expos You wouldn't think you could save money from buying things at a convention or an expo but sometimes you'll be surprised. Companies tend to put on deals for crafting supplies at expo's because they want to draw you in and get customers to recognize them, to come to their stores later. Just this year I bought a sheet of worbla that is almost 4feet by 4feet for a fraction of the cost BECAUSE it was at an expo. Now I don't have any costumes that are going to need worbla in the next couple of months...but that doesn't mean that I won't need it for an accessory or two coming up. I find wigs at discounted prices, craft foam, foam clay, paints etc all at discounted prices at expos, so definitely check out the supply vendors, not just the comic and gaming vendors! 9. Buy in advance, buy some extra I always find there is something I need that I don't need to go and buy because I have previously bought it. I'll buy extra velcro or elastic, extra boning, extra bias tape etc, etc all because I know I'm going to need it. I'll often take a list of my planned cosplay's with me when I'm out shopping just in case I see something that will work for one of those costumes. Better to buy it in advance, buy it on sale and save it for when I need it rather than pay full price when I need it right away. 10. Sewing patterns online and printable So let's face it sewing patterns are super expensive...but they don't need to be! Yes Mcall's and Simplicity and other companies have sales, but they are few and far between and they don't give you a big discount. At least once a year the McCall's company will have a 3.99 sale for discontinued patterns, or for their current patterns but you still have to pay shipping on those, so you'll end up paying at least $12 (if you live in Canada like me). My advice...check sewingpatterns.com. They have all the sewing patterns you could possibly want (other than new releases. These come out about a month after first launch) at insanely cheap prices! McCalls and Simplicity are about 5.99US a pattern VS 12.99US from their home page. Vogue are $9.99, Kwiksew, Butterick 3.99 etc. Not to mention the digital downloads are usually $3.99 to 5.99US and you don't have to pay shipping because they email the pattern to you for printing! I also suggest checking Ebay or Etsy for used patterns, or previously owned and uncut patterns, Way cheaper at times that buying direct from the parent company. I hope these tips will help you to save some money on the costumes you want to make! So I'm not one to usually vent on public spaces, but I feel this one is definitely worthy.
I spent the last week or so working on my skirt for my up and coming cosplay. I chose a Burda pattern that I felt would be the perfect fit for the look I was trying to achieve. Little did I know that this would be a horrible decision. If you have never used a Burda pattern before, a word of caution. This had to have been the most frustrating experience I have EVER had while sewing. Not only is the broken english of the instructions not very clear on what you need to do in each step, but the pattern pieces are not marked properly at all. There is no clear indication of what is the top, what is the bottom, and no indicators of where each piece connects. It is all guess work. I followed the instructions to the best I could along with the images, which were little to no help. I managed to get the pleats correct, the side pieces put together easily enough, and then to finish off a frustrating night of sewing, I attached the yoke...UPSIDE DOWN. I will admit, Brownie points to me for not checking that it was the right way before stitching it, BUT as I mentioned above, there was no indication at all on the pattern pieces of how they are supposed to be attached for a successful skirt. On top of things, I was disappointed to see that the skirt in my hand had very little resemblance to the skirt on the pattern package. So now to fix this in time for Fan Expo, I've purchased a new skirt pattern and I'm going to be taking the Burda skirt a part in order to have enough fabric to get everything done on time and on budget. Burda patterns, easy or not are definitely not for beginners or even experienced craftsmen unless that was what you were taught on. |
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