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Mistakes: Abandon, Scrap, Restart, or Push Forward

 Inevitably, mistakes will happen. 

Oops! Messed up again!

The worst kind are the ones that happen late in the game, just before deadlines, and it's just not going to work out. Often times, mistakes will cost you either time or money...but usually both. There are a few approaches to dealing with mistakes: 

Abandon

Abandon means stopping the project wherever it is but keeping what you have done so far. Maybe some parts came out very well and you can pick it up later when you have more time or experience. Often times this can happen because of a loss of interest in the character or subject matter. 

In my case, I have abandoned my Dalish Inquistor costume. I still have all the materials from all those years ago. 

I was stuck on this part.
I could not make the bodice look right and instead of making other parts of the costume, I set it aside for later. 
Another example was my Voltron Paladin costume. I made the under-armor, but then lost interest in the character. I used the materials I had gathered for other costumes. 

Scrap/Throw Away

Scrapping a project means you throw it away. It may be necessary if you don't have much in terms of storage space. If you know you are not going to continue with the costume or the pieces have just gone to pieces, then you make a decision not to continue. 

I only kept the helmet.

This was the unfortunate end for my Tali cosplay. It was practically finished too which is so sad. But pieces were already breaking on the costume as I put it on and a couple weeks later I had outgrown some of the pieces. I kept things around for awhile but eventually had to throw away most of this costume. I kept the helmet though because I was really pleased with how it came out. 

Restart

Taking it apart and trying again. I feel like I have done this with most of my knitting projects. This is most common when learning a new skill. This can be expensive both in terms of time and money, but the reward of learning from a mistake is priceless. Well...no it did cost something didn't it. 😅 

Again with Tali, this was my process for making the helmet and the arm armor. 

Styrene Arms - first attempt.
 
Remade with EVA and worbla.

Push Through

Sometimes you can't go back and you don't want to give up. You keep the mistake or find a creative solution. 

It's very clunky and warped, but I kept it.

It becomes the imperfection that gives the costume character. You'll know better for next time. 

And this concludes my short reflection on dealing with mistakes. 

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