Over the past few years, the hobby known as "cosplay" has been on the rise in Great Britain, and with new and recurring conventions popping up all over the UK, more and more people wanting to show their passion for their favourite movies, television shows and video games have been attending these events dressed up as their most loved characters. Cosplay, for those who don't know, is the art of creating a costume based on that of your favourite fictional beings and can range from the small and inconspicuous to the huge and eye-catching. I have been a part of this wonderful hobby for nine years and have loved every moment of it! I quite often get customers coming into our store searching for the perfect Dressmaking Fabrics for their costume, and the discussions that I have with them are always fun.
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Zoe as Malon from The Legend of Zelda, costume self-made.[/caption]
One of my most recent costumes that I have created is a character named Malon from The Legend of Zelda, which is one of my favourite video game series. I made this costume from scratch using Dressmaking Fabrics and other supplies from Calico Laine, and chose every one carefully based on the character's role in the game. The shirt is our white cotton jersey fabric with blue designs painted onto the sleeves using our Dylon fabric paint in royal blue, and the neck scarf is a piece of our yellow gaberchino. This is one of my favourite fabrics to work with as it has the same texture as our gabardine, but has a lot more drape to it. The apron is made from two different shades of our klona cotton, again painted with Dylon fabric paint (although this time I used brown), and finally the skirt is created from our blades linen in rose. The purple designs on the skirt are actually bias binding that I pinned into place and hand-sewed.
While this hobby is understandably not for everyone, it is definitely one that I recommend and I have many fantastic memories and new friends through it that I am grateful for. One of my favourite parts of this pastime has always been picking out the right Dressmaking Fabrics for the job, and of course, my first and only stop is Calico Laine. With plenty of ranges to choose from, I always manage to find exactly what I need here and enjoy showing the results on our Facebook page to hopefully inspire our customers.
Have you ever made any of your own costumes, either for fancy dress or cosplay? Take a photo and upload it to our Facebook page - we love to see the end result of what our customers come up with!
Zoe as Malon from The Legend of Zelda, costume self-made.[/caption]
One of my most recent costumes that I have created is a character named Malon from The Legend of Zelda, which is one of my favourite video game series. I made this costume from scratch using Dressmaking Fabrics and other supplies from Calico Laine, and chose every one carefully based on the character's role in the game. The shirt is our white cotton jersey fabric with blue designs painted onto the sleeves using our Dylon fabric paint in royal blue, and the neck scarf is a piece of our yellow gaberchino. This is one of my favourite fabrics to work with as it has the same texture as our gabardine, but has a lot more drape to it. The apron is made from two different shades of our klona cotton, again painted with Dylon fabric paint (although this time I used brown), and finally the skirt is created from our blades linen in rose. The purple designs on the skirt are actually bias binding that I pinned into place and hand-sewed.
While this hobby is understandably not for everyone, it is definitely one that I recommend and I have many fantastic memories and new friends through it that I am grateful for. One of my favourite parts of this pastime has always been picking out the right Dressmaking Fabrics for the job, and of course, my first and only stop is Calico Laine. With plenty of ranges to choose from, I always manage to find exactly what I need here and enjoy showing the results on our Facebook page to hopefully inspire our customers.
Have you ever made any of your own costumes, either for fancy dress or cosplay? Take a photo and upload it to our Facebook page - we love to see the end result of what our customers come up with!