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Forums » Art & Creativity » Making a Costume! (1st Attempt)

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Hello!
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So the Renaissance Faire is coming up in my area... I mean, technically it's already happening, but I've been on vacation. So I've decided to make my costume this year – mostly on my own.

I'm really proud of the work I've done so far, and I wanted to share it with y'all. ^_^ Yeah, so this thread will mostly be me posting progress pics/updates and stuff like that.

I've never really sewn anything before, only helped out my mom and aunts because they're pretty big on textile-related crafts, so this is entirely new to me. I've messed up a lot already, but I've also learned a lot too.

Enjoy!
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All the stuff I've done so far:

"First" sketch:
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Skirt #1:
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not "pinned" up:
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"pinned" up:
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Skirt #2:
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Left vest in progress:
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Long vest skirt in progress:
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pocket! and skirt pattern:
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me laying out the skirt pieces because i thought i messed up but i didn't and then my cat attacked the fabric:
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Bonus!

i made a little barbie mock-up of the long-vest's skirt
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also a lil instagram sketch when i was first describing my idea to my mom when she asked what i was gonna make:

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Omg this is amazing!

It reminds me of my older sister, she made her first Ren Faire costume at 15 and now she owns her own shop where she makes and sells historical/larping costumes, corsets, and even designs and makes the outfits for a Burlesque troop!

I've always been so jealous of people who can even remotely handle sewing by hand or using a sew machine. I might try again one day, this makes me feel really warm and fuzzy inside to see. <3 <3
Mel - holy shit! This is awesome!! For a first try this is also beyond impressive. Most people don't even bother with interfacing on first projects. Not to mention that this project is also incredibly detailed and elaborate. <3

I'd love to see updates if that's not to much trouble. You are rocking this hardcore, Sweetheart!
tisonlychaos Topic Starter

Mercyinreach wrote:
Omg this is amazing!

It reminds me of my older sister, she made her first Ren Faire costume at 15 and now she owns her own shop where she makes and sells historical/larping costumes, corsets, and even designs and makes the outfits for a Burlesque troop!

I've always been so jealous of people who can even remotely handle sewing by hand or using a sew machine. I might try again one day, this makes me feel really warm and fuzzy inside to see. <3 <3

Your sister sounds so cool! Also, thank you so much!! ^_^ I would go into costuming/fashion, but – alas – I find myself drawn a little closer to being on stage. Still, this is super fun and I'm having a blast, even if it gets a bit excruciatingly frustrating. XD (I've lost track of how many times I've sewn pieces together wrong, though. We didn't have a seam-ripper before today, so I've been doing it all with a pin and a pair of scissors!)

Demilicious wrote:
Mel - holy shit! This is awesome!! For a first try this is also beyond impressive. Most people don't even bother with interfacing on first projects. Not to mention that this project is also incredibly detailed and elaborate. <3

I'd love to see updates if that's not to much trouble. You are rocking this hardcore, Sweetheart!

Aww, thank youuuu! <3 I have a vest in the lil costume section of my closet (for reference: my closet is like 4 ft wide and < 3 ft deep and that section is tiny) that my aunt helped me make 2 or 3 years ago that I guess technically counts as my first which doesn't have interfacing, but it has boning (made from zip-ties, unless my memory fails me). Fun fact, though! I just learned what interfacing was like two days ago!! I have no clue what i'm doing, but it's working, so i'm just going for it!! (on a real note, though, i have messed up an innumerable amount of times and have sobbed over it because i messed up, but i got help and even though i have to deal with some consequences because of it, i still did it! and i'm real proud of myself and thankful for the help i received/am receiving. ^_^)

And of course! I was planning on posting some more updates anyways! ^_^

Updates just past the side topic!





Side topic: I'm mad because the Renaissance Faire I'm nearest to doesn't hire any actors under the age of 18, and while I totally get that and it makes sense, I'm frustrated because – a.) it pays well, b.) I would kill it, and c.) I would only ever really be free to do it as a high school student, as I'm not planning on going to college anywhere super close to it (which is a good 40 minutes – w/o traffic – away).

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updates from tonight!

I sewed the skirt sections together and the pockets turn out pretty much perfect for what I was trying to accomplish! (Except for the fact that each was just slightly different from the next because I found it's not the easiest to cut through 4 layers of fabric evenly when you don't pin them together like an idiot. XD

The vest-skirt-thing laid out and pleated in maybe the way I'm going to pleat it, but I'm not entirely sure yet.
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p o c k e t
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Auberon Moderator

This is so ambitious! I can't wait to see it all come together! :D
It has pocketsesssssss
tisonlychaos Topic Starter

Hey, folks!

So after the last update, I pretty much reached the point where I was out of my depth and just had to watch my mom and learn what I can.

We're almost done with the long vest thing, and I'm working on making a dress to go underneath it since the section between the front edges is bigger so you can see the waistline. I'm using the underskirt I already made above (in the original post) and creating a shirt using a pattern I'm making from a shirt I already have. I would just use that, but I pulled a dummy and the fabrics are significantly different shades.

Also, we finished the green costume so I wore that to the MD Renaissance Faire today!
here are some pictures!

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little tidbit: one of the sleeves was tied using a garbage bag drawstring because i forgot the ribbon at home since it had gotten stuck in the sleeve and i just took the whole thing out to rethread it but forgot to put it in my bag later on.
Woo! Lovely costume, well done! <3
Whoah, that looks so amazing on you! Great job! :D Thanks for sharing the process, progress, and final product!
Ilmarinen Moderator

This looks fantastic! Also, MDRF is my home faire :D I may have seen ya in my booth!
LakotaSiouxWarrior

So fabulous 👍👍👍👍👍
tisonlychaos Topic Starter

Thank you, everybody! ^_^ <3 This has been super fun, and I'm excited to make more clothing/costumes in the future!!
Heimdall wrote:
This looks fantastic! Also, MDRF is my home faire :D I may have seen ya in my booth!
I'm going to be there again this weekend; I'll definitely try to drop by!

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