@Marguerite: You know, I've had similar problems with every single skirt or pants pattern I've ever used. They always seem to come out too large. I made a pair of jean shorts for a costume a while ago and I could put them on and take them off without unbuttoning or unzipping them! I think patterns are just big. What kind of skirts are they? Do they have side seams? I find that's usually the best place to take them in, on both sides.

By the way, love the username! Scarlet Pimpernel for the win!

Sagitar: I can't figure out how to use my webcam though T___T But just for you I'm trying a little experiment with my camera and this computer. First, my camera needs charging...

Allright I did it ^___^ Incoming!!!

-skirt I'm wearing to a concert at the end of the month
-POTC Giselle skirt so far.

Berzerker_prime: Patterns are ALWAYS big...generally long...and confusing! The skirts I'm using? If you go on Simplicity.com, I'm using the one that looks like Elizabeth Swann's dress, for TWO costumes (well these will be my second and third because the first time I used the pattern it was for the Marie Antoinette costume, hehe). They do have side seams but they're supposed to be gathered as hell, so I think the thing I need to do is make the elastic smaller so it would be more fitted.

I had so many problems last year trying to gather my skirt, but in the end, I used a looooong piece of ribbon to hold it all together. This time I don't wanna have any problems so I'm sticking with elastic. It was so bad though, because it was the afternoon before I had to go to a convention, and my friend and I were trying to finish up our costumes. I was sooo frustrated because I was trying to hold the skirt together with regular thread that kept snapping, and then embroidery floss because it would be more than one string. Eventually we just went out shopping to find some ribbon and sewed over it...and just stuck with that. Didn't wanna deal with it again so hopefully I made the right choice this year.

And yes, I LOOOOOOOVE Scarlet Pimpernel!!

Yeah, if it's just a gather, making the waistband smaller and pulling it in will do just fine. Do you have to sew a waistband on to the top, or is the drawstring/elastic what holds it on?

I haven't done a basting stitch gather for a long time. I had the same problem it sounds like you're having, where the thread keeps breaking when you pull it into the gather. It turned out it was because my sewing machine was a little too efficient at sewing. Even the basting stitch was really nice and tight. What I tend to do instead is a pin-tuck gather; matching the points that need to be matched, then pinning it into place halfway between those points, then halfway between those, and halfway between those, ad nauseum until it's pinned in enough to sew. Of course, it means sewing over your pins and a broken needle and bent pin every now and then, but at least it means I can gather. And it usually means a more even gather than drawing up the basting stitch gives, anyway.

Oops. Rambling again. Sorry. Not even sure this is relevant. ^_^;

I just made the skirt roll into a casing and then sewed around it, then stuck the elastic around trying to push it through with a safety pin.

Elastic is pretty easy to fix. You just need to remember to cut a shorter length of elastic than your waist measurement. That'll gather the fabric more and make it cling to your waist.

The only problem is I dunno just HOW much to cut off, like 1/4th of it? 1/8th??

What I usually do for that is put it around my waist and find what feels comfy. Add about a half an inch for the sewing together and you're golden. ^_^

that's really cute ^o^ I wish I could make myself skirts as well..

Originally Posted by Berzerker_prime

What I usually do for that is put it around my waist and find what feels comfy. Add about a half an inch for the sewing together and you're golden. ^_^

Ditto to this. You want it short enough that there's a little stretch to the elastic, but not so tight that it's uncomfy.

Ooh, i like cosplays :D i went to the sakura-con a week ago and there were soo many awesome cosplays XP

LOL I'm not even working on the other two costumes but I bought supplies for the third and last one I'm supposed to be working on this year - Wallmarket Aeris <3

Yeah I just went to work to visit my friend and I got mah employee discounttt saving me 15%!! Our bosses are so cool...Except for the new main manager of the store. Gotta hide this bag of fabric though before Mom comes in..i heard her open the garage just now. XDDDD

I've done Wallmarket Aeris before and should be doing Tifa but like...no I don't have the boobs for her thank you very much, though my first Wallmarket was a piece of crap. I'm remaking it nicely this year. 'Coz this time I actually bought a pattern instead of trying to draft one myself.

So, I got one of two tops I needed to make done for me and my friend's double cosplay as Ranma (she's boy-type, I'm girl-type). All I have left to do on it is to put on the gold ties down the front. I need to research knots for it so they can actually function and stay together. The front is already held closed by hooks and eyes, so it will only help.

I'm fairly happy with the way it came out, except for the collar; it's a little high. I'm trying to decide if it's worth it to pick out the seam along the top and re-sew it by hand so that the collar is narrower and thus not as high. Keeping in mind, of course, that I still have a second top to make and only about a week and a half before the convention they are for.

Any thoughts?

I wanna see >: )

gah I want to start doing my cosplay already! but I can't before the wedding.. xP so much other stuff to do and plan.

I've never cosplayed at a con before but I dressed up as Sailor Moon, Princess Serenity, and Kazuki from Getbackers for Halloween in the past.

This year however for Anime North I'm going to be Miranda from D-Gray Man. I'm going to be with two friends who are also going as D-Gray Man characters (Allen and Teidoll) and the my best friend who is going as Setsuna from Gundam 00

Here's a picture. As I said, still missing the gold-colored ties. The scarf around the middle is a stand in until I sew one of the proper color and the pants are a stand in because I was too lazt to get out the ones I'm actually going to use.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...yProgress1.jpg

I bet that'll look awesome once you get those gold ties down the middle. I like the cuffs on the sleeves.

Originally Posted by Sagitar

gah I want to start doing my cosplay already! but I can't before the wedding.. xP so much other stuff to do and plan.

LOL congratulations on the soon-to-be wedding! I just got back from work...one of my first customers at the cut table...actually a group of three women, wanted 8 yards of some fabric for a bridesmaid's dress and like, they're a pair of sisters with their mom and are both getting married this year.

*peeps in* Wow, I haven't been in here in awhile XD. Just been working and working on cosplays, of course.

Wow, Sagitar, your wedding is like just around the corner D:. Good luck!

Wah. Some of the costumes in here are so cute

* U *

Fanime is next month but I'm don't know who to cosplay as.

D':<

I wanna try a chick with black hair so I won't need a wig. Does anyone have any ideas?

I knew I remembered seeing a thread for cosplayers~ I'm glad I was able to find it again. ^ w^

Anyway, hello everyone. ^ w^ I'm Beyond, and not a very experienced cosplayer yet~ I've only cosplayed once so far, last May, and my lack of sewing skills and lack of time thanks to exams made it a really stressful experience until I was wearing the costume. I was Haruhi from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, though, so it was a lot of fun once I was actually wearing the costume.

I'm attending the MCM Expo in London again this May, and I'm going to be cosplaying Sailor Mercury, with some of my friends as Sailor Moon, Sailor Jupiter and Tuxedo Mask. ^ w^ I bought my costume this time, though... I know I don't have the sewing skills to make a Sailor Senshi's outfit. :3 I have my wig and costume, and I'm waiting to hear about my order for boots.

Anyone else here attending the MCM Expo? It'd be kind of cool to meet other cosplayers. :3

I'm planning to work on my sewing skills over summer by working on one or two cosplays... Konata from Lucky Star is my aim! X3 I already found the perfect wig~
(I don't know what it is with me and characters that Aya Hirano has voiced... I'd love to cosplay Misa too. X3)

@Usuri: Black haired characters? What kind of length black hair are you thinking?

Short: Hinata from Naruto
Sakagami Kouya from Loveless
Shoulder-length: Rukia from Bleach
Long: Enma Ai from Hell Girl/Jigoku Shoujo
Really long: Chikane from Kannazuki no Miko
Hiyorin from Lucky Star

Those are just some characters I could think of off the top of my head with Google for confirmation. ^ w^;; There are probably a lot more~

So many black-haired characters to choose from...

What kind of cut do you have your hair in? Short? Long? Bangs or no?

*dances around the thread*

beyond: Lucky Star has such fun character design!! I need to make one of those girls' costumes for an easy summer cosplay. *plots*

@fiarra: Heh, I knowww~ > w<

I really, really love their cheerleading outfit from the OP/last episode. It's so adorable! Another prospective project, I think, if I can improve at sewing enough... ' w'

If you make it, pictures? = w= I want to see more Lucky Star cosplay~ From what I could find, it's not very cosplayed yet. But then I guess it's only coming out in May, right?

I have like hair to below my ribs... so I guess thats long?

xD

and I have side swept bangs in the same direction and style as tifa from advent children