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Diary of amad costume maker

» Tips for finding references and picking fabric

Brittney MacDonald
Life & Style Editor
Mlifeandstyle

} @theotherpress.ca

 

Vancouver sees its fair share
of conventions—especially
of the nerdy variety. With Fan
Expo kicking off the convention
season at the beginning of
April, many a busy geek are
finding time in their schedule
to recreate the look of their
favourite character. That’s right
people, I’m talking costumes.

As a self-taught costumer I
figured I’d log my own efforts as
well as share some of the little-
known tips that I have come to
find out over the years.

So beginning at the very
beginning, let’s talk references.
One of the biggest questions
you need to answer to start
off with is what character you
want to go as. For first timers
I suggest going a little basic.
You don’t want to overextend
yourself with anything too
complicated that will take way
too long to finish. I find the
best option is to pick an animal
character, such as Red XIII from
Final Fantasy VI or a Pokémon
that you can doa human version
of. That way youre not obligated
to stick to a specific reference.
My other suggestion is to avoid
anything with fabrication unless

: you have previous experience.

: Fabrication of armour or large

: props takes a lot of time, as well
: as a lot of trial and error. So

: either be aware of that and start
: extremely early, or have a more

: experienced friend help you out
: and show you the ropes.

Actually finding references

: can be both easy and difficult. I
: find that video game characters
: will usually have full sheets

: of concept art online. These

: will show you the front and

: back of them, and usually give

: close-ups of any important

: details. Cartoon and comic

: book characters can be a bit

: more difficult, but I suggest

: going to Tumblr. Searching

: your character’s name, as well

: as “reference” or “costume”

: will allow you to find reference
: sources other people have

: already collected, making your
: job a lot easier.

This year I’ve decided to

: make a Yuna costume from

: Final Fantasy X. It’s a bit more

: complex than I would suggest

: for the average beginner, so

: ’'m going to skip over the more

: specific details such as the

: making of the staff, jewelry, and
: certain fabric patterns in order

: to give more general advice.

So now you have your goal

: and some references, what
: happens next? Well nothing can
: get underway without a trip to

: the fabric store. When choosing :
: a fabric, don’t just go for the :
: cheapest one you can find. Try
: and thinkabout when you'll be:
: wearing this costume and which :
: fabrics are easy to work with. :
: The biggest trap I see beginners:
: fall into is using muslin forthe:
: main fabric in their costume.

: Muslin is what people use to

: line other garments or to create
: amock up before making

: the actual piece. Muslin is

: transparent, thin, and difficult

: to work with—but it’s the :
: cheapest fabric you can find. Try :
: and avoid it. Instead, consider:
: some sort of jersey. Jersey is

: comfortable, it breathes, it’s

: relatively inexpensive, and it

: won't unravel if you don’t hem
: it. If you don’t sew often, avoid
: the trappings of silk and satin.
: They may look pretty, but

: they’re extremely hard to work
: with. Polyesterisanotherone — :
: you should make friends with. It :
: has a bad reputation but it holds :
: its shape well if you’re making

: anything with pleats, and it’s

: one of the best canvases for

: fabric paint because it doesn’t

: produce a lot of lint, and it

: doesn’t soak up all the colour.

: Don’t do pure polyester though,
: that would be uncomfortable.

: Go fora blend.

If your fabric is difficult

to find, say like a faux fur,
: you might want to familiarize

Have an idea for a story? Let us know!
Contact: Brittney MacDonald, Life & Style Editor

Mlifeandstyle@theotherpress.ca

www.theotherpress.ca

    

Sleeves

Rear view

: yourself with Dressew Supply

on West Hastings Street. Pretty
much every costume maker I

: know, both professional and
: amateur, goes to this store for
: materials.

Since the convention

I’m prepping for is in April,

: I'm going to assume that the

: weather might be a bit on the

: nippy side, but that I could also
: be dealing with a lot of sun.

: So for the top I chose a cotton

: because it’s good in both hot

: and cold weather, as well as

 

 

 

+
The patterns.
repeat themselves from “A”

Concept art via Squidoo’s index

: being extremely comfortable.

: For the skirt I chose a polyester
: blend, because I'll be doing a

: silk-screening process (a way of
: painting using a stencil) a little
: later.

Though costume making

: can be tiring, frustrating, and

: difficult, always keep in mind

: why you're doing it—paying

: homage to the things that make
: your everyday, boring life just

: a little more fun. See you next

: week for tips on patterns and
sewing!

 

Meat Sweats

» A review of ‘Memphis Blues’

K.P. Davis
Contributer

emphis blues was started

by a couple of guys who
fell in love with southern
barbecue and decided to bring

I decided to check out the
barbecue house named after
what Men’s Fitness ranked the
fourth fattest city in America
and notorious for being the
bane of vegetarians by putting
meat in everything.

Safety was the name of
the game as we ordered the
Memphis Feast, which came

: with a combination of meats

: and sides. I had hardly made a
: dent in the crisp pilsner I was
: drinking before the platters

: were delivered—not a shock

: as most of the meat had been

: smoking since the night before.
the smoky flavour to Vancouver. :

I tried the sides first, saving

: the meat for the main event.

: The coleslaw was fine, not

: overly vinegary or creamy but a
: nice balance, and it was by far

: the most boring thing on the

: plate. The french fries were a

: tad dry and not overly salted,

: but also savoury with a hint of
: parsley and cayenne almost as

: if they had coated them with

: a meat rub. The beans were

: smoky, with chunks of brisket

: within, and not the sweet baked
: beans that I was used to. The

: cornbread was amazing, a most
: flavourful square that melted

: in your mouth like cake. The

: barbecue sauce that came on

: the side was smoky and sweet

: and absolutely unnecessary for

: the flavourful meat that was to

: come.

: The chicken, though smoky :
: and delicious, seemed a little
: dry. It was the one instance

: where I needed my side of

: sauce and liberal application
: of pilsner to get it down. The

: sausages were delicious, but

: nothing new to me. The pulled
: pork was moist and flavourful,
: but still fairly bland next to

: most of the protein that had

: been provided. The brisket was
: amazing, with crisp charred

: ends and melt-in-your-mouth
: insides. That alone would have
: been enough to give Memphis
: Blues my recommendation.

: And then I got to the ribs.

I swear that someone had

: just painted a stick of butter to
: look like a rib. The meat was

: so smooth and delicious that

: I was lucky to get one before

? my ravenous horde of friends

: descended upon them, leaving
: only bones in their wake. The

: rib ends were much the same,

: though a little more marbled

: and a little less meaty.

Overall, I loved the casual

: atmosphere and great food

: that Memphis Blues served

: up. | would highly recommend
: checking it out, though you

: might want to visit infrequently
: unless you wish to deliciously

: marble your brisket.

Memphis Blues can be

: found at 1465 West Broadway
: Ave, Vancouver, and other

: locations across western

: Canada.