For my next convention I will be sewing my own cosplay for the very first time. Being in LwL I have been fortunate enough to have Bal sew our costumes but it is no longer fair to do this so we are all sewing are own cosplays now. I have just started to sew mine and will be picking up my pattern, material & interfacing up on monday to start sewing :S I wanted to share with you any tips I've found useful so far for you beginner sewers!!
1.) The cosplay
Choosing your cosplay is a key part. You will want to choose something simple. I would not reccommend going all out (assuming you've never sewed before) and thinking you can handle it because most likely you won't be able to! I know this from experience! You'll need to first asses how easy the piece will be to make. Even easy looking cosplays may be hard to actually sew (what seems a simple skirt may be extremely complicated and require different sewing techniques). Trial and error is important. I originally wanted to do Senbonzakura Miku, but upon adding up how much it would cost I realised that it would extremely expensive despite it's simpler look. If you have someone to help you then go ahead and ask them if they think a certain cosplay will be easy to make. If you like elaborate costumes then maybe choose something with easy sewing but an impressive prop which would be easy although a little time consuming to make.
2.) Choosing a pattern
Don't run away the second you look at your pattern. It may have lines and jargon printed all over it but you can look these up, ask for help or figure it out yourself. You may not even need to use all the funny lines etc printed on your pattern. Before you choose your pattern try and think mentally if the picture looks like it has lots of componants that need sewing together and if the shape is quite complex as this will help you pick a simpler, easiser pattern. When choosing a pattern as well you may look in a pattern book in a shop. If doing this try and overlook the original purpose, colour or print of the pattern and imagine the basic outline. Is this the right shape? Will this work? For example; what was originally a granny-style suit turned into Bal's Seras dress! See here!
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| You can easily use a pattern just based on it's shape, not it's purpose/colour etc |
3.) The buisiness of sewing
So you've got your pattern, material thread and any other things you need. Now it's time to sew it all together!
STOP! Firstly, you need to get used to your own sewing machine (unless you plan to sew the whole thing by hand...). I took my sewing machine apart and couldn't get it back together for a whole hour. I had to find the pdf of the manual to my outdated sewing machine online after much finding. However I did learn how to change the base thread at the same time and in the end I worked out how to put it together myself as the manual was no use. You'll need to learn how to thread the bottom and top thread and try experimenting with the different types of stitch your machine is capable off. If you are a beginner then a steady pace will help you keep a good sewing line to avoid the threads getting tangled or worse: OIL ON YOUR THREAD D: I was sewing something white just today and I'm glad I did a quick practice on some scrap fabric as because I wasn't good at sewing (so kept jamming the threads etc.) there was oil on my white thread. Not good if you are sewing light or even white fabric.
I'd also recommend practicing hemming etc. on some scrap fabric. It takes a while to get used to your machine and to learn to sew in the line that you want! Remember as well that depending on your fabric you may need a different needle in your machine (special ones for thicker fabrics) and if the fabric is a different colour then don't forget to change both top and bottom threads. Unless you're going for multi-coloured because one colour is too mainstream. Books as well can be usefull (no, not for beating the crap out of the sewing machine in a moment of desparation). Books on sewing can be very informative on clearing up any jargon and showing you techniques and tips that you'll find usefull. I picked up a bit of an outdated sewing book from the library. It was free and it had pictures and plenty of information. So just go on down to your library and take a look!
Also if you wish to sew a pattern then do not just make it shorter. This may make it fall in the wrong way. You can google this but on your pattern there should be a special like that you fold along and this is the line to make it shorter! Also pay close attention to your pattern, it'll come with instructions on how to sew it. Read it over and over until you can map out in your head what you're going to do which'll stop you making silly mistakes. And google anything you don't understand :)
4.) Tools
This is simple. You'll need pins and scissors of course. But other things might come in handy such as glue, tweesers, a lighter and tape. You might be able to burn any hems (but omg be careful don't set fire to your cosplay or anything else!) if you're too lazy or you messed up and forgot to hem a bit or if you forgot to hem something too you could try dabbing glue on the edges so it doesn't start fraying (this won't be noticable on small pieces like accessories or gloves). You never know what you will need so expect the unexpected (I had to use tape to tape some cardboard back onto the machine which kept the thread tension right).
5.) Time
It's a lot more time consuming than you think, especially if you are a super beginner like me! It took me half an hour just to sew a hair bow. So make sure you leave plenty of time if you're wearing your cosplay to a convention as you never know when you'll have lots of homework/work/problems/exams to deal with.
This is all I can think of so far, so I'll more with you when I come across them!
