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:
Sewing
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.
- 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.
- 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
DIY: Making Your Own Fake Leather
#Leather isn’t an uncommon element for #costumes & #cosplays, but it doesn’t have to be the real thing. Real leather can be cost prohibitive (not just the leather, but the tooling also can be pricey), becomes hot to wear or there may be objections to using and/or wearing animal products.
To solve these dilemmas, there’s an easy solution: make your own faux or fake leather. The question is how? The most obvious solution is to use faux leather fabric (or pleather); but if you need something that’s thicker than pleather you can use some foam underneath it, or you could just transform foam into your own homemade fake leather. You could even paint fabric to make it look leathery.
The first video tutorial below by Ginny Di talks about combining pleather with foam to create realistic looking fake leather. To do this you’ll need pleather, paints & foam.
If you want to make your own fake leather from foam only, you can try a technique presented by Buddy Cosplay. To do this, you’d need several tools, including an iron, heat gun, paints, foam, aluminum foil.
The next video is similar to the first, but isn’t as detailed. It’s by ButtercupBrix.
There are other similar tutorial videos online. The key to remember here is that you don’t have to use actual leather and you can let your creativity take you where you want. You could even make a gas mask that looks like leather by combining these techniques with the gas mask tutorial that we just posted.
References
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:
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:
DIY: How to Make a Santa Claus Costume
With #Christmas just around the corner, a very popular #costume at this time of year is a #SantaClaus (or #FatherChristmas) costume. While there are a variety of off-the-shelf Santa Claus costumes available, quality and cost can vary widely. There’s also the option of renting a Santa Claus costume.
Basic Components
The basic components that are needed for a Santa Claus costume are as follows:
- A red coat with white faux fur trim at the bottom of coat, along the coat opening and at the ends of the sleeves. Ideally, the sleeves should be wide.
- Matching red pants, ideally made from the same material as the coat. (There are common variations for the pants.)
- A wide black belt with a large rectangular open belt buckle worn over the coat at waist level.
- A red stocking style hat with white faux fur trim and a white cotton ball at the end. The hat should be the same material as the coat and pants.
- One pair of black boots. Ideally, the boots should have round toes (not square toed or pointed) and probably 12 inches tall. The boots should also have black soles. The boots can be shiny or matte. (There are common variations for the boots.)
- A long white beard and mustache.
- A red toy bag.
Common Variations
Not all Santa Claus / Father Christmas costumes are the same. Some common variations are listed below:
- White gloves are a very common variant, but aren’t required. Red, black or even dark brown gloves are also possible.
- While it is common for the red pants to be tucked into the black boots, the pants can also be worn over the boots. If the pants are tucked in, white faux fur that matches the trim on the coat and hat can be used to trim the top of the shafts of the boots. If the pants aren’t tucked in, white faux fur can be used to trim the bottom of the pants legs.
- Coat length can vary from standard coat length (below the waist) to knee length or ankle length. Older versions of Santa Claus typically have longer coat lengths. Father Christmas is more common with a long coat length.
- Shoulder flaps on the coat are another possible coat variant. These are typically made of the same fabric as the coast itself and should also be trimmed with the same faux fur as the bottom of the coat and coat opening.
- Pudginess also varies quite a bit. While the traditional Santa Claus is seen as being rather pudgy, other versions (often with a longer coat) aren’t as pudgy. If you’re going for the traditional pudgy Santa Claus, you’ll want a fat suit or some other kind of stuffing to create that appearance. You’ll also need to adjust the waist & chest sizes of the coast to accommodate the amount of desired pudginess.
- Coat and pants don’t necessarily have to be red. Some versions of Santa Claus / Father Christmas show him wearing a green coat and pants. While any color can be used, red is the best, followed by green. Once you choose a color, make sure that the pants and coat are the same color; they should not be different colors or different shades.
- Another variation involving the coat has it kept open with a gold-buttoned red vest being worn beneath. For this style, the vest isn’t made from the same material as the coat and can be embroidered. Also, both openings of the coat should have white faux fur trim. In this variation, the belt should be worn beneath the coat and not over it.
- Gold embroidery on the coat can also be added.
Materials
- The best fabric choice for the coat and pants is velvet, but any cotton fabric can also be used. The fabric should be woven, not knit, which could stretch. Use the same fabric for the pants, coat & hat. A vest (if used) can be made using a different fabric.
- The belt can be faux leather, not necessarily real leather.
- White faux fur for the trim. It’s best to be consistent with the type of white faux fur being used throughout the costume.
- Patterns for the coat, pants and hat.
Pick a Style & Have Fun
The best thing to do is to pick a style for your Santa Claus costume and then follow it to create the desired look. Then go out & have fun!
Introduction to Fabrics
While #sewing is an important rudimentary #cosplay & #costuming skill, so is knowing a few things about #fabrics, which have different qualities depending upon the materials used & how they were manufactured.
1. Fabric Basics
What is a fabric? A fabric (which may also be called a textile or cloth) is a flexible material comprised of a series of interconnected fibers. The three most distinguishing features of a fabric are the type of fibers being used, how the fibers were interconnect during the manufacturing process and the overall fabric weight.
Let’s look at fibers and the manufacturing processes first.
1.1 Fibers
Fibers fall under one of two main types: natural or synthetic. These have different properties that can be divided into pros & cons, which we have listed in the following table.
|
Natural Fibers |
Synthetic Fibers |
|
|
Composition |
Come primarily from plants or animals. | Created in a laboratory. Usually a petroleum product. |
|
Pros |
|
|
|
Cons |
|
|
Fabrics can also be made from minerals, but since these are not common in clothing or costuming, we’ll leave that to you to research on your own if you choose to do so.
The most common fiber types are listed below:
| Fiber Category |
Fiber Types (& their sources) |
|
Animal |
|
|
Plant |
|
|
Synthetic |
|
1.2 Manufacturing Processes
Of the various ways fabrics can be manufactured, the two most common are woven fabrics and knitted fabrics, which are compared in the following table:
|
Woven Fabrics |
Knitted Fabrics |
|
|
Construction |
Constructed by interlacing a set of longer threads (called the warp) with a set of crossing fibers (called the weft) on a frame known as a loom. |
Constructed by repeatedly interlacing loops made from a single, long fiber together in multiple rows. |
|
Qualities |
|
|
2. Fabric Weight
The type of fibers, the manufacturing process & how closely packed the fibers are determine a fabric’s weight. Fabric weight is measured as ounces per square yard (oz/yd²) or grams per square meter (GSM). The lighter a fabric is, the more flowing it will be, but it will also the typically be less durable. The heavier a fabric is, the more stiff and durable it will be. Also, the heavier the fabric is, the thicker it may also be depending upon the type of fiber used.
|
GSM |
Fabrics |
|
|
Lightweight |
1 – 150 GSM
0 – 4.4 oz/yd² |
|
|
Medium Weight |
150 – 350 GSM 4.4 – 10 oz/yd² |
|
|
Heavyweight |
350+ GSM 10+ oz/yd² |
|
3. Putting It All Together
Having listed the basics about fiber types, manufacturing processes & weights, here’s a more detailed list about each fabric listed above.
3.1 Lightweight Fabrics
| Fabric |
Fiber Type(s) & Manufacturing Process |
Typical Uses |
|
Organza |
Woven silk, nylon or polyester |
|
|
Chiffon |
Woven silk, nylon or polyester |
|
|
Voile |
Woven cotton, cotton/linen blend or cotton/polyester blend |
|
|
Taffeta |
Woven silk or rayon |
|
|
Single Jersey |
Knitted wool, cotton, synthetic fabrics or cotton/synthetic blend |
|
|
Spandex |
Knitted spandex or spandex/cotton, spandex/polyester, or other spandex blend |
|
3.2 Medium Weight Fabrics
| Fabric |
Fiber Type(s) & Manufacturing Process |
Typical Uses |
|
Velvet |
Woven tufted rayon/silk blend, silk (rare), cotton (less luxurious), polyester, nylon, acetate or other fibers & blends. |
|
|
Cambric |
Woven linen or cotton |
|
|
Sateen |
Woven cotton, cotton/linen blend or cotton/polyester blend |
|
|
Chambray |
Woven cotton, similar to denim but lighter & with the white weft visible making it lighter in color. |
|
|
Interlock Jersey |
Knitted wool, cotton, synthetic fabrics or cotton/synthetic blend; similar to single jersey but both sides are identical and it’s thicker |
|
3.3 Heavyweight Fabrics
| Fabric |
Fiber Type(s) & Manufacturing Process |
Typical Uses |
|
Canvas |
Woven cotton, linen or hemp. |
|
|
Denim |
Woven cotton |
|
|
Hessian / Burlap |
Woven jute or sisal fibers blended with other vegetable fibers |
|
|
Poplin / Broadcloath |
Woven wool, cotton, silk, polyester or a blend of these |
|
4. Selecting the Right Fabric(s) for a Costume
The first thing you’ll want to ask yourself is where you plan to wear the costume. If you’re only planning to wear the costume on a cool Halloween evening, then going with heavier / less breathable fabrics might be your better option for staying warm.
If you’re planning to wear the costume primarily at comic or anime conventions, then you’ll want to stick to the most breathable fabrics so that you stay cool and comfortable. After that, it also depends on what type of garment(s) you need to make:
- Pants: linen or denim
- Shirts & blouses: cotton voile; rayon challis; double gauze; knit; silk; chambray; cotton lawn or linen
- Skirts: cotton lawn; rayon challis; denim; knit or linen
- Dresses: cotton voile; cotton lawn; rayon challis; double gauze; knit; silk; satin or linen
- Superhero costumes: spandex
If you need to dye a fabric, then you definitely want to use a fabric that is made primarily from natural fibers. Do you need to give the fabric a weathered or tattered look, then you’ll probably want to stick to cotton-based fabrics. Other considerations, such as the sewing pattern you’re using for the garment, can also impact the type of fabric to be used, including any color pattern that the fabric has.
References:
- http://blog.fabricuk.com/understanding-fabric-weight/
- http://theswatchbook.offsetwarehouse.com/2015/04/02/understanding-fabric-weights/
- http://fashion-incubator.com/fabric_weight_and_conversions/
- http://fashion-incubator.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/gsm_to_oz_yd_2.pdf
- https://maqoo.com/blogs/news/114892103-different-types-of-fabrics-for-apparel
- Choosing Fabric for Clothes
- How to Pair Fabrics With Sewing Patterns
A Simple Way to Make Gloves
Here’s a potentially simple method to make #gloves for your next #cosplay or #costume, as shown by “mangalphantom” on deviantart.com:
Simple Way to Make Gloves
Introduction to Sewing
Probably one of the most rudimentary skills for #cosplay & #costuming is #sewing. For those who haven’t sewn anything before, sewing may seem intimidating, but once you know the basics, you’ll feel increasingly more comfortable with sewing and want to take on increasingly complex projects.
One question that may come up is why is it important to learn how to sew at all? Learning how to make your own #costumes will be far less costly in the long run than paying others to make things for you. That by far is probably one of the best reasons to learn how to sew. Next, if you’ve tended to rely on alternative methods for attaching fabric (like staples, hot glue or some other method), sewing will provide the best overall result and will be the strongest result. Even if you’re planning to wear armor, sewing can be invaluable in attaching velcro to strapping that you’ll most likely be using, especially elastic strapping, which needs to be very securely attached to velcro.
There are essentially two ways to sew: by hand and by machine. Sewing by hand is a lot slower than sewing by machine, but there will be times that you’ll need to hand sew something because a machine can’t always be used in all situations. A good example when you can’t use a sewing machine is when you need to sew something onto the back of a glove or onto a sleeve or pant leg. In these situations, unless you want to remove existing seams so that a sewing machine can be used, the best option is to hand sew. Also, if you can’t afford to purchase a sewing machine, you can always hand sew.
Though using a sewing machine may also seem intimidating if you haven’t used one before, there are very good reasons why to use one: it’s a lot faster than hand sewing, it makes evenly-spaced stitches and all modern machines will have multiple types of stitching patterns. For sewing long seams along pants, shirts, skirts, dresses, capes, etc., your best option will be a sewing machine.
The following YouTube video from 2014 & made by MangoSirene is a great introduction to sewing:
Costuming, Cosplay & Costume Clubs 101 