DIY Protective Face Mask

As there is now a recommendation for people to wear non-medical grade face #masks when outdoors or around others, we wanted to share several different ways to make your own face mask.

To maximize protection, use a tightly woven fabric; knit fabrics will not offer as much protection.  It’s very important to remember that a face mask alone won’t necessarily prevent you from being infected with #COVID19. You will still need to practice other precautions, including social distancing, hand-washing and not putting your hands to your face.

The COVID-19 virus is roughly 70-90 nanometers in diameter. A nanometer is a billionth of a meter. (In terms of inches, the virus’ diameter is roughly 2.76 millionths of an inch to 3.54 millionths of an inch.) Bacteria typically range from 0.2 to 2 micrometers (millionths of a meter.

From NBC News:

“The best masks were constructed of two layers of heavyweight “quilters cotton” with a thread count of at least 180, and had thicker and tighter weave.

Lesser quality fabrics also worked well, as long as they had an internal layer of flannel.”

Here are two sources for instructions on constructing a protective cloth mask:

• Vanderbilt University Medical Center
• Kaiser Permanente (PDF File)

If you don’t have a sewing machine or you don’t know how to sew, there’s actually a technique of using a bandana and 2 rubber bands to construct a mask, as posted by Kristin Omdahl on #YouTube:

The following YouTube video from Sewing Seeds Of Love shows how to sew a pleated face mask:

Here’s a video from Leah Day for sewing your own face mask that includes a filter pocket:

References

• Making your own face mask? Some fabrics work better than others, study finds
• Mask Making Instructions from Vanderbilt University Medical Center
• Mask Making Instructions from Kaiser Permanente
• Kristin Omdahl’s YouTube Channel
• Sewing Seeds of Love YouTube Channel
• Leah Day’s YouTube Channel

 

DIY Wizard’s Hat

A wizard’s hat can be very similar to a witch’s hat, but there are some differences in the brim and overall construction techniques. Unlike a witch’s hat which is often thin, has a flat brim, and typically uses either EVA foam or a wire inside of the fabric to maintain the shape, a wizard’s hat has a thicker, stuffed brim that bends downwards as it moves further away from the center. Thus, a combination of fabric shaping and batting provides the overall shape making it a slightly more complicated process.

YouTuber CWLbuilds shows how to construct a wizard’s hat composed solely of felt and batting:

YouTuber Zab shows shows how to construct a wizard’s hat (specifically, a Gandalf hat from the “Lord of the Rings” / “The Hobbit” movie franchise) using a similar process, but with greater attention to proper sizing for your head:

References

• DIY Witch’s Hat
• CWLbuilds’ YouTube Channel
• Zab’s YouTube Channel

DIY Witch’s Hat

There are several ways to construct a witch’s hat for #Halloween. Here are several DIY videos showing how to construct one. And, they’re all inexpensive to make!

From KraftKlatch:

From AY TV:

From Becca Beach:

References

• KraftKlatch’s YouTube Channel 
• AY TV’s YouTube Channel
• Becca Beach’s YouTube Channel

Stormtrooper Led Funeral Procession for “Star Wars” fan, who Used to Cosplay as Chewbacca

#StarWars fan Alan ‘Azzer’ Mattocks was found dead in the garden of his home only weeks after stopping a woman from jumping off an A50 bridge in the U.K. At last week’s funeral, a man dressed as an Imperial Stormtrooper led the funeral party for Azzer, who spent his spare time #cosplaying as Chewbacca. A procession of motorbikes also joined the cortege as hundreds of mourners came together to celebrate Azzer’s life, who was also a biker.

Our sincerest condolences to the family & friends of Alan ‘Azzer’ Mattocks. May the Force be with him.

References:

• ‘A unique service to a unique man’ – Stormtrooper leads funeral procession for life-saving Star Wars fan ‘Azzer’ who used to dress as Chewbacca

Selecting the Best Fabrics for a Cosplay

As we discussed in our Introduction to Fabrics post last year, there are many different types of fabrics, but some are better suited for #cosplay than others. Also, some fabrics are better suited for specific types of garments than others. Let’s say, for example, that you want to make a form-fitted body suit for a superhero cosplay. Would a woven fabric be the best choice, or a knit fabric? Well, if you selected a woven fabric, not only would it not stretch in order to conform to your body shape, it would probably be very difficult to move in if you tried to make it form-fitting. A knit fabric, on the other hand, does stretch and can be made to be form-fitting; but, not just any knit fabric would necessarily be the best choice for a superhero body suit.

Below is a video that YouTuber MangoSirene posted about her top 5 fabrics for cosplay.

YouTuber Whitney Sews describes a way to select a fabric for a cosplay for people who aren’t that familiar with different types of fabrics.

YouTuber Alana Owlet shares 5 tips for selecting fabric for cosplay in this video:

YouTuber & cosplayer Scott Bayles recently posted this general sewing basics video that begins with a discussion about different fabrics and which ones he uses for specific types of items and cosplays:

Our Recommendations

Before you start a cosplay, here are some recommendations:

• Take a little time to learn about different fabrics if you aren’t familiar with them. Our Introduction to Fabrics blog post gives a general breakdown and there are plenty of other online resources.
• Go to a fabric store and take some time to examine different fabrics, especially if you aren’t familiar with them. See how different fabrics feel and how they move.
• If you are planning to dye fabric, you’ll need to use one made from natural materials like cotton or silk. Synthetic fabrics don’t dye well.
• Know the character that you are planning to cosplay and select fabric types that best match what that character wears. Don’t base your selection on color alone.
• Be careful with how breathable a fabric is because over-heating while cosplaying isn’t fun.

References

• Introduction to Fabrics
• MangoSirene’s YouTube Channel
• Whitney Sews YouTube Channel
• Alana Owlet’s YouTube Channel
• Scott Bayles YouTube Channel

Sewing Terms

As sewing is an essential skill in making your own #costumes & #cosplays, there are terms used specifically for sewing that novices may not be familiar with. Here are some of them.

We have broken up the terms into 3 categories:

• Fabric terms.
• Stitching terms.
• Garment terms.

Fabric Terms

• Grain: this a reference to an orientation with respect to the warp and weft threads. Hence, only woven fabrics has grains. Fabrics such as leather, felt and interfacing don’t have grains because they’re not woven. There are three named grains:
  • Bias (or Bias Grain): this is the orientation on a woven fabric that is 45 degrees to both the warp and weft threads. Thus, every woven fabric has two bias directions that are perpendicular to each other. Woven fabric is more elastic as well as more fluid in the bias direction, compared to the straight grain and crossgrain.
  • Crossgrain: this is the orientation that runs perpendicular to the selvage and parallel to the weft threads. The crossgrain generally has more stretch than the straight grain since the weft threads are generally looser than the warp during weaving.
  • Straight Grain: the orientation that is parallel with the warp threads and the selvage. The straight grain typically has less stretch than the crossgrain since the warp threads will be pulled tighter than the weft during weaving. Most garments are cut with the straight grain oriented top to bottom.

• Grain Line: an imaginary line running lengthwise on the fabric, always parallel to the selvage. The grain line is marked on pattern pieces with a straight line, usually with arrows at either end, and marked as “grain line” or “straight grain.”
• Nap: the raised (fuzzy) surface on certain kinds of fabric, such as velvet or moleskin. Nap can refer additionally to other surfaces that look like the surface of a napped cloth, such as the surface of a felt or beaver hat.
• Right Side: side of the fabric designed to be on the outside of the garment. Sewing directions usually instruct to put right sides together and stitch, resulting in fabric seamed together with the seam allowances on the inside of the garment.
• Selvage: this is a “self-finished” edge of a fabric. “Self-finished” means that the edge does not require additional finishing work (such as a hem or bias tape) to prevent fraying.
  • In woven fabric, selvages are the edges that run parallel to the warp that are created by the weft thread looping back at the end of each row.
  • In knitted fabric, selvages are the unfinished yet structurally sound edges that were neither cast on nor bound off.

• Warp and Weft: these are the two types of threads (or yarns) used to weave fabric. Warp threads are held stationary in tension on a frame or loom, while weft is the transverse thread that is drawn through and inserted under-and-over the warp. A single thread of the weft crossing the warp is called a pick, while an individual warp thread is called a warp end or end.

• Wrong Side: side of the fabric intended to be on the inside of the garment. On some fabrics it is apparent which is the wrong or right side, such as on prints, but on other fabrics both sides can look the same.
• Yardage: a length of fabric. Patterns will indicate required yardage needed for a garment in a specific size, detailing how much yardage is needed.

Stitching Terms

• Basting: this refers to temporary, long-running stitches (made by machine or by hand) that holds fabric together before final, permanent stitching is used.
• Clipping: snips made in the seam allowance, up to but not through the stitching, to allow the fabric to open around curves or to lay flat.
• Edge Stitch: a line of stitching very close to a seam or garment edge.
• French Seam: a finished seam in which the seam is initially stitched with wrong sides together, then flipped inside and stitched right sides together. This encloses the seam allowance, creating a clean finish on the inside of the garment.
• Gathering: a process of taking up a length of fabric in order to seam it to a shorter piece of fabric.
• Grading: there are 2 definitions:
  • After a seam is stitched, the two layers are trimmed to a different width in order to prevent a ridge showing on the outside of the garment seam.
  • It may also refer to the process of converting a pattern size to a larger or smaller size.
• Seam:  the join where two or more layers of fabric, leather, or other materials are held together with stitches.
• Seam Allowance: the distance from the edge of the cut fabric piece to the stitching, which can vary according to the pattern and fabric.
• Stay Stitch: a line of machine stitches on or near the seam, stitched on a single layer of fabric, used to stabilize a cut edge.
• Stitch Length: the length of a single stitch, which affects the amount of fabric moved through the machine per stitch. Fewer stitches per inch means each stitch is longer, up to and including basting stitches.
• Topstitch: a row of stitches seen on the outside of a garment that can be decorative and also add strength and wearability to an item.
• Under Stitch: a row of stitching that attaches the facing to the seam allowance on the inside of the garment.

Garment Terms

• Dart: a fold (a tuck coming to a point) and sewn into fabric to take in ease and provide shape to a garment, especially for a woman’s bust. Darts are used in all sorts of clothing to tailor the garment to the wearer’s shape, or to make an innovative shape in the garment.
• Ease: the amount of room a garment allows the wearer beyond the measurements of their body.
• Facing: a small piece of fabric, separate or a part of the fabric itself, used to finish the fabric edges. Facing makes a garment look professionally finished with the seams well hidden inside the folds of the facing. It’s mostly used to finish the edges in necklines, armholes, hems and openings. They’re also used in other sewn items, such as quilts and curtain hems.
• Hem: a garment finishing method in which the edge of a piece of fabric is folded narrowly and sewn to prevent fraying.
• Interfacing: a layer of of fabric used to stabilize the fashion fabric in a garment. Interfacing can be woven or non-woven, fusible or sew in.

References

• 16 Garment-Sewing Terms You Need to Know
• Wikipedia

Tips for Designing a Fursuit

For anyone who hasn’t designed a #fursuit before, here are some practical tips that you might want to consider.

Fur Colors

If you’re planning to use white fur, you might want to be careful about where you use it. Since white fur shows dirt more than any other color, you might want to avoid putting white on areas that are prone to being exposed to dirt, such as the feet, the butt or the bottom of the tail. All of these areas are more prone to getting dirty and white fur isn’t necessarily easy to clean. In other words, white fur can require higher maintenance to keep clean.

If you’re planning to use a lot of black fur, please bear in mind that suits that are mostly black tend to not show up well in photos or videos with other suits. Also, mostly black suits are hard to see overall in low light situations.

Complicated Designs

As many fursuits are based on artwork, color mixing and color fading that produce many shades aren’t easily done with sewing. When color fading or mixing is used on a fursuit, it’s usually achieved by airbrushing. While airbrushing can look great, not all fursuit makers use airbrushing. If they do offer airbrushing, it will add to the overall cost of the suit. Also, washing a fursuit can damage airbrushed paint, which means that after multiple washings, airbrushing may have to be redone.

If you’re considering symbols or other intricate designs to be sewn into the suit, please bear in mind that additional seams can weaken the fursuit. So you’d want to be careful about not placing intricate designs or symbols in areas that are going to stretch while wearing the suit. Also, additional sewing will also increase the price of a fursuit from a maker. It will also potentially increase the amount of maintenance that a suit needs.

Wings

Wings might look great, but they can be highly problematic on a fursuit. Not only do they add to the overall weight of the suit (which can make the suit more uncomfortable to wear), they can start to sag over time. Some fursuiters who incorporate wings make them removable so that they don’t have to wear them all the time. Wings add to the overall size of your character and greatly increase the likelihood of you bumping into things and people or people bumping into you. Wings also add to the amount of material that has to be shipped to conventions.

Acknowledgement

Thanks to Pocari Roo, who’s video inspired this article.

References

• Picari Roo’s YouTube Channel

 

DIY: Making a Fursuit Head

The most distinguishing feature of any #fursuit #cosplay is its head. The head is probably the single most important element to any fursuit because the head is what helps to define the identity and species of the type of anthropomorphic character that the #fursuiter is portraying more than any other component. It’s also often the part of the fursuit that draws the most attention.

We’ll begin by stating that there are multiple ways in which a fursuit head can be constructed, but the primary components that are almost always used in all fursuit heads are (1) foam and (2) fur.

• Foam is what gives the fursuit head its overall shape. Other materials (such as EVA foam or parts casted from resin) may also be used as part of the inner structure.
• Synthetic fur (in typically different colors) is then applied to the outside of the head in patterns according to how the wearer wants it to look.

Other materials that you will need include the following:

• Hot glue gun & sticks (a lot of stick)
• Scissors
• Measuring tape / ruler
• Sewing (a sewing machine is recommended, but some sewing will have to be done by hand)
• A head form
• Hair clippers (for cutting the synthetic fur)
• Vacuum cleaner (for cleaning up debris)

Most fursuit heads have static jaws, but if a fursuiter wants the jaw to move as they move their mouth on the inside, that needs to be taken into account before any work is done in constructing the fursuit head.

Several Documented Methods

For simplicity, we’ll break down some of the techniques for making a fursuit head into the following methods that we arbitrarily named. An important note: these aren’t necessarily the only ways in which a fursuit head can be constructed.

• Method A (Static jaw, from the inside out over a balaclava base)
  • Start with a knit balaclava as the first inner layer.
  • While wearing the balaclava, wrap a sheet of foam around the head to form a cylinder that’s the same size as the maximum diameter of the wearer’s head.
  • With the balaclava removed, glue and and shape the cylinder around the sides and top of the head.
  • More foam is then added, shaped and sculpted to form the head of the anthropomorphic character before any fur is added.
• Method B (Static jaw, from the outside in starting with wide foam)
  • Start with two very thick pieces of foam (like a foam mattress) and glue them together.
  • Begin to cut and shape the exterior of the anthropomorphic character by working inwardly. This is like creating an actual sculpture.
  • Gouge out the shape for the wearer’s head to fit inside of the sculpted head.
• Method C (Static or movable jaw, from the inside out over an elastic strap base)
  • Create a simple structure for the head using 3 pieces of cut elastic strap, one of which goes around the chin.
  • Begin attaching foam pieces to the stretched elastic straps (that are on a head mold) to form a base layer of foam.
  • After attaching the foam to the chin area, cut the foam (and not the elastic beneath) if you want a movable jaw.
  • Ad more foam that is shaped and cut similar to what was done in Method A.
• Method D (Movable jaw, from the inside out & using a resin-casted muzzle)
  • To do this method, starting with Method A or C for the base layer will be a good starting point.
  • Instead of forming a muzzle out of foam, use a hinged resin-casted muzzle (purchased from a prop maker) as the base of the muzzle. Then add foam over of the resin to create the desired head shape.
  • Of the various methods listed, this is probably the most expensive due to the need to purchase a resin-casted muzzle.

Now for the example videos.

Method A is shown by Skyehigh Studios:

We also recommend watching an 8-part video series posted by Koofsuits. We included the first of the 8-part video series on how she constructs a fursuit head. She doesn’t show the initial creation of the base layer as Skyehigh Studios did in the previous video.

Method B is shown by fursuiter StarryKitsune:

Method C is shown by fursuiter Tiny Badger:

Part of Method D is shown by prop maker CanineHybrid:

Using EVA Foam in the Fursuit Head Build

Fursuit maker AlbinoTopaz recorded how she made a fursuit head for an auction winner that incorporates EVA foam for additional rigidity in the final product. EVA foam was used for both the ears and teeth. This required painting.

References:

• What is Fursuiting?
• Skyehigh Studios’ YouTube Channel
• StarryKitsune’s YouTube Channel
• Tiny Badger’s YouTube Channel
• CanineHybrid’s YouTube Channel
• AlbinoTopaz’s YouTube Channel

 

DIY Cosplay Boots & Footwear

Many #costumes & #cosplays (especially superhero & super-villain characters) require #boots. If you are wearing shoes or something else that doesn’t look like the the correct boots, it could severely detract from the appearance of your #cosplay or #costume, or make it appear incomplete. Obviously, you don’t want that to happen, but there are several common issues associated with boots:

• Boots are typically expensive, i.e., they typically cost more than a pair of shoes. Boots can cost several hundred dollars for a single pair.
• Boot manufacturers typically don’t make boots that resemble those that specific science fiction, fantasy, superhero or super-villain characters wear. This is especially true if the boots are brightly colored or have patterns or designs on them.
• Boots (and shoes) aren’t easy to make from scratch. Specialized tools, equipment and skills are generally required.

The least expensive and least complicated method that #costumers & #cosplayers have found for having the right boots for a specific character is to transform an existing pair of footwear into the right kind of boots. This is typically done by covering the existing pair of footwear and extending the covers up the legs to the height needed for the boots. The result will look like you’re wearing a pair of boots!

The advantage with making your own boot covers is that you can essentially transform any footwear into what you need for a given costume. If you don’t have shoes (or boots) that are similar enough to the foot portion of the boots that you need, you can probably find used shoes (or boots) that you can cover that won’t cost anywhere near as much as a new pair would.

First, here’s a video tutorial by Destiny Italia showing one technique of wrapping your leg and footwear with fabric as you transform the fabric into boot covers:

Cosplayer OneEmily’s Cosplay also has an interesting tutorial that shows how to make removable boot covers so that you can continue to wear the shoes separately and not as part of a costume of cosplay:

If you need to make a pair of superhero/super-villain boots, cosplayer Scott Bayles has one of the best tutorials on how to transform a pair of shoes into superhero/super-villain boots:

We wish you the best of luck with your cosplay boots!

References:

• Destiny Italia YouTube Channel
• OneEmily’s Cosplay YouTube Channel
• Scott Bayles YouTube Channel

Several Glove Making Tutorials

Last September we posted a tutorial showing one simple way to make #gloves. We wanted to share several more tutorials that various #cosplayers have shared on #YouTube to help you decide what might be the best way for you to make gloves.

These tutorials are similar, but vary in whether the gloves are fingerless or not, glove length along the arm, materials used and methods used. In each tutorial, stretch fabric (usually 4-way stretch fabrics) are used.

First, we have this simple fingerless glove design using stretch fabric as posted by Adonis Cosplay in 2016:

Miso Cosplay shared this quick and easy tutorial in 2015 to make gloves that involves separate tracing paper, as well as pointing out that it’s a good idea to trim on the inside after sewing on the tips of the fingers and in the groves between fingers so that the gloves fit well:

You can also makes gloves from sleeves of an existing shirt or top. Bob Bee shows such a method using an old sweatshirt top. The advantage with this is that you essentially have pre-cuffs that you won’t have to remake, which can be a time-saver:

This is a more elaborate glove making tutorial that creates elbow-length gloves. It was made by Sanzu Fabrications in 2017 and includes a segment on dying the fabric after the gloves have been sewn:

Our last glove tutorial was made by Daniel Siebert. He uses 2 different colors of fabrics so that he has gloves that are blue on one side and white on the other side. The method he used included using tear-away paper for tracing the pattern:

We hope that you found these tutorials useful. If you know of a different way to make gloves, we’d love to hear how you made them.

References:

• A Simple Way to Make Gloves
• Adonis Cosplay’s YouTube Channel
• Miso Cosplay YouTube Channel
• Bob Bee YouTube Channel
• Sanzu Fabrications YouTube Channel
• Daniel Siebert YouTube Channel