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!
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