Ren Fest costume making question

[violiavampyr]

So we went to the Texas Ren Fest this past weekend and saw (as always) several drool worthy costumes and things. One of which was this--Necromancer costume. It is upwards of 900USD, far beyond what I can afford. Is it more cost effective to make a similar outfit? I'd have to learn how to sew, use a sewing machine, buy fabric, etc. but -in theory- it's possible. Yeah? Or should I just save up and buy the robes?

[XCashier]

Is it more cost effective to make a similar outfit? I'd have to learn how to sew, use a sewing machine, buy fabric, etc. but -in theory- it's possible. Yeah? Or should I just save up and buy the robes?

If you knew how to sew already, it might be more cost effective. Might. But since you're a complete beginner, you'd have to learn. I'm not saying this to turn you off of learning to sew. It's a good skill and a good hobby. But if you start too big, you'll burn yourself out, and you'll have wasted all that money for nothing. You'd need to start simple, like making pillowcases, move up to simple articles of clothing, etc.

Looking at the picture, that looks hella complicated. Velveteen and twill are heavy fabrics and not the easiest to work with, and there's a great deal of complicated embroidery. I've gotten pretty good at sewing, and I wouldn't attempt that! There's a very good reason it costs that much; it takes a lot of time, money and effort to make something like that. So unless you're willing to learn how to sew, keep at it until you're an expert and sacrifice lots of time (I don't mean hours, I mean months!) to make that costume, I'd strongly suggest buying it already made.

[AccountingDrone]

Quick and dirty - no you can't make those specific garments with no real basic ability for sewing and embroidery. That being said, there are actually patterns you can get to sew the garments. Quick google gives me Amazon Dry Goods selling what used to be Medieval Miscellaney Period Patterns patterns. Get the Tunics pattern and the Cloaks pattern. There are some decent premade trims that can emulate the heavy embroidery seen.

Honestly, the base idea for the fantasy clothing shown is reasonably easy - anglo-saxon/norman. If you can follow a Simplicity Pattern you can make it. Hell, I make hand sewn Elizabethan and it isn't that much more difficult if you are careful and can follow instructions.

[Shpepper]

Looking at the outfit and knowing what I do about sewing Ren Faire Garb, That outfit is well worth the price they are asking. The embroidery would take a long time to do by hand and if you want to do it by machine, it still takes a lot of time and thread. start saving if that is something that you are interested in. In the long run, you would most likely be better off.

There are other more simple things that you can start out making, but they all require the purchase of at least one and maybe 2 sewing machines, material, thread, and then to account for your time as well. Something to think about.

[Seshat]

A decent but very basic sewing machine which doesn't do embroidery like that costs a couple of hundred dollars. A machine which does embroidery might easily cost $900 on its own, without accessories. And that's a base level price.

I can sew. I can do princess line, bias sewing, stretch or woven fabrics, even slightly slippery brocades.

I've not sewn velvets before, though I have sewn less intensive 'nap' fabrics. (Oh yes, velvet is special because which way up it is, MATTERS. A LOT.)

Before I attempted something like that, I'd practice. I'd make a draft outfit in old sheets or in 'calico' (a cheap fabric often used for draft outfits).

Hm. Most of it is twill. That's not too hard to work: I'd be comfortable working with the twill parts.
But I'd buy extra twill, and make a twill version of the hood before attempting the velveteen hood and trim.

Also, I'd buy extra velveteen, and I'd make some velveteen things that didn't matter as much, for practice working with the fabric. Belt pouches, perhaps. Or cushions. Maybe put a velveteen accent piece on the cuffs.



As for the embroidery: doing that much by hand would take me months. I'd have to buy or rent an embroidery machine. I wouldn't borrow my friends' embroidery machine: the damn thing is too important for her. Since I've never used an embroidery machine before, I'd need to spend a week or so learning it.
Oh cripes. The embroidery is actually done on the velveteen.


Anyway: it's well worth the price.

[wolfie]

Took a look, and definitely not a beginner project. Also, did anyone else read the description and see that they got the wrong homonym?

[morgana]

Yep, can't spell runes. Or sense, for that matter. In fact, my inner editor is scowling at that blurb. Bad grammar, worse punctuation, and idiotic capitalization.

On a seamstress platform: it's not embroidery, I'm pretty sure, no matter what they're calling it. Probably applique. Much easier. If you expand my avatar photo, you'll see you can get that effect.

Depending on what I could get the fabric for, I'd probably charge closer to six hundred. Maybe less.

Still not a project for a beginner, though.

[LillFilly]

The embroidery is STUNNING!

I can't embroider, but if I need to do some sort of design on a non-stretch fabric I paint them with a metallic fabric paint using a fine tip. They come out pretty decent.

The pattern itself is very simple and similar to several 'Simplicity' patterns I've seen.

You could always sew the outfit and as other suggested sew on a nice trim.

You probably want a nice heavy fabric for everything, and a silky lining for the cloak so it doesn't ride-up over your tunic.

Sears has some very nice Singer sewing machines; about 200 for a heavy-duty simple one if you're not looking to do much fancy stitching; but it is nice to have a few options. I have a 20 year old singer machine still going strong!

Oh, I suggest a duel-purpose cotton thread; fancy threads seem to snap too easy.

It takes a bit of practice; the cutting and placing of the patterns and cutting-out the fabric is what takes me the longest. Good luck!

[Seshat]

To make something similar-ish, but not actually as fancy:

Most of the pattern companies provide 'difficulty ratings' for their patterns. Aim for a beginner-rated pattern. Try looking in costumes first, but you might also find simple dress patterns (such as an A-line or a tunic dress) that would make a good robe.

When choosing the fabric, take the advice of the fabric store people. The pattern information will give suggested fabrics: choose one which the store folk say is easy to sew with.

Make a draft in an old sheet or in calico. (Unless you use a stretch fabric - but you shouldn't need to for this.) Try the draft on, have a friend help you figure out whether the draft fits properly or not, and what changes to make to it.

Transfer any changes to the pattern sheets before you cut out the actual fabric.

Having made it once already (the draft), make up the actual garment.


Trims can be bought at fabric stores; you can sew a lovely length of printed wide ribbon around the edge, if you like.