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.

Let's Go Shopping!

I have a very long list of things I want to post about, but most of them feel too heavy to use as a second post, so I decided to just do a post on a few of my favorite places to buy supplies for my costumes.  Hopefully I'll do a formal write up on Storm and Raven soon, as well as some work-in-progress stuff, but for now here you go.

Fabric

Spandex World
This website is my absolute favorite place to buy stretchy fabric for my superhero costumes.  I've purchased fabric from them probably at least seven times.  It's not as cheap as buying from a major chain like Jo-Ann, but I think it's worth the extra money.  They have a huge selection, the quality is amazing, if you're not sure about color or texture you can order samples.  They also ship fed-ex and even the samples come pretty quick.  I love this store. The only con for me is how expensive shipping is and no free shipping options for spending "x" amount of dollars.  Now that my sister cosplays too though, we just order fabric together and split the shipping(Shipping cost/yards of fabric x fabric that person 1 ordered, etc.).

Wigs

Epic Cosplay
I love Epic Cosplay.  Their wigs are always great quality, tangle-free and pretty. My first and second Raven wig are from them, as is my latest Storm wig.  It's not as cheap as some of the wig shops on Ebay, but unlike with Ebay I don't have to worry that I'm not getting what I thought I was. I've loved everything I've ordered from them.  Their customer service has also been pretty A+.

Arda Wigs
This is my other favorite wig shop.  They have excellent wigs and a very wide rang of colors and styles.  If Epic doesn't have the color or style you need, Arda probably does.  I love that you can order cheap samples to be 100% sure that the wig is the right color.  Like Epic they ship from the USA which means you get your wig fast(Yay!).  Arda wigs are also more expensive than buying a wig on Ebay, but again it's worth the extra money to know you're not going to get a nightmare in the mail.  What you see online is what you get.  They've got a great reputation.  This is where I ordered my wig for Pixie and I will buy more wigs from them in the future.

Makeup
I don't wear makeup everyday, I usually am only wearing it for special events or costumes, but this is where I like to shop based on A+ customer service and vegan options.  I buy most of my makeup online, at Whole Foods or Target.  I'm not going to list all my sources, but here are a few I like.

White Rabbit Beauty
A portion of the money from your purchase goes towards an animal chairty, what's not to like about that? A++ customer service, fast shipping and good prices.  I've ordered from here a few times and I will continue to do so.  I love this shop, plus you're supporting a small business.

Etsy
I like to buy handmade cosmetics sometimes.  Etsy has some great shops to checkout, just read reviews, Google the shop, check their facebook page and if possible order sample sizes first.  I mostly buy lip balm on Etsy, but I've also bought eyeshadow and lipstick a few times.  It can be fun and I like supporting small businesses so.... 

Prop Building Supplies

Home
You probably already have a lot of stuff to make props with.  Save newspapers and sales papers to use for armor and sewing pattern drafting.  It can also be used for paper mache.  You can upcycle a lot of "trash" into amazing things, so always think before you toss something(but be honest about when you'll use it, do not hoard stuff.  If you're not going to use in the next few weeks, toss it).

Jo-Ann
Whatever I need, paperclay, markers, paint, etc.  I go here first.  Why? COUPONS!  You can save a lot of money by coming prepared with coupons or during a good sale.

Michaels Arts & Crafts
Whatever Joanns doesn't have, like casting resin that I used for my Raven belt, I buy here.  You can only use one coupon per transaction, but sometimes they have good sales too.

Cosplay Supplies
They have all the fancy thermoplastics, fast shipping and great customer service.

Thrift Stores and the 99cents Store
You never know what you're going to find and it will be cheap.


This is not a complete list of the places I like to shop, but it should give you some good ideas if you're looking for somewhere to buy something.  I'll eventually post a "where I buy" list that'll include everything and other categories like contacts, etc.There are also a lot of stores I really want to checkout when I have some time(they're all far or out of budget for now...T_T).