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Published in 2017 by Abrams, an imprint of ABRAMS. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.

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INTRODUCTION

It was almost inevitable that I would get into cosplay. I love to make things, and I grew up on a steady diet of science fiction, fantasy, comics, anime, and video games. I started sewing way back in elementary school, first by hand and then on a sewing machine and serger. With practice and experimentation, I learned to work with a variety of fabrics, fit patterns to my body, and sew clothes I wanted to wear. I spent years learning to manipulate patterns—eventually, I learned to make my own. But the fact is, sewing everyday clothes can get pretty boring. I wanted to make something exciting, something elaborately embellished and full of interesting shapes and details, even if I didn’t generally wear that sort of thing. Some people might start in on an outrageous evening gown at this point. But for me, costumes were the answer. Long before I knew cosplay was a thing, I cherished Halloween as an opportunity to re-create my favorite characters. Now, with more experience and better tools at my disposal, I can make things that would once have been pure fantasy. As a creative person and a nerd, it’s hard to imagine a better feeling.

As my costume collection has grown, I’ve found that sometimes I enjoy the crafting process even more than I like wearing the result. It turns out I’m at least as much of a sewing geek as I am any other kind of geek. But although my stack of sewing and drafting texts now rivals my science fiction stash, I can safely say that none of the writers had elves and superheroes in mind. Most of that I had to puzzle out myself—and now I want to share it with you. Maybe you picked up this book because you’re brand-new to cosplay, or perhaps you’re a seasoned pro sick of pouring money into costumes that fall short of your exacting standards. For whatever reason, you’re interested in sewing costumes yourself. Awesome! But even if you’re brand-new at this, and not convinced you’ll get into sewing just for the joy of it, I still think that every cosplayer should learn to sew at least a little bit, if only to open the door to new and more ambitious costume projects. Here are just a few reasons why DIY might be a good option for you:

You need an item that isn’t commercially available.

While it’s possible to find commercial costumes for many recognizable characters, the character you love might not be among them. Even if you can find part of your costume in a store, there may be other components that are harder to track down. If that’s the case, you’ll have to find something similar and modify it. An even better solution? Make it yourself! It’s often much simpler to add the distinctive features that make a costume shine—like piping, collars, sleeve cuffs, or ruffles—if you’re starting from scratch rather than altering an existing garment.

You want something unique.

Maybe you’ve picked a popular character to cosplay, and you’ve managed to find the costume in stores or online. Great! But when you arrive at the convention, there’s a good chance that someone—or lots of someones!—will be wearing the exact same costume. While you should definitely high-five and maybe take a goofy picture together if this happens, sometimes it’s nice to be able to put your own spin on a character and know that no one else is going to have anything quite like it. You can pick a less common costume variant, create character mash-ups, transport your character into a different time period or an alternate universe, or invent your own character for a truly unique costume.

You want total control over the materials, color, style, and details.

If you cosplay, you probably sweat the small stuff. You know that attention to detail can make or break an outfit, and maybe you’ve been disappointed with purchased costumes in the past. If you sew your costume yourself, you have total control over each piece from beginning to end. You can choose exactly the right fabrics and trims, and accurately replicate details like sleeves and collars. No settling for someone else’s interpretation, or for something that’s “almost right.” And if it doesn’t turn out as well as you’d hoped, at least you can be certain that the next one will be better!

You want a custom fit.

Off-the-rack clothes are made to a standard body size and shape, and chances are that body is at least a little bit different from yours. If you’re petite or tall or have proportions that differ from the standard, you might not be able to find the pieces you need at all. Actors have their costumes custom-fitted to look flawless, and you can do the same if you make your costume. Fitting your garments to your exact specifications means you’ll end up with an outfit that’s comfortable, won’t pull or gap, and makes you look amazing.

You’re on a budget.

It’s true, you could pay someone else to sew you a custom creation. But honestly, how many people have the budget to do that all the time? If you have time to create a costume for yourself, you don’t have to pay for someone else’s labor. If you shop around for your materials, you can find a price that fits into your budget—or find a less expensive alternative. And, once you’ve got a few costumes under your belt, you can even start offering your services to wealthier friends!

You enjoy that smug “I made this” feeling.

If you’re not already convinced, consider the satisfaction of wearing a knockout costume that you put together all by yourself. For bragging rights, that’s pretty hard to top! A handmade costume is also a common prerequisite for participation in masquerades and costume competitions, so sewing skills are essential if you have any affinity for official accolades and shiny trophies.

I think a lot of people have the idea that sewing is hard, or scary, or for professionals only. And yet most of these people drive cars, use computers, and exercise all kinds of specialized technological skills without a second thought. A sewing machine is just another tool, and one that anyone can master with enough practice. To start making your own costumes, all you need are some simple sewing skills, such as threading a needle and tying a knot. Familiarize yourself with the basic operation of your sewing machine: threading, winding bobbins, starting and stopping. Start with one of the simple patterns, be patient and meticulous, and follow the directions carefully while you’re learning. After that, the sky’s the limit!

GETTING STARTED

RESEARCH AND PLANNING

We all know that choosing which character to cosplay isn’t always a rational decision. If you’re going to put your time, money, and creative energy into a costume, the most important thing is to choose a character—and an outfit—that you’re in love with. If you’re really excited about your work, it won’t matter if you have to spend hours and hours sewing, adjusting a pattern, or setting rhinestones. If you’re not enchanted with the project, it’s not worth it—even if you can throw it together in a weekend—because you won’t enjoy wearing it. That said, it does help to consider a few practicalities as you’re setting out: skill level, time constraints, access to materials, and budget. If you’re brand-new to sewing, you may not want to tackle a tailored jacket right out of the gate. (Beginners, you’ll learn about all the techniques used in this book in Chapter 3, Costume Sewing Basics, this page.) If you’re on a tight budget, you may not want to choose a ball gown that requires 10 yards (9 m) or more of fabric (unless you’re willing to make some serious compromises on the quality of that fabric). And if the convention is next weekend, this really isn’t the moment to start an outfit with extensive hand embroidery. Look for a project that speaks to these criteria. The goal is to challenge yourself, but not to set yourself up for frustration. Although you may run into some hitches along the way, if you’re realistic from the outset, you should still be able to power through and end up with a successful result. Not actually sure what you’re ready for? Read on! First, I’ll help you figure out what goes into the research for and planning of a potential costume. Once you have a good idea of what the making of your costume will involve, you’ll be able to decide whether to scale back your ambitions or reach for the stars. Here’s how to get started, in five easy steps.

Gather References

Whether you’re sewing, commissioning, or assembling your costume from found pieces, the first step in most cosplay projects will be gathering references. Keep in mind that you’re not just looking for cool pictures, but for images that show you how the costume comes together in as much detail as possible. In order to accurately replicate a character design, you’ll want to have clear views of the front, sides, and back of your outfit. Try to get some pictures of the costume in motion as well, since this will help you to determine what kind of fabric you’re looking at, how much fullness you need in the skirt or sleeves, and other useful information that might not be obvious from a basic static pose. Beginning on this page, we’ll discuss the specific design elements and construction techniques you need to understand in order to transform 2-D art into a real wearable garment, but for now, just think about collecting as much information (and inspiration) as possible.

As cosplay grows more widely recognized, some creators are making detailed reference images available for their characters. If you’ve picked one of these, collecting the necessary information can be as simple as an Internet search. Often, though, you may need to be a little more creative to get the most useful material. Screenshots from games and animated TV shows can be a good starting point, but since the visuals in these media are often simplified for better performance or lower production costs, you may find more detail in promotional posters, art books, strategy guides, figurines, or other peripheral materials. If you’re working from a movie or live-action show, you may find that behind-the-scenes photos make great references since they’re less likely to be obscured by dramatic angles and lighting.

Consider Its Parts

Once you’ve collected your references, you’ll need to study them to find out how your costume is going to come together. Break the outfit down into its component parts and look at each item individually, as in the illustration on this page. Even very complicated costumes are often composed of several familiar garments layered together, so as far as construction is concerned, you’ll want to consider each item independently.

In addition to the main garments, look at any accessories or add-ons and decide which can be made and which would be better to buy. You’ll most likely need to buy shoes, but making shoe covers are an option if the style is unusual or a difficult color. You may also need gloves, hats, bags, belts, or other pieces to complete your outfit. Many of these can be made yourself, and making is the best option if you need the pieces to match exactly, but be realistic about how much time you can spend on them. Gloves in particular can be fussy and time-consuming to sew, so they might be overwhelming if you’re new at this. Even if you have to buy some pieces of your costume, you can still customize them with your own details and embellishments.

Next, take a good look at the information in front of you. Where are the seams? This tells you how the item was constructed. What fabrics are used—are they stretchy, drapey, or stiff—and how are they embellished? How does the character get into his or her outfit? If the answer to that question is “It gets sprayed on with a magical costume hose,” where can you add an unobtrusive zipper? This is one practical detail you can’t overlook, because you do have to wear it! Does the costume need to shape and support the body inside it, as a corset does, or do parts of it need to stand up on their own, like a big theatrical collar or body armor? Start thinking about what materials you might need, including fabrics and embellishments as well as linings and any necessary structural support. If you’re fairly new to sewing and are not sure what to look for, take a look at Chapter 2 (see this page) for an overview of fabric and other materials that help build your costume.

If you’re puzzled by how an item might be constructed, try looking for similar garments in your closet, in stores, or online. This may give you some ideas about how the pieces are sewn together or how the desired silhouette is achieved. If you’ve got an old garment you can dissect, so much the better—just make sure you take notes about how it was originally put together, lest you find yourself with a useless pile of scraps. Get in the habit of looking at garment tags, or at the descriptive text if you’re looking at things online, and pay attention to what materials the clothes are made from, since this will help you when you start shopping for fabric.

Keep a folder or inspiration board full of images you find useful, either because they help to pin down the details of your intended costume or because they give you hints about materials and construction. Also make note of any particularly useful search terms in case you need to look for more information later. Jot down accessories from your reference images that you may need to source elsewhere—hats, gloves, shoes, crowns, and so forth—so you can keep an eye out for those items while you gather the rest of your materials.

Images

short purple wig—an add-on that can be purchased, raglan sleeves, sleeve detail pieced with piping between panels, textured side panels in a stretchy fabric, piping (needs to stretch), boots—add-ons that can be purchased, princess seams—for a close fit, exposed zipper (how you get in)

Finally, at some point you may have to make some educated guesses. If you’re working from a TV or movie costume, your refs should give you a good idea of where the seam lines are and how each item of clothing is shaped. But if you’re working from a graphic novel, animation, or game, there may be more room left for interpretation based on the style of the artist who created the image. Seams in clothing are often subtle enough that individual artists may choose to omit them, so even for a relatively straightforward outfit, the art might not give you the whole picture. Some art styles are better at communicating fabric drape and texture than others, and a real-life costume will frequently need more detail than the animated version in order to look convincing. Some artists cheerfully design costumes that make no physical sense, and you’ll have to judge for yourself whether to attempt an approximation or just make something up. This is where your creativity and a little knowledge of fabric and how clothing is constructed will serve you well, because you’ll be able to visualize what should be there even if the artist doesn’t spell it out for you.

Make a Map

Since you’ll most likely be gathering information from multiple reference images, you may want to create your own sketches to keep track of everything you’ve learned. Use these drawings to take notes as you render the key details of each garment—the placement of seams and darts, whether a skirt is gathered or pleated, the shape of the collar or sleeve, and the length of the coat or dress. If the costume has multiple layers, draw each piece individually. Even if part of a piece will be hidden when you wear it, you need to know how the unseen areas will be constructed.

Achieving the correct proportions can be one of the trickiest parts of replicating a costume, so refer back to your reference images and look for landmarks that will help you get the relationships right. How wide is the skirt compared to the waist? Does the jacket end halfway down the thigh, or more like a third? Where does the sleeve end relative to the hem?

Multilayered costumes also require a little thought to make sure the pieces will fit together nicely. Remember that garments worn over other garments will need to be a little looser, and that the proportions between the pieces need to be correct in addition to fitting the proportions of your body. Later, you’ll be able to compare all these observations to the measurements of your patterns to determine if you need to make alterations (see this page).

If you’re not comfortable with drawing, or if you’re in a hurry, you may want to use a croquis to give you a starting point and create a consistent look between sketches. A croquis is a plain line drawing of your body, shown in a simple standing pose from the front, back, and sometimes the side (see this page). Fashion designers use them to save time when sketching, because they allow you to focus on drawing the clothes and not worry about drawing out the whole body every time.

You can find croquis online to download and print, but you’ll mostly see stylized fashion model shapes that won’t be as useful for people with differing body types. Instead, you can make your own custom croquis by tracing around a photograph of yourself like I did for the croquis on the next page. Get a friend or use a timer to take a straight-on picture of you from each side, holding the camera around torso height to avoid distorting your proportions. Wear close-fitting clothing and stand against a plain background so you can see the outline of your body clearly. Then, trace around the outlines of your body using your favorite image editing software or a sheet of tracing paper on top of the printed photos. You may want to put front, side, and back figures on the same page for the sake of efficiency, but make the figures nice and big so you can draw in fine details if you need to. Make sure you can see where your waist, hips, knees, and elbows should be, and add reference marks if necessary. Then print or photocopy the croquis so you can draw over the top of it.

These sketches will be your map for your whole project, so make them on sturdy paper and put them up where you can see them as you work. Take them with you when shopping for materials and accessories, and as you decide on fabrics and trims, you can draw them in or attach swatches. Once you have clear references and a good plan, you’re ready to start creating a convincing costume.

Identify Design Elements

After you’ve done a bit of research and have made a map, you may be tempted to rush right out and buy fabric. But don’t! If you were just sewing clothes for yourself, you might pick out a pattern you like and then choose fabric, or start with a gorgeous fabric and come up with a project to suit it. But the process for creating a costume is different: you’re picking a character to cosplay, then identifying the pattern (or patterns) to help you make that character’s costume, based on the design elements in the outfit. Once you’re confident that you can find patterns for the pieces you need—or create your own patterns if your skills allow—then you can shop for fabric, materials, and embellishments that will work with the underlying shape of the costume. So understanding a bit about design and construction is the key to choosing the patterns that help you build a successful costume.

Here’s how you might translate the drawing you made of your character’s clothing into a costume. Suppose your character wears a school uniform. When you break it down it consists of two garments: a blouse and a skirt. The blouse has a loose fit with side darts to give it a little shape, and long set-in sleeves that gather into cuffs. The neckline is V-shaped, with a sailor collar (natch). There is trim around the collar and the cuffs, and an accent scarf in a contrasting color. What are the defining elements of the skirt? It’s a bit simpler, featuring evenly spaced pleats and a basic waistband.

The illustrations in the Glossary of Style Elements on this page to this page present an overview of design elements to help you choose the appropriate patterns for practically any costume. These elements include neckline, collar, sleeve, skirt, dress, and pant styles. You’ll learn all about working with patterns in Chapter 3, this page, but start with recognizing these features from your costume map.

Some basic construction techniques are used to bring a design into 3-D, and to faithfully replicate a costume, you will need to recognize these as well. The most basic technique is the seam itself, which joins two pieces of fabric. Darts allow flat fabric to conform to the body’s curves and are essential to making a fitted garment from woven fabric that has no inherent stretch. Other features you may see in your reference costumes (some seen in the design elements previously) include pleats, gathers, flounces, godets, gussets, ruching, and shirring. Here’s some basic information about each of these construction essentials to help you identify them:

SEAMS. Most artists will at least suggest where a clothing item has seams, as seam placement is one of the main ways to define a garment’s style. Look for solid lines crossing the garment, clear breaks between colors or textures, and details like piping or decorative topstitching that may have been added to highlight the garment’s construction (read more about these decorative details in Chapter 5, this page). Sudden changes in shape can also indicate the presence of seams, as when a narrow sleeve suddenly becomes very wide and full or a fitted bodice blossoms into a voluminous skirt.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

You need an item that isn’t commercially available.

You want something unique.

You want total control over the materials, color, style, and details.

You want a custom fit.

You’re on a budget.

You enjoy that smug “I made this” feeling.

GETTING STARTED

RESEARCH AND PLANNING

Gather References

Consider Its Parts

Make a Map

Identify Design Elements