Cosplay hack: you can mix and match different parts of a pattern or different sewing patterns to get something close to what you want. If you're just getting into pattern drafting, you can also try tracing a piece from a pattern, and adding your new shape/measurements around it. E.g., a regular modern collar turned into a peter pan collar.
Another one would be, buy clothing items that look close to your costume. You can always make alterations such as using fabric dye or cutting off sleeves.
Yes, colouring your eyebrows is such a good tip! My only "hack" is relevant to both time and purchasing materials - give yourself at least twice what you need (if you can). You think it should take 3 hours to sew something? Allow yourself 6. You think you need 2 meters of fabric? As long as you can afford it, buy 4 (or at least, maybe like 2.5)
The main hack I'd say is to look for supplies in places you normally would never consider. Hardware stores, car parts stores, sports equipment stores, second hand shops, antique shops, appliance supply stores, kitchen supply stores, etc. Sometimes for the actual things, and sometimes for inspiration
A point about magnetic lashes - you have to shake the eyeliner, and you have to shake it WELL! I've had several sets in the past that I thought didn't work...turns out I just didn't shake the eyeliner. Once I found this out, they often worked just fine.
Cosplay hack from me: Make your cosplays bathroom friendly. Yes, is not a joke. And yes more people forget this until is too late lmao, but damn it can be a life saver! After using a fullsuit once in a convention, and having to suffer getting pretty much naked to pee, struggling taking long gloves on an off to wash my hands, I decided that one time of suffering was more than enough (plus the floor wasn't exactly clean, plus the bunch of accesories in danger of damage by tiny bathroom stalls) In my case it was as simple as adding a hidden zipper in that area, but other styles of outfit may need a different approach. I'm thinking some clips or snap closures (like baby clothes for easy dipaer changing), which to be honest I don't know why is not common in clothers like rompers, for example. And for photos, maybe not really a hack, but I've been thinking in photoshop the eye color to match the character's, mostly out of lazyness and cheapness - contacts aren't cheap and using them just a few times purely for pictures seems like a waste to me, at least. In conventions yes I'm more inclined to use them for obvious reasons.
texture is so important. maybe a lil bit of colour, maybe some beads or embroidery, some kind of trim or even a smart seam placement makes a garment so much more interesting.
Cosplay hack: please please PLEASE check size charts for buying cosplays. And if you are still growing, make sure to either size up or try to find fabric you can alter the cosplay with! I recently had to do this with a Rem cosplay because it was bought a few years ago.
the snaps/closures one is the BEST one I could think of. I've done so many wild video game/JRPG designs with like. 100 snaps and hook and eyes sewn in. it really makes such a difference
Where can you get metal boning in Australia? We also use zip ties in corsetry not because of cost effectiveness but we have also found it to be easier and often times better to use. But metal boning is something we haven't found yet. If you have any suggestions where to go, I'd really appreciate it.
Thank you for these ❤ white eyeliner pen 😊 that is what i use as a base when I make the eyebrows light ~ on my cosplay list is to buy magnetic eyelashes 😊
I've had one of those little rulers forever. So handy! I haven't been brave enough to try false eyelashes as I have a allergy to many different types of glue (by my eyes? No thanks.). I will definitely give the magnetic ones a shot. Maybe they will work. Thanks so much for all the different tips. A great compilation of things to give a cosplay a boost. Take care.
Thank you Nancy! If you try the magnetic ones- do a test first rather than directly on your eye (goes without saying I know). Maybe see if there might be a sensitive formula or if there is a cash back return policy
So many good tips! Going off the last tip on adding snaps- I try to make delicate embellishments/foam bits removable so that I can wash the base garment if needed.
Just to add on to your ironing seams tip, if you travel a lot with costumes or business clothing, invest in a handheld steamer (often called a fabric or garment steamer) to help get wrinkles out. If you can't get an iron, you can also steam seams, then grip both sides and pull to get a much less wrinkly seam. Definitely recommend both an iron and steamer, but I can't tell you how many times I've gone to use an iron in a hotel to find it either there isn't one or it doesn't work. The toupee clips are a LIFESAVER for wigs in active situations! I LARP, and if I don't have those clips on my wigs they don't stay on more than an hour. It's worth sewing them in, I promise! If you have costumes that can't be washed that smell funky (or, y'know, you forget to check before leaving... 😆), Spray it down with rubbing alcohol at least 10-15 minutes before putting it on. Don't soak it, just get it damp, and it'll kill the funk. This can also be used to neutralize funky shoe smells too. Last one! If you need shiny shoes but you forgot to bring a polishing kit (or have to worry about baggage weight), use a bit of pantyhose to shine the shoes.
If you have even sort-of-dark and *not extremely sparse* eyebrows, you'll have to neutralize the natural color before the eyeshadow color will even be visible (aside from an unsightly and unconvincing halo around them). There's a really helpful (and short!) Merida makeup tutorial by Klair De Lys Art in which she covers her brow hairs on all sides with flesh tone face paint applied with a spoolie and THEN goes over it with the desired color. I've also heard of people using straight orange as the neutralizing color. Also, I'd imagine one could make their eyebrows blonde using this method or some variation of it (I've seen faux bleached brow tutorials that use blonde spray-on gray coverage, for instance). You need an opaque product as a base to pull it off, so mainstream eye makeup isn't going to cut it on its own.
I do disagree - I think that you can use eye shadow for the eyebrows to give a sort of colour lift without removing the entire natural colour. It depends on what the person is going for. I think though people can certainly have a look into doing more extreme eyebrown colouring of course.
For the seam guide rulers, consider a plastic one if you regularly use it for complicated hems or bias tape near the iron. I've deformed more than a few of the metal ones and they also get hot. Another tip is get a bias binding kit. It'll allow you to create bias binding out of any fabric you need and can help keep your fingers away from the iron.
I use white mascara as a base for my eyebrows. the eyeshadow is more vibrant that way :) also: magnets. use magnets everywhere. fabric, armour, foam, whatever. magnets 🙏
Cosplay hack: If you are using even modest amounts of anything that you buy by length that isn't fabric (ribbon, boning, bias tape etc), it is often cheaper to go online and order a whole reel of the stuff than to buy by the metre/yard at your local store. You save money, and you have enough left over to potentially use in other projects. (I encourage supporting your local independent stores if you have them, but I have no qualms about not supporting the big chain stores if the independents don't have what I need)
I love sew on interfacing because I use it for my skirt hems to create the perfect swooshes. I also use it for my muslin petticoats and petticoat ruffles to create additional body to the petticoat over my hoopskirt to smooth over the hoops before I top it. All off with my stiff netting and organza Petties since it gives the volumes without the excessive weight. Another hack I think is useful is to check the fit of the garments often and make sure you use a big seam allowance. Sometimes you may gain or lose some weight during the construction of the cosplay and you may need to let it out or take it in at different times. This is where leaving a big seam allowance comes in since letting out the seams by, let's say, an inch on both sides can make the garment bigger. Sometimes you can even put a lacing panel on the inside to make the garment adjustable for different sizes (this only applies if the garment wouldn't show the alterations on the outside like a Robe a la Francaise). It's best to leave ease in all the seams and just finish them off with bias tape so you can let it out when need be if it's getting a bit too tight.
What do you mean by preliminary pictures? As in when the cosplay is not finished yet? Or do you mean at home posing with the finished cosplay before going to a shoot?
For the dress form, the professional method is literally to get one that's a bit smaller than you and wrap it in wadding and plastic wrap to get it to your size. Adjustable dress forms are good if you're going to use it for different sizes, but they're more fragile and the gaps between the parts and the knobs get in the way of pinning into them. I would go for a styrofoam form over an adjustable.
Hehe, the eyebrow thing, I always just leave it the way it is, I think I look weird with colored eyebrows, and I just use the excuse that some characters have dark eyebrows even though they have blue and green and red color hair 🤫
