Sewing

Hello!

Today I just wanted to write a quick post on some sewing books that have been super helpful for me.  Cosplay is an insane combination of skills.  Costumes have garments that need to be sewn, armor that needs to be built, accessories that have to get made.  It's a lot to learn!

For a lot of people who are just getting into cosplay or who are just starting to make their own costumes the sewing part can be really intimidating.  If you don't own a sewing machine you have to either borrow one or buy one, and if you buy one which one is the right one? Even if you're just getting a cheap one from Walmart that aisle has a lot of options!  Then when you get the machine you have to figure out what all the buttons do, how to put the bobbin in;. it can be really overwhelming.  For that reason, I decided to write this post on some of the books I've enjoyed using.These will probably be most helpful to beginner to intermediate learners. There are thousands of sewing books on the market, so these are not necessarily the best.  They're just what's worked for me in addition to the plethora of knowledge on the internet.

1. Simplicity Simply the Best Sewing Book


I bought this book for for my sewing 101 class.  It's a nice book.  It goes over all the basics, pattern reading etc.  The downside is that it's illustrated and doesn't use as many photos as some other books in this post.  The instructions were pretty clear though and easy to follow, so I still think it's a great book for a beginner or if you're like me and you just need a friendly reminder on how to do something.  It's seperated into short chapters and has some patternless projects you can try to get you started.


2. The Sewing Book: An Encyclopedic Resource of Step-by-Step Techniques

This book is great for people who kind of know what they're doing already, but aren't experts.  If you forget how to do a french seam or how to put a zipper in this book has easy step by step guides for everything.  It's kind of like an encyclopedia for sewing.  It's also got more photos than any of the other books, which I appreciate because I find illustrations can be a little confusing.  I prefer photo guides.

The con of this book is it's a little expensive.  I bought mine used at a used bookstore.  DK also makes a smaller version of this book that might be cheaper, it's got the same great information and format, it's just not a doorstop.

3. Me and My Sewing Machine

I don't own this one yet, so I don't have a picture.I came across this book at my public library before I took my first sewing class and I loved it. It's full of pictures, detailed oriented and everything a beginner needs to really needs to get going on their projects.  If you're like me and you prefer photos to illustrations I'd get this over the Simplicity book.  It's got most of the same information, but it uses photos.

4. How to Use, Adapt, and Design Sewing Patterns

I think I checked this book out two or three times at the library before finally deciding to buy it.

For a lot of my costumes I like to start with a commercial pattern and modify it.  Sometimes that gets tricky and confusing; things don't fit right.  This book helps things become less frustrating.

I also like this book because when I'm ready to start drafting my own patterns it's got a lot of detailed information about that too.  It's something I can grow into.

Contacts Review: Freshlook Colors: Violet

Hello!

Today I just wanted to do a review of some contacts that I use for my Raven cosplay.  Whenever I buy contacts I always look for reviews online first. I'm sure I'm not the only person who does that, so I thought I'd write a review on these incase anyone else is thinking of getting them.

I have really dark eyes so finding contacts that show up on them can be challenging, hence why I always read reviews before making a purchase.  When I went to get my eye exam I already knew I wanted purple lenses, so I told my eye doctor and they let me try on some FreshLook Colors in Violet.  I was really skeptical at first.  I didn't think these would show up on my eyes that well at all, but they turned out to be pretty great! 

The base curve of these lenses is 8.6 and the diameter is 14.5. These are sold by the box.  You get six lenses per box and each lens lasts about two weeks after it's been opened.  I prefer this packaging method to colored or special fx lenses that are sold in pairs and last one to twelve months. I only wear my lenses for events like conventions and photoshoots which are spread out throughout the year. Being able to toss them after two weeks and just open a new pair before an event is easier for me.  Plus if I drop one down the drain or something it's not the end of the world.

I bought mine directly from my eye doctor and I encourage you to do the same.  Most likely you'll be able to try on a trial pair at their office and since these are about $40 a box that's probably for the best incase you don't like them as much as I do. 

These are not my first pair of purple lenses, I've tried three other purple lenses before I found these and these are my favorite.

Compared to all the lenses that I've tried these are the most comfortable.  I can wear these for four to seven hours before I need to take them out, and that's mostly because I worry about keeping them in too long, not because they start to bother me. 

As far as the color goes, these are not bright or in your face.  On me they're pretty noticeable in any lighting situation, but that's partially because they're not what people expect to see.  I have medium-dark skin, so anything not brown is going to make people raise an eyebrow.  I've worn these out shopping a few times and people definitely look twice.  In the pictures below you can see them in a couple different lighting situations.  I don't ever use flash, so that's just outdoor and indoor light.





These lenses photograph really well.  I wore them in my Raven photoshoot with A Beautiful Habit Photography.  As you can see below they look great. We were outside, but I'm pretty sure these will photograph well indoors too.

Photographer: Jim Bochenek Cosplayer: Onyx Sky Cosplay

That's all for today!  As always get an eye exam before buying contacts online or in a store. Have a great day!

Phoenix Comicon 2015

Howdy!

This past weekend was Phoenix Comicon 2015!  This is one of my favorite conventions.  I love it because it's huge, there's way too much to do and see, plus there are a billion amazing cosplayers there!

I always go to this con with my sister JadeGrass Cosplay.  Thursday the first day of the con was a slow day. JadeGrass couldn't come until after work, so I went solo for most of the day.

I kind of just wandered the halls looking at all the beautiful costumes for a little while.  I also went to two writing panels, which were super helpful and fun.  Phoenix Comicon always has a great turnout of authors(comics and novels) and they make good use out of it by having a lot of writing panels over the course of the weekend.  I love listening to authors talk about their craft and the industry. I think it's invaluable.


Friday was coslay day number one.  I wore my Raven costume and JadeGrass wore her Miss Martian costume.  I was really happy to see a lot of Teen Titans and a lot of Robin cosplayers at this con!  Long live the Teen Titans!!! Raven was definitely the most popular, but we did see two Beast Boys,a couple Terra's and a few StarFire's.

Friday was also super exciting because JadeGrass and I got to meetup with ThermoCosplay and a bunch of other awesome cosplayers from Heroes and villains of tomorrow!  It was super fun seeing everyone and taking pictures with them.  I don't really have any friends who cosplay besides JadeGrass, so I'm really happy I got to hangout with some other cosplayers! 

Saturday I wore my Jinx costume and was amazed that my hair stayed up all day!  I debuted this costume at Emerald City Comicon in March, but the wig did not look very nice by the end of the day, so I was stunned that it stayed up from 10am Saturday morning to eight p.m. when I got back to my hotel room! Holy smokes! That G2B hair spray and spiking gel are freaking amazing! I would never put that stuff in my real hair after seeing how glue-like it is, but for cosplay wigs I have a new friend! Holy freaking cow that stuff is strong!


Saturday JadeGrass and I did a panel called "Cartoons that got Canceled".  We weren't expecting a huge turnout.  It was Saturday evening and we figured a) people are getting tired, b)some people might be starting to get in line to see the masqerade and c) there must be cooler panels happening at the same time, but we were pleasantly surprised that we packed the house!  People had to be asked to leave because there were no seats available!

This was our second panel, we relied heavily on video clips and trvia because we wanted it to be fun for the audience.  At the end we had a special challenge if someone could sing the Static Shock theme song word for word(google was allowed to be used), we'd give them a special prize.  I honestly didn't think anyone would do it, but some boys agreed to and man was it hilarious! You can find the video on JadeGrass Cosplays facebook page.

Overall PCC was super fun and I can't wait until next year! If you know the name of any of the cosplayers I posted pictures of, please let me know! Shoot me an e-mail at OnyxSkyCosplay@gmail.com or message me on one of my social media sites so I can credit them!

Thanks everyone who said hi and liked my costumes.  I really appreciate it and I'm glad to see so many people still love Teen Titans! 

Walking to get Pizza with ThermoCosplay(Surge)

JadeGrass Cosplay waiting for our panel to start.