Hi! I have boobs and I make...

[Sakara]

haha like zips in catsuits......They were my nemesis, till i decided to hand baste the buggers in whilst still on the body form. Takes longer but means no more repeated unpickings of them!

The one thing that usually makes me snap is my overlocker/serger un-threading...because it means having to un-thread all the threads and start from scratch again.

 

[Gizka]

Blobfish: Yep, 10 of them. My husband (Skruffy) and friends are all huge Fallout fans. They decided they wanted matching Vaultsuits, AND they wanted them made out of denim. It started with suits for 4 guys, but the number kept growing as we started gathering materials. Last summer myself and my friend Nasakat busted our butts to make 8 of them by Dragon*con. The ninth was finished this spring, and the tenth just needs some of the detail work and accessories added before Dragon*con. So at this point blue and yellow denim and double zippers are my nemeses!

 

[Lora]

Lol. I developed a hate for chiffon after doing my ceremonial Leia. Seriously annoying fabric, way too lively. Luckily I don't have other fabrics I've developed a hate for (yet), but it will probably happen at some point. I'm hoping getting a better sewing machine will help in that regard. I'm trying to get the money for one.

I'm not a big fan of zippers either, but sometimes you need them. And I know of at least two projects involving zippers that I will do/should do.

 

[Delmustator]

Friend of mine who's into cosplay. She wants to learn more about making armor and such.

 

[Blobfish]

Gizka: Wow, that's so cool. I've dragged my partner into doing fallout cosplay with me, but other than that I've only managed to steal one or two other people for quick photos. I guess there aren't as many Fallout fans where I am =[. I was really lazy with my vault suit and modified a boildersuit. I'm still debating with some people whether it would untimately look better being a thick cotton, denim or leather. If you don't mind me asking, did you use stretch denim, or if not how did you get around the lack of stretch? I seem to have to make catsuits either loose or accept that I can barely move in them if I don't use lycra >_<

Lora: Makes me glad I've never used chiffon O_O
I'm not too bad with zips, though the one for my lycra catsuit ruckled hideously

Delmustator: Wow, cool piccies. I love the Umbreon cosplay

 

[Gizka]

Blobfish: The jumpsuits we made were almost all for guys, and they didn't want them to be too tight or form-fitted, so we didn't need the stretch denim. We used a medium weight denim, and they do tend to get pretty hot. In 2010 I dressed as Moira from FO3 in a light-blue Robco jumpuit. It was hot and uncomfortable and nobody had a clue who I was. Last year I made a "fem" cropped-top for myself (with yellow striping and front zipper) that I wore with jeans at D*con, because I wanted to be in pics with our whole group but knew I would never wear the full Vaultsuit long enough to bother making one. If I had made one for myself and wanted it more form-fitted, I would probably have used stretch denim. I really need to find a pic of one the guys in a Vaultsuit and post it, but not likely to happen until after D*con.

 

[Blobfish]

Gizka: Ah, I see, that makes sense. Yeah, I rather envy the male vault-suit wearers as theirs never look so tight, while the female ones look best if they're form-fitted. I'm surprised no-one recognised a Moira though - I think that's an awesome cosplay to do, though I bet it was boiling. I could only stand being in my cotton drill jumpsuit for a couple of hours last May. Thank you for the tips - I'll probably look into stretch denim if I ever get bored of my NCR ranger. And ooh, yes, it'd be lovely to see a picture of them when you have one

 

[MaulWalker]

I have discovered another difficult to work with fabric - mohair. It is loosely woven and it stretches very easily so need to stay tape critical seams. It also relaxes as you wear it.

I also have a habit of storing pins in my mouth as I pull them out while stitching a seam. You do that with mohair and you end up with a mouth full of long fibers as well as the pins. It is like kissing a cat!

Lynn

 

[shereekachu]

Help me RPF ladies! You're my only hope... ya sorry it had to be done. But really - has anyone by chance used the Al-Zahra's Ghawazee Coat pattern? I want to use it for a steampunk character I'm building but I don't have time to do a detailed mock-up. Are there any pitfalls I need to be aware of with this pattern?

 

[kaboom]

Friend of mine who's into cosplay. She wants to learn more about making armor and such.

Would you marry me?

 

[Gizka]

Here's the only convenient photo I have of the Vaultsuits. Unfortunately it doesn't show all of the details like the kneepads and pockets.

That's me in the middle, and my husband is on the right (wearing the Nuka-Cola hat).

 

[kialna]

I'm now working on this assassins creed ninja thing and it's made of some thin, not quite satin but looks like satin, like fabric. It drives me crazy sometimes because it's not stitched easily. Unless you have like..3 layers. I'd love to have more weight to it, but maybe later.

On the other hand, I'm working on some armored stuff, I can't wait to get that started! Fiberglass! "bondo"(fake stuff with the same effect) and just get that armor going!

 

[gyoung2993]

I am not a costumer ,myself...you all are a great part at conventions and gatherings.....and have a love for costuming.... I think all of you have done a fantastic job with your costumes ladies and gentleman...I raerly comment on costuming ,because I know little about it ,but I love your outcomes with the finished products...........I think you costumers Rock ..... , Good job everybody ,hope to see more progress photos...........

 

[Lora]

Blobfish: Yeah, chiffon is so lively. But it's kinda needed for getting the right look for the ceremonial dress. Trust me, I got so mad at the fabric I simply put it away many times, before I finally pulled myself together and finished the damn thing. Probably why it took me four years to complete version three... (Of course, having a cheap, simple machine probably didn't help).
Ugh, with your description of mohair I don't feel a need to explore that myself. I also have the habit of holding needles between my teeth.

In, um probably a couple of years time, I'll be trying my hands at cordura, which is a strong, non-stretchy polyester fabric, to make flightsuits for myself and a friend. I know this, because we bought the fabric last week. One thing's for certain; the flightsuit should not be and will not be tight fitting. So far I have mostly worked with fabrics with at least a little stretch in them, which makes it much easier to make things formfitted, so this flightsuit thing should prove to be a fun challenge.

 

[shereekachu]

Run a piece of tissue paper under it as you sew. It will give it rigidity and then just tear away when you're done. Also use a new needle each time. It seems like a waste but I save my old needles in a separate container for use on rougher projects.

Can’t wait to see it! I LOVE the costumes in Assassins Creed!

I'm now working on this assassins creed ninja thing and it's made of some thin, not quite satin but looks like satin, like fabric. It drives me crazy sometimes because it's not stitched easily. Unless you have like..3 layers. I'd love to have more weight to it, but maybe later.

On the other hand, I'm working on some armored stuff, I can't wait to get that started! Fiberglass! "bondo"(fake stuff with the same effect) and just get that armor going!

 

[kibosh]

Run a piece of tissue paper under it as you sew. It will give it rigidity and then just tear away when you're done. Also use a new needle each time. It seems like a waste but I save my old needles in a separate container for use on rougher projects.

Can’t wait to see it! I LOVE the costumes in Assassins Creed!

I do this on top of pleather, too. It helps the foot slide across the material easier. Just rub the stitch line with a damp cloth to get rid of any pesky left over tissue paper.

 

[GammaGreen]

Here's the only convenient photo I have of the Vaultsuits. Unfortunately it doesn't show all of the details like the kneepads and pockets.

That's me in the middle, and my husband is on the right (wearing the Nuka-Cola hat).

Great Vault suits Pipboys and accessories!! I'm a fan of the original Fallout by FAR over any of the subsequent releases. I'm tempted to make a Harold the Ghoul costume...though few would know who I was.

Can't wait for the new Wasteland 2 coming out.

Keep up the great work!

 

[Guri]

Spraying with starch water can stiffen fabric too. I had to do that recently when working honeycomb smocking with slippery fabric. I like the tissue method, but I could never have used it withthis because it wouldn't have torn out of all the folds I was sewing together.

It washes out really well too.

There are lots of recipes out there to make your own, I use 1 tablespoon to 1/2 cup of water. Some boil the water when they mixed, I just used hot tap water and shook it up.

 

[MaulWalker]

I do this on top of pleather, too. It helps the foot slide across the material easier. Just rub the stitch line with a damp cloth to get rid of any pesky left over tissue paper.

You can get a roller foot that works well with pleater. I believe the roller is Teflon coated as well.

 

[Blobfish]

Gizka: Wow, those are some lovely vault suits Very impressive work having all the right seams and everything - I can just about see the kneepads, and they look great too I always wondered how the main character carried twenty or thirty Nuka-Colas, so I love the hoslters for them. Very nice Leia costume too

Lora: Four years? Wow, I usually give up if a costume isn't done after six months ^_^' but I do have a very short attention span. And oooh, cordura. I've wanted to get my hands on some of that for a while, but isn't it usually quite thick? Try not to boil to death in those jumpsuits. The only bit of a non-stretchy jumpsuit I had trouble with was the leg seams, but I normall make jumpsuits like a swimming cossy with legs and arms, so that area really needed to stretch lots. I broke it three times just trying to sit down in it before finally giving in and having a hidden lycra panel :facepalm I look forward to seeing how those flightsuits turn out

Wow, the tissue paper and special feet for pleather sound like godsends - I'm always letting pleather and similar fabrics ruckle as it doesn't go through the machine properly. Thank you so much for sharing those tips - I'm just about to start a large pleather project so hopefully it'll be that much better for it