Note to self...
Just a note to get my thoughts straight.
So...I finally have people to cosplay with. We decided on Kingdom Hearts II. Well, actually, one member of our group seemed very adamant about this and I liked the idea myself so, that's what we went with. The group will hopefully consist of Roxas, Sora, Tifa, and Yuffie. This being my first, and possibly only cosplay depending on all kinds of factors, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed, but excited and determined at the same time.
Stuff to do....
There is so much I need to do. Halloween and WonderCon are a long ways away, so I have plenty of time, but it feels so overwhelming nonetheless. First off, I'm doing Tifa's Advent Children costume. I think it's cool looking and fairly comfortable. Although I'm probably a bit too skinny and short, among other things, Kingdom Hearts is one of those games with very few characters with black hair. I'd prefer not to add styling a wig to my list of things to do, especially when sewing is hardly something I'm good at, let alone hair styling.
Anyway, my biggest concern, apart from the cost, is mainly the actual making of the costume itself. Not only have I not sewn anything beyond the various middle school projects, the costume consists of various details that could prove rather difficult. While the overall design is very simple: shorts, vest, and the apron/train thing, the fact that it's made mostly of leather, the train is in fact partly pleated (as opposed to the separate strips I originally thought they were), and there's a zipper as well as a set of pockets, makes it seem rather intimidating. Remember that I haven't sewed anything beyond a stuffed pig, a wall hanging pocket thing, and a Beelzenef hand puppet. I have never in my life attempted clothing and leather, I imagine, is quite a different animal from plain cloth.
Now, I won't be using actual leather of course. Way too expensive and way too heavy and hot, especially if I were to wear it at a con where the body heat is absolutely immense. I found, after various searches on google, pleather which is artificial leather made from plastic, but has the feel of real leather. It's lighter, much easier to care for, and apparently easier to sew. I'm hoping that the fabric store down the street will carry this at a fair price so that when I actually find out how much I need, I can get it immediately and know what I'm getting. The alternative is an online site I found that sells it fairly cheap compared to other sites I've found. $7/yard and the type looks pretty close to what I want. Someone said that their costume took about 5 yards so I'll probably use about the same if not less and the max will be about $35 or so on materials. Luckily, since the outfit is made basically entirely of leather, this will be all the material I need, excluding things like buttons and ribbons which are fairly cheap.
I played with the idea of just buying a pair of shorts, however, I feel like this would only add to the price and I don't think shorts are insanely hard to make. The parts of the costume I need to buy include the ribbons and buttons, possibly a white tank top (unless I can find a t-shirt of mine that might work), short leather gloves, and a zipper for the vest, possibly a belt or at least loose belt buckle type things. I also need to get black Converses which are available anywhere, although for a costume, they are a bit pricey. About $40 if I remember correctly, although during the year, some stores may have sales and the ones I need are very common. Overall, I know I'll be spending at least $100 on this project. I definitely don't want to go much higher. Getting a job would definitely help.
I also feel particularly overwhelmed because my little sister is also planning on joining us in our cosplay group. She is planning on dressing in Yuffie's Advent Children costume, albeit a bit more conservative. Hers will also be especially expensive as hers requires a slightly more unique set of converses. She needs the knee high converses, which they do sell, but are a total of $50 and aren't really something you see people wearing everyday, so whether or not my mom will agree to help her purchase them, I have no idea. I do know where they are available, though. The alternative was to alter a pair of ankle high converses, but this requires a lot of extra work, material, and expenses that I don't feel are worth it, especially since I have even less experience working on footwear.
As for her costume, we have already been making various compromises in order to cut the cost. It consists of shorts with various additions, a tank top/tube top shirt, a sleeveless hoodie, knee high socks, and of course, her weapon. We found several items in the closet that are passable for the costume, but the hoodie, additions to the the shorts and the weapon are my biggest concerns. There are also various other accessories including a half sleeve, a headband/ribbon, and a sweatband. The cost so far is similar if not quite a bit more than mine. I worry mainly because she has no income and not a lot saved up and I don't know if mom would be willing to let her spend that much on a costume.
Going back to the planning, I need to find patterns that I can alter for each part of each costume. I found a site that has some pretty good free, printable ones that are promising. I need to get them so I know what materials and how much of each I will be needing and where I can go if I need more. This isn't likely something that'll just go right the first time around.
So...I finally have people to cosplay with. We decided on Kingdom Hearts II. Well, actually, one member of our group seemed very adamant about this and I liked the idea myself so, that's what we went with. The group will hopefully consist of Roxas, Sora, Tifa, and Yuffie. This being my first, and possibly only cosplay depending on all kinds of factors, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed, but excited and determined at the same time.
Stuff to do....
There is so much I need to do. Halloween and WonderCon are a long ways away, so I have plenty of time, but it feels so overwhelming nonetheless. First off, I'm doing Tifa's Advent Children costume. I think it's cool looking and fairly comfortable. Although I'm probably a bit too skinny and short, among other things, Kingdom Hearts is one of those games with very few characters with black hair. I'd prefer not to add styling a wig to my list of things to do, especially when sewing is hardly something I'm good at, let alone hair styling.
Anyway, my biggest concern, apart from the cost, is mainly the actual making of the costume itself. Not only have I not sewn anything beyond the various middle school projects, the costume consists of various details that could prove rather difficult. While the overall design is very simple: shorts, vest, and the apron/train thing, the fact that it's made mostly of leather, the train is in fact partly pleated (as opposed to the separate strips I originally thought they were), and there's a zipper as well as a set of pockets, makes it seem rather intimidating. Remember that I haven't sewed anything beyond a stuffed pig, a wall hanging pocket thing, and a Beelzenef hand puppet. I have never in my life attempted clothing and leather, I imagine, is quite a different animal from plain cloth.
Now, I won't be using actual leather of course. Way too expensive and way too heavy and hot, especially if I were to wear it at a con where the body heat is absolutely immense. I found, after various searches on google, pleather which is artificial leather made from plastic, but has the feel of real leather. It's lighter, much easier to care for, and apparently easier to sew. I'm hoping that the fabric store down the street will carry this at a fair price so that when I actually find out how much I need, I can get it immediately and know what I'm getting. The alternative is an online site I found that sells it fairly cheap compared to other sites I've found. $7/yard and the type looks pretty close to what I want. Someone said that their costume took about 5 yards so I'll probably use about the same if not less and the max will be about $35 or so on materials. Luckily, since the outfit is made basically entirely of leather, this will be all the material I need, excluding things like buttons and ribbons which are fairly cheap.
I played with the idea of just buying a pair of shorts, however, I feel like this would only add to the price and I don't think shorts are insanely hard to make. The parts of the costume I need to buy include the ribbons and buttons, possibly a white tank top (unless I can find a t-shirt of mine that might work), short leather gloves, and a zipper for the vest, possibly a belt or at least loose belt buckle type things. I also need to get black Converses which are available anywhere, although for a costume, they are a bit pricey. About $40 if I remember correctly, although during the year, some stores may have sales and the ones I need are very common. Overall, I know I'll be spending at least $100 on this project. I definitely don't want to go much higher. Getting a job would definitely help.
I also feel particularly overwhelmed because my little sister is also planning on joining us in our cosplay group. She is planning on dressing in Yuffie's Advent Children costume, albeit a bit more conservative. Hers will also be especially expensive as hers requires a slightly more unique set of converses. She needs the knee high converses, which they do sell, but are a total of $50 and aren't really something you see people wearing everyday, so whether or not my mom will agree to help her purchase them, I have no idea. I do know where they are available, though. The alternative was to alter a pair of ankle high converses, but this requires a lot of extra work, material, and expenses that I don't feel are worth it, especially since I have even less experience working on footwear.
As for her costume, we have already been making various compromises in order to cut the cost. It consists of shorts with various additions, a tank top/tube top shirt, a sleeveless hoodie, knee high socks, and of course, her weapon. We found several items in the closet that are passable for the costume, but the hoodie, additions to the the shorts and the weapon are my biggest concerns. There are also various other accessories including a half sleeve, a headband/ribbon, and a sweatband. The cost so far is similar if not quite a bit more than mine. I worry mainly because she has no income and not a lot saved up and I don't know if mom would be willing to let her spend that much on a costume.
Going back to the planning, I need to find patterns that I can alter for each part of each costume. I found a site that has some pretty good free, printable ones that are promising. I need to get them so I know what materials and how much of each I will be needing and where I can go if I need more. This isn't likely something that'll just go right the first time around.