I'm clinically insane. That's the only explanation. And you know, this really isn't my fault, I can't be held responsible - this is because of lack of sleep (I do crazy things when I'm sleep deprived, like making rp journals) or the fact that the water was shut off this morning in my apartment (Me last night: I want to wash my hair. Mmmm, better not, there's never hot water at night. Me this morning: *turns on the facet* *no water at all* Oh, you are kidding me.) Oh! Finals. This is because of finals. And I'm still half-sick. Really, I can't be expected to make rational decisions right now.
*takes deep breath*
So you want to know what I'm not doing?
This morning, I did not take screencaptures of Suki's awesome and fiendishly complex outfit.
I am not poking around on fabric sites looking at what's available.
I am not looking at pattern sites and thinking, 'hmm, am I crazy, or would that Tibetan Chupa make a good base for her outfit'?
Oh, god, I'm clinically insane aren't I?
Flist, I throw myself on your mercy.
Help.
If you could either a.) find and return my sanity
b.) give me the information on cosplay, specifically time/skill/money estimates, ideas on how to make the vest, headdress, arm bracers and detailing.
c.) smack me across the mouth and stick my head into a bucket of ice water.
A-Line Skirt]
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(But I like Folkwear and Vogue, so my biases for fussiness are probably very very evident...)
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Folkwear are pretty good on detailed instructions, since so much of their line consists of historical or ethnic styles that are likely to be unfamiliar to the basic home stitcher who doesn't have a primary focus on costuming. They sometimes tweak things to be a little friendlier to modern street wear and construction techniques, but often give alternate instructions for doing things more traditionally; I haven't yet tried Alter Years, but while the complexity of the patterns varies, the thoroughness of the instructions is way, way beyond the totally un-beginner-friendly approach of stuff like the historical costumes from Richard the Thread (http://www.richardthethread.com/index.php?submenu=Patterns&src=gendocs&link=patterns), which I have used -- those do very much assume that you mostly know what you're doing and don't need much hand-holding at all.
Red, you should probably talk with your mom or grandma, whoever's going to be your primary go-to helper here, and see if they have a particular favorite pattern line to work with, too -- PZB would steer you towards Simplicity and I'd go for Vogue or Folkwear, but if they really prefer, say, McCalls, it can't hurt to stick with what they know and like.
Aside from the speciality historicals that you're not gonna find on the shelves at Jo-Ann or Hancock anyway, the one major brand I would steer a relative beginner away from is Burda; unlike the American pattern lines, they don't include seam allowances on their pattern pieces, so you have to mark and add those on yourself -- extra work, and a bit confusing if you're not used to it. And the instructions are all translated from the German -- they're generally not terribly awkward at least, but that may add just another layer of unfamiliarity to the whole process.
I'd also recommend getting a good, basic, heavily illustrated guide like Vogue Sewing (http://www.amazon.com/Vogue-Sewing-Revised-Knitting-Magazine/dp/1933027002) or Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Sewing (http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Guide-Sewing-Readers-Digest/dp/0762104201) -- no matter how friendly and hand-holdy the pattern instructions are, they still might not always be as clear and detailed as a book with actual color photographs along with the diagrams; and if the pattern confuses you, the books may explain the parts you're stuck on better. You can pick up older used copies of either of those fairly cheaply if you hunt online or check used bookshops -- if you can overlook the dated styles and colors shown on some of the finished projects, the basic information on construction techniques and terminology will all be the same; the only thing that might be lacking from really old copies is a section on working with overlock machines, and if you don't have one available to you anyway you hardly need to brush up on that! :)
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And those books are a great idea - I'm sure I can find one or both of them at the library, and it will be awesome to have a resource like that, so I'm not going in blind.
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