After a rash of “but WHY does this cost so much?” and “but I can get this on Ebay for $30”, it’s time, once again, to revisit our old friend – the explanation of commissioning prices.

If you haven’t read it already, check out our post “The Price Of Quality“.  We’ll wait here while you do.

Great! Welcome back! Now, I do understand that some people have absolutely no concept of how much materials cost. Visit your local fabric store sometime. Now, here’s a thought. The fabric for pleated skirts alone are, traditionally, 3 times your waist measurement. Let’s say you have a 28 inch waist; that turns out to be 84 inches or 2 1/2 yards.  If you want to go the cheap route, you can get some cotton for about $3.99 a yard.  So, cool. Congrats. The fabric for your skirt will run about $10.  Not too bad. Except, 1) that’s just the skirt, and 2) most of the time, you probably want a nicer material.

Switching gears, let’s say you want that pretty bridal satin. Well, that’s $9.99 a yard. So that bumps the price of the skirt up to $25. Again, not too bad, but – again – that’s just the skirt.  By the time you are done, on the average costume, you can have anywhere from $75-$300 worth of *simple* materials.  That thread that sews the costume together isn’t free, you realize, and it costs $3-$5 a spool. The stripes on the senshi costume are bias tape; that usually runs $3 a pack.

(And, yes, Joannes has coupons, be we can’t always factor those in because we might not always have some on hand. They are finite. Plus, some seamstresses don’t always USE Joannes; some fabrics are specialty and have to be ordered online.)

Before you even get started, you’ve got yourself a nice, hefty bill – and there’s still labor to consider. And that is where the big complaints come in. People hate paying for labor.

So, tell you what – next time you decided that a seamstress’ hourly wage isn’t worth it, I say we come down to *your* job, and tell your boss that you aren’t worth the money they are paying you. You should really be working, off the clock, for free – or maybe we can pay you 50 cents an hour. Maybe. If we feel you are worth it.

Bet you wouldn’t like that, would you? So why is it OK for you to tell us the same thing? Because, really, when you complain about the cost, that’s what you are saying. You are saying that our products and our time aren’t valuable to you, and that’s just not cool.

Today’s question is a tough one.

Q: Advice on custom made socks (as in a specific color stripe to put on a sock) or how to best put a print/stitch on stretchy material?

A: Stretchy material is tough to work with under the best of conditions. If you don’t have your tension right or you use the wrong stitch when sewing, you’ll end up popping stitches when you wear your item and have to fix it.

So when you are asking about adding embellishments to stretchy material, red lights start to flash. Dying might work, but the problem with dyes is that they can bleed into other areas. You would have to do some testing of your material to see how well it might take to hand dying.

You can also attempt cutting strips of fabric out and sewing them together. However, you’d have to make sure the grains match up, that you have the pull all going the same direction, and watch your stitching, because, again, you now not only are competing with basic stitches around the toe and heel, but at every interval of the stripe.

If you are really hardcore, you can look into silkscreening. We’ve not worked with it, but it’s a very specific kind of dying process that doesn’t seem to have the problems with bleeding that traditional dying does.

Other than that? Scour the internet and see if you can find a manufacturer that has something close to what you need.

We had some good and interesting feedback on our previous post, and we wanted to talk about them.

First, Lilacwire had a very good suggestion:

“My advice to anyone who brings an item to competition that they did not make (be it commissioned or purchased off the rack) – make sure to tell the judges. That way you can continue to compete, but they will simply not consider your wig or wand or what-have-you as part of the craftsmanship and you’re being completely honest.”

And, actually, this is very good advice over all. If you desperately want to enter something that you and another person worked on, tell the judges. Tell them which parts you did, and which parts you didn’t do. They have the last say in everything, that’s why they are judges.

And if you aren’t willing to tell them that you had outside help, even if it was someone sewing on a sleeve or doing a hem for you? You really need to ask yourself why you aren’t willing to admit that to the judge. If you really feel it isn’t that big of a deal, then let the judge decide. If you are right, then you have nothing to lose, do you?

Sombra from Tumblr added, “I’m mostly focused on the mascot type costumes. Depending on how they’re put together, I know some people used commissioned items within their costumes (resin head bases, silicone pawpads, resin eyes, etc.) Now do they assemble them themselves? Of course. Plus when it all comes together you can see the hard work that was put in. However those items were still commissioned. So if you entered with a commissioned resin base (despite you putting on all the fur, foam for structure, airbrushing, etc. to give it a finish look), would you say the mask is something that cannot be entered into a competition? Likewise if you placed bought paw pads onto the gloves, can the paws not be entered either?”

Again, it is up to the judges, but to be honest, that would be like saying “Well, I didn’t weave this fabric myself, so I guess I can’t enter it.” Tell the judges what you made and what was commissioned. Show them how you put it together. Let them make the call. I can’t see this being a huge issue.

The same goes with armor. Sei on Tumblr mentioned needing help making a mold of his back to make armor, and, again, while it’s the judge’s call, no judge in the world is going to expect you to do that alone. There are things that you will need help with, especially if you are doing hardcore costuming. Face casts for making your own latex is another example. Or any sort of body painting.

What we’re referring to here is seamwork or other items that you could, and should, be able to do by yourself. If you are at the point where you want to enter a competition for craftsmanship, then put on your big boy or big girl pants and create it yourself. Be judged on your own work, not someone elses. That’s how you learn to grow and improve in your craft.

Q: On many cosplays, there seems to be lots of layered clothing, or VERY heavy fabrics. (Example given: any kimono style clothing from inuyasha. Lol) How can we as cosplayers keep the outfit correct while not sweating a storm or weighing a ton?

A: Honestly, if you don’t want to sacrific accuracy for comfort (which I totally understand), you’ll simply want to time when you wear it. If it is a very warm costume, save it for the cooler months.

We made the mistake of wearing Sesshoumaru and Inu no Taishou at Otakon the year that it was 102 degrees outside. It was unbearable and we risked dehydration and heat-stroke. Not very smart.

Depending on the costume, you can consider alternative fabrics; there are lots of different fabrics out there. For kimono, consider doing underlayers of cotton or perhaps peachskin. First, they are washable, so when you DO sweat, you can clean it easier, and second, it is lighter. If you have a costume with armor, definitely consider sneaking in an undershirt of lightweight material so that your armor doesn’t stick to you.

If you aren’t competing, you could always consider the cosplay equivalent to a “dickey“. For some of the multi-layered kimono, make one under kimono, but sew other faux-kimono collars to it to give it an authentic look, then make sure your top layer is accurate.

Today’s article is about some dos and don’ts when it comes to the craftsmanship side of cosplay competitions. This is not referring to skits but to having your costume judged for quality and craftsmanship.

To people who take the time to compete in various masquerades or other live competitions, cosplay really can be ‘seriuz biznis’. For a lot of seamstresses, it means putting in long hours pouring over references, patterning, sewing and crafting. When you put that much time, effort, and money into a project, it really does become serious.

Every competition has its own rules, so it’s very important to read over those before entering. Also, rules can vary from category to category, so make sure you are reading the information for your appropriate skill level.

There are some universal rules of thumb to keep in mind. While they are pretty straight forward, you’d be surprised at the amount of people who try and slide things by, just to try and win an award. Skeevy, yes, but they do it anyway.

First and foremost – if you did not make the costume yourself, do not enter it into the competition. I see this one broken left and right, and it drives me insane. I don’t care if your Mom, your Dad, your sister, your brother, your uncle, your aunt or your BFF helps you – if they gave you anything more than advice, if they sewed on your project, if they crafted items for your project, if you did not do 100% of the manual labor – do not enter that particular project into the competition. To be blunt, it’s really douche if you do. The whole point of entering a competition is to showcase your work, not someone elses – and if anyone worked on it but you, it’s no longer solely your work.

Now, if you and a friend are entering as a group and helped each another, that’s fine. As a matter of fact, if the competition allows it, I encourage that. Crafting items with friends is a lot of fun, and then you and your group can show off your hard work at the competition. Just make sure to enter at the level of the most capable person in your group. (Meaning, if you have two beginners and an intermediate, everyone should enter as intermediate.)

And, please, do not enter commissioned items in a cosplay competition. If you think claiming your Mom or sister’s work as your own is douchey, claiming a commissioned costume as your own qualifies you as a total douche-canoe. Seriously. And, as a side note, this also includes wigs and props. Don’t pass off someone else’s work as your own, no matter what part of the costume it is.

When you enter a competition, make sure to enter at your appropriate skill level. If you are willing to cheat just to get an award, you really should reevaluate your priorities. If you’re new at cosplay or have tried competing a couple of times and haven’t won an award, by all means, stick to beginner. However, if you’ve ever won an award before, then you need to suck it up and move to intermediate. The whole point of competing is to learn and grow in your craft, not be a jerk.

Next, when you go to get judged, bring reference pictures and progress pictures of you making the costume. Reference pictures help the judges see how accurately you made the costume; progress pictures help them see the journey you made from pile of fabric to completed costume and generally tend to win you bonus points. The more you bring of each, the better off you are. The most professional of cosplayers will bring a whole portfolio so that they can go over bullet points with the judges and show them how they did various things. The point is to impress the judges with your skills and knowledge. (Oh, and before you even walk in the door, do a once-over on your costume to make sure you don’t have any loose threads and that everything is where it needs to be.)

If you are given feedback by the judges at any point, listen to them. A lot of times, the people who are judging are cosplayers like yourself and they may have a trick or two to teach you. They aren’t insulting you. They aren’t putting you down. They are trying to help.

Some competitions allow modified street clothes, and that’s fine. Check to see the ruling on it. However, once you get past a certain level (usually journeyman but definitely in masters), it’s really tres gauche to use modified street clothes in competition. If you are entering in masters, you should be able to make pretty much anything off the rack yourself, anyway. Save it for hall cosplay.

And finally, be a good competitor. If you lose, lose graciously. Everyone has heard the “but the judges were biased” story – and sometimes it’s true. Some judges don’t know anything about seamwork or quality, but most of them do. Just chalk it up as a learning experience and move on. On the same note, if you win, win gracefully. While no one likes a sore loser, everyone hates a gloating winner. Thank the judges, be proud of your accomplishments, and leave it at that.

If you play your cards right, you can have a great time and meet some really fun and interesting people whom you already have something in common with!

Q: I’m making a (insert name here) costume, and I don’t know where to start. Help!

A: The best thing to do when starting any costume is to collect as many reference pictures as you can. Front shots, back shots, side shots. Close ups of various parts of the costume – and if it has a prop you want to do, grab pictures of that, too. Then grab a sketch book. You are going to want to start sketching out the costume, piece by piece, bit by bit. I have 3 pages worth of doodles for Prince Endymion (from PGSM). I have sketches of the undershirt, sketches of the collar on the undershirt, scribbles of his vambrace and arm pieces. Hell, I even think I sketched out the boots.
The reason for all this sketching is so that you get a really good idea of how the costume will go together, and what you will need to buy to start crafting it. It also helps to break things down into bite sized chunks so the costume doesn’t seem overwhelming – and some costumes are incredibly elaborate, so the more you can simplify things, the less likely you are to have a breakdown once you start putting it together. 😀

As you go along, make notes. Look at the picture, decide what materials may work best for each section. If it is a piece that is going to rub against makeup, consider chosing materials that are washable – and possibly detatchable so you can clean it easily. Also make sure your pieces are consistant; don’t do holographic gold spandex for one part, then gold tissue lame for another. It will clash. You want the costume to flow as much as possible. (To that end, you may also want to make a color palette to work from. It will also help keep things consistant.)

Finally, once everything is sketched out, take your sketches and your pictures to the fabric store. A lot of times you can find a number of patterns you can mesh together so that you don’t have to draft them on your own. You will also have your color palette handy so that you can easily choose your fabrics.

The great people over at Fosshape.com sent us a sample of their product and I had the opportunity to try it out this weekend.

As soon as we got the samples in, I saw the potential in this product. There were samples of two kinds; 300 and 600. Fosshape 300 is a thinner version, while 600 is thicker and more dense. I chose to play with the 600 first. It has the texture of really thick felt before being heated.

To me it seems to be a more flexible version of Wonderflex. Like Wonderflex, it is heat activated. You can use a fabric steamer, steam iron or a heat gun to activate the product. I opted to use my heat gun on this, however, I would recommend a steamer next time as I think the heat gun (even on low) over did it, causing it to melt too much.

As the material heats, it shrinks and hardens slightly. What you do is form it over something, then heat it up and press it to get the shape and contour you need. It gets hot, so you don’t want to mold this on your bare skin. However, it doesn’t get as hot as Wonderflex, and I had an easier time molding it over the frame I’d chosen without scorching my fingers.

It does become fairly porous when heated, so if you need something smooth, you’ll want to pick up some gesso. You can also mold it onto itself; meaning, if you need to make a 3D image, you can totally heat the ends and smoosh them together. You can also sew through it, though I recommend doing that before heating rather than after as it does become far less flexible and fabric-like.

In the end, Fosshape seems to be a great product with a myriad of uses. While I still would prefer Wonderflex for armor pieces and swords, I can see this being great for making hats, masks, and other props that need to be super light weight. I highly recommend this product.

Website: http://www.fosshape.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fosshape/158821830806097?sk=info

Hey guys! Happy new years! Yaten here starting off the new year with a new blog post! We’ve been discussing what else we can provide you guys on the blog, so we decided that we would actually start up a Q&A section. It’s going to be Ask Us Sundays! ❤ The questions will be general crafting and sewing questions, and we will answer to the best of our abilities and knowledge. If we don't know the answer we will try and help you out as best we can, or at least point you in the right direction! Please email us your questions to seiya@starinighindustries.com with the title of "Ask Us Sundays". If your question requires us to look at pictures, please provide me some links. The more information provided, the better we can answer your questions! ❤ Also, to respect everyone's privacy, we won't be posting any names, just the question and answer. 🙂 We look forward to your questions!

Our first question actually came from Facebook! Someone contacted me when they were faced with the task of trying to recreate an historical-type dress.

Q: I’m trying to make a dress like the one in these photos and was wondering where i could find patterns and what kind of material I should use.

Cristina Vespucci from Assassin’s Creed: http://assassinscreed.wikia.com/wiki/Cristina_Vespucci

A: Well it looks like a historical type with an under dress and over dress. (And now with a better picture on the link provided above, I can see that there are THREE parts to the dress, the brown under dress, the white under dress with sleeves, and then finally the overdress with the belt.)

As far as patterns, If it were me, I’d print off the best of your pictures and go to your local fabric store then look at the historical patterns in the books. You might have to get a few patterns to get the styles right (such as a pattern for the sleeves, a pattern for the weird vampire collar and ascot, and then a pattern for the overdress) and do a little Mcguyver-ing, but that’s usually pretty easy. It’s very common to need several different patterns for one costume when you’re trying to recreate something that unique.

As far as materials go, sadly since this is a historical looking piece, the materials that will look the best are going to be pretty expensive (like the fabrics you have to custom order at joanne’s or in the upholstery section). Whatever you decide on you’re going to need something that’s pretty heavy and thick for the over dress at least. (I’d do something lighter for the two under dresses just for the sake of your comfort, it’s going to get HOT.) The red fabric is going to need to be heavy and thick as well (you could go REALLY fancy and expensive and do a red velvet). But that kinda gives you the idea of historical types of fabric to use. But honestly, just go into your fabric store with the reference pictures again and wander.

When picking out fabric for my costumes I usually spend about an hour or hour and a half wandering the store with my pictures in hand so I can make sure I’ve kept all my options open before deciding on a fabric.

In the end the materials are going to be up to you, what you want out of the costume and what you have a budget for. (The red tag section in the back of Joanne’s might be your friend if you are on a tight budget, they sometimes have some nice upholstery fabric for super cheap.) I hope this helps you!

Good luck and I look forward to seeing pictures of the completed piece! ❤ ❤

Ah, fabric. When planning a costume, you head to the local fabric store and can get lost and overwhelmed by the plethora of styles, colors and grains arrayed before you. Quilting fabric, upholstery fabric, apparel, dancewear… the list goes on and on.

So how do you choose?

Honestly, by trial and error most of the time – and in the begining that can be expensive. So I’m going to try and put together a little something to help you brave the beginnings of crafting and get your feet wet, metaphorically speaking.

In my previous post, I’d talked about breaking down your costume and deciding on what fabrics would work best with it. School uniforms, for example, can be cotton, or for the more experienced, suitings material. Each have their own benefits.

Good fabrics for beginners are fabrics that are easy to work with, don’t fray, and don’t have a real grain to speak of so when you cut out your costume pieces and forget to cut with the grain, you haven’t thrown out $20 a yard because you screwed up. (Oh ho ho! And the first time that happens, I dare you not to curse like a sailor!) In any event, I digress. On to some simple fabrics for beginners and some suggestions on which costumes to use them with.

• Cotton, cotton, and more cotton. There are many different weights, or thread counts, of cotton. Light weight, medium weight, heavy weight. It really depends on what you need done, but on the whole, the light or medium weights will do you fine. (It can also be called “quilter’s cotton”.)

Cotton is easy to use, doesn’t have a grain, generally doesn’t fray (or if it does, not badly), can be dyed (if necessary) and, best of all, is usually super cheap. It pleats really easily for skirts. It’s lightweight enough to give some flounce. If you interface it and line it in itself, it is nice and crisp. It is very, very versitile. It can be used for school uniforms, Sailor senshi costumes (oh yeah, I went there), summer lolita dresses (they come in cute prints!), simple yukata, simple dresses, pretty much anything and everything.

• Suitings. If cotton isn’t your thing, suitings may be a nice option. Just as the name implies, it’s a good fabric for suits. It’s a bit more expensive, a little thicker and heavier. Again, it works well for school unforms, for jackets (with the appropriate interfacing), and for anything that needs a more professional, clean look. Suitings are typically polyester. It does not take dye well, so hopefully you can find the exact shade you need. It does have a grain, generally, so you’ll want to watch out for that. However, if you don’t match grains, it won’t be the end of the world. Suitings is kind of hard to pleat, and it does fray a bit so overlocking is advised. However, once you are done, you’ll have a nice piece.

• Bottomweight. I like to think of this as cotton’s big, bad cousin. It’s a cotton/poly blend, and it’s pretty heavy. Pleating is a bear with this, but it is really great for hakama – or even traditional pants. (If doing something like a Bleach costume, I’d do the pants in black bottomweight, and the white underkimono from cotton.) You should be warned, if you make a costume out of this, it will be very warm.

• Bridal satin. Not to be confused with costume satin (aka baroque satin). This is a high-end dress fabric, and I would hesitate to include it in this section except, really, if you want to make a “nice dress”, this is what I’d recommend to a beginner who refuses to use cotton. I do want to stress that, while lovely, this fabric will tax most beginning seamstresses (and some intermediates), so just keep that in mind.

Bridal satin, as a general rule, is polyester and tend to have a slight sheen to it. (If it is super shiny, you’ve probably got costume/baroque satin – put that crap back!) It frays, a lot. Overlocking is a must. Unless there’s a pattern built in there isn’t a grain, so you are good there. You can pleat it easier than you can, say, suitings or bottomweight. However, you’ll need to press it a lot as well. It’s a medium weight fabric and very versatile. For you Sailor Moon fans, this is the fabric you want to use if you don’t like my cotton suggestion. It’s good for dresses, bows, formalwear and any sort of costume that needs a bit of flair.

I do want to throw out some fabrics to avoid for beginners.

♦ Baroque / costume satin. I know I’ve said it at least a half dozen times already, but I just want to touch on why. Costume satin frays like crazy. It can be pleated, but you have to starch it to death to hold the pleat when wearing – and even then, it’ll probably pop out within an hour. It wrinkles very, very badly, and even if you iron it before wearing, you’ll look like a wrinkled, frumpy mess in a few hours unless you are very lucky. It is just a very cheap, very obnoxious material. You can use it; I know I have. You just need to be very selective on how. (My original Bloody Dracul Vampiru cloak was done in baroque satin; the black cape, the purple cowel, and the glass panels.)

♦ Tissue lame / lame. I say avoid this fabric for the same reasons as baroque satin. This stuff frays even worse than baroque satin, if you can believe it. Ironing it requires using another fabric over the top to keep from scorching (or worse – melting) it. You absolutely must overlock it, but that’s just delaying the inevitable, to be honest.

♦ Anything stretchy. Sewing on stretchy material is not for newbies. It’s very fussy to sew with. You need special types of stitching when sewing on it to make sure when you go to wear the item in question you don’t pop a seam. It puckers and gathers if you don’t sew it correctly. Stretch materials are great – once you level up a bit and get some sewing under your belt.

While there are hundreds of fabrics to choose from, these are good ones to get you started. Trust me, trying to read and alter patterns and put together your first few costumes is a huge headache without adding in having fabric that is a bear to work on and super expensive to replace if you screw up.

A Beginner’s Guide to Cosplay

So, you want to cosplay? Great! While a great number of my regular readers are fairly well versed in the art of the “costume play”, I’m hoping to accomplish two things here: 1) to bring some new and valid ideas into play and 2) post something that will hopefully help those who are new (or relatively new) to playing dress up. For the record, these are my own opinions and things I’ve seen in the 10+ years I’ve been cosplaying. It’s definitely not the gospel, but sometimes the voice of experience can be useful.

First question: are you going to make the costume yourself, or are you going to have it commissioned? While to a lot of us a huge portion of the fun is making the costume yourself, not everyone has the time or ability to do so. If you plan on commissioning a costume, then this post isn’t for you. Rather, check out my previous post on Commissions 101.

You’ve decided to make it yourself. Great! Now it’s time to pick a character. First and foremost, pick something that you not only love, but something that matches your skill level. If you aren’t that familiar with sewing, consider buying something from a thrift store and modifying it or picking something simple like a school uniform. It will save you a lot of aggrevation and headaches if you do.

Next, find reference pictures. Lots of them. Front shots, back shots, close up shots. The more details you can put into your costume, from wig, to main costume, to shoes, the better your costume will be. Now start jotting down notes – break the costume down into sections so you know what you’ll need to buy, what you’ll need to make, and what you will have to do to get to that super awesome end product. And don’t be lazy! If they have earrings, don’t forget about them. Special cuffs on their shirt? Write that down, too. The devil is in the details, but so is the awesome.

And now it’s time to pick a fabric. Pick something appropriate for what you are making. School uniform? Cotton is great for beginners. Suitings material is even better, but more costly and a little more tricky to work with. Things to avoid: baroque (or costume) satin, and various forms of lame (unless absolutely necessary). (I’ll be doing a rundown of fabrics at a later date.) Doing a miko outfit? Bottomweight works nicely.

And I’ll stress this again – costume satin is crap. Shiny, overused, fraying crap. It’s what the cheapest costume makers from China use, and your costume will fall apart unless you overlock the hell out of it (and sometimes even then).

Ahem. Moving on. So you’ve picked your costume, broken it down, and decided on materials. Now, to put it together. There isn’t a lot I can add here, other than to remember to use interfacing where necessary for a nice crisp look, press your seams, and take your time. Oh, and perhaps get into the habit of washing your fabric (then pressing it) before you start cutting things out. But that’s more of a hygene thing than a craft thing.

Some final notes:

♦ Make sure you iron your costume before wearing. I forget to do this, and when I get my pictures back, I always regret it. You put so much time and effort into the costume; don’t let the overall look be ruined because you were too lazy to take 10 minutes to iron your costume.

♦ Don’t skimp. That awesome costume loses 1000 cool points if you wear it with tennis shoes – unless tennis shoes are supposed to go with it. Or spend a little extra and buy the nice wig, rather than the cheap, party store wig. Spray in hair color is just tacky. I know it sounds easy, but don’t do it. Not only does it look like butt, but a lot of times you’ll end up getting that crap on your costume.

My personal preference is wigs all the time, even if your hair is similar in style and color to what you are doing. There are exceptions, but – as an example – I’ve seen very, very few people with long enough and thick enough hair to pull of a *good* Sailor Jupiter style. Sure, it’s more comfortable, but if you want to do that extra “zing” for your costume, spring for the wig.

♦ Wear makeup – even guys. It doesn’t have to be dramatic (unless the costume calls for it), but make sure you have some good, long lasting makeup. People will want to take your photos, and you will look washed out if you don’t.

♦ If you didn’t make the costume, do not compete with it in contests. And modifying an existing item (like a suit you bought from TJ Maxx) does not constitute “making it”. Making the jacket and buying pants does not constitute “making it”. If you didn’t sew, craft, or create 95% of it, then just don’t. It’s really douche-y to compete in something you didn’t make, and not only will it usually get you disqualified – but you’ll get a very bad rep with the costumers if you do.

Now, go forth and have fun!