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Close up on the embroidery panel on Padme's packing gown. 📷 by @theportraitdude #padme #amidala #skywalker #starwars #packinggown #queen #cosplay #embroidery #tambourembroidery #beading #cincinnaticomicexpo2018 https://www.instagram.com/p/BpVHcNvggTn/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=njmqd4ieimt1
Edward Kenway: Privateer part 1
Hello, Lovelies!
I am so so so sorry about the extended absence. It’s been quite the whirlwind year for me. My mom’s boyfriend has purchased a new house that we have been trying to completely renovate, I’ve got myself a new job as a consumer loan consultant for a national bank, and between the two I’ve been kept quite busy. Unfortunately, amidst all of the hustle and bustle, the blog has been completely neglected for some time now, and I really want to get back into the swing of things.
I have been able to squeeze in a few personal projects, but not as many as I would have liked, and none of which were overly complicated. Most of the year has been spent working on and off on an Assassin’s Creed outfit for my 16 year old brother. I must confess that I have been awful about taking progress photos, but I will try to make do with what I do have. We’re making him Edward Kenway’s black and silver Privateer Costume from Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag.
So far we have completed the undershirt, breeches, hooded vest/tunic, and skirt-flap-things (that’s totally the technical term). All that is left are the leather bits- jacket, pauldrons, gauntlets, and weapons holsters, along with the sash that gets wound around the waist. These two art books were absolutely invaluable in helping me decipher what is going on with the outfit even though this specific one is not pictured anywhere in the two books. I had to watch him play the game a lot as well.
The undershirt was constructed using a Butterick pattern made of handkerchief linen that I dyed black. I did not agitate the fabric while it was in the dye bath, so it came out splotchy and mottled which I really like. It adds a lot of character and depth to that piece, and because of that I don’t think that I’m going to have to age or distress the shirt too much. I also neglected to add any interfacing, so none of the shirt is stiffened. It makes it look more worn and less new, so I quite like it.
The pants are fall front breeches made of linen from this Laughing Moon pattern. We used the longer of the two lengths. I really like how they have turned out; however, I would not recommend this pattern for beginners. The instructions get a bit muddy in places and I felt like I had to make some parts up as I went because I did not understand what they were trying to say.
Nonetheless, they look great and I will probably use the pattern again. My brother says that they are really comfortable, so that’s a bonus. This fabric was put through the wash, and dried on high heat about 10 times before I cut anything out. The color didn’t fade too much, so these will probably need a bit of distressing, and we will likely let them sit out in the sun once some sunnier weather comes our way.
Here are the two early in progress shots that I still have for this project. These were taken while I was trying to draft the skirts and lower tunic, but you can really see the mottled effect on the shirt that I was talking about.
I think I’m going to leave it there for this week. Again, I’m really sorry about the long absence. I’m really going to make an effort to be better about keeping things up to date.
Thanks for reading!
XOXO,
Steph
On Commissioning Cosplay Costumes
INCOMING RANT AHEAD.
I’ve seen a TON of complaints lately about how commissioners “overcharge” or “won’t help their client help themselves with a simple costume.”
Let me unravel a few misconceptions for you.
THE MYTH: That commissioners are just greedy bastards who don’t want to help their fellow cosplayers and are using their clients’ lack of costuming knowledge against the community at large.
THE TRUTH: There’s a MAJOR difference between asking someone for advice and asking them to make something for you. The majority of commissions I’ve gotten have come from cosplayers who DO make their own, simpler costumes - they just realize that what they want to cosplay for an upcoming event is beyond their current skill level. And that’s fine!
What I need people to realize is that commissioners don’t force their clients to buy things from them. People come to us because they want something made that they realize they can’t. Could they attempt to make it themselves? Sure. Could they ask my advice about it? Yes, and I will give it freely. But here’s the catch - skills take time to learn. By entrusting the costume construction to a commissioner who has already mastered those skills, the client unburdens themselves from the worry that they won’t be able to make the costume to their satisfaction.
And here’s the thing: materials aren’t cheap, and neither are skills. The foundation of a well-made garment begins with good materials. The person you’re commissioning spent years studying (and screwing up their own stuff) so they could confidently advertise themselves and produce things that they’re proud of. They’ve invested a lot of time and money into their education and supplies, and it’s not wrong of them to want to turn a profit.
THE MYTH: Commissioners should “teach their clients so they can help themselves.”
THE TRUTH: THAT’S NOT WHAT A COMMISSIONER’S JOB IS. Why would someone want to take away their source of income? See above about advice and labor being different from each other.
Look. The truth of the matter is, I LOVE teaching people stuff about cosplay. How to budget, how to achieve certain looks, whatever. But when someone commissions me, it’s not my job to walk them through the entirety of how I made it. They’re paying me so they don’t have to worry about that aspect of the costume. Teaching someone how to sew is the EXACT OPPOSITE OF MY JOB.
(Also, just plain don’t do the thing where you say “I want to make this!” and then ask your friend or cosplay senpai about every single little detail. Google is there. Use it. Advice from more experienced people is a privilege, not a right.)
If you want to learn how to sew, you don’t ask the person you’re paying to make something for you. You find a teacher who’s willing to take the time to show you all the (extremely complex) ins and outs of garment construction. OR LOOK UP TUTORIALS, which we’ve already determined are A) different from commissioning someone and B) usually free. There, go, educate thyself.
THE MYTH: “You charge too much! I could walk into a GoodWill and make this for $20!”
THE TRUTH: If you say things like this, then I advise you to try it and post your results (and then try to sell it to someone else who doesn’t know you.) The example someone gave for “an overcharged piece” was an Ouran Academy jacket.
…Having worked in a bridal shop for the better part of a year as a tailoress, and having sewn since I was twelve, let me tell you - suit jackets are NOT cheap. Neither is custom embroidery. And tailoring them can be HARD AS SHIT, especially with goofy anime proportions. And making them from scratch is a NIGHTMARE. I’d charge a lot to make one, too!
I understand that people don’t want to break the bank on cosplay. I do. But when you’re commissioning someone, you’re paying them to make you a garment that is professional quality. All those shortcuts you use on your own costume? GONE. You aren’t allowed to have sloppy seams, unfinished hems, a missing lining, any of that. When you pay someone for a piece like an Ouran jacket, they’re expected to turn out what amounts to a real-life suit jacket, which will be, of course, expensive.
Commissioners aren’t allowed to think in terms of “I’m making Tamaki’s jacket.” They’re required to think in terms of “I’m making an extremely well-fitted blazer that happens to be powder blue for a character who attends a very wealthy school and therefore aforementioned blazer won’t be made from cheap broadcloth.”
(Also, there’s some flexibility here - if a client has a smaller budget, there are workarounds by agreeing, in writing, that the commissioner can make the garment in a lower-quality material to reduce the price. It doesn’t always work, but it’s worth a shot. And if you do do this and get a product made with lower-quality materials that YOU AGREED ON, you can’t be surprised by or complain about the fact that you didn’t get a nice gabardine instead.)
THE MYTH: “You’re taking advantage of people!”
THE TRUTH: Setting a price for a commission is a tough thing. Most undercharge because almost no one’s willing to pay the $15/hr for labor it deserves. The Luna dress I made last year went for $200, which included supplies ($120/supplies and $80/labor.) My client came back with “thank you for giving me such a deal but you are undercharging!” which tells me she’s a GREAT client, because she values my work and tells me so.
And yet, I’ve had numerous potential clients balk at stuff priced over $200, even when it’s super tailored or requires YARDS UPON YARDS UPON YARDS of fabric and tricky construction techniques. Let me tell you something - I haven’t had a single commissioned costume piece in the last five years whose supply cost was under $100. Let that sink in. Now let me tell you that I’ve had people who want an entire finished costume for less than the cost of raw supplies. Regardless of how complex the costume is, it’s preposterous to assume that something like that is sustainable for the person making it. We’re not going to volunteer to lose money to make something for someone we don’t even know, especially when the time it takes to create such a piece could be spent on people who will pay us for our work.
If people think we’re charging too much, they’re free to not commission us, but that doesn’t mean they get to blast us when they don’t even have a realistic idea of what supplies and labor cost. Yes, people should do their research and see if something is worth the price - but the onus is on the consumer, not the producer, to determine how much they want to pay. No one’s forcing you to pay $50 for a hair clip.
And when I say “research”, I mean THOROUGH research. Look at the supplies that ebay seller is using. Is it made from fabric suitable for the character and garment? Will it tear itself apart after it’s worn once? What are the conditions under which it’s being made? Can it even be washed? Will it even fit?
When you pay a commissioner, you’re not just paying for supplies. You’re paying for education, years of hard work, and what may be their food or rent for that month. You’re paying for the guarantee that the costume fit properly and hold up with proper care even after multiple conventions. They can’t afford to pay themselves sweatshop wages for that sort of thing. Our work is worth money.
IN CONCLUSION: If you prefer to make your own costumes, fine. But realize that when you make things for yourself, they are only held to your standards. Commissioners are held to a PROFESSIONAL standards, and high standards (and thereby pro construction) cost money. AND THEY SHOULD.
And to the people who complain about that price: nut up or shut up. If you’re going to complain about someone’s prices, first show me that you can do as well or better on a body that’s not your own for the price you’re demanding. Then try turning around and consistently selling complex garments for people who bemoan that your skills “aren’t worth it” even though they BEGGED you to make something for them not two weeks before.
RANT OVER.
Indiana Comic Con | Game of Thrones Cosplayers
If you see yourself, feel free to shoot us a message and we will tag you!
Found a pic of my Margaery cosplay! My sister is wearing my Daenerys and our friend is in my Tinkerbell cosplay.
Margaery Tyrell’s Wedding Dress: Part 5- Attaching the Roses
I’ve got a love/hate relationship with this dress. I’m loving how it is turning out so far, but I’m officially sick of making and attaching roses. Last week I talked about making them, this week I’ll tell you how I attached them.
Once I had stems all attached to the roses and finished with a crimp bead, I was ready to start attaching them to the train of the dress. I used my awl to stretch an opening in the leather wide enough to thread the stem through. The leather snaps back in to place really quickly, so this was a bit tricky.
When I had the stem in place, I applied a healthy bit of glue, and I used a clamp to hold it while it dried.
Overall the process was not too difficult, but repeating it over 250 times became tedious. It was totally worth it though! I’m absolutely in love with the train so far. This may turn out to be my favorite cosplay yet!
Thanks for reading!
XOXO,
Steph
Margaery Tyrell's Wedding Dress- Part 3: The Vines
This week is all about the vines. The actual dress construction took no time at all, and since there were only 6 seams, there wasn't enough content to make a full post about it. Instead, I'm going to dive on in to the detailing on the gown.
Each of the vines had to be hand stitched using invisible thread. It took a really long time, but I'm happy with how they are looking so far.
The thicker vines are made from 3 strands of metallic gimp cord threaded through the tubular mesh wire.
The thinner vines are strands of silver bolo cord. I didn't map the placement out before stitching the vines on.
I just studied photos of the original dress and free handed the placement. It's not perfect, but it looks organic, so I'm okay with imperfection in this case. The thicker vines were just whip stitched on, but the thinner vines I stitched on through the braiding. To keep the ends from unraveling I dipped them in barge.
Once the vines were stitched on, I started adding the Czech glass spikes as the thorns. I tried to emulate the placement of the thorns on the bodice as closely as possible from the reference photos I could find, but any of the hanging vines were also freehanded. So far there are roughly 300 spikes sewn on. I'm thinking there may be more before this project is finished.
The spikes on the bodice were sewn on through the fabric, but on the hanging vines I needed to stitch through the leather cord again.
To keep them a little more secure, I coated the cord in a layer of E6000 where the spikes were attached. I don't know if this is the best method but so far it seems to be working really well.
That's it for this week!
Thanks for reading!
XOXO,
Steph
Margaery Tyrell's Wedding Dress- Part 2: The Pattern
Okay, on to the actual work. Typically I would talk about how I drafted the pattern and show pictures of the process, but I actually did this right after the episode aired. This was before I started documenting my work, so I unfortunately do not have any progress photos of the pattern making process. I do have pics of the finished pattern though! It's a weird one. Looking at it, I wouldn't expect it to work, but it does, so I'm not complaining!
When I first started research for this dress, I found an interview with Michele Carragher where she mentioned that the dress was cut in one piece and that the train was a separate piece. I could not figure out how to make the shoulders and the body of the dress work as one piece, so I ended up having three pattern pieces instead of two, but the shoulder seams should be covered by foliage, so I'm not too upset about it. I also had to add a bust dart where the original dress does not have one (seriously, though... what is that magic?).
As usual, I started by draping the dress on my dress form. Once I was happy with it, I took the fabric off and made a flat pattern from the fabric pieces. I then used these pieces to create a mock-up. It fit perfectly on the first try! I love it when that happens! Again though, I have no pics of the mock up... it has been cut apart and used for another mock up since I initially made it. Fail on my part!
In any case, here is the pic of the pattern. It doesn't look like it would be fitted at all, but it turns out that it's very fitted. It was probably one of the easiest patterns I have ever drafted though, so yay for that!
I think that's it for this week.
Thanks for reading!
XOXO,
Steph
Margaery Tyrell's Purple Wedding Dress: Part 1- Supplies
I'm finally getting around to posting about the Margaery Purple wedding dress! Took me long enough, right? I must confess, this has been a dream project for me since the episode first aired (what like two years ago??? Geeze!). I'm thrilled to finally have an excuse to actually make it. Once again Indiana Comic Con has invited Game of Thrones stars to attend, and this year it's our two most hated villains- Joffrey Baratheon (Jack Gleeson) and Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon). While I absolutely abhor their characters on the show, I must say that it takes oodles of talent to make me have such a negative reaction to a character, so I'm really excited to meet these two guys! I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to make my dream project.
I typically start off a new project series with a post about how I drafted the pattern, but this time I am going to start with the supplies... and there are a lot of them... so where shall we begin? I guess I'll try to organize them by source. That should work, right?
Hobby Lobby- While I'm typically not a fan of buying fabrics from here, this time they had one that I couldn't pass up. The actual fabric for the screen dress was woven in house, so I knew that I wouldn't be able to find anything that would match it perfectly. I was going more for color than trying to find one with the large leaf print, and they happened to have the one that I liked. It was in their Home Décor section and at first glance it looks like a plain unbleached linen or muslin, but it actually has subtle silver threads running through it that pick up the light and make it look really rich and ethereal. Unfortunately, that silver is really difficult to capture in a photograph, but trust me, it looks gorgeous! It's also got a really nice weight to it- heavy enough to drape beautifully, but not so heavy that I'll be sweating profusely.
I also picked up a package of scrap leather and some crimp beads while I was here.
Fire Mountain Gems- Okay, first of all, let me say that I'm sooooo impressed with this company. This was the first time I have ever ordered anything from them, and I love every single thing I bought. Shipping was unreal as well. I ordered these things on a Saturday and they arrived on Monday- I didn't even pay for expedited shipping. They have an amazing online catalogue- go check them out!
First I bought Czech glass spike beads in silver in both the 17 and 13mm sizes. They have sort of a matte finish to them and will be used as the thorns
Next is the Italian tubular wire mesh. This stuff is not cheap... It will be used to make the stems for the roses, the thicker vines on the bodice, and the hanging rosebuds.
I also bought some Labradorite beads for the center of some of the flowers.
And some small metal rose beads.
Rokymountainwestern.com- This is where I bought the silver braided leather for the vines. This is actually meant to be used as bolo ties, but it looks like the stuff they used on the actual dress, so I went with it... 30 meters of it...sometimes being tall is expensive.
Etsy- Specifically APinkSwan on Etsy. They were my suppliers for the velvet leaves. Again, really impressed with their shipping.
JoAnn Fabrics- Just some odds and ends here. The invisible zipper, some hooks and bars. I also grabbed some invisible thread here.
And some faux pearls in two shades of grey.
And my adhesives.
I also picked up some leather paint
H&M- I know, weird. They actually had a rose headband that was made of pleather, so I grabbed it. Saves me from having to make them myself!
Um... I think that's it for supplies... The lining fabric was left over from another project... Wow, that turned into a really long post.... sorry!
If you stuck through, thanks for reading!
XOXO,
Steph
Last set from Ohayocon (I think)! These were taken by Colleen of CTGraphy. Give her a follow here on Tumblr. She also has an amazing Flickr page full of fun stuff. If you've got an account, be sure to give her a follow there too!
I hope you like them!
XOXO,
Steph
More from Ohayocon! This set was taken by the talented David Blue of Cerulean Photography. Check out his work on Facebook.
Hope you like them!
XOXO,
Steph
After a long absence...
I'm back! So sorry for the incredibly long absence...I was dealing with some health issues and really didn't have the energy to put into blogging. My last post talked about two projects that were based on store-bought patterns... well to my disappointment the fit on both was not so great and I didn't have the patience to try to alter them. If I ever get around to making the alterations, I will post about them in the future.
At the moment I am starting a new new project- Margaery Tyrell's wedding gown from season 4 of the Game of Thrones... yep, the one with the roses. I don't have enough content to write up a full post just yet, but I did just get some photos back of the Daenerys costume from Ohayocon, so I thought I'd post those.
This first one was taken by Keith Klitses. Check out his work at greyroamerphoto.wix.com/greyroamerphoto.
I lovelovelove this one- you can actually see a lot of the detail work that doesn't normally show up in photos. Thanks Keith!
More photo to come!
Thanks for reading!
XOXO,
Steph
New Projects!
So, I got a bit of shopping done for some upcoming projects, and I'm really excited about them! The first one is obviously a result of my brain still being in Disney mode as my sister pointed out that it might be perfect for a Minnie Disney Bound. I just can't resist a good polka dot fabric, and I will be using the white crepe as a contrast fabric for certain pattern pieces.
And the second one is a pattern to use on gorgeous crepe backed satin that I've had sitting in my stock pile for a few years now. It's a 1930s style evening gown, and I think it will be stunning when it's finished.
I can't wait to get started on these! I just need to decide which one to start first!
Thanks for reading!
XOXO,
Steph
Quick Update
It's been a few weeks since I posted anything on here, and frankly, I haven't had much time for sewing. The last few posts were updates from my trip to Disney World. I had a blast! I still have a bunch of photos, so I may be posting a few more in the coming weeks, but I'll try to keep that to a minimum.
I also posted a few weeks ago about my family dog passing away. Well, to my surprise, the day I returned from my trip we got a new addition to the family in the form of an eight week old ball of fluff. His name is Jackson and he is a four pound, two ounce ball of energy. I already love him, but the little guy has been preoccupying most of my non-work time. I'm really going to try to get some sewing done this week, but I can't make any guarantees.
Thanks for reading!
XOXO,
Steph
So not ready to leave my bestie yet! Thanks for making my trip wonderful, and see ya next year! (at Orlando International Airport (MCO))
Flippin' my fins with Ariel tonight! (at Disney's Magic Kingdom)
Game of Thrones + Risk = We are nerds
Oh, it's a jolly holiday with Mary! (at Epcot - Walt Disney World)
