Problems for a first time cosplayer

[Xaam]

Hello fellow cosplayers and costume making veterans, I am a first time cosplayer and costume designer and I'm seeking assistance in a few areas.

Firstly, due to costs and practicallity, I have opted mostly 100% cotton fabrics, but I'm running into some problems with the designs...

This is not my first time sewing, just my first time making and using my own patterns.

The first issue I'm having with this fabric is it's thickness. It's not silky thin, but it is not a heavy fabric. There are certain parts of the costumes (jackets and vests) that need to be much thicker. I'm using this material, but are there any practical suggestions for beefing up the fabric a bit? I have two oversized bags of doll stuffing in my basement that can be used...it there something simpler to work with? I've considered foam for the collars, which need to stand up on thier own, but the options for foam are limited. Should I splurge and buy a different type of fabric for this scenario? Something very thick and fluffy?


The second problem I'm encountering with this fabric is rippling. It keeps shifting when I'm stitching, even under the pins. I've ironed everything before the sewing stage of course, but this seems to be a very problematic fabric to be working with.


Everything is pre-washed and shrunk, I'm taking care with my measurements, I'm ironing before all cutting and stitching....but I've never worked with fabric like this before. Is it easier to sew with or against the seam?

Gah! I feel so lost.

Last question. It pertains to the pants in the outfits. Both pants in the outfits are simple straight legged black form-fitting trousers. They are so simple and ordinary in design that I could just buy two pairs of black Dickies and be done with it.

My only thought is, will it look silly if some of my costume is home-made and the other parts are store bought? Does anyone have any experience with this particular problem?

I'm just hesistant to buy the pants when I could make them, but at the same time there are costs to consider. Pants would be expensive (atleast, the kind of material I'd need the pants to be made out of), but the fabric would be spendy to buy as well. Would the costumes look mismatched if they were partially homemade?

Any help is greatly appreciated, I'm most niave when it comes to cosplaying. But please keep expenses in mind when you give me advice, I have a very specific bugdet. I cannot exceed a certain amount of money and I need cost effective but reliable solutions to my problems.

Thank you.

[antibishie]

Well, I guess I can offer some advice....

As far as making things thicker; I can't really suggest anything besides doubling the fabric and lining the inside.  *shrugs*  Depending on how poofy you want them you might indeed have to stuff them... that is what's in some professional type jackets after all... depending on what type of jacket, at least.

Shifting I can't really offer advice on, I have the same problem and just force myself to do the best I can and deal with it.

And as far as the hand-made mixed with pre-made stuff goes... as long as it matches, who's to know the difference?  Obviously if you're using one black for your shirt you'd want to make sure it might match the color of black used for the pants, and that the fabrics aren't too different... but it really all boils down to just how accurate you might want it yourself and whether you care.  I personally plan on using purchased clothing for two of my costumes this year.  It's not like I could do it any better myself and it frees up time for me to work on the stuff I can't just buy.

[superjaz]

for the heaver looking jacket cloth i would go with a twill or bottem weight because they can be a bit thicker while still pretty thin remeber its still summer so whats the point in haveing a jacket if its too hot to wear,
i had this same converstion with my boyfriend with a costume he wants to make
other then that sensible shoes

[kekame]

Here's a few things I'd say, although I'm hardly an expert, more like intermediate level.

1. The ladies at Joanne fabrics are your FRIENDS!  Ask them lots of questions, they are probably bored working and would absolutely love to give you suggestions.

2. Interfacing is probably the best thing to use for a collar, or anything else that needs to be stiffer/heavier.

3. Cotton anything is your worst enemy as far as clothing making goes. The fabric has no give (don't eat too much that day...) and as you have said it ripples and frays terribly. There are lots of fabrics maybe only a dollar or two more per yard that are much better.

4. If you get on Joanne's mailing list they send you 40% off coupons in the mail. As for me, I would sit around and wait for these coupons to buy what I needed and ended up saving a butt load of money.

5. It is not stupid in the least bit to have a half store bought half home-made costume. I have a huge respect for anyone who bothers to make any part of their costume themselves. Honestly, even now, my costumes are half and half... there is really no point in sewing a pair of black pants when you could buy a pair for 10 bucks that would look the exact same.

Anyways, good luck and I hope that helped.

[Runa]

For the longest time, I sewed almost exclusively with cotton. For me it's the easiest fabric to work with. It's washable, durable, and deals gracefully with sweat. For additional info on Cosplay PLEASE enter some panel suggestions on the Cosplay Panels topic in this forum so the Programming director can add the suggested panel ideas to the list of cosplay panels we will be having. I'll pack along some of the stuff i mention below...

So, here are tips to get you going:

(1) Fabric thickness (or lack thereof) - If you're looking for body without increasing thickness, you want to buy some interfacing. Typically in a collar one would use iron on interfacing and attach it to both the outer and inner collar. For the most part this will stiffen it up enough to stand up properly. Since there are various weights of interfacing, I'm certain you can find something that will work. Timtex or Fast2Fuse are typically used for making purses or hat brims, but if you needed to have a lot of stiffness for a really funky standup collar, this is what you want. Timtex and Fast2Fuse are about 2mm thick, sewable and reasonably light. If the collar really needs to stick up and out, add a thin wire inside the seam (use zipper foot to get next to wire or hand stitch it in place).
   If you need to make the costume puffy in places, go into the quilting department and grab some quilt batting. This stuff can be rolled into a cylinder, or laid flat and treated like yet another layer of fabric. Keep in mind it'll make you warmer. Typically, if it's a jacket and you line it in the same fabric and put a layer of interfacing throughout the whole front of the jacket you'll do fine. For puffy sleeves, you can also insert a pouf of Organza (organza is a type of fabric, a "pouf" is what I call it when you take a rectangle of fabric and gather one edge -- it gets fluffy like a carnation).

(2) Rippling fabric. This can be a tension issue due to how you're sewing. I bet you're trying to sew very quickly. Slow down.  What's happening is that the fabric on the top layer is not advancing at the same rate as the fabric on the bottom.
    There's also another secret to handling many layers of fabric that will really make you happy. Buy a walking foot (http://members.tripod.com/stanley119/images/walkfoot2.jpg) and use that. The walking foot -- also known as the even feed foot -- is a special sewing machine foot that was originally invented for people who sew quilts because it has a set of feed dogs on it which pull the fabric on the top just like the feed dogs built into the machine pull the fabric on the bottom. Get one. You will love it.

(3) There's nothing wrong with "found" costumes. My Muriel Bouquet (from Noir) consists of store-bought items because I lucked out and found the exact color and style clothing I needed right in the mall (it was also on sale so it cost much less than making them ever would have cost).
   What you have to do is determine whether you can afford to spend the time to make the pants yourself. Some people prefer to make all parts, especially if they can make things fit much better than what is available in stores. The only concern you should have is whether the fabric the pants are made out of properly match the fabrics you've chosen for the rest of the costume (since it sounds like you're making something similar to a suit). Look at both color and texture of the fabric for the pants and matching jacket. If it looks as if the items were both made from the same fabric perfect. If not, then you have to decide whether the difference in the fabrics really matters to you.

-Andie

[pinkrandomattack]

yeah, good advice up there ^.  and also, make sure you washed it first.  or remember to Never ever wash it...or at least dry it.  shrinkage will not only make the fit screwed up.  but if you sewed non-pre-washed fabric then the thred (which is most likely polyester) will not shrink and youll have some problems.

[PinqFuu]

As far as "beefing" up fabric, if it is a thin fabric, you can back it with a thick cotton, or you can add quilters batting. It's what quilters use to give a little umph to their blankets, as well as warmth. Heavy interfacing also helps stabalize the collar or keeping it up right. As far as fluff, I don't understand this- someone mentioned organza fabric for adding "fluff". This is the WRONG fabric to use. Organza is a sheer, soft, fabric that is usually on the outside of a garment or dress to add a different color,sheen, look, or appearance. Slightly more decoration then actually help. What I think they were trying to mention is crinoline. This is the fabric they use in petticotas. It's the stiff netting that when gathered causes a stiff poof which will make sure that lighter fabrics that are draped over this poof will keep a bubbled appearance.

Rippling fabric while sewing? This is odd. Do you mean that after you've sewn it continues to bunch/gather. My two guess is that you either don't have darts, so there is no place for certain area of fabric to be released to. Or you didn't cut the piece on the grain. This is important on woven fabric like cotton because if you don't cut it on the grain, the grain will make the piece move in a way you don't want it to.

and yes, the fabric clerks are your friends. I consider them nosey, but really they have nothing better to do during their shifts.

[pinkrandomattack]

saying "a woven fabric like cotton" is kinda misleading.  Cotton BROADCLOTH  is woven, as is cotton terry cloth, twill or whatever.  But there are also cotton knits of varying kinds, although its equally emportant to cut on the intened graid of knits as well.

[kekame]

Take in mind quilt batting is hot and KC is in Sept. ^_^

[Runa]

<snip> As far as fluff, I don't understand this- someone mentioned organza fabric for adding "fluff". This is the WRONG fabric to use. Organza is a sheer, soft, fabric that is usually on the outside of a garment or dress to add a different color,sheen, look, or appearance. Slightly more decoration then actually help. </snip>

I mentioned the organza. I should've specified SILK Organza (as opposed to nylon organza, though actually nylon organza has its uses)

Silk organza is frequently used in Couture sewing as an underlining. In "Couture, the Art of Fine Sewing" by Roberta Carr (Palmer/Pletsch publishing, page139), she states, "Sleeve heads can be made of Armo Wool, hair canvas, fashion fabric or silk organza, depending on the desired results." A sleeve head was what I'd described in my previous posting (that "pouf" ... I'd temporarily forgotten the proper name for it, which is 'sleeve head'. The purpose of a sleeve head is to preven the collapse of the cap of the sleeve.) I have a designer dress that I purchased which has a silk organza sleeve head to prevent the poufy sleeve from collapsing on itself. Page 140, of the aforementioned book, provides instructions for using a piece of silk organza for a sleeve with a great amount of loft. So it's not organza you were thinking of. Yes, silk organza is sheer and light, but it's tough and has a lot of body. It is also used in machine embroidery when you're making freestanding lace and you want the lace to have more body.

By the way, [page 143, same book] "nylon organza makes a perfect underlining because it retains its stiffness through repeated washings or dry-cleanings, and it is comfortable, not scratchy to the touch."

-Andie (who has > 20 years costuming/sewing experience and a large sewing library to back up her information with.)