Making a skirt bigger - Marlin’s non cosplay sewing
Hello.
Haven't really done any sewing since last summer, no motivation really. But I am starting up now, have bought almost all the material I need for my summer cosplay yay! Gonna do three completely new cosplay I hope.
But I am also gonna be doing some “normal” sewing since there are a few pieces I want to make for fun.
This is the first one.
This is one of my favorite skirts, the only not black/dark blue that I can wear all year round. Bought it many years ago in high school and even then it was a bit tight. And the last five years or so I have only worn it a few times since it was too tight and made me sad.
So now I decided! I was gonna make it fit me cause I was never gonna be that thin again so why suffer. Since it is a pleated skirt it has a lot of extra fabric to use.
One idea was to remove all the pleats and just ruffle it and make a new waistband. But decided to just let out a pleat or two.
It was fastened with hooks and zipper. I did the overlock in the picture. Since it did not have it before it was easy to rip the seams like I wanted to. To the first pleat on the under skirt and first pleat on the top. That gave my a few more centimeters.
It might had been better to let out a bit of the second pleat on the top but I completely forgot to check while I was sewing how much more I wanted haha. :) Besides, its sunday night, when is one more bloated. ;)
But I removed around 5 cm of the back part of the waist band, so I could lengthened the waistband the most discreetly, and exchanged it for some twill tape I had around and sewed the transplanted main fabric to the waistband.
I had cut of the part with the eyes beforehand and sewed that back and the end, sewed the waistband back on and I was done! It is much more comfortable and I will actually be able to wear it without crying. :D Should have done this years ago. Only took about an hour.
Wrote this yesterday, all got deleted. :) This is fine. Anyways, here is some googles I guess.
The finished product with the rest of my outfit, since I had limited sight I only (barley) wore the googles for photos.
started with a paper pattern that I measured to my face. I used the pattern to cut out the base in worbla and the cover in suede-ish fabric, I dyed the fabric in tea to give it some colour.
I used transparent worbla™ for the lenses (the “real” lenses are stormtropper lenses but it was way too expensive to buy replicas). I made a mistake here thought. This is just my test to see if it worked, which it did but I later dyed the worbla and would have to re-shape them and then when I was ready to do that I had done everything else on them and it was to much in the way to get close to the base and they did not turn out perfect. I had a layer of craft foam to make them a bit thicker but the foam was not to the edge of the eye holes.
I painted the base beige, glued on the brown fabric roughly and glued on the suede(-ish) that I had stitched the lines onto. Then I tried to make the lenses. I almost remade it to get a better lens fit but it was good enough.
I dyed the transparant worbla™ with Idye Poly, which is made for syntetic fabric and so can dye plastic as well. The instructions said to boil around 20 minutes but that is for fabric and the plastic looked done in one minutes so I took it out after a minute or two. I would recommend the dye for great coverage but, it discolored on everything it touched so I had to seal the paint. Closest to me was some mod podge which sealed the deal.
I don't have pictures of making the details but the cord holders are worbla and the flashlight is a mini flashlight, not 100% accurate ~~but I don’t care that much~~. The holder is made from thimbra, an tube clamp and a screw, I also screwed the holder to the mask so I can remove it if I want to.
Guess that is it buddies. Sometime I will post something again so set your alarms on, the future.
• Paint outside - fumes inside is not fun and you risk getting paint on furniture etc. ( A well ventilated room works as well, I have painted inside our garage/workshop in the winter)
• Do wear a glove - I usually turn my pieces if I can and too many times have I gotten paint all over my hand until I figured out that I should just use a plastic glove.
• Keep in mind where the wind comes from - And that it should blow away from you, and any other pieces you might have on the same space. (Like I painted three different things in different colours in the picture)
• Not under trees - pollen and, stuff, can fall from the tree in your paint.
• Test first - When you are gonna start painting, do a test spray on your cardboard or something, for me at least the first spray have had thicker drops.
• Clean it up - When you are done, hold the can upside down and spray until its just air. It is to empty the noozle so it wont dry/stick to it while you don’t use it.
•Seal it - Put a layer or two of clear paint to seal your colour. This way the colour will last longer and risks of chipping will be less.
Shepard, part 1??? (」゜ロ゜)」 - First look review for Spoonflower fabric
So the other day I was really inspired. Bubblefish was talking about wanting to do try out for master class cosplay. (In which a performance is needed and you can qualify to the Swedish championships) And I thought, it might be cool and if I was gonna compete with anyone, it would be with my dream cosplay Shepard. So I impulsed bought a fabric I have been looking at for years, cause it is easier to start something hard if you have material.
I was unsure what fabric to use for Shepard, many other cosplayers have used black spandex, which I did not really like the look of, she properly have something Kevlar like and not spandex so I wanted something “harder”. I thought about a nice dark grey I’ve found. But I thought the effect of a pattern would be just lovely.
Spoonflower is a site where you can upload your own designs or choose one already uploaded. I found this a while ago when I scourged the net for a good find. It was apparently taken from the in-game design and looked nice. They also recommended the performance knit so that is what I went for.
And I am quite happy with the look of it. the size of the pattern was good and the colour was great as well.
One minus would be that it is not very stretchy. They have a lot of fabric kinds on spoonflower and I don't think this is optimal. it has a bit of stretch, both horizontal and vertical, more horizontal, but it is not at spandex level.
It is a bit thin as well. If I put put it up toward the sun it is somewhat see trough, but not if I hold it up normally indoors.
Spoonflower has a somewhat new fabric in sport lycra which I spontaneously would say might be better. But is was a bit too expensive for me,(almost 10 pounds more per meter) and the performance knit was recommended so that is why I went with it. I did not want to spend money on test swatches either.
I do think it will work, but I am unsure if I can comfortably wear it as a tight body suit. Since I won’t start Shep for a while I have time to think about it.
So for My Emily cosplay I felt that I at least needed the sword. It is so far the only prop I have but if I have time I wanna make more props.
It is not 100% accurate, the color for example, mine is more lighter silver than the original and that is because it was the only metallic paint I had.
The blade is very simple with none of the ridges the original has and that is because I made a choice of having it super accurate or fold-able and that is much cooler.
I started by getting this sword from ebay, cost 4 pounds so I expected some sort of plastic but it was metal. It is a trick sword, the blades folds into the handle, I am not good enough to do it like in the game so this was close enough. :)
I broke the handle and was able to take it apart. There was four blade parts, two in Emily’s sword(which does not make sense cause the handle is not long enough but that’s a different story). But I went with 3 blades since it would be the closest to the right length since the sword is almost a long knife instead of a sword hahaha.
So after I removed one blade I put it back together and I fortunately had not broken the original handle so much, so I decided to use it as a base.
The top picture shows how the sword would look folded, so I needed an longer handle then the base. (Which I am woman enough to admit I forgot the first time and wondered why I had measured out so much worbla.)
Second picture is just it laid out with the base worbla cover I would use. I had to have the sword unfolded so I would not risk sticking the worbla to the folded blade haha.
Done.
After that I drew on the design roughly and glued on a piece of foam at the top. After that I put on wall filler to get the right shape. Now afterwards, I should have exaggerated the shaped more since the worbla makes them softer.
I covered all in plastic and painters tape, drew on the shape of the metal of the handle. It was not so easy and had to be in several parts. I also used tibra, for the first time so that went as well as you can expect. Tibra stretch really easily. So a few bits are a bit, wonky.... But overall good!
I also did the error in not priming at all before painting, so the seams are noticeable if I look closely.
So here it is with “metal parts” I made the spikes of craft foam and it is the part I am most unhappy with and will remake.
After painting it I removed the tape I had on the “wood part”. I really don’t remember why I thought that was necessary hahaa. And the tape was my pattern. I used black worbla, for the first time as well. Unfortunately it did not stick to the wall filler well and I had to superglue it.
The reason I used tibra and black worbla was because I wanted it to look like different materials and I heard that tibra was smooth and fitted for a metal look.
Then I just painted it. I redid it several times and I am still not happy. I bought wood vinyl I will put on it instead.
So this is my base sword but I will do an updated version this summer where Bubblefish convinced me to compete as well!
A beginner’s guide to choosing and working with fabrics for cosplay
Choosing the right kind of fabric and treating it right when sewing can greatly improve the finished look of your cosplay. Here are a few tips on how to decide what fabrics to buy and how to treat and work with it when making your cosplay.
Deciding what fabric to pick
So you have picked a character and decided to make the cosplay yourself and are now ready to buy fabric for it.
The first thing you need to do is to find a couple of good reference picture of your character from different angles and see how many different fabrics you will need.
The next step is to try to decide what kind of fabric you will need, this step can be really tricky if you don't have any previous experience with fabrics.
A good way to start figuring it out is to think about what qualities you want the fabric to have. Is the character wearing a formfit catsuit? Then the fabric should be stretchy like a four-way stretch spandex or a lycra. Is the character wearing a corset? Then the fabric should be stiff and a bit thicker. Is the character wearing a light and airy skirt? etc etc Write up the qualities you want the different fabrics in your cosplay to have and start doing some research.
Look at what kind of fabrics other people used in a similar garment or what recommendations the sewing patterns of the similar clothes say.
Another tip is to think what kind of person your character is. Is it a princess? Then maybe the fabric she would wear would be a bit more expensive looking and not just a simple cotton. Is it a hobbit? Then maybe the fabric should be natural and not synthetic.
Difference between Synthetic and Natural fabrics:
There is a lot of different kind of fabrics but they all fall under two main types; Synthetic and natural fabrics.
Natural fabrics are made from either the fibers of plants or animals (wool, hair etc). Examples are: Cotton, linen, silk, wool etc.
Synthetic fabrics are made from fibers made in scientific way and are produced from chemicals. Examples are: Polyester, Nylon, Spandex, acrylic etc.
Blend fabrics is as it sounds a mix of the both fibers to create a textile that has properties from both fibers.
Buying fabrics in store vs online:
If you have access to a fabric store that sells more than just curtain fabrics then it's a great opportunity to get to know how different fabrics feels and works. Don't be afraid to take help of the employees of the store and ask what kind of fabric would work for the garment. Bring a photo of your character so you can check how the color looks and if you already have a piece of your cosplay ready and you need a fabric in a similar color take a sample with you so you can check so it match.
I highly recommend bringing a camera (or your phone) to the store and take photos of the fabric you are thinking of buying. Most fabric looks different with a flash and can get really shiny or change color. Since you probably want photos of your finished cosplay it is important to check so the fabric looks good both on and off camera.
This is for example photos of the same fabric taken in different lights:
If you don't have a fabric store close to you or could not find the fabric you were looking for, buying fabrics online is a great second option. Buying fabrics online can be hard since you don't have the opportunity to touch it, feel it and see how it flows, it can also be hard to see the exact color of it. I therefore recommend that you order some fabric samples of the fabric you are interested in before buying several yards of it. Fabric samples are often not very expensive and it is a great way to get to see how it looks and feel before deciding.
A tip is to save the fabric samples or cut out a piece of your fabric and write on a note what kind of fabric it is and where you bought it and then save it in a folder. This makes it really easy to later when you are going to make another cosplay to just check the folder and see if any of those fabrics would work for that cosplay.
Be aware of shiny and cheap looking fabrics!
Some shiny fabrics will look extra shiny when photographed and shiny fabrics have a tendency to look cheap and not so nice. Make sure to photograph the fabric before buying it to avoid this.
Some fabrics wrinkle very easily and it is not fun to get a lot of wrinkles on your skirt as soon as you sit down. A tip is to wrinkle a small piece of the fabric and see how much it wrinkles.
Don't be afraid to use the "wrong" side of the fabric.
Most fabric have two sides that look different, one right side and one wrong side. Most of the time you will most likely use the right side of the fabric but don't forget to check the backside of the fabric. I like to use the wrong side of fabrics when the right side is for example too shiny. This way you will end up having a lot more option when choosing fabrics.
For my Sophie Hatter cosplay I used the wrong side of a micro satin and it worked fine:
So you decided on a fabric and are now going to buy it, but how much do you need?
This is a tricky question, some fabrics are expensive so you don't want to buy too much of it but if you buy too little you need to buy more later. When I started out I was really scared to order too little and ended up with a lot more than what I needed (I still have several yards left today), I have since then learned how much I will need.
A good way to think about it is to look at sewing patterns for similar garments of the one you will make. How much fabric does it recommend you use? Are you going to make a circle skirt? Use a calculator like this one to: http://byhandlondon.com/pages/circle-skirt-app to calculate how much you will need.
Remember to take a bit more of what you think you will need, since you want to include the seam allowance and it is easy to make mistakes.
A good way to see how much fabric you will need is to make a mock up. Sewing the garment you plan on making first in a super cheap material. I like to use really cheap bed sheets for this. By making the garment in a cheap material you will be able to see how much fabric you need but also practise to make it so you don't make as many errors and mistakes once you make it in the real fabric.
If you end up ordering too much it is not the whole world, you will be able to use it for other cosplays in the future.
You bought the fabric, what is the next step?
Once you have the fabric it is a few things you need to do before starting sewing.
It can be a good idea to pre-wash your fabric.
The fabric can shrink and change color a bit when you wash it and it is therefore a good idea to pre-wash it then you are planning on making something that is going to be washed again later when it is sewn. You don't want to make a cosplay just to wash it after the convention and end up with something you're not able to wear again because it shrunk in the wash. Different fabrics works different and you need to look up how you should wash it and in what heat.
Also remember to check how to dry the fabric afterwards, some fabrics can for example stretch out when hanged or the washing line can leave marks on the fabric and be hard to get away.
You don't need to wash all fabrics but a good thumb rule is that if you are planning on washing the piece at some point later, pre-wash the fabric.
Choosing the right thread and needle.
When choosing thread for your fabric it is two things you need to think about; What kind of thread do you need and what is a good color match for it. There is some different kind of threads and a good way to think about it is that if your fabric is synthetic you will need a synthetic thread such as polyester thread, if your fabric is natural you will need a natural thread like cotton thread. If you for example use a synthetic thread to a natural fabric the textile can rip because the thread is stronger than the fabric. I recommend to look up different properties for different thread before buying or ask in your store what would work best.
When choosing the color of the thread for the fabric it can sometimes be hard to find a exact match. I would when recommend to buy a darker shade of color rather than a lighter, it will look better. Bring a fabric sample of your fabric to the store so you can see so the color of the thread match the fabric before you buy it.
It can be a good idea to choose the right sewing machine needle to your fabric before you start sewing. Needles comes in different thicknesses and the thicker your fabric is the higher needle size you want. There is a few special needles like needles for sewing in stretch fabric, leather and microtex. Having the right needle for your fabric will make sewing a lot easier and I recommend getting the appropriate needle for the fabric you are working with.
Dyeing or adding a pattern to your fabric.
If you did not find the right fabric color for your character it can be a good idea to just dye the fabric yourself. When dyeing a fabric it is important to first pre-wash the fabric. It is also important to remember that it is much harder to dye synthetic fabric than natural. Make therefore sure what kind of fabric you are using and look up tutorials for how to color your fabrics. Remember that it also is important that if you are dyeing a natural fiber fabric that the thread also is natural and not synthetic so you don't end up with a dyed fabric with a different colored thread.
Finding the exact pattern your character have on their clothing can be really tough and it can therefore be a good idea to try making the pattern yourself. Fabric paint works great for this. Lay your fabric flat and draw out your pattern with a pen and then fill it in with the paint. Heat transfer vinyl works really well for some designs as well. There is a lot of tutorials about this, so look them up for inspiration.
Sewing patterns are a great help when sewing clothing and getting to know how clothes are constructed.
I highly recommend buying a pattern similar to what you are going to make, it will make the whole sewing process much easier! With the sewing pattern you will get big sheets of paper with the pattern pieces in different sizes and a step by step instruction on how to put it together. On the back of the pattern you will find a size chart so you can find out which size works for you, there will also be recomendations on what kind of fabric works for the clothing and how much fabric you will most likely need.
Making a pattern from scratch is a lot harder than it seems and you need some experience on how patterns work before you try making one yourself. If none of the sewing patterns fits your character design spot on you can always buy a similar pattern and then alter it.
Some people like to cut out their size out of the sewing pattern directly from the paper sheet it comes in but I recommend getting a roll of sewing pattern paper. It is a thin see through paper that you can lay over the sewing pattern and then trace with a pen the pattern to the sewing pattern paper. By doing this and cutting out the pattern from the sewing pattern paper instead of the sewing pattern directly you will be able to use it again in the future even if your size changes or lending out the pattern to a friend.
When you finally place the pattern pieces on the fabric don't forget to add a seam allowance! This is a small extra measurement you add around the pattern so you don't sew the garment too small. Some patterns already include seam allowance so make sure to read the instructions before drawing it out.
A tip is to try out the sewing pattern by first making a mock-up with a cheaper fabric. This way you will see if the size fit you and if you need to alter the design a bit without wasting your more expansive fabric.
The importance of grain lines and what it is.
To put it simply grain lines exist in all woven fabrics and are the orientation of the threads in the textile. Depending on which direction you cut out a pattern piece from the fabric the chosen grain will affect how the fabric hangs, stretches and sometimes looks. Depending what kind of fabric you are using this can be very important. If you are using a fabric like for example velvet or twills it is really important how you cut out your fabric. If you lay your hand to the fabric and stroke it in different directions you can feel how different it feels. If you cut out the pattern pieces in different orientations and then sew it together the grain lines will be different and when the light hits the garment it will appear as if it has different colors. Make sure when working with these kinds of fabrics that the pattern pieces are all cut out along the same grain lines.
In some woven fabrics however this is not that noticeable. Study your fabric before cutting out the pieces and see if you need to cut them out along the grain line or not. Non-woven fabrics do not have grains like for example leather, felt or interfacing.
Remember to zigzag.
Some fabrics fray, a lot, when you cut in them and to prevent the fraying from ruining your seams it is a good idea to use a zigzag stitch around the edges of the pieces before sewing them together. I have seen a lot of new people getting into cosplay make the mistake of not zigzaging the edges and end up with a ripped seam when the fraying eats away the fabric. Zigzaging takes a bit longer and you need a bit more thread but is really worth it in the end, no one likes when their cosplay breaks.
Ironing is really important!
I can't stress this enough! Ironing is one of the most important things you need to do when working with your fabric. Iron your fabric before drawing out your pattern on it, iron down the seams while you are sewing you cosplay together and iron everything once you are done. This will make such a difference in the final result. Your cosplay will look a lot better just by ironing it. If the cosplay get wrinkled in the transport to the convention it can also be a good idea to iron it again before putting it on.
OBS! Think about what kind of fabric you are using! Always iron on a test piece when working with a new fabric. If the fabric is synthetic it will melt in high temperature so it is really important to make sure you use the appropriate temperature. Wool can also be affected by high temperature so make some research before ironing. When ironing sensitive fabrics it can be a good idea to use a second piece of cotton fabric inbetween the iron and the fabric to prevent the sensitive fabric to take any damage.
Some extra tips:
Buying fabrics and sewing patterns secondhand - Second hand stores are great for finding fabrics, sewing patterns and details to a good cheap price. Buying skirts, curtains and bags are perfect to scavenge for parts to use for cosplay.
Look up tutorials - Tutorials are great and there is tons of them. Do some googling and see what you can find. A good place to start: http://cosplaytutorial.com/list.php
Alter clothing - If you are just starting out sewing and don't really know what you are doing it can be a good idea to start with altering clothing instead of sewing everything from scratch. Buy a base garment and then alter details and add what you need. This is a great introduction to sewing and does not cost and take as much time as making everything from scratch.
Interfacing - Interfacing is perfect if you need to make parts of your fabric more stiff like for example the collar. Interfacing is a piece of fabric that you can iron on to the backside of your fabric piece.
Lining - Lining is a inner layer of fabric and is really good you use in for example jackets were you will be able to see the inside and the lining hides the seams, interfacing etc.
Weathering - If you want your cosplay to look worn, bloody or dirty weathering is the way to go. There are a lot of different ways to do it so search around and pick your favorite method.
My Kyoko Mogami cosplay from the manga Skip beat is the most comfortable cosplay I have ever made. Easy to put on, short wig and comfy clothes and shoes. I really love the manga and Kyoko is one of my favorite characters ever so it was really fun when me and Marlin decided to cosplay as Kyoko and Akane (aka Moko) together.
We decided to buy the same pattern and fabric to make both our LoveMe-uniforms match and I though it would go pretty easy and painless to make. How I was mistaken! The site I ordered the 8060 Misses' Jumpsuits pattern from ended up sending me the big sized pattern instead of the small and the smallest size on it was four sizes too big for me.. and since it was so short time until the convention I did not have time to wait for the site to send me the right pattern. I decided to try and resize the pattern myself. It went so so since I at the same time needed to alter it quite a bit. It took me several days longer to finish it than I thought it would but in the end it turned out pretty good. The fabric we used was a bright pink twill and the bag is made out of a white faux leather. Marlin printed out the LoveMe-prints and sent them to me,
But even though the cosplay was a pain to make it was very fun to wear. Not many of the characters I choose to cosplay has such colorfull personality as Kyoko so it was fun be able to try and portray her and really fun to be both Kyoko and Moko since it is very rare you see cosplays of them both.
I have made an amount of circle skirts in my days. Because they are just. so. simple. So I am gonna go through some different types of circle skirts and how I have used them in diverse ways for cosplay.
The Basics
A circle skirt is a circle, so in the basicest basic it will not have any side seems, which is great. Nowadays I mostly use elastics for my skirts since it is the easiest and so far, in my cosplay, the waistband is hidden so it does not matter. You can put in a zipper in a circle skirt quite easily, just like in any other skirt but it will not be covered here.
For the calculations I used centimeters if nothing else is stated.
Rest under the cut!
Here is the basic measurements: If you are planning to use elastics make sure to make the waist at least as wide as your hips so it is wide enough to pull it on. I put the waist measurement at 100cm because I usually use it and it is easy to start with. After I cut out my skirt I try it om without the elastic just to make sure that I did not make it too small, if I did it is easily fixed by just cut it a bit bigger. With the waistband on it is a bit harder to fix. For the length I put it at 50cm because that is what I used for my sample skirts, these things can be decided depending on you and what you want.
I use a converter to find all my measurements for the radius and diameter of my waist(the 100cm) and came up with ~16 in radius and ~32 cm in diameter. So here is my pattern!
Since the skirt is going to be round I can just fold my fabric in half and draw out a half circle.
My skirt is hemmed with bias tape. I find this to be easiest way to hem a circle skirt, since it is round the hem gets curved and well och you can’t just fold it because it will be more fabric at the edge and it will create bunching if one is not careful. It is also lined and I sewed on decoration “rope” around it for fun and it might have given it a bit more volume. The waist also got a little bigger than the planned 100cm, mayhaps around 150cm
The half circle is going to have a longer diameter than the full circle skirt and it will have one seam. That is because the ratio of the waist hole och skirt is bigger since it is just an half that is sewed together to create the skirt. So while the normal circle have two half's with a circumstance of 50cm, this skirt only have one half and so that half needs to already be 100cm. If that makes any sense. The circumstance must always be 100cm for me(or whatever your measurement is). To put it easily, you need to make the ratio and diameter measurement double of what you would use in a full circle skirt.
My skirt is lined with yellow fabric and hemmed by folding the fabric, since it was just a half it was a bit easier.
Now to the double circle skirt. In short, it is two circles sewn together. You cut them out the same way as if you are making a normal circle skirt. But you make two, cut them open och sew the sides together, it will have two seams. For this pattern the waist is going to be smaller since you are sewing two waists together so here the diameter is 16cm for me in other words half the diameter used for the full circle skirt.
On my skirts, the left one is the one I used for Jeanne and it is unlined, the waist is 100cm, it is hemmed by folding and sewing which took a very long time(just remember to iron it, much easier to hem then) and it is made of cotton satin. The left is also unlined but the waist is 200cm gathered to the elastic waistband, it is hemmed with bias tape and is made of twill which is a bit stiffer than the cotton satin.
Waistband
For the elastic waistband I just measure how much I need, I usually vary it a bit since it is not so picky. The smallest is just going down my hip when I stretch it and biggest is, just not falling down my hip, also depends on where on my body I want it to sit so it can vary between 50-90 cm.
Then I sewed the edges together and measure the front, back and sides of the band and the same on the skirt, I match and pin it together. If I have a bigger skirt I measure more spots and pin it, the important part is that it should be relative to it self, so half of the skirt, and half of that and so on so that the division of the skirt will be even on the waistband.
When I sew on the waistband I layer in on top of the skirt, right side of the skirt to inside of the waistband. It is less bulky then the classic right side to right side and flip way.
Now for the way I used them in cosplay
For Piru’s dress I used a circle and then I had a “waistband” and zipper, not a good idea for this kind of dress cause it wanted to slip down. After that dress I moved to using mainly elastics and so making the process even more simpler. It had a loose petticoat since I had too little fabric to make a full circle of it.
So for my second version of Madoka I used a elastic waist band, to make it into that puffy shape I made the waist double my hip and when I sewed it on I stretched the elastic to gather it. At the bottom I gathered the hem and frills by hand, pinned them together and sewed. I also had a big petticoat, without it the skirt is just droopy.
For Jeanne’s skirt I was not sure if it was pleated or just very full but I decided to go for very full. This is two circle skirt but the waist is just enough to get it over my hip since I did not want much fabric around my waist.
Mayuri was pretty much same as Piru, it is a circle that I sewed onto the top part of the dress.
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That is pretty much it! Hope I did not forget anything. :) I wanna do a series on skirts so when I have more time I will make some square ones (not square dance) and a tutorial of that!
Most of the time wings that are a bit heavy needs the support of straps that goes around the shoulders and under the chest to stay up against your back.
Harnesses works very good but if the dress etc have bare shoulders however the straps are going to show.
This is how I normally do wings in a way to avoid having a harness for those character designs.
First of all this method will not work if the top/dress is loose fitted. The wings will require some support to hold them in place on your back. I find that corsets are the best for this especially if the wings are a bit heavy but I have also used it in tops without boning.
Start of making your wings seperated on two bars. Make sure the bars are made out of a stiff material since they are going to support the weight of the wings. If they end up being too weak and bend the wings will slope and gap away from your back.
For my angel wings in felt I used 3 mm thick aluminum bars to hold up my, a bit more heavy, wings. I then covered them in worbla and connecting them using some more worbla, This creates a good wing base and makes them stay with a good distance from each other.
In a similar way I attached an other pair of wings made out of worbla to a base, but since these wings are quite light a few layers of worbla was enough to keep them stiff and not bend.
Make sure not to make the base too short since you will stick it into your back lining and don’t want it to fall out.
One of the most important steps when doing these kinds of wings is to bend the base a bit. Most backs are not 100% flat so put the wing base against you back and mark where on the base where a gap between the base and your back starts to show.
If the base is made of a thermoplastic you can just heat it up and bend it at the marking into the right angle. Otherwise, like for the base with aluminum, you can saw it of and reattach them again to create the right angle.
You can of course make the angling of the base before attaching the wings but I find it easier to do it after.
When the base is done you can just stick it in to the top. I find that sticking it into the bra strap also helps the wings stay in place a bit better.
I personally love this method since you super easily can take the wings of and back on if you want to sit down or walk in a crowded hallway without worrying about people bumping into you wings.
~Bubblefish
(Photo at the top was taken by David Johansson)
This weekend me and Marlin went to Närcon winter and I tried out my Finn Fish cosplay from the manga Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne. I ended up forgetting the hat for it at home and the wings got a bit bent but other than that everything went good, and a few people even recognized the character anyway. ^_^
I plan on having it again this summer and add some embroidery, more details and make the staff for it.
This is a step by step tutorial on how you can make a simple bag for your cosplay.
This tutorial fits all kinds of fabrics and for this bag I used white faux leather. When working with faux leather remember that it melts under high temperatures, if you plan on ironing it use low temperature and a towel in between the iron and fabric. Also remember that when you sew in the fabric the needle marks will be visible even if you take the thread away so make sure not to sew wrongly.
1. Decide the measurements you want on the bag (this one is 10x14x2.5 cm). Remember to make the back piece longer than the front piece so it kan be used as a lid. To do this add the length of the height of the bag together with the side and the leght you want the lid to be. Cut out the parts in a fabric with at least 0.5 cm seam allowance. The fabric I used was a white faux leather.
2. Place the right sides of the front and side pieces together and sew along the marked line.
(A good idea is to sew all the way over the seam allowance at the top but to not sew over the seam allowance at the bottom. This will make it easier to later fix the upper edge and to sew in the bottom piece.)
3. Sew together the back piece with the sides.
(Do not sew all the way over the seam allowance this time since you want to be able to fold the seam allowance down later.)
4. I like to sew the bottom piece of bags on by hand. This gives you more control and the risk that the sides twists because the corners got sewed on a bit off lessens.
5. Cut out a new piece that will be the inside of your lid. Make it a bit longer than the lid actually is.
6. Put together the right sides of the lid pieces and sew like the green line shows, not all the way down the sides of the lid.
7. Turn the lid part inside out and sew on the velcro or snap fastener so you can close the lid later. (If you want you can sew the velcro on after step 5, but I like to do it here since I feel it gives me a bit more control where to place it.)
8. Flip the lid inside out again and sew the sides of the lid together.
9. Cut the seam allowance's corners of the lid, making sure not to cut of the thread, and flip the lid inside out. Take a pointy object like a chopstick or a pen and point the corners of the lid out so the get a nice edge.
10. Sew along the edge of the lid to make it lay flat and give it a bit of detail.
11. Flip the rest of the bag inside out and sew on the other part of the velcro or snap fastener on the front of the bag.
12. If you like to be able to have the bag on a belt like this one or hang it over your shoulder in a strap this is the step to add a piece of fabric on the back to pass the belt through or add the strap at the sides of the bag.
If you want a more soft look on the bag you can skip step 13 and 14 and jump directly to step 15.
13. To get a more square looking bag measure the inside of your bag and cut out pieces of cardboard (I like to use cereal boxes for this part). Make sure to measure all the way up on the seam allowance since you want to be able to fold a bit of the fabric down over the fabric.
14. Glue the cardboard to the inside of the bag.
15. Glue and fold down the edge of the upper part of the bag. A good way to keep the edge in place while it dry is to use clothespins, just make sure you don't get glue on them.
16. Glue the leftover of the inner lid piece to the bag so it stays in place.
And you are done! Simple and quick to make!
~Bubblefish
I have actually come quite a bit on Emily now, the first thing I finished was the sword! But I am not 100% happy with a detail so if I have time I will fix it before the con or if not, after. And I will put it up here when I fixed it. :)
I decided to make the scarf after crying over the vest for a week, I needed it to make sure the vest was the right shape. So I started Monday, and finished at 23 on Tuesday. :) For a tiny scarf. And that for the simple reason that I messed up. But let’s not go into that and just how I did it right haha!!
A while ago Bethesda realized a reference picture with Emily’s scarf, which I until then did not think was a triangle. So I cropped it out of the picture and made the blue parts white to save printer ink. Then I cut out everything that would not be gold.
When I had my base pattern I put some spray glue on the back, note that it was just sticky glue and not strong at all. I just used that so my pattern would stick to the vinyl for a minute.
The vinyl I have had a plastic layer on top of it that I could paint on, so I lightly dusted some black spray paint over my pattern and then I pulled it of, leaving me a perfect pattern underneath.
And I cut and cut and clipped. The hard part was then to iron the vinyl on my scarf! I tested it out with scraps on the failed scarf we don’t talk about and then I went in sections on this, was not easy and I messed up a couple of places but nothing very noticeable.
It turned out absolutely gorgeous! Just like I imagined it. Was worth my many hours of fine work and cramped up hand and arm.
Bubblefish’s 2016 cosplays and upcoming plans for 2017!
Another year has past and even though I only made three cosplays 2016 I am still very happy with especially one of them.
The first cosplay I made this year was Makise Kurisu from Steins;Gate. A pretty simple cosplay but together with Marlin and three other friends our Steins;Gate group was a lot of fun to be part of.
The second cosplay I made this year was Tama from Selector Infected Wixoss together with Marlin as Piruluk. This cosplay was a remake from 2014 and I made a bit of improvements on it compared to then.
But the big thing that happened this year was that I finally finished my Sweet Autumn cosplay from Sanctum 2! (Photo taken by Yung Senpai Photography). I had worked for such a long time on it and put so much work in to it and for a while I hated it and just wanted to throw it away and forget all about it, but in the end I finished it! The feeling of finally being able to put it all on was amazing even though it took hours to get ready at the convetion and the shoes made my feet bleed. I also entered it in two cosplay competitions and ended up winning best craftsmanship in one and best cosplay and the publics choice in the other so it feels like all my hard work was not in vain after all.
For 2017 I am planning on finish my Finn Fish cosplay from Kamikaze kaitou Jeanne that I sadly didn't had time to finish last summer.
Me and Marlin are also planning to make a duo cosplay this year. I am going to cosplay as Kyoko Mogami and Marlin as Kanae "Moko" Kotonami from the manga Skip Beat. Kyoko is my all time favorite character so I hope I can make her justice.
The last one of my cosplay plans for 2017 that I am sure about is the Barioth X armor from the game Monster hunter 4 ultimate. I am planning to take my time making this cosplay and hopefully it will be done at the end of this year.
I will probably make some other cosplays this year but who they are I am not sure about at the moment since I change my mind every few seconds.
So I though that I hadn’t done so many cosplays this yearbut wop wop 6! But I have two reworn so I only made 4, and one of those was a bought suit(but with badasss prop that made up for it). I also made them all the the first 6 months of the year. (I did start with Hawke in 2015 but made most in 2016)
I am most happy about Hawke, really glad about how it turned out and it looks just as cool on me as on the character. :) My least favorite is Mayuri, I adore the character but I did not fit her so well, but it was awesome to be in group of one of my favorite animes!
Bubblefish is (finally) bringing Finn Fish to the winter con, but I am not bringing Jeanne just because I did not really have fun with it, maybe cause it was just me but it was also quite uncomfortable, especially the wig. I also don’t have any pictures I really like because it was so bright outside so I am squinting in 98% of the pictures.
I am defiantly doing Kanae(skip beat) for the winter con if I don't fuck up the only fabric I have. I am not sure about my second winter cosplay, I really want to finish Emily(dishonored 2) in time but I am unsure cause of my lack of, fabric, and the ability to get some.
So if I don’t finish I hope to finish Scavenger Rey instead, but there as well, I lack leather! Rest is mostly done since I made the plain Rey last year.
My “I want to but I don’t know when or if” is The Crown Killer from Dishonored 2, I just really liked the design and it looks so cool and I don’t need to do any makeup. It don’t feel overly complicated either and I would really like to have that cool jacket for myself. An factor to the maybe is that the next convention is in july, and I may change my mind before that, or just don't want to wear all that in the summer.
You can use my tutorial as a base and then adapt the size, shape and color to suit your needs. This technique is mainly for wings with feathers so if you want to make for example bat or fairy wings I suggest some other material than felt. Hope this helps.
You can make angel wings in a lot of ways and this is how I made a pair out of felt for my latest cosplay. This technique is fairly simple but takes a lot of time.
I started by drawing the shape of one wing on a piece of paper (One wing was for me around 33x26 cm). It is a good idea to also draw out how you want the feathers to be on the paper wing so you can get a hint on how big they should be.
For the feathers I used white hobby felt that I cut out in to six different sizes. This step is by far the most time consuming (it take a lot of time!) and I highly recommend making a pattern of the feathers in cardboard to make the process easier. I made around 600 feathers in total to cover back and front on both wings.
To make the feathers more stiff it is a good idea to coat them with mod podge. Just one coat makes a lot of difference and help the wings keep its shape. (I did not do this step with the smallest feathers since they did not need to be stiff).
To see how I wanted the formation of the feathers I placed them out on the paper wing and took a photo so I could check it later on.
For the base of the wings I cut out the shape of the wing in craft foam. Since I wanted the small feathers on the upper part of the wings to be a bit higher up I glued on some extra craft foam there.
To hold the base up I used some black worbla that I twisted the lower part of to give them some angle so they didn’t lay flat. To make sure no color show between the feathers everything was painted white and a stripe of felt was glued over the worbla.
Next I started to glue the first row of feathers to each other. Since I did not want to glue them direcly on the foam wing yet I used needles to help mark the placement of the feathers on the next couple of layers.
When I was done gluing the bigger feathers together I took the foam base away and used some transparent paper to draw out the shape of all the feathers except the first row.
I then placed the paper over the foam base and made dots where the inner corners where the feathers on the lower row met. I then draw a line above it and cut along it. This was made because I realised that the felt feathers where a bit see through and the shape of the foam base could be seen. Higher up it were more feathers and harder to see it.
The base was glued to the feathers and was then flipped over and feathers where glued to that side as well.
For my cosplay I needed red stones on the wings. I used two glass prism, black worbla and some red and gold paint to make them. However this made the wings heavier then they needed to be so if you are making something like this, try to use a lighter material for this part.
And they are done! Time consuming but really light (even with the stones) and easy to make.
