Category: Crafting

Early Morning Confusion

Convention, Cosplay, Crafting, Learning, Sewing

I have no idea what to do next on those damn pants. The next step involves “ease stitching” at the top of the pants, where the waistline will be added. Wtf is ease stitching…and how do I do it?

This is why I shouldn’t allow myself to try this crap at 0200. I keep waking up early, all excited to get to sewing, only to be reminded that I mostly don’t know what I’m doing. Oh sure, I can slap two pieces of fabric together and stitch ’em, but when it comes to terms like ease stitching I’m in the dark. (Ha! Pre-dawn pun!)

I’ve reached out to a Facebook group that’s generally helpful for cosplayers who want to learn about sewing or share cosplays that they’ve made, so I’m hoping that when people start to wake up I’ll get an answer. As for right now, I guess I’m going to write a little more. Got some creative juiciness going on here; might as well not waste it.

As I finished that last sentence someone answered my question. Turns out it’s not as complicated as I thought, but now I’m in bed and comfy. I’ll ease into it tomorrow morning. (Ha! Another pun!)

I hate pants

Anime, Convention, Cosplay, Crafting, Geek, Learning

So frustrated right now. The current pants pattern I’m working on isn’t as complicated as the first pair I did, but this next step in the instructions is confusing me. I can’t figure out how to pin/ stitch it, so I’m taking a break until it clicks.

I had this same problem with the first pair of pants that I made for him. That pair was a semi-historical pattern–well, a costume pattern for some pirate pants, which had a front flap and used a lot of interfacing. It took a lot of looking over several times before it hit me how to do it.

I’ve been forewarned by a friend of mine that the coat I’m going to make will possibly be equally frustrating, so there may be a post in my future that is titled “I hate coats.” But I’ve made sleeved scrub tops before, and the first one had no real “pattern,” just an old scrub top that I had seam ripped to see how it was put together. Still, I’m going to do my best. As Tim Gunn of Project Runway fame would say, I’m going to “make it work.”

It’s sweet that my husband wants me to make his cosplay pieces. He takes such pride in my work that he loves showing it off to friends when he gets the chance. I’m even going to make a prop for him. He’s going to help, but I’m going to do probably most of the work because my OCD will make the paper maché turn out smoother. I don’t mind, though. It’s crafty stuff. I like being crafty, and it gives me a chance to try my hand at fabricating props. I’m not making the prop for my character–it’s too large and complicated–but I’ll at least be able to say I made the majority of the cosplays.

It begins again…

Convention, Cosplay, Crafting, Fandom, Geek, Sewing

I’m back to it starting this afternoon: more cosplay!

I was going to start this morning, but I woke up kind of late (for me, anyway) and didn’t feel up to pinning and cutting fabric just yet. I’m going to tackle the pants for my husband’s cosplay first, then my kimono.

From what a friend of mine (who has more sewing experience than I) says, the coat is going to be a bitch. Oh well. I managed the complicated pants for the Sith Time Lord cosplay, so this will hopefully be okay. It’s not a Simplicity pattern so there’s no guarantee that it will be something I can do, but I’m going to give it my all.

The good thing is that even though my husband wants all this done by Phoenix Comicon, I have made no promises that I’ll be able to finish. I honestly don’t know if I can, but I’ll do my best.

My hopes are to begin pinning and cutting–hopefully on my lunch break–today, then the task of sewing. We’re buying the fabric in stages, so the coat will not need to be started until the end of the week when we get paid. Also at the end of the week comes more work on the gourd prop for my husband’s cosplay. We’ve got two big bouncy balls from Wal-Mart duct taped together in the general shape of the gourd, and on Friday when I’m off comes the start of paper maché-ing over the balls and tape to make it more gourd-ey. Once that’s done and dry comes the painting.

Oh yeah, and I need to sew the cosplays. Hubby’s getting a wig for his and we’ve bought a headband for me, but I’m divided on whether or not I want to get a wig or try to style my hair for it. It’s going to be difficult to style my hair, but we’ll see. I might be able to swing it, or at least some reasonable facsimile.

Here’s to more cosplay!

Off the Track

Convention, Cosplay, Crafting, Geek, Sewing

I was doing pretty good. Tooling along, going at a good speed…and now I have to cut some of my time to write for something equally creative: cosplay.

Yes, I’ve started it again. I had almost finished with the Doctor Who/Star Wars mashup cosplays when my husband found the next cosplays he wants us to do for next year. Okay, great, plenty of time to work on it and still get some writing in.

Except the cosplays he picked are pretty easy (mine is, at least), so he decided that we can get them done by Dragon Con in September. Still no problem. I can do it.

Now? Now we’re going to shoot for Phoenix Comicon. In a month and a half.

I got this. I think?

So Close to the Finish Line…

Convention, Corsetry, Cosplay, Crafting, Fandom, Geek, Sewing

Yes! I have very nearly completed my cosplay, and my husband’s isn’t much farther behind. I need to make him some hand warmers/fingerless gloves/whatever you want to call them, a pouch of some sort to carry his phone, wallet, & keys, & I need to either make or find a belt so I have a place to put my lightsaber. (Oh yeah, and we need to buy our lightsabers–but we’re doing that at the con.)

It’s the culmination of about 6 months of work (off & on), and I’m feeling very accomplished. Sadly, I need to bust my butt on losing weight because I can barely fit into the corset as I am right now. 🙁 I’ll do it, though. I have more motivation now that I’ve seen how hard it is to get into the corset right now. Luckily I made an elastic waistband for the skirt, so I should be fine if I lose weight.

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I can’t believe managed to pull this off. I really didn’t know what I was doing for the most part and patterns have been my friend, but a few things I had to pattern out myself. (Mainly the skirt, a sleeveless black tunic top I made for under the corset–which you really can’t see in these photos–and altering things for my husband’s cosplay. I also made the black belt with the tails without a pattern.) Hubby’s was much more complicated, but I managed.

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Next up? Well, after a break from making cosplay stuff, next up is a Naruto couple’s cosplay (though we’ll be cosplaying siblings–not that it really matters. It’s cosplay after all). They look like fun characters to play, and they both have large props that should be interesting to make.

Now off to be productive!

Listing Forward

#nerd, Convention, Cosplay, Crafting, Geek, Interview, Musings, Thoughts

Lists upon lists upon lists upon lists. I have a list for the things I need to finish on our cosplays. I have a list for interviews I want to do for Phoenix Comicon. I’m making lists of lists I need to make.

I don’t know what has brought on this sudden need to organize. I guess I’m afraid I’ll forget something important.

Oh, that reminds me…I need to make a list of things to bring to Phoenix Comicon so I don’t forget any cosplay items when we go.

Maybe it’s the OCD in me. Maybe it’s neurosis. Maybe it’s just procrastinating from the things I’m making lists for.

I should make a list of possible reasons…

Crushed

Convention, Corsetry, Cosplay, Crafting, Fandom, Geek, Sewing

No, I’m not crushed. My poor corset grommets are! I bought an eyelet setter to make it easier to secure the grommets on my corset, and while they are indeed now more secure, they also are warped and, well, crushed.

It’s disappointing, because now they look terrible and I know it will count against me if I enter into a cosplay contest at Phoenix Comicon. I was so proud that only a few were distorted after my hammering, but the hammering just wasn’t cutting it. I needed that tool, but I guess the grommets were the wrong size for it. I put some eyelets on the flaps of the pants I made for my husband, and those set perfectly. So sad.

On the bright side, I am nearly done with all the cosplay things I need to make for Phoenix Comicon (and Dragon Con later in the year). A few hems, a bag for my husband to carry his phone/wallet/keys during the cons, and the waistband for my skirt (possibly redoing the skirt entirely–I haven’t decided yet). I might even make myself a belt for mine. Haven’t decided if I’ll do that or just buy a belt.

I’m feeling more confident and accomplished the more I sew. I even think the top I made to go under the corset will turn out pretty nice, despite having no pattern and just piecing together leftover fabric from my husband’s tunic. It’s going to have a weird seam in the middle of the back, but I’ll be wearing the corset and a shrug over it, so that part will barely show.

Can’t wait for Comicon!

Cosplay Conundrum

Convention, Cosplay, Crafting, Fandom, Geek, Learning, Sewing

I’ve almost finished my husband’s cosplay, but I have hit a snag. Not in the fabric, but a snag in the works. I have to somehow make the legs of the pants longer than they are without making it look Frankensteined. I thought I had an idea, but I have no clue how to implement it.

Somehow, I have to make leg wraps that attach to the bottom of the pant legs that don’t fall apart or come undone during con wear. Easy-peasy, right? Not really.

My own cosplay skirt still sits unfinished, and I’m still just as perplexed as to how I’m going to finish it. I know I want to make an elastic waistband, but I guess I’ll have to hit YouTube to figure out how to make the elastic waistband. I have the elastic, I have the skirt, but beyond that I got nothin’. I’ve never done this before (though that hasn’t stopped me so far), but I think I’ve burned myself out on being clever with this cosplay.

I’ll be glad when it’s done, but after this comes next year’s cosplays. My husband wants us to cosplay as a couple every year, with me making a new cosplay each year. I don’t mind it, and it sounds like a lot of fun (I’m so glad he’s getting excited about cosplaying with me), but right now, at this moment, I am just plain tired.

Contestant #5, Come on Down!

Convention, Corsetry, Cosplay, Crafting, Fandom, Geek, Sewing

Okay, so I haven’t entered any contests…yet. But if this cosplay I’ve been working on turns out as good as I think it will, I’m freakin’ entering a contest! I’m so amazed at the progress I’ve made in just six months. I went from kinda being able to hand-sew some things together to making full cosplay outfits.

I’ll definitely be finished by Phoenix Comicon, so I’m hoping they have a cosplay contest there. If not, a fashion show will do I guess.

But I really want to enter a contest.

Cosplaying the Day Away

Convention, Cosplay, Crafting, Fandom, Geek, Learning, Sewing

Spent most of the day working on my husband’s cosplay cloak. It’s turning out pretty well, and I hope to have it finished by next weekend.

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Once I figured out the color blocking on a mockup, the rest came fairly easily. Hubby even helped me figure out how to transfer what I’d patterned out onto the fabric I planned to use in the finished product.

After this comes the belt with the “tails” and finishing his pants and my skirt. I need to make him a bag or pouch of some sort as well, but that can wait until the end.

Getting so excited!