cosprogress - Tumblr blog

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for when the tv knitting needs to be a shape, I have been referring back to this pdf for years for basic garter stuff. also handy when designing your own lace rot 😊

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Not sure if you guys know about Simplicity's Adaptive Line. Links are for simplicity.com.

Unisex Dual Port Access Chemo Top and Hoodie

Crutch Pads, Bag and Toe Cover

Wheeled Walker Accessories

There are also the adaptive patterns from Mood,

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dont make me tap the sign

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Perfect Queen Sonia cosplay by Panterona Cosplay

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THERE IS. a website. that takes 3D models with seams and pulls it apart to make a plushie pattern and informs you where things need to be edited or darts added for the best effect. and then it lets you scale it and print off your pattern. and I want to lose my MIND because I've lost steam halfway through so many plushie patterns in the mind numbing in betweens of unwrapping, copying all of the meshes down as pieces, transferring those, testing them, then finding obvious tweaks... like... this would eradicate 99% of my trial and error workflow for 3D models to plushies & MAYBE ILL FINALLY FINISH SCREAMTAIL...

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Domestication is one hell of a thing, huh?

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Faux Fur Sources

I sometimes get asked where I get my faux fur fabrics, so here's a list of sources, and a little about each. They are US based unless otherwise stated, and I have purchased from all of them.

BigZFabric

A great affordable place to get both realistic and solid faux fur. I use a lot of their animal and wolf furs, as well as their half-shag/beaver (1/2") and short shag (1"), but they have lots of cool things. As a company they're great about listening to the needs of their customers and several fur and minky lines are a direct result of community requests.

Howl Fabrics

My favorite place to get solids, which come in matching beaver (1/2"), teddy (1"), shag, and luxury fox. There are sometimes realistic furs in their fox section as well. They also recently started carrying minky. They're a great small company to support!

Mohair Bear Making Supplies

Where I go for realistic faux furs in small quantities, as you can buy anything from 1/16th all the way up to by the yard. You need an account to purchase, but it's super easy to sign up. Based in the UK.

FakeFurShop

A huge selection of faux fur, both solid and realistic, high quality or economical. Based in the Netherlands, so shipping to the US is painful, but worth getting what isn't available in the US. This is my most expensive source, aside from specialty things on Etsy.

Honorable Mentions:

FursuitSupplies: They have some good quality solids. I don't use them too often because they're so popular that the things I want are rarely in stock.

Fur Addiction: Based in Australia, they have some neat high quality stuff sometimes.

Etsy: There's a ton of faux fur and other fabrics available on Etsy, sometimes some really unique stuff. You just have to search for it.

Less Used

Mendel's: sometimes carries different things, but sadly with Shannon Fabrics discontinuing faux fur, their selection has fallen drastically.

Fabric Depot: Some weird niche stuff, but sometimes I get something interesting from there. Some of my old furs are from them before they shut down and then popped back up.

SY Fabrics: Some old stuff on there which is neat, but they keep messing up my orders and their return window is too small to matter. But may still be worth the gamble now and then.

Fabric Empire: lower quality furs, but much of what they have can be found on BigZFabric.

Joann: I have one locally that I've gotten a few things from. It's really hit or miss though.

Fabric.com: this site no longer exists, sadly. I list it only because it's where I got a great number of my furs over the years. It sounds like they may eventually be absorbed into the main Amazon site, but I'm not holding my breath. I'm not a fan of supporting Amazon anyway.

Don't forget to check your local small business fabric shops! As well as second hand stores for faux fur pillows and coats in good condition. Sometimes cheap blankets from discount stores work great as well.

I hope you find this useful! I'm also always happy to help someone hunt for a specific fur if you can't find what you're looking for, too.

Happy sewing!

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Cosplay Fabric Shopping Masterpost

Alright, here we go--a master list of as many (verified) fabric stores as I can think of, and what they specialize in! I will be focusing on fabric stores, as a notions shopping list will come at a later date. They'll be sorted by Name | Types of Fabrics | Brief description, and primarily US-based, though some overseas, so here we go:

--- "JACK OF ALL TRADES" FABRICS ---

Fabric Wholesale Direct | [Various, Budget] | Lots of all kinds of things, specialization in more inexpensive fabrics. Their rayon challis is a great lining fabric, and their poly dupioni is one of the most popular, but they have a little of everything. Processing takes a HOT SECOND, shipping is okay at best.

Fashion Fabrics Club | [Various, Mixed] | Have bought several weird things from here, including various velvets and wools. Great for non-stretch things. Pricing is average, but their sales are amazing if you catch it; shipping is a little slower.

Zelouf Fabrics | [Various, Budget] | A newer fabric store, has literally EVERY SHADE IMAGINABLE of some fabrics, such as their poly taffeta. Also, their swatches are MASSIVE, like half yards or something. If you need a specific color and know your material, try this place out.

Denver Fabrics | [Various, Mixed] | Similar to Fashion Fabrics Club, HUGE variety of stuff. The search feature is not the best but I've found some good gems here, and well categorized.

Sy Fabrics | [Various, Budget] | Similar to Fabric Wholesale Direct! The site is hideous, but very comparable in quality--great basics.

Cali Fabrics | [Various, Budget] | Ships FAST, great for lots of yardage or cheaper mockups. Smaller selection but still plenty to look at.

--- STRETCH FABRICS ---

Blue Moon Fabrics | [Stretch, Formal] | LOTS of stretch fabric, but specifically stretch sequins and very "funky" fabrics. Sales are few and far in between but if you need something glittery or with sequins that can stretch, this is the place.

Spandex House | [Stretch] | Comparable (but not to be confused with) Spandex World, located in the Bronx in NYC if you wanna go and visit! As the name says, lots of stretch fabric, some very unique; this is where I got my stretch glitter tie dye velvet for Exarch's arm. Pricing is "meh".

Spandex World | [Stretch, Basics] | Comparable with Spandex House, but located in the NYC Garment District if you wanna visit! I actually prefer Spandex World as far as /quality/--great for basic stuff like stretch scuba and power mesh or milliskin. Pricing is "meh".

MJTrends | [Stretch, Vinyl/Pleather, Latex] | THE place to go to for things like latex, vinyl, pleather, and stretchy stuff in that avenue. Great for "liquid look" or stuff like Eva plugsuits.

--- FUR FABRICS ---

Big Z Fabrics | [Fur, Various, Fun Colors] | They actually have things BESIDES fur, but I'm going to recommend their fur specifically due to the large selection, at various price points. This is where furries shop, if that gives any nudge to how legit it is.

Shannon Fabrics | [Fur, Pricey, Naturals] | Primarily used for stuff like blankets BUT does have some weirder patterns, in more neutral colors. Their long pile fur in particular is quite nice to work with.

--- SILK + FANCY FABRICS ---

Silk Baron | [Various, Pricey, Real] | You've heard of it, but here it is--the go-to spot (minus literally ordering from an Indian seller) for real silks of various types. Expect at minimum $18/yard for their dupionis and around $22/yard for their taffetas and to go upward from there. Color is unprecedented; if you need a duochromatic silk or a specific type, from organza to matka, go here.

Dharma Trading | [Raw, Budget, Real] | Primarily a dye seller, Dharma also specifically sells raw and finished silks in white, natural, and some in black. These are made to be dyed and come in various finishes, but their raw silk in particular is a great budget option for projects and takes to dye well.

Fancy Styles Fabric | [Pricey, Various] | Though this place also carries poly, specializes in real silk too. Lots of taffeta, dupioni, jacquard, the type of stuff you'd see on a baroque wallpaper. Great sales/deals on their IG, so check there before buying. Pricing is sometimes a bit overpriced, so wait for sales.

Promenade Fabrics | [Pricey, Various] | A "better customer service" version of Fancy Styles, with a storefront in New Orleans. Also has good trim selection. Fair mix of real and false silks, good luxury stuff.

Mood Fabrics | [Various, Pricey] | Mood is my go-to for when I want a luxury fabric OR if I want a strong brocade or jacquard that a "simple" pattern won't do for me. There are however some great sales every now and then, including clearance. Every swatch order also comes with a 10% off coupon! As a bonus, their button and trim selection isn't bad, so save yourself some shopping.

VincyStore | [Various, Unique] | This is their Etsy, although they do have an Ali storefront, the prices are very close. Very "weird" unique fabrics, mainly poly silks folded in weird ways or the kinda stuff you'd see on fantasy gowns. Good unique finds.

--- OTHER SPECIFIC STORES ---

Tandy Leather | [Leather, Pricey, Accessories] | It's real leather, and mostly heavier weight, but you can occasionally find good deals here. They do have physical stores and often the stores have BETTER deals. Less apparel weight in my experience.

District Leathers | [Leather, Pricey, Apparel] | Also real leather, and a good various selection, including a physical storefront. I really like their very light suede and similar stuff--good for cloaks, etc.

Fabrics Store | [Linen, Mixed] | This site has other stuff, but, JUST BUY YOUR LINEN FROM HERE. It's great quality, has EVERY color and weight, has both hourly and daily deals, often has coupons. If you need linen, go here.

Sewstine | [Historical, Mixed] | This site has a nice masterlist of historical fabric resources, so I'll share it here to explore rather than link everything individually.

Seattle Fabrics | [Outdoor, Mixed] | Primarily outdoor and "technical" fabrics, which makes this a great candidate for sci-fi, star wars, and any other more "modern" garment you're making in that realm.

~~~ More will probably be added over time, but here's our starting line! Feel free to comment and share your own! ~~~

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How to Make Quick and Easy Tattoo Sleeves

Got a cosplay idea but the character has lots of arm (or leg) tattoos? Don’t feel like painting on yourself with body paints or hunting down that horrendously expensive temporary tattoo paper? Here’s a quick tutorial for making tattoo sleeves using nylons and sharpie markers! 

Upsides: 

- Supplies are cheap! You may even have many or all the supplies you need right at home.

- Quick and not very messy! No paint is involved, and sharpie marker dries instantly. 

- Easy! Great artistic skill not required.

- They move with your skin! People have legit thought these were real tattoos. From a distance, yes, but I had guys at cons with actual ink on their arms come over to compliment on my full (fake) sleeves. 

- You get to eat pringles! More on that later. 

Downsides:

- They are delicate. Nylons get holes in them super easy and forearms run into stuff, lean against things, and generally make it hard for the sleeves to survive. But if you only need them for a weekend, that’s ok.

- I haven’t experimented too much, but unfortunately this technique probably doesn’t work for wearers with darker skin tones. Sharpie ink is transparent, so any color it rests on just multiplies and the tattoo won’t show up very well. You’ll want to go the fabric paint or body paint route to get the best bold, bright tats. 

- Can’t do white sections, because sharpie ink is transparent and doesn’t come in white. I leave them blank and they read OK, but the white areas will always be pink, tan, brown, etc. unless you dab in a little fabric paint, which will not be covered in this tutorial.

- Sharpie is supposed to be permanent marker, but on skin…it’s not. The ink will most likely wear off onto adjacent clothes. Not that big of a deal for me, as I tend to wear my tats with white shirts that can be bleached, but other shirts may not survive as well.

OK, let’s go! Here are your supplies: 

You’ll need a pair of nylons, scissors, tape, a set of sharpies, your designs printed out on 8.5 x 11 paper, some bracelets, and a can of Pringles. You can use any design you want, of course, but Here is the link to these fine Newt Kaiju tattoo designs. 

If your nylons have an undies part, cut the legs off and wear the undies on your head for the rest of the tutorial, if desired. Put the legs on your arm like so, and cut the toes off so you can slip your hand through. You can cut some of the top of the sleeve off as well, but don’t cut too much because you can’t put it back on if your sleeves are too short. 

Here are my creepy sleeves. Now for the pringles.

Tape your design template to the Pringles can. It doesn’t reach all the way around but eh. The Pringles can gives you a nice stable surface to draw on that is roughly the shape and size of an arm. It’s a little short, so just roll up the rest of the nylon above the workspace and adjust both template and nylon down when you get to working on that part of the sleeve.

Color with the markers! I recommend doing the colored areas first and then doing the black outlines on top of it, to avoid the black ink contaminating the ink pads of the lighter markers. Remember how that always happens to the yellow ones? Eww. Nylons are thin and slide around a bit, so it’s best to use short strokes and dotting to get the ink on.

Take the template off the Pringles tube, flip the paper to the blank side and put it back on again. The paper collects the extra ink, so it’s hard to see any missed spots. Now you can see any bits you may have missed. Fill them in for completion. Also, the paper doesn’t manage to wrap all the way around the Pringles can, so now is the time to free-hand a bit of the design where the template doesn’t reach. For Newt tattoos, that’s the back of the arm. 

When you’re all done coloring, put them on!

There’s a rough end to the tattoo right at the wrist, of course. Disguise where the sleeve ends and your skin begins with some pretty bracelets:

There we are, much better!

Now…you’re done! Have some Pringles! 

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Since I am also one of those people who want to recreate the gorgeous fuschia robe from OFMD to sulk at home in style, I’ve gathered some references from the show that might help both cosplayers and artists (and those who just want to own the robe like me).

The robe is based on 17th-18th century men’s nightgown (or banyan) that was inspired by kimonos. According to one tutorial I found online you need approx. 3&½ yards of fabric but don’t quote me on that (probably better to use more for more flair).

(click on the image for full resolution)

I’ve also found two stores where the outer velvet fabric is available: here and here. (thank you to @MushroomHastur on twitter for finding these)

From what I’ve googled the robe would historically be just one layer of cotton/linen/silk but Stede’s robe has (what I assume to be) silk lining on the inside.

If you find this helpful in creating something, be it art or sewing, please tag me! I’d love to see it!

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I was having writers block and so I took a break and soon enough it was 3 in the morning and I had impulsively sewn together a tiny mouse you’re welcome

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(Image source) [ID: four black and white photo’s of a person demonstrating how to wear a simple wrap top made out of a rectangle with a neckhole and straps at the sides.]

Easy vintage wrap top

This vintage wrap top design is an easy beginners project: you don’t need a pattern, you can customise it to your own size, and despite lacking stretch it doesn’t require any zippers or buttons.

The top is made out of woven fabric and consists of a rectangle in which a hole for the head is cut. Straps are added to the short sides of the rectangle to tie the top around your body.

There’s a lot of variations on this top: to see examples, check out these written tutorials by Sew What Gilly, Freshly Given, Gina Michele, Sadie the Sewing Machine, The Thread, and Mood Fabrics.

AssunDIY on Youtube also has tutorials for two variations on this top: a rectangle shirt version and a butterfly shirt version.

Given the simplicity of this top, it’s a neat way to use up old bed sheets and such.

Some examples:

(Image source 1) [ID: a person standing in a kitchen while wearing a gray wrap top with t-shirt-like sleeves and a round neckline.]

(Image source 2) [ID: a gray wrap top lying on a wooden floor. The top consists of a rectangle with a hole cut in the middle for the head. Two sets of straps, one thin and one thick, have been sewn to the sides of the rectangle.]

(Image source 1) [ID: a person modelling a royal blue wrap top with large sleeves and a slot neckline.]

(Image source 2) [ID: a royal blue wrap top lying on a tiled floor. The top consists of a rectangle with a hole and a slit for the head, and thin straps at one end of the rectangle and thick straps at the other end.]

(Image source) [ID: two photo’s. Photo one shows a person wearing a wrap top made from a dark blue fabric with white flowers. The top has very wide sleeves. Text: “Free pattern + video”. Photo two shows the same top lying on a white background. It has a drop-shaped neckhole, two sets of straps (one thin and one thick), and round bulging sleeves.]

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(Posting this separately because the other post got very long)

I'm pretty certain that this brocade from puresilks.us is the fabric that Stede's peach and gold waistcoat is made of. I wasn't watching with the intention of looking for fabric matches, but the pattern looked familiar.

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the polyester rant (full form)

So. I'm a cosplayer. And I see some pretty common mistakes when it comes to both costuming and cosplay.

Let me start with the polyester.

Polyester is the worst material known to man. PARTICULARLY cheap polyester lining "fabric."

That stuff is not fabric. It does not flex. it does not breathe. it doesn't even have a little give on the bias like actual woven fabrics. It won't even wick moisture away so heaven help you if you sweat in it.

I refuse to believe that polyester is fabric. it is only accurately named if "ester" is actually a euphemism for discomfort and/or pain. Poly (meaning many) and ester representing pain. THE MATERIAL OF A THOUSAND AGONIES (not entirely joking, I have had an allergic reaction to a polyester fabric before.)

SECOND OFF. CHEAP COSTUMES. THE ONES CLEARLY MEANT TO BE ONLY WORN ONCE AND THEN GET DROPPED IN A LANDFILL.

(This is also a critique of those people for whom halloween, costuming, cosplay and/or larping is a single-day single-use thing, not a lifestyle.)

Cheap costumes? They look ok on the models. Guess why--the models are actually wearing foundational undergarments that are not included in the package, because God forbid you can buy something a bit nicer for $49.99 than you can for $30. "Waaaaaah, we can't afford more than one layer of fabrics for that price!" SCAM.

That or the models are NOT wearing the advertised costume at all, just something that looks obliquely similar and certainly nicer.

On the average person? they look HORRIBLE. They droop. They dangle. They sag and cling. They don't have any body to them. These so-called Jedi robes are one layer and they look HORRIBLE.

AND ANOTHER THING about those cheap-o costumes: BECAUSE they look horrible it contributes to them only being worn once. They're thin, uncomfortable, and they make the actual people wearing them look awful. So people toss them out. Cheap Halloween costumes are unsustainable.

Problem #1 about cheap costumes: they're made of polyester, which doesn't even break down over time. Break apart, sure, but it sure as hell does not decompose. PROBLEM #2: NOT ENOUGH LAYERS TO ACHIEVE THE LOOK. Problem #3: If they aren't polyester they're probably cotton, and cotton does not look the same as wool. It tends to form crisp folds and move differently across the body rather than achieving a softer draping look. Some of those iconic movie looks? Linen or YOU GUESSED IT: WOOL.

This is also the first mistake I see with Zelda cosplayers. They're trying to look like Link in tunics that are either ill-fitting, made of cotton when they should be made of wool, or both. If you're concerned about warmth and summer wearability, wool fabric comes in different weights and also in blends! A wool blend might be partly synthetic but it's still LIGHTYEARS better than polyester. Lightyears and parsecs.

My advice for beginning cosplayers: use natural materials as much as possible, get familiar with how different fabrics lie and drape across the body (cottons tend to form crisp folds, while wool has a soft drape and a bit more substance to it, hence why it's a better material for Link's tunic), and AVOID POLYESTER LIKE THE BLACK DEATH.

DEFY SINGLE-USE PLASTICS. COSPLAY AS RESPONSIBLY AS YOU CAN AFFORD AND YOUR TALENT ALLOWS.

thank you for coming to my ted talk.