Costume/sewing help!

[MaggieTheCat]

I know, Halloween is over. But I attend anime conventions pretty regularly and I'd like to start cosplaying. I have a lot of pipe-dream cosplays that I'd like to do "someday" but I think I've finally settled on a first: Balsa the Spearwoman from Moribito.



Her outfit looks easy enough, but...I literally have no idea where to start. I've never sewn anything. My husband has a (very old) sewing machine and is marginally more experienced than I am, since he has made a couple of cosplay costumes in the past, but I'm still going to need a lot of help with this.

I figure I'll buy some white pants. And the white wrap around her waist can't be too difficult. I can probably even figure something out for the spear, since I'm pretty crafty. The hardest part will be her red tunic/dress. I'd like to get a pattern and alter it appropriately, but I really have no idea where to look or what to look for. Does anyone have any suggestions at all?

[SuperRTL]

I like Simplicity patterns to start with, you can look for them on Simplicity.com but the cut counter at your friendly local fabric store can direct you to the books to pick out patterns. I'd probably use linen or a linen blend.

[Slayer]

I'd hit up any store that sells fabric as they'll probably sell patterns, too (even Walmart has patterns). There's probably a section in your telephone book specifically for fabric (online directory works well also). Just call them up and see if they have any.

The major pattern companies we always buy are Simplicity (http://www.simplicity.com) and McCall's (http://www.mccall.com). They both have subdivisions, too. You can view some of their collections online and order those directly. The stores you visit will have the full catalog so you don't need to order it from the site (like on the McCall's site).

Anyway, once you find a pattern (or two+) you think will work, use some old fabric (or buy the ones they have in discount bins) to cut out the pattern. Try to find something that is similar to what your final fabric will be (pattern doesn't matter, but don't use a stiff fabric if it's going to be flowy, etc.) and stitch it together. This will be a good time to practice using the machine. Since it's not your final work, you won't be as stressed to make it perfect. Now's the time to make mistakes and fix them. After it's all assembled, you can see how it will look on you and that will help you with alterations later on.

Fabric chalk = yay.

If you do a google search, you can find pics of costumes other people made. It might help with visualizing it.

[ArcticChicken]

I've seen people have quite a bit of success tacking two patterns together. Find a dress with a top that looks right and a dress with a tight top and flow-y skirt, cut them both out and figure out how the top of the dress connects to the skirt, then replace it with the top of the other dress. (I say pick a dresses, not a top and skirt skirt, so you won't have to worry about trying to connect patterns that aren't connected.

Or, after taking a closer look at the picture, you could just do two separate pieces and hide the waist behind the sash.

[MaggieTheCat]

The picture I posted isn't the best representation of the costume...I couldn't find a great one on Google image search. The "skirt" part of the red "dress" is actually just a fairly narrow and long loincloth that hangs down the front and back. I figured if I could find a pattern for the top, I'd just make two long strips of cloth and stitch them to the bottom of the tunic and hide the seam with the sash. Or just make it all one piece, if my fabric is big enough.

If you look up "Balsa Moribito Cosplay" or something similar, there are some really good cosplayers that have the costume spot-on, so you can get a better idea of what it'd look like on a person.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I will try to hit up a Jo-Anne Fabric or something and go from there.

[thansal]

As I'm not a sewer (I can't sew a straight seam to save my life), I tend to go in the direction of modifying things you have/can get, and thus I would suggest that it's worth hitting up thrift shops and what not for a shirt that matches the cut and colour of her top. It's not that unusual of a shirt, you could probably find something close (sleeves, and the neckline would probably have to be doctored).

I'm assuming her shoulder/forearm guards are leather, if so that's another good stop on the thrift store list. Leather jackets do show up periodically and are worth it to get predestined pieces like that.

As for the weapon, I found a nice guide on how to make flat boffer weapons Here. You can adapt this system to make the spear tip (you can layer 4 pieces of foam for the thicker parts and just cut it all down to the correct design). It doesn't look AS good as some of the other options, however it's also more likely to be Con-Legal.

[Seshat]

You should be able to find a tunic top pattern with the right neckline, and if you're lucky, it'll also have the right sleeves. If not, get a top with the right sleeves from the same pattern company.

Copy the tunic top pattern onto a sheet of tracing paper or butcher's paper. Mark where the tunic top pattern has the bodice (the torso part of a top) meeting the sleeves.
Copy the sleeves of the other pattern onto the tracing paper, using the marks you made as guidelines.

Make up the pattern on scrap cloth or cheap cloth, like Slayer said. Turn it inside out and put it on. Notice where it doesn't hang or sit right. If it's tight, unpick the tight seam and pin some extra fabric in. If it's loose, pin a seam more tightly.

Start at the shoulders and work down the bodice; probably doing the breasts second.

Start at the waist and then the hips, for the skirt.

Clothing always hangs from the shoulders, waist and hips: so those places are where fit is most crucial.

Once you have the cheap fabric version sitting right, transfer your corrections to the paper pattern (the one you traced on tracing paper). If you have enough time, patience and spare fabric; or if your final-fabric is expensive, make up another scrap-fabric version and repeat the process.

Once you're happy with the scrap-fabric version, go ahead and make a version with your final fabric.