sew//stressed

Cosplays, progress, and reference pictures!

[bad-bitch-khaleesi]

Just a friendly reminder to all my cosplay peeps out there; don’t forget to deep clean your makeup brushes before your next con!

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Also friendly tip: bring a small bottle of brush cleaner or (what I do) some alcohol poured in a spray bottle and some paper towels. Spot clean your brushes in between uses!

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I've just about organized my sewing room/craft room/studio/whatever so I think I'm going to film a room tour tomorrow! I'm pretty proud of how it's looking.

[notcaycepollard]

How to dress your pākehā child up as Maui or Moana without appropriating Pasifika culture

Disney's Moana has been a smash hit in New Zealand. Children everywhere want to dress up as characters from the movie. So how to do you let your child dress up as Maui without appropriating Pasifika culture? It's easy – Emmaline Matagi, an indigenous Fijian born in Fiji, is here to tell you how.

What happens when your child asks to ‘dress up’ as Moana or Maui?

More specifically, what is the most appropriate response as a Pākehā parent when your child wants to dress up as a Polynesian heroine or hero?

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Very important to note! I actually am planning to do a Moana cosplay for various reasons (movie was amazing, only Disney princess that looks like me, totally relate to the character, etc etc). But I’m Filipino and not Polynesian so obviously I don’t want to step over any boundaries.

Anyone else planning to cosplay from Moana should check this out! 

Also, they talk about tattoos and I kind of now want to wait until I can get my traditional Filipino tattoo done since tattoos are such an important part of the Polynesian culture and before Spanish colonization, tattoos were important to the Filipinos as well.

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And while my fabric bolts look neat and cozy in their little bin, here are my scrap piles, organized by color family. Obviously the biggest piles are black and blue haha. Some of this is going to get tossed for sure. A lot of them have been cut into like a paper snowflake so we gotta get rid of those. I’ll see what can be used for things like pouches and applique and salvage those. I plan on putting the scraps into some plastic bags organized by color and then shoving them into a bin.

I also gotta get stuff to organize patterns. Because I don’t use patterns often but I have one that DOES NOT want to even remotely fold back up into a reasonable size.

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Organization has begun. I CAN FINALLY USE MY CRAFT TABLE AGAIN.

These are all my fabrics that are big enough cuts to be used for a project. I really thought I had more but really it’s because they were in about five different places. That plastic thing on top is a bolt of dark red cotton that @agentsama probably bought ages ago and there are TEN FRICKIN YARDS OF IT. So I just wrapped it in a garbage bag to keep it protected from dust and whatnot. Everything else was sorted into bolts.

To make the bolts, I grabbed about five empty shipment boxes from work, cut them to fit into the bin I planned on storing them all in, and then wrapped my fabric onto them. I had tons of excess cardboard so I cut them all to size as well and stored them next to my fabric bin in case I need to make any more bolts.

All of this stuff gets stored on some shelving, out of the way. I still have to buy some large dowels from the hardware store so I can store the fake leather that I have without messing it up.

If you’d like to follow my organization progress, please check out my tag, “Organize it! Engage With Zorp” because I love Parks and Rec

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So I’ve never uploaded any pictures of me and @galactic-owl‘s Team Skill cosplays. But most of them are from AUSA and I was having trouble with my contact so my eye is HELLA red.

Also pretty much all of our pictures are of us giving the finger. There are skulls on my fingernails!

Maybe we should take actual photos?

[galactic-owl]

Find your hat so we can take more! Skull Grunt is so fun.

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Bro I might just remake the hats. Also I totally lost the arm thingies so I have to remake them too probably. BUT I AM TOTALLY DOWN AND WE SHOULD DO SUNDAY SKULL-DAY AT OTA!!!

[lunaticcosplay]

Beading Tips and Tricks

So I’m currently working on a cosplay that is heavily beaded and I thought I’d share some tips and tricks everyone should know. These are things I’ve been taught or have learned through trial and error. Hope they help.

Bead Sizes

Picking the right size beads for you’re project is equally as important as picking the right fabric. Bead sizing is a little backwards too. The larger the number, the smaller the bead and the smaller the number, the larger the bead. While smaller beads will hide mistakes and add beautiful detail to a costume, they are more difficult to work with and you’ll need to purchase more of them. Likewise, larger beads are much easier to work with and you’ll need less of them, but they show mistakes and don’t look as neat. Naturally, it is important for you to find a size that works for you and your skill level and budget. If you aren’t sure what size to use or want a second opinion, emailing you’re bead supplier about the project you’ll be working can be helpful.

Bead Suppliers

Everyone has there favorites, here are mine.

Berger Beads is my favorite local supplier that also has an online site. Aside from a larger collection of reasonably priced beads they offer other great costuming/jewelry goods. When I need small amounts of beads for a project I usually go to Bergers.

Fire Mountain Gems and Beads is another favorite supplier of mine. Offering everything from seed beads to closures, rhinestones and more they are positively fabulous for wholesale goods. If you need a ridiculous amount of beads or rhinestones I would suggest them. Prices aren’t so cheap when you buy in smaller quantity but they beat places like Michaels and other craft stores. They also have a seasonal catalog you can have mailed out. 

Bohemian Crystal or “The Bead Factory” is a local gem (hehe). They are great for buying very cheap crystals or rhinestones in small quantities or even wholesale. 

Tips and Tricks

Four things everyone who is going to be bead whether you’re a novice or pro should be beading needles, beading thread,beeswax, and a towel.

While it is true that you can get away with beading larger sized beads (such as 11 or lower) with thinner hand sewing needles, they limit how many beads you can string on and sew at a time. That is unless you are sewing them on one at a time. The other problem is that depending on the sort of fabric you’re beading on, a hand sewing needle will leave a whole and stretch the fabric. Whereas a beading needle is incredibly thin and prevents that from happening.

Beading thread is as the name suggests, specifically for beading. It’s strong and won’t snap on you. The only thing you’ll have to worry about is threading it through the needle and it possibly getting cut when working with sharp ended glass beads such as bugles. But this can be prevented with some beeswax.

Beeswax is an essential to you’re beading kit. After you’ve threaded your needle, wrap your thread around your chunk of beeswax (or candle) and gently pull it through until you’re thread it covered in a layer of wax. This helps to make your thread even stronger and can prevent it from being cut when beading. 

I’m sure you’re wondering why I listed a towel, trust me when I say you’re going to want one over you’re workspace. I don’t care how careful you think you are or how organized you are, if you drop a bead or spill over your entire container/bag/dish of beads and there isn’t a towel underneath them they are going to go all over the place. The fibers in a towel or even a thick blanket will cushion their fall and keep them from making a bigger mess. 

I don’t plan on making a tutorial for the beading process because it’s so straight forward, but here is a link to a very organized method of beading a dress. 

[ivorivet]

Workspace Wednesdays:  Fabric Catalog

If you are like most crafters, the longer you have a sewing-related hobby the larger your stash of fabric will get.  (If you sew and you don’t have a fabric stash, I am officially afraid of you and your merciless resolve.)  I’ve been cosplaying for about eight years and sewing for longer than that, so the amount of fabric I want to hold onto because I might use it someday is… really extreme.

What I ended up having to do to get my fabric stash under control was catalog it, put it into bins, and get it out of my actual craft room.  I need to pull something from my stash maybe a couple times a month at most.  It doesn’t make a lot of sense to keep that stuff in my primary working area when it gets used that infrequently, so I keep it my basement. You might not have a basement you can store stuff in, but everyone’s got corners of closets or other less readily accessible areas where stuff for long-term storage is asking to go.  A catalog of what you have allows you to utilize those spaces more effectively. 

This is the binder I made up, which 1) allows me to check what’s in the basement without having to actually go to the basement, and 2) is way easier to flip through than a pile of fabric that I have to re-fold because I messed it up while pawing through it.  

If you’d like to use my templates, they’re over here!  My goal in making them was to not overwhelm myself with information because I had a ton of fabrics to catalog and I didn’t want it to take forever.  The sheets are made to record a few pieces of information:

A fabric swatch. I made two template sheets, one with the swatch space on the left and one with the swatch space on the right, so the stacked pages wouldn’t be super uneven.

A brief description and enough room to note anything special about the fabric.

A super rough ballpark of how much yardage I have.

Did I ever cut anything out of this fabric before, or is it still basically in a rectangle?  Helpful for knowing if your fabric looks like swiss cheese or not.

And that’s it.  You can add more or less information based on what you think is important, but that’s enough for me to go off of.  And here’s the organized stash itself, more or less:

Another tip in organizing your storage bins: if you make it so all the edges of your fabrics are visible when you take the top off your bin, it’ll be easier to find things and take them out.  While I was loading the bins, I set them on one side and stacked my fabric up in a pile.  (The end result is the same thing as Konmari vertical clothes folding!)

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So I’ve never uploaded any pictures of me and @galactic-owl‘s Team Skill cosplays. But most of them are from AUSA and I was having trouble with my contact so my eye is HELLA red.

Also pretty much all of our pictures are of us giving the finger. There are skulls on my fingernails!

Maybe we should take actual photos?

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Now’s as good a time as any to show off my (99%) completed belt buckle! It’s also super durable. I threw it against a wall to prove it and there isn’t even a dent. This post is just going to go over how I made it as well as how I plan on attaching this to my belt. Sorry for the lack of progress pics! I have a few in previous posts but not many.

Tutorial under the cut!

Supplies:

a template for your buckle

two sheets of thick craft foam (it was lying around my house)

x-acto knife or craft knife

metal ruler

super glue

Easy Cast resin kit

disposable craft brushes

sand paper

Rub n Buff in antique gold

black and brown acrylic paints

a scrap of cotton as large as your buckle

tacky glue

The craft foam was all in black as it’s the best base color for metallics. The template I used came with the Simplicity pattern but maybe I can upload my own version if anyone wants it?

First you want to trace the entire shape of the buckle onto your thick foam and cut it out with your x-acto knife so you have a base to glue your details onto,

Cut out strips of the second sheet of craft foam. I made them 1/4 inch wide. These will be used for the borders and details in the wings.

Now cut out the bird shape. Leave the wings hollow.

Glue all the pieces together according to your reference pictures with super glue. I started this by gluing the bird to the base. Then take those thin strips and glue them in place where the wing details should be. Then carefully glue down the border pieces. Take your time. The foam curves easily but will not stay in place until the glue dries. Go little by little. Carefully cut off any excess with your knife.

Once all the glue has fully dried, sand the edges gently so they’re all flush.

Prop your buckle onto something to elevate it (I used a beer bottle with some wall putty to secure it) and brush on a nice layer of resin. I tried to make sure it didn’t pool up too much in the details. Remember that this will ruin whatever brush you’re using so don’t get too attached. Let it cure fully before moving forward.

Apply your Rub n Buff. I smeared it on with my finger and let it sit. Then the next day, I took some scrap t shirt material and buffed it to a nice shine.

Now it’s time to weather your buckle, because you are a kick-ass lady in the thick of WWII and you have no time to polish trinkets. To do this, dry brush some black paint into the cracks and crevices and wipe the larger areas away with your finger. Repeat until the desired amount of grime is achieved. I might even go back and do a little more.

Trace your buckle onto your scrap of fabric. Mine is some leftover twill from a past cosplay. Cut it out slightly smaller than your buckle.

Cover the back of your buckle with glue, lay down your scrap of fabric, and cover it with another thin layer of glue. This is going to add even more durability to your buckle.

I bet now you’re wondering how to attach it, aren’t you? You have a couple of options. The easiest would be to attach some velcro onto the buckle and the belt. I’d like to re-use the belt so I’ll be doing something a little different.

I’m going to take some more of that scrap fabric and cut it into a rectangle that’s slightly wider than my belt. Then I’m going to sew two elastic straps, one on either side, onto the scrap, and glue the piece onto the buckle. From there, I’ll be able to just slip it into place on the belt!

Hope you all enjoyed my tutorial! Remember as with all tutorials, you can adapt this for any project you need. I definitely think this can work for characters like Batman, Robin, or Deadpool who have customized utility belts, certain X-Men characters, pretty much anything that needs to be sturdy and lightweight that doesn’t need the back to look pretty.

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I just ordered a pointy bra solely for this Wonder Woman cosplay. What is my life right now?

[pisaracos]

EDIT: Alternatively, you can use velcro or snap buttons for this method, if you are not comfortable with using magnets on a headwear. The main idea of this tutorial is to introduce making 2 parts of the wig be detachable and exchangable. I used magnets because it was what I had at home at the time.

Wig Hacks Wednesday #2 ! Have 10 upcoming cosplays and all of them have undercut hairstyle? Fear not! You can make the most out of your undercut wig, and re-use them for all your undercut husbando’s with this simple method. (Info about wigs in pic listed below) - Get heavy-duty small magnets. I got mine from Home Depot for about $6 for this 40-piece pack. You only need 10 magnets to complete one wig project at first, but getting a bigger pack will save you money in the long run - Using a short base wig, flip it inside out and put it on a foam head. You should pad the foam head prior with papers so that the size is closest to your head size since foam head tends to run small. This is very important to get the right fit for the undercut - Snip the wig lace around the head curve, leaving the undercut high enough to keep its shape on its own - Trim the short base wig as short as you can without wefts showing through, spray and blow dry the hair down. At this point, use hot glue to attach the magnets around the wig near the top (2 magnets on the sides by the ears, 1 at the center back, and 2 inbetween) - Grab 5 more magnets and stick each one to your magnets on the wig from previous step (no glue for this step) - Place your half top wig on top of the foam head. Position it on all sides to make sure it can reach and cover all the magnets. If needed, use a small piece of fabric to fill in spaces so you have a flat surface for gluing rather than just wefts - Put hot glue on the second set of magnets, and press the top wig down onto it. Do this one by one, start from the magnets on the sides by the ears, and work your way to the back - Adjust the top wig hair and blend it with the undercut wig, using your fingers and hair spray Now you’re ready to join a Korean boy band, ice skate to your own song, and hunt down some titans with this hairdo! Tips: - make sure to press and hold until hot glue completely dry or magnets might fall off, low-temp works better if you have dual setting on your hot glue gun - you can’t shampoo the undercut wig with the magnets so make sure to wear wig caps ALWAYS to pretect your wig from excess oil and sweat from your natural hair/head (nylon or stocking style of wig caps are great for this, plus it keeps your hair flat)

Wigs used in this tutorial: Rufio in Natural Black (CL-077), Jaguar in Sandy Brown (CL-071), and Caine in Black (CL-078) from Arda Wigs

[pisaracos]

Wig Hack Wednesday #5 ! Have you ever wanted to use the same wig for that one character who can’t decide if she wants to wear her hair in twin tails or let her hair down? (Aka Nozomi from Love Live) Or, have you found a perfect wig color for your character but the wig just doesn’t come with a back-parting? Well, here is one way you can fufill your cosplay goals on a budget! Also good for when you want to re-purpose a wig for different characters. For this demo, I’m using a Venus in grass green from Arda Wigs. I love this color and the length is perfect for Mallow from Pokemon Sun and Moon. My goal is to add a back-parting to the Venus base wig but make it detachable in case I wanna use the wig for other cosplay. - Part the wig down the middle in the back, and clip the hair away on each side. Cut the hair from the inside layers of the wig to use as wefts for this project. By leaving the outer layers uncut, when you tie the wig into twin tails or let the hair down completely, it will hide the trimmed part - Use Tacky glue (or other glue that dries clear but flexible) on the tip of a small piece of hair. Use your fingers to squeeze the hair flat to make sure the glue covers all of the hair on the tip of that piece. Wait until it almost dries - Put more glue in the back side of the piece of hair by the tip. Press the hair piece down onto a strip of soft felt sheet. I happened to find a nude colored one that matched me, but you can use acrylic paints to get the level of color you want (paint the felt strip prior to the start of the project) Also, I find that holding up the felt strip and pressing the glued hair down allow more control and help create more “curve” shape from the center part - Once you finish gluing hair down on the whole felt strip, turn it over, and hand-sew some wig clips on the back side. 1 inch spacing between each wig clip worked well for me. You’ll need about 4-5 wig clips for the whole felt strip - Now you can clip the felt strip onto the main wig in the back. Make sure you leave two small pieces of hair from the main wig at the top where your felt strip would go - Clip the felt strip in place. Make sure it doesn’t come off when you tuck on it. Take the little piece of hair from the main wig that you left out earlier, and section it in half on each side - Criss-cross the hair pieces to hide the “seam” of the top of the felt strip - Comb and blend the hair from the main wig with the hair from the felt strip, and tie your twin tails - You can unclip the felt strip later and comb down the hair to use the same wig as a normal long wig! Another good thing about this method is that you can use your felt strip for other projects if you buy other wigs from the same company later and in the same color. Or, you can turn an ombre wig into twin tail style for J-fashion shoot and wear the wig as a long wig the next time. This is not the “best” way to do back-parting, but I wanted to focus on being cost-effective and easy enough for beginners to attempt. Have fun wiggin’!

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This is fucking genius. Holy shit.

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Wonder Woman belt buckle progress! Base is made of craft foam and then covered in resin to harden it up. It was just warm enough today to cast it out in the garage. I took it inside to finish curing. It's sitting in my room where I have the space heater going. This is my first time working with resin and it wasn't too bad so far. Hopefully it cures properly. Also I found a good rope to use for my Lasso of Truth! It's a clothesline from the dollar store.

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You measure yourself, select the size of your pattern, cut out the fabric accordingly, and you end up with GIANT shorts. Figures, right? Guess I gotta take apart all my work and re-cut the shorts when I have time. Seriously the legs were INSANELY billowy and the waist only fit if I pushed out my gut.

Womp womp.

[cpt-tightpants]

I know it’s for makeup, but the fact that Suicide Squad has won an Academy Award offends me on a deeply profound level. 

[galactic-kat]

Finished my Wonder Woman boots this past week! Also got the belt buckle started and the pattern pieces for the shorts cut out. Will work on the wig and headband next. Bombshell Wonder Woman is well on its way!

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Back with the cosplay progress.