Fabric Questions

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Corvus Luna
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Fabric Questions

Post by Corvus Luna » Wed Dec 14, 2005 2:31 pm

hey everyone, i want to make Paines Gambler/Lady Luck costume but i'm not sure what kind of fabric to use...it looks pretty slinky.
i've heard one person used swimsuit fabric, but i don't think i can find it here in Hawai'i, does anyone have any suggestions??
mahalo!
When I see myself in my dreams as a butterfly, and see myself as a man when I awake, I do not know whether I am a man who dreams he is a butterfly, or a butterfly who dreams he is a man.
-Shoji

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Traeonna
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Post by Traeonna » Fri Dec 16, 2005 9:59 am

Can you post some reference images so some of us can see the costume you are wanting to construct. I'm not familiar with the character or series.

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Corvus Luna
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images

Post by Corvus Luna » Fri Dec 16, 2005 11:58 am

sure thing, if i can figure it out...Image
ok, tell me if this works...
When I see myself in my dreams as a butterfly, and see myself as a man when I awake, I do not know whether I am a man who dreams he is a butterfly, or a butterfly who dreams he is a man.
-Shoji

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Traeonna
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Post by Traeonna » Fri Dec 16, 2005 4:16 pm

OH! That Paine. I'm an idiot. Obviously I'm not much of a FF person. I only know about Paine because my friend cosplays her. Why is it Paine is always almost half naked?! Sheesh.

Yeah...you'd need stretch material like the kind is used for leotards, swimsuits, and the like. Are you good at sewing? If not, I'd say your best bet would be to modify an exisiting garment rather than try to make one from scratch. Stretchy fabric is a bit of a pain and even a couple of us who have been sewing forever avoid it like the plague.

You could try to make it out of another kind of fabric, but honestly, it wouldn't give the costume the correct look. I'm talking about the body part, not the gloves, boots, and skirt...although the gloves and boots look pretty darn skin tight as well, and really, only stretchy fabric can pull that off properly.

I'll ask around. I know a few people in fashion design and such. They may have some ideas.

One thing to note, you may want to be aware of convention dress policy. It seems that more and more conventions are cracking down on exposure. That top will need to have some type of clear reinforcement in the front in te bust to avoid any malfunctions. I know at the convention I staff, we pretty much make people wearing outfits that may have possible malfunctions prove that they have taken measures to avoid such mishaps. Just something to think about when designing the costume.

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Corvus Luna
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Post by Corvus Luna » Sun Dec 18, 2005 1:52 pm

thanks bunches, i'll see what i can do with some existing clothes, i'm really not that good at sewing, lol. :roll:
as far as wearing to a convention, not sure yet. theres a convention in Oahu (i think) but i'm not sure if i would want to wear this one or another one, i've never been to a convention before, :blush: i'm such a noob...lol.
thanks for you help, i'll see what i can pull together.
and speaking of conventions and what to wear, do you know any good costumes for a first timer? i was trying to find something from Angel Sanctuary or Petshop of Horrors, but everything looks pretty hard...
well, thanks for all your help!
When I see myself in my dreams as a butterfly, and see myself as a man when I awake, I do not know whether I am a man who dreams he is a butterfly, or a butterfly who dreams he is a man.
-Shoji

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Traeonna
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Post by Traeonna » Sun Dec 18, 2005 2:39 pm

Well, if you are new to sewing, then it's best to look at possible cosplays that don't have too many details, use basic patterns, etc. Once you get some practice...then try attacking some of the more difficult costumes.

What are some of the series you've seen? Which characters do you like? Those are some of the things to think of first. Planning is an important part before actually diving into cosplay construction...in my opinion...but not everyone does it this way.

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Corvus Luna
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Post by Corvus Luna » Sun Dec 18, 2005 7:05 pm

hmmm, well i definately want to make Paine and Yuna's gambler costume, Yuna's summoner costume and gunner costume, and Rikku's thief costume from FF-X and FF-X-2
i was looking at some of the pets costumes from Petshop of Horrors...they're all so pretty!
and i really love angel sanctuary, and was looking at maybe Alexial, Jabrille, and Kurai's various outfits...
Chobits has some pretty awesome dresses too...
basically i'm just looking at what i would enjoy wearing for some thing or another (though knowing me, i'd end up wearing it to go to the store >.<) so...i also like Mononoke Hime and .hack//SIGN, and Vampire Hunter D (though i can't really think of any costumes i'd like to do from that particular movie) and Cowboy Bebop...
oy, that's kinda alot...lol.
well, from all those, any suggestions on what i should do first!? lol, only if you have time to deal with a silly noob like me, thanks for all your help already :D :D
When I see myself in my dreams as a butterfly, and see myself as a man when I awake, I do not know whether I am a man who dreams he is a butterfly, or a butterfly who dreams he is a man.
-Shoji

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Traeonna
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Post by Traeonna » Sun Dec 18, 2005 8:33 pm

I make time when I can. I don't mind, really. I wouldn't post if I did. :)

I'm not overly familiar with FFX or FFX2...only what I've seen due to helping a friend with her Paine research. Honestly, I'm getting sick of seeing FF stuff. There's like always a bazillion Rikku and Yuna running around at each con I go to...and always seem like the same outfits. Blah. Just once I'd like to see a Berserker or something. I haven't seen too many Lady Luck, I've seen my fair share of Gunner, and Summoner...like everyone cosplays that it seems.

Petshop of Horrors, any specifics? I myself haven't read the manga or seen the anime, but I've seen enough cosplayers at cons to be somewhat familiar.

Ah, Angel Sanctuary. I still need to get through all the manga, but I've seen the anime (33 volumes in 3 ova...it was a bad idea). Were you thinking anime Kurai or manga Kurai? Alexiel, I have seen some really good ones...but those wings can be cumbersome at conventions. I have not seen that many Jibrille at all.

Chobits, while cute costumes, completely sick of seeing them. I guess at this point, I only check a person out if their costume is exceptionally good. I think that Chii's outfits are exceptionally popular because they are very Lolita in style and since Lolita fashion is seen more and more at conventions, it seems many girls prefer to cosplay it.

I've seen a couple of Mononoke-hime cosplayers. One exceptionally cute and well done one. It seems that not too many people cosplay Miyazaki's works...which is a pity, because I love his work so much.

I am not familiar with .hack//SIGN, yet...I am with Vampire Hunter D, but yeah, I'm not sure what you'd do from there.

Cowboy Bebop, ah...there's been quite a few from here, but I'm not sick of it yet. I've seen two absolutely adorable Edwards, one really hot Spike, and a Faye, Julia, and Judy trio that were pretty sexy. Which character or characters were you thinking about?

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Corvus Luna
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Post by Corvus Luna » Sun Dec 18, 2005 9:54 pm

:tears in eyes: bless you! thanks so much, i've been a little worried that i would do something overdone...i hate doing that...
i don't think i'd wear a FFX/FFX2 gunner or summoner costume to a convention, i'd probably just make it for the heck of it cause they're so gosh darned cute,
Petshop has a lot of characters, and it's kinda hard to pick a costume cause you really don't see the characters for more than a few pages, so that would be a lot of making up your own design, i'm thinking of saving that series for later, since alot of them are VERY complicated...
Angel Sanctuary, the manga (i prefer manga over anime 9 times outta 10...) i've seen that they're pretty popular just from searching images on cosplay, so i'd only wear one to a convention if i went all out on it and was REALLY happy with it...
Chobits, even never being to a convention i can tell they're obscenely popular, i don't think i'd ever wear one to a convention, just make it for fun.
.hack//SIGN is definately something you should check out, imo, i love it. the anime series is awesome, art is spectacular, and i'm nuts for the soundtrack...subaru has a pretty cute costume, might make that one someday... VHD, yeah, dunno if i would actually find a costume from that...
Cowboy Bebop, might do a Faye someday...
and last but not least, Mononoke Hime. definately want to do her...come to think of it, that might be a good costume for a beginner...
whaddaya think?? is it harder than it looks????
When I see myself in my dreams as a butterfly, and see myself as a man when I awake, I do not know whether I am a man who dreams he is a butterfly, or a butterfly who dreams he is a man.
-Shoji

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Traeonna
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Post by Traeonna » Mon Dec 19, 2005 9:33 am

There are a lot of good references here...

http://www.northarc.com/images/mononoke/

Her outfit is pretty simple, and yes, I believe a beginner can pull it off. The hard part is that mask. I think with time and patience, a good one can be made if you wanted to do a masked version. But even if you didn't do the mask, she still does have some very distinctive traits without it.

What I did when I first started with costuming, is that I would find a costume I could build upon as I got better. Mononoke-hime is a great example because you could do her everyday outfit with all the jewelry, then as you have time/money/patience, you can work on the mask.

I usually start by getting as many good references as possible. Then I make a list of all the parts of the costume that would need to be made.

Great reference for her usual outfit.
http://www.northarc.com/images/mononoke/mono.jpg
Close up.
http://www.northarc.com/images/mononoke/mono03.jpg
Without the white necklace, when she's wearing Ashitaka's crystal dagger.
[url]hhttp://www.northarc.com/images/mononoke/mono5.jpg[/url]
Side view of simplest outfit.
http://www.radio.rai.it/grr/archivio_st ... nonoke.jpg
Great reference for mask...you can see the shape and the white fluff. http://www.northarc.com/images/mononoke/mono52.jpg
Close up with her looking at crystal dagger.
http://www.northarc.com/images/mononoke/san_3.jpg
A great close up that shows her wearing both the fluff cape and tooth necklace along with the crystal dagger necklace.
http://www.northarc.com/images/mononoke/mono01.jpg

So basic outfit...
Dress (purple-blue)
Tunic (off white)
Earrings (white, but could be silver)
Headband (black with white center jewel)
Armbands (black)
Shoes (brown, probably leather, but could fake it with fabric)
Necklace (crystal dagger - blueish with red cord)

Extended costume...
Cape (fluff)
Necklace (tooth - black cord and beads)
Mask

Extras...
Knife (white with red accents and black hilt)
Spear (white with red accents and red hilt)

So, as you can see, you can built the costume slowly and have a few versions of her. I think it would be a great cosplay to start with. If I had time in my cosplay schedule, I think I may have attempted her, but I have so many other cosplays already and I try to stick to those I can use my natural hair for because I'm just not a wig person.

Anyhow, I hope that helps.

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Corvus Luna
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Post by Corvus Luna » Mon Dec 19, 2005 12:59 pm

...i officially love you...
thank you so much! why didn't i think of Mononoke Hime before??!! ah! those pics are awesome, i'll definatley show you how it looks when i'm done, thanks again for the help!
:bows down: i'm not worthy...
When I see myself in my dreams as a butterfly, and see myself as a man when I awake, I do not know whether I am a man who dreams he is a butterfly, or a butterfly who dreams he is a man.
-Shoji

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Traeonna
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Post by Traeonna » Mon Dec 19, 2005 1:13 pm

Oh, pissssh...it's really no big deal. Of course, I'll always accept love. :)

I'm just really detail oriented, so I tend to break everything down and like to keep organized. Also, I dd a Cosplay Construction workshop that does cover this kind of stuff, so the more I try to help people, the better my workshop becomes because then I know what I should include to help out people just starting out...so this is just as beneficial to me as it is for you.

Mononoke-hime is one of my examples for the upcoming workshop and this conversation has actually really helped me flesh out the presentation a bit. So thank you. :)

Yes, I'd love to see photos...I like seeing how cosplayers progress and the finished product. Everyone attacks cosplay construction differently, so it's nice to see how others go about the process.

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Corvus Luna
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Post by Corvus Luna » Mon Dec 19, 2005 2:32 pm

i love it when everyone wins...
When I see myself in my dreams as a butterfly, and see myself as a man when I awake, I do not know whether I am a man who dreams he is a butterfly, or a butterfly who dreams he is a man.
-Shoji

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Tia
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Post by Tia » Mon Dec 19, 2005 2:59 pm

I think your best bet is this fabric, in black.
http://www.stretchhouse.com/metallicspa ... %20Spandex
I used it before and it has the same kind of shine.
http://images.cosplay.com/showphoto.php?photo=286590
It's not love that makes the world go 'round; it's fanboys and fangirls.

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WINGS
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Post by WINGS » Wed Dec 21, 2005 6:08 pm

OMG OMG OMG I was reding and of course I found a link with the perfect fabric and colors to do my eternal sailor moon seramyu style, thanks TIA you ROCK!!!!

As for the swim suit fabric have you looked on ebay? I find fabric on there sometimes. Anyways that is my suggestion for your gambler is take you time on it if you are new to sewing that looks like a challenging costume. If you want reinforcement try to find a vinyl strappy type of not ribbon but stirng strap whatever you know what I mean right?? Anyways, use it in the front and the sides. It is not that noticeable and it will keep things in place.
WINGS

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