Modesty's Costume Closet

 In the previous post , I laid out how to describe different aspects of fabric when trying to find a good fabric for your costume. This post will go over ways to apply those terms and actually pick out a fabric for your costume. I will attempt to teach by examples.  4 Avenues of Research Cheat! I mean...look at other cosplays. You can often find images of photoshoots which make for better references than illustrations. If you are lucky, the costume maker may have posted a journal about how they made their costume or at least list the materials they used.  Check for Suggestions in Sewing Patterns Sewing patterns will list suggested fabrics to use for the costume. Pop those terms into a search engine and see the results.  Historical, Cultural, or Real Life Examples With a search engine or books, you can find out about how clothes were made back in the day or what materials are used around the world. You can also check the tags on your clothes to see what it's made of.  Narrow down to

The number of fabrics available is staggering. It makes it tough to decide which will be best for any particular costume...especially if you are not using a commercial pattern. (Well...even if you are using a pattern, you may not want to use their suggested fabrics!)  Too many choices! How to Learn The ways to learn about fabric when starting out are:  Fabric Suggestions from Patterns Walking around a fabric store Online fabric stores With patterns often you will see a picture of the finished result. The fabric suggestions help you achieve that result. Learning the names of fabrics will help you in your search online or in-person for the right fabric.  Interacting with fabric in a physical store also introduces you to the names and qualities of the fabric. Touching fabric gives you a lot of insight into how it behaves and feels against your skin. Also, if it is a store that specializes in fabric, it is likely that people working there know a thing or two about their products.  Online s

 It was painting and applique today. Now all the outer pieces are decorated according to the template I made. Here's what I did.  First, I tried to iron out some of the wrinkles. Due to the nature of the fabric it has to be cool ironed. Which still pretty much did nothing. After a solid effort, I decided to forget about it. So I went to making a template of the flames using old wrapping paper.  Clipped down an old shower curtain. I applied the template to the sleeve with painter's tape. I used Turquoise Design Masters spray paint . Both sides of the sleeve have flames. The back has smaller flames than the front which is where the fox applique will go.  I worked on the kimono in sections. It's a repeating pattern.  Ugh...so wrinkly still.  The paint dries nearly instantly so I set these things aside and work on the applique. First, I needed to paint the face.  I used an iron-on Ultra bond to stick it to the parts of the fox which consisted of the body, tail and head. Unfortu

 😝 I'm kind of giddy at the moment because I did it. Sure, I probably broke every rule about learning how to knit...except the universal rule of "You don't know until you Try." And I did try...I tried very hard. And so no one else has to go through the migraine inducing poop-fest that was my life a couple weeks ago, here's my design pattern for a lovely shawl inspired to look like Kyojuro Rengoku's cape.  You're welcome... Image version Download Chart from Stitch Fiddle It was adapted from the knitting pattern Vacation by Donna Pick . So you work from the sides around instead of top-down.  Here are the major changes/Notes:  The entire shawl is done in garter stitch for my pattern. (If you prefer stockinette stitch, then make sure you use purl stitches on the Wrong Side Rows.) The color changes are done using the Intarsia technique .  When I turn my work for short rows, I use the German Short Row technique.  The color chart was made for Worsted Yarn. It w

 Today is a good day! Went out for sushi and hung out with a friend, then got home and cut out the second sleeve plus lining. And today I planned to dye the fabric. Here's how it went.  Dye Job At first I was going to dye all the pieces separately then sew them together. But then I figured, the main body of the kimono might have a more consistent color if I sewed some pieces together. So I did.  Body is sewn the sleeves unattached.  Then I prepped my fabric in the bathroom getting things wet.  Hanging things to make it easier to dip. Got my pot of dye heated up then put it in the bathtub. Dunkin' pot.  I kept the fabric on the hangers and dipped the pieces in the pot. I used some wooden chopsticks to help push and stir things around. Then used the shower with cold water to rinse after the dips. Kept rinsing until the water ran clear again.  Post dye dunk.  The body of the kimono got a second dunk dye to make it darker at the bottom. Now they're drying.  Hanging out to dry. 

 Another little side jaunt into the progress and pitfalls of the project.  💢 Once again, I made an error in my calculations. (Math and I need couples counseling.) However, it's not just the number that was off but the fabric too. When I was first cutting the pattern I did not factor in the length of the sleeves very well. I have one outer sleeve and one sleeve lining.  In my head I thought, I should be able to get the other sleeve and lining with about a yard more fabric from a 60" bolt. I didn't want to spend $12 per yard again so I went with the slightly cheaper $6 version on fabric.com. And then I just had to wait for it to arrive.  I got it on Saturday after our mini-winter in Texas when the leasing office was open again. When I opened the bag, I noted that this version of Peachskin fabric was thinner than the one I was using everywhere else. And what was worse, I laid the pattern piece and realize...shoot...I can only get ONE sleeve out of this, not two.  So, I went

 Last time, I wrote about my rushing to learn how to knit. This post is an extension of that, but more about hitting a wall I cannot surmount.  The Solution...and me. First, let me set up the "problem" I'm trying to solve and the backward ways I've tried to solve it... The Impossible Cape So I set myself up with a bit of a thought challenge on how I would use either knitting or crochet to make a shawl or cloak like the Flame Hashira from Demon Slayer.  It's so Flamey.  So ignoring the first b.s. thing about how it stays on his shoulders...that's not my problem yet. (But I will struggle to ignore that it's impossible.)  First, I'm ignorant as to what shape this is. (I know now after literally days of research but I'll get to why it took me so dang long.)  Second, there are three color changes, one of which is a soft edge gradient and the other an irregular flame pattern.  Third, the edges are also irregular to imitate fire.  Fourth, the interior col