Please Help Me Cosplay!

Anonymous asked: Loki!Anon here again. Thanks for the advice! I was also wondering, one of the inner layers of his coat looks like metallic silver fabric, with a diamond pattern stitched into it (kind of like a puffa jacket) any advice on doing that? Thanks again!

You can try buying quilted fabric, or you cna buy fabric in the appropriate color and type and then sew on the quilted-looking part yourself, which shouldn’t be hard, just time consuming as it’s a lot of straight across stitching. IF you do stich it ourself, I’d fist use a ruler and tailor’s chalk to mark your lines to ensure the straightness. 

-Monica

Edit: I see what you’re talking about, and If you don’t mind the extra work, you can make that little bit out of either polymer or air dry clay and paining it for maximum badass-looking-ness.

Anonymous asked: Hello! I need to make a petticoat for a costume, but most tutorials I've found are...well, a bit complicated. Do you know of any that are somewhat easy to follow, especially for a novice like me?

I would suggest just gettgin a pattern. Look in the costume secion of the pattern catalogs and there generally is at least one pattern for a peticoat/hoopskirt. Otherwise; Here is a list of tutorials, some easier than others, and as I’m not familiar with your sewing skills I’ll allow you to choose the one that’s best for you. http://cosplaytutorial.com/list.php#sewinghoopskirts

-MOnica

whoelseknowsaboutme asked: I want to do genderbent hawkeye for SDCC in July but I know next to nothing about convention weapons rules and if I can even carry a bow. (I'll still be doing,it, but still) In addition to that, i'm stuck on what I should do for her bottom. The theme is supposed to be slightly sexy so I was thinking something like a cargo skirt. Do they even make cargo skirts though?

HEYHEY I was having the same problem, actually, with my genderbent Captain America cosplay. What I did was find a pattern for a skirt in the shape I want and then first adjusted the length. Then you can use either scraps or buy more fabric to make the cargo pockets (which are surprisingly easy). While eHow is normally a shitty source, this is a very good eHow tutorial or the cargo pocketing: http://www.ehow.com/how_10017612_make-cargo-pocket.html.

the-beethoven-virus asked: I'll be cosplaying Wuya from Xiaolin Showdown this September, but I just want to be prepared... HOW DO I MAKE HER HAIR HUGE AND POOFY, THAT THING IS A FREAKING NIGHTMARE OH MY GOD. (p.s. what about the bright red bit around her face too? should i use a separate wig for that or just use coloured hair spray?)

For the volume, the easiest way is too add more wefts and then use a round brush with LOW LOW LOW heat. AS for the red bit, considering the style of the hair, I would paint it. Painting wigs is actually fairly easy and there’s a tutorial here: http://kotodama.deviantart.com/art/Cosplay-Tutorial-Wig-Painting-150977642

-Monica

Anonymous asked: I plan on cosplaying Loki, his Avengers movie design. While the helmet and the staff took a while to design and put together, I'm hugely intimidated by the jacket itself. It's so intricate and I understand I'll have to simplify it (as my sewing skills and funds are limited) but I have no idea how to start! Any tips?

Start by making the simpleast form of the coat possible. Write a freaking list. I love lists. Then you can write down every little thing you need to do so that you know what to do next. I’d suggest looking for a pattern for a basic long coat (try looking in the costumes section for the pattern catalog) and then embellishing it.

-MOnica

ambiguousmagic asked: I might build up a cosplay of Chell from Portal/Portal 2 before Animinneapolis at the end of the month, and I don't know what to make her long fall boots out of. I know the design for them pretty well. They're white, tight boots that have a metal piece that comes off the back of each boot and curls under her foot. I've looked for boots in several places for a Space Core android cosplay I wore and wasn't able to find any. do you have any suggestions?

The favor for this cosplay is to get some white gogo boots and attach a metal piece to them, then paint the heels , bottoms, and little bit of toe black as well as the other black or silver parts.

-Monica

drop-it-l-o-w asked: If you layer a regular foundation primer underneath face paints, would that help keep it lasting any longer? Thank you very much for your help, and I love your blog! :)

If you’re looking to make your paint last longer, you should only need a sealant. Ben Nye makes a great one called “Final Seal”. You should really only put moisturizer on your face underneath your makeup. :)

-MOnica

izayagoryhara asked: It's that same person who wanted to do the hipster Kotetsu. Could you help me out? I just don't know where to get shoes for him. Or if I should get plain ones and colour the black on..but how would I do that? Please, please help. I would really only like to spend at tops 45 dollars for the pair of shoes.

You could buy them, but they won’t be cheap. You could paint them with a high gloss acrylic paint, but being on shoes you run the risk of it chipping easily. I think though, if you’re doing a hipster version, you could just wear converses? you can get some good black knockoff for 15-20 dollars too.

-Monica

zombieknickers asked: I'm cosplaying Katherine McBride and I'm curious about the bottom half of her shirt. It's striped (or pinstriped- I can't tell) so I'm unsure on how to make the bottom half striped. Also, I'm cosplaying as Selphie Tilmitt later on and want to know what material to make her dress from. Any help would be great.

Q1: Looks like Pinstripes: If you are using a pattern, cut the pattern in half and make the bottom part of it from pinstriped fabric. Don’t forget to add a seam allowance. If you’re going off just a normal sweater, cut the sweater in half and use that as your pattern. also, don’t forget a seam allowance.

Q2: I like broadcloth because it’s sturdy, but I don’t think it’ll be lightweight enough for the dress and you won’t find it in yellow. A good, solid cotton should work, or another fabric with little to no stretch. Make sure that you buy fabric to line it as that color yellow will almost always be see-through. Don’t use a knit or linen or it’ll turn out too flowy.

-Monica