How to Sew a Cosplay Costume

If you are new to sewing, avoid costumes that require pleather, vinyl, or PVC, since these are difficult fabrics to sew.

Cosplay, short for costume play, is the practice of dressing up and masquerading as characters from anime, a popular form of Japanese animation. A visit to a cosplay convention wouldn’t be complete without wearing a costume of your favorite character. While some costumes are available for purchase, many cosplay participants take great pride in making their own outfits. While more elaborate costumes may be difficult for beginning costumers, you can achieve a great result by using your creativity and basic sewing skills. This is particularly true for costumes that are not very complicated.

Things You'll Need

• Reference photos or images
• Notebook
• Pencil
• Measuring Tape
• Sewing pattern(s)
• Fabric
• Pins
• Scissors
• Thread
• Sewing machine
• Notions

Instructions

Steps

1. Gather as many reference photos or images as possible of your desired costume, paying particular attention to obtaining photos of different angles on the outfit. If you can make variations on the costume, you should consider it, so you don't end up wearing the same outfit as someone else at the convention. Variations also give you a choice of dressing as a less elaborate version of your favorite character.

2. Study the photos, taking notes as to the various components of the costume, such as pants, jacket, headgear, amulets, and any other items that help to identify the character. Do not forget to include props like weapons on your list.

3. Measure yourself while wearing the clothing or undergarments you intend to wear under your costume. Use these measurements to buy the correct size of sewing pattern.

4. Purchase a pattern for your costume from your local fabric store, being aware that most cosplay costumes will not have exact patterns available. You may need to purchase more than one pattern to achieve the look you want, or look for patterns with similar, if not exact, garments. For example, you may need to purchase a bathrobe pattern for a character dressed in traditional samurai garb. The bathrobe can be altered and embellished to resemble the original costume with little effort.

5. Buy the necessary amount of fabric as noted on the back of your pattern, as well as any additional fabric or notions for the other parts of the costume. You may also need to buy buttons, zippers, or ribbon. If you plan to wear your costume frequently and wash it, check the laundering instructions for all of the fabrics.

6. Pre-wash and dry your fabric, unless you intend on dry cleaning your finished costume. This allows for fabric shrinkage before you cut out the pattern pieces.

7. Cut out the pattern and fabric, being sure to transfer all pattern markings to your fabric. If your costume calls for high heels or platform shoes, be sure to add additional length to the bottom of the pant or skirt pieces, so your costume does not come out too short.

8. Pin the fabric pieces together and try on your costume. If any changes to the fit need to be made, now is the time to do so. You can easily change the fit by adjusting the seam allowances.

9. Sew the costume together according to the pattern directions, and referring back to your reference photos as necessary.

10. Hem the bottom of the costume while wearing your character’s shoes, so that the hem falls at the correct place.

Tips & Warnings

• When selecting a pattern for your costume, focus more on the shape and silhouette of the garments, rather than the detailing, which can be added on later.

• Slick fabrics, including chiffon and organza, are difficult to sew. Instead, use crepe-backed satin or cotton. The Halloween fabric selection available in many large fabric shops has a variety of inexpensive, brightly colored satins.

References

• Lakewood Public Library: All About Cosplay
• Cosplay: Costumes