hello fellow egl's...

[kittyhot.livejournal.com]

I have a question about fabric!! I want to cosplay Mana's au revoir outfit this spring. (I know, I know, it's WAAAYYY overcosplayed, but we're trying to do a group). However, I kind of wanted to Rokufy it and choose my own unique materials...(lol, Rokufy...Roku is me, by the way...)

So recently, I just got this 40% off coupon in the mail for Jo-Ann's, and I was like "yeah! gotta go buy Mana fabric!!" Can anyone recommend a cool looking fabric that's easy enough for a beginner to work with? I don't care about the price, since I have that coupon. I also don't care if it's the same exact fabric he uses or not, since I said I wanted to modify it a little to add my own taste to it. I was thinking of white vinyl/PLC, but that might be hard to work with...

See, the thing is, I'm asking because I know next to nothing about the different types of fabrics out there. O.o

Any suggestions? Thanks!

Comments

[lazyangel.livejournal.com]

i would not recommend vinyl unless you have money to spend on the appropriate tools, not to mention the time and patience to work with the fabric, cuz it's not an easy one. something cotton that doesn't ravel too much would be my recommendation :D not as exciting, but less frustrating ^~

[lady-vader.livejournal.com]

Avoid satin like plague, not only is it cheesy it is also very hard to work with satin. ^^

If you've got the money you can buy deluxe woven velvet (not stretchy/crushed) as it is very Mana-like.

[caliginous.livejournal.com]

The only easy fabrics to work with are boring. PVC is a pain, pleather is easier but still a pain. Velvet is aggrivating if you don't have a walking foot, Satin is slippery, anything stretch can be a nightmare if you don't have a good stretch stitch on your machine. Cotton is easy. Wool blends are easy. Organzas and some other sheers can be kind of easy, but you have to be gentle. Sometimes lace is easy to use, but it needs to be heavy and polkyester/cheap. pinning it is a problem though.
Before you just go to it with any fabric, I suggest that you make a mock up of muslin first so that you aren't kicking yourself when you can't alter the fashion fabric. What you can do (which is still complicated but easier than vinyl straight out) is get the clear plastic used for furniture slip covers. You can flat line it in whatever easy to use fabric you have, and then stitch the whole thing together with the plastic on the outside and the fabric under. Hopefully that makes sense. It's a little easier because vinyl is alwyas stretch vinyl, and it's horrible. The plastic is stiff enough that a leather needle will work and there's no stretch to contend with. It is heavy though, and you have to use a long stitch to make sure you aren't just making perforations.
I'd check the alt-goth fashion FAQ for fabric issues and how to deal with them. http://www.ice-princess.net/gothfash/center.html

Regardless of fabric choice, the right needle and good thread will help you tremendously.

thanks

[kittyhot.livejournal.com]

Thanks everyone! I'll go look all those things up, and I'll check out that site. ^_^