Answer Post #1: Boromir Costume
Dear Miss MacGyver,
I literally have *no* sewing experience, but I love costuming. I want to make my own Boromir costume, but am afraid I will sew my fingers to the cloth if I so much as touch a sewing machine; what should I do? How do I start and not have some horrible expensive mess on my hands when I finish?
~Messed-Up in Minas Tirith.
Answer:
Dear Messed-Up,
Being afraid of sewing machines is nothing new, and it's certainly not embarassing. Without taking the proper care, small but nasty mishaps can happen. But no worries!
I've learned from my extensive experience in costume design for the theatre, is that you don't always have to sew a piece from scratch to make it look good. You're going for the effect afterall, and sometimes just throwing together items and tweaking here and there will work for the effect.
I always say that before you can start a project of this magnitude, you need to know exactly what you *can* do, what you *will* do if you have to (ie skills you'll learn or practice) and what you are definitely *not* willing to do. That way you've set out some very strong guidelines and a blue print to work from when you set out to make your costume.
Unfortunately I can't teach you how to sew, but I can give you some options on how to put together a costume that will keep the stitching to the basic minimum.
When I've always done big projects, I've always broken down the costume into parts that are absolutely essential to the design, and then done research for items that you can use that will look like those items.
Breaking down Boromir's costume isn't too difficult, but it does put together quite the shopping list.
Firstly, Boromir has a big cloak. If you're big on skipping steps, then by ordering one from a generic costume website will do just fine. In most cases with the internet, there are no 'deals' per se, and you definitely get what you pay for. And in my experience, a good quality cloak will always be handy in fandom. Otherwise, a simple cloak pattern will get you what you need.
I recommend simplicity 5840 or simplicty 9887. Of course, you can always choose another design, but look at the line drawing on the back, the more lines: the more stitching. and you *must* keep things simple!
Here's some examples of line drawings
As for his tunic, a long shirt or a short dress can do the trick, especially if if has sleeves. fabric can be dyed (I always recommend RIT dye for all your needs) and gold fabric paint, especially the scribbles line will add the touches of gold that would complete the look of his tunic.
Quick tip: dye fabric in your washing machine for easier cleanup. worried about staining your machine? don't! running it on the hot cycle will clean it out and have it ready for the next load :D
Now if you want to opt for something fancier, you'll have to stitch a tunic as well. But thankfully tunics are very simple in line-design, and don't require that many seams.
great tips on starting to sew on a sewing machine
Quick tip: instead of worrying about your edges fraying underneath, use pinking shears to finish off your edges. It's easier and faster than a serger, and doesn't require any technical sewing knowledge to use.
His knee-length leather vest is very striking and very important to the costume. Finding a ready-made version online might be a worthy investment if you are looking to have real leather as a part of your costume instead of pleather or other alternatives. If you choose to go the DIY route, I highly recommend some decor vinyl as your fabric and simplicity 4795 for a simple vest option. If machine sewing decor vinyl, choose to use a sz 14 universal needle, or a Denim 16. This will make sure your stitches are piercing the fabric cleanly.
Boromir's armour and vembraces are also very important in completing the look, if you don't want to opt to buy any reproductions online, here are some alternative options.
A quick way to make it look like you have chain mail underneath your tunic is to fill that gap with a panel of activa wire mesh hand-stitched to the underside edges of your vembraces and tunic sleeve. the overall effect is very close to chain mail, and it's super cheap!
Quick tip: If stitching by hand, opt for Heavy Duty or Denim weight sewing thread. Normal poly-blend sewing threads will be worn down by the metal and will snap, using Heavy Duty will keep your stitches from coming apart against the wire.
As for vambraces, I have made my own before from decor vinyl. It's pliable and easy to stitch, either by hand or by machine and has the overall effect of leather. Of course, you might be able to snag a great deal on ebay or elsewhere on some, so a little net searching is useful here.
free online pattern to make vambraces
Lastly, there are his boots. If you don't already own big knee high boots to use with this costume, then I would reccomend looking into purchasing some from a 2nd hand store or elsewhere. Boots like these would always come in handy down the road with fandom costuming, of course, in a pinch you can make fake boots by whipping together some 'boot covers' like these ones available online or puchasing them for a fraction of the cost of a real boot.
As for all the little accessories, don't be afraid to think outside the box! A lot of bead stores will have charms and pendants that in a pinch will look like stone or metal details on a costume, or can stand in for eyelet and button decoration.
As your skills increase, you may wish to make/remake different parts of your costume in more detail. In that case, the LotR Costume Research Home can be a big help for all the little details as well.
Hopefully that gives you enough starting points to put together your costume, and when in doubt, the best places to find info and help is to ask! Most craft and fabric stores have staff who are very willing to teach and will offer solutions that internet freebie sites might not think to show you.
Sincerely,
MM
I literally have *no* sewing experience, but I love costuming. I want to make my own Boromir costume, but am afraid I will sew my fingers to the cloth if I so much as touch a sewing machine; what should I do? How do I start and not have some horrible expensive mess on my hands when I finish?
~Messed-Up in Minas Tirith.
Answer:
Dear Messed-Up,
Being afraid of sewing machines is nothing new, and it's certainly not embarassing. Without taking the proper care, small but nasty mishaps can happen. But no worries!
I've learned from my extensive experience in costume design for the theatre, is that you don't always have to sew a piece from scratch to make it look good. You're going for the effect afterall, and sometimes just throwing together items and tweaking here and there will work for the effect.
I always say that before you can start a project of this magnitude, you need to know exactly what you *can* do, what you *will* do if you have to (ie skills you'll learn or practice) and what you are definitely *not* willing to do. That way you've set out some very strong guidelines and a blue print to work from when you set out to make your costume.
Unfortunately I can't teach you how to sew, but I can give you some options on how to put together a costume that will keep the stitching to the basic minimum.
When I've always done big projects, I've always broken down the costume into parts that are absolutely essential to the design, and then done research for items that you can use that will look like those items.
Breaking down Boromir's costume isn't too difficult, but it does put together quite the shopping list.
Firstly, Boromir has a big cloak. If you're big on skipping steps, then by ordering one from a generic costume website will do just fine. In most cases with the internet, there are no 'deals' per se, and you definitely get what you pay for. And in my experience, a good quality cloak will always be handy in fandom. Otherwise, a simple cloak pattern will get you what you need.
I recommend simplicity 5840 or simplicty 9887. Of course, you can always choose another design, but look at the line drawing on the back, the more lines: the more stitching. and you *must* keep things simple!
Here's some examples of line drawings
As for his tunic, a long shirt or a short dress can do the trick, especially if if has sleeves. fabric can be dyed (I always recommend RIT dye for all your needs) and gold fabric paint, especially the scribbles line will add the touches of gold that would complete the look of his tunic.
Quick tip: dye fabric in your washing machine for easier cleanup. worried about staining your machine? don't! running it on the hot cycle will clean it out and have it ready for the next load :D
Now if you want to opt for something fancier, you'll have to stitch a tunic as well. But thankfully tunics are very simple in line-design, and don't require that many seams.
great tips on starting to sew on a sewing machine
Quick tip: instead of worrying about your edges fraying underneath, use pinking shears to finish off your edges. It's easier and faster than a serger, and doesn't require any technical sewing knowledge to use.
His knee-length leather vest is very striking and very important to the costume. Finding a ready-made version online might be a worthy investment if you are looking to have real leather as a part of your costume instead of pleather or other alternatives. If you choose to go the DIY route, I highly recommend some decor vinyl as your fabric and simplicity 4795 for a simple vest option. If machine sewing decor vinyl, choose to use a sz 14 universal needle, or a Denim 16. This will make sure your stitches are piercing the fabric cleanly.
Boromir's armour and vembraces are also very important in completing the look, if you don't want to opt to buy any reproductions online, here are some alternative options.
A quick way to make it look like you have chain mail underneath your tunic is to fill that gap with a panel of activa wire mesh hand-stitched to the underside edges of your vembraces and tunic sleeve. the overall effect is very close to chain mail, and it's super cheap!
Quick tip: If stitching by hand, opt for Heavy Duty or Denim weight sewing thread. Normal poly-blend sewing threads will be worn down by the metal and will snap, using Heavy Duty will keep your stitches from coming apart against the wire.
As for vambraces, I have made my own before from decor vinyl. It's pliable and easy to stitch, either by hand or by machine and has the overall effect of leather. Of course, you might be able to snag a great deal on ebay or elsewhere on some, so a little net searching is useful here.
free online pattern to make vambraces
Lastly, there are his boots. If you don't already own big knee high boots to use with this costume, then I would reccomend looking into purchasing some from a 2nd hand store or elsewhere. Boots like these would always come in handy down the road with fandom costuming, of course, in a pinch you can make fake boots by whipping together some 'boot covers' like these ones available online or puchasing them for a fraction of the cost of a real boot.
As for all the little accessories, don't be afraid to think outside the box! A lot of bead stores will have charms and pendants that in a pinch will look like stone or metal details on a costume, or can stand in for eyelet and button decoration.
As your skills increase, you may wish to make/remake different parts of your costume in more detail. In that case, the LotR Costume Research Home can be a big help for all the little details as well.
Hopefully that gives you enough starting points to put together your costume, and when in doubt, the best places to find info and help is to ask! Most craft and fabric stores have staff who are very willing to teach and will offer solutions that internet freebie sites might not think to show you.
Sincerely,
MM