More Than Just Tutorials
When the idea for the book Epic Cosplay Costumes (ECC) was pitched, obviously we wanted to have a handful of tutorials on how to make some standard costume pieces that can make all sorts of costumes. But I had even more I wanted to teach people. I wanted to set readers along the path of how to make changes and costume parts on the fly!
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Toolbox Illustration Sample |
But how on earth was I going to tell people to just "add some things" and that's when the "Sewing Toolbox" section of this book was born.
A Different Type of Toolset
Thinking of a Tool Box, you're probably thinking of things like having a sewing machine, iron, pins, etc (and don't worry there's a whole section with illustrations for those things too!), but it's something entirely different.
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One of the "gathering fabric" illustrations |
What I intended to teach readers is a whole host of creative techniques that can be applied to most any costumes you come up with. This includes simple things such as ironing seams down flat or gathering fabric, and all the way up to "how to add ruffles" to things like skirt edges, and a popular technique called "Stitch in the Ditch".
Now each of these mini tutorials includes more of a "vague" set of directions as they are meant to be used in relation to whatever project your working on. It's kind of a small encyclopedia entry about a technique and how to do it. Along with a small description (and sometimes steps) on how to do said technique, they are also accompanied by illustrations demonstrating each technique.
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Sample of "Stitch in the Ditch" tutorial images |
All the illustrations were vectored by me as well - in order of showing readers nice, clear, easy to follow diagrams that can be applied to many different projects.
My biggest hope is that my readers will not only be able to make costumes with the tutorials included, but also learn extra creative techniques that will help them in their cosplay future! Get out there, and get CREATIVE!
NEXT WEEK: Cosplay Wigs
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