My Process

Haven't posted in a while, but I haven't had a costume I'm working on. I'm pretty much ready for Otakon and just been making plushies over at my other blog.

Even though it's early I like to think of the next thing I want to cosplay. I tend to like to pick something out early so I can plan ahead for it. So for this post I'll go through my process and how I plan and start making a costume. For this example, I'm going through what I did when I cosplayed Clover from 999.

Decision
The first and most obvious thing is to pick what character you want to cosplay. Shouldn't be difficult, right? It can be if you're one of those people (like myself) who have a million things they want to cosplay. Narrowing it down comes down to a few factors; skill, money, and if there's anyone else who wants to cosplay with me. Not that I need a group to cosplay but sometimes a group can make it more fun. In this case I had several people who wanted to cosplay from the game with me, and I had plenty of time to make it, so I decided on Clover.

References
A very important part in making the costume, I need good references so I can get it as accurate as possible. It's good to try and collect as much as you can, the more the better, that way it's easier to make the costume. 999 has a small fandom but a really dedicated one, so I had a few good references to go off of, for colors, shapes, etc.


I had a lot of really decent references to go off of, so I knew how everything was supposed to look. Sometimes you might have the issue of color variation, like between the illustration and the height chart they show there. The top image is more true to the in-game, so I tried to base everything more off that. Which meant her sweatshirt was baggier, a bit looser fitting, and the colors were brighter. Though for my wig, it ended up being closer in color to the illustration.

Fabric/Patterns
I try and hunt for patterns first before I worry about getting fabric. It's always nice to have the extra fabric, but if you can't afford it, it's better to know how much you actually need. Most of my patterns I get online from sewingpatterns.com. It's great because you can download and print what parts you need and it's super cheep to download it. Another option is to wait until Joannes (or any local fabric store) has a sale. Joannes has a ton of amazing coupons and they have $1 pattern sales.
For Clover I used Butterick 5285 for the skirt and shortened it to match the length I needed. And for the sweatshirt I used See&Sew B4331, though sadly I got a size too big, and had to size it down a bit. The slight oversize I had ended up working out in the end because I needed it to be a bit baggy.
The leggings I ended up patterning myself, it's a basic sort of triangle shape and then the bottom part has elastic in it so I can stick the boot through and get the right shape that she has. I looked up some stuff online for the right shape, you can find a lot of free patterns online if you search.

Wig
Most of my wigs I get through ebay. A lot of Chinese sellers have wigs for cheep and don't have shipping, but they take a long time to ship. There are plenty of decent US companies who sell wigs targeted towards cosplays, like Arda-Wigs. It all depends on what you need. For Clover I found a curly burgundy wig on ebay.
Styling all depends on your character. For Clover I needed a fluffy pigtailed look, luckily I had this tutorial I could base it off of:


And then the near final result, before I trimmed the bangs.

Wig styling is a tricky thing, because if you mess up it can sometimes be irreversible. You just have to experiment, that's the only way you can get better at it. I can't really claim to be an expert, I've only really had to do minor trimming and styling, but it's the best advice I can give. Try and get yourself some decent tools. Get yourself a pair of scissors that you'll only use to cut wigs for. And also a pair of thinning sheers, which will allow the cuts to look less blunt and more natural.
As for when I get the wig, I try and order it as soon as I want to do the character, so sometimes it could come before I start sewing and sometimes it comes after. I can't say when's the best time to start working on the wig, I guess the best is when you feel comfortable doing it.

Sewing
I guess most of this is sort of covered in the fabric part, but the actual sewing part is sort of a big thing in making a costume. Getting yourself a decent sewing machine is a plus. For basics you need a machine that has several stitching functions. It's really helpful if you can get a serger, so you can hem everything. But they are expensive. A cheaper alternative is to get a machine with a zigzag stitch. It doesn't completely replace a serger but it's a decent alternative. Also a good thing to keep at your side is fray check, to keep the fabric from fraying too much.
For Clover, I used my Janome machine. It has several stitch functions, enough so I could make it completely, use my zigzag, and if needed to, create button holes. A lot of really decent machines you can buy refurbished.

Buying
This is the last section I'll include in making everything. Because there's a good number of things I can't really make on my own, like shoes. Again, like the wig, most of the stuff I buy is on ebay. I like using ebay because most everything you can get is a lot cheaper then anywhere else. The blouse was a bought item as well, because it's so basic, it's an item that you sort of just want to own for multiple cosplays or outfits. Sometimes it's good to have basics because they can be reused.

That's about my whole process right there. Whenever you finish make sure you take a lot of photos of your completed it!

New Blog

Not really a major update or anything. I just wanted to post that I decided to move all of my Plushy stuff to a new blog. Check it out here.

It has all my projects and how you can commission me for a plush if you so wish to! Anyway feel free to check it out!

Kamila [Finished]

I finished up Kamila from Ghost Trick! Probably one of my easier ones to finish up. Just the dress, bow, jacket and brooch she wears.


The wig I got on ebay from comic-wig and just trimmed up a bit. The bow was from some leftover yellow fabric I had sitting around. The bow part itself has interfacing in it to make it stiff and its just pinned into the wig.



Don't mind Maya's wig in the back haha.

There's a few extra accessories I have for her. Headphones and of course a Missile plushie.



The rest was pretty easy. The jacket part was part of a bolero pattern that I got from a wedding dress pattern. And the dress part was the same pattern from my Red Hood Miku outfit, just without the sleeves. The fabric itself is just a comfortable poplin, both of them really perfect for summer weather. The brooch is just filmo clay and pinned on. And of course the finished costume!





Alright! Almost ready for Otakon. Just need to get the rest of my accessories for Claudia. then of course decide if I feel like making anything else. It might just bring my other stuff to re-wear for Otakon, make it easy.

Claudia Progress

So for a while now I've been saying that I'd be working on Claudia from Assassin's Creed Brotherhood. I finally have all the materials I need and I can finally start working on her. My biggest issue before was that I was waiting on the materials to come in, basically trying to deal with the Holiday shipping nightmare. Which was fine, because it gave more more time to get other things done (like Merryweather). But now I decided that it would be a grand idea to sweat like mad at Otakon with this outfit.



As a reminder that's the outfit I'm doing. Luckily for me there's no real render of it and everything I rely on is by screen-cap. Which was fun hunting for but I managed to get a nice collection.

I really had to fuss with the patter of the "tunic" part she has. I ended up modifying a strapless dress pattern. The way it was shown I had to alternate between the two fabrics. I really lucked out and got this really beautiful brocade. It's so soft, but it frays so badly.



I ended up adding a zipper in the back. I'm pretty sure the way everything is done with clasps but for my own purposes I went with a zipper in the back.



The belt and shoes are stand ins for the photo, but that's the tunic put together. The shirt is sewn in, mostly so I could avoid massive amounts of layers, at least as many as I could. And the last thing I finished off was the cloak. At least the sewing portion.



The shoulder part was pretty difficult. I've really never had to make a caplet or an odd collar thing. The collar part was modified from my Red Hood Miku pattern as the hood. The caplet part was a modified pattern I had. That's about all I have for Claudia now. I still need to get the boots and bracers and fix up a few little details.

Also some bonus progress for a wig and plushy. Working on Kamila from Ghost Trick.

Wig Collection

I did a little thing recently where I posted all the wigs I owned so I thought I'd share here.

Two of my wigs aren't pictured. One is a really super thin wig that isn't wearable, one that I'm scrapping for wefts. And the other is the wig I used for Maya Fey, which sadly isn't so great looking, I really need to go try and salvage that wig.

Also I updated the Resources section, a TON of new tutorials were added and a few new links as well. I'm still slowly working through Claudia right now, bias tape is a pain.

Con Survival Tips

I've seen a few threads on these before, but I figured I'd post my own sort of "survival" tips that have always worked for myself in the past. These of course aren't anything that are solid. Different things work for different people. But this has what's worked for me in the past so I figured I'd share!

Packing
Lists are your friends.
I have a pretty terrible memory so I'd rather just write everything down and make sure I got everything I wanted. I can't tell you the number of times I've forgotten my contacts. It's really easy to over pack and under-pack.
Fold everything.
One thing that really helps save space is making sure all your clothes/costumes are folded. It allows you to pack more things if you need to.
Wear your shoes.
This sounds sort of silly, but if you're running out of space you could wear a pair of shoes to the convention. I wouldn't recommend this if you have some oddly shaped or really modified shoes. But if you have something basic like sneakers or a pair of boots, it can save a ton of space.
Travel sized containers
For stuff like shampoo and soap you can buy little containers to put all that stuff in. Rather then dragging a giant bottle of shampoo or using whatever the hotel might have.
Bags, one or many.
Luggage can depend on your travel means. Are you in a car? Are you driving with several other people? It might be best to pack light so you can fit everyone's stuff. If not then get one of those larger suitcases. I have a large roller suitcase I prefer to stick everything. If I'm strapped for car space I tend to take a large dufflebag.

Travel
A lot of travel stuff is pretty obvious. You cans save money if you split gas and tolls. I've always found it cheaper to drive and split costs but obviously that's not always possible. Bring snacks that you can eat in the car and at the hotel room.

Room
It's super easy to just let yourself throw your things everywhere. What I like to do is just pick a spot and try and keep all my things there. Even if I don't repack it right afterwards, as long as it's all there I don't have to hunt around the hotel room to find it. And more then likely, you'll be sharing that room with several people. If you don't then you're lucky to have the extra space!

Con
Carrying stuff
Carry only what you really need. That much is obvious enough, but like packing it's pretty easy to take what you don't need. Assuming you're cosplaying you probably won't have any pockets, you'll probably have to carry a purse or a bag. I used to carry a nice big bag to carry everything but lately I've been downsizing and carrying small clutches. They have a handle to keep around my wrist and it's easier to hide for photos or keep with me. Some rooms (dealers room, artist alley, game rooms, etc) have bag policies, and won't let you take in bags that are bigger then a certain size. So it's whatever is easier for you. Generally what I carry is...
- Cards (creditcards, ID)
- Cash
- Chap-stick
And that's about it. I have my camera on hand.
Badges
This is a minor thing but I always hate whenever I have my badge, forget to move it and someone takes a photo and it's there. It can distract from a really amazing costume. What I like to do is attach my badge to my bag. That way I always have it with me, I never worry about loosing it and I never worry about it in photos.
Water
A lot of cons have little coolers they post around, but during the summer it gets really hot. I like to carry a water-bottle with me. Whenever I can I just refill it and be on my way. Saves money on drinking and its a lifesaver during summer cons.
Asking for photos
I think most people know how to be polite, or ask politely for a photo. For the most part people will say yes. I've only ever had one person tell me no when I asked for a photo. If they say no, it's not a big deal. Whatever their reasons are, reasonable or not, it's their own. And in the end it's only a photo.

For now that's all I have or can really think of. If you have any feel free to comment.

I promised I'd post the nicer photos of Fastener, here they are.

The patterns were a bit more tough to construct. The first set of patterns were way too small. That and he's such an odd shape, so there really isn't anything online where you can get it easily. The zipper clasp parts are made from scuply and painted.

Also working on Claudia from Assassin's Creed Brotherhood. Probably the most intricate that I've had to do in a while. The brocade that I got is really beautiful. I really lucked into it, and got a good amount online to really play with.



The main part was sort of modeled off a dress pattern that I had and modified. And then the shirt part is sewn in together.



For the photo, the boots and belt are a stand in. Now that I have the time to really work on her, I can take my time and find some nice boots, or a decent belt. I still need to make the bracers she wears and the cloak. The cloak isn't to difficult, I've made a hooded cloak before. I've never made bracers, so it'll be interesting to see how they turn out. I can't say they'd be the best, but I've got the time to work it out. I think I'm really sort of avoiding having to make them at this point because I've never worked with the material and I've already messed up when I tried to the first time. So we'll see.

Also we'll see how this will fare during the summer, because with all this brocade and nice fabric I will be sweating like mad.