Modesty's Costume Closet

Duct tape Dummy or a Duct tape mannequin is a quick way to create a replica of your body for all kinds of projects. From being a dress form to creating a pattern, Duct tape dummies (DTD) are incredibly useful for all kinds of costume projects.  However, if you are trying to make a full body DTD, you'll need assistance to make it. It may also destroy some of your clothing in some methods. And you may not feel comfortable making one as it is restrictive.  The primary reasons for making a DTD are to make patterns for clothes or armor. Because it is easy to translate the 3D form into a 2D pattern.  Puppet head covering pattern. Personally, for things like gloves or boot covers, I have no trouble making a DTD of an arm or a leg. But full body I need a different approach.  Method 1: Silhouette Tracing As a kid, I remember having a criminal outline done on banner paper of myself. It is still a viable approach although now I may need to tape pieces of banner paper side by side. You can kin

In preparation for my next sewing project, I wanted a cutting table but I have no room in my apartment for more furniture. I also want a better surface to iron on that's bigger than my ironing board. Currently I cut my fabric on the floor which is fine for smaller projects. But making my hakama was really testing my physical limits. So to avoid further spinal aches, I wanted to lift my fabric prep from the floor to a table.  I have a cheap, long card table that used to be my main crafting table when I first moved to Texas. It's a good height but the surface is shot due to years of sloppy crafting. It's a long, narrow table which is going to work well (I hope) for my kimono sewing. However, I want to make the surface smooth and clean so it's easy to cut. My current cutting board is too wide for the table. So my first objective was to figure out how to make this table a better surface for cutting fabric.  Cutting Board As long as you're using scissors to cut, a cuttin

This post will offer ways you can put design onto fabric to match a character for cosplay or just to have a cool design on your garment.  The 3 main "categories" or methods are:  Painting Applique Sublimation/Screen Printing Painting This is the most accessible and often cost effective way to put a design onto fabric.  The benefits are: Can match character designs exactly Color availability Flexibility  Often inexpensive (although, you can always find a way to spend too much.) Some of the downsides: Sometimes only specific types of paint will work for your fabric (dark, stretch fabric, sheer, etc) It can be tedious for large amounts of fabric Some paints can crack, fade or even wash out in water Requires a steady hand and coordination Can get messy I like looking at Dharma Trading's website for research on what paints work best with whatever fabric I'm working with.  So there are many methods of painting fabric of all kinds. There's also a plethora of paint speci

 My recent failures with creating a silicone mold have prompted me to dig deeper into the processes of creating a mold of an object to cast in a different material. I'm going to start with the basics: What is Casting? A cast is a reproduction of an original item in new material.   Common Materials to cast with:  Resin Plaster Plastic Wax Latex/Rubber/Silicone Food (Ice, Chocolate, Hard Candy, etc) Molten Metal  Common methods for casting are:  Slip Casting - makes a thin layer, commonly used for latex masks 2-part Cast - Make a mold with 2 halves sandwiched together  Pour Mold - put material into a divot  What is a Mold? FYI, this didn't work out. A "mold" is an imprint of an object that we can pour the material into.  Common materials to make a mold with:  Plastic Silicone/Rubber Metal Clay Plaster What is a Buck? A "buck" is what we call the subject of the casting, the original piece, so to speak. Whether you are sculpting something to cast later or have a

I get on kicks or fads every so often. Lately, I've been bitten by a knitting bug...and while researching those techniques brought up an old video I had watched about someone building a big sleeve dragon puppet, and it was all over from there. Now, I'm on a puppet kick. Puppet props, not puppet costumes like fursuits. That's a post for another time.  Design Considerations Size and Weight For any prop, you need to carry around or transport, you must consider how big it is and its weight. I'm not saying your puppet has to be small and lightweight...but know your limits. You don't want it to be so light that it breaks easily, either. I guess durability  is another feature you'd want to consider.  Desired motion and manipulation style How do you want the puppet to move? Will it open and close its mouth? Wiggle its ears? Blink? Wink? Have glowing eyes? Walk!? Once you decide how you want it to move, you need to figure out how to make that motion happen with the struc

I don't know why I just can't focus on one thing at a time. But I was inspired to learn another thing because I was tempted by a Circular Sock Machine. I saw the loom as a more economical option and realized, I had fallen down another rabbit hole.  What is it? Spot my knitting in the clutter! Loom knitting is still knitting, but the yarn is wrapped around pegs arranged on a board. Using a hook pick, yarn is manipulated on the pegs to form a knitted piece comparable to something knit with needles. It's like the love child of crochet and knitting.  What I like about 'em I find it's a little easier in some cases than needle knitting. At the very least, the concept is easy to grasp for the most part.  I can keep better track of how many stitches I knit because I can count pegs. Very useful for furry or dark yarn.  My gauge has been more consistent with looms than with needles.  Sock knitting seems easier.  It can do most things knitting needles can do. (but not everythi

 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

There are many devices you can get to work on costumes. But because costume creation can be diverse, it is possible to prioritize certain tools over others. This list is just going to be my top 3 with some honorable mentions.  #3: Computer/Internet Connected Device This is a pretty old machine now. Still runs Windows 7. It used to be that a computer was the only way to interface with the internet and a myriad of other devices, but it is no longer true. However, investing in a decent machine can mean you can connect it to many different peripherals. Some of these may be every-day like a printer or scanner. However, for most other machines I'll go over you will need something to run software. I could not run my die cutting machine without the associated software. I could not print 3D models without my slicer software. Not to mention that the internet is an invaluable information resource for pretty much anything I'd need to do. It may be a no-brainer but a good computer or any de

Make-up is a powerful tool in a costumer's arsenal. You can create a whole costume around face makeup! When it comes to costumes there are (in my consideration) three kinds of makeup:  Fashion Make-up Theatrical/Stage Make-up Costume Make-up Fashionable at one point.  Fashion make-up accents the natural shapes of your face to make it look its best according to a fashion/cultural aesthetic.  Theatrical or Stage make-up is a major exaggeration of facial features that can be seen from a distance with the bright lights of a stage.  All done with eye liner and eye shadow. Costume make-up is a mix of both. It looks good close-up or from a distance. It exaggerates if it needs to or accents where it can.  However, all make-up has this in common: using color to create an illusion with your facial features.  Health Note: There can be allergens in some make-up depending on what it is made out of. Be sure to either test on your skin beforehand or check the ingredients (if you know what your al

How can you afford to make expensive-looking costumes without breaking the bank? This is one of those challenges I face with every project, but always make an effort to plan for and estimate. This is the method I use to plan and budget a project.  Listing out Necessary Materials  To start off, I make a list of materials. Correction...I actually will make multiple lists of materials because I'm often using the lists to compare methods, materials, and costs. But at the start, I make a list of what I need, the quantity of material I need, and a rough estimate of how much it will cost.  To determine cost I often just use what comes up on a web search and round up. The point of the list is to estimate and use that estimate to make decisions on whether or not this is a thing I COULD make.  While making a list if I run into a product that has a price range, I enter the low and high end. Such as if I buy a new pair of shoes versus a used pair of shoes. If I'm trying to decide between a

Dressing up and feeling good are important factors for the hobby of costuming. Yet, it can be easy to get caught up in trying to replicate a character's look as accurately as possible. In many cases, it is IMPOSSIBLE. Yet, that can be a hard thing to accept. My body does not look like most of the characters I want to dress up as. And this becomes discouraging at best and depressing at worst.  Overcoming the desire for accuracy in the face of impossibility is important for moving forward. But getting close is possible. Here I will go over how you can achieve "the look". Method 1 - Find Common Features I did have a lot of similar features. The easiest method is choosing a character that shares many of your features! This will save you a lot of headache throughout the process and can save you money. Characters to choose from are diverse in body shape, hair style, height, body colors and so on. Choosing a character with a similar or possible hair style saves you from needing

Part of designing costumes is finding a way to pick from many solutions. Limiting these choices can be the art of design.  I have some of my own "Guiding Principles" or Design Principles when it comes to costume design. Some of these constraints are based on non-mutable factors. (Or currently difficult to change.) The fun ones are a bit on the arbitrary side. These are self-imposed limitations for the costume that as a designer I decide to apply to any given costume.  The point of these principles is to help you make a final decision if you are paralyzed by many choices. I may get hung up on some pretty silly things, so at the very least, this helps me move forward and kind of imply that I had a plan all along.  Immutable Design Principles We might run into some touchy subjects here but whatever, here we go! Immutable principles are either constraints your life situation has you in at any given time or core beliefs about what you wear. This can mean things like religious beli