Construction Techniques: Fabric Paint vs. Applique

When putting specific prints on costumes, you have a lot of options. You can paint, applique, embroider, bead, and sometimes embossing works. The method you choose should correspond first to the look and texture of your fabric and pattern, and second to your skill level. Today, I'm going to discuss fabric paint and appliques.

Fabric paint is great for beginners. All you need is a bottle or two of fabric paint, and appropriately sized paint brush, your fabric/garment, and patience. While I say it's good for beginners, I'll admit that I've seen absolutely fantastic painting on some master level costumes. It can be great if you want very sharp details.

Appliques take more time and effort than fabric paint. First you iron the applique paper to the wrong side of your fabric. Then you cut out your design(s). Then you remove the applique backing and iron the designs in their appropriate places on your fabric/garment. I've use this method on my gun Yuna ((FFX-2)) and Rose ((+Anima)) costumes.

All of the symbols are appliqued. This includes the dark blue symbols on the skirt and the white sun on the shirt, which isn't visible in this picture.

All of the dark brown triangles are appliqued. It was a bit tedious, but I managed to make it go a bit quicker by cutting out strips of triangles about 4-6 inches long, shaped to match the edge of the fabric. Once the applique was done, I put white bias tape over it. Voila!


Also, I know that my costume isn't finished. I was rushing out the door to get to a picnic and forgot my gloves and hair flower. But I do have them!







Once the ironing is finished, you'll want to go back and stitch around the edges of the appliques to make sure they never fall off. Appliques can add gentle texture to you costume that fabric paint might not achieve in the same way.

TIP:
Unless your costume specifically needs it, avoid puffy paint at all costs. It becomes bulky and can crack or distort if bent, and it can ruin the look of your costume.

<3 Kandell

Be a Man! A Beginner's Crossplay Tutorial

Hi again! So for this tutorial, I'm going to go through basic crossplay makeup. I used my friend Meech as a model. Meech currently has more crossplays than regular cosplays, so I decided she'd be perfect.

This is Meech normally.

We'll start off with foundation. For cosplaying, I normally use a lot of makeup because you'll want everything to look fantastic and as flawless as possible. So I start off with liquid foundation.

Put the liquid foundation all over the face and blend. Don't worry if it's a little bit sloppy, because this is just the first layer of foundation. After that's all done and blended, you'll move on to the powder. I use mineral powder because it covers well. So brush that on.

Love the brush, Meech. Love it.










Once the foundation is done, we'll start contouring. Contouring can make a huge difference between a feminine face and a more masculine face. I'm not putting too much on Meech, because she's not used to a lot of makeup.

To contour, put either bronzer or a foundation at least two shades darker than your skin tone on your cheeks/jawline, your temples, and along the sides of your nose (from the tip to the eyebrows). The key will be to make your features more angular than normal. Once you're put the bronzer/foundation on, blend it. You can use pretty much any brush to do this, but I normally use my foundation brush.

Now you'll want to use either a brow pencil or eye shadow ((or sometimes both)) to thicken and shape the eyebrows. If you look at boys, they don't often attend to their eyebrows so you can go ahead and thicken them quite a bit. Go ahead and put some liquid foundation on the lips to take away the girly color.

Now go ahead and put on your boy wig! And remember, if you find you don't look manly enough, you can always go back and add more contouring/highlighting.

Stay tuned for a binding tutorial, coming soon!

<3 Kandell

Eyelashes: Natural, Basic, Minking or Fake?

Makeup is a large part of cosplay. Just like details on a costume, it can help make or break the overall look. For today, let's focus on the pro's and con's of different looks for your eyelashes.

Natural:
Pro's -   Going without mascara is great for crossplays, and it takes away time from getting your costume on.

Con's -  If you don't have any mascara on (Unless you have crazy amazing eyelashes) your lashes will be completely lost in photos, and your eyes won't be as catching.


Basic:
Pro's -   You can use brown mascara to give a natural look while still adding length and volume, which is great for crossplaying pretty boys or young girls or tomboys. Very little time is spent on your lashes while getting ready with this method.

Con's -  Depending on the lashes you're starting with, it might not make the lashes as apparent as you want. Also, depending on the color, it can change the look. Unless you're crossplaying a very girly guy, don't use black for crossplay eyelashes.


Minking:
Pro's -   This is a relatively new method, named because it uses two colors of mascara to make your eyelashes look even thicker and longer. Minking adds volume, length and texture by using brown mascara as a base for your eyelashes and putting black mascara on the tips only.

Con's -   Minking uses twice as much mascara and takes twice as long to do as opposed to basic mascara. It also takes longer to wash off at night.


Fake:
Pro's -   Good fake eyelashes can be purchased at cheap to reasonable prices, and make your eyes really pop in photos. They also allow you to skip the mascara completely.

Con's -   Falsies can be difficult to put on, and may make your eyes feel heavy, pull off during the day, and/or be uncomfortable. Depening on how practiced you are, it can take even longer than minking.


And there you have it. Personally, I use minking for my daily makeup and use false eyelashes when I cosplay. I prefer these two methods because they really help define the eyes. When I look at pictures, false eyelashes really bring your attention to the face and give a glamorous impression.

Keep it Together! Tips on Staying Organized

If you're like me, it can be very easy to end up with your costume pieces and sewing stuff all over the house. Here are some tips on how to stay organized!

#1 - Get a Room
If you have the space, dedicate one room in your house or apartment to your costuming. This way even your stuff becomes unorganized, it's all in one place rather than scatter throughout the rest of your house, and you won't have to look too far to find your things.

#2 - Bag It
If your costumes have accessories, put them all in a large ziplock bag. Label the bag with the character, show, and costume variation (if applicable).

EX:  Gun mage   Yuna Braska    FFX-2
         Ayuzawa Misaki    Maid Uniform    Maid-Sama!

#3 - Patterns
This is a tip that I got from my friend Katie who got it from some cosplay group, but it's worth reiterating.
Don't bother trying to get your patterns back into the original envelope. Instead, fold them reasonably, put them in a document envelope, cut and paste the picture and pattern number onto the front, and put it in a file cabinet or something similar. Then you can organize your patterns by garment type, costume type, series, etc.

EX: Pants, Shorts, Skirts, Shirts, Jackets, etc.
       School Uniform, Military, Magical/Fantasy, etc.
       Final Fantasy, Sailor Moon, Tomb Raider, etc.

This way you can see which pattern you're getting and you don't have to try to stuff it back into an itty-bitty envelope.

#4 - Thread Boxes
Ever tried to find a spool of thread in a heap of sewing materials? I have. Ever found the spool, only to discover that it's been unraveled and is now spread over your entire closet? I have. Thread boxes are a great fix for this, and they can be pretty cheap. It's even better if you can get one as a present!

#5 - Notions
Notions can be obnoxious to keep organized. Try buying a bunch of small plastic storage containers and labeling them for zippers, buttons, hooks/eyes, elastic, boning, etc. That way you can just keep things in a handful of boxes and spend a minute looking rather than having one box and spending three hours trying to find a zipper that was on your nightstand the whole time.

That's all I have for now, but if I think up any other really good tips I'll post them. Thanks for reading!

Sheeta and Pazu - Laputa: Castle in the Sky

If you're an anime fan like I am, you've probably heard of Hayao Miyazaki. He's the brain behind animated feature films such as Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, Baron: the Cat Returns, and one of my favorites, Castle in the Sky. For Anime Iowa 2011, a friend of mine wanted to do a simple cosplay as he didn't have any sewing experience. I immediately thought of Pazu, the male lead. Since watching the movie I had wanted to cosplay Sheeta, so I decided AI was a perfect opportunity. Most of Sheeta's costumes are quite simple; there's the purple dress she wears in the beginning, very simple to Kiki from Kiki's Delivery Service, and a boy's outfit she wears when trying to evade pirates. I chose the pirate outfit she wears during the movie. It consists of coral harem pants, a yellow mock turtle neck with puffed sleeves, red flats, and an orange belt with a silver disc buckle.

For the pants, I found a harem pant pattern on a bellydancing website. All you need to do to make your own pair of Sheeta pants is copy the pattern, altered to fit your measurements. The pants would come to your natural waist, and the ankles of the pants should reach your ankles. Don't be afraid to use a lot of fabric, because if you use cotton like I did, you'll want the volume to make the pants poof out like Sheeta's. Make an elastic casing for the ankles and either do the same for the waist, or make several tucks and sew on a waistband with a button.

Harem Pant Pattern

For the blouse, I used a simple pattern that would fit somewhat loosely, since Sheeta is a young girl and doesn't need a clingy top, and her shirt blossoms over the top of her pants. You'll want to make your blouse long enough to wear with normal pants, so that when you have it blossom out you don't have to worry about keeping it tucked in. That's a mistake I made when I did the shirt. Don't forget to make it fit your measurements, as there aren't any measurements really given on the pattern. The sleeves are a lot easier than I first expected. I'm including the pattern I used. And remember, for all of these you'll have to figure out the measurements on your own. It's a pain, I know, but it's a lot cheaper than buying a pattern for every piece of the costume. Use the middle sleeve pattern in the picture.

Blouse Pattern

Sleeve Pattern


















 The belt is very simple, it's just a strip of orange fabric with either a small button at the front or a safety pin.

The belt buckle on Sheeta's costume is a rather large silver disc. I used a silver button cover and simply didn't put fabric over it. It was slipped onto a long button pin and glued so it wouldn't slide around. Then you simply pin it to your belt and voila!

The shoe covers are also relatively simple. Pick a pair of extremely comfortable flats and set them on your red fabric. Trace around them with a reasonable seam allowance, and this will be your bottom. Although you'll want to reinforce the fabric on the bottom with something that will give you some traction and keep the fabric from ripping. I ended up using duct tape because I completely forgot about it until the day I wore it and had to get the tape from the convention staff. After you've taken care of the sole, it's time for the sides/top. Lay the shoe on its side and trace it, adding a few inches to the top to accommodate for seams and the fabric reaching to the center. Once you have four identical pieces, stitch them together from the toe to just past the flat's edge, and stitch the heels. Then sew the pieces to the soles, slip the flats inside, and you're done! In the picture, the red zig zags indicate where you'll sew before attaching the tops to the soles. Please forgive the extremely crappy illustration, I'm not exactly an artist....

Shoe Cover "Pattern"


















Pazu is much easier. All you need is a white, button up shirt, a brown vest, a tan or brown newsie hat, a pair of goggles, a pair of jeans, and a tan square of fabric for a patch. The shoes are more or less up to you. I'm sure every guy has or has access to a perfect pair of Pazu shoes. If you can't think of where to find any of these things, check out your local Goodwill or other thrift stores. My Pazu's vest was originally a women's jacket that I ripped the sleeves off of and re-hemmed.

Well I hope this helps to get you started! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to comment or message me and ask. For more updates you can keep tabs on my blog or follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/k4ndell

Welcome!

Welcome to Kandell's Closet. I figured that since this is the first post, I should give you a bit of a background on myself.

I've been sewing for as long as I can remember. My mother learned from her grandmother and taught me, and I'm so glad she did. I never had a great use for sewing when I was younger, other than impressing my home ec teachers. But in 2009, I found a new use for my hobby. Another hobby, known as cosplaying. Cosplay is derived from 'costume' and 'play'. It's basically dressing up as a character- from anime, video games, movies, tv shows, etc.- and getting into character and having fun. It most often occurs at conventions, though cosplay communities are known to host events year-round.

So in 2009 I made my first cosplay. I made a gun mage Yuna Braska costume, from Final Fantasy X-2. It's a more obscure 'dress sphere', so I wasn't recognized at the convention that I wore it to. It was a challenge to make, but I enjoyed it immensely. In addition to my costume, I made a summoner Yuna Braska costume for one of my best friends. She also attended the convention with me, and her costume was complimented before we even entered the hotel.

That experience got me hooked. In no time at all I was making lists of characters that I wanted to cosplay, drafting patterns, making schematics. I got several of my friends hooked on cosplay, as well. Currently, I have about seven of my own costumes and have made multiple costumes for friends.

In this blog, I'll be doing tutorials and updates on different costumes and techniques. I will be posting pictures and possibly videos to help instruct, and hope you enjoy them! <3

Kandell