Cosplay (non-SSSS)

[Pyrite]

Ah! All of these cosplays look awesome!

I was wondering if I could get some advice. I recently got the idea to try and cosplay Tuuri, but this would be my first cosplay. Ever. I figured that I'll need to do custom work for a lot of the stuff, like her coat and cat face mask, but I don't really have that much experience fabricating things like that. So, do any of you have tips, general or otherwise, when it comes to cosplay and custom work?

Sorry for that ramble there >~<'

[Divra]

Ah! All of these cosplays look awesome!

I was wondering if I could get some advice. I recently got the idea to try and cosplay Tuuri, but this would be my first cosplay. Ever. I figured that I'll need to do custom work for a lot of the stuff, like her coat and cat face mask, but I don't really have that much experience fabricating things like that. So, do any of you have tips, general or otherwise, when it comes to cosplay and custom work?

Sorry for that ramble there >~<'

Take your time.
Focus.
Measure EVERYTHING at least twice.
Too large is a lot easier to fix than too small.
Don't be afraid to spend money on good-quality tools.
Do inexpensive things first, to hone your skills.
If you need to practice doing things that don't work with your outfit, use them for something else, or give them away.

[Fimbulvarg]

On a related note: if you were to sew an SSSS uniform, what kind of fabric would you use to get the right, winter-weather proof feel? Heavy, stuffed gabardine?

Not that the information would be of much help to me, I can't sew a single button.

[Curry]

Ah! All of these cosplays look awesome!

I was wondering if I could get some advice. I recently got the idea to try and cosplay Tuuri, but this would be my first cosplay. Ever. I figured that I'll need to do custom work for a lot of the stuff, like her coat and cat face mask, but I don't really have that much experience fabricating things like that. So, do any of you have tips, general or otherwise, when it comes to cosplay and custom work?

Sorry for that ramble there >~<'

Patterns are really useful for things like coats and don't be afraid to modify them! Don't use satin. It's cheap but it looks REALLY SHINY in a bad way in pictures. Also, don't half-finish things, and make sure that you do the basework and prep allllll the way so your cosplay won't fall apart while you're wearing it :0 And here it comes, one of the best ways to make things look professional... interfacing

Interfacing is wonderful. That's all I have to say here :0

On a related note: if you were to sew an SSSS uniform, what kind of fabric would you use to get the right, winter-weather proof feel? Heavy, stuffed gabardine?

Not that the information would be of much help to me, I can't sew a single button.

I was thinking about garbadine, and it would look pretty great, but I also live in a Very Warm Climate and I'd prefer to avoid heatstroke... Maybe thicker cotton or muslin? I really have no idea. Somebody help ;__;

[Laufey]

On a related note: if you were to sew an SSSS uniform, what kind of fabric would you use to get the right, winter-weather proof feel? Heavy, stuffed gabardine?

Not that the information would be of much help to me, I can't sew a single button.

Gabardine, possibly wool gabardine. It's warm, thick enough to create the same look and is even used for uniforms quite often, but it comes with the downside that it can be a bit tricky to clean. That would not be a big problem if the uniforms weren't so white, and pre-shrinked wool gabardine might even fare ok-ish in handwash or machine wash with gentle settings but that's always a risk.

[AuthorOfLight]

I was thinking about garbadine, and it would look pretty great, but I also live in a Very Warm Climate and I'd prefer to avoid heatstroke... Maybe thicker cotton or muslin? I really have no idea. Somebody help ;__;

Probably a thick cotton would work, especially if it was doubled up, without being too hot. Cotton is pretty well known for being one of the more breathable fabrics.

Not that the information would be of much help to me, I can't sew a single button.

If you (or anyone else, for that matter) are interested in learning how to sew, the Reader's Digest New Complete Guide to Sewing is really helpful. I've only gotten it from the library once, but what I was able to read by looking through it seemed super helpful.

[Pyrite]

Take your time.
Focus.
Measure EVERYTHING at least twice.
Too large is a lot easier to fix than too small.
Don't be afraid to spend money on good-quality tools.
Do inexpensive things first, to hone your skills.
If you need to practice doing things that don't work with your outfit, use them for something else, or give them away.

Patterns are really useful for things like coats and don't be afraid to modify them! Don't use satin. It's cheap but it looks REALLY SHINY in a bad way in pictures. Also, don't half-finish things, and make sure that you do the basework and prep allllll the way so your cosplay won't fall apart while you're wearing it :0 And here it comes, one of the best ways to make things look professional... interfacing

Interfacing is wonderful. That's all I have to say here :0

Thank-you both for the tips! I'll keep them in mind!

[KMK]

Ah! All of these cosplays look awesome!

I was wondering if I could get some advice. I recently got the idea to try and cosplay Tuuri, but this would be my first cosplay. Ever. I figured that I'll need to do custom work for a lot of the stuff, like her coat and cat face mask, but I don't really have that much experience fabricating things like that. So, do any of you have tips, general or otherwise, when it comes to cosplay and custom work?

Sorry for that ramble there >~<'

For the mask you might start lurking around Steampunk YouTube videos. There are a lot of How To videos on making goggles and other mechtech. Perhaps you will get lucky and find someone has a design close to Turri's mask that you can adapt slightly.

[KMK]

Patterns are really useful for things like coats and don't be afraid to modify them! Don't use satin. It's cheap but it looks REALLY SHINY in a bad way in pictures. Also, don't half-finish things, and make sure that you do the basework and prep allllll the way so your cosplay won't fall apart while you're wearing it :0 And here it comes, one of the best ways to make things look professional... interfacing

Interfacing is wonderful. That's all I have to say here :0

I was thinking about garbadine, and it would look pretty great, but I also live in a Very Warm Climate and I'd prefer to avoid heatstroke... Maybe thicker cotton or muslin? I really have no idea. Somebody help ;__;

If you are majorly altering a pattern go buy  some sheets from the thrift store and make a practice run with the sheeting. Or even if your sewing skills are new and you want to practice on cheap cloth before tackling the good stuff.

[taivonpoika]

You could sculpt the mask with clay, make a plaster cast and then form it with fibreglass, but it would be a lot cheaper to make a base from a cheap costume mask, then build the details on top of that, like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUxJAkX0Apk

Then on top of that base you could build the details with miscellaneous plastic parts, or cover it with foam, like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePT1Sv3Mpnk

[Laufey]

GUYS.

I found a really awesome tutorial and I have to share it with you in hopes of lots and lots of future SSSS-cosplaying!

We all know how much the Y90 world loves their gloves, and some of them such as Reynir's "awake"-outfit, the uniform gloves and Lalli's "dream"-gloves would be near impossible to find as they are, they'd have to be made. I came across this tutorial recently that explains step by step how to make patterns for gloves and how to sew them. Btw my entire apologies if I'm just throwing around things everyone's seen already, I'm just feeling really happy about this pattern and how well it worked so I want to be noisy about it.

So I tried it out and made this glove, a second one is in the making. I photoedited the pics to moon and back so that the details would show better but you can also click the images larger if the details still aren't showing up well enough.



The whole thing, backside.



Front. It's surprisingly tiring to try to hold your arm out like that for photos...



Hand detail, backside. I'm bending my hand backwards, which is causing all those wrinkles... I'm so stupid.



Aaaand front. These gloves sit really well and since they're made to be exactly the size of my hands they're also really easy to wear (usually gloves are my worst enemy because I have stubby fingers and end up with annoying bags of fabric at the tip of each finger). I can f.ex. turn book pages with them on, tying shoe laces was easy enough too.

All in all A+++ tutorial. My only complaint is that you'll pretty much be forced to hand-sew them, which takes time and patience I don't actually have, but machine sewing really isn't an option... 

[Fimbulvarg]

All in all A+++ tutorial. My only complaint is that you'll pretty much be forced to hand-sew them, which takes time and patience I don't actually have, but machine sewing really isn't an option... 

Nice find! But for the actual uniform leather gloves, wouldn't you have to handsew them in, well, y'know, pleather?

[Laufey]

Nice find! But for the actual uniform leather gloves, wouldn't you have to handsew them in, well, y'know, pleather?

I had a moment of really wanting to shake you by the collar right there. Don't remind me of the pain... or better yet, do the good thing and kick me in the teeth before I can even start my next mistake.

EDIT: haha you can't save me anymore, I have the materials out already.

[Fimbulvarg]

I had a moment of really wanting to shake you by the collar right there. Don't remind me of the pain... or better yet, do the good thing and kick me in the teeth before I can even start my next mistake.

EDIT: haha you can't save me anymore, I have the materials out already.

According to my diagnosis the only lasting cure in this particular case is the amputation of both thumbs, which is sort of a no-go. So I'm just going to write you off as "beyond redemption" on this here clipboard and wish you the best of luck.

[Rabbit]

GUYS.

I found a really awesome tutorial and I have to share it with you in hopes of lots and lots of future SSSS-cosplaying!

Wow o.o
That looks really cool but also really, really time-and-patience-consuming. I think I'm going to stick with my original plan of finding white gloves and crafting a black palm part on top of those :')